Local election threads

[aaron]

The local election threads have been thrown in the trash, and the new place to discuss these elections will be the Local Elections forum that is in this forum. All posts will be moderated. Maybe this will discourage the bickering and arguing that has went on here for the past few months about these elections. I don't think anyone that reads it finds it particularly useful, and combing through 100 posts to find maybe one about where a candidate really stands on something is not something I want to put anyone through anymore.

Any candidates that want to title a thread appropriately and give a speech for our members and visitors to read are encouraged to do so. Anyone that has legitimate questions for these candidates are encouraged to ask. I'm also looking for someone to start election race threads that are titled appropriately, have information about the candidates running, and possibly their web sites if they exist. If anyone wants to help with this, I would appreciate it.

Threads and posts can still be submitted just like anywhere else on the forum, but a moderator will have to approve them for it to post. This will be the same for every group here. I hate to put this strain on our already small voluntary staff, but these discussions have just turned ridiculous.

[dasmybaby]

but us perry county folks were enjoying our bickering! ;-)

[To The Topp]

Dad nab it!! You take down the thread just as I fired a shot at both of the dueling attorneys. I was going for the major laugh.

[SoMissTV]

I hate to put this strain on our already small voluntary staff, but these discussions have just turned ridiculous.

Maybe you should add more moderators.

[jayjern]

The local election threads have been thrown in the trash, and the new place to discuss these elections will be the Local Elections forum that is in this forum. All posts will be moderated. Maybe this will discourage the bickering and arguing that has went on here for the past few months about these elections. I don't think anyone that reads it finds it particularly useful, and combing through 100 posts to find maybe one about where a candidate really stands on something is not something I want to put anyone through anymore.

Any candidates that want to title a thread appropriately and give a speech for our members and visitors to read are encouraged to do so. Anyone that has legitimate questions for these candidates are encouraged to ask. I'm also looking for someone to start election race threads that are titled appropriately, have information about the candidates running, and possibly their web sites if they exist. If anyone wants to help with this, I would appreciate it.

Threads and posts can still be submitted just like anywhere else on the forum, but a moderator will have to approve them for it to post. This will be the same for every group here. I hate to put this strain on our already small voluntary staff, but these discussions have just turned ridiculous.

you edited two of my posts...TDB qualifications as an attorney certainly reflect on his ability to represent me in Jackson...I think I will start a new web site where people can speak without editing..thanks
jay

[Fish-Bait]

Free the threads_.:-D

[aaron]

you edited two of my posts...TDB qualifications as an attorney certainly reflect on his ability to represent me in Jackson...I think I will start a new web site where people can speak without editing..thanks
jay

I would encourage that. Feel free to post a link once the site is completed. I simply don't have the time to keep up with everything. I just wanted to provide a place where you could meet other people in Hattiesburg and talk about what's going on. It was never intended to be a platform for followers of candidates to sling mud at other candidates. Which is what it has turned into lately.

[dasmybaby]

If moderators serve on a volunteer basis and there is a need for more and better moderation, then why don't you ask for more volunteers? I'm sure out of 2000+ members, you could find a sufficient number of volunteers to serve.

i would be willing to do some moderating...i'm on here tons as it is, and with school starting back, i'm just going to be on the internet more while doing workstudy....

[aaron]

Unfortunately, the timing of your decision is poor. With the primaries only 4 1/2 days away, no candidate who has already made comments or posted their stands on issues is going to have time to come back and REPOST or address any questions AGAIN. Since everything has been 'thrown in the trash,' you've essentially hurt candidates who already had comments about themselves and you've left them without time to revisit the members here. I'm certain they are all OUT campaigning door to door now.

In your haste to do what the moderators should have been doing all along (moderating the threads), you've thrown the baby out with the bath water and an injustice has been served to candidates and voters who had already posted. The problem with 'bickering' etc. was not the thread or the system that was already created, it was the lack of moderation to keep it civil. And the fact that an AB member called a candidate an 'idiot' is totally unacceptable to me and other MH members. JMHO.

