What's with you people?

[Perd Hapley]

  It reminds me of a funky little coffeehouse

Wait, where do I get the coffee?  My computer has a button for Tab, but nothing for coffee.

Please tell me you understand the Tab reference, and the show it comes from.

[Antibubba]

I know what Tab was, but you'll have to clue me in on the rest.

[AmbulanceDriver]

As a relatively new member to APS, I have to say that this and THR are some of my favorite places to "hang out".  Even the more contentious threads, I can either ignore or skim past the occasional bickering to get at the meat of the issue.  And to be honest, the rules that Oleg has established for these forums are not exactly hard to follow.  Basically some variant of "Play Nice"....   Some people get it, others don't...  Just like in the real world.

Now I would be horribly disappointed to lose a place like APS just because some people don't get how to "play nice".  I think that Preacherman does a pretty good job of keeping those that don't know how to play nice out of the sandbox...  Sometimes they get a warning, and other times they don't get to play in the sandbox anymore.   So then they have to resort to throwing rocks at those that still get to play in the sandbox...

Now, I haven't read the "Atkins" thread, and didn't really get into the "Parks" thread.  But I suspect that the person who maybe knocked some sand onto the other person can apologize, and play nice, without the people outside the sandbox running to get the teacher and tell on them...

[Perd Hapley]

I know what Tab was, but you'll have to clue me in on the rest.

Homer Simpson thought the Tab button on his computer would dispense Tab soda from the floppy drive. 

He was also confused by "coterel" and "pig-up."

[K Frame]

You waited almost 6 months to tell us that?

[Gewehr98]

Well, I'm sure Blackburn appreciates the answer, regardless of how late it came.

Hey, Blackburn, since you're still probably chafing and looking for ways to get back at Oleg et al, how's it going?  How's that Brady Center website going?   

[280plus]

Actually, I wouldn't mind an update on this from Oleg or Preacher. What are their current feelings on how this forum is doing?

Among other things they should bear in mind that that, if nothing else, talk here on the forum has resulted in a few care packages to some Marines in Fallujah and a couple more to some Army guys around Baghdad. 

[glockfan.45]

I have never seen a problem with peoples behavior on APS. For the lack of moderation here it seems to remain more civil on hot button topics than THR. When real people argue/debate topics there are bound to be hurt feelings at times. There is a difference between a passionate argument, and somebody simply trolling.

[wmenorr67]

I found THR by accident and then came over here when The Round Table moved.  I still was on THR for a while but now I only go over there once and a while.  The mood over there just seemed to be a case of one-upmanship.  This place is like several others have mentioned sort of like the corner store where the old geezers hang out.  Yes some of our discussions on here may get heated but at the sametime if needed I would try to help anyone on this board the best I could.  Just like family don't step between them when they are a fightin.

[Jamisjockey]

I know what Tab was, but you'll have to clue me in on the rest.

Homer Simpson thought the Tab button on his computer would dispense Tab soda from the floppy drive. 

He was also confused by "coterel" and "pig-up."

Dude, were you really that bored to pick up a 6 month old thread.....?

[CAnnoneer]

Hmmm, let me get this straight - some dude gets banned and is bitter, so he comes back and posts again under a different name to tell us how much worse we are than him and how he is willing to be policing us...

That's just priceless.

[Winston Smith]

Well he was banned for some post that mentioned both nipples and a dominatrix; I can see why he'd think that the rules needed a little work.

Also, he was held to a double standard:

Notice how this poster isn't getting banned or even reprimanded for a much more agregious violation of the unwritten rules of decency.

Did you have the 'bikini' poster or the 'tight jeans' poster?  My goodness could she fill out a pair of pants the right way!

Brad

No, the one with the towel.  I liked it better.  Full size image too.  Looked great on the inside of the door. 

I never knew she had drug issues.  I was a teenager watching Fall Guy reruns.  We didn't have cable where I grew up so I guess I didn't catch all the gossip.  I think this is it. 


El Tejon doesn't look anything like this.

[Gewehr98]

What, Heather Thomas wearing a towel is against forum rules?  She's not nude, nor revealing any "naughty bits", so what's the problem? 

Hello, all.  Given our influx of new members, I thought it was time to remind members of our (relatively few) posting rules on APS.

1.  Please watch your language.  No vulgarities, rudeness, or words that would make Art's Grandma blush (or swear herself!).

2.  No porn, gratuitous violence, or offensive posts.  Moderators' judgment will be the determining factor in what is offensive.  If you'd say it to a gathering in your average family living-room, you should be fine to say it here.

3.  Offensive threads will be deleted in their entirety.  Offensive posts will be deleted, leaving the original thread intact if possible.  Offenders won't be warned - if you see a post or thread of yours is gone, it means it fell foul of Rule 1 or Rule 2 above.

4.  Repeat offenders will be banned.  No excuses, no reasons needed, no argument.  The rules are simple enough.  If you can't follow 'em, don't post!

I hope this is clear.

Blackburn ran afoul of several of these rules.  Preacherman and Oleg were more than gracious giving him a chance to redeem himself.  His choice, his path.

[mtnbkr]

I think people saw in him early on the nature of his character and chose to get rid of him before he started taking action like he did recently.  But to some, he will always be banned for a picture, an impossible double standard.

Chris

[Perd Hapley]

Dude, were you really that bored to pick up a 6 month old thread.....?

I assure you it is far worse than you imagine. 

[RevDisk]

Oleg, I know it's a little late and you don't have time to impliment a new system, but have you seen slashdot's moderation system?  You throw a few karma points to the best posters, and they get moderation abilities off and on, at random.  They moderate good posters up, trolls down, and the good posters eventually get the chance to moderate themselves.

Then there's a system designed to catch good posters who aren't good moderators (meta-mods).  It seems to work out well.

I believe that the code is available under GPL or something.

I really do second this.  Slashdot has an insane number of users.  It coined the phrase "slashdotting a server".  (If your server was slashdotted, you'd know.  As there'd be the higher pitch WHIRRRRR, followed by a loud CLICK, then silence in the server room...)  Anyways.  Users do get mod points, and it's implemented in various ways and each post is rated -1 to 5.  1 being the norm, -1 for obvious trolls, and 5 being for excellent posts.  Thing is, you are free to set your browser for any level.  If you were masochistic, you could set your browser for -1 and see all posts by the lovely troll population.  I typically set mine to 2, to weed out all the redundent messages. 

Best system I've seen on the net thus far.  Self-moderating, with your choice of how much garbage you want to deal with.  No possible censorship arguments, nor overzealous mods. 

As the experience with my third forum showed, the quality of participants is THE major factor. It trumps all others combined. So tweaking rules will not help unless the quality of the folks using the forum is high. It's that simple.

I don't care to belong to a club that accepts people like me as members.
- Groucho Marx

 

[Gewehr98]

He was just plain bad news, even if Winston's enamored of him. My insight into his character was when he decided to purposely badmouth WildAlaska behind his back, and I called him on the carpet for it. The little bastard squirmed and fidgeted a goodly amount, much like a kid caught with his hand in the cookie jar.  That was Strike 1 in my book, and the thread was later judiciously removed - as were several others he initiated. 

He even tried to dictate re-instatement terms with Oleg, coming back as a "kinder, gentler" Blackburn:

How 'bout you remove all posts made under my Blackburn alias (after a half dozen unanswered emails formally requesting the same under the DMCA), and I stick to my earlier decision to not be difficult and respect wishes made. I do now know what was going on in relation to John Melvin Davis' attempted dealings with me, and it does explain a lot.

[280plus]

The first time he reappeared under a new ID he was done in my book. I missed the WA thing I guess.

[InfidelSerf]

I have to second Winston Smith's original comments. 
I too think the the entire reason for this "experiment" was to see if a general chat forum could survive self moderated.
To some degree that is entirely the spirit to which our Constitution was written.

Why would there be a need for multiple moderators to act as debate moderators if we are all civil with one another.
I don't see any at the "water cooler" at work.  When someone says something outlandish and baiting in the real world.
They are usually just ignored...at which time they tend to crawl into the woodwork like cockroaches.
We often bring the roaches out when we go flinging food at one another like 3rd graders.

Personally I think having more than one or two "moderators" doing anything more than cleaning up ignored for a reason posts, other basic maintenance, and occasionally being that buddy in a group, that steps in between two friends, when things get heated and ugly. 
Usually a couple cold (or near room temp if you like the darker variety as I do) brews and a deep breath or two, ends those confrontations.

Too me, that is the dignified manner on which I think our nation was founded.  No one wants or enjoys having a nag over your shoulder.
Pointing out your character flaws and making sure you toe the line. That job is for our conscience to engage.

We are the examples of the armed populace that treats each other with respect, and most importantly we have dignity and treat
ourselves with respect. 
If we are no longer polite and respectfull to ourselves (i.e. don't embarress yourself by acting like a child on a public forum,intellectual exchange, debate, or discussion.),
then there is no point for us to exist.
As many have pointed out we are probably one of the most civil forums on the net. I think that impression stems from the fact that we are
largely UNmoderated. 

I agree with Oleg. If we can not continue unmoderated as a forum of men and women, civilally controlling our tact, our savoir-faire. 
Then the "experiment" did fail overall.  And there would be no point in Mr. Volk devoting time and effort to keep a failed project alive.

Of course if WE fail, what does that say for our country as a whole.
I think we all see those signs of our times.  Let's hope WE don't fall prey to our culture's current complete lack of honor.
JMHO

[CAnnoneer]

Two small points:
1. This is a private forum whose owners can run it as they sees fit. US Constitution has nothing to do with it.
2. If APS were even remotely representative of the American society at large, things would be very very different in the real world.

[roo_ster]

What CAnnoneer said in point #2.

Some folks just can not debate without getting all riled up.  If they get involved in a debate where folks are working their points good & hard, they take it personally.  I've seen it on the net & in person.  Some friends I refuse to talk politics or moral issues with, due to this.

Luckily, there are very few of that type 'round here at APS. 

Like Oleg wrote, it is the substance of the participants, not the style of rules or moderation that makes or breaks a forum.

[Ezekiel]

I've never seen an issue with moderation here.  If anything, some members get itchy when you call them on their self-righteous dogma: but that happens to everyone, occasionally.

"No concerns of whch I am aware."

[Matthew Carberry]

Even the disagreements on religion and GW and other "hot button" issues are mostly academic, since most folks here are intelligent and well-informed and have long since heard every argument for and against and dealt with them in their own mind.

That doesn't make them not worth presenting, in part because they illustrate the underpinnings of what fistful called the "less important things".

Which we do often agree on, if for different reasons.

I don't take it personally that some folks here find my beliefs delusions at best.  I still think we get along pretty well other than that.

[grampster]

Awww.  You guys are mostly harmless. 

If a coffee house was funky, I don't think anyone would go there if one new the actual definition of funky.   

[RocketMan]

Awww.  You guys are mostly harmless. 

If a coffee house was funky, I don't think anyone would go there if one new the actual definition of funky.  

Would your definition of "funky" dismay Art's grammaw?  If not, I'd like to hear it.
Your avatar struck me as funky when I first saw it.  Now it's just disturbing.