Gyroscopic Investing

Looking at the five people on the team it seems like that only two of them are currently active?

Who "owns" this forum? Who pays its bills?

Vinny

Xan.

MediumTex used to run the forum, and Craig owned the domain. At one point he asked for some volunteers to be moderators to help him, and so TennPaGa and l82start became moderators.

I think Tex had largely backed way off almost to nothing by the time Craig decided to move on to things other than the PP. Craig was ready to jettison everything. I volunteered to keep the forum going, and Craig and Tex graciously transferred the domain and the forum's database to me.

A while back Tenn needed to prioritize his real life, and so stopped visiting (or at least posting) on the forum. Hopefully he'll be back someday.

That's where things stand on "The Team". I still consider it primarily Craig and Tex's site, and they are welcome to have it back if they ever want it. I try to run it as they would have. I'm largely happy to be the administrator, although I really don't like moderating. On occasion I've been forced into it. For the most part, this forum requires really very little moderating.

Xan wrote: ↑Mon Dec 09, 2019 10:42 pm MediumTex used to run the forum, and Craig owned the domain. At one point he asked for some volunteers to be moderators to help him, and so TennPaGa and l82start became moderators.

I think Tex had largely backed way off almost to nothing by the time Craig decided to move on to things other than the PP. Craig was ready to jettison everything. I volunteered to keep the forum going, and Craig and Tex graciously transferred the domain and the forum's database to me.

A while back Tenn needed to prioritize his real life, and so stopped visiting (or at least posting) on the forum. Hopefully he'll be back someday.

That's where things stand on "The Team". I still consider it primarily Craig and Tex's site, and they are welcome to have it back if they ever want it. I try to run it as they would have. I'm largely happy to be the administrator, although I really don't like moderating. On occasion I've been forced into it. For the most part, this forum requires really very little moderating.

A BIG thank you for taking it on and keeping it going!

Vinny

Wow.
In any case, a belated happy new year, Tenn!

Tenn, sorry to have mischaracterized your departure. It's always great to hear from you, even if (sadly) you're saying that you won't be coming back.

Xan wrote: ↑Thu Jan 09, 2020 3:57 pm Tenn, <....> It's always great to hear from you, even if (sadly) you're saying that you won't be coming back.

Ditto

The thing I like about this board is it has "Other Discussions" where people can be obnoxious, opinionated etc. and it kinda stays there and every once in a while I like to whaller in the mud/gutter for fun as well. As long as it stays there I'll be around for a while. If it gets into the investing sections, I will be gone.

It also has the VP section that folks can discuss non PP stuff and not have the PP doctrine nazis come after them which is a definite problem with BH board.

In the above respects the framework of the forum is almost like well designed off ramps for stuff that has killed many a board.

Fantastic to hear your voice again Tenn. It's no mystery why Tex gave you a set of keys.
Mark

Agreed, nice to hear from you again, Tenn.

FWIW I agree with you 100% about how the tenor of political discussions evolved, and I stand by that "obituary," though obviously the forum isn't dead and here you and I are still posting very occasionally.

My experiences here as well as in real life during the Trump era have left me fundamentally convinced that you must give no quarter to trolls, fascists, and any others with no respect for their fellow man or ability to hold rational discussions when they try to join polite society. You need to push them out them, or else they will slowly poison the deep well of social value that others have painstakingly saved up. If they don't go away or play nice, then they are demonstrating that they only understand force and you need to crush them. When you start to do this, they will yell and scream and complain about how unfair it is and call you names, bleating disingenuously about how mean you are and how you're being a hyprocrite or are actually a fascist yourself, but this is just a trick to weaken your resolve. They know that power and force may be uncomfortable tools for you and they're trying to take advantage of your vulnerability to undermine your self-image. You must harden your heart and crush them remorselessly if you want to preserve your society. There is no other way.

I wish I had all the answers, and a way to satisfy everyone, but it just doesn't exist (which I think is a big part of PS's point above). In the other thread about the forum, I pointed out that there were outages when nobody was running the ship. That's better now from a technical perspective, but perhaps nobody's been running the ship in terms of the conversation.

Policing conversations really isn't what I signed up for. But I don't think Tex ever did much of that, really. I can think of two people who were banned on his watch. I think there's been one since. Of course when he did speak up about toning things down, people listened, and bans became unnecessary.

Perhaps the real lesson here is that things come and go, and we should enjoy the good things while they're around without pining for what might have been when they're gone. If this forum is still useful for people, then great. If not, then we sure had something nice for a while, didn't we?

