Welcome to the Mote!  

Inferno

Host: wabbit

Are you a newbie?
Get an attitude.

Jump right in!

Mote Members: Log in Home
Post

Go to first message Go back 20 messages Messages 2012 - 2031 out of 2104 Go forward 20 messages Go to most recent message
2012. JJBiener - 12/7/2008 11:43:27 PM

Wonk - "As I said upstream most other forums are full of much more invective, spamming and ignoramuses than the Mote."

I have been to sites as diverse as GOPUSA, Townhall, Huffington Post and Democratic Underground. What you say is generally true, and completely irrelevant. If we want to participate in that kind forum, there is an abundance of choices.

We created the Mote to be different. We had known each other for two years on the Fray and many of us had met and become friends with our fellow Fraygrants in real life. When we created the Mote, we made conscious decisions in its structure to make it different from other forums. To try to keeps the sense of community we felt and didn't want to lose.

As it is, I think a lot of us feel about the Mote as we do about that friend from college who married an obnoxious jerk and now he/she manages to disrupt every get-together with inappropriate behavior.

2013. wonkers2 - 12/8/2008 12:04:07 AM

Are you sure it's "completely" irrelevant? Would you buy "partially" irrelevant? The point is that we all don't agree on what is "inappropriate" behavior and on a forum open to anyone it's hard to control the content of what people post. My impression is that most of us lean toward greater freedom of what to post. However, with freedom should come responsibility and hopefully collegiality and mutual respect. I think we have that for the most part even though the disagreements are expressed with vigor. Sometimes lines of comity are crossed, but mostly with tongue in cheek.

2014. Wombat - 12/8/2008 3:21:10 AM

JJ:

Appealing as your image of the use of a noodle dish as a means of killing someone may be, "kugel" was a euphemism for a bullet to the back of the head.

2015. Ms. No - 12/8/2008 4:33:21 AM

At which point the victim's brains would exit via his nostrils landing on the pavement and strongly resembling a baked noodle dish.

2016. alistairconnor - 12/8/2008 1:22:32 PM

MsNo.

Have I told you lately that you're a sick fuck?

(Smooch.)

2017. alistairconnor - 12/8/2008 1:23:52 PM

Con will be back, just as soon as he can think of something bad to say about Obama.

2018. Wombat - 12/8/2008 4:08:35 PM

He had no trouble doing that during the campaign. I say he is being held at an undisclosed location in the Great Lakes region, and is undergoing aversion therapy a la CLockwork Orange.

2019. alistairconnor - 12/8/2008 4:25:53 PM

During which he will be forced to listen to Bachman Turner Overdrive, formerly his favourite music, but will henceforth fill him with suicidal self-loathing.

2020. Wombat - 12/8/2008 4:38:09 PM

No, speeches by George W. Bush.

2021. judithathome - 12/8/2008 5:07:58 PM

We created the Mote to be different. We had known each other for two years on the Fray and many of us had met and become friends with our fellow Fraygrants in real life. When we created the Mote, we made conscious decisions in its structure to make it different from other forums. To try to keeps the sense of community we felt and didn't want to lose.

Ah yes, the nostalgic "we". Well, I hate to say it but most of "we" took off for greener pastures and not just because of Jex...many followed CalGal in her attempt to create a "library" or a "newspaper" or whatever she decided to call it in her thesis...and others left because they were bored now that the entertainers left the stage. Still others left because it wasn't "busy" enough around here and others because Pelle was dour or yes, because Jex was a pain in the ass.

But SOME of us have been here all along and it rather grates on me, at least, to have people step back in and lecture us on how WE should run the Mote.

JJ, I love ya but where have YOU been all these many months when WE were still trying to keep the Mote afloat? I may not like a play that I am watching and if my disgust with it reaches certain levels, I am free to leave. But I don't wait in the lobby and ream out the people who stayed to watch the thing.

2022. psychprof - 12/8/2008 6:24:21 PM

"But SOME of us have been here all along and it rather grates on me, at least, to have people step back in and lecture us on how WE should run the Mote."

