Admin

I'm going to be away for a couple of days, so I won't be responding.
Please continue submitting your feedback.

Thanks.

MsSage

Yes this is BUT we are human and as humans we are social creatures so it starts out as "just a quilting" site but becomes family.

How do you think I feel I come back after being gone and post something I have shared with very few people...and have it moved..geee I felt bad and that only added to it. BUT I took the time to stop and see hey something changed and read...was I upset with Patrice NO.
Now we have this big "problem" ok I am being self centered geee did what i do bring this to a head? dang I really didnt mean to rock the boat......
I will suggest a short note hey moved your post should be here.

Dang I didnt know mare stare was moved.......Please bring it back....cuz you never know when a new one is going to be ready to start watching....

Patrice you made a very good point....What can I do to help? Here I am use me. I know I am not the most popular person here but I try to be fair and honest and upfront with everyone. I have not been nasty to anyone even when snotty comments are made to me so hey, I am not all bad LOL
Really what can I do to help?

Mousie

well, I must be completely daft...
I'm not thick skinned,...at all....
I haven't written one single word on this thread, with any particular person in mind. That is not my style. If anything, I am too accommodating, afraid to hurt ppl's feelings.
What I meant about being daft, is every time I read that someone has been nasty, etc. I think, I am on here, about once a day,...except days like today, lol, and I don't see the negativity ppl keep referring to.
That's good. thanks everybody, that is not posting negative, nasty remarks or replies. :mrgreen: I am being funny, not sarcastic.
I joke as a way of coping with life, it's who and how I am. A WHILE back, my own, style of joking kind of downward spiraled. I APOLOGIZE, for the last time. Stop beating my dead horse, lol. :mrgreen: (ok, so he's wooden :wink: )
kwhite, you have a good eye, and I had the same feeling...I thought admin invited us here, to share our views.
I have not volunteered, bc
1-I didn't hear a request for a volunteer (s)
2 - I can offer support to ppl, send blocks for things, sometimes, share a smile, yada, yada, yada...I am limited as to what I can do, other than be a good member. I am a community benefactor. Admin thought that was valid enough for a little recognition. That was very nice of him. (again)
3 - even admin does not want to be a dictator, or he wouldn't have blinked at what we, as members think. It is his board, it is his party, they are his rules, and he can do what he wants, BUT, I for one, appreciate, that he is not going to use that leverage to 'force' us into submission, or throw open the door...my way, or the highway, so to speak.
I am here, and stay here, bc of his style of running this board. He really wants it to be successful, and he values the members. We are not pawns, to keep it running. I feel validated. I will leave, when I don't feel that way anymore, and I will pm or email all my friends, if it ever comes to that. He asked for opinions, and I have shared.
I have enjoyed this thread in a let's put our heads together for a better board, kind of way. I haven't been offended by anyone...lol, so far, anyway.
I don't agree with everything I have read, but that's ok. I didn't expect to. Neither did I come here thinking, everyone would agree with me. That's ok, too. I can still shake hands, bc that's what civil ppl do. :D

patricej

i'm tickled to report i've also received several pms in the past short while from people who'd like to know if and how they can help.

it would help very much if one or two people would volunteer to moderate the General ChitChat section for us. you don't have to be a 'puter whiz to do it. we can explain anything you need to know about the specific steps for each task. the primary qualifications would be:
-you're a regular visitor to the GCC anyway
-you have attention to detail and quality control
-you promise to check the section at least each morning and each evening (say ... before or after dinner). it helps if you're willing to do this for better or for worse, in sickness and in health, while you're on vacation, and at 2am if some sicko decides to plaster pornography all over the place because you hope you can find and delete all of it before somebody has a heart attack during their morning cruise.
-you have to be prepared to accept abuse and accusations. the overwhelming majority of our members are absolutely adorable sweetypies, but a few can get pretty viscious when they don't get their own way.
-the wisdom of Solomon and the patience of Job are helpful but - c'mon - let's get real. just promise to do the best you can. :wink:

sounds pretty dire, i suppose. but the upside is that you'll meet wonderful people from around the world. you'll hear "thanks" often enough to keep you going through most of the hard times - usually just at the moment you need it the most. uncanny, but true. :P

any volunteers?

if you're unable to add such a major commitment to your daily to-do list, here are some things you can do instead:
-remember that this board is about "us". not about "you". not about "me". not about "i". or "them". it's about "us". every decision and change that's ever happened here has been a sincere attempt to serve the needs of the group.
-read ALL of the rules ... the general rules you can link to from the bottom of the page AND the special guidelines for each section.
-review ALL of the rules periodically to check for changes.
-follow ALL of the rules even if you think they're goofy. if something confuses you, just ask. we'll be happy to clear it up.
-suggestions are always welcome when they are presented logically, calmly, pleasantly, and with the needs of the group in mind. "i want", "i need", and "i don't like" are not reasons for change. only a well reasoned concensus is good reason to consider a change. (mobs with pitchforks and torches should please stay home.)
-please accept that there will always be a need for limits. respect them. don't ignore them, or test them, or search for loopholes.

what we need right now are some simple, clear suggestions we can use to redefine the limits. we tried our best to set limits that didn't embarrass anybody, or make them feel unwelcome. the whole point of being so strict and extreme was to avoid singling out any one person or type of person. so much for that idea. too many cats are now out of the bag. for each example Admin was forced to present, there's bound to be at least one member out there somewhere hurt, humiliated, and crying. that causes me more pain than the attacks on me have done.

