Hayden, I'm blushing. Or something.

we need to have some kind of announcement clarifying how to handle these situations.

I think this.

Most of us are quite friendly with peeps who are also and incidentally admins, and we forget the lines, that there are and should be lines, and that everyone should respect them.

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 felt I could use it. I didn't think any action could come out of it. Which still begs the question, once it's used, in a situation like the one when Z moved from suspension to ban - are people going to feel comfortable speaking up on the board to say Ban Poster X who seems to be having life issues that might make Poster X more likely to bother me, if I speak up.

Most of us are quite friendly with peeps who are also and incidentally admins, and we forget the lines, that there are and should be lines, and that everyone should respect them.

That said, you know, don't feel afraid to email as a pal, looking for pal advice.

Don't want to scare anyone off. Worried I came on too strong back there.

You scared me.

That said, you know, don't feel afraid to email as a pal, looking for pal advice.

Exactly, otherwise the e-mail get forwarded directly to the admin list anyway.

And, going for the hat trick...

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.

What amy said.

are people going to feel comfortable speaking up on the board to say Ban Poster X who seems to be having life issues that might make Poster X more likely to bother me, if I speak up.

I think this is something each poster is going to have to decide for him or herself. It's tough. How anonymous do I feel, if somebody decides to get ugly with me personally? I'm a fatalist, so my opinion doesn't count for much. And I'm damned pigheaded, so bring it. I'll say what I please, as long as no stompy tells me I'm being inflammatory. Don't want to be less than helpful.

But I do think, if a poster feels vulnerable or threatened, using the admin link is one way to express an opinion that will be heard, and will be counted, whether or not it is visible to the board at large. I don't think the admins would have a problem saying "the concensus on the board," which includes the threads the problem child acted out in, the discussion thread, and any info recieved backchannel, including the admin link.

Am I wrong?

Cindy,

I'm not sure what people are afraid of. Getting a nasty email? Is this whole discussion taking place because someone is afraid that if they speak up, they will get a nasty email, or spammed with nasty emails?

Is it a fear of physical harm?

I'm trying to understand why folks wouldn't feel comfortable speaking up, trying to wrap my brain around it.

speaking for myself-- I would like to use that e-mail (sparingly) to alert admins that there may be a situation brewing, or that there is someone we have to work to assimilate. Then, in our nice buffista way, they could help calm things down. Also, if I could have proved that Anathema was Schmoker, i would have done the same thing the 'prover' did-- e-mail the admins to avoid a big on board witch hunt.

I just feel like (and perhaps I am reading into it) that people were really angry that the whole thing did not take place in public, therefore I thought (or rather) jumped to the conclusion-- that I couldn't see a situation where one could use the e-mail admins link excpet ifyou needed to change your password.

I can sort of see her point, Allyson. Threats are scary. Some people are more easily intimidated, some people feel more vulnerable, or feel they may have exposed their family or friends to possible harm. People react to threat, even electronic threats, differently.

As I said, buffalo hide and pigheaded, in my case. But not everybody is that way.

People react to threat, even electronic threats, differently.

So this is about accomodating people who may react to a threat that could possibly happen, at some time, in an uncomfortable manner?

I think I must have missed a big thing, somewhere.

Was someone at this board threatened by another person, or are we talking about "maybe someday"?