The issue of "balance" on MormonDiscussions.com

[_Dr. Shades]

The following was originally meant to be a response within the "Thanks to PP!" thread, but I think it's of enough interest that it deserves its own thread.

First off, THANK YOU to Polygamy Porter and to Julie for evangelizing MormonDiscussions on the old TribTalk religion forum (whatever that was)! As "out of my misery" stated, the more, the merrier.

A couple of our new participants made some comments that deserve to be elaborated upon:

I am not good with a tight rope around me.

You won't have a tightrope around you on this message board, that's for sure. All we ask is that you keep your comments forum-appropriate ("R"-rated material in the Telestial Forum, "G"-rated material in the Celestial Forum, etc.).

Pesky can vent all he wants and not be banned all of a sudden without warning!

That's correct. It would almost take an act of God to get yourself banned from here. So far, not a single human has ever been banned--only spam-bots.

Closely related to this, your posts won't be deleted, either (unless you're a spam-bot, in which case you're not reading this anyway). You may find some swear words edited out if they're made in the wrong forum, but that's about it. You never need to worry about the time you take typing up a post being for nothing.

Similarly, you won't find any thread closures. You get to talk about whatever it is you want to talk about for as long as you like.

Now, getting to the bread-and-butter of this post, "why me" elaborated on some of his concerns:

This is where Dr. Shade's problem will begin to show itself. If the board lacks LDS a few posters and is overweighted with critics, the board will become one more haven for critics with the LDS posters getting the heave oh due to climate change or migrating away to happier fields. . . It is not easy to get a healthy balance and keep the subject or board civil and balanced. . . The mix is still good. But if the critics begin to outweigh the LDS and the LDS are surrounded by the critics and haranged...well.... this is where the skill of Shades will need to come in.

It seems he isn't alone in his concern:

I see you share my exact apprehensions.

Okay, here's the deal regarding the "balance" between critics and believing Mormons on this board:

Over on MA&D, critics were given the boot in order to create a balance between them and believing Mormons. Someone said in another thread that culling critics is acceptable over there because more will appear to take their place.

Since that's the case, it's clear that over on MA&D, the participants exist to serve the message board. AT MORMONDISCUSSIONS.COM, IT'S THE EXACT OPPOSITE: THE MESSAGE BOARD EXISTS TO SERVE THE PARTICIPANTS!

Unlike ZLMB and MA&D, I'm not going to spend time worrying about any sort of balance, 'cause the moment you try to curtail one side to attract the other, that's the moment when the specter of favoritism rears its ugly head. I refuse to do that. People will either find the open, unrestricted environment here to be to their liking or they won't. Whoever shows up, shows up. Although there appear to be more disbelievers here at the present time than believers, I'm not going to lose sleep over it. For all I know, a believer will invite all of his friends tomorrow and we'll become a staunchly pro-Mormon board by next week. THAT'S FINE WITH ME; I still won't reduce one side's freedoms to benefit another's.

Yes, I was very serious. I have seen it happen and it happened to me. I post a comment and 12 critics respond and since it is impossible to answer to all, I got flak from the administration for not answering posters....then, the banning for causing trouble.

I must point out that you meant "posted a coment," not "post a comment." On this message board, you'll never get flak from the administration for not answering posters. Nor will you be banned for "causing trouble."

I just wanted to be certain that our newcomers know that "why me" was referring to another message board, not this one.

And it could happen here, if shades is not careful. A board like this needs to have a certain mix of LDS and critics posters and the balance needs to be good. If the critics outnumber the LDS two to one and the critics play wolf...well....the LDS will move on in my opinion.

There's a right way and a wrong way to go about this. Here's the right way: If people want a balance between critics and believers, the answer is to go out and INVITE believers to come here. Mister Scratch has already said as much. BE PROACTIVE.

Hopefully most people reading this think that the MormonDiscussions philosophy, as outlined above, is the best way to run a message board. If you disagree with any of the above, please post a reply and tell us why.

[_Julie]

The following was originally meant to be a response within the "Thanks to PP!" thread, but I think it's of enough interest that it deserves its own thread.

First off, THANK YOU to Polygamy Porter and to Julie for evangelizing MormonDiscussions on the old TribTalk religion forum (whatever that was)! As "out of my misery" stated, the more, the merrier.

A couple of our new participants made some comments that deserve to be elaborated upon:

I am not good with a tight rope around me.

You won't have a tightrope around you on this message board, that's for sure. All we ask is that you keep your comments forum-appropriate ("R"-rated material in the Telestial Forum, "G"-rated material in the Celestial Forum, etc.).

Pesky can vent all he wants and not be banned all of a sudden without warning!

