Posted 7/12/2013 9:35 PM (GMT 0)
Dear HW Friends:
OK, now I’ve gone and done it. I opened by big mouth, PeterDA (nicely) told me to put up or shut up so now I’m your virgin moderator. I have a few initial thoughts to share:
1. This is a great, great forum. I have been here almost five years and have seen firsthand what the support, sharing of knowledge and good advice have meant to fellow PCa patients and their loved ones. I am flattered and pleased to continue to be a part of this in a slightly different fashion.
2. I am also pleased to join the two excellent moderators that we have – PeterDA and 142. Both of these guys are dedicated, hard working, caring and knowledgeable. I really look forward to working with them.
3. The dean of moderators on our site was Tony C. I think we all can continue to learn a lot from him via his caring, his passion, his advocacy and his contacts with the movers and shakers in our cancer world. I don’t expect to be able to measure up to Tony’s contributions but I will do my best to model my moderation after how Tony approached it. I have spoken with Tony about this job and I look forward to his continued contributions to our site.
4. The site founder, Peter Waite, has made it clear that he prefers a “big tent” approach to our forum. It helps that this matches my pre-conceived bias but, in any case, he is the boss. You can expect that I will continue to encourage a broad range of posts. There is plenty of band width available for posts that help us learn as well as those that are supportive in a more intimate manner.
5. You shouldn’t expect big changes from the way I have always posted. I have been a big proponent of moderators being themselves and I will continue to be myself. If it becomes a problem, then I’ll figure out a way to adjust or move on.
6. Despite the super powers that Peter Waite has now bestowed on me it’s inevitable that I will screw up. In those cases I ask for your patience in advance but please don’t hesitate to let me know – and doing it publicly on the forum is no problem for me. I have a relatively thick skin.
7. I have been particularly upset over the past few months about the ugly turn that our forum has taken in a number of instances. We always had some friction, debate and conflict and that was healthy. The tone of some of our threads has been nasty in my opinion and I know many of you have seen my posts about this. I get that some do not like the tone, approach, subject matter or opinions of some posters. That’s ok and I encourage any of us to respond passionately – but respectfully when you see something you don’t like.
8. Along the same lines, however, I think that personal attacks are toxic to our forum and should not be tolerated. The ad hominem remarks made in some threads were deplorable in my opinion. I think the “24 Hour Cooling Off Period” via a thread lock that PeterDA instituted was brilliant and I’m sure I will copy that from time to time. Some posters have suggested that repeat offenders be given a suspension. Unfortunately, I understand that our software doesn’t allow that; you’re either in or out. So, my likely approach will be personal (man to man – our women don’t offend like that) followed by deleting an entire post that breaks the rules. Beyond that for repeat offenders I have no compunction about referring them to Mr. Waite for expulsion. Our members should not have to put up with toxicity and I will do my best to help in that regard. As much as I like to see threads run their course, nasty personal attacks are just not right IMHO.
9. If you see a spamming or offensive post, please email one of the mods. Peter is a very busy guy and the quickest way to get a solution is via the mods.
10. I will do my best not to be a jerk. If I am, please tell me. Or, better yet, tell my wife and she will whip me into shape.
Thank you all for the opportunity and let’s all please continue to make this the best web site in the world for info about our disease.
Jim