To be perfectly honest, I don't know what to do. I highly doubt more moderators will solve the problem. I started with zero, increased to two, then went to three. The situation continues. If the posts were reported, then maybe we could handle the issues, but many aren't. I have noticed posts that someone quoted days later, read back through the thread, and saw that a person posted about someone's family. Several posters quoted and rebuked the post, no one reported it. If it's not reported, it has a good chance of going unnoticed. I don't ask my moderators to go through everything posted here. At 500, to sometimes 1,000 posts per day, they really can't. All we have is what is reported.

As always, I'm open to ideas. Many have commented that a candidate would be a fool to post here, and I don't like that statement. What would be your solution?

[dasmybaby]

As always, I'm open to ideas. Many have commented that a candidate would be a fool to post here, and I don't like that statement. What would be your solution?

just a thought...designate 1 person for each of the campaign threads to moderate it? and they go through and read just the ones for that thread and look for demeaning remarks? that might be an option....

[cubby 1]

To be perfectly honest, I don't know what to do. I highly doubt more moderators will solve the problem. I started with zero, increased to two, then went to three. The situation continues. If the posts were reported, then maybe we could handle the issues, but many aren't. I have noticed posts that someone quoted days later, read back through the thread, and saw that a person posted about someone's family. Several posters quoted and rebuked the post, no one reported it. If it's not reported, it has a good chance of going unnoticed. I don't ask my moderators to go through everything posted here. At 500, to sometimes 1,000 posts per day, they really can't. All we have is what is reported.

As always, I'm open to ideas. Many have commented that a candidate would be a fool to post here, and I don't like that statement. What would be your solution?


First, I want to thank you for what you provide for us. People need to remember that this is your brainchild.

The election threads were getting a little out of hand, but I'm not sure that removing them was the best way to go about it. I don't have a better way in mind, but I think there could have been a better way. That being said, I think more volunteer moderators is a big step in the right direction.

I do not think that editing/deleting other peoples posts is the best way to go either, but it is your website to do with what you please. You do a great job, as it is.

[aaron]

Well, I can tell you that I didn't want to go this way either. Moderating all posts is basically going to choke the life out of the election topics, but I'm at my wits end here. With the posts that I have read in the election discussions, a large majority of it is someone complaining about another candidate. Is it their opinion? Yes. Are they entitled to it? Yes. Does it do anything positive for the discussion here? I don't think so.

[dasmybaby]

i know in the perry co thread, when we were talking about candidates, we were making a huge deal out of the change we need to have. i would venture to bet 99% of us are in one accord on the matter. i know there was a LOT of mudslinging in the house 104 thread though....that one needed some serious moderation.

[wilebill]

I agree that there needs to be a new process for the election threads because they were getting out of hand. I think it's lucky that the elections are only less than a week away because probably anything that could be said by the candidates and their supporters and detractors has already been said. It's not like this forum exists strictly for elections, but it was a good place to discuss them. So good, in fact, that it seemed to pull everybody in to do just that. Basically, MH has become a victim of its own popularity.

At least by taking these measures it won't become a free for all place to sling whatever mud people want to sling. There's still enough time to come up with a good solution before the general elections. It's time for all of us to put on our thinking caps and get this worked out.

[politically incorrect]

My question is, if we can't bicker about politics - keeping it half-way civil, I understand - what is there to talk about? The busiest this site has been was during the Wynn controversy and the elections. Not much else going on. And when you talk about politics, it is naturally going to get a little heated. I think we are all grown-up enough to handle a little give-and-take on an Internet forum.

[aaron]

My question is, if we can't bicker about politics - keeping it half-way civil, I understand - what is there to talk about? The busiest this site has been was during the Wynn controversy and the elections. Not much else going on. And when you talk about politics, it is naturally going to get a little heated. I think we are all grown-up enough to handle a little give-and-take on an Internet forum.

Actually, the busiest it's been is the last 6 months. It really exploded in January of 2007 when posts in a month almost doubled. This didn't occur during any controversy, and very little election discussion took place. There are a large group of regular posters that post very little in these sections. I'm a bit biased though, since I'd like to believe that what we have here is more than local politics.

[amanda]

Hey, here's an idea. Can we start a thread called "Bash the Snot out of the Candidates"? We have one to bash each other - why not one exclusively for the candidates? :) Just a thought.

[wilebill]

It's not just the election threads - because MH is made up of a diverse group of members, you can have this kind of situation in ANY thread, including religion and welcoming threads.

