The APUG Membership Council

[Sean]

Hello All,

I would like to announce a new layer to APUG moderation. Previously we only had Admin (Me) + Moderation Team (David A. Goldfarb, JD Callow and Ole). The four of us have been building and enforcing rules for many years but as the site continues to grow it is no longer enough to simply create and enforce rules. As many witness all too often, skilled "trolls" or problem users can find clever ways around the rules which ultimately sours the community. The new Membership Council will allow us to continue enforcing rules but also add a new element of moderation to the mix. The Council will basically help us maintain and steer the tone of APUG. John did a good job of laying out the mission statement of the council so I will use his description:


1. act as a presence to keep people more or less on the straight and narrow;
2. be more strategic than tactical;
3. give advice with regard to the site's direction;
4. recommend actions when individuals stray;
5. offer a more or less democratic aspect to the policing of the site;
6. and provide a buffer for the mods and admin who run APUG.

The new Membership Council is (in no particular order and by forum name):

les mclean [Council Chairman]
theflyingcamera
jnanian
bwgirl
scootermm
dave miller
dinesh
suzanner
clogz
murrayminchin
bob f.
Bruce (camclicker)
Lee
papagene
MHV
jovo

You will soon see their forum designation change from "subscriber" to: http://www.apug.org/forums/images/councilpixel.gif

This is an active and international group of APUG members which we believe represent the spirit of the community as a whole. We believe the Council can help bring more visibility to various membership based issues and help us maintain the great spirit of the site, ensuring that it remains a positive and friendly place to visit.

The Council does have legitimate power within the running of APUG. There will be a process allowing Council members to submit issues, discuss them and take action. There are many options available to the Council when a consensus is met, for example: forced ignore list between members, restricting problem members from specific forums, restricting the amount of posts per day, temporary bans, permanent bans and more. The forum rules will be updated today to ensure everyone is aware that Council members are a form of APUG Moderators and should be treated with the same respect as our Moderation Team. In other words if any problem members attempt to harass a Council member we will not take it lightly. There will be oversight to the Council provided by Myself, Les Mclean and the Moderation Team.

I'll end by saying thank you to those who have volunteered to be part of the Council. It means a lot to me that we have a membership who care this much about our community and are offering their time and energy to keep it running smoothly. I look forward to working with the new team.

Thanks,
Sean

[thebanana]

This is great Sean!

I'm sure you're more than a little concerned that the power will go directly to Dinesh's head, but I guess you have to crack a few eggs to make an omelet:D That's probably a poor analogy, but you get the drift..

[Stephanie Brim]

I respect all these people and can see them doing an excellent job at their new task. YAY!

[copake_ham]

Congrats to the new Council. I truly look forward to having your guidance. With nearly 21,500 members - this site is becoming enormous - your presence will be very helpful.

Oh, and I guess I'd better take Dinesh off my "Ignore" list! :o ;)

But truly, I respect all of you and know you support the interests of APUG and it's goal/mission.

[Michel Hardy-Vallée]

Gee whiz, and all I did was to waste too much time on APUG... Now I'm a professional time-waster! :D

PS: I knew Les McLean was meant to guide us towards the light.

[MurrayMinchin]

Nobody will tell me the secret handshake :(

Murray

[jd callow]

I'm sure you're more than a little concerned that the power will go directly to Dinesh's head...

It may but i suspect that the ID is far smaller than the OD would suggest.

[catem]

Good luck to all of you! This seems an excellent idea.

[ricksplace]

Well done Sean. Looks like you have a good team.

[wfe]

Les McLean at the top, we're all in trouble :) Just joking of course, this is a wonderful list of people who I'm sure will do a great job.

Cheers,
Bill

[Leon]

excellent choices

[Bob Carnie]

I pledge my loylaties to councilman Dinesh. I promise to consume more beers in his presence and I will not refer to him as my lab bitch anymore, at least in his presence.

This is great Sean!

I'm sure you're more than a little concerned that the power will go directly to Dinesh's head, but I guess you have to crack a few eggs to make an omelet:D That's probably a poor analogy, but you get the drift..

[David Brown]

It may but i suspect that the ID is far smaller than the OD would suggest.

John, that's hilarious! :D

Sean, et al:

I, too, applaud this move. The good of the whole outweighs the good of any one individual; and some judicious shaping, weeding, and pruning never hurts.

Of course, I'm gonna have to watch my own mouth ... :o

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[mark]

I don't think this is a very good idea. Sure there is a squabble here and there but ultimately nothing that diminishes the site, just those posters.

Communities as diverse as, and big as this one are bound to have personality conficts. That is human nature. I understand the need for moderation just as all communities need some sort of lawful presence, but "Judicious weeding and pruning", as David Brown puts it, is a bit too orwellian for my tastes.

But, ultimately the site belongs to Sean, and his decisions and opinions are the only ones that really matter. I just hope there was a lot of thought given to this and the actions of two members, that I know of, in the last few days were not all that he considered.

[Krockmitaine]

Congrats to every moderator!
Excellent choice Sean!

[TheFlyingCamera]

Mark-

If I may speak to the issue that you raise, the arrival of the "Council" status was purely coincidental with regard to any recent spat or spats that may have happened here on the forum; this has been in the works for a substantial amount of time. Also, speaking as one member of the Council, I would say that I believe none of us take this responsibility lightly, and it will NOT be an excuse/opportunity to "thin the herd" when someone who is merely unpopular comes along. To merit the Council attention, someone is going to have to put forth an effort to provoke it.

[Michel Hardy-Vallée]

I'll also add to Scott's comment that we're here to help the moderation team rather than supplement them. It's the "many eyes" approach. In the end, the big decisions are implemented by the executive branch, i.e. Sean & the mods.

[jovo]

I'll also add to Scott's comment that we're here to help the moderation team rather than supplement them

I don't think any of us would have accepted a role that would more aptly be entitled "Inquisitor" rather than "Council". It's important to attentively examine our charge and not read more into it than is there. I have, and will continue to read it very carefully.

[wfwhitaker]

Mmm..mm..mm.... Bureaucracy!...

[Steve Smith]

I don't think any of us would have accepted a role that would more aptly be entitled "Inquisitor" rather than "Council".

Nobody expects the APUG inquisition!.....