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Open letter to CP

Thank you Rod for having us here.

I think it's interesting to compare CP with other forums that have moderation teams deleting, locking, and changing posts.

IMO, as a site gets bigger and bigger, increased moderation is unavoidable. Self-moderation, while a great idea, isn't sustainable with a constantly changing group of members. In practice, self-moderation is just a thread exploding from 1 page to 10 pages in a few hours wth nothing really resolving itself until you (Rod) step in.
 
Thank you Rod for all you do and for this terrific place.

Read and understood.

I hope that we can stay away from Drama and help each other experience and enjoy cigars!

There are many fine folks here who want to stay positive. Perhaps, if we didn't give in to the temptation to "pile-on" quite so much, letting a couple old-timers give any needed in-thread corrections and letting it go at that, some of the little "fires" would go out for lack of fuel.
 
Rod said:
I'm currently in the process of redesigning the entire site, and am also planning a major forum upgrade. Not only does this cost money (more than we make from our sponsors), but it is also extremely time consuming.

We are not a business nor do we accept dues or solicit for donations.
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I think it would be okay to have a link for people to donate. When done properly, it should not change how things are run here.
 
Great and timely post, Rod.

FWIW, I've seen a lot more disagreements handled maturely and well in my short time here, than I've seen threads go down in flames. Frankly, the whole "big people table" vibe is . . . refreshing.

I think we can avoid any need for moderation here as long as we avoid this:

duty_calls.png


When in doubt . . . let it go. :D

~Boar
 
Excellent thread! Thanks Rod! I respect you for the way you handle this site. I know how hard you work to make this a great place. And it is a great place. It has been fun being here lately. Some threads are just hard to keep your $.02 out of. I hope that everyone here will take heed to this warning.

This place needs to be fun for Rod too!!!!
 
Thanks Rod for everything you do to keep everything running smoothly. I am hoping that we don't have to go the mod route.
 
Moderators? They better not be mean to me, the bastards. I'll tell Ron.

NA
 
Coming from the perspective of having run a web board for 15 years or so, moderators are not a bad thing.

Moderators as content filters are bad. Moderators as people to help with the daily busywork are good. The problem is finding people who will not get their egos involved in the mess, have judgement you can trust, and have the respect of most of the board.

That's not an easy task to find. Just wanted to note that being self-moderated for the sake of saying it isn't necessarily a good thing. I didn't like CP and more or any less when DaveWF was a moderator... except then he was acting like out on a power trip (which didn't really happen that often).

I also think a board can still be self-moderated with moderators on board. This isn't an oxymoron; just write up guidelines for what is or is not acceptable use of various moderator tools, and what should be deferred to you to make the final call.

I'm certainly not advocating adding moderators to CP, unless the burden on you is too great... and then only in specific understood capacities.
 
moki said:
The problem is finding people who will not get their egos involved in the mess, have judgement you can trust, and have the respect of most of the board.
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If it comes to this Rod, I agree with Moki. Perhaps the best way to achieve this would be for you or the membership to nominate say 10 members for 5 spots. Then put them all to a yes/no vote. The top five yes % are it. Those who care willvote.
 
mmburtch said:
moki said:
The problem is finding people who will not get their egos involved in the mess, have judgement you can trust, and have the respect of most of the board.
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If it comes to this Rod, I agree with Moki. Perhaps the best way to achieve this would be for you or the membership to nominate say 10 members for 5 spots. Then put them all to a yes/no vote. The top five yes % are it. Those who care willvote.
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I disagree... allowing people to "vote" on such things is rarely a good idea in my experience. There's something to be said for a benevolent (or at least enlightened) dictatorship for web boards, IMHO.
 
This is no time for a knee-Jerk reaction to an aberration. Let's face it, the holiday season is a stressful time for everyone. Add to that the shitty economy and the shock that a once beloved member turned out to be a hypocrite and welcher; I don't think now is a time to make any significant changes. Let this rest awhile and let the membership recover from this significant trauma. I suspect, in the end, things will be fine.

