MBB's Final Debate Thread

[shelby]

Final Presidential Debate Questions
These questions were submitted by your fellow Zoners. These are issues that are important to them. Please answer each question as fully and in as much detail as possible.

For ease of reading, I ask that you respond to each of the 6 questions in a separate post. After you have posted all of your responses, your opponent can then rebut each of the 6 responses. You may then respond to each of the five rebuttals.

Only MBBedard and LA Playa may post in the debate threads. Violators will be given 10 warning points.

The debate threads will be open for the next 24 hours. The final election will begin at 5:00 pm EST on Tuesday, and will close at 5:00 pm EST on Thursday.

Good luck gentlemen, you have both done an outstanding job throughout the campaign process, and I applaud you both. May the best Zoner win!

[shelby]

1. I believe this forum has become outdated. The big rage in social Internet sites today is thumbsup/thumbsdown features.

The site also needs a facial makeover and needs new features like video and personalization.

Digg.com is extremely successful with their format of digging an article and then replying directly to comments.

I believe if the zone would update their whole forum to more of a Web 2.0 standard, it would be able to take a step above other competitive sites...

http://img249.imageshack.us/img249/9254/diggcommentsystemhu8.th.png (http://img249.imageshack.us/my.php?image=diggcommentsystemhu8.png)
.

How would the candidate be able to upgrade the site to stand above the rest?
~Afinegenov61

[shelby]

2. The "best" forum on the internet is arguably the Sons of Sam Horn message board (of the Boston Red Sox). "Best" in quotation marks because it is also perhaps the most stringent in terms of its rules and the enforcement thereof. One of the unique features of the board is that posters must prove themselves worthy of being able to post on the main SOSH board, either by a consistent stream of insightful analysis/commentary in the Sandbox forum (thereby meriting promotion to the big leagues), or one of a number of other ways including adding to the SOSH wiki. What do you think of this idea, given the strife that has occurred on this and other message boards by posters who detract from the discussion with inane/repetitive comments or are overt flamers/spammers? What do you think is the right balance of moderation in order to keep the board enjoyable, yet diverse?

P.S. I am not a fan of the Boston Red Sox nor do I post on SOSH.
~ajsdx

[shelby]

3. If you won what specifically would you do to work with the losing candidate in incorporating their ideas and/or goals for Billszone in with your own?

What was your strategy coming into this election?

How would you improve the process next year if this contest is held again?
~anonymous

[shelby]

4. what are the candidates' opinions on temporary donor status(<1month) for newer members?

and perhaps attaching a minor milestone to such a status ie: 500 posts, or something along those lines?
~Mski

[shelby]

5. There are a few members of the Bills Zone associated with the military that deploy around the world. In what ways, if any, would you propose the Bills Zone shows support for them while they are deployed?
~jamze132

[shelby]

6. Please give a brief summary of the issues you feel need to be addressed by the Zone President in order to improve the overall quality of the Zone.

[The King]

1. I believe this forum has become outdated. The big rage in social Internet sites today is thumbsup/thumbsdown features.

The site also needs a facial makeover and needs new features like video and personalization.

Digg.com is extremely successful with their format of digging an article and then replying directly to comments.

I believe if the zone would update their whole forum to more of a Web 2.0 standard, it would be able to take a step above other competitive sites...


How would the candidate be able to upgrade the site to stand above the rest?
~Afinegenov61

Sounds to me the Thumbs Up/Down feature is a lot like our Thanks and "Groan" option. Also I am under the impression that the Admins have already been in discussions when it comes to upgrading the zone. As president I would be involved in a lot of those discussions and could certainly bring your concerns to the table. However the site upgrade will ultimately be up to the Admins.

[The King]

What do you think is the right balance of moderation in order to keep the board enjoyable, yet diverse?

~ajsdx

I have heard the minor league suggestion before and I am strongly against it. I think every poster has a right to be heard. I visited SOSH and found virtually no difference in post quality between the Sandbox and the Regular forum. It just excludes people.

I am for a more hands on moderating approach, where the MOD personally contacts the offender via PM explains the foul and issues a written "non formal" warning. I think the personal touch in most cases will be enough to get the poster back on track. In the cases where it isn't there is a warning points system in place.

[The King]

3. If you won what specifically would you do to work with the losing candidate in incorporating their ideas and/or goals for Billszone in with your own?

What was your strategy coming into this election?

How would you improve the process next year if this contest is held again?
~anonymous

Thanks for the question mybills.

Playa has always had my respect so win or lose I still hold his opinions in high regard. Through out this process I have vowed to be the voice of the zoners, bringing any ideas and suggestions they have to the table. The zoner President is not going to be a dictator and nothing will come down to his or her decision alone. But rest assured your question will be addressed and you will have an explanation. This has been my goal from the get go and this is the reason I have wanted to be a MOD.

