Get Yer Ya-Yas Out [FR Moderating Gripe Thread]

[I Am Not A Mod]

LM here.

It's been a while since we had a thread along these lines.

I can tell from comments I am seeing in threads, on abuse reports, and in Freepmail that some people are unhappy with various policies and their implementations by the staff here.

I've seen allegations that certain factions are picked on. I've seen allegations that the moderators have killed activism. I've heard rumors that we killed Kenny, and even that we killed the radio star. I see certain personality conflicts acting up, and know that one (or both) sides in it feel that we aren't doing what we should.

So let's open this can of worms.

This thread is for making your grievances heard. If you think something stinks or is wrong, make your case here. Back it up with facts. Let the audience at large weigh in on your evidence.

I'll read the thread. Jim will too in all likelihood. So will the other moderators. Depending upon how well you make your point, and depending on if you can convince Jim, me, the other moderators, and/or the world, maybe you can change things. And if you don't, then it might make you feel better to have vented, so it won't make this thread a total loss.

I'm not going to reply to this thread for quite a while. Rather, I am going to sit back and watch to try and get a feel for the general tenor. I encourage those who are both happy and unhappy with things to particpate in this thread.

Let's rock.

[WinOne4TheGipper]

MwaHaHaHa! Gotcha!

[Catspaw]

Aren't I nuanced?

Shades of gray, baby, shades of grey.

[kjam22]

I have no complaints, and I think FR is well run. I would say that over the years some of the more colorful and entertaining posters have been banned. Some that were really interesting to read. I'm sure there is upside and downside with that.

[Dec31,1999]

You could let a few of the more articulate Liberals have their say, especially the more articulate ones. Reading good debates and flame wars sharpens everyone's skills. Many of the threads have become "preaching to the choir - feel good threads" without dissent.

Boredom will surely spell the death of FR.

[MrB]

Seems to be a recurring theme...

I and some others would like to leave the mice in play for a while.

There should be a stern warning on sign up - express your opinion, but keep it within the bounds of decency.

Leftists can't last very long without resorting to profanity - pick any post on Duh as an example.

[Mr. Silverback]

These are not gripes, but input. If you don't change it, no skin off my nose, this palce is still the most fun of any on the web.

I agree with scan58, it would be nice to use trolls as a pinata for a bit before the mods exercise SIOP Option 21-Z and nuke 'em 'till they glow. That said, if we err, it's better to err on the side of ejecting trolls early and often. If you doubt me, go over to The Opinion sometime and read the conversation boards that go with the articles. The boards are unmoderated and some of these people are just so completely stupid that they probably can't chew gum and breathe at the same time. It's nice to go over there every once in a while and make a couple of kills, but I sure wouldn't want to live there.

Also I'd like to see troll comments left as is, as an exhibit of their stupidity. If they use profanity or threats, that's one thing (maybe the "marker" where their post was could say "removed for profanity" or "removed for Hitler comparison" or "removed for threats") but if it's just something like "How can you jerks sleep at night knowing you killed 50,000 Iraqi kids for oil," I want some pinata time!

[sergeantdave]

Vacuum (n., v.) The space occupied between the two remaining neurons in a liberal's brain. (2) The thing with a long wooden handle ending in bristley things at the end that you use when you're out of vacuum bags and it's snowing and you don't feel like driving to the store because....yada, yada, yada

[Fierce Allegiance]

I can find threads in chat, i just can not access them. it's a firewall thing, thank you.

[Quilla]

I love this place too! Look what I found on another thread:

		Imaginary Foreign Leader Endorsement Caught in a Presidential race lie? I'll cover for you!	Item number: 2994305126

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[Rebelbase]

"Rebel, at least give nopardons the opportunity to weigh in."

And end up having this thread pulled?

[HairOfTheDog]

I can find threads in chat, i just can not access them. it's a firewall thing, thank you.

Huh?

[Xenalyte]

MurryMom hasn't gotten the boot.

[sergeantdave]

I can't. It's snowing outside. If I open the door snow will fly in the porch. Then I'll need to find the broom. I can't handle two problems today.

[Mr. Silverback]

John, see post 36 for an idea...And you could farm it out to EQ here or somebody else who lurks over at the DU stinkpile.

[WinOne4TheGipper]

You could let a few of the more articulate Liberals have their say, especially the more articulate ones.

The problem with that is that liberals, like monkeys, tend to throw feces. See the post by the Kerry 2004 guy who did nothing but repeat "Bush is Hitler" over and over. They've got their (rotten) banana over at the site that is ranked about 4000 (IIRC) spots below FR (Web Search stats).

[Xenalyte]

Billy Crystal, and whatever guest he could con into the sketch.

[Pan_Yans Wife]

See 147! You need to get one of those wooden handle things, for cleaning up your daughter's hair. :)

[StarCMC]

OMG - that is HYSTERICAL!!! Thanks for sharing -- may I borrow it???? I'd like to post in the Canteen...

[Andrewksu]

The emoticons, or whatever have to go. They are very childish and give the look of DU. An occasional cartoon or relevant/humorous photo is just fine, but this is a discussion board, not an AOL chat room.

Thanks and great job making FR great.

[Sabertooth]

LM, a few weeks back you told me that you thought the effort in January to ratchet down the tensions on the Illegal Alien threads had been fairly successful, and I concurred.

That's still my impression, and I wonder if it's still yours?

If so, then a thread to that effect probably should have been posted. It didn't occur to me to mention it to you at the time, but an acknowledgement of the efforts of a lot of people in the forum to change things for the better would be a good thing.