Doc.
 
Read and understood Rod.

Besides saying thank you (again) for all that you do, I'd invite you to let us know if there is any way we can help. I understand that you won't make this a fee-based board and I also know that you do not like the idea of taking donations, but I don't think the latter idea is a bad one at all. Donations are gifts, pure and simple. It's not like there'd have to be a minimum amount - heck, even if a bunch of members donated $12 a year ($1 per month!!!) I'm sure it would help a lot. So, I am again putting forth the suggestion that you set up some means for members to make donations. Heck Rod, even on some gaming boards I've been a member of, they would take donations for our Ventrilo or TeamSpeak servers. I certainly think Cigar Pass is at least as worthy.

Allowing members to make voluntary and anonymous donations is NOT the same a levying a membership fee. Why not give it a try? As you've stated several times, you already commit a significant amount of your time to this board, why not let us help defray some of the costs? I'm telling you, many of us would be glad to help out. In fact, I'd guess that many of us would love to help but don't really know what we could do. Donations are a simple, easy, effective way to lend a hand. Besides, if you don't do this I suspect that the little trick play Jfields and Infinity organized last fall will find itself repeated again and again. Not that I'm threatening anything... :laugh:

Think about it.

Here's to a very Happy New Year to you and Cigar Pass

- Tim
 
Read & agree Rod, I really hope CP hasn't become or is becoming a burden to you. I'm also hoping the events of the past few weeks are just some bumps in the road that's inevitable in any large community, no matter how well organized the forum is or friendly & honorable it's members may be. The holidays are over, new year, time to reset and get back to enjoying cigars!

That being said, IMHO Moki is right on with his post regarding mods. IFF the workload of maintaining CP does reach the point where a few mods are needed, finding individuals that have the same mindset and outlook on how the forum is run (i.e not deleting or changing posts) without going off on a power or ego trip will be difficult but essential.

Thanks again for all that you do Rod, it's much appreciated! :thumbs:
 
sinnyc said:
I'm telling you, many of us would be glad to help out. In fact, I'd guess that many of us would love to help but don't really know what we could do.
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There is a CP Herf every year. You can contribute raffel items or simply buy raffel tickets. All of this money goes to the support of CP. Perhaps it isn't advertised well, but this is the main fund raising arm of CP.
 
Devil Doc said:
This is no time for a knee-Jerk reaction to an aberration. Let's face it, the holiday season is a stressful time for everyone. Add to that the shitty economy and the shock that a once beloved member turned out to be a hypocrite and welcher; I don't think now is a time to make any significant changes. Let this rest awhile and let the membership recover from this significant trauma. I suspect, in the end, things will be fine.

Doc.
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There's wisdom here, to be sure. Doc is right - everyone take some deep breaths, reflect on what you give as well as what you take, and let's move on as a community. My guess is that all will be well.

Message received, Rod.

Regards - B.B.S.
 
As a newbie, I just want to say thanks for the site and the effort put into it. While I have just joined within the past week and am not aware of any past drama other than that with PGK that I just read (BTW is it bad form to use his avatar since he's banned? - wow she's cute) when I saw no moderation in the rules, I expected lots of chaos and fighting. Of course I work with youth daily that are not honor role students and expected to see what I get when they are left alone or what I've seen on other boards with no/little supervision. I'm glad to see it working.

I am impressed with the attitude and respect I've seen in the very short time I've been here. I am going thru posts trying to learn all I can and would be willing to help out here however I can to give back to the site for all I am getting. If there is anything, just let me know.

Paul
 
It's a shame such a post has to be made, Rod. I've heard your message and will do my best to follow the guidelines.

If it comes to moderation, I trust your instincts and believe you'll choose the right people. I don't think it's necessary, but in the end it is your board. I'm thankful you've allowed me to be a member here and will do my best to contribute.
 
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