I made a very similar suggestion much earlier in the thread...about having some staff turnover. Elwood quickly poo-pood it. Basically they are opposed to anything that breaks up eliteforge.
1. Storm definitely knew that he'd be playing with fire with his comments and actions. He was behaving immaturely at best, and with complete disregard for privacy at worst. And, because last I checked, we were trying to treat people the same, that meant that Gul's less-intentioned post needed the same treatment. Both are bans that, quite frankly, are temporary at very worst. I'm sure an e-mail of confidence from either party would get them back in. 2. I agree with you here. I see little need for the staff to be able to engage in rep wars, and if past moderators couldn't abide by a very simple request to not rep war, I think they, perhaps, weren't the best moderators in the first place. 3. Personal relationships always interfere with board operations, even between non-staff. Remember Ecc/Meka? Remember Tamar calling Meka out? I think the only way to get around that would be to get rid of personal relationships on the board altogether, and man, that is certainly pretty strict. 4. I would argue that this goes back to my central issue of trust again. The membership refused to trust the staff that Elwood would explain when he got back, and also refused to trust the staff that the explanation they were being given was the real reason. The staff refused to trust that many members were genuinely having a problem with the actions, instead of simply drama whoring. And, admittantly, both sides gave the other side reason to think those things. That's why I think we need to work on this issue, and that it is an area that everyone can improve in. I think Goldeneye has some personal issues to work out anyway. He's...uh..."dating"...this girl, and apparently saw little wrong with her actions. Apparently believes her. Believes that Elwood did her wrong. Goes into caht and continues along the same lines. The order for his banning may have been pre-emptive, but he did plenty in the meantime to give pause. He's not innocent in this. Meanwhile - people didn't leave just because of administrative actions. They didn't leave just because they were forced to. At least half of the people who have left recently have done so because of the words and actions of fellow members. Also, regarding the observers - I'm pretty sure they were intended to give the membership more say in administrative actions, not act as watchdogs. I can't remember where I expressed it back in the day, but I found the name to be somewhat misleading.
While I agree with some of that, WF to an extent isn't going to be right for everyone. I had to fight damn hard to get a few posters from TBBS to come here, since they had this idea that Wf was some lawless Wild Wild West of the nets. Persianmouse in particular (Who now gets along with pretty much everyone) was a bit scared of having to come and fit into another board, and considering how this place has had a reputation of trashing n00bs that don't post boob pictures in the first ten posts upon arrival, I'm damn lucky that one didn't blow up in my face. And also...another thing is people just don't appreciate the freedom here. I don't say that to be a condescending elitist snob. They are used to places that warn and ban people who have unpopular views, or ones that are posted in a seemingly aggressive way and taken for trolling (IE, Stewey was a trouble maker for saying the things about Enterprise that even the biggest defenders can't deny nowadays routinely). When I first came to this place, I couldn't understand why people like Tasvir and JohnM were kept around, and my views on moderation were something like this: [?=Spoilered for picture size][/?] I'm one of the few that opened my mind up and pulled the stick out my ass as to what is and isn't a troll. But not many others do. They may come into the RR one say, see a bunch of "ZOMG NIGGER!!!!!!!!!1" threads or "XYZ Poster is a fucking retard/asshole/cunt/other curse word of choice" and figure us all as a bunch of immature morons and never return, not unlike what many of us feel in regards to TK. One poster I invited here left after I was trolled by Pylades with my and Face's pics [-]poorly I might add [/-] Photoshopped in a compromising position (He was more upset by the incident than I was ). And we know most of the time, posters here are not like that. A lot of online decisions tend to run on knee jerk impressions, and sadly, WF isn't immune from this.
The part that I bolded makes me think that you don't want the mods to be friends. No PMing for you since you are now a mod. What if they talked before becoming mods, are they not allowed to now that they are? You will not get mods if you do that.
Nothing exciting ever happens in the shelter. No secrets revealed, no plotting against other members nor any sort of conspiracy. It's more like a bare bones breakroom for members willing to sort a few threads. Basically it's a couple of broken down lawn chairs, a tv that only receives audio and a beat up sofa that smells like goat.
Anybody have an answer for this question? Are they serving a real function, or are they just grooving on the access?
Personally, if I was supposed to take the role of a "watchdog" and tell the Membership what was going on in the Shelter, then I wasn't aware of that. My impression was that I was only supposed to provide input in The Shelter from a non-staff perspective. If it was anything more than that, then I mis-understood my responsibilities... ...and having access to The Shelter isn't terribly addictive. If the staff decided to do away with it, I wouldn't shed a tear.
I guess this goes to show that no good deed goes unpunished, and any attempt by Elwood to give people what they want is going to shock and offend everyone more than if he would have just kept his mouth shut.
Tell me, Mark... what is your problem anyway? Have you been oppressed? I mean, you haven't been here for a long time. Since your return you haven't done anything but prolong the shitstorm with your sanctimonious bullshit. You're still here (a miracle if you ask me). So, tell me - where have you been wronged? I'll bring it before Elwood once I'm granted an audience, I swear.
Is it so hard to believe that a moderator can act impartially despite personal feelings for a poster? If so, I have to ask you to look at how many times Mrs. A. has warned UA. Furthermore, I'd imagine that the ability to repwar would provide a vent or outlet for said personal feelings, so as a moderator isn't tempted to abuse their real power - warnings.
I find the fact that he totally ignored my answer to his question and focused in on your "answer" extremely telling.
If a moderator can't do that without the need for the ability to "rep war", they should rethink being a mod.
They were supposed to be the watchdogs for the membership in A51. That's part of the job. I believe both Storm and Jeriko were the first. As for the access.....fine.....prove it. Quit.
Well, like I said...I haven't been made aware of it. What? You think I owe you something? You yell "jump" and I'm supposed to ask how high?
