bearisgray

as I said before- apparently admin and the moderators are doing a good job - because I had NO CLUE that any of this was an issue

except I would like that there could be "new" threads for people in the "diary/personal" section when they have something major come up in their lives and they want/need feedback/consoling/prayers

the way it currently is in the diary section - there is no way of knowing there is something major going on - can the person do an edit in the top to signal there is something new? I only read a couple of the first ones that came on and they seemed pretty trivial - hi - glad you're here- etc etc etc - so I really didn't bother to go back - but I would like to offer a sympathetic word or two when appropriate and I know about it

kwhite

QC thank you. And

I agree:

"I think we are all very sincere when we say our thank you's, but isn't it nice to feel ok saying, "this kind of bothers me", without fear that your going to be boo'd off or chastised? "

Admin

Think of it as the inverse of the signal-to-noise ratio :)
The percentage of junk posts, if you will.

Nope. It's not about selling. It's when someone starts a post just to make as many people as possible notice it.

patricej

If you read and follow the rules we already have - whether you like them or not - your post won't get moved. if it does get moved, take the hint and be happy it was moved instead of deleted.

if you read and follow the rules we already have - whether you like them or not - your post won't get deleted. if it does get deleted, read the rules again before you attack me about it.

i do not delete things because one or two people complain. i delete things that are in clear violation. i may find out about them from one or two people, but they'd have been just as incorrect as if i'd seen them first myself.

i went to all or nothing because i saw no other choice. i didn't enjoy it. it was the only way to avoid opening loopholes and floodgates. i broke down and let some members talk me into making an exception and left up the "old" mare stare because she was about to drop at any time. as sure as G-d makes little green apples, somebody else used that as an excuse to hurl an ugly accusation because they didn't get the same favor for a new stare. under those circumstances, how much freedom can i feel to make exceptions or "creative interpretations" in the future?

help us make a list. help us check it twice. we'll know in a flash who's naughty or nice. it might be a list of what is allowed; it might be a list of what isn't allowed. it doesn't have to be written in blood or set in concrete. it merely needs to be a clear and concise place to start.

if your post is within a permitted category, it stays. if it doesn't, don't cry foul when it disappears. if you deliberately try to word it cleverly enough to stay within the letter of a rule while obviously violating the spirit of that rule, don't complain if you don't get away with it.

if it isn't on the list, but you sincerely believe it would be a great new category - ask before you post. that will accomplish two things: (1) we'll identify something new we didn't think of; (2) you won't get deleted for deliberately ignoring the rules.

in addition to some reasoned contributions (thanks very much for those :P ), i see a lot of "i want", "i don't like", "this is wrong", "that should be", "give me", "give us", "do this", "don't do that", etc.

unless i missed it, one sentence is consipicuous in its absence so far from this conversation: "I volunteer to help".

Roben

(Snipped for brevity.)

I must have missed something, because I thought that posting prayer requests wasn't allowed (or mutually agreed upon, at least, not to post them.) IF that indeed was the case, then we should either revisit the issue or enforce the rule.

Jokes, on the other hand - we've had some good ones posted, I'll be the first to admit. Taking them 'over the line, however, I just don't agree with. I may think they are funny; the next person in line might not. If we can't err on the side of caution, then we probably shouldn't post them at all. There are lots of places to find jokes on the Internet.

As far as overall personal, negative stuff, I refer back to my original post here - this is the Internet, not our living rooms. This is public, and its as public as it gets - some things should simply be private. Take it to PMs or e-mail; don't be offended if a Moderator suggests that to you. Negative, biting comments are uncalled for, hurtful, rude and just plain tactless - and people should be called on it so it stops.

Admin, I wish I knew of any way other than heavy moderating or just not allowing problem topics, but the only other thing (self-policing) isn't working very well. I'm getting a sense of what people feel they are entitled to, what their 'rights' are - but, sadly, not the responsibilities that go with those 'rights.' I appreciate, very much, the effort to accommodate as many members as possible; I just don't think it's realistic.

