Posted by Angel on February 17, 2002 at 00:45:03:
In Reply to: Re: A question about the forum posted by Gary Dodge on February 16, 2002 at 21:42:45:
: I hope that my not always agreeing entirely with you has not discouraged you, although I have the full power to delete your comments if they are not welcome I have never done so!
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My goodnes, Gary, if you've ever participated in any other forums where I also post, you will know that I love a difference of opinion. I don't always agree with everything you post and I certainly don't require that people take MY opinions as infallible pronouncements. I think another guy already has the market on that...they call him 'Pope'.
Hahaha Of course you haven't deleted any of my posts. That's not in question.
People with common interests have a tendency to see them from different viewpoints. That's just fun...and it's educational for other users. If you deleted posts that disagreed with your ideas etc. your Forum attempt would suffer a swift demise. I was a system moderator of 2 boards for 17 years and I'll tell you that deleting messages is THE most serious thing we ever have to consider.
It's good to have an active moderator, but keep in mind that the USERS are the Board. Let them police it and feel free to handle whatever discussion comes up. Encourage them to disagree and correct poor information on their own. Yes, it's possible that the people attracted here really DO just want a question and answer place. They would be very non-typical (and less interesting) of most of the other obsessives I've met on Forums who LOVE to talk.
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: This is an open forum and I encourage participation and am somewhat surprised by the lack of interaction we have here considering the number of people who view the board. So far everybody has been respectful of others and nothing has ever been deleted.
: Thanks for asking.
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Well, I've seen a few other forums that were lacking in interaction. It takes time to build a sense of community among the users and without that, a forum won't survive. I'm not surprised so much as I'm dismayed by the low inter-activity here. We need as many good glass forums as possible. Right now, there aren't many around.
This place has the reputation of being an "ask Gary Dodge" format. That's what it looks like to new people who log in and I really believe that discourages them from staying and posting ideas.
SO...I'm testing the waters....testing the moderator to find out just exactly what we DO have on here and what he expects of a forum where he obviously puts so much of his time and energy. Instead of just taking the forum out of my active list, I'm hoping to encourage people to participate fully. Hey, people...I don't have any questions for Gary. He and I disagree on SOMETHING every time I post. I like that...he doesn't bite and he doesn't delete. This exchange proves that. Come on in and play.
Now, I know you're asking yourself...."who is this assertive Lady dog" and what business is it of hers to "test" any waters. I will just say that if I choose to become an active member of any forum it becomes my business....to support it and help keep it active and yes...stick that toe in the water. It's the right of any User.
Meantime we'll just suck all the glassing information we can get out of Gary's Brain, then aggravate him constantly by disagreeing or posting silly alternatives and glassing legends and having a good time. When you log into a good forum you're in full anticipation of being educated AND entertained....look forward to reading and laughing....sometimes groaning...but
mainly being fully engaged in something that's happening there. Meantime, some of us MIGHT even get some glass work done.