That's correct. It would almost take an act of God to get yourself banned from here. So far, not a single human has ever been banned--only spam-bots.

Closely related to this, your posts won't be deleted, either (unless you're a spam-bot, in which case you're not reading this anyway). You may find some swear words edited out if they're made in the wrong forum, but that's about it. You never need to worry about the time you take typing up a post being for nothing.

Similarly, you won't find any thread closures. You get to talk about whatever it is you want to talk about for as long as you like.

Now, getting to the bread-and-butter of this post, "why me" elaborated on some of his concerns:

This is where Dr. Shade's problem will begin to show itself. If the board lacks LDS a few posters and is overweighted with critics, the board will become one more haven for critics with the LDS posters getting the heave oh due to climate change or migrating away to happier fields. . . It is not easy to get a healthy balance and keep the subject or board civil and balanced. . . The mix is still good. But if the critics begin to outweigh the LDS and the LDS are surrounded by the critics and haranged...well.... this is where the skill of Shades will need to come in.

It seems he isn't alone in his concern:

I see you share my exact apprehensions.

Okay, here's the deal regarding the "balance" between critics and believing Mormons on this board:

Over on MA&D, critics were given the boot in order to create a balance between them and believing Mormons. Someone said in another thread that culling critics is acceptable over there because more will appear to take their place.

Since that's the case, it's clear that over on MA&D, the participants exist to serve the message board. AT MORMONDISCUSSIONS.COM, IT'S THE EXACT OPPOSITE: THE MESSAGE BOARD EXISTS TO SERVE THE PARTICIPANTS!

Unlike ZLMB and MA&D, I'm not going to spend time worrying about any sort of balance, 'cause the moment you try to curtail one side to attract the other, that's the moment when the specter of favoritism rears its ugly head. I refuse to do that. People will either find the open, unrestricted environment here to be to their liking or they won't. Whoever shows up, shows up. Although there appear to be more disbelievers here at the present time than believers, I'm not going to lose sleep over it. For all I know, a believer will invite all of his friends tomorrow and we'll become a staunchly pro-Mormon board by next week. THAT'S FINE WITH ME; I still won't reduce one side's freedoms to benefit another's.

Yes, I was very serious. I have seen it happen and it happened to me. I post a comment and 12 critics respond and since it is impossible to answer to all, I got flak from the administration for not answering posters....then, the banning for causing trouble.

I must point out that you meant "posted a coment," not "post a comment." On this message board, you'll never get flak from the administration for not answering posters. Nor will you be banned for "causing trouble."

I just wanted to be certain that our newcomers know that "why me" was referring to another message board, not this one.

And it could happen here, if shades is not careful. A board like this needs to have a certain mix of LDS and critics posters and the balance needs to be good. If the critics outnumber the LDS two to one and the critics play wolf...well....the LDS will move on in my opinion.

There's a right way and a wrong way to go about this. Here's the right way: If people want a balance between critics and believers, the answer is to go out and INVITE believers to come here. Mister Scratch has already said as much. BE PROACTIVE.

Hopefully most people reading this think that the MormonDiscussions philosophy, as outlined above, is the best way to run a message board. If you disagree with any of the above, please post a reply and tell us why.

Dr. Shades,
I'm not sure if you read the posts where I mentioned LDS from Tribtalk who may be comming aboard this forum at my encouragement to them to try it out. I even mentioned a few names to watch for. I also stated that I like balance as well, it keeps thiings fair and much more interesting. I also have noticed right off that the LDS on this forum seem a lot more at ease and things are more civil. I believe what Cooper meant was that it was difficult to speak at all without fear of things being taken as attacks, when they seldom were meant that way (like walking on eggshells). Most posters from tribtalk were very civil and if you can handle PP, you can handle anyone of us. :)
I hope you go back and read some of what I posted and that things sound a little better than what you expected.
Regards,
Julie

[_Jersey Girl]

Dr. Shades,

Thank you for your remarks about balance. It seems as though people are accustomed to having a board manipulated by admin in order to effect "balance". More than ever, based on your opening post, I know that this board is in good and confident hands.

Jersey Girl

[_Bond...James Bond]

Dr. Shades,
I'm not sure if you read the posts where I mentioned LDS from Tribtalk who may be comming aboard this forum at my encouragement to them to try it out. I even mentioned a few names to watch for. I also stated that I like balance as well, it keeps thiings fair and much more interesting. I also have noticed right off that the LDS on this forum seem a lot more at ease and things are more civil. I believe what Cooper meant was that it was difficult to speak at all without fear of things being taken as attacks, when they seldom were meant that way (like walking on eggshells). Most posters from tribtalk were very civil and if you can handle PP, you can handle anyone of us. :)
I hope you go back and read some of what I posted and that things sound a little better than what you expected.
Regards,
Julie

Julie,

I'm fairly sure Shades isn't talking at you or any of the new people. Alot of that was meant for the older posters and the rest was an introduction to the board. Things have been a little tense lately and a State of the Board was needed :) You haven't said anything bad (yet) so don't worry. You're golden so far.