As Mountaineer might say: The Lord giveth and the Lord taketh away; blessed be the name of the Lord.

Xan wrote: ↑Fri Jan 10, 2020 12:09 pm I wish I had all the answers, and a way to satisfy everyone, but it just doesn't exist (which I think is a big part of PS's point above). In the other thread about the forum, I pointed out that there were outages when nobody was running the ship. That's better now from a technical perspective, but perhaps nobody's been running the ship in terms of the conversation.

Policing conversations really isn't what I signed up for. But I don't think Tex ever did much of that, really. I can think of two people who were banned on his watch. I think there's been one since. Of course when he did speak up about toning things down, people listened, and bans became unnecessary.

Perhaps the real lesson here is that things come and go, and we should enjoy the good things while they're around without pining for what might have been when they're gone. If this forum is still useful for people, then great. If not, then we sure had something nice for a while, didn't we?

As Mountaineer might say: The Lord giveth and the Lord taketh away; blessed be the name of the Lord.

Or, Xan quoteth, Xan runneth the forumeth, and Xan is an awesome Texan; the stars are indeed bright, deep in the heart of Texas. Blessed be the name of the Lord.

Pointedstick wrote: ↑Fri Jan 10, 2020 9:28 am My experiences here as well as in real life during the Trump era have left me fundamentally convinced that you must give no quarter to trolls, fascists, and any others with no respect for their fellow man or ability to hold rational discussions when they try to join polite society. You need to push them out them, or else they will slowly poison the deep well of social value that others have painstakingly saved up. If they don't go away or play nice, then they are demonstrating that they only understand force and you need to crush them. When you start to do this, they will yell and scream and complain about how unfair it is and call you names, bleating disingenuously about how mean you are and how you're being a hyprocrite or are actually a fascist yourself, but this is just a trick to weaken your resolve. They know that power and force may be uncomfortable tools for you and they're trying to take advantage of your vulnerability to undermine your self-image. You must harden your heart and crush them remorselessly if you want to preserve your society. There is no other way.

Coincidentally, this is exactly my Middle East policy.

If the forum is in need of volunteers in any manner...

dualstow wrote: ↑Fri Jan 10, 2020 1:35 pm

Pointedstick wrote: ↑Fri Jan 10, 2020 9:28 am My experiences here as well as in real life during the Trump era have left me fundamentally convinced that you must give no quarter to trolls, fascists, and any others with no respect for their fellow man or ability to hold rational discussions when they try to join polite society. You need to push them out them, or else they will slowly poison the deep well of social value that others have painstakingly saved up. If they don't go away or play nice, then they are demonstrating that they only understand force and you need to crush them. When you start to do this, they will yell and scream and complain about how unfair it is and call you names, bleating disingenuously about how mean you are and how you're being a hyprocrite or are actually a fascist yourself, but this is just a trick to weaken your resolve. They know that power and force may be uncomfortable tools for you and they're trying to take advantage of your vulnerability to undermine your self-image. You must harden your heart and crush them remorselessly if you want to preserve your society. There is no other way.

Coincidentally, this is exactly my Middle East policy.

I didn’t know you lived in the Middle East!?

Pointedstick wrote: ↑Fri Jan 10, 2020 9:28 am You must harden your heart and crush them remorselessly if you want to preserve your society.

I imagine Pointedstick saying this line in this style.

Pet Hog wrote: ↑Fri Jan 10, 2020 5:01 pm

Pointedstick wrote: ↑Fri Jan 10, 2020 9:28 am You must harden your heart and crush them remorselessly if you want to preserve your society.

I imagine Pointedstick saying this line in this style.

That was in fact how I said it in my mind.

Pointedstick wrote: ↑Fri Jan 10, 2020 9:28 am
My experiences here as well as in real life during the Trump era have left me fundamentally convinced that you must give no quarter to trolls, fascists, and any others with no respect for their fellow man or ability to hold rational discussions when they try to join polite society. You need to push them out them, or else they will slowly poison the deep well of social value that others have painstakingly saved up. If they don't go away or play nice, then they are demonstrating that they only understand force and you need to crush them. When you start to do this, they will yell and scream and complain about how unfair it is and call you names, bleating disingenuously about how mean you are and how you're being a hyprocrite or are actually a fascist yourself, but this is just a trick to weaken your resolve. They know that power and force may be uncomfortable tools for you and they're trying to take advantage of your vulnerability to undermine your self-image. You must harden your heart and crush them remorselessly if you want to preserve your society. There is no other way.

Remember this. It's what lurks beneath the progressive veneer and is apparently a viewpoint shared by several posters.