Posted on 10/26/2009 4:32:01 PM PDT by Admin Moderator
This is a public service announcement from your friendly neighborhood Admin Moderators (Sidebar gave us some attitude so we shoved him in the closet for a while. He never recovered from the Yacht incident) For a while, we have noticed some things happening that we need your help with. The Free Republic community is strong; we are almost a family, albeit very dysfunctional at times. Like any community, we have new members joining us daily. Unfortunately, the air of suspicion and the desire to keep things “the way they are” has fostered a feeling of distrust with new members. Almost every day, we see new members join, then, because of comments of suspicion, they often don’t return. For any community to thrive, it must grow. Because of this, we are asking for your help. Here are some important things you should know:
The Internet has changed greatly since Free Republic first started. When we formed, few people had their own websites, now, everyone has their own blog. With this, there is an attitude change where someone who doesn’t understand how our community works may be more interested in self-promotion than we have been used to in the past. We don’t want to change the overall feel of this site- it is about our shared values, not about self promotion, however, we don’t want to drive people away simply because they link to their own blog. There are blog “pimps” who want nothing more than to promote their own sites, but for most people, it is simply how they start out sharing their thoughts on a matter. Encourage these members to take part in existing discussions.
Many new members may not communicate well what they believe and it gives the appearance they are not 100% kosher in their Conservative beliefs. This may have nothing to do with their Conservative credentials but simply how they are communicating their beliefs or how the media/pop culture has told them what to think. Be an example and discuss what you think is wrong. A liberal troll’s true colors will reveal themselves while a new member who is honest, but may not communicate well, may learn from the conversation.
Remember, how you respond to a topic not only reflects your thoughts, but also is a reflection of the community and Conservative values. We need to be an example of positive conservative values when responding to members, especially new ones. As mods, we make a strong attempt to screen all new members. Every new sign-up goes through a period where their posts are reviewed. This helps us eliminate most trolls, porn and commercial spammers, and those who don’t fit in with our Conservative values. This isn’t a perfect system, but it does help us make sure that by the time a new member reaches the community, there is a greater chance this person is the type we want around. Some slip through, yes, and you can always help us by hitting the abuse button. (of course, we do let some world class morons through every once in a while as “Live Chow”- after all, the kitties have to have toys.)
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With all that said, we need to grow. We need to be far more welcoming to new members and guide them into how to use our community best. With this said, we are issuing a challenge to our long time Freeper family. We would like to start up a ‘welcome wagon’ type of ping list or group whose job it is to welcome new members, show them the ropes, and guide them through our community. This could be as simply as giving new members a kind welcome, guiding them to how to post topics or replies, or just making the experience pleasant.
As this is your community, we would like your thoughts, ideas, and most importantly, for some of you to step up and help us with this.
We are passing the ball to you. What do you think?
If I knew anything I probably wouldn’t be able to say anything. As it is, all I know is about our next patrol and a tentative one after that.
As I said, I’m guessing based on general knowledge. Could be totally dead wrong.
Better.
I am indeed. I’m on duty. It’s extremely boring. Tomorrow me, Melton, IT3, and probably BM3 are going to see the Sherlock Holmes movie with that one guy who played Tony Stark. It looks like they may have turned an intellectual thriller into a good action movie, and Robert Downey Jr. is a good choice of actor for the character of Holmes. I’m looking forward to it.
We watched Monty Python, Men in Black II, and part of National Treasure. The last I got tired of and turned off. The plot is absurd. Now we’re watching Billy Madison. It’s silly.
Oh, you are, but I’m not telling where I’m going. You’ll just have to find out when I get there. Heh. Expect a repeat of the “Hi! I’m in Vancouver.” call.
I know lots of good poetry.
I be nice!
I think Squantos be nice!
Everyting kool.
We just karrying on.
Being silly.
I love
http://www.icanhascheeseburgers.com
if that’s the right spelling of it. LOL.
Jeremy Brett is the only Sherlock Holmes worth mentioning, may he rest in peace.
“Billy Madison” looked silly. Get some sleep, I’m going to.
That’s where I get the daily LOLcat. It’s a tradition ... although sometimes I can’t get to the computer until late morning, and then everyone feels deprived.
Understand.
I was E-5 Radioman USN.
Be safe!
I can’t go to bed until 10. And I think Robert Downey Jr. will be a good Sherlock Holmes. He pulled off Tony Stark no problem, and they’re fairly similar characters.
Roger that.
10:00 there is awfully late here. I’ll probably have to feed Frank again when I get upstairs, and Ash will think it’s breakfast time already.
I like Robert Downey Jr. It might be interesting.
And good night, stay out of trouble, send the Sionnsars a note on paper with letters and all!
LOL.
I think I’ll go there and get my kitteh fix before my shower and bed.
Listening to the tail end of C2C by stream link delayed . . .
Have a blessed rest when you get to it!
I know lots of bad poetry, and I can make up more.
Elderly nuns....yeah boy....that’s the REAL hotbed! LOL!
How about a bad novel or short story?
Bad Hemingway
“He could smell the wet dog smell of the waiters uniform as he placed the fish on the table without saying anything. He knew that he had offended the waiter by ordering the fish. There had always been the steak between them, especially in the Fall, when it had been accompanied by much red wine. But now there was the cholesterol to think about. He knew it had been high last Fall but the wine had made him forget and he remembered how the waiter had joked about it. He had even ordered the steak rare then to please the waiter and the waiter had nodded knowing it was not to be talked about. Jake had talked about it though. His LDL count was high but there would be no fish for Jake. Jake had ordered his steak in a loud voice so that others had turned but the waiter had touched Jake’s sleeve making what he had done all right. He thought about talking to Jake about the cholesterol but he knew that Jake too was afraid and could only talk about it after much red wine. He wondered what would happen to Jake when he came to realize that the wine was bad for the blood pressure. He knew that Jake would drink the wine anyway and that he would take much pleasure in it. It was only afterwards that it would become bad.
LOL! I can smell a wet dog just reading this ;-).
LOL, thanks!
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