Pre Migration Most liked posts in thread: So....why only one side?

Yeah, there is some garbage going on that has been eating at me quite a bit.

First off, jiminni, I fixed the typo in your thread title.

Now that is out of the way....

For many of us working on our cars is a hobby or a way we can afford to handle the issues that come up. Some have recently advised on this site that since one could kill, another with a car only trained professionals should work on things like brakes. Now the person that said this probably meant the best but their tone, tenor and style was quite off-putting to many. That was just one salvo in this war of words that has been brewing. Some quietly went along their way, some tossed poorly crafted attacks back, some reported the entire exchange and some shook their heads in disgust that this sort of thing raised it's ugly head.

This is not the first time this group has sparred, but there is one constant. It always involves a certain member of this site. Now what am I to do? At first I had a staff member try to talk to this person, it has done nothing, so I have jumped in the fray.

Much as the US does not negotiate with hostage takers and is willing to sacrifice some people to make that point I'm reaching the same level. In order to keep the general peace why keep the member that is a lighting rod. That person has been coached, coddled and advised that while their facts may be correct delivering those facts on the point of an incendiary device has a tendency to cause collateral damage.

jiminni, I know this person is your friend, maybe you can talk them off the ledge. Frankly when I have to spend 10x more time working with that member than all of the 3400 or so others combined I have to question the value to the site as a whole. An ultimatum was delivered and the person danced around it with excuses. I am done, the M/A staff is done. The member has one last chance to get it right or they can move on. If I have to I will shut that door.

Now if we want to talk about why some others are also no allowed to speak freely, meaning their every post is moderated, well it because they have shown time and time again that all they are trying to do is stir the pot.

I'll be blunt, this is not a democracy. You can cry 1st Amendment rights all day, but those rights do not extend to a private website.

The text of the First Amendment states that:

The most relevant clause of that Amendment to the matter at hand is "Congress shall make no law." Motoring Alliance is a private website, hosted by the privately incorporated Motoring Alliance LLC, and governed solely by the owner, with guidance from other members and other owners of private websites. Motoring Alliance , and Motoring Alliance LLC that sponsors and regulates this site, is free to establish its own policies and practices regarding who may edit here, and is not subject to regulation by the governments of the United States or any state in this respect. As a private website, Motoring Alliance has the legal right to block, ban, or otherwise restrict any individual from editing its pages, or accessing its content, with or even without reason.

This is not to say that Motoring Alliance intends to extensively exercise that legal right, if it can be avoided. Motoring Alliance welcomes all constructive contributors, and is dedicated to assuming good faith with those here to contribute constructively and assist in helping expand access to the sum of human knowledge.

And...

Since there is someone out there that likes to dig into the business dealing of various sponsors, other vendors and individuals let me make it easy for you. All this information is visible at https://ourcpa.cpa.state.tx.us/coa/Index.html There you find that Motoring Alliance is listed as Motoring Alliance LLC

I've even filed my TX Franchise Tax forms for 2010 that are not due until 5/16/11 making this an entity in good standing until 5/15/2012.

For those of you that must know more, even though I will be moving to Ohio there will still be a registered agent with a physical address that can be served with process during business hours as the TX law requires.

 

At a committee meeting just last night, I accidentally pushed one of my own buttons, set myself off on a snit, much to the delight of my compatriots. So, be careful what you wish for, buttons are tricky critters.

 

Let me get this straight...

Just over a year ago this thread was created by the person now asking for it to be closed to point out what the thread starter thought was an inequity on the site. The facts of the matter were danced around in the 1st post and when fully brought to light the matter had the support of the vast majority of those that chimed in.

A year later the OP revisits a dormant thread with for all can tell is the intent to shame me and the staff into doing their bidding when things are not going the way the OP likes.

I'm sorry, but that is not going to happen. The member that poked the OP was talked to and has said they would stop. I thank that person for that, besides, it's not a challenge to poke the OP of this thread and get a rise.

So now, since this has not taken the direction the OP ultimately desires the OP wants the thread closed.

It laid dormant for almost a year before, it can lay dormant again. It's really simple. Don't post in it if you cannot agree with the outcome.

Lastly, I read other places and from messages you have sent me that you think me and possibly others are trying to goad you into doing something that will get you banned. I will never do that. All I do is provide the rope, if you want to turn that into a great sculpture of knots and wow the world, please do. Conversely if you want to make it into a noose, that's up to you. There are darn close to 6000 members here, close to 5999 of them make pretty and/or useful things with the rope, only 1 or 2 try to use the rope for bad things.

That was a really long way to say I'm not closing this thread by request.

 

There is one.

On your User CP, under Settings and Options is Edit Ignore List. You can enter the screen name of the person(s) you would like to ignore. Their posts will not display to you.

Caveat, if the ignored person is quoted then text will be displayed in the quote.

 

I like M/A they way it is.
It is not one sided, it is open. If M/A was one sided it would be the NAM part 2.

 

I was writing a long reply, but then I deleted all of it as it would be pointless. What ever excuse you have for getting into internet forum arguments is just that, an excuse. And regardless of how good that excuse is, at the end of the day it is still just an excuse.

 

It isnt hard to see .. all you have to do is go back and see the first bullet fired!!. IF the result isnt addressed, then there is a rebuttal!! Then it goes to carp!!

It is amazing to me that IF the moderators were true to their statements.. as soon as a questionable 'bullet' is Identified ( esp thru a REPORT), a PM would be sent to the shooter. Then maybe a quick statement IN the thread that PM was sent.

These arguments are not a norm any more ( yeah!!) so when they do happen, it would take a few moments for a moderator to respond. DONE!! The shooter will know he is being watched!! The "target" will know his problem is acknowledged. And after a while the bad guys will learn.

