First off: If I insulted or annoyed s/o in the conservatory I apologise. It was never my intention. I regret the conservatory leaving - but I can understand the decision and I can life with it.
And I absolutely can understand that there was no public discussion about this (in fact I would have been surprised if there were...) - in the end the moderators and administrators of this board are spending *much* more time and energy on this board then anybody else. In the end its their time, nerve and energy that ensures that threads stay clean, that the board stays open and civil and that everything goes as smoothly as it does now.
I am glad mobileread exists - I am glad for its eBook-related areas, I am glad for the lounge and I am (very) glad for its community - but I am also happy *because* Alex, the other administrators and moderators are doing a fantastic job.
If they decide something is bad for the board - then it is. If they decide they dont want to / cant / mustnt continue the conservatory - it will stop. There is no point in discussing it. (They may start a discussion if they believe that this would help with the decision process - but then it is a gift to the community, not a duty for the admins!)
I am moderating (among others) on a rather large German board - and being a moderator is *not* an easy job. Making decisions about the future of a board or some new rules is *not* easy. And, quite often, one has to take decisions that one believes to be sad - just to ensure the board survives and the community stays healthy.
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Originally Posted by ShortNCuddlyAm
And it's precisely because of the feelings they can engender, and the fights that can arise, that a forum I moderate has them as banned topics and any and all requests to reverse that decision get hit over the head with the hammer-of-multi-purpose.
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Yes, the same is true for all the boards I moderate on ..
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Anyway, this is Alex's forum, so he has the ultimate word. We are just guests, it would be rude to keep complaining to the host, right? 
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I honestly agree to this one - whatever follows.
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Originally Posted by Over
I think maybe no off-topic boards would be the best solution then.
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Please dont remove the Lounge!
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Originally Posted by daffy4u
If you want to see a many threads get way off topic, take away the "off topic" area. It won't be pretty.  |
This is one argument in favor of an off topic area - but its only valid with "nice visitors". Opening an off topic area *is* dangerous (closing it even more so) - but I believe that the Lounge is really a good thing. Its funny, refreshing, entertaining, etc
But there are other ways to keep threads on topic.
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Originally Posted by mjh215
When the bill comes for hosting the forum, they go to Alex (unless I am at all mistaken as to the hierarchy on the system ). If the forum receives a DMCA it is aimed at Alex, not me or you. If a lawsuit was brought against the forum, it is brought against Alex, not "MobileRead", not HarryT, Zelda, or MtravellerH. As much as my posts, Ea's, Patricia's, et al.'s make up MobileRead in the end the final definition of MobileRead in the great encyclopedia of Life, the Universe and Everything is, "A forum owned and administrated by Alexander Turcic". |
Amen.