And if you are referring to throwing the threads in the trash as 'taking these measures' it seems to me to have been a knee-jerk reaction for lack of a better idea in how to handle moderation on this board. Obviously the current moderating system in not working sufficiently or effectively.

Instead of addressing issues along the way and making modifications to rules or in this case the methods of enforcing rules, the response is to throw things out and start with something brand new. A lot of good things get thrown away in the process. This seems to happen too frequently.

There's nothing wrong with the system, or the rules, or the people responsible for enforcing the rules - there just aren't enough people to properly and efficiently enforce them.

How about working to enforce the rules we've got instead of constantly coming up with newer rules?I totally disagree with everything you said, and I don't think anyone said anything about new rules, just trying to come up with a better solution.

[Bluesman]

If the posts were reported, then maybe we could handle the issues, but many aren't. I have noticed posts that someone quoted days later, read back through the thread, and saw that a person posted about someone's family. Several posters quoted and rebuked the post, no one reported it. If it's not reported, it has a good chance of going unnoticed. I don't ask my moderators to go through everything posted here. At 500, to sometimes 1,000 posts per day, they really can't. All we have is what is reported.

As always, I'm open to ideas. Many have commented that a candidate would be a fool to post here, and I don't like that statement. What would be your solution?

Aaron, with all due respect if the posts in question are rebuked by several members then not reported it is because that a lot of times we can have "civil disagreements" and not have to run and "report" things all the time. Sometimes it is handled by the members by groans, neg reps, or rebuttal posts and then it is settled by the members civilized like. If a few are not solved and get reported, then deal with those but the ones that are handled and moved on with I don't think need anymore attention drawn to them. Sometimes throwing water on a fire doesn't necessarily put it out, it sometimes causes it to spread, if you know what I mean.

[Mike]

Kudos to Aaron. While I don't like the fact that you did this, I clearly acknowledge that it was necessary. Tough job dude. Well done.

A line has to be drawn. Infrequently I see profanities (or close-enough proximations such to leave no doubt) and without consistently applying the rules, we are on a slippery slope that may end up much worse than it was/is. So, you had to do it.

Here's another deal, though: I'm relatively new and am the type of person that's not inclined to use profanity, flame folks (OK, only sometimes) or commit any grievances against the "rules." Whether they're your rules or not, they're mine.

What exactly ARE the guidelines? If specific enough, and easy to understand, I bet almost all would stay within those lines. Those that don't shouldn't get edited, they should get their priviledges removed. Lot less trouble for moderators. And the lesson would sink in pretty quickly I would guess...

Looking at the signature/tag line on your post - it appears that you are advocating those 'right-to-the-limit' things that you are finding yourself having to monitor now. Is there a mixed message?

[Mike]

I asked a question of a poster some weeks ago - but didn't "report" - regarding the coloquial use of "WTF" in the thread name.

I'm a big boy so it isn't all about me, but occasionally my kids might be looking over my shoulder while I'm perusing MH and I wondered if this was a use of language that was acceptable to this board.

I was softly rebuked, no one else said anything, so I figured it was. The point is, the limits have been stretched and are just now being enforced. Dozens of immediate examples.

Oh well. We get what we're paying for.

All-in-all this is tremendous entertainment for me. Certainly better than my large format, hi-def, multi-selection, overpriced cable option...

[Kitty]

Do members of the AB serve as moderators?

[aaron]

I like the concept of this idea and I'd like to take it a step further - past the election threads.

Instead of having a few moderators overseeing the entire site, why not have moderators for each forum? You could assign the number of moderators necessary only for that forum.

For example:

My Community - 2 moderators (add a 3rd moderator during election seasons)

Off Topic - 3 moderators (this is the largest forum)
Everything else under General - 2 moderators

Common Interests - 3 moderators

That's a total of 10 moderators. Assign moderators to the forums that they are already participating in. For example, get three people who frequent the Common Interest forums to moderate those posts - they are already reading it anyway.

I assure you that reminders from a moderator regarding the kind of posts you are looking for will be much more easily tolerated by the members than just throwing away threads or editing posts. And the quicker in the process that a reminder comes, the less likely the thread will get out of hand. You don't want to limit free speech, you want to ensure respectful behavior in the way that speech is delivered.

