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.)
_____________________________________________
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?
You could always use protection of some kind.
(Sorry. I need to wash my mind out with soap!)
What kind of soap do you recommend?
Just out of idle curiosity, mind you.
Much distraction right now. There seems to be a coup underway in Iran. (And just after I learned that, our Iranian hairdresser called to wish us a Happy New Year).
I must say, she looks extremely ship-shape and tidy. Excellent paint work.
LMBO!! (for real ;-)
)
“I am SO never getting on a plane with this carpola going on.”
It is a bit unnerving to see a muslim fed. airport employee going over a 65 year old nun with a wand........(another thread)
Ivory, because it’s so pure. *snort*
The Mellon was commissioned in 1967; they’ve done excellent work on her.
Good photo - it looks cold! I don’t see any visible rust, though!
I’ll say! So many terrorist acts have been committed by elderly nuns, retired Navy wives from Florida, and infants under a year old. We have to be very careful about those!
I noticed the ructions in Iran. Let us know if anything actually *happens* that makes a difference.
It was actually comparatively warm — up around 50F or so. There is rust (inevitably) but not a lot and there is painting and other work going on.
Lots of painting, according to Anoreth! It was 50-odd here today, too. Still very muddy from the downpours on Christmas.
It looks pretty big, from the news I'm reading and the videos I've seen. Mousavi's nephew believe dead, Khamenei airlifted to a military base, which means Ahmadinejad is in serious trouble. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dtzjRh5DCKY shows a crowd storming a hanging despite police firing at them, attacking the truck which was the mobile platform used in the hanging, then cutting down two men from the gallows.
It helps that LoM can translate what's being said.
We are praying...
We've been having an unusually dry and cold winter here. Blue sky and bright sun for days in a row. Very unusual.
But at least it's not good moss-growing weather.
You know what would be a money maker?
“I flew through Detroit Airport and Survived” t-shirts.
Happy New Year everyone. :-)
I would have a huge pile of those, I’ve been through DTW so many times. In fact, my first-ever flight departed from DTW.
Best wishes to all in Iran. I’ll make it my prayer intention for the night.
Well, what ever you do, try not to fly through there when terrorists are trying to blow planes up on arrival, OK?
Did you have a nice Christmas?
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.