Putting my best foot forward

[Rosebud]

Ideally, you would've never known that you weren't elected.

I disagree. It would have been even more insulting if I had never found out about it. At least to me it would have. Maybe some people are cool with that kind of thing going on without their knowledge, but I'm not. The best thing that happened was me figuring it out.

[All-American]

You're confused.

Indeed.

[Hot Lunch]

Today marks the beginning of my unofficial, nonexistent campaign. I have no right run for SE. I'm breaking all the rules. But here's to hoping that someday I'll have the right to a real live election thread that takes place right before my very eyes.

Today I'm sending friendship invites to the entire board. If you want to wear my button, just press accept. If you're already my friend and this is just waaaaay too much for you, my feelings won't get hurt if you break it off. If you want an invite and I accidentally miss you, I apologize. Send one my way.

Cheers!

Are you new here? Have you been around long?

[tooblue]

on the contrary. I didn't log in all week. I was logged out before RF was ever renominated. I did not read back through the threads in the crypt. I don't know what all transpired, nor am I interested in it. I have no idea what a Valinor is.

I think the SE concept is absurd and juvenile and I haven't voted in an "election" in years. But loudly and stridently clamoring for change is not always the best way to effect it.

I have nothing more to say on the matter.

I am a geek and wrongly assumed others would understand my reference to [ame="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Valinor"]Valinor - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia@@AMEPARAM@@/wiki/File:Arda.Tengwar.svg" class="image"><img alt="" src="http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/7/77/Arda.Tengwar.svg/18px-Arda.Tengwar.svg.png"@@AMEPARAM@@commons/thumb/7/77/Arda.Tengwar.svg/18px-Arda.Tengwar.svg.png[/ame]

There are prominent members of this board who are noticeably absent and have not posted in a while. Either they have been suspended or have suspended themselves (gone to Valinor).

I agree that the SE concept is absurd. I cast my final vote long ago with my feet. It was one of the issues with the Speakeasy that did not sit well with me. I'm not advocating others do the same but it is clear many have chosen a somewhat similar route. I am sorry if I have upset Babs or anyone else.

[ERCougar]

Ugh...these kinds of threads are depressing.

Once in a while, I start to think that this board is full of bright, well-rounded people with interesting things to say, and if I had the chance to associate with them in real life, would constitute a great group of friends. And then there are threads like this, and I realize that this board might just be made up of exactly what the stereotype would indicate.

Rosebud, you care WAY too much about this. This is not a real world. This is an imaginary framework of made-up of often artificial personae, that I imagine would be far less interesting in real life. There's nothing particularly interesting going on in the SE--for a healthy person, it should be nothing more than a google-free zone--and once in a while, there are some really crappy and hurtful things said.

Everyone else, count me in among those who think the exclusion of just about any regular contributor is exactly the reason that makes the SE ugly at times. That, and the gossip (If you want to talk about someone behind their back, PM them.) I completely support those who "vote with their feet". I'm not doing it, because I just don't care enough, but I'm certainly not a supporter, and frankly, the whole drama depresses me a little.

I need a real life. Maybe that's what DDD figured out.

[MindfulCoug]

I need a real life. Maybe that's what DDD figured out.

Has something finally stopped that post engine??

[thesaint258]

I get why some people like the SE and others don't. I know absolutely nothing about vBulletin, but something like CB's Friends Only posts would probably be useful here. That way people who want to communicate more personal information can do so, and there isn't a hidden part of the board that only some people can access.

[pellegrino]

I get why some people like the SE and others don't. I know absolutely nothing about vBulletin, but something like CB's Friends Only posts would probably be useful here. That way people who want to communicate more personal information can do so, and there isn't a hidden part of the board that only some people can access.

As far as I understand the "friends only" feature is not possible through vbulletin. Lebowski would know better than me though.

[thesaint258]

As far as I understand the "friends only" feature is not possible through vbulletin. Lebowski would know better than me though.

I thought that might be the case, but I didn't know for sure.

[Rosebud]

As far as I understand the "friends only" feature is not possible through vbulletin. Lebowski would know better than me though.

I'm not sure what the friends only feature on CB is, but I do get the argument that additional groups could make this place even more divisive. That said, being able to send PMs to 20 people at a time helps in this regard now. PMs are WAY different than threads, though. They have their value, but it's just not the same thing.

To me the obvious, easy solution is to solve the problems in a way that works for almost everyone. I think we can keep the SE and make entrance relatively painless. As a result, CUF will become more entertaining and less psycho. (Not calling anyone names here.) A few people would have to sacrifice a bit, I guess, but the majority would benefit.

[Babs]

I get why some people like the SE and others don't. I know absolutely nothing about vBulletin, but something like CB's Friends Only posts would probably be useful here. That way people who want to communicate more personal information can do so, and there isn't a hidden part of the board that only some people can access.

wouldn't that simply make for the potential for infinite parts of the board that only some people can access?

