Problems with the board

[_Jersey Girl]

The quotes that she supplied came from this very thread. There could've been one that did not.

The original was some time ago, if I recall correctly. I'm fairly certain it was deleted.

I think you misunderstand. What I am saying is that Icarus wasn't referring to it on this thread. He was using the assertion/allegation/accusation/insinuation in new posts on this thread. Those weren't references to the past. They were being employed once again on this very thread. They were not being used as a rhetorical device.

I am tired of typing.

[_Gadianton]

I don't want to get into a protracted debate here but I do need to say just in case there is a misunderstanding, Icarus' offer to buy the board largely involved my own prompting for him to do so, and his attitude about it was without question one of stepping up to help the community as nobody else really has done what's necessary, my own efforts included, and his bid was in no way a matter of person opportunism.

[_Lemmie]

I don't want to get into a protracted debate here but I do need to say just in case there is a misunderstanding, Icarus' offer to buy the board largely involved my own prompting for him to do so, and his attitude about it was without question one of stepping up to help the community as nobody else really has done what's necessary, my own efforts included, and his bid was in no way a matter of person opportunism.

No one is arguing with your position, that I can see. It’s unfortunate that Icarus decided to enter this thread and present himself in such a sexist, combative, condescending and arrogant manner. Just to note a couple of examples from what I’ve experienced, he has announced that I am “not a good person” for no reason other than that I noted that I wasn’t comfortable having someone run a discussion board who voluntarily outed a person here and continues to hint about criminal behavior of posters, and he has repeatedly made sexist remarks to the two women participating on this thread. His posts have been increasingly disjointed and threatening, interspersed with weird bragging about how he has made “important” contributions in this tiny exmo world while others have not, which he seems to think justifies his position at the expense of others. He also continues to hint that he’s on the inside track, while mocking those he says are not. It’s really quite sickening. His hatred for those who disagree with him is palpable, and last, his decisions regarding how to fight comments about his wife are regrettably not decisions that reflect the maturity and trust board ownership would require.

Not that there are many who could do better (myself definitely included!) and it was noble of him to step up. I’m sure I am not alone in thanking both of you for your efforts, but I think going the way of a nonprofit board of directors will ultimately better serve the board.

[_Some Schmo]

All I will say about this is that if there is someone willing to take ownership of the board, I'm not going to look that gift horse in the mouth. More power to them. The board can only get better.

To be honest, however, I don't give a fu-Celestial Kingdom. There are always places to vent, and I've almost forgotten this is a board for people to talk about church.

A place to talk about religion... That seems remarkable to me. Why think about the details of religion at all? It's just bullsh-it. Why care?

[_Kishkumen]

I don't want to get into a protracted debate here but I do need to say just in case there is a misunderstanding, Icarus' offer to buy the board largely involved my own prompting for him to do so, and his attitude about it was without question one of stepping up to help the community as nobody else really has done what's necessary, my own efforts included, and his bid was in no way a matter of person opportunism.

Thank you, Dean Robbers. I appreciate your concern for Cassius online education. We have been real pioneers in giving the world access to quality education in Mopologetics through your leadership. We would expect nothing less than your proactive efforts to secure the future of our online campus.

[_Analytics]

If a non-profit were created to own the forum, who would have voting rights in the non-profit? My understanding is that members with voting rights would elect a Board of Directors, the Board would set overall strategy and hire an Executive Director (presumably Dr. Shades) who would then run things on a day-to-day basis.

I would suggest the following objectives:

1- Maintain the current rules, look, and feel of the board
2- Increase stability and fix the various details that are broken
3- Somehow make it more searchable on Google and find a way to permanently backup and archive it
4- Add a "like" button so you can throw some love at excellent posts

[_Analytics]

Here are the two big questions I have (and forgive me if they were talked about elsewhere):

1- How much would we need to pay the current owner to by the forum from him?
2- What would it cost to "fix" the forum?

[_Kishkumen]

Here are the two big questions I have (and forgive me if they were talked about elsewhere):

1- How much would we need to pay the current owner to by the forum from him?
2- What would it cost to "fix" the forum?

Those are two helpful posts, Analytics. I echo your desires for the current rules, look, and feel of the board to remain the same. I like the way the various fora within the board have developed, providing a place for just about anyone to post as they prefer.

My priorities beyond that would be to:

1) structure things such that reliable funding was secured (requirements for voting membership or eligibility to the board could require certain minimum donation levels according to the bylaws vel sim. of the non-profit).

2) make sure the funding plans addressed the need for maintaining the domain name, server space, update of board software, preservation and back up of the database, and repairs to any of the above.

To answer your final questions:

The offer on the table was in the hundreds, not thousands of dollars range, and I have no idea what it would cost to fix the board.

[_Analytics]

Here are the two big questions I have (and forgive me if they were talked about elsewhere):

1- How much would we need to pay the current owner to by the forum from him?
2- What would it cost to "fix" the forum?

Those are two helpful posts, Analytics. I echo your desires for the current rules, look, and feel of the board to remain the same. I like the way the various fora within the board have developed, providing a place for just about anyone to post as they prefer.

My priorities beyond that would be to:

1) structure things such that reliable funding was secured (requirements for voting membership or eligibility to the board could require certain minimum donation levels according to the bylaws vel sim. of the non-profit).

2) make sure the funding plans addressed the need for maintaining the domain name, server space, update of board software, preservation and back up of the database, and repairs to any of the above.

To answer your final questions:

The offer on the table was in the hundreds, not thousands of dollars range, and I have no idea what it would cost to fix the board.

When you say "offer", you mean the owner's offer to sell it, right?

With regards to cost, what is the minimum cost and expertise to keep it limping along? If we could cover that plus the cost of buying it, we might be in business. For major improvements, hopefully we could find db programmers and philanthropists to make in-kind and pecuniary donations on a project by project basis.

Regarding voting members, perhaps we could have two tiers--one broadly accessible and another to entice relatively more serious contributions from those who can. I'm thinking $1 per month and $15 per month. If we could get 20 people to pledge the lower amount and 10 to pledge the higher, that would give us an annual budget of $2,040. Could something like that be viable?

I'd also add that not anybody can become a voting member--if somebody applies, the current membership would need to vote to allow them in.

[_Res Ipsa]

Analytics, the "offer" that was on the table was an offer to buy, to which the owner has not responded.