I think next year we just need to plan a little better. This whole election came up real quick and didnt have a ton of preparation. I think that should be one of the Presidents duties. We obviously need to look at voting but more importantly I think we need to branch this out and get more zoners involved. I know we have a sticky thread over in the BZ, we should keep that updated with results and maybe bullet points from the debates. I know shelby has worked real hard on this hopefully next time around she wont have to go it alone.

[The King]

4. what are the candidates' opinions on temporary donor status(<1month) for newer members?

and perhaps attaching a minor milestone to such a status ie: 500 posts, or something along those lines?
~Mski

I think instead of doing something like giving away memberships. We could offer previews similar to what cable companys do with HBO and Showtime. Open up the member benefits for a weekend every now and again.

I do think a zoner rewards program would be neat. My initial thought was to shell out zonebucks for milestones. Donor status is certainly something to explore further.

[The King]

5. There are a few members of the Bills Zone associated with the military that deploy around the world. In what ways, if any, would you propose the Bills Zone shows support for them while they are deployed?
~jamze132

Awesome Question! And first off let me say that honey is amazing when it comes to stuff like this. She has a such a big heart. :bf1: honey!

First I think it would be cool if we could add dates that our zoners depart and return home to the zone calendar. Also perhaps we can add a membership package that helps support the military.

For example: Add $5 to the annual membership fee of silver, gold, plat. Call it a Zoner USA membership or something, that plus opening it up to donations. And we could use the extra cash to send a care package to our deployed zoners. I think doing something like that is much more appreciated than giving away a free membership.

[The King]

6. Please give a brief summary of the issues you feel need to be addressed by the Zone President in order to improve the overall quality of the Zone.

I think the number one issue needs to be to clean up the Billszone make the talks more focused and keep things productive.

It seems like a lot of zoners are concerned with member benefits as well. So disecting those and coming up with some new options would be good as well.

Another focus that has not been really addressed would be to look at the SabresZone. I think thats a great option for us right now, and I dont know if we are doing all we can to make it work for us.

I would also really like to look into starting a zoner rewards program, there's a million different ways we can do it. But I think it would be a fun way to keep things interesting here.

I want to thank all zoners for their participation in the zone election. And wish Playa the best of luck in the final voting.

[L.A. Playa]

Sounds to me the Thumbs Up/Down feature is a lot like our Thanks and "Groan" option. Also I am under the impression that the Admins have already been in discussions when it comes to upgrading the zone. As president I would be involved in a lot of those discussions and could certainly bring your concerns to the table. However the site upgrade will ultimately be up to the Admins.

Do you have any specific ideas of your own to improve the look of the forums ??

[L.A. Playa]

I have heard the minor league suggestion before and I am strongly against it. I think every poster has a right to be heard. I visited SOSH and found virtually no difference in post quality between the Sandbox and the Regular forum. It just excludes people.

I am for a more hands on moderating approach, where the MOD personally contacts the offender via PM explains the foul and issues a written "non formal" warning. I think the personal touch in most cases will be enough to get the poster back on track. In the cases where it isn't there is a warning points system in place.

Is there anything specific you would pose as a new solution to deal with problem users ??

[L.A. Playa]

Thanks for the question mybills.

Playa has always had my respect so win or lose I still hold his opinions in high regard. Through out this process I have vowed to be the voice of the zoners, bringing any ideas and suggestions they have to the table. The zoner President is not going to be a dictator and nothing will come down to his or her decision alone. But rest assured your question will be addressed and you will have an explanation. This has been my goal from the get go and this is the reason I have wanted to be a MOD.

I think next year we just need to plan a little better. This whole election came up real quick and didnt have a ton of preparation. I think that should be one of the Presidents duties. We obviously need to look at voting but more importantly I think we need to branch this out and get more zoners involved. I know we have a sticky thread over in the BZ, we should keep that updated with results and maybe bullet points from the debates. I know shelby has worked real hard on this hopefully next time around she wont have to go it alone.

What was your specific strategy coming into this election ?

[L.A. Playa]

I think instead of doing something like giving away memberships. We could offer previews similar to what cable companys do with HBO and Showtime. Open up the member benefits for a weekend every now and again.

I do think a zoner rewards program would be neat. My initial thought was to shell out zonebucks for milestones. Donor status is certainly something to explore further.

Would you open this up to every Zoner or just Zoners that previously had no oppurtunity to view the Donor priveleges??

[L.A. Playa]

Awesome Question! And first off let me say that honey is amazing when it comes to stuff like this. She has a such a big heart. :bf1: honey!

First I think it would be cool if we could add dates that our zoners depart and return home to the zone calendar. Also perhaps we can add a membership package that helps support the military.

For example: Add $5 to the annual membership fee of silver, gold, plat. Call it a Zoner USA membership or something, that plus opening it up to donations. And we could use the extra cash to send a care package to our deployed zoners. I think doing something like that is much more appreciated than giving away a free membership.

Excellent job anything we do to honor our troops is an excellent idea !