[Babs]

I'm not sure what the friends only feature on CB is, but I do get the argument that additional groups could make this place even more divisive. That said, being able to send PMs to 20 people at a time helps in this regard now. PMs are WAY different than threads, though. They have their value, but it's just not the same thing.

To me the obvious, easy solution is to solve the problems in a way that works for almost everyone. I think we can keep the SE and make entrance relatively painless. As a result, CUF will become more entertaining and less psycho. (Not calling anyone names here.) A few people would have to sacrifice a bit, I guess, but the majority would benefit.

for the sake of the more confused among us (read: All-American), could you clarify? Do you want to be included in the speakeasy or not?

[thesaint258]

wouldn't that simply make for the potential for infinite parts of the board that only some people can access?

In a sense that's true, but it seems like posting something that only your friends can see has less of an exclusionary feeling than having an entire part of the board available to only certain people.

[Rosebud]

for the sake of the more confused among us (read: All-American), could you clarify? Do you want to be included in the speakeasy or not?

Yeah…. AA likes his confusion. I’ll try to be straightforward for everyone else.

Those who know me the best know that sometimes I post tactically. I am a sincere, honest person, but I also strategize. I have an internet persona of my own that I use to forward my own agenda. In this case my strategy is to break the unwritten, cultural rules. The most annoying thing is that while I’m looking for entrance into SE, I’m being pretty clear that I’m looking for it to happen in a different way. So, basically, this is a different approach to SE reform.

I break the rules because it seems like a better choice than going on and on and on and on with this. The thing is that this topic has been discussed ad nauseam. I can’t even begin to imagine how sick of it anyone who has been around for a few years must be and I’m guessing we could probably spend another two years discussing how to fix it until we all decide to shoot ourselves. Okay, maybe that’s a bit melodramatic.

I know that the rule breaking pisses people off. There is a right way and a wrong way to act on CUF. This is the wrong way. It’s just that the right way is to the advantage of some and the disadvantage of others. But there’s really no reason to keep repeating this stuff. To me my out-of-place behaviors are less obnoxious than continuing on with the system we’ve got going now just because we all like to talk so much. Politics take forever.

[All-American]

Yeah…. AA likes his confusion. I’ll try to be straightforward for everyone else.

Those who know me the best know that sometimes I post tactically. I am a sincere, honest person, but I also strategize. I have an internet persona of my own that I use to forward my own agenda. In this case my strategy is to break the unwritten, cultural rules. The most annoying thing is that while I’m looking for entrance into SE, I’m being pretty clear that I’m looking for it to happen in a different way. So, basically, this is a different approach to SE reform.

I break the rules because it seems like a better choice than going on and on and on and on with this. The thing is that this topic has been discussed ad nauseam. I can’t even begin to imagine how sick of it anyone who has been around for a few years must be and I’m guessing we could probably spend another two years discussing how to fix it until we all decide to shoot ourselves. Okay, maybe that’s a bit melodramatic.

I know that the rule breaking pisses people off. There is a right way and a wrong way to act on CUF. This is the wrong way. It’s just that the right way is to the advantage of some and the disadvantage of others. But there’s really no reason to keep repeating this stuff. To me my out-of-place behaviors are less obnoxious than continuing on with the system we’ve got going now just because we all like to talk so much. Politics take forever.

Hence, my "confusion"-- which, I should note, has absolutely nothing to do with wondering whether or not you want in the SE or not. I'm familiar enough with the jilted lover syndrome to know it when I see it. My "confusion" has much more to do with a number of other questions.

For starters, one wonders how you seem to have all the fixes for a system about which you know so little. The SE evolved from an antecedent which featured several of the "reforms" for which you advocate. Those features were abandoned because they didn't work. Experience has shown that they cause more trouble, not less.

Then there's the matter of what sort of fixes you might offer for a system that just isn't "broken." Nearly every major SE/Crypt spat, dating back to its origins, has centered on one particularly volatile and polarizing character (like him, love him, or hate him). In a week or so, once the waters have calmed again, the powers that be will likely look this incident and realize that even if the rules could stand for a fairly minor tweak or two, the problems came about not because the rules were inadequate, but because they weren't followed. They may have come to that realization already.

Which brings us to point three: why you think that breaking rules is the way to make things better. This isn't Ricks college, where we love having as many rules as possible so we can have more opportunities to receive the blessings of obedience. We're already as minimalist when it comes to rules as we know how to get, and the rules that we tolerate are little more than common-sense expressions of mutual respect and cooperation. Open defiance thereof isn't so much a way of introducing change as it is a show of contempt for this little society and its members. You're not the first person to try to demonstrate the value of the society by breaking its rules. It hasn't worked yet.

The topic has been discussed "ad nauseum", you say, and yet you keep bringing it up. You seem manifestly less interested in participation than in experimentation, and yet you're shocked that nobody is terribly anxious to play along. It's a shame, because when you don't conduct yourself as though you've got an axe to grind, you're among the more interesting and meaningful contributors here. So long as you do, though, don't be too surprised when others around you would prefer not to play the role of the grindstone.