;) Bond

[_Cooper Walton]

The tight rope I was talking about was indeed about how I was feeling over at Trib Talk.

Utah had taken the time to answer one of my many questions but I didn't feel the freedom to respond back the way I wanted. I didn't want the whole board to fold up because we were talking about Religious topics concerning a story that concerned Religious content. Although it was a current event.

You know the old saying. Sometimes you feel like a nut. And sometimes you don't. It is not in my nature to feel like I shouldn't be asking questions.

Just looking over some of the topics here. I see that I might have a lot of questions as I go. Hope you all don't mind.

I might as well start. What is ZLMB? and MA&D? I've seen the MA&D before on the Trib but I thought someone was giving another grief about the MAD magazine.

This is almost like talking in code. :)

[_Bond...James Bond]

I might as well start. What is ZLMB? and MA&D? I've seen the MA&D before on the Trib but I thought someone was giving another grief about the MAD magazine.

This is almost like talking in code. :)

ZLMB=Zion LIghthouse Message Board
MA&D=Mormon Apologetics and Discussion
MD=Mormon Discussions

ZLMB is a message board. Think of it as the precursor to MD (that's Mormon Discussions, this board) and FAIR (which was the precursor to MAD, which is Mormon Apologetics and Discussion Board). ZLMB is no longer relevant as a board, but it's where many of the old time posters started (from both MD and MAD). Many of the posters started at ZLMB, moved to FAIR/MAD, and have since moved here. With me so far?

MAD is primarily a Mormon apologetic board. The moderating there is very oppressive and unfair toward critics. This board was set up by Dr. Shades as a free speech zone compared to the MAD. Many of the posters from here have been banned from over there, and there is much animosity between the boards.

MAD is still alive and kicking. MD is a young board that is growing. Some of the posters from both boards have long standing rivalries with each other going back several years.

Any questions? Any one follow that?

[_Cooper Walton]

Thank you for replying Bond James Bond.

I must seem like I dropped out of the sky. Sorry. I just found out what BYU/FARMS was. For almost 3 years I thought people were talking about an actual Farm.

Like wheat farm, produce, veggies.

Thanks again.

[_Julie]

I might as well start. What is ZLMB? and MA&D? I've seen the MA&D before on the Trib but I thought someone was giving another grief about the MAD magazine.

This is almost like talking in code. :)

ZLMB=Zion LIghthouse Message Board
MA&D=Mormon Apologetics and Discussion
MD=Mormon Discussions

ZLMB is a message board. Think of it as the precursor to MD (that's Mormon Discussions, this board) and FAIR (which was the precursor to MAD, which is Mormon Apologetics and Discussion Board). ZLMB is no longer relevant as a board, but it's where many of the old time posters started (from both MD and MAD). Many of the posters started at ZLMB, moved to FAIR/MAD, and have since moved here. With me so far?

MAD is primarily a Mormon apologetic board. The moderating there is very oppressive and unfair toward critics. This board was set up by Dr. Shades as a free speech zone compared to the MAD. Many of the posters from here have been banned from over there, and there is much animosity between the boards.

MAD is still alive and kicking. MD is a young board that is growing. Some of the posters from both boards have long standing rivalries with each other going back several years.

Any questions? Any one follow that?

Thanks for explaining Bond, Iwasn't sure either. I'm not positive, but I think Cooper like myself may be a (nevermo) or should I say never a Mormon. I do find the religion rather a new an interesting topic since being raised in Northern In. I have never known any Mormons (that I'm aware of).

[Anonymous]

Thank you for replying Bond James Bond.

I must seem like I dropped out of the sky. Sorry. I just found out what BYU/FARMS was. For almost 3 years I thought people were talking about an actual Farm.

Like wheat farm, produce, veggies.

Thanks again.

Me too. They come up with some of the dumbest anagrams (is that the correct word?). FARMS, SHIELDS, FAIR, MAD. It's insane!

[_Bond...James Bond]

Thanks for explaining Bond, Iwasn't sure either. I'm not positive, but I think Cooper like myself may be a (nevermo) or should I say never a Mormon. I do find the religion rather a new an interesting topic since being raised in Northern In. I have never known any Mormons (that I'm aware of).

I'm a nevermo too. You pick up the lingo pretty quick.