I'm not totally opposed to this idea. Many forums have forum-specific moderators and it works out fine. I've seen mods on other boards go on a power trip and quell anyone that doesn't agree with what they are trying promote (or in this case, the candidate they like). The right moderators for the job will probably be a 100+ post debate, but at this point, I'm willing to try anything so that I can spend the time I have here on things that I like to do which is work on features.

[aaron]

Do members of the AB serve as moderators?

Not as a group, no. The AB is an voluntary advisory committee.

[kevin]

I know this is off topic but QM your new avatar is HOT!

[kevin]

Yeah, I watch it religiously!!!

[Guru]

I like the concept of this idea and I'd like to take it a step further - past the election threads.

Instead of having a few moderators overseeing the entire site, why not have moderators for each forum? You could assign the number of moderators necessary only for that forum.

For example:

My Community - 2 moderators (add a 3rd moderator during election seasons)

Off Topic - 3 moderators (this is the largest forum)
Everything else under General - 2 moderators

Common Interests - 3 moderators

That's a total of 10 moderators. Assign moderators to the forums that they are already participating in. For example, get three people who frequent the Common Interest forums to moderate those posts - they are already reading it anyway.

I assure you that reminders from a moderator regarding the kind of posts you are looking for will be much more easily tolerated by the members than just throwing away threads or editing posts. And the quicker in the process that a reminder comes, the less likely the thread will get out of hand. You don't want to limit free speech, you want to ensure respectful behavior in the way that speech is delivered.

* If you are headed into multiple moderators that is the direction I would take it. It's just most difficult to expect people that feel strongly about life around them not to get passionate in their posts. There are words from a keyboard coming out, a lot of emotions and no facial contact or body language to use to express things. There are just words and people with their own ideas. The more important part is to understand that in coming here you should be here to listen to the opinions of others. Get the view, it gives me perspective I may have missed with only my opinion.
Just a suggestion, don't fight with your fellow posters, embrace them for sharing their thoughts with you and also the things they know to be true.

[fuzzis]

This is always the case. New isn't better. When rules changes are made, it is typically a result of the old rules being ignored. Just because a rule is new doesn't mean it will magically work better.

But I must say, I have found that I can predict with fairly high accuracy the action that will be taken against a reported post given a few variables. Perhaps more people don't report certain posts out of a "what's the use" mentality.

With fairly high accuracy, others of us have found that we can predict who will be leading the charge against whatever it is that aaron, the mods, and the AB decide to do. When you all break the rules, not much happens to you because there's a "don't rock the boat" mentality.

[aaron]

How comical it is that you make this statement! "When you all break the rules" - I assume means all the rest of us. What about when you break the rules written and approved by the AB of which you are a member.

In the last 2 days, you've broken at least 2 rules - First, you used the word "s**tload" in a News Thread (Bridge Collapse) and secondly, you called TDB an idiot in the Election Thread which has been thrown in the trash. What are the consequences when you break the rules you've helped to write? Do you have a "don't rock the boat" mentality as well?

We can have a 200 post argument about us vs. them for the 20th time, or we can solve the problem at hand. Which will it be?

[fuzzis]

How comical it is that you make this statement! "When you all break the rules" - I assume means all the rest of us. What about when you break the rules written and approved by the AB of which you are a member.

In the last 2 days, you've broken at least 2 rules - First, you used the word "s**tload" in a News Thread (Bridge Collapse) and secondly, you called TDB an idiot in the Election Thread which has been thrown in the trash. What are the consequences when you break the rules you've helped to write? Do you have a "don't rock the boat" mentality as well?

To borrow your technique, QM.."you all" know who "you all" are.

If the mods had chosen to give me an infraction I would have taken that. I'm not a mod so I have no influence over those decisions.

This isn't about me, though, QM, and I think that most people long ago realized that.

[aaron]

This is always the case. New isn't better. When rules changes are made, it is typically a result of the old rules being ignored. Just because a rule is new doesn't mean it will magically work better.

But I must say, I have found that I can predict with fairly high accuracy the action that will be taken against a reported post given a few variables. Perhaps more people don't report certain posts out of a "what's the use" mentality.