as i read through, i gathered that Admin feels comfortable giving pet pics and stories a "go" for return to General ChitChat. clear. easy to interpret. therefore, easy to moderate.

i believe the same has been agreed upon for vacation stories and pics. again ... clear. easy to interpret. therefore, easy to moderate.

if it generates a smile it's probably safe. if it'll make us laugh, but not blush, it's probably safe - provided we can ever agree to which is the no-no notch on the blush-o-meter. (i gotta tell ya, that one gives me the willies.) :roll:

do you see where i'm headed? specific, clear suggestions. and, yes, it's ok to suggest would shouldn't be there. just, please, be diplomatic about it.

if you have some unhappy news you sincerely believe most of the members will want to hear, please send a pm to either Admin or me so we can figure out whether or not it should be posted and then present the news on your behalf. that way, we know what's going on and you don't have to worry about accidentally crossing a line even we have a hard time seeing.

let's not rush to post anything yet. let's talk some more and build our working list. (again, i stress, not written in blood or chiseled in stone. a place to start.) when Admin gets back, we can present it for his consideration and he can let us know which he approves and which he doesn't. it's just a few more days. (you can use the time to round up and scan all those pics you've been itchin' to post. :wink: )

k3n

Hi Patrice,

Thanks for that - seems very clear and reasonable to me. :D

Ducky

Patrice, you said you hear it a lot, but here it is again. Great job and THANK YOU!

Ninnie

Great job, Patrice, I can understand all of it. And it seems to be common sense!

peaceandjoy

I didn't even open this thread for a bit as I thought it was just to introduce how to use the new section ... But when I did I thought, "What? Really?" I don't know what most of it refers to.

My solution to things I don't enjoy/appreciate is to not open them. Truthfully, I rarely open jokes. That doesn't mean others aren't enjoying them. But if my time is limited, or I'm concerned about content, I just skip it and skim for other titles that are more appealing.

Help needed may or may not get opened, depending on how much time I have at that moment. There are generally lots of helpful folks here, so if I don't have time to check somewhat threads with vague titles, I know somebody else will have time and offer a solution.

Being a cat lover, I want to see/hear those stories - probably as much as many folks do the mare stare thread. That doesn't mean I think either is more or less important, it's just what is close to my heart.

All of us have depressing stories at some point. We never see our own story as the one that said too much, was too graphic, etc. Some people here don't have anyone else to share with and need to just be able to "say" what they are feeling. Again, if I don't have time/am not interested, just skip it.

Main and pictures I look at daily - sometimes more than once a day. General often gets a skim through, as do links. Occassionally the buy/sell/trade or swaps. The rest, never. But for somebody else, those threads that are more personal or chatty may be the only opportunity to "visit." I don't want them to lose that chance.

Personally, admin, I don't love the ape picture. But there was a thread not long ago that I stopped reading b/c, honestly, it was getting a little too... appreciative? ... of the old pic. And although that thread was heading into what I'd consider rude, I chose to ignore it b/c clearly others thought it was okay. If it was okay with you, I didn't feel a need to complain about it. And if it wasn't then I think you could either nicely say so in the thread and/or delete it.

I guess what I don't get is why, if people are offended in some way by a thread, don't they just ignore it? If they are unsure what a thread is, read a line or two, or a post or two, and if it's not to their taste/interest, move on.

2wheelwoman

Patrice, a big ol' THANK YOU from me as well.

I like your approach. Might I suggest that instead of agonizing over what hits where on the blush-o-meter....just announce that if it causes the moderator to need to ask themselves the question of whether or not one is appropriate, it gets deleted. When in doubt, toss it out. Having access to jokes is nice, but not a necessity or requirement or related to quilting. It's a fringe benefit, not a right. No one (but ourselves) should be appropriateness police of our own jokes and we definitely shouldn't put that burden on a volunteer moderator and then nit-pick about it. We're grownups, we know what should or shouldn't be posted in our community.

Bill'sBonBon

I have not been on this board long about a yr. I found it to be informative,funny and mighty helpful personally at times. But even with the personal problems I have had recently I didnt post them for a while because It did seem like that was all I was reading. There seemed to be more neg. and yes to tell someone I would never see what was going on and voice how I was feeling is kinda addictive in its own way. Now I just don't click the thread.
I have had some pic. deleted. Remember the Ugliest Material contest Now that was a lot of Fun. I ask Admin. He looked for it and stated Patrice probably was cleaning up. No big deal, That has to be done sometimes. Actually it should have been posted in pictures and it was in ChitChat. The board can get bogged down sometimes things have to go.

The jokes I used to post them I don't believe any were off color. But I have stopped doing that and very seldom look at any of them. Because of some of the same reasons others have stated
I do love the animals,gardens,pictures of places I will never see like Guam,spain,france. Mostly it is the quilting threads I now look at. The diary is ok but I don't have the time for it really. THE MAIN THING IS WHAT PATRICE HAS IN HER POST HERE. IF YOU READ THE RULES YOU KNOW WHAT YOU CAN AND CAN'T DO. IF IN DOUBT ASK ADMIN. I posted wrong just recently and Patrice deleted it but saved it for me I had already deleted it off my harddrive and she posted for me in the right place. My comment to her is I will learn sooner or later where it goes.Thank you Patrice.
Change is good you can't stand still, this board has gotten HUGH. With its growth new ideas are a most. But don't let us loose the fact that this is a QUILTING BOARD and that is what attracted me to it in the first place. YOU Guys keep up the good work and the ones that don't follow the rules don't have to be here. MY OPINION
BillsBonBon