In amongst all the drama about mods was the notion of a rotating position of a sort of non-mod "member at large". I say if they want some poor shmuck to be able to sit in here and rot in boredom with the rest of us, let them have it. Maybe it will finally kill the idea that we all sit in here plotting and backbiting and edit it out before the releases. It's zero risk for the board and makes 'em feel better...seems win/win since none of us are really up to anything. Thoughts??
I don't see how they can. Since the person would have no real power to affect the board, I say let the people decide who they want...they can nominate and vote the person in. We avoid any and all accusations of bias and whoever it is can dutifully report back on the fact this place is as dull as we say it is.
Yep, I was once an Observer(?). Nothing wrong with giving it another go yet I suspect (like the first time) interest will soon wane when the tedium of the Shelter is again confirmed.
Shelter threads just aren't that interesting, there simply isn't any shit-storm ammo. The biggest abuse possible is prematurely releasing Shelter info. Though we do need to address the DNR threads. Some were created before the policy changed to releasing every Shelter thread, some were tagged to be edited (personal info) before release, none are especially interesting, yet it's unfair to release threads containing posts that posters were assured would be private.
I do believe it's common knowledge that there are a few threads that don't get released. It's only the dual thread, e-mail thread and vacation threads that are routinely kept hidden and it should be obvious why to anyone sane. In fact, it's usually fairly obvious when a thread isn't released why it isn't. I don't think it should be a problem...but part of the agreement should probably be any DNR Shelter information shared outside the Shelter will result in losing the position and a ban. Since they want the position to be rotating, let's rotate or at least nominate/vote every three months...not only to give them what they want, but to use the opportunity as a draw to lure folks back in.
Tomorrow is Monday. A fresh new week for us to ruin. Let's launch it tomorrow morning (EST, of course).
Even if that policy could be enforced it is still publicly releasing DNR info one observer at a time. First off this isn't an us vs. them dynamic, secondly reading Shelter threads early isn't much of a draw. The real issue is some members are complaining that admins/mods should have some sort of term limit, having a rotating observer(s) doesn't really address, let alone remedy, that problem.
It was an alternative idea put forward by Face some folks seemed interested in. The Shelter shouldn't be much of a draw, but almost anything here that involves nominations and voting seems to bring folks back for awhile. Hell, I know it isn't us vs them...but to many posters they convince themselves that is the way it is, no matter what. We all know there is nothing untoward going on...but if it somehow makes some people feel better to have someone watching the watchers..why not? It doesn't really hurt anything.
Having observers is a fine idea, having observer elections may well increase traffic. Deciding to deal with the last of the DNR threads ahead of time is a wise move as well. Here are some possible options: Edit out personal info and release Delete DNR threads created before the release everything policy Release as is Do nothing
I thought deletion was a big no-no? Isn't that why we have a recycle bin instead of just deleting crap? Edit and release or edit and bin is probably a better idea. Then, the last issue is that where will probably be future DNR threads. But there isn't much to do about that except punish anyone who violates that privacy. But in those cases, anything discussed with us on a DNR basis will be with the knowledge there is an observer on staff anyway, so it shouldn't be a huge problem.
I think we should do it. I think you should take point, since you started the discussion. Oh, btw, I think whoever our Observer(s) wind up being, we should think about them as candidates for a moderator position as well. I don't like Clyde's uppity attitude lately.
So apparently my browser was showing me a cached version of The Shelter over the weekend because now on my phone is the first time I'm reading about this. Seems like a good idea. I'd just suggest not giving the observer usergroup access to the Recycle Bin.
I thought about it a couple of months back, but I thought it better to just let sleeping dogs lie. Still, if we want to pursue this...I'd nominate someone like... Talkahuano Nautica shootER Anna Chuck AlphaMan Good folks who don't seem to get into the so much.
I don't have a problem with any of those. But, I think Anna is deployed with the Fleet and only has internet access thanks to being on a CVN. Therefore she's always on a government computer on a government network. I'd hate for her to get in Real Life trouble because of something she had to look at here.
I never mentioned it again because it was unpopular and mocked. If no one is going to take it seriously or even remotely believe it's legit, it seems pointless to go ahead with it. Some people are just simply going to believe we spend day and night plotting against them no matter how untrue it is. Frankly, they would probably be shocked if they knew how little we talk to each other about this stuff.
