Locked threads...... Feeling kind of QRZish up in heah......

[KA9MOT]

RE: KA4DPO's thread about the Gun Show and general gun questions and answers. Locked and told to take it to the "Gun Debate Thread". Did anybody see a debate? It was a discussion about Guns.

Has the QRZ moderatorship styles started rubbing off on the Island Mods? Is the power so great, that mere mortals are unable to prevent it from morphing to NAZI Tactics?

NO GUN DISCUSSION FOR YOU!

The least you could have done was wait for it to become a debate thread if that is what you expected it to become.

Now that this is becoming a trend, do we start worrying about being banned for what we say, while others say far worse are allowed to stay because they are more popular?

Will the Island metamorphosis into DA ZED?

[W4GPL]

I advise you look at the thread again..

"Obama gonna take all our guns"...

"De scared white people be quaking."

"Just what we need. Another fucking paranoid gun thread."

You're obviously seeing just what you want to see.

None of that is related to the technical discussion of guns. If y'all can control yourselves, I completely agree with a thread worthy of the technical and hobbyist merits of guns... but some of you can't. So.. fuck it. I'm not putting up with 100 threads that turn into pissing matches. This is the one subject we've (I've) decided to do this with -- it's an experiment. If you think we're turning into QRZ, I take great exception to that notion. You're entitled to your own opinions, but not your own facts.

[W4GPL]

Furthermore, why don't you go out and do better? Y'all have finally chased off Luke because he's sick of this kind of shit. And several others of us aren't far behind. Bicker, piss, and moan.. see how fast we choose not to give a damn when we're doing the best we can with the best of intentions. I'm tired of this shit.

[KA9MOT]

Furthermore, why don't you go out and do better? Y'all have finally chased off Luke because he's sick of this kind of shit. And several others of us aren't far behind. Bicker, piss, and moan.. see how fast we choose not to give a damn when we're doing the best we can with the best of intentions. I'm tired of this shit.

You'll have to forgive me, I don't know who Luke is. I know only know the names of those I've had direct dealing with in one way or another. Unless I look up your callsign or you tell me, I don't know your name... including you. That is why I put mine in my signature.

GO out and do better? I can't do any better, nor am I saying I could. I have nothing but respect for the moderation here.... however, sometimes things are done that I disagree with and I choose to call it as I see it. If you can show me I am wrong, I'll say I am wrong. Otherwise, I have a tendency to beat that horse long after he has expired. I don't think I'm wrong in this case. You certainly allow all manner of abuse in the political threads, yet close down a gun thread where everybody was behaving themselves because it might get ugly.

[ad4mg]

You'll have to forgive me, I don't know who Luke is.

That would be me, Steve. I locked the thread, and I'll explain why, and it will be honest, brutually honest, but without malice.

We listen carefully to the membership. Prior to Jeff creating the one gun thread to rule them all, 2 active participants in particular thought that scouring the internet for any gun related story, and then creating a new thread for each was a whiz-bang terrific method of advancing their agenda. We started receiving complaints about the sheer volume of new gun-nutter / gun-notter threads. I, and perhaps some other staff members also became annoyed at the one topic takeover of the political forum. My opinion is that if you want dozens of gun discussion threads, find a gun discussion forum. Unlike QRZ, who you accuse us of emulating, we have and allow a political forum that has lively discussion of a wide variety of topics. Also, unlike QRZ, open discussions such as this one are allowed, even encouraged, but obviously not well received with such an inflammatory title. That isn't needed to get our attention, we have and will continue to pay attention to everyone's opinion here. And, no, your title, your comments, and this thread will not be deleted, edited, or altered in any way. That would, indeed, steer us towards behavior found on QRZ. That is their choice, I won't be critical for what they decide to do over there, but we do not, and will not emulate their behavior here. That accusation is pretty unfair.

