2008 Zone Presidential Debate - Day Two

[mybills]

The PC Times 6:54 am est.

Our fourth candidate answered the questions just before midnight, and after the Times closed up shop for the night. While some of his answers resembled one of the others (whip, squirrel or the unelectable) there was one point that he made which struck a chord with this reporter. I had the same idea a while ago.

As it is now, when someone joins the Billszone, they are sent a "Welcome" pm. However, Candidate Playa proposed the following extension: "Take advantage of the vbulletin functionality more, sending a welcome PM to all new registered users welcoming them and explaining the dynamics of each forum, where to find things and how the forums work."
While this is not shocking to me either, it is a great idea that no other candidate has offered.

To be fair to the others, sometimes moderators really do need to crack the whip. Especially when things get out of hand. Sometimes the squirrels/zoners act timid..it's just plain nuts to let a message board upset you, so there has to be a gentle hand feeding them guidance. Lastly, the unelectable just may be what the voters want. Someone who isn't in it for the power, the glory, or to be the mighty ruler of the zone. Maybe they really will be elected as the President of the Billszone.

Hopefully by the end of this debate, when all of the rebuttals are in, the voters will be left with someone who can combine all of these ideas. Someone who can best represent you, the voter.

..to be continued..

~The PC Times

[mybills]

The PC Times 9:15 am est.

It's been a slow morning for the debating candidates. I was hoping to see more rebuttal's by now, but I suppose it's still early. Also, the candidates DO have all day to rebut each other, but Earthquake Enyart wasted no time with Gunzlingr's answers.

"If the mods / admins don't have enough sense to tell right from wrong, the mods / admins should be terminated immediately. There is no true leader here who exerts the strength and leadership to keep the douche bag mods / admins in line. That's why I should be president." said, Earthquake. This was in response to Gunzlingr's statement, "I think any personal attack or flame should be immediately culled from the tread, and moved to the mod forum where it can be discussed and voted on by the moderators and president."
Not to be picky, but I'm sure he meant "pulled" and "thread". It is clear that Gunzlingr was making a point about personal attacks and those who flame others, and it appears that Earthquake's response focuses mostly on the latter.

We all know that some attacks are such, that it is sometimes difficult to distinguish between anger and joking. So, while this reporter agrees that they should 'have enough sense to tell right from wrong' when it comes to flaming, could Gunzlingr's proposal of pulling such things from threads actually work?

You Decide!

The PC Times

[mybills]

[Earthquake Enyart]

"I personally don't like my threads being moved"

No one does. But if it's done right and if all your threads get moved, maybe you should get a clue.

Personally, I don't like my posts being arbitrarily deleted or modified.

[mybills]

With great questions, comes that shock value that I've been craving. While Earthquake Enyart did not entirely back down on his initial proposal, he's obviously been persuaded to give zoners another chance by saying, "But if it gets bad after that, every time two posters start going at it, off it goes into the Spam Zone. Period."

Gunzlingr had also chimed in, seemingly convinced that EE's whip cracking tactic wouldn't affect just the officiating staff.
"If you get your way with punishing the mods you don't like, what will stop you from going after posters you don't like?" said Gunzlingr. Having basically avoided the latter part of the question, Earthquake stood his ground by explaining his original statement. "As president, I would create a blue ribbon panel of people that are universally respected and go through the staff objectively one by one."

Maybe nothing here shocked you, but hopefully you have a better idea of where these candidates stand.

~The PC Times

[mybills]

editor's note:

It would make our job much easier if everyone followed the rules set forth by the Election Supervisor.

We have enough to do without having to sort through comments that are NOT supposed to be in the debate threads.

Thanks!

~The PC Times

[chernobylwraiths]

editor's note:

It would make our job much easier if everyone followed the rules set forth by the Election Supervisor.

We have enough to do without having to sort through comments that are NOT supposed to be in the debate threads.

Thanks!

~The PC Times

No chit! And by some of the staff of the candidates too!

[mybills]

12:56 pm est.

After agreeing with MBBedard on the issue of giving zoners a second chance, Earthquake Enyart has referred back to this while debating L.A. Playa. "Moderation should try to steer the conversation back in a more positive manner. If that doesn't work, my solution of just throwing everything into the Spam Zone lets everyone see what's acceptable and what is not." said Earthquake. Although Earthquake's rebuttal began with his concern about editing posts, "I have a problem with this:" it seems not only that he's in agreement with MBBedard, but L.A. Playa, as well.
"The last resort would be to ensure the thread or any posts, unless of course it totally and blatantly violates the site TOS, or laws that every Zone citizen has agreed to abide by when signing on." answered L.A. Playa.

I have a problem with agreeing about a problem, but not resolving the problem. Can there be both TOS editing, and Spam sending? I could live with a compromise like that.

~The PC Times

[The King]

Let me be the first to say I think the staff does a good job sending the SPAM threads away. They are usually all over that!

[L.A. Playa]

Currently being a Mod on another board i have found that talking calmly, yet with authority usually will quell any personal attacks on a message board. You have your extreme cases, but once again from my personal experience here it seems as if the staff does a good job of managing personal attacks.

[chernobylwraiths]

So, if EE is the whip and MBB the squirrel, you are saying that Gunz is unelectable?