FWIW and piled on top, this was my response on a CO thread, but I got off topic a bit and figured it belonged here. Man AR is making out like a fat cat on points with this one! a bribe perhaps. lol (save your money) I have not read more than a few pages of this, but I think I have the general "flavor"
this is how I "see" things as they appear from out here. Not intending this as a personal attack against anyone, just the way it looks to me. I think your all generally good folks, but even good people make mistakes.
I'm friends with several of your "troublemakers" and while I may not agree with their methods all the time (in your face hard!), I do think they have legitimate beefs. I've witnessed all the inside stuff and exactly what has transpired between them and some of the admin/mods. In short, the moderation was done unprofessionally and sometimes with obvious malice. Can't say I blame them for having hurt feelings, but moddin is a JOB that's not suited to everyone. If you can't rise above the fray and behave professionally, then get out of the game.
In answer to "where is everybody going" in the CO section....
I'll be where my sleddin buddies/friends are. SW has been my home forum for 5 years and I've enjoyed the fellowship and tips i've found here, but i feel like i'm being cornered into an ethical dilemma, and i'm not exactly a model of morals and ethics! lol Guess I'm not doing to bad though, cuz I know something is fundamentally wrong here.
It's painfully obvious that all these "new" people taking over are having a hard time handling the situation, and have no problem abusing their "special buttons".
Note that I say "new". By that I mean to include the new people that have been here for years, but are now acting in a new way. To see these people who have been around for years now at odds with their fellows and participating in this new regime is upsetting.
I'm not generally a "hateful" person, but i'm really starting to hate this new regime and what it is doing to the fellowship that used to be pretty healthy on here.
I always thought of this forum as a good model for on-line forum interaction. People could say what they wanted and generally not be censored. And, when they were censored, the vast majority agreed with it. I used to hold the moderators and admin in high regard for running the best forum on the net (imo). They gave enough rope to the outliers to keep it interesting, but kept it clean enough for the general audience to enjoy. A great balance was maintained and again, my hat is off to them. I never realized what a fantastic job they did, but I do now.
And, when I say "special buttons" I mean the one's that say "stomp freedom of speech", "opress opinions", "re-write history (lie)", "poke fun of and abuse member", "humiliate member", "puff up my tiny ego", "fulfill my personal agenda"...I think you get the idea.
It's hard to express the disdain I have for people who use their privaledged position in these ways. The freedom to express opinion is sacred to me, but through witness of your actions, I can see that it is not held in high regard by this new regime.
When your regime started re-wording posts (lieing), changing user names (lieing), abusing members for disagreeing, and all the other un-ethical and morally decrepit behavior I have seen, I was stunned and thought those were isolated incidents that would not be approved of by admin. Now I see that the top admins condone this behavior and take part in it as well.
I would have doubted it before, as SW has always been sponsored by what I thought of as the moral and ethical people at HP, but now it appears as if the decreptitude may run higher up the ladder than i would have thought.
I would fully expect that when the powers that be at Harris Publishing take a closer look at how this regime is operating in their name, there will be some changes made in how the moderation/administration of this site is carried out.
Regarding all the new bells and whistles and servers, go for it, knock yourself out and make this site a model of....well, whatever your trying to accomplish. I don't care about that stuff and have no problem paying a nominal fee. I never be-grudge a man lining his pockets a little when he has something good to sell. The internet has spoiled a lot of us with all the free access, but I think SW is/was a premium site and worth a few bucks, at least.
Finally though, nothing you can offer will keep me here if you continue to abuse my friends and fellows who, while they may lie somewhat outside the bounds of the average membership, do bring a very important element of diversity to the forum that make this site that much more interesting.
I see what they do and how they love to badger you, but please, be judicious and prudent in your use of the "special buttons". Instead of distastefully "smacking" them down, take the high road and maintain your dignity. There are myriad ways you can maintain order and influence people without stepping on their human rights. Show them a basic level of respect in this regard and try to keep your personal feelings to yourself. I don't envy your jobs one bit, but if I was in your shoes, I would stick to a code of personal behavior that would not jeapordize the foundations upon which everything rests...allowing your brethren their fundamental human rights and respect. Endeavor to adhere to this basic philosophy and you will maintain the loyalty of the members. Fail to try and you will not see nor hear from the multitude of people who will choose not to be a part of this new forum... The average guy who doesn't make waves or stir the pot, but comes here for fellowship and advice or just to browse the site will see how you treat the dissidents and you'll awaken his quiet dissident, but the only notice you'll have from him is one less number on your bottom line.
How will it all work out in the end, anybody knows, but I wish you luck and success in making this forum as good as it can be and in bringing back the qualities that made it great fun to be a part of.
Probably been mentioned, but why not base membership cost on accumulated points or some kind of respect rating? A kind of reward to the guys giving out tips or otherwise contributing. Quite a few of those peeps are the ones moving on I think. Course, you'd have to make it cheat proof