Now, as to my upcoming decision about remaining on the staff here, there are a multitude of reasons that I'm giving this consideration. Top of the list is simply because I've been on the staff longer than anyone. My goal in accepting the position long ago was to insure that the site has the best opportunity to continue to exist. I wanted to help out, and Mike (al2n) made me a moderator. My "agenda" has always been to see that the maximum number of amateur radio operators be given the opportunity to speak their mind, as adults, with minimal restriction, and without fear of retaliation from the staff. Those were the gripes I had with QRZ, and I wanted to correct them.

I am most disappointed with your accusation that we will begin banning folks for whatever reasons you allude to, just like QRZ does. I just recently made comment that this is what I most feared, that we will begin purging the ranks of people we just don't like.

Yes, right now at this point in time, I am very seriously considering vacating my staff position. What once was a labor of good intentions is quickly becoming a chore. I will likely choose to not continue for that reason. I want this to move along without fanfare or drama, and most of all, I want the site to continue. I'm certainly not always right, and for whatever reason, I've enjoyed considerable 'sway' within the staff, but I assure you that as a group, this staff is the best at what they do, and that's all about giving everyone a forum where they feel welcomed, and may have their say without fear of retalition. I challenge anyone interested to do a better job of that mission.

January 17 is the 6 year anniversary of HamIsland. I sincerely hope there are many more to come, with or without me being on the staff.

Happy New Year to everyone!

[KB3LAZ]

No, I dint think things are getting zedish in that way. The topic isnt forbiden, it just has a dedicated arena. Do I find it sad that it has to come to that, yes but we have only ourselves to blame.

There comes a time where no matter how much you like a place you will find something that upsets or irritates you, thus is life. No one place can be a utopia for everyone. I am sure there are small aspects of the island that get on all of our nerves from time to time, even if only for a short period of time but over all it is a great place.

JMO but one I am willing to bet others share. TaKe it for what it is worth.

[KA9MOT]

No, I dint think things are getting zedish in that way. The topic isnt forbiden, it just has a dedicated arena. Do I find it sad that it has to come to that, yes but we have only ourselves to blame.

There comes a time where no matter how much you like a place you will find something that upsets or irritates you, thus is life. No one place can be a utopia for everyone. I am sure there are small aspects of the island that get on all of our nerves from time to time, even if only for a short period of time but over all it is a great place.

JMO but one I am willing to bet others share. TaKe it for what it is worth.

I can go along with that. And some of the insane crap, should be banned. That thread however was informative and everybody was playing together just fine. I see no reason for to have been locked down other then the fact that it was about guns. It may have gone to hell in a hand basket, and if it did, that would have been the time to lock it down. There was absolutely no debate, so why send it off to the debate thread?

[KA9MOT]

I see a couple of off topic comments (2 appear to be humor) that the topic of the thread whizzed right passed. I still don't see anything that resembles any kind of debate.

[W4GPL]

I think you can give us a little leeway after 5+ years of experience with y'all. We usually know where the wind is blowing. We do all we can not to emulate QRZ.. but sometimes a snap judgment is the best way to go to protect the general morale of the forums. For what it's worth, this was already privately addressed among other members and debated among the staff -- your concerns are not new.. we have and continue to consider the best course of action. Which I guarantee is a lot more than QRZ would ever do...

I again stress privately addressed. You felt the need to bring this into the public light, do not expect a timid response. When Luke gives up on y'all, it's clearly time for change.

[KA9MOT]

I think you can give us a little leeway after 5+ years of experience with y'all. We usually know where the wind is blowing. We do all we can not to emulate QRZ.. but sometimes a snap judgment is the best way to go to protect the general morale of the forums. For what it's worth, this was already privately addressed among other members and debated among the staff -- your concerns are not new.. we have and continue to consider the best course of action. Which I guarantee is a lot more than QRZ would ever do...

I again stress privately addressed. You felt the need to bring this into the public light, do not expect a timid response. When Luke gives up on y'all, it's clearly time for change.

Fair enough! The problem with privately addressing the issue is that the masses don't know it was dealt with privately. Somebody is bound to bring it up publicly. That is something you can count on. Please remove the QRZ part from the title. It was a smart assed comment designed to make sure the thread was noticed. Hell, for that matter, feel free to delete the thread.