This is why I only lurk here. I think you are absolutely correct.

2023. vonKreedon - 12/8/2008 6:32:19 PM

to displease and perhaps drive away Jex and his constituency, while any migration back to the Mote by those driven out by Jex is uncertain and likely to be slow. So the current population of the Mote should carefully examine the expected cost-benefit to them in taking action to rein in Jex."

2024. vonKreedon - 12/8/2008 6:34:28 PM

Ok, that didn't work somehow.

What I meant to post is that Judith is certainly right that the current population of the Mote has the standing to determine the direction of the Mote. As I said in post 1991, "...the population of the Mote seems to have been very stable over the last several years and Jex obviously has a constituency that contains a significant percentage of that stable population. Any actions to rein in Jex's noise-to-content ratio is likely to displease and perhaps drive away Jex and his constituency, while any migration back to the Mote by those driven out by Jex is uncertain and likely to be slow. So the current population of the Mote should carefully examine the expected cost-benefit to them in taking action to rein in Jex."

2025. wonkers2 - 12/8/2008 6:38:50 PM

Agreed. Also, it would depend on what type of action would be taken. I suspect that Jex will moderate himself a bit. As I do he apparently has quite a bit of time on his hands and an intense interest in and knowledge of politics which he enjoys sharing with us, including links, cartoons, off-the-wall comments, insults, racist remarks, etc. His un-PC remarks should be taken as satirical banter designed to expose racism, not at their face value.

2026. TheWizardOfWhimsy - 12/8/2008 7:21:54 PM

Good point, Judith.

Wait! Did I miss something? I thought jex's absence was voluntary--was he banned?

2027. alistairconnor - 12/8/2008 7:37:11 PM

No, Wiz : Jex has not been banished, like Napoleon to Elba. He has gone into lurk mode until 20th January. Self-imposed exile. But like Macarthur, he will return.

Prof : This is why I only lurk here. I think you are absolutely correct.

Well, I don't particularly mind receiving lessons from you or jj. I consider you people are still in good standing, and are free to criticise. But there you go : you have a window of opportunity to do more, until 20th January at least...

2028. alistairconnor - 12/9/2008 1:06:38 PM

However, I DO take this criticism to heart :

All other sites have these fuctions...shortcut HTML, edit, page left where you last posted, search function...and people who come here as new posters feel like it's stepping back in time not to have those offered.

OK, time has not stood still these past years... I can't remember whether we're still within the ten-year warranty period or not, but I do recognize that austerity has its limits. A technical revamp is in order. Even nuclear power stations get a major do-over at the decadal milestone.

Maybe if I get really bored during my upcoming holiday in NZ...

More plausibly : my girlfriend will have a few globetrotting missions next year, which will give me an opportunity to stay out of trouble by working on the Mote.

2029. wabbit - 12/9/2008 4:43:44 PM

AC, what about moving to PHP? Cheaper to host than ASP, though that has been changing over the last couple years. I'll email you with something I found, see what you think.

Speaking of which, I owe your gracious friend in NZ a ton of money for the last two years (I did manage to pay him the first year for hosting us). Please apologize and thank him for me.

2030. wabbit - 12/9/2008 5:04:08 PM

Hmmm, I have four email addresses for you. I'm sure at least three of them don't work. So, if you would be so kind as to drop me a line, I'll get one that works for sure!

2031. judithathome - 12/9/2008 6:34:08 PM

AC, I wasn't criticizing YOU in the least, just pointing out a few things. I and the rest of us, I'm certain, appreciate that we even HAVE the Mote still.

Wabbit, if you need some dough, let me know...Keoni is aces at baking! ;-)

Go to first message Go back 20 messages Messages 2012 - 2031 out of 2104 Go forward 20 messages Go to most recent message
Home
Back to the Top
Posts/page

Inferno

You can't post until you register. Come on, you'll never regret it. Join up!