IMHO to say things like.." grow UP", or "let it go", or "be the better man", is just weakness from the moderator to do his or her job!! Internet fights or attacks will be addressed by both parties.. the only way to stop it is to 'report it' to a moderator, and the FREAKING Moderator do their JOB!!

Just saying..........................................

Thumper

 

Ever watch sports? Hockey, football, basketball? It's always the retaliater that gets the penalty, not the instigator. Think about that.

 

Wow, over a year after this thread started and panties still firmly in a bunch.....

OK, on to the next......

 

Some ol' guy once said: "If you don't show where your buttons are, how can anyone push 'em?"

 

my guess is nitromini/lynn threads being locked posthaste. not sure what happened but it wouldn't be the first time Lynn has gone on a bender, pissing off the mgmt. :lol:

 

I consider myself an open minded person in general and I have yet to see an unjust thread lock or warning on this site. I consider Nathan's actions in these cases more than justified, at least those that have come out on the open that I am aware of. Of course, I am not aware of what happens behind the scenes, be it PM's, reports, etc., so I can't comment in that respect.

It seems to me that most people that get involved in these forum altercations are narrow minded individuals that can't handle a different or opposing opinion without getting all b@tthurt and feeling the need to prove their opinion is correct by ANY means. When communication skills are "ineffective" these symptoms get magnified.

If you feel that this description does not apply to you, take a step back and think about it a little more without getting so defensive. When you realize that you might have contributed to the situation, well congratulations, that is the first step to recovery.

If I were Nathan, I would be VERY offended if my site was compared to the other one run by the descendants of George Orwell...

 

In fox hunting circles, M/A would be known as a "private pack" and all members hunt at the "pleasure of the Master", which is Nathan. I have always hunted with private packs and think they work very well. Tally Ho, Nathan.

Jim

 

I do appreciate the support it keeps me motivated on days when there are "issues".

I'd also like to add:

From day 1 of this site I have tried to be as transparent as possible with the goings on with this site and not just be the Clown behind the curtain. I've not shied away from the tough stuff and have always reported issues with the site to the membership almost to a fault of sharing the trivial. I've also always made myself available to any and all for comments questions and feedback, good or bad.

I may be the clown that keeps the 1 and 0's flowing, but ya'll make up the community and without your support I'd have nothing to do. As with any community not everyone is going to be happy at all times. I am fine with that. It's life.

All I ask is that you keep it civil, and for the most part 99.99999% of the time ya'll do, and I can't thank you enough for doing so. I find it very refreshing that in the almost 2 years this site has been up and running and as we have grown from 0 to 3400 + members we have not had a need to add any more staff to monitor things. In fact, one of the moderators told me they bored with the lack of work. This is a good thing!! It reflects on how great ya'll have been and I am confident, will continue to act.

My personal email is [email protected] . You can find me basking in the glow of the monitor a good 10-12 hours a day if not more. I try and respond to all as quick as possible but there are some days that I walk away for a few hours.

 

+1. I'm glad you stepped up and admitted that, I too thought the exact thing.:blush2:

 

I had no idea what it meant, that's why I read it. :lol:

Jim

 

It comes down to what the reference is supposed to represent.

O Captain! My Captain! was penned after Lincolns assassination. The poem takes the form of an ode, characterized by sustained noble sentiment and appropriate dignity of style, and as with most odes begins with an apostrophe. The fallen captain, to whom the speaker alludes is Abraham Lincoln. The poem is an extended metaphor: (1) Lincoln is the captain who has "fallen cold and dead," having been assassinated shortly after the Civil War had ended; (2) the "fearful trip" is the Civil War; (3) "the prize we sought" is the preservation of the Union, something which both Whitman and Lincoln felt was the supreme reason for fighting the war; (4) "the ship" is the United States.

The poet's grief is accentuated by the contrasting celebrations of victory and lamentations of death. The poet recognizes the importance of victory, calling out "Exult O shores, and ring O bells!", but his "mournful tread" prevents him from truly taking part in the festivities. The image of the dead captain, "O heart! heart! heart! / O bleeding drops of red", haunts the poem and the reader is constantly reminded that he has "fallen cold and dead."


The Grand Funk Railroad song Closer to Home lyrics are not at all the same, the 3rd line is I'm your captain, I'm your captain, with the refrain containing the lyrics I'm your captain, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah.. The song conveys the pleas of a captain on a troubled sea voyage and facing a mutiny from his crew. Several interpretations of the song have been given; most revolve around the Vietnam War, and "I'm Your Captain" is popular among veterans of that conflict.

Other popular interpretations involve drug addiction and others see resonance in Homer's Odyssey and themes of returning home, such as college students returning from a long semester. Authors have seen the song as an "epic of paranoia and disease" and as a tale of a man who had lost control of his life in a fashion strong enough to invoke childhood nightmares. It has been used as the subtitle for a chapter of a novel dealing with war and addictions. Comparisons have been made to Walt Whitman's poem "O Captain! My Captain!" in its use of the rank to mean Abraham Lincoln.

I did pay attention in English Lit class....

 

Glad one of us did, I was usually t0o burned out from getting high all day to give much of a hang

 

In debated on even replying here. Yeah, Chili-PA, who is now Dave.0 did start something, but ya know...

It takes two to keep the BS going.

I can't and will not be online every second of every day reading every post on the site. Ya'll are adults, yet a few of you can't seem to act that way. I thought I got rid of the biggest lightning rod after giving that person more than a few chances. I guess not as there is a contingent that still has to go after the dead to me and another contingent that feels that they must defend the dead to me.

It's over, It's done

Let this carp go.