Post by G on Aug 1, 2008 21:55:55 GMT -5
I just want to say that for the most part I've enjoyed my board and appreciate all who come and share their love of comics or chit chat about whatever you like even if it is not comics related. Ive always felt my board is open to pretty much any topic. I turned off all the censorship on the board. A decision I made when I 1st started. You want to say Fuck? Say Fuck! I don't give a shit. I probably wouldn't like it if every post you made is filled with profanity, but if it gets your feeling across from time to time in a better way....go for it!
I kind of view my message board as a business. There are some other really big businesses out there and I don't have a lot of weapons to compete with. I don't have a specialized insiders knowledge or years of studying exacting details about the comics field. I have not specialized my board into one niche of comics. Im not sitting here concentrating on one brand or era so I can offer more info on 1 set subject than other boards can. All I am is a 30 year comics fan.
That being said, my business is this board. From day one, I discovered getting people to come and post and return again has been a huge chore. For me the members here are like customers and I get paid in posts. Im in the business of trying to get people to post. I'll admit, I havent been very good at it, but I soldier on. Every post by someone other than myself is like someone putting cash in my cash register. My business is getting people to post and business is only so-so. I dont get any money, royalties, fame or favors trying to run this board. The only payoff for me is seeing people come and acting like they enjoy it here and feel good enough to post. Thats the payment I get for my labors. And that's something I totally appreciate.
That being said, I don't want to lose customers. Its okay if you come, pay me (pun intended) a few posts now and again and leave to come back a long time later. That's cool. At least once in awhile, you make your way back. What I dont want is for people to leave and have no desire to come back at all. If you don't like it, well...I did my best. But if you did, I need you to keep coming.
This is not to chastise anyone and say Im taking sides. This is me saying I havent said anything like this before because I never had to before. Any of the big boards I have been to have these king of problems. Im trying very hard to be different. I tried taking the road of not getting myself involved. I actually had a window of opportunity to intervene and do some things before it was too late. I chose not to and tell myself people are adults and what happens is not anything for me to be concerned with. But, I have to admit, Im not too wild about the outcome while I sat here on my hands. And these are people I consider my friends. So, I didnt want to put myself in the middle and be seen as taking sides. But the fact remains, I have thought that my board would have been better off if I did get involved. So, I feel I need to put the word out for the sake of saying I said something before so in case I need to, it wont be viewed like I just made something up and now Im picking on someone. I feel like so many other boards I got to dislike when I say this kind of stuff but I have decided I think I need to say this.
Going Forward: If I see a post I feel is a personal attack on someone else regardless of how I feel about the people or the situation. Whether the person has 1 post or 2,000. I will delete it when I see it and if necessary lock the thread.
Now that's not so bad is it? Hey, people are going to have different opinions on subjects all the time. Disagreeing is all a part of it. That makes the discussion more interesting sometimes. Two sides to the story. Disagree all you want. But if a post becomes personal in my opinion, I feel I need to step in and just delete it. And if the seeds are there for further growth, lock the thread altogether. I don't care who is right or wrong or how I personally feel about the discussion taking place. Whether its a poster from someone I feel is a great friend of mine or a poster I dont know at all. I need to do this equally regardless of who or what, why or how I feel about the subject or the people involved. I just need to take my emotions out of it and just delete it.
I certainly hope this is the only rule I ever have to make. I hate making this one as it puts me in a very, very, very uncomfortable position. But I need to have this rule out there for me for anything similar that may happen in the future so no one will think I just made it up and decided to pick on that person all of a sudden. My board is just too small with just too little traffic.
Please know I thought long and hard of all the ramifications of this post. Again, its not to point anyone out, to chastise or tell anyone they were wrong or anything like that. Shit happens sometimes. Instead I say it so I can protect my interest here on this board....
.....going forward.
I kind of view my message board as a business. There are some other really big businesses out there and I don't have a lot of weapons to compete with. I don't have a specialized insiders knowledge or years of studying exacting details about the comics field. I have not specialized my board into one niche of comics. Im not sitting here concentrating on one brand or era so I can offer more info on 1 set subject than other boards can. All I am is a 30 year comics fan.
That being said, my business is this board. From day one, I discovered getting people to come and post and return again has been a huge chore. For me the members here are like customers and I get paid in posts. Im in the business of trying to get people to post. I'll admit, I havent been very good at it, but I soldier on. Every post by someone other than myself is like someone putting cash in my cash register. My business is getting people to post and business is only so-so. I dont get any money, royalties, fame or favors trying to run this board. The only payoff for me is seeing people come and acting like they enjoy it here and feel good enough to post. Thats the payment I get for my labors. And that's something I totally appreciate.
That being said, I don't want to lose customers. Its okay if you come, pay me (pun intended) a few posts now and again and leave to come back a long time later. That's cool. At least once in awhile, you make your way back. What I dont want is for people to leave and have no desire to come back at all. If you don't like it, well...I did my best. But if you did, I need you to keep coming.
This is not to chastise anyone and say Im taking sides. This is me saying I havent said anything like this before because I never had to before. Any of the big boards I have been to have these king of problems. Im trying very hard to be different. I tried taking the road of not getting myself involved. I actually had a window of opportunity to intervene and do some things before it was too late. I chose not to and tell myself people are adults and what happens is not anything for me to be concerned with. But, I have to admit, Im not too wild about the outcome while I sat here on my hands. And these are people I consider my friends. So, I didnt want to put myself in the middle and be seen as taking sides. But the fact remains, I have thought that my board would have been better off if I did get involved. So, I feel I need to put the word out for the sake of saying I said something before so in case I need to, it wont be viewed like I just made something up and now Im picking on someone. I feel like so many other boards I got to dislike when I say this kind of stuff but I have decided I think I need to say this.
Going Forward: If I see a post I feel is a personal attack on someone else regardless of how I feel about the people or the situation. Whether the person has 1 post or 2,000. I will delete it when I see it and if necessary lock the thread.
Now that's not so bad is it? Hey, people are going to have different opinions on subjects all the time. Disagreeing is all a part of it. That makes the discussion more interesting sometimes. Two sides to the story. Disagree all you want. But if a post becomes personal in my opinion, I feel I need to step in and just delete it. And if the seeds are there for further growth, lock the thread altogether. I don't care who is right or wrong or how I personally feel about the discussion taking place. Whether its a poster from someone I feel is a great friend of mine or a poster I dont know at all. I need to do this equally regardless of who or what, why or how I feel about the subject or the people involved. I just need to take my emotions out of it and just delete it.
I certainly hope this is the only rule I ever have to make. I hate making this one as it puts me in a very, very, very uncomfortable position. But I need to have this rule out there for me for anything similar that may happen in the future so no one will think I just made it up and decided to pick on that person all of a sudden. My board is just too small with just too little traffic.
Please know I thought long and hard of all the ramifications of this post. Again, its not to point anyone out, to chastise or tell anyone they were wrong or anything like that. Shit happens sometimes. Instead I say it so I can protect my interest here on this board....
.....going forward.