And now the news....

I'm very pleased to welcome whosnext as co-moderator of Politics v7.0

Not being a dick, but who?

He's one of the less clowny SMP guys. Still kinda lol.

Who the **** is whosnext?

I have been a 2+2 member for many years. I am a mod in a couple of other forums. Like everyone I have many political views (Democrat), but I don't think I have ever posted in Politics or Politics v7.0 (in either incarnation). I would be naive to think that my personal political views would not affect my modding, but that is the ideal.

I think that chezlaw has set up a good set of rules and guidelines for this forum. I hope to help implement those rules and guidelines in a more timely and even-handed manner. In addition, a second set of eyes can help improve the speed and likelihood of removing offensive posts (sometimes will be achieved by editing).

Please report posts via the red triangle thingy or post your concern in the appropriate moderation thread. You can even PM me directly (though that is essentially the same thing as reporting a post) and I will get back to you.

If anybody has any questions, I would be happy to answer.

whosnext should post the pm he sent me which started this process.

the immediate attacks that come from some of you amaze me.

I look forward to an extra pair of mod hands meaning that I don't have to report posts (which I detest doing).

I'm not attacking him.

I was relatively civil.

Baba O'Riley -or- Won't Get Fooled Again ?

Being a Who fan was the next best thing to him being a limey bastard. No-one's perfect.

I call that a bargain.

One of my favorite Daniel Patrick Moynihan stories is that early in his career he ran for office while he was a Harvard University professor. His opponent was a staunch Conservative and Harvard had, especially at the time, a reputation as a Liberal bastion. At the first public debate between the candidates, his opponent called him "that Harvard professor". Moynihan replied "Wow it didn't take long for the mudslinging to begin."

But, in all seriousness, I am not an SMP guy. I have made occasional posts there on math topics since math topics are of interest to me. My background is in mathematical economics and game theory, in case anybody gives a ****.

Won't Get Fooled Again is the greatest rock song of all time. Without question. On this there can be no debate!

I'd go with Voodoo Chile (Slight Return) for the greatest rock song of all time and I am more of a Who fan than a Hendrix fan.

Paul, give Japandroids a listen. Every old smarmy rock critic loves them.

Chez, the reason you're supposed to take action against horrendous banned posters coming back openly is because when you merely edit their post they get to try and gaslight me elsewhere. Guy is a blatant homophobe, you know it, and now he gets to go on and on with his "honest to god, guv, I never" routine.

I think you're confusing attacks with utter incomprehension.

Why would anyone want to mod a forum they've never so much as visited once?

Why not move SMPu to a subforum of SMP to make it less confusing to people who want to post about politics?

bump

First, that question was never directly asked of me. Honestly, the question came off as like a high-school debating trick in which the asker was not at all interested in the answer.

Second, the overall tenor of the responses to the announcement that I was made a co-mod of the forum ranged from tepid to mildly hostile (of course, that was to be expected but it still is a bit off-putting when it happens).

Third, I visited Politics v7.0 numerous times over the years and much more frequently over the last few months since the change away from unchained. What I said in my introductory post was that I don't think I have ever posted in Politics v7.0.

That somebody can immediately think that a person who volunteers to mod a forum has never once visited the forum and knows nothing about the forum seems to me, quite truthfully, a bit wacky and insulting and stated solely to undermine the new mod from the outset.

Fourth, over the past month or so I have exchanged PM's with Chezlaw and Mat about the moderation of the Politics v7.0 forum. These exchanges will remain private. But the upshot was that in due course I volunteered to become a co-mod of the forum with Chezlaw. Chezlaw and Mat agreed to the idea. (As an aside, throughout the entire discussion, Chezlaw was 100% open to other's ideas on moderation of the forum, open to the idea of having a co-mod, and has graciously welcomed me as co-mod.)

And here we are.

You were pretty clearly the subject and target of the question.

That aside, I look forward to whatever rules you decide on with chez and wish you luck in your new endeavor.

Mods are nearly always drawn from the community of the forum. It seems quite reasonable to think that someone who has never posted in a subforum knows little about the community. Making someone who has never posted in the forum a mod of that forum seems a lot wackier than treating that outsider -- who is suddenly and bizarrely in charge of the forum -- with suspicion and skepticism.

If I had to guess, I'd say he probably got the idea that people would try to undermine him from his talks with Chez. I can't imagine walking into a forum being asked a question like that, and suddenly projecting all sorts of ulterior motives onto others without taking any time to get to know them.

Responding to the above two posts:

Fair enough, those are valid points. I promise to not ascribe ulterior motives to others when benign motives are more likely.

I so wish we could make that a forum rule:

Do not ascribe ulterior motives to others when benign motives are more likely.

What about 'political narratives' which come prepared with identifiable ulterior motivations? I'll take the answer off-air.