Actually Liz, I think Scratch's point is that the decision is yours, rather than putting all the onus on Shades.

Not that I wish you to be anything other than a full moderator and board spankstress...

Usually when people refer to the 'wisdom of solomon' it is in reference to a wise decision. Shades' decision was not wise--which is why I questioned it's use in this instance.




I don't see that a handbook will be necessary. As far as I recall, this happened one time. Most people would not be so trusting or foolhardy as to post their private information on a board like this--and especially not to do it as a kind of dare. After what happened to Stem, I think others have been warned not to expect help from the board owner or to underestimate the nastiness of some posters here.


What you are missing is what I posted about the 'universal rules' listed on this board. They cannot be 'universal' if they do not apply to the whole board and per Shades's own 'solomonic' ruling, they do not apply in the Telestial kingdom--specifically, numbers 7 and 8.

Notwithstanding your penchant for hyperbole, Stem did not 'plaster' his personal details all over the board. His IRL info was trotted out and published once again because Stem asked Chris to clarify some things that he said. Because of his audacity to question a critic, the MD bully brigade descended to take the heat off Chris and put it on Stem. I don't think Chris even wanted or needed the help, but they refuse to allow sincere dialogue if they feel it threatens their positions or their people.




That is your 'guess', but it is not fact. We also do not know if the info. he gave was fake. Most likely it was real but with some silly things thrown in to taunt those who were taunting him. I think we all agree that it was foolhardy of him to challenge them--and hopefully it stands as a lesson to those who would underestimate the meanness of some people here.
Stem has been on this board for a while and he was over at MADB as well. I never perceived him as a troll. However, this board brings out the worst in people, partly because they tend to lower themselves to the level of discourse around them. And it can bring out a very ugly side of some that is not seen in other places--Papa is a good example of someone who had a meltdown on this board, which was totally out of character.

Personally, if this is the way you want to interact with eachother, fine. I hope Stem comes to the conclusion that this is no place for him. I hope he won't even continue to read, since I'm certain there are those who will continue to taunt him with his IRL info--since it's allowed here.

Then, let me be clear. I will not resign. That is what Scratch wants, and what Scratch has wanted for some time. I am one of the few posters who refuses to either be intimidated by him, or enamored of him.

If Shades feels that I am not doing a good job, or wants me to quit moderating, then that is his choice. Frankly, I think I am a damned good moderator, and if he chooses to let me go, it is his loss.

You're right, the decision is Liz's--and I believe she's made it.

Do you really think Dr. Scratch wants to spare Shades from having to remove Liz?

Are we talking about the same Dr. Scratch, because the 'Scratch' here at MD takes pleasure in the suffering and discomfort of others.

You got it, Alter Idem!

Thanks for the support, sweetie!

I wasn't thinking about the mods I was thinking about the people spending so much time attacking. Liz I'm not blaming you, you are really the mod who does the most. I know when I reported on Monday, Shades was on the board, you were as well and eventually EA. Things started happening on the second page of the thread on ..Monday. Tuesday I reported again ..different posts. It wasn't until the 7th page that anything got moved. I think your focus at the time was IRL. Posting IRL info as Scratch did was off topic. If the issue was only IRL and the ruling by Shades is currently that those posts should be moved to telestial, well the rules were already there for doing that..blatantly off topic posts should or could justifiably be move. But well before IRL info posts were many pages of off-topic attack posts which you moved tuesday night. That's a lot of posts ..and it's not as if Shades EA & yourself weren't on. EA and Shades would likely never have moved anything..because it's stem and they've not ever given any indication they care about him. . But if it's something or someone they care about or don't like they can act pretty darn quick...which of course indicates bias.

Take for example EA. There was a thread titled Dr. DCP Discusses Dr. Scratch on the MAD Board. Shades and EA..are not likely to have any problem with posts criticizing DCP...they will err on looking the other way. JG writes a post and says

viewtopic.php?p=515048#p515048

Could someone please dumb this whole thing down into terms that a nevermo Jersey Girl can understand and please tell me why the f*** this is important?
Please.

