That was the way I felt about it at the time--somebody I knew, who ought to know about the situation, rather than go through the admin link.

But our admins have said they don't want the responsibility of being judge and jury, though when called upon by necessity, they've been the righteous fist of harmony for us--the membership. And they get huge props for that.

But I think ultimately it's up to the admins whether and how they want to be contacted about emergency situations.

It's another thing how--and if--the membership at large wants to, needs to, or should discuss an ongoing situation or a problem poster.

But our admins have said they don't want the responsibility of being judge and jury, though when called upon by necessity, they've been the righteous fist of harmony for us--the membership. And they get huge props for that.

Absolutely. But as harmonizers they should be available on an individual level as well as on a group level, in my opinion. I'm not trying to pile on the responsiblity, but I think knowing you can approach a stompie directly would facilitate more communication on troubling issues, and less hurt feelings and board-straining kerfuffles.

To tell you the truth, that's what I always assumed that link was for. And I'm really pretty stunned to see that people don't feel they can use it, but maybe that means that some kind of clarification is needed.

I had to, but when I read the reaction to Anathema situation I began to feel it was innappropriate. I suggested it to someone uncomfortable with the Zoe situation, but remember being told by a that the person should really bring it up in Bureablahblah. And finally, during the vote regarding the warning procedure, it was the thought seemed to be that if you didn't feel comfortable a) dealing with the situation in-thread or b) bringing it to bureacracy then you couldn't ask for an official warning.

Perhaps the distinction is that the stompies should be e-mailed for advice or with problems that don't need official steps. The stompies seem so adamant that they do not want to moderate at all that sometimes I even feel that is too much.

Is it really inappropriate to email a stompie directly?

IMO? Yes, if it's about board stuff.

To tell you the truth, that's what I always assumed that link was for. And I'm really pretty stunned to see that people don't feel they can use it, but maybe that means that some kind of clarification is needed.

Yes, this. That is what the link is for. Not wanting to act as mods isn't the same as not wanting to act, period. There's a difference.

If that makes sense.

Absolutely. But as harmonizers they should be available on an individual level as well as on a group level, in my opinion. I'm not trying to pile on the responsiblity, but I think knowing you can approach a stompie directly would facilitate more communication on troubling issues, and less hurt feelings and board-straining kerfuffles.

Dude, I'm there to doblerize peeps. I'll answer mail, I'll give advice, be a friend. But DO NOT ask me specific Adminy Shit in private mail. I try to keep that separate, for reasons that are obvious to me.

Dude, I'm there to doblerize peeps. I'll answer mail, I'll give advice, be a friend. But DO NOT ask me specific Adminy Shit in private mail. I try to keep that separate, for reasons that are obvious to me.

As a stompie, your opinion is obviously paramount to how you'd like to be treated. But I'm suggesting that sometimes as a friend you need advice on Adminy Shit. It's not asking for an official stompie response - like hey Plei could you warn this asshole - it's more like, hey Plei is this something I should be bringing to the attention of the admins. I don't know if this makes any sense to you or not.

It treads a thin line. I'm okay with being asked "what should I do about X?", because I'm going to tell you "use the e-mail admins" link.

But I'm not going to make someone's judgement calls for them.

I feel bad that I went personal first, without even considering the admin link. I won't do that again--I'll try to remember not to do that again. I completely understand and agree with Plei (and probably other admins) that their email is not for admin stuff.

I do know the admins check the link--it is the admin email, right?--pretty often, whether they do it individually or in shifts, isn't my business. Just that it is checked. And so I think I can feel confident using the rant box to ask, "Is this something the admins need to know about?"

Which is what I'll do should a like occasion arise.

The stompies seem so adamant that they do not want to moderate at all that sometimes I even feel that is too much.

Just to clarify, the stompies have said, as has a pretty good cross-section of the community, that we don't want moderation in the sense of approving the content of each post. We've never said that we're unwilling to do our part to try to sort out conflicts, keep things running, spork obvious nasties, or anything else like that. And people should feel free to use the email admins link.

I would've done the same thing, Beverly. I tend to forget the existence of links I've never used, and until today I'd forgotten the Email Admins link was there, but I remember who the Stompies are, so I would've just emailed them personally in complete obliviousness that I was committing a faux pas. And I don't know if that's a case of me being my usual absentminded professor detail-fuzzy self, or if it means we need to have some kind of announcement clarifying how to handle these situations.