The Times, They Are A-Changin'

[Andrew Boulton]

You'll have realised by now that things were happening, and finally the truth can be revealed...

Last month, Marc Miller took control of COTI...and then in a brief moment of madness put me in charge. I'll try not to do too much damage - if I do, blame me not him.

I'd like to thank Hunter for all his hard work setting up and running the board over the last nine years. I know there have been problems, but let's not forget that without him there would be no T20, no COTI, and the Traveller world would be a much poorer place. Thanks, and good luck in the future.

We don't plan any huge changes, but we are going to introduce a few regular features which will hopefully liven up the old place. More news on those soon.

Welcome to the New Era...

 

[travlar]

Does this mean we can panic now?

Wait, the New Era? o: Does that mean Virus is coming along? Run for it!!!

 

[Jame]

Do some good, Andrew! I know you can!

*Begins signalling to the Zhodani Teleport Commandoes*

 

[spinwardpirate]

Sweet! I know you'll do a bang-up job! Congrats!

 

[jatay3]

Oh, I hate that song....

 

[jappel]

Thanks for the update, Andrew, and for your stewardship of this community over the years. And I echo your thanks to Hunter for his role in setting this up in the first place.

Navigator, plot us a course Rimward...

 

[Icosahedron]

You know, when I said I thought you were waiting for an announcement from Hunter, I almost added 'and/or Avery'.

Thanks to Hunter, and congrats on the promotion Andrew, it'll be good to have someone at the helm again.

Now, about my wishlist...
:smirk:

 

[Jeff M. Hopper]

Bring back the Political Pulpit!

 

[Thunderbolt]

Thanks for the update, I look forward to a raft of new initiatives guided by your capable hands!!

 

[Blue Ghost]

*snippity-snip*

Wait, the New Era? o: Does that mean Virus is coming along? Run for it!!!

Dude.... you beat me to it.

 

[Magnus von Thornwood]

Also coming in second...

Bring back the Political Pulpit!

Yeah, with a decent Mod, in its own volatile way, it was kind of a cool place to hang out.

And Congrats Andrew, do right by us lowly Citizens, for the good of the Imperium and all that.

 

[far-trader]

Bring back the Political Pulpit!

Promote that man!

Yeah, with a decent Mod, in its own volatile way, it was kind of a cool place to hang out.

OK, him too, but that's it, no more political appointments!



As much as I'd like to see it too I'm not sure... I hope though that it'll get some discussion and consideration. Maybe we need a new thread for this New Era. A place to take suggestions for new ideas and directions. Though I suppose this thread has the right title for that, so feel free to drop suggestions here until then.

 

[ShapeShifter]

On behalf of a large number of members who, undoubtedly, are also harbouring this question: what prompted the honourable Mr. Miller to "acquire" CotI, if I may be so bold.

Yours, for some reason always in the dark,

William/Shapeshifter.

 

[Colin]

Bring back the Political Pulpit!

F**k No! That place was a sewer, and gave me more trouble than any other area of CotI.

 

[Supplement Four]

Maybe we need a new thread for this New Era. A place to take suggestions for new ideas and directions. Though I suppose this thread has the right title for that, so feel free to drop suggestions here until then.

Yes.

I'd like to see a path for anyone to take when they feel they've been victim of mod abuse--someplace where there is a fair review of the facts an keeps the mods from falling victim to too much power. We've had some of that here. I'd like to see that corrected in this new era.

 

[far-trader]

F**k No! That place was a sewer, and gave me more trouble than any other area of CotI.

Being simply one of the troublemakers there at the time and not a moderator having to deal with the clean up I'll have to defer to Colin's experience on this point That's a big part of my uncertainty above.

 

[far-trader]

Yes.

I'd like to see a path for anyone to take when they feel they've been victim of mod abuse--someplace where there is a fair review of the facts an keeps the mods from falling victim to too much power. We've had some of that here. I'd like to see that corrected in this new era.

As has been explained repeatedly, but for clarity of this suggestion and discussion, the current procedure is if you have a complaint with moderation you PM another moderator about it and it is discussed and decided by all the moderators and at times the admins.