And it got moved by EA pretty darn quick..her post alone...because it was considered off-topic. It's okay to go on for 7 pages writing lengthy posts attacking and goading stem before anything is done..and supposedly not noticed ..but a one-liner questioning why a thread critical of DCP was immediately noticed and moved.

No more posts from me on this today.

Well, that's your opinion, and your opinion doesn't involved a perfect parallel with the Biblical exemplum in any case. So, yes, you were being pedantic.




Then obviously you are not paying very close attention. Because stem has put the info out there, dared other people to do their worst, voluntarily excised it from one post while leaving it up in the quotations of others, and in this very thread continued to identify himself by either his first or last name, all while he bellyaches about people abusing his personal information.

But, it must all be as simple as you contend. No one could possibly have any reason to be confused by his perfectly consistent behavior.




Wow! Congratulations! You have discovered an inconsistency. Of course, Shades said this decision was temporary, so we have yet to see what the permanent situation will be. As per stem and his trolling, I thought this decision was indeed wise.



No, he just placed his full name, including the middle name, the ages of his kids, and other impertinent details about himself, including where he has private piercings, on a public discussion board and taunted everyone to do their worst. If he is not a prankster, he is an idiot.

Then he removes said information from exactly the one post where he initially offered it, while leaving it all over the rest of the thread. Then, as he continues to moan about how mean everyone is to bandy about this information that continues to be available on the board to everyone, he repeatedly refers to himself by either his first or last name.

ARE YOU FOLLOWING THIS?

DO YOU FEEL THE LEAST BIT SILLY ABOUT BEING PUNKED?

Pot, meet kettle.

Yawn.

That just isn't true, Liz. All I'm asking here is that we not have to deal with volatility or a lack of even-handedness in the moderating. You yourself said that you felt compelled to apologize to Shades in the wake of your blow-up on this thread. And let's face facts: this isn't the first time you've done something like this. It's not the fifth time; it's not the 10th time; it's not the 20th. While I wouldn't say that instability *defines* your moderatorial practice, I would say that, out of all the moderators, you are unquestionably the most volatile. I don't intend this as a put-down; I don't mean for this to detract from all the other things you've done on behalf of the board. That said, can you at least assure us that you'll stay out of things when you start to get too emotional? Is that really asking too much?



Well, like I said: I'm sure that everyone here--heck, even LDST, I bet--applauds you for your behind-the-scenes tech work. I'm just confused why you can't just do that. Do you personally enjoy having the ability to lash out at people in red font, and/or to issue suspensions? You said earlier that you think this is "thankless," and yet now you seem to be saying that the only way you'll walk away from this "thankless, stupid" job is if you are torn from it, kicking and screaming. Why not just leave the bannings and warnings to the other 3-4? (Is Scottie still a mod?)

My point here is not to put anyone on the spot, or to try and make anyone feel bad. I'm just wondering if something can be done about the kinds of outbursts from you that I cited above. You apologized, you know? Wouldn't you prefer a situation where that didn't have to happen? Maybe you feel that nothing can be done? I.e., that if we want your services in the tech deparment, then we're simply going to have to put up these occasional outbursts, and your ability to suspend people at will, and if anyone doesn't like it, tough S.?

Why are we having a conversation about Liz's moderating?

To what end?

I would guess that we are lucky to have Liz for a moderator, inasmuch as her friendships across the spectrum are one of the few things that bring a sense of balance to the place.

MDB may not get any credit for that over at the MADhouse, but it seems to me to have a real positive impact.

Furthermore, she has been there for me on more than one occasion.

Thank you, Kish.

And, Scratch, you not saying you are trying to "put anyone on the spot or feel bad" is b***s***.

I have apologized for the tenor of my post, which Shades accepted. And that apology was sincere. I will honor my commitment to not post in that tenor again.

However, I do not apologize for my stance. And Shades didn't ask me to.

Furthermore, I did NOT suspend anyone. You are acting like I hand out suspensions right and left, which is also b***s***.

