Dear Joe Offer...

Subject: Dear Joe Offer...
From: Harry Basnett
Date: 13 Apr 02 - 06:17 AM

Dear Joe....

Of course I'm normally in favour of free speech ( or free thread, whatever..) but I don't really care how many people are responding to it ( which is why I'm not adding to it here ) please get rid of the stupid "genitals" thread!!

All the best........Harry.

---

Well, Harry, I thought long and hard about it, but decided to leave the thread alone. If Mudcatters hadn't responded to the thread, I most probably would have deleted it. Once you get a few responses, you have to deal with cries of censorship if you delete them. In the case at hand, I decided it wasn't worth the fuss. I make a guess on each situation I consider, and I'm sure my guesses are wrong sometimes. I am NOT consistent in what I do, because I don't want the trolls to be able to predict my actions.
If I delete a thread, I have to put up with the consequences - and one of the consequences is that it often goads trolls into more activity. If you're on the Internet, you have to put up with a bit of trolling. Maybe it's part of the price of the privilege of free speech.
We clamp down on trolls when they go overboard, but mostly we hope that people will ignore them and not feed their craving for attention.
-Joe Offer-

Subject: RE: Dear Joe Offer...
From: DMcG
Date: 13 Apr 02 - 07:08 AM

(I'm assuming this thread is general Joe Offer letters, rather than about the genitals thread)

You make valiant attempts to stop us posting in threads that already have a 'continued' version, but can you or Max come up with a way that locks the thread and refers us to the continued one?

---

Pene Azul has a good solution to that one, DMcG. Once a thread gets too long, a button appears at the bottom that allows you to pull up 50 messages at a time, instead of reading a thread with 900 posts. It's one of many features we're testing and fine-tuning right now.
People may wonder why it takes us so long to put new features into effect. One reason is that we have to test them for bugs and flaws and other problems. It's better to catch the problems before they cause bigger problems.
In the meantime, I guess I have to put up with the idiots who can't read the large print that tells them to go to Part II - I can't understand why they can't see the "thread closed" notice and heed it.
-Joe Offer-

Subject: RE: Dear Joe Offer...
From: kendall
Date: 13 Apr 02 - 08:16 AM

Seems to me, that there is a difference between freedom and license; and, unfortunatly, some of us dont know the difference.

Subject: RE: Dear Joe Offer...
From: Mr Red
Date: 13 Apr 02 - 01:01 PM

Well I'm all for licenciousness, as long as people don't do it in the street and frighten the horses.
seems to me that Max has the say and if Joe had the reins he would be firmer. I am ambivalent about a lot of threads and have avoided some as they are out of MY preferences.
What do we make of songs that incite & glorify death and maiming in the name of a 400 year-old parochial fued?
give me genitals over being fucked with bullets anyday PAL!

Subject: RE: Dear Joe Offer...
From: X
Date: 13 Apr 02 - 01:07 PM

Poop!

Subject: RE: Dear Joe Offer...
From: Amos
Date: 13 Apr 02 - 01:10 PM

Dear Joe:

Let me add that I am really glad you're there, and thanks for all the time you have spent trying to make the Mudcat the best place possible!

You're appreciated. And so are all those who labor behind the scenes for the same reasons.

A.

Subject: RE: Dear Joe Offer...
From: Harry Basnett
Date: 13 Apr 02 - 02:02 PM

Whats a parochial fued PAL?

Subject: RE: Dear Joe Offer...
From: Wincing Devil
Date: 13 Apr 02 - 02:11 PM

If you are offended by a particular thread

DON'T FLIPPIN' READ IT!

Subject: RE: Dear Joe Offer...
From: Mudlark
Date: 13 Apr 02 - 02:19 PM

Dear Joe Offer....You are my hero...thanks for doing all you do here.

Subject: RE: Dear Joe Offer...
From: Harry Basnett
Date: 13 Apr 02 - 03:42 PM

My my, Wincin'...we are a nowty li'l devil aren;t we?

Subject: RE: Dear Joe Offer...
From: wysiwyg
Date: 13 Apr 02 - 04:26 PM

Harry, Joe and Pene have requested numerous times that problems like this be brought to their attention offthread, in PMs or via e-mail. Or the Help forum provides a place. Using these avenues helps reduce the amount of rancor in the threads, and helps keep things running smoothly.

~Susan

Subject: RE: Dear Joe Offer...
From: greg stephens
Date: 13 Apr 02 - 05:30 PM

i agree with Mr Red. there are actually worse things in life than genitals, Harryoldham. I can thnk of plenty, and I bet you can too.

Subject: RE: Dear Joe Offer...
From: John Routledge
Date: 13 Apr 02 - 05:34 PM

Isn't everything relative :0)

Subject: RE: Dear Joe Offer...
From: GUEST
Date: 14 Apr 02 - 01:02 AM

Most of you folk missed the attempted take-over of the MudCat by a coven of wicen women. Things got tense. Then MC got PM. and order now reigns inbetween another wicen suicide.

Subject: RE: Dear Joe Offer...
From: John in Brisbane
Date: 14 Apr 02 - 03:37 AM

Hi to all at Mudcat. Just checked in last night for the first time in a fair while and figured that I knew just enough about genitals to bother opening that thread. Best wishes to the well meaning people here - it saddens me though that there is such a lot of seemingly superfluous threads these days.

Regards, John

Subject: RE: Dear Joe Offer...
From: Cappuccino
Date: 14 Apr 02 - 04:02 AM

Serious question, asked before, but to which I missed any answer. Do Joe and others at Mudcat High Command actually make a habit of skimming through * every * thread to see what's in there?

Best wishes to you, anyway.

- Ian B

---

In a word, Ian, no. As Max has said time and time again, we are not babysitters. If a thread looks uninteresting, I do my best to avoid it. If other Mudcatters would do the same, this would be a much happier place.
Yes, there are certain threads and messages that do need our attention, especially if they're threats or personal attacks. If you come across something that needs our attention, please notify Pene and Joe Offer by personal message. Please do not post public messages to call attention to problem posts and threads.
-Joe Offer-

Subject: RE: Dear Joe Offer...
From: Harry Basnett
Date: 14 Apr 02 - 05:21 AM

Point taken about the PM, Susan.........let's kill this thread now.........