No one has the 'right' to post anything here; this is Admin's party :D and he gets to make the rules. If he sees a problem, then its a problem. It is rude to argue that fact with your host. He gave us an inch, and miles were taken. I wouldn't blame him in the slightest for taking it back. In the end, that may be the only option we've left him.

Mousie

I think this is a good point.
Some love the diaries, some choose or don't have time, to read.
Ok, you have a friend who has a diary.
You can't keep up with their diary, but you would want to know if something major happened.
I would also like to say thank you, to admin for pointing out, that we have different issues to consider, and it's not all one thing, or one person, or one, ugh - 'group'.
If someone had pm'd me in the past with a reasonable request to please refrain from ____, I might not be wondering, NOW,....
thank you to you, too, for saying it here :wink:

Roben

Gosh darn, Patrice - I guess I did just the opposite, didn't I? :oops:

AtHomeSewing

I haven’t been around here very long. The opinions I express here are certainly are not directed at anyone or any specific conversation. Actually, I haven’t even fully read this thread, I simply wanted to express my thoughts to the Admin on the subject he posed, so here goes...

One board cannot be everything to everyone — however one forum owner can obviously be too generous.

There are multitudes of boards available where people can enjoy conversations, get information, find support and advice in areas that deal specifically with topics that do not add value to a quilting board: coping with illness and loss, parenting, diet plans, relationship issues, finances, religious, political, and so many other issues. The reason many of us are not currently on those boards is that we do not wish to read about those topics or even to sift through them. I can see that these topics could be included within some conversations here, but only as it relates in some way to the quilting world. Also, there are PMs available for carrying on off-topic conversations with one’s friends here.

Too much extraneous content dilutes the value of this board.

I am concerned that as the membership grows, so will the unrelated content which could turn this board into a place where we only vaguely recall sharing our quilting ideas. If unrelated or overly personal content continues to grow exponentially, into possibly the majority of discussions or Topics folders here, then the survival of the Board could be threatened. Potential new members may come into the site and see the content as too off topic, too personal, or too complicated by the array of folder and sub-folder choices. Those people may choose not to read on, not to drill down, and certainly not to join in or contribute. That could easily bring the Board to stagnation, and threaten its survival.

So what to do…having an endless list of rules and regulations creates an atmosphere in which most of the discussion centers around those rules and regulations, so that doesn’t work. Having multitudes of sub folders for off-topic threads only further complicates things so becomes ineffective.

What about considering simplicity? Eliminate the sub-folders. Keep Chit Chat but please DO moderate that area to prevent it from being misused, as it currently seems to be. If that requires too much moderator work, then consider doing away with it as well. It just may be in the best interest of the Board, and easiest to moderate, by simply keeping it true to its purpose: a quilting forum.

I personally would like to see Chit Chat continue if possible, there is much to enjoy there. I enjoy the personal contributions of the members on everything from where they live to their cute pets. However I definitely agree with what several others have said here — threads on sad topics, personal tragedies and the like is something that is hard to bear, and it brings me down even seeing those subject lines. I feel bad because I cannot respond in meaningful ways and there is nothing I can do. I want to, I need to enjoy my time here and to have it be inspiring, not emotionally draining.

As far as posting jokes, news events, announcements, etc. those threads, in my opinion are much like pollution — not needed here and no value added. There are places for that: jokesforum.com for entertainment, ap.org for news, and facebook or twitter for personal announcements, and many more.

I believe that the members would understand that providing the server space and the moderator hours to attempt make this board everything to everyone is unrealistic and likely detrimental to its purpose.

Thanks for allowing me to convey my opinions, and thank you for providing a quilting forum.

kwhite

I thought this conversation was a way of gathering information so that a game plan to improve could be made. What exactly are you looking for if not an open exchange of thoughts, ideas and information?

bearisgray

as far as I can tell - the bottom line is - this is Admin's board -
and we are ALLOWED to play on it -
and Admin is being nice enough to allow us some input

if Admin is fed up with everything, he could pack this up and spend his time and money on other activities

although I really really really hope it never comes to that