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Wordforge Constitution...

I really hate you sometimes. :D

Any board that needs a Constitution to keep its membership together probably has no other foundation to rely on.

Chuck any constitution, let the owner set the guidelines, and elect moderators every few months to watch things. If you guys don't have enough in common to keep talking cordially beyond that, you need to split into different boards.
 
Wow, that EFCL spam was, well, spammish. No, nothing like that, we'd be the EU of bulletin boards. The key is to be the Constitution, not the Articles of Confederation.
 
Big complicated rules lead to confusion. (If anyone reads them)

I fucking hate sites with a shitload of bullshit rules.

Sites that require Admin approved registrations fucking suck ass too.

Our registration at cindysbeenbongin.com is set where you can use a fake E-mail. People can make a new Id every post if they want. We just are not that fucking picky.

Posters who put up with the bullshit rules are sheep and the admins are fucked it the head.
 
It still won't work. The more complex the rules, the more trolls will poke holes in it for sport. Same as it ever was.

Really, the more an owner tries to sell the "democracy" card to the membership, the more the membership will end up having contempt for the owner, whether it's because of inconsitent policy language, or because of inconsistent or less-than-timely enforcement (perceived or real).

You want to set up a democracy, go take over an island nation. Message boards are not a sophisticated enough arena for such lofty ideas. As the owner of what's left of what was left of what was left of EFCL, I should know.
 
bad dog said:
Big complicated rules lead to confusion. (If anyone reads them)

I fucking hate sites with a shitload of bullshit rules.

Sites that require Admin approved registrations fucking suck ass too.

Our registration at cindysbeenbongin.com is set where you can use a fake E-mail. People can make a new Id every post if they want. We just are not that fucking picky.

Posters who put up with the bullshit rules are sheep and the admins are fucked it the head.
Click to expand...

People call it Control.

I call it Indoctrination.
 
Eggs Mayonnaise said:
It still won't work. The more complex the rules, the more trolls will poke holes in it for sport. Same as it ever was.

Really, the more an owner tries to sell the "democracy" card to the membership, the more the membership will end up having contempt for the owner, whether it's because of inconsitent policy language, or becacuse of inconsistent or less-than-timely enforcement (perceived or real).

You want to set up a democracy, go take over an island nation. Message boards are not a sophisticated enough arena for such lofty ideas. As the owner of what's left of what was left of what was left of EFCL, I should know.
Click to expand...

And I should know because I was one of those trolls that poked holes in every rule. Although not always for sport. I can remember once making a motion we dump the Constitution and just behave like civilized people and have fun (GASP, we gotta have rules, with no rules where would be anarchy!!!)
we were supposed to be friends after all.


;)
mm
 
Electing mods is a fucking nightmare, it turns into a popularity contest and less about the right people for the job.
 
missmanners said:
And I should know because I was one of those trolls that poked holes in every rule. Although not always for sport. I can remember once making a motion we dump the Constitution and just behave like civilized people and have fun (GASP, we gotta have rules, with no rules where would be anarchy!!!)
we were supposed to be friends after all.

;)
mm
Click to expand...
*sigh* Hindsight is 20-20. I just wish the good memories from that time were as fresh in my mind as the drama...

Never shoulda been an admin. It started me on the road to ruin I'm on now... ;)
 
I don't recally anyone with any authrity at WF ever claiming to desire a democracy. I mean, seriously, how would the autocracy survive?
 
Crap. I just realized you can't start a poll in an existing thread. :doh:

But to recap, as I see it, there are two main arguments being presented (with a couple sideline corollaries):

1) Have a set of rules that is akin to the US Constitution

2) Have a set of rules more akin to the Ten Commandments

One thing I think we all agree on is that nitnoid lawyering rules just invite trouble. And I hope we all agree that NO laws whatsoever is also a recipe for disaster. I'm not going to start a poll until next week, because I want at least a draft of what I'm thinking of (yes, I'm in the option 1 camp). Although if there isn't a thread already about the different roles (Poster, Moderator, etc) I think I'll start that tonight.
 
bad dog said:
Electing mods is a fucking nightmare, it turns into a popularity contest and less about the right people for the job.
Click to expand...
Maybe so, but if people are unhappy at least they'll only have themselves to blame.
 
That's usually the most scary thing about wanting to unseat people in power...you have to deal with who will hold the power after you have toppled them.

Not always so clear cut, is it?
 
OK. I've had a look at everything. While I hear what everyone is saying about too much bureaucracy, I really think there should be three governing documents for a board:

You should have a Mission. This is the broad-brush, Vision-Thing stuff about what the board is about. Everything else exists to support the mission, and if things get bogged down in lawyering, you can pull back and ask "are we fulfilling our mission?" This should be fairly short and very general.

There must also be Rules. This is the day-to-day "Thou shalt not spam" stuff. Think of it as the "owner's manual" for the board. It should be fairly simple, and walk the fine line between giving the management enough power to keep things running smoothly (see the mission statement for a definition of what "running smoothly" is), but also protect posters from moderator abuses. And on that note...

A Constitution. This is more like the "shop manual"--the thing that tells you how it all ticks. It is also a covenant between the people running the board and the members. And if you think that isn't necessary, I say just look at the way TBBS and WF ultimately turned out. Yes, if the board is owned by one person, they can still say "Tough shit. If you don't like it, leave." But at least with a constitution, there's no question that they are out of line.

And shit, who says a board has to be owned by one person? I've had posters here offer to chip in toward setting up WF:TNG. While challenging, some form of partnership is a viable option, IMO.

OK. That's it for now. It's late, I've got tomorrow off, and the surf is actually pretty good. While it would've been really, really cool to stand up a new board on Independence Day, I've got Real Life things to deal with.
 
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