Your Attention Please [Breaking News and WoD Flamewars]

[Admin Moderator]

Since my last vanity announcement on keywords went so swimmingly (it ended up with something like 5000 keywords added to it) I thought a great idea would be to throw some propane on some other fires with a vanity.

Breaking news is being abused again, big time. This goes in cycles, with sometimes people being responsible, but other times people not being very responsible.

We are in one of the not-very time periods.

Please, do not post something in Breaking News because you think it is something you want people to see. Place something in Breaking News only if it is

1. Something the networks would interrupt their programming to say,
2. The networks would interrupt their programming to say if they weren't overwhelmingly liberal,
3. Something that honestly would (not should, would) be of interest to majority of self-described conservatives
4. Official chapter announcements

Or things along those lines. Don't consider that a list of rules, but of guidelines. But act as if the guidelines matter, please. And flame the heck out of people that don't. And provide appropriate feedback to people who don't.

Some things that are never breaking news: Stories that have been posted before, stories that are over a day old, opinion vanities, freep this poll, or anything from the op-ed section of any newspaper.

Now, on to the WoD [War on Drugs] flamewars. There are a few problems with them. The flaming on them is tremendous. It is wrong for several reasons, and it should stop and the first thing we are going to do to try to get them to stop is to make a request for them to stop. If you feel the need to flame someone for something they say on one of these threads, do this (and yes, it involves a lot more work than just hitting reply, but such is life):

1. Post a copy of the article to the Smokey Backroom
2. Ping your flamee to that copy.
3. Go to town over there and keep the crap off the main forum.

Instead of hitting abuse on someone on a WoD thread right away (unless it is extremely bad), please just advise them to do what I am saying here- take it to the backroom. Link them to this if need be. And if you don't want to get into a flamewar, leave it at that. If you do, then join them in the backroom and have at it. The WoD flamewars overwhelm the latest posts page with a neverending sequence of posts that are just mindless insults. Please, spare us, and don't try to put it on the moderators to determine who fired the first shot. There are rarely clean hands here, and no matter what we do one side or another is going to complain.

We now return you to your regularly scheduled Freeping. I expect no fewer than 500 taunts at us in the keywords here before this is over. Thank you, and God Bless. ;-)

[bvw]

Peace and War have different rules.

[FreeTheHostages]

Timesink, I'm going to way in publicly on this one because you're a great addition to FR.

Especially if you're "flaming" the "report abuse" button, a suspension was probably *good* for you too. I think what happens on any given day here -- by which I mean all of this -- doesn't matter *that* much, Timesink: it's still just cyberspace.

In short, if you want a reality check, I think you should take things less seriously and the Admin had a point. I know you're annoyed at the Admin right now, but they HAVE to be right at least about the "Some thicker skin might help." C'mon, so you were suspended. It's not this scarlett "S" anyone's going to put on your forehead.

In Shipping News, a great fiction author Annie Proux has a great line: she refers to her protagonist as having a "child's sense of morality." It was a compliment. But for the protaganist, it was also a weight. In that book, which I highly commend, it meant believing that if you're good good things happen and if you're bad bad things happen, and being shocked and outraged if bad things happen when you're good. I almost admire people who retain that kind of moral outrage. Call me cynical or call me aged, but I find it hard to get shocked or outraged or care so much.

A beer. I wish I could upload you a beer.

[MrLeRoy]

A beer. I wish I could upload you a beer.

Pusher!

[robertpaulsen]

"so that the average new-commer doesn't think this is some pro-big government chat site."

Hah! I don't know how that would happen, seeing that 98% of the drug threads are posted by your side, with sources like High Times, MPP, and MAPinc.

[FreeTheHostages]

I know this will sound like I'm being obsequious, but I just do love the initial post on this thread. I think it's very well written.

I don't think I've ever posted breaking news that was determined later not to be that, but I shall curb the vanities. Lately I've been preferring to flame others for doing vanity, oops, I mean provide appropriate guidance, because these vanities *do* clutter my ability/desire to check the non-breaking news threads.

But, hey, my point is, that was fun to read and well-written. Please write again!

[BOBTHENAILER]

I promise not to ever post anything.....I always seem to hit your breaking news rules the wrong way.

Abject, craven apologies for all past transgressions.

[FreeTheHostages]

You're just officially scaring me. Please, I'm begging you, as your good FReeper friend, please please go get drunk. Unless you are now, of course. Hee hee: friends don't let friends post drunk!

{{{Timesink}}}

You have this great sense of humor. Whoever stole it, I wish they would give it back *immediately.*

[FreeTheHostages]

ping to this wild, woolly, strange, but ultimately (at least in the beginning) fun thread. read the opening post, it's kinda interesting

[FreeTheHostages]

"you might as well have John change the software so that the reporter gets the decision bounced back to them in Freepmail"

. . .

or not. You know, it's their website. They don't have to rearrange their *entire lives* to make it or themselves *perfectly fair.* What are you still doing here!? I *insist,* FRiend, that you repare to the nearest Pub.

shoo, shoo!

[ofMagog]

But, don't forget to turn right when you get to Oklahoma City and when you get to Dallas check out the Alamo and visit the Steps of the Cross at Graceland.

[babaloo999]

You mean 'keyword abuse' wasn't the intent of this thread?
Heh, it's still not up to a full page of keywords yet,
but the WOD battle is/was fairly lively.

[Timesink]

I *insist,* FRiend, that you repare to the nearest Pub.

You need money to go to a pub.

[FreeTheHostages]

I'm not expert, but I have always assumed that by "anonymous" they mean you can make it so that the person you are clicking abuse on doesn't know that you complained. (Which by the way isn't something I don't do: if I click abuse, and it's rare, I definitely put my name down.)

I've never assumed it means the Admins don't know who you are. I figure they do. Who cares? LOL -- I figure they probably have a whole file on me and when my posts have been removed (I'm pretty sure almost always at my request -- I'm my own worst critic on that abuse button, LOL).

So who cares who has what file or about anonymity. Re "personal records" and "official files," I think the only permanent "official file" on me is the one they write on my gravestone.

[FreeTheHostages]

Timesink, I will personally send you $80 by Paypal if you will use that to (1) go get a drink and (2) take a two-day break from posting. Deal? I'm serious, honey. Deal? I know $80 is a lot, but I figure you may need *2 days* of drinking at the rate you're burning here.

[robertpaulsen]

"Peace and War have different rules."

And different Constitutions, obviously.

[headsonpikes]

I wouldn't have your job even if it came with young women, old whiskey, and bags of hydro. ;^)

You guys must have hides of steel. Frankly, I'd lash out at some of these whinging whelps....in my trademark manner.

Of course, that's why I'm still only 'headsonpikes' in name...you get to live the dream!

:^)

heads

[bvw]

Same Constitution.

[Timesink]

Thank you, but I'm not taking your money. That's just ... unconservative. And makes me feel like a bum.

[FreeTheHostages]

LOL, OK, I'm willing to negotiate. You *need* a drink. Will you take $40? That's my final offer. Friends in the real world, when they pick up a bar tab, could spend that much. So it's not "bumming." But the deal is that you *must* use it on at least some beer and to take a 48 break from this place.

Do we have a deal?

[FreeTheHostages]

"I wouldn't have your job even if it came with young women, old whiskey, and bags of hydro. ;^) "

LOL. True. But it's clear how they do it: what a great sense of humor is revealed in that initial post. I know, I sound like I'm totally sucking up to them, but that first post in this thread is *funny.*