Ok, I'll quote this post, and state that my post is in response to it and the posts that came after it along the same lines.

[aaron]

Wow...I'm shocked.

I can't say the same. I knew at some point it would turn to biased moderators who never do anything against their friends. I thought it would come up in the "Who should be moderator thread", but it didn't even take that long. Second page and we're on it.

[wilebill]

except for the disagreeable comments made by 2 AB members.
Main Entry: dis·agree·able http://www.m-w.com/images/audio.gif (http://javascript%3Cb%3E%3C/b%3E:popWin%28%27/cgi-bin/audio.pl?disagr02.wav=disagreeable%27%29)
Pronunciation: -&-b&l
Function: adjective
1 : causing discomfort : UNPLEASANT (http://www.m-w.com/dictionary/unpleasant), OFFENSIVE (http://www.m-w.com/dictionary/offensive) <a disagreeable odor>
2 : marked by ill temper : PEEVISH (http://www.m-w.com/dictionary/peevish) <a disagreeable person>
- dis·agree·able·ness noun
- dis·agree·ably http://www.m-w.com/images/audio.gif (http://javascript%3Cb%3E%3C/b%3E:popWin%28%27/cgi-bin/audio.pl?disagr03.wav=disagreeably%27%29) /-blE/ adverb So, because I disagree, my comment is disagreeable?

[aaron]

Aaron, whatever you want to do is up to you and the Board. I am one of the few posting on this thread who has actually taken the time to give you good suggestions for consideration - suggestions that seem to be agreeable to you and others posting in this thread - except for the disagreeable comments made by 2 AB members.

The post you quoted of Doc's does not seem to be much different from those made by Bluesman or Mike or myself earlier in the thread as to the reasons why users don't use the report post button. The reasons may be worded differently but the intent seems to be consistent.

In any regard, I'll be more than happy to continue our discussion on possible solutions. I thought that's what I'd been doing for the past 5 hours in this thread.

And it needs to continue without getting sidetracked. You see the drastic measures taken today to correct this problem, and I believe any alternate solution will have to be just as drastic in this forum's context in order to work over the long term.

[PathFinder]

Ummm...Ahem *Clears Throat*

VOTE KLEM for Constable!!!!

This shameless and possibly excessively large font has been paid for by the FRIENDS TO HELP ELECT JOHN KLEM.


We now return you to your regularly scheduled moaning and complaining about everything possible.

[EricStratton]

Hey, QM!

[aaron]

For the sake of discussion, I tend to disagree when it comes to 'drastic' measures. It's been my experience that 'drastic' measures usually come as a result of either poor planning, poor execution or a hurried response to a situation when one feels like something just has to be done right now. In this case, I think it may just be a 'new' system that doesn't have all the kinks worked out yet - addressing the moderator shortage and duties may be what is in order.

This is why I suggest that you have a good system in place - a system that you've obviously spent a great deal of time and effort to establish. A 'drastic' solution now or in the future should not be anticipated. Rather, you should work to have good implementation in order to make the system work for you.

If you ever find yourself in a position where you feel that a 'drastic' measure is all you can do right now, then you should back away and look behind you to see what you could have done differently to not be faced with having to make a 'drastic' decision. A 'drastic' decision makes you second-guess your system - and if you know it's a good system, don't second-guess it - make it work.

Anyway, that's my business advice for the night. Avoid drastic decisions and don't second guess your plan - work the plan instead.

Drastic is just a relative term. Tripling the amount of moderators we have now is drastic to me. It will be a radical change from what we have now, and a new challenge to try to manage, train, and try to monitor these people while they try to learn the ropes.

[EricStratton]

I'll be a moderator, aaron....no training or monitoring either....you know I'm mature enough to handle this assignment....

[daisy]

I have a report button in my upper right hand corner and can use it.

I think the moderator's need all the help they can get. I am a part of this and would want members to alert me if I were a moderator.

I think we all had this discussion a while back and I use it sparingly.

So, what if I used it and maybe I was touchy that day. the moderator could say, Daisy usually uses it only when it is out of the margins or maybe she had a bad day, is hungry, or whatever and still use their judgment.

I have also sailed past things and not used it. We are not all robots and I am fairly sensitive when people call out the real names, talk mean to each other, or the family.

