"Only supporting members can post, seriously!?" Topic

I think that Bill has lost it.

He goes away and locks his own forum to reduce trolling, which is just the weirdest thing I have ever seen happen on TMP.

And btw, what happened to Terrement?

GWA Please PM me…

You would think the assistant Editors could have handled things while he was gone.

Makes sense to me. I go on vacation, I have certain people watch my home and that's it. I don't think the Assistant Editors have the experience or admin authority to deal with trolls, so Supporting Members are less likely to burn the place down in his absence.

End of the day, I'm here for the figs and hobby news. If TMP folds or becomes too strange, I'll move on. Not the end of the world – not even close.

I think the Membership needs to return to what and why this wargaming site started in the first place: playing with toy soldiers. You want to 'discuss' politics, current events, theology, even gaze on 'nekkidness', there are plenty of other sites for that.

These two weeks should be an opportunity for the Supporting Members to show that they can have nice things and not break them.

I believe we can post humorously too!

I guess that Bill is really strapped. He doesn't want to come back to two weeks of cleaning up (DHing, locking, etc.). But something about locking the boards to non supporting members seems out of kilter to me.

What happens if a Supporting Membership expires while he's gone?
BWW

Seems just fine to me. Not really sure why it should be seen as an issue.

I'm not sure I agree with the decision but it's his company. The way I see it there will be less posts for everyone to read and they will have time to look elsewhere.

Supporting members can step up and post more hobby related topics to show what a great site it is and Bill will be able to see how much non supporting members contribute. Two weeks is a long time.

+1 David Manley

+2 David Manley

It's the Supporting Members under deep cover that I'm worried about. Now is their time!

Dear Winston,

I wish I could help with the forums, but I am a specialist working with the advertisers. Also, my work hours are very limited at the moment.

John I think she likes you…..

I think Bill is being wise to use this simple expedient to prevent trolling. It will indeed be interesting to see what difference this makes to TMP over this 2 week period.

As the man who fell down the well yelled:

OK so far!!!!

OK so far!!!

OK so far!!

Actually, I hope this works out well.

As do I.

And, also what Mr. Manley said.

Upon reflection it is a good idea. If the time span were short then ot would boost membership. Say two consecutive days per month?

While Bill is away I have in old school post colonial African fashion staged a coup.

I'm now president Gunfreak. There will be sweeping changes.
First you'll be required to write in Norwegian. And none of that fake double A. That will get you two weeks in the dog house. It's Å.

More draconian and rather random changes to follow.

Although I'm a supporting member not much I have to say is very interesting….

Just for you Gunfreak!

Big mistake. It will off non members.

Who cares if some trolls post? It's the internet, we are all big boys and girls, we can wade through crap. Heck, 90% of the internet is spammy crap.

It should be this way all the time.

Another new rule from your beloved President Gunfreak.
From now on their will only be two categories.

Things I like
Things I don't like

Gun, you're the Man.

Look at the puny number of posts during this "crisis". Tango is locked out. ;)

Seriously, this is not a good thing. I agree with the observation that "90% of the Net is spammy stuff". We are used to it. Protecting us/himself from trolls is just like a tiny nanny state, run by the nanny-minded emperor. Augustus was infamous for his draconian rules laid down to control/modify society. And then it just got worse, didn't it?

Oh, well, it is, what it is……………

+3 David Manley

Gun, you're the Man

Yes I am. Got big hands too!
And since you know your place mi will keep you alive (as long as you supply me with salty licorice, and steak)

New proclamation from your glorious leader El Presidente Gunfreak.
3 is now bigger than 4.

Ooooh, I canīt wait to spring that on my next opponent!

Gunfreak:

"Things I like
Things I don't like"

Now that's what I call true Board consolidation!

Dan

Yes I truly am a visionary (and my hair is totally real)

Like a true president I'll now wait until 4 am before I'll release 50 new well thought out proclamations.

Also your beloved president might have to spend a few weeks in jail when the deposed leader comes back. But know this it's all a witch hunt from the fake media.

If you grew a third eye Gunfreak you would be even more visionary.

That's the most disturbing thing I've ever seen!

All hail, President Gunfreak!!! I mean, Oh hell, President Gunfreak

Gunfreak: "Also your beloved president might have to spend a few weeks in jail when the deposed leader comes back."

You? In jail? Please say that isn't so!

Dan
PS. Bashytubits, that is indeed one of the most disturbing gifs I've seen in quite a while.

Dear Gunfreak, I am sorry, but you cannot be president of TMP. Bill has asked me to be in charge while he is on vacation.

So four is bigger than three again, what a pity.

Seriously, this is not a good thing . . . Protecting us/himself from trolls

It's not about "protecting" anybody's sensibilities. If the trolls were allowed to run rampant in Bill's absence, he would come back from vacation to weeks of work weeding out all the rubbish they would undoubtedly have injected into the forums as soon as they realized he was gone. If you came home from a two week vacation to find that the neighbors who you don't get along with had allowed their dogs to defecate in your yard the whole time you were gone; even if you weren't particularly offended by dog droppings, you wouldn't want to have to spend the time cleaning up their mess.

If you (or the many members who don't feel that TMP is a valuable enough internet asset to cough up the very nominal fee to become supporters) want to be annoyed with someone about this expedient, then blame the spiteful, juvenile intruders who have nothing better to do with their time than to attempt to damage something constructive that someone else is doing rather than doing something constructive of their own.

+1 War Artisan.

I agree, I think that was very well put.

+2 War Artisan. I'm quite enjoying the current more relaxed pace of TMP.

You cannot go away and stifle growth and participation for any length of time, without sending a strong message to the largest percentage of members that they are neither needed or trusted.

Bill should have given full powers of editorship long ago to his assistant editors. What TMP is like, is the Minnie Me version of the nanny state whose sole ruler micro manages everything.

What is happening without Bill's constant presence is a rapid atrophying of TMP membership, beginning with non paying members feeling slighted, offended and marginalized…………

(And yes, Bill Cosby could not possibly have disturbed me more if he had grown a third eye………….)

The "Moderator" concept is alive and well elsewhere, and it doesn't cost the creator of those sites a dime. S/he learns to trust the mods that s/he offers controlling, policing powers to to keep the site running as designed. If TMP is a mess, with enemies all around and constantly pissing downstream while we are trying to bathe, trying to lock the place down so that Bill can go away for a small vacation is a sad commentary on where years of accumulating enemies by the dozen has led us all. Bill is trying to defend TMP as an army