Thank @phaseshift , and @juniperfish @jimthefish @scaryb
As above, real life has taken me away from the site for most of the week and have only been able to dip in occasionally.
It HAS been a weird week and I was a bit disappointed by the lack of civility and inclusiveness of some. I admit that some, perhaps even most, new members do not seem to add much, but others have become valued members, making this site richer. And I’m sure there will be more in the future.
I don’t know about you, but I never saw this as an exclusive club (even although I’ve been guilty in the past of treating it as such at times despite myself – I hold my hand up to that – but I’m hopefully more relaxed about it all now), and I also don’t want it to be a place, as has been suggested by some on The G, where everyone just agrees with each other.
However, I would like it to be a place where, if people disagree, they can still respect each other’s opinions and each other as people. I want it to be as welcoming as possible. If we can do that and defeat trolls at the same time we may pull off the internet’s most impossible trick, but it’s still something to aim for (I suddenly sound a bit Doctory).
As PhaseShift points out, we’ve been very cack-handed in our moderation as we’ve learned, and as Jim says, perhaps some people have been treated a bit more harshly than they should have been in the past and so have never returned.
That is a shame. I can only promise that we will try to do better.
PhaseShift has done a great job as a Mod and I’d like to thank him for all he’s done over the last year, both as a Mod and a contributor. It wouldn’t have been the same without him.
Now, anyone want to be a Mod?… Anyone?… Bueller?
Despite the above it’s not that hard. It’s hard to get right, but not a great demand on your time.
