Regarding Atlanticmike . . .

[Jersey Girl]

Maybe what Shades means is, Mike showed where the problems are in the rules of the board that allowed a person to very easily wreak havoc. Similar to how Trump showed that a no good, rotten, son-of-a-bitch was able to almost destroy our republic. That how a person who actually had some intelligence might just not fail next time.

Nice theory. If it weren't for the fact that he's been compulsively doing it for going on a YEAR now, I might be inclined to agree.

[Jersey Girl]

Okay so no more current posts from Mr. Cryptic over there. Fine. I've got a Shades hangover. Think I blew a tire last night or possibly at 5 a.m. I definitely need a nap. Adios to any and all.

[Philo Sofee]

Give me 10 days. If I’m wrong about Atlanticmike and/or if the current crisis still isn’t resolved to your satisfaction, I’ll step down for a period of time and release the moderators (in whom I am well pleased) from any obligation of being clones of me and give them free rein to do as they see fit. Hell, I’ll even let them change the rules (with the exception of Universal Rule #12, which is exempt from alteration).

Only on the UNIVERSAL PROMISE that even AFTER 10 days, say 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, and as many THOUSANDS of days after AM does NOT revert to trolling... I have faith in ya, lets see if it all works.

[Philo Sofee]

Have I missed any of the new and improved Atlantic Mike's posts or has he simply not posted since Shades' thread went up?

He's waiting for 10 days probation to end and then come trolling again is my bet.

[Alas]

I am going to jump on here and give you a “why I don’t very often post on this discussion board”.

I am pretty much an outsider here, although many of you know me from NOM, and I know some of you from the times I come here to read. Mostly I read one or two threads and leave because I am just not interested in discussing the infamous apologists, and I really dislike the troll poop. Yup, you guys are knee deep in troll poop.

I think Jersey Girl makes good sense in spite of her temper tantrum, and I think probably her temper tantrum is warranted.

Shades, I don’t know much at all, but apparently he is kind of the absent land lord that meant to allow pets, but someone brought in pet rats and pet pythons and turned them loose. Now his apartment complex is over run with rats and pythons that eat children, and a few alligators that came because they knew that rats like a good swamp so this must be a nice swamp.

So, does the absentee landlord care enough to save the apartment complex? Or is he still thinking there is only one small pet Guinea pig and he wants to defend the right of residents to own cats and dogs, and fish in an aquarium. Ok, maybe a snake in an aquarium and Guinea pigs in cages.

I guess I have known this blow up was coming because this isn’t my first rodeo. I’m that clown hiding behind the barrel. But anyway, for a few weeks now I have kinda been monitoring the situation.

My suggestions as an outsider?

1. You have moderators. Turn them loose and let them moderate. You called the exterminator, but then didn’t let them kill any rats out of fear that somebody’s cat or dog would die. But cats and dogs don’t survive well with hundreds of rats eating all their food and wading through troll poop. Let the mods moderate and put one mod as head mod, in charge of banning. Let the mods vote on banning. But trolls and rats need exterminating. They never will make good house pets.

2. There are conservatives who are not trolls. They carry on a real conversation. Conservative thought is not the problem. Disruption of discussion is. Make some kind of guidelines that are neutral toward political topics or just ban political topics like was done on NOM for a while. Now they are kind of drifting in again and so far there has been a problem that I see as a nonModerator. Maybe the Mod just take care of everything so well that I never see it. But it needs to be fair to the liberals too, and right now right now the liberals are just getting shouted down by a couple of trolls who happen to be conservative. If you are going to allow pet rats and snakes, make good rules about cages. Call exterminators as needed.

3. Put all the arguments and fights and comments on any and all apologetics into its own forum. It gets really old when there is one thread discussing some Mormon topic and ten discussing specific Mormons. I am really tired of discussions about Peterson. (But this one is just me and why I am not interested in most of the discussion here.)

[Marcus]

1. Let the mods moderate…

2. Conservative thought is not the problem. Disruption of discussion is….

Thanks. I feel like I’ve read this somewhere before….

[Jersey Girl]

I think Jersey Girl makes good sense in spite of her temper tantrum, and I think probably her temper tantrum is warranted.

Thanks for the observation and commentary. Of course I make good sense. I almost always make sense except those times when I throw a total hissy fit. Even then, I might be making sense. And I apologized for what I said, didn't delete it, because unlike the trolls here, I own up to what I said and did.

[honorentheos]

Give me 10 days. If I’m wrong about Atlanticmike and/or if the current crisis still isn’t resolved to your satisfaction, I’ll step down for a period of time and release the moderators (in whom I am well pleased) from any obligation of being clones of me and give them free rein to do as they see fit. Hell, I’ll even let them change the rules (with the exception of Universal Rule #12, which is exempt from alteration).

Hi Shades,

Rather than being reactive to the behaviour of one poster, may I ask that you be proactive in considering the long-term maintenance and operation of the board? It is no shame to recognize your board has been successful to the point the old methods for managing it need updating. Much like the good will of the board members and talents of a few willing to step up proved invaluable in salvaging it from a technological decay into oblivion, managing the day-to-day operations of an organization as it changes requires adaptation to the times to be successful in the long term. Like many startups that find success only to fail when they can't scale, your investment and success in establishing the board needs flexibility and adaptability to transition to the next stage of its life. All of which is a testament to your time and other commitments that made it something so many passionately wish to defend. Even the Holden Caulfields among us...

I suggested elsewhere and do so here: Now is the opportunity to shift the board to a structure where your moderator team can exercise their collective judgement in making difficult decisions. I agree, they are doing a great job even faced with thankless spite and oppositional vitriol. You know I'm someone who will speak their mind without concern about what you or anyone else things (speaking of, Rule 12 still stinks and undermines the credibility of the board...) and there aren't any other posters on this board who I would trust more than the three of them. I do think it would be wise to make it more of a board rather than transition from one "BIG MAN OF HISTORY" to another, and instead we follow the lessons of history in our organizing. Three people in agreement are more likely to be right and considerate of the consequences of a decision than is one person in the heat of an emotional confrontation. But don't make what you do a reaction. Be proactive. You're the Washington here. Show the way forward as few boards have managed to achieve.

[Marcus]

I think Jersey Girl makes good sense in spite of her temper tantrum, and I think probably her temper tantrum is warranted.

Thanks for the observation and commentary. Of course I make good sense. I almost always make sense except those time when I throw a total hissy fit. Even then, I might be making sense. And I apologized for what I said, didn't delete it, because unlike the trolls here, I own up to what I said and did.

You post with the intent to communicate, not with the intent to disrupt, the key difference Alas also sees, I think.
(And I think even your hissy fit made sense!)

[Jersey Girl]

Thanks for the observation and commentary. Of course I make good sense. I almost always make sense except those time when I throw a total hissy fit. Even then, I might be making sense. And I apologized for what I said, didn't delete it, because unlike the trolls here, I own up to what I said and did.

You post with the intent to communicate, not with the intent to disrupt, the key difference Alas also sees, I think.
(And I think even your hissy fit made sense!)

Oh ha ha. I popped off like a middle schooler who got her phone taken away. And yet, I'm not at all embarrassed. I haven't thrown a good fit for ages around here.