I really don't care for personal attacks. Unless it is the bash the snot out of each other.

Speaking of local elections, I have heard some of the darndest ways of voting. :laugh:

Have ya'll ever stopped and thought how and why we vote for what or who? Kinda funny.:laugh:

[EricStratton]

I'm a moderator now.....but I can be paid-off......so.....you'll all be banned in 24 hrs. unless pledges of money, beer, or hot nasty sex....female sex....are made.....

[EricStratton]

Sue told me to tell you to behave or she'll blanch your butterbeans...

I don't know what that means....but, if it's Sue, I might like it.....and she won't get banned.....

[No-Halo]

Ummm...Ahem *Clears Throat*

VOTE KLEM for Constable!!!!

This shameless and possibly excessively large font has been paid for by the FRIENDS TO HELP ELECT JOHN KLEM.


We now return you to your regularly scheduled moaning and complaining about everything possible.

I tried to rep you for this PF but it said I had already made too many payoffs!! :smt118

[Butterball]

THREE MO DAYS -- NH -- THREE MO DAYS

Klem fo Con(stable)

[No-Halo]

THREE MO DAYS -- NH -- THREE MO DAYS

Klem fo Con(stable)
Oh yes Butterball, I can hardly wait. :ohnoes:

[aaron]

I'm looking at other options on this for this very reason. The forum does not notify me that a post needs to be moderated, so I would basically have to refresh that screen every few minutes to keep it updated.

[daisy]

How long is the period for a post to be "moderated?" I responded to SoMissTV's thread about Senate 45 with a fairly benign post this morning and it has yet to appear.

I responded to So Miss Tv's last night with 2 and they haven't been responded to either last I checked. I was not mean or nasty either.

The response said it had to be checked by a moderator before it could be posted.

Doc, there may have been more responses than my 2 and you're one.:smt086

[daisy]

I think they are all up now Daisy.


MY apologies to Aaron and the moderator. I was wrong. :smt022:smt105OOOPS.:smt105

I need to actually check the thread not just the latest posted ones.

Many thanks to the moderators and Aaron for giving us this forum to have.

[Mike]

All for YAY AARON stand up and holler.

(sorry. been listening to USM Pride CD with all the songs while riding around my jeep...)

[Mike]

jeep or year at usm?

'00 and '81

[Baloo]

Aaron, QM, wilebill, fuzzis and the rest of the moderators and AB, I just want to say thanks! I really enjoy this site and cannot imagine having to manage it, with the growth explosion that has occurred recently and perhaps one of the most diverse groups of people and opinions anywhere in one setting... I truly appreciate your efforts and enjoy my time in the MH world...

[pimpalert]

Everybody wants to know how I'm gonna vote.

http://www.unknownnews.net/mini-votingbooth.jpg

[OLDLADY]

Tomorrow is the day...Everyone get out and GO VOTE for your choice....and good luck to any and all........

[58ford]

No matter what the outcome I'm going to contest the results in the Forrest Co. Dist. 2 race for constable. Whether it makes any sense or not I feel I must make a stand about something.

[Mike]

What? Tomorrow's election day? Who do I vote for? I think I live in Lamar County...

Good grief, what will we talk about next month?

[carsalesguy]

No matter what the outcome I'm going to contest the results in the Forrest Co. Dist. 2 race for constable. Whether it makes any sense or not I feel I must make a stand about something.


http://www.manekineko.us/catalog/images/product/rogaine_regular_3month_supply_enlarge.jpg

[No-Halo]

Thank Ford, nothing like a good contesting. :-D

Carboy you're a "little" wrong about that, I still have a few hairs left but either way you look pretty hip in those tights.

http://z.about.com/d/humor/1/0/X/j/mike_elf4.jpg

[carsalesguy]

someone has to around here

[Baloo]

:clap: Good luck tomorrow No-Halo!!! :clap:

Maggie-Doodle and I are planning your victory party already!

:woohoo:

[SoMissTV]

For those who are uncomfortable with having moderators approve every message sent, the Hattiesburg American has set up election threads at their forums.

[aaron]

Yes, the HA Elections forum is here (http://forums.hattiesburgamerican.com/viewforum.php?f=81).