[L.A. Playa]

I think the number one issue needs to be to clean up the Billszone make the talks more focused and keep things productive.

It seems like a lot of zoners are concerned with member benefits as well. So disecting those and coming up with some new options would be good as well.

Another focus that has not been really addressed would be to look at the SabresZone. I think thats a great option for us right now, and I dont know if we are doing all we can to make it work for us.

I would also really like to look into starting a zoner rewards program, there's a million different ways we can do it. But I think it would be a fun way to keep things interesting here.

I want to thank all zoners for their participation in the zone election. And wish Playa the best of luck in the final voting.

Do you have any specific ideas of how to clean up the Zone and how would you use new options specifically to attract more donors as well as what specific ideas do you have to utilize the Sabres Zone more ??

I wish you the best of luck on the final voting, you ran a great campaign.

[The King]

Do you have any specific ideas of your own to improve the look of the forums ??

The "look" of the forums is not a priority to me. I am more focused on the content.

Your brought up a great point about the main page however. I agree with you I think the look of the front page should be tweaked. Theres a ton of imfortmation there and its pretty cluttered. A more organized layout would be beneficial. With my web design experience as well as my new job in marketing, I feel like we can really liven that mother up!

[The King]

Is there anything specific you would pose as a new solution to deal with problem users ??

I am sticking with my personal touch philosophy. PM the offender and make them aware of the violation. If they dont comply, PM them again letting them know you are now issuing points. After that they are subject to the points system.

When it comes to permanent bans I believe it should be handled on a situational basis.

[The King]

What was your specific strategy coming into this election ?

My strategy was reaching out to the zoners. Let them know that if I am elected they have a friend on the inside. I have stayed true to that since day one.

While these debates are thought provoking and give great insight as to our beliefs at the end of the day we are joining a team. And we get the privelage of working with others who all have a great vision for the future of the Zone.

[The King]

Would you open this up to every Zoner or just Zoners that previously had no oppurtunity to view the Donor priveleges??

Open it up to everyone. Just because we didnt get em the first time doesn't mean we wont. However its important we make sure they know about all of the benefits of donating. Theres more to being a donor, than the No Tos.

[The King]

Do you have any specific ideas of how to clean up the Zone and how would you use new options specifically to attract more donors as well as what specific ideas do you have to utilize the Sabres Zone more ??



I think the first thing we implement is my personal touch system. See how the zoners respond to it. Thats the biggest problem people going back and forth and *****ing at each other. We have the best Bills forum on the net if we can keep that crap to a minimum we're in great shape!

Seems like people would really like to see the arcade updated more often. So that would be a plus. Also the IM feature of the new v-bulletin sounds awesome. I wouldve come in handy for this election thats for sure. I think we could use more feedback from current donors as well. Perhaps I will create a donor survey, where they can talk about everything they would like to see out of donating.

As for the Sabres Zone, I would say a lot of zoners dont even know we have it. Here are the front page poll results what people think of the SabresZone.
<TABLE border=0><TBODY><TR><TD>Ummmm, not bad</TD><TD>http://www.sabreszone.com/Zone/themes/Aeolus/images/leftbar.gifhttp://www.sabreszone.com/Zone/themes/Aeolus/images/mainbar.gifhttp://www.sabreszone.com/Zone/themes/Aeolus/images/rightbar.gif 30.35% (200)</TD></TR><TR><TD>Cool</TD><TD>http://www.sabreszone.com/Zone/themes/Aeolus/images/leftbar.gifhttp://www.sabreszone.com/Zone/themes/Aeolus/images/mainbar.gifhttp://www.sabreszone.com/Zone/themes/Aeolus/images/rightbar.gif 25.49% (168)</TD></TR><TR><TD>Terrific</TD><TD>http://www.sabreszone.com/Zone/themes/Aeolus/images/leftbar.gifhttp://www.sabreszone.com/Zone/themes/Aeolus/images/mainbar.gifhttp://www.sabreszone.com/Zone/themes/Aeolus/images/rightbar.gif 17.15% (113)</TD></TR><TR><TD>The best one!</TD><TD>http://www.sabreszone.com/Zone/themes/Aeolus/images/leftbar.gifhttp://www.sabreszone.com/Zone/themes/Aeolus/images/mainbar.gifhttp://www.sabreszone.com/Zone/themes/Aeolus/images/rightbar.gif 7.89% (52)</TD></TR><TR><TD>what the hell is this?</TD><TD>http://www.sabreszone.com/Zone/themes/Aeolus/images/leftbar.gifhttp://www.sabreszone.com/Zone/themes/Aeolus/images/mainbar.gifhttp://www.sabreszone.com/Zone/themes/Aeolus/images/rightbar.gif 19.12% (126)
</TD></TR></TBODY></TABLE>


First off Id like to know why we are advertising for Barrys tickets before our own site menu? It just doesnt make sense. Secondly Ummmm updates? Yea lets do that. Right Now the main story is from Nov and it features a dead link. So specifically its a horror show.