I must admit I have mixed views on whether I'd even want to go back. There are certainly a few there that I remember but a large part of the reason I left was that the quality of discussion was dropping, to the point I'd say "I believe X is true" only to get a reply that said something like "I don't know why you think X is false because...."
Yes, and the IHOP association pretty much seals it for me. Too much false doctrine gets winked at, not to mention irrational arguing, sometimes by staff. The dead horse syndrome also. Too many presumed Bereans.
I know when I was there, I had to click the thread to see who was actually in there reading. I was curious allot so I was guilty of multiple clicks.
So the ignored and naive (like me) is thinking he has a private chat with one or 2 mods (Rookie and Ammazin in my 2 cases) while in the meantime everyone with a color can enjoy it. Just wonderful.
In the meantime the Jason thread is closed. Mod protecting Jason while the Gospel is trampled. Epi deja vu all over.
Posts about not ganging up on new members New member is reported for teaching, not interested in discussion, etc., in keeping with latest sticky Blames the forum for ganging up on new member and threatens coffee Real cool
When Chat to ministers was still there (I think they got rid of it, can't remember) the idea was that only admins and ministers were to be in there. I think in theory moderators could read it but it was the rule that mods weren't allowed in there except by invitation. As one user put it, it had all the hallmarks of the place to take someone for a good kicking with no witnesses. The trouble with too much privacy is when power is abused, as it so frequently was in years gone by - no witnesses, no right of appeal, just a choice between toeing the line and getting kicked out.
They have "Counciling request " in place. Don't know if that's always been there, or is Chat to ministers renamed.
When I was a mod, I didn't mind (usually) when I was involved in a discussion with someone in C2M if other staff members stopped by to view. It could lead to quality suggestions via pm's . It's when one would jump in the thread unannounced with comments. Amazzin was excellent at that. Thankfully, Amazzin is listed as "Admin retired" During those years, ProjectPeter was THE dictator and Amazzin was his minnyme.
Then what is the idea behind making reports? Lemme guess, that you are in charge for monitoring one or more sub fora and when you see something inappropriate you write a report for higher rated mods?
I'm pretty sure "Counciling request" has always been there. I was an active member (may have been a mod) when Chat to ministers appeared and I know "Counciling request" was already there.
Sometimes having a second mod look in on the thread was useful for accountability, if nothing else. I vaguely remember thinking, if not suggesting, that it would be good to allow the person in C2M to nominate a friend who would also be able to see the threads, again for accountability if nothing else. Certain - ahem - of the more amazing staff where particularly good at leaping in with both feet and trashing any chance of having a useful discussion. One of the things that allegedly led to staff losing faith in me as an admin related to one such situation - I'd been in discussion with a long-standing member who was enjoying some coffee. Because he was restricted to C2M it wasn't like he could do any harm on the board and I wanted to reach out to him, but the amazing one dived in and said he could toe the line or be banned. Then I was criticized for wasting time with the person. You know, it's for them to decide how I spend my time after all. It was interesting to note that there were no complaints about me, or any of the other staff who were very abruptly told they were no longer required without so much as a thankyou, very shortly after ProjectPeter returned. My suspicion, and I've yet to see anything to refute it, is that he realised he wasn't going to have an army of pliable staff to do his bidding so had to get rid of people. I'm just surprised he had the mods and meds booted before he got to me, because it gave me a chance to take copies of all the Chat To Admins discussions with the ones that got unceremonially booted out. I may even still have them on an old backup somewhere.... when I got kicked out of the red suit I did seriously consider posting them on a site I controlled and linking to them in the general mod area but figured silence would speak louder. I'd love to know what the deal is with amazzin and this whole "retired admin" garbage. If you're an admin keep the red suit, if you're not then revert to regular letters and go away. Can't have it both ways.
I thought the whole thing about Counselling requests was that anyone could post? It's been a while - I guess it's about 8 years since I left the red suit behind and nearly 5 years since I logged out for the last time.
This is the latest, This is the revised (three times) statement. The Rookie took the original to admin members for approval. Came back with, "there are some members who are troubled by parts of it. Can you guess at what part? Will you be willing to revise the statement? There's only one sentence that's troubling to them." Turns out there were two sentences, but I revised and resubmitted as I said, three times. It's going through the last approval process. So, as expected, they're willing as long as they aren't held accountable for ANYTHING. Even to the point that they are willing to use MY STATEMENT, rather than using it as a guide in making a statement "in their own words" (We didn't say that, HE did) Anyway, this is what we ended up with. It's actually more than what I'd expected. "We can do away with accountability. It was put there from the belief that it could have and should have been handled differently. You said your self you were troubled by how it was handled We can leave accountability between those accountable and God. I'll withdraw my judgemental attitude. So, here you are, A public announcement. If I were responsible the post would go something like this. Virginia Hayes was a past member of our forum and at times held the position of moderator. Virginia had been banned. The why's and wherefore's aren't important. We've been asked to review those actions and reconsider. We have. Virginia passed away 21/2 yrs ago. We regret this couldn't have been done while she was with us. We announce that Virginia is reinstated as a member of our forum and may she be remembered as a valued and continuous member. Signed; List of ALL members of the Administration that's in agreement