Afraid to post?

[GalvestonDuck]

OK Linda, I guess that's my official notice that I'm getting banned now? I'm so glad that your powerful position on an internet message board is your entire life. Enjoy!

Actually, no...she's referring to something else and someone else.

I guess there's one thing that people don't quite understand here: With the exception of spammers and trolls who rejoin after being banned, we mods do NOT have the authority to ban. It's up to all the staff to discuss and decide IF someone gets banned. And then, Marshall, Chad, or David act upon that decision. And it wasn't even until recently, after a flood of spam, that we mods could even ban spam and the trolls.

Then why respond to me by my username at a different weather board? Sounds like a not-so-thinly-veiled threat to me.

Nope, I'm pretty sure there was nothing threatening about it. Just her way of acknowledging your thoughts here, I guess.

[Yankeegirl]

Popcorn anyone?? Pass it down.... I have some milk duds....

[Miss Mary]

Oh most of this is going to come out soon enough. Enjoy your stay here Miss Mary and TexasLady.

Like Jen said above, I guess that is my official notice too.

Well, okay then. Point taken, memo read BUT before I go....

I think S2K's new name should be......

S2Kloo!

Good-bye everyone. It has been wonderful in its hey day. I've truly loved my time here, I am being very sincere when I say that, this has been a wonderful internet "home" for many years. But the same homey feel I once found here does not exist anymore. These antics - who said what, did you hear this, or that, you're banned, that's it, bla bla, basically what Regit so kindly took us down that Point A - Z road, the order or how opposing viewpoints go around here, yeah put me in that category please, I'm a proud Dem, for one example, never realized you ~should~ be a Rep to belong here, I mean truly belong, are all so high schoolish to me. I DID NOT play petty, cliquey (sp?) games girls played then and I'll be darned if I'll play them now.

This is who you get when you post or email with me now - brutal honesty. And Linda if you can't handle the truth here, well then yes please delete my account now. For the rest of you that are so very, very dear to my heart, I will always, always have a very special place in my heart for you all.

Chad and Marshall - it's been fun but you've got to clean house here!!!!!!

Goodbye everyone.

Sincerely,

Miss Mary

PS - Chad, do you remember how bad things got over at TWC boards right before Black Wednesday? And how you vowed S2K would never become like that? Well, needless to say I am very disappointed in the state of things here now. Not with you personally, you are among that group I hold dearly in my heart, but somewhere along the line here, the reason you created S2K has left the building! I am gone, don't worry but please, oh please do not let the board you and Marshall created become like TWC was back then! For the love of God man, don't let that happen.......

[Janie2006]

I'm not lost...just sitting back and watching. The plot has thickened.

The trouble is that I don't know what the plot is.

Especially if you just happend to finally get around to looking into the thread. O.o I'm not reading all 8 pages to figure everything out...
What happens in the thread stays in the thread...

We're not talking about Vegas anymore, are we?

[sunny]

I'm not lost...just sitting back and watching. The plot has thickened.

The trouble is that I don't know what the plot is.

Especially if you just happend to finally get around to looking into the thread. O.o I'm not reading all 8 pages to figure everything out...
What happens in the thread stays in the thread...

We're not talking about Vegas anymore, are we?

Apparently not. I thought this thread was started to try to understand the member concerns here and now it would seem it has turned into a mod vs member event. I am sitting here reading the last couple of pages and cannot believe what I have read. This is crazy. And I'm outta here.

[Janie2006]

Miss Mary, FWIW I'm politically left-of-center and usually end up voting with the Dems, since that party is one of the few viable options in this country. Needless to say, that isn't a popular persuasion in some parts of boardworld....including here. I just wanted to let you know that you aren't alone in feeling ostracized sometimes.


Janie

[angelwing]

***deleted***

[cycloneye]

Nonone has to go anywhere,because the ship will not sink,I can assure you that.You may not believe what I am saying,but the sun will shine more brighter than ever in storm2k.

[Dustin]

If I were the admins here, I'd take the suggestions and do something to fix it, even if that means pushing out overly strict moderators. You guys are now not just loosing, people from *shutters to say* easternuswx, but your own long time members who have DONATED MONEY to storm2k. That tells you something.

[GalvestonDuck]

I'm going to try to spell this out again for those who missed it.

Mods don't ban members.

Secondly, there is a rule about politics and since there is, there's really no need for any Republican v. Democrat stuff here and no need to assume anyone would get banned for not being Republican. That's ridiculous. BTW, since Linda is getting a lot of the heat here, did anyone who was around for the Political Arena happen to notice she's not Republican either?

As we said before, you don't see everything. If someone is suspended or banned and they say it was because of their political affiliation or because they disagreed with a staff member, think again. You're probably never going to read the post that was deleted or the PM that was sent, but there is always more than what you see on this open board. I guarantee, the things that have come out of some people's mouths in private as opposed to how they post here can be quite colorful. Furthermore, it seems a lot of people are assuming that because Linda was involved in a discussion and then that thread got locked, she was the one who locked it because someone didn't "agree with a mod" or was not Republican. WRONG. You guys who were in the PA know well enough that Linda (as well as other mods and other members) can get pretty serious when it comes to a good discussion. They wouldn't want it to stop. However, many times, another mod came in behind her and locked it. And there were times, when a mod came in behind her, removed offending posts, and then also locked it. Unfortunately, you can't see who locks it. I've made the suggestion that when a mod locks a thread, that mod's post should be the last one and should say "Locked by ________." However, I really wish there was no need to lock posts. But again, communication is the key.

Having said that, a lot of stuff has been communicated recently among the staff. Views have been expressed, concerned raised, and points have been made.