You are pissed because I have suspended YOU on more than one occasion, and guess what? SHADES BACKED IT. You broke the rules on those occasions. If Shades had NOT backed my decisions in those instances, you would not have been suspended for the time frames you were, and I wouldn't still be a Moderator here.

You are pissed because, when I did suspend you, and you attempted to circumvent your suspensions with a sock puppet, I blocked your ISP so your ass couldn't read the board during your suspension, either. And you know what? SHADES BACKED ME ON THAT ONE, TOO BECAUSE YOU WERE BREAKING THE RULES OF THE BOARD.

Karma is a bitch, Scratch. Live with it.

I have an idea, Alter Idem. In 50,000 words or less, explain precisely why stemelbow gets treated with utter contempt on this board, while believing Mormons like consiglieri, mercyngrace, Don Bradley, George Miller, and David Bokovy (when he drops by) generally get treated with respect, even by people who disagree with their beliefs (I'm excluding allegedly believing Mormons like bcspace and Droopy, who do treat the aforementioned with utter contempt).

Also, regarding "level of discourse," take your best guess at how many people have lost faith in the LDS Church because of MADB/MD&D, versus how many people have lost faith in the Church because of this board. Just a ballpark estimate.

+1000

Is this topic really worth 18 pages people? Seriously, enough is enough.

I'm sorry. I need to run to the pharmacy to renew my clomipramine prescription.

Damn that is gross.

You don't like my Stemelbow impersonation?

No wonder I wanted it to end before it began.

The answer to that question is obvious. You just provided it in what you did to my post above.

If an LDS poster questions or disagrees or upsets the status quo on this board, they will be treated with ridicule and contempt. As long as they do not engage in serious discussion, question the luminaries on the board or too strongly 'defend' the LDS faith, they are accepted and even treated well. But, if they become an irritant, they will be followed around; pestered, prodded, goaded and attacked at times by certain posters here, until they leave.



Okay, this is off-topic, and I'm not sure why you are asking me, but I'll try to answer.

First, if people believe they 'lose their faith' because of their associations or information they received on a message board, that's not entirely true. They don't live on the board--they have a real life with real associations and experiences. It's clear to me that there is more involved. However, I do believe that message boards can influence a person in the process of leaving or entering the faith.

This is my experience and it's been a while, because I don't post regularly here or at MADB anymore. When I was at MADB, many times, I would see new 'LDS' posters, who, if they were doubting or had questions about their faith, would often be treated suspiciously, labeled 'trolls', dismissed and usually ended up getting banned.

By that time, they'd already found this board and had settled in and so they would usually continue their exit out of the church here--you can't disagree that's the desire of many on this board--to bring 'souls' away from the LDS faith. Many have said that the MADB board helped 'push' them out of the church. I don't doubt it, though I would question just how much they were integrated into the church when they were at MADB; they probably didn't need much prodding.

I have warned some to leave the MADB board and I have not encouraged my friends or acquaintances to post there. I also do not encourage anyone to post here--and I've suggested to some that they leave, such as Stem.

You don't know me Darth; while I have a strong testimony of the gospel of Jesus Christ, I don't have one of the MADB board. Once I'd spent some time there and saw the problems, I couldn't ignore them. But this board is worse when it comes to personal attacks, profanity and vulgarity--as well as the general tone of resentment, hatred and ridicule of LDS individuals and the LDS church in general. So, my answer is that while the MADB board caused damage to some, MD finished them off. I don't have any data to give a ball park number or even an estimate.

Liz, you're just plain wrong. My issue is with your tendency to flip out and cross boundaries in terms of your moderating authority. It's as simple as that. But, as you've said, you apologized to Shades (though it seems to me that the people you threatened are equally deserving of your apologies), and so that's that. So, I see no need to keep harping back and forth.

Also, FWIW: I've never been unable to read the board. You may have attempted to block my ISP, but it must not have worked, because I've always been able to read. Maybe this can be of use to you in your tech work. Just an FYI.