I've made another suggestion for procedure to my fellow mods but the consensus was against it, and fairly done.

What would you suggest S4?

 

[Blix]

This is pretty much what I thought the "big announcement" would be; a change of ownership. An active Admin is always a good thing to have, especially given that that this board seems to have been lacking one for a very long time.

As I said elsewhere, I would like to see a serious change in attitude and approach here: less insularity, less hostility, less bitterness, less intimidation, less thuggery, less "grognardism", more open-mindedness, more politeness, and more tolerance for others' opinions. To be fair, only a handful of regulars seem to be responsible for the negativity, but it's enough to drive people away. If the mods and admins are genuinely interested in encouraging people to return then I think this would go a long way to that end.

Also, I would like to see more consistency in moderator response; rules should be clarified, and applied and enforced fairly and in the exact same way to everyone regardless of their status or post count. Right now I get the impression of bias in favour of some of the regulars, and it also seems that some of the mods go straight for the jackbooted draconian approach and others are much more reasonable about it, and I would like to see more of the latter.

As a suggestion, maybe consider reducing the number of boards here and consolidating them. I'm not sure why this board needs 40+ different forums, particularly given that some aren't even doing anything (Starship Design 101? Wiki? Does there really need to be five different forums for T20 anymore?)

I do not believe that a realworld political board should have any place on an RPG forum. I have not seen this "Political Pulpit", but from what I see elsewhere political discussion boards are never anything more than cesspits of flame and hostility and are only good for turning people against eachother, and certainly they have nothing to do with Traveller in any of its forms.

I will watch with interest for any further developments.

 

[jappel]

I stayed out of the Political Pulpit. I don't think it should return simply because there are many other places to argue politics, but only two places I know of to discuss Traveller in all it's forms: this board and the TML, and I've given up on the TML. I'd rather the moderators' energies not be dissipated putting out fires in a forum that has nothing to do with Traveller.

While some may not see the value in some of the older, disused forums, there are good nuggets scattered amongst them that I'd like to see preserved. Perhaps some of these forums could be moved to a read-only "archives" area, and the forums for active discussions rationalized - assuming someone can identify a scheme for doing so! But I was just hunting for a post of Sigg Oddra's last night that was lost in the Great Upgrade Disaster a few years ago, and lamenting it's loss (before I found the info replicated in a document elsewhere). I'd hate to see other valuable discussions and posts vanish forever.

Blix, some of what you're asking for is beyond any moderator's power to achieve. They can't dictate what people think. They can be more consistent in applying the "be nice or be gone" rules, but that said, I've seen them apply the whacks pretty evenly in the 7 years I've been participating.

 

[Supplement Four]

As has been explained repeatedly, but for clarity of this suggestion and discussion, the current procedure is if you have a complaint with moderation you PM another moderator about it and it is discussed and decided by all the moderators and at times the admins.

I've made another suggestion for procedure to my fellow mods but the consensus was against it, and fairly done.

I don't want to turn this into a flamewar. Not at all. But, yes, I have seen moderator abuse on this forum--and not just towards me, either.

The problem is that there is no checks and balances. A mod may, indeed, be out of line but believe he's "in the right".

And, the problem with the current "system" is that it comes down to a couple of people who have each other's backs.

Yes, I've had some Warnings and whatnot overturned in the past, but that's because a mod, other than the one that gave me the Warning, saw my side of things. There's no real system of fairness, though. Mods are human. I've seen them take things personally, and I've seen them wave their big sticks when they shouldn't.

I'm not talking about getting a get-out-of-jail free card. If someone earns a Warning or Infraction, then that person should be given one. I know I've earned some in the past.

But, I also know I've been victim of going against a mod's personal opinion and not breaking the rules. It's happened to a lot of people (not so many of them around here anymore--people who got tired of it).

I just want a system that is fair.

What would you suggest S4?

I'd have to put a lot of thought into it. But, off the top of my head, why not open a forum where someone who feels like he's been wronged can post his complaint. Then have his complaint reviewed fairly. Out in the open--not one mod scratching another's back.

It's a thought to consider.