And changes have already happened.

[Opal storm]

Well this thread has fallen into a deep black hole.

I hope some of you re-think your decision to leave,I would hate to see some of you go.

[BreinLa]

Your right Opal, please don't leave. Miss Mary I enoy your posts too much and sunny, hey girl stick with me. Maybe just a little break would help, if you all need anything please just pm me. We'll need your input when the storms start up.

[Stephanie]

I'm not lost...just sitting back and watching. The plot has thickened.

The trouble is that I don't know what the plot is.

Especially if you just happend to finally get around to looking into the thread. O.o I'm not reading all 8 pages to figure everything out...
What happens in the thread stays in the thread...

We're not talking about Vegas anymore, are we?

Apparently not. I thought this thread was started to try to understand the member concerns here and now it would seem it has turned into a mod vs member event. I am sitting here reading the last couple of pages and cannot believe what I have read. This is crazy. And I'm outta here.

Actually, I think this is something that has been needed for a LONG TIME. There's been alot of hostilities building up and sometimes they need to be released.

A thread like this is going to get ugly and be ugly. There are MANY issues between Mods and members, members and members and Mods and Mods/Admins. Part of understanding the members concerns also includes hashing out some of those concerns right here on the board, in this thread. Some members have already mentioned that they think that the rules should apply to everyone. I agree and I think we're seeing the knee-jerk reaction right now.

Pass the popcorn...

[Bobbie Lee]

[yoda]

This thread is getting a bit out of hand...

[Regit]

I'm hoping today doesn't become Black Saturday.

[Regit]

I'm going to try to spell this out again for those who missed it.

Mods don't ban members.

Secondly, there is a rule about politics and since there is, there's really no need for any Republican v. Democrat stuff here and no need to assume anyone would get banned for not being Republican. That's ridiculous. BTW, since Linda is getting a lot of the heat here, did anyone who was around for the Political Arena happen to notice she's not Republican either?

As we said before, you don't see everything. If someone is suspended or banned and they say it was because of their political affiliation or because they disagreed with a staff member, think again. You're probably never going to read the post that was deleted or the PM that was sent, but there is always more than what you see on this open board. I guarantee, the things that have come out of some people's mouths in private as opposed to how they post here can be quite colorful. Furthermore, it seems a lot of people are assuming that because Linda was involved in a discussion and then that thread got locked, she was the one who locked it because someone didn't "agree with a mod" or was not Republican. WRONG. You guys who were in the PA know well enough that Linda (as well as other mods and other members) can get pretty serious when it comes to a good discussion. They wouldn't want it to stop. However, many times, another mod came in behind her and locked it. And there were times, when a mod came in behind her, removed offending posts, and then also locked it. Unfortunately, you can't see who locks it. I've made the suggestion that when a mod locks a thread, that mod's post should be the last one and should say "Locked by ________." However, I really wish there was no need to lock posts. But again, communication is the key.

Having said that, a lot of stuff has been communicated recently among the staff. Views have been expressed, concerned raised, and points have been made.

And changes have already happened.

First, the rule about politics hasn't prevented political discussion on the board.

Second, it's not Rep vs. Dem. It's us vs. you. Ideology is what matters, not party affiliation.

Third, banning isn't the only thing that makes people feel unwelcome here. There have been many things that have happened here to make people feel unwelcome.

Fourth, the reason people are jumping on the staff is because they're the ones responsible for making people feel welcome here. Two members in an argument isn't going to turn people off of the board. It's when two people get into an argument and staff backs one of them. The other then feels they're not wanted here. There have been instances where one person was CLEARLY wrong and was still backed by staff.

Again, sometimes it has nothing to do with politics.

[Rainband]

If I were the admins here, I'd take the suggestions and do something to fix it, even if that means pushing out overly strict moderators. You guys are now not just loosing, people from *shutters to say* easternuswx, but your own long time members who have DONATED MONEY to storm2k. That tells you something.

The moderators do a Job with guidelines provided to us. I was banned from S2K because of my emotions and it took me a while to seperate them from my job ,but I did and after that I have done nothing but moderate to the best of my ability and without bias. I have always been fair and considered the entire situation before making a judgement. Does S2K have some problems?? Yes we have over 8000 members from all different walks of life. Yes it's true we have lost members and some of them we are better off without. Have we made errors in judgement?? Yes we have. We are only human. The only thing that bothers me is in this thread is the comments that seem to want to continue the drama, rather than fix it.

[TexasSam]

I made one of them screaming, slam the door behind me, and stomp off posts about a year ago. for what I can't remember now. It wasn't long befor I got a nice email from some of the "powers that be" here and came back. What I do now days if I get upset here I wait about a day before I respond, by that time it just seems silly to be mad about whatever happened. Oh yeah I remember, I made this what I thought was a great post, and the next day I couldn't find it, and was all mad I thought it had been deleted. I later found out that post had been moved, and they forgot to send me a PM about it. seems silly now.

Stay warm all!

[budrizr]

Allowing people to state their opinions in this thread, without fear of a backlash, would be a big step to right your ship. Some of the most amazing people in the weather board community have been either banned from here or don't post here any longer. There may be good reasons for these things and I won't speculate here, but the sanitized environment that is created by the rules/moderation is probably a hindrance to the continued growth of this board.

People disagree, especially in regard to politics & religion, but banning the discussion of those topics really can limit your off topic section. If you think about it, there's not always weather to talk about. What will keep the people coming back even when the weather is slow is a lively OT section. If you silence the discourse, you silence the discussion.

If you want to be "Your Year Round Weather Community", then make people feel welcome. Rules are needed, but they shouldn't be used to completely control the member's experience.