Proposed Forum Guidelines & Hopes for MAC Representation

[Anonymous]

Wouldn't this just be "The Golden Rule"?

Do onto others as you would have them do onto you?

Many people in this forum have gone overboard- by which I mean that they have taken the discussion of ideas and turned it into a discussion of personalities instead. John is guilty of this. So is Peter, Mary, Steve, as well as a number of others, and probably even myself to a certain degree.

If there are to be rules, then #1 should be to stop the personal attacks all around.

Stick to the discussion of the ideas, of the facts, think things through and have something positive and/or constructive to post. Criticism need not be framed in ascerbic terms. Use logic in your arguments, not emotion. Treat the person with respect, and expect the same in return.

Vitz, your view of John is a caricature that doesn't fit the man. He doesn't agree with everything MAC has done, and has voiced that in this forum. While I don't agree with him on every point, I will say with utter conviction that he is not the complete yes-man that you think he is.

Anyway, those would be my version of the rules, which is how I try to live my life anyway.

Regards.
Mike Kirda

what kind of 'caricature' would you find acceptable for someone who equates your postings w/the 'flushing of feces down a toilet'? 8O

so what if he didn't like my hair? :lol:

 

[Anonymous]

rover wrote:

They are still in such a stage of infancy that I don't really see how anyone can expect anything of them at this point.


how many years existence of an org still qualifies as 'infancy'?

 

[Anonymous]

jamesw wrote:

So, again, how to move forward from here? I think we need an agreement, a covenant if you will, between a select few posters here,

what, like some kind of elite cadre?



puhleeze :roll:

 

[jamesw]

Guys, I'm considering deleting off-topic posts in this thread, or moving them to another thread.

What that would mean is that if you make an off-topic post, consider that you may well be wasting your time.

Not saying that's what will happen, just PLEASE try to stay on topic. I consider this discussion and proposed guidelines for the Industry Forum to be REALLY important.

If we don't get something in place, I can't but help but feel like we will be spinning our wheels in this forum forever. Repeating the same opinions, but never moving forward and never helping the hobby.

Cheers
James

 

[Anonymous]

Rule #1. No spinning allowed. All questions should be answered honestly and in a straightforward manner.

Rule #2 - Rule #1 also applies when asking questions.

my only problem w/this, is that historically(at least on this bb) any critical question is labelled as a spin, or just plainly ignored


howzabout for starters, mac just answers all the questions in the #reefs forum w/REAL substantive answers, instead of the same ol' merry go round rhetric? :idea:

if for nothing else, than as a show of sincerity, and goodwill :wink:

 

[Anonymous]

Hi Folks,

Let's please try to keep this sticky post on topic. Remember, this is a "poll the members" thread, that will remain stuck at the top for some time, not a "normal" discussion.

The title of the thread sure doesn't imply that James. Maybe while your deleting and moving our posts you can go back and rethink the title of you "poll the members" thread and maybe, just maybe, include in the title something about creating rules for the forum and polling the members.

 

[jamesw]

Thanks Gresham, that's good advice. I have edited the title of the post.

Cheers
James

 

[Anonymous]

Man, your quick, good deal. Thanks James, it VERy clear now what your trying to achieve in this thread. I will keep my comments on topic -- Move or delete my prior non topic posts as you wish.

 

[MaryHM]

I"m not sure why MAC needs a special set of rules apart from any other RDO member. Everyone should follow the RDO guidelines and MAC should only come in if they plan to answer questions honestly. Why a whole thread has to be created to figure out how to deal with MAC here is beyond my understanding.

 

[jamesw]

I am not asking the membership to come up with a special set of rules. I am asking the members to please propose some guidelines for EVERYONE to follow in EVERYONE's best interest, so that we can move forward. The purpose is to hopefully encourage some of the folks who have come and gone to return, and also hopefully to bring in some new folks who have been holding back from posting here out of fear of the way the membership conducts themselves in the Industry Forum. We have a very diverse set of "Guests" that visit this forum, and I would LOVE for them to participate.

So far we have gotten some good guidelines proposed. I'd like for you to propose some as well Mary.

Cheers
James

 

[MaryHM]

I can't think of any necessary guidelines other than what is already stated in the RDO membership agreement. Other than "tell the truth", what else could possibly be added?

 

[Anonymous]

I agree with Mary. I don't think that MAC is avoiding this forum because they can't handle the hard questions, or that they are just so scared of how they mi9ght be treated. think they just have bigger things on their plates right now, and a sub forum on a hobby bulletin board just isn't very high on their list of priorities. Surely they don't expect to be able to avoid difficult questions, or skpetical posters indefinitely.

 

[JennM]

Are you asking for special treatment for MAC from everybody, or just asking "certain people" to behave differently when it comes to MAC?

I'm not clear. I don't see why anybody has to behave differently at all - since we all still have posting privileges here, we all must be following the guidelines to the satisifaction of the moderators/administrators, or we'd have been banned by now.

IMO the standard-issue user agreement applies here, just as Mary said.

Jenn

 

[blue hula]

I agree with Mary. I don't think that MAC is avoiding this forum because they can't handle the hard questions, or that they are just so scared of how they mi9ght be treated. think they just have bigger things on their plates right now, and a sub forum on a hobby bulletin board just isn't very high on their list of priorities. Surely they don't expect to be able to avoid difficult questions, or skpetical posters indefinitely.

Sorry, I missed the post where Mary said that MAC is too busy accomplishing great things to respond to the hoi polloi ...

They do have a communications coordinator ... why don't they respond?
They also indicated on one of their reef talks that they wanted to establish a Q/A link ...

 

[Anonymous]

I agree with Mary. I don't think that MAC is avoiding this forum because they can't handle the hard questions, or that they are just so scared of how they mi9ght be treated. think they just have bigger things on their plates right now, and a sub forum on a hobby bulletin board just isn't very high on their list of priorities. Surely they don't expect to be able to avoid difficult questions, or skpetical posters indefinitely.

:lol:

care to bet on that? :wink:

 

[Anonymous]

We could avoid posts like this

As my very first post on Reefs.org, I am going to aim this one directly at Vitz's head.

I have been watching this forum for over a year, and I just cannot contain myself any longer. Vitz, for someone who has posted over 2500 times, you owe it to yourself, and this forum, to say something truthful and helpful every once in a while.

 

[mkirda]

what kind of 'caricature' would you find acceptable for someone who equates your postings w/the 'flushing of feces down a toilet'? 8O

Vitz,

I have an advantage over you- I have John's home phone number and can call him any time I want. At no time have I ever been given the impression from John that he equates my posts with feces. Just the opposite.

You seem to think that his silence to my hard(er) questions means that none of the questions ever got answered. Very often, they were. Just not on-line.

Regards.
Mike Kirda

 

[jamesw]

I juste deleted two off-topic posts from this thread FYI. A personal attack, and a counter-attack. I think the thread is better off without them.

No material about the topic was deleted.

James

 

[Len]

I honestly believe everyone takes things too personally in this particular forum. I understand and appreciate each of your passion for your stance and/or livilihood, but I think this forum and the ideas expressed within would be better served if personal feelings and emotional quips are checked at the door.

I know part of the reason things are often taken personally is posts are often addressed personally, and too often with malacious intent. Obviously, this is another area that needs to be addressed. I'd like to see people be less critical of other people's posts and be more conscious of what they post and how their post affects others. A lot here defer responsibility to other parties for anything wrong that happens within this forum; we can't break the status quo with that mindset. Be responsible for your own actions. Never use other people's "misbehavior" as a license to conduct your own misdeeds. And simply don't post anything that isn't constructive; needless to say, mean-spirited remarks should never be posted. I don't want to bruise anyone's ego by citing specific examples, but truth is nearly everyone here shoulders some blame.

People also need to infer less and read only what's there. A lot of the problems I see are people inferring motives or explanations that aren't explicit. My personal opinion is it's better to settle on "I don't know" then to make such assumptions - at least not publically.

That's my two cents. I'm sure I'll have more pennies to throw in this pot at a future date.

 

[Anonymous]

The thing that sets this forum apart is the fact that most people here know each other in "real life". Of all the forums, I have talked to more people in person or on the phone in this one than in any of the others. And the potential to meet one day, or the potential that one persons viewpoint could affect your livlihood is all the more real here than anywhere else. This ain't arguing politics in the Sump. This is real life. Which is why things tend to be taken so personally. The only guideline I can come up with to apply across the board (forum), is don't say anything here that you wouldn't say face to face. Read your post aloud and put yourself in the shoes of the intended recipient. Nothing wrong with a little arguing here and there, it keeps thing interesting, but it's cheating to use the anonymity or the separation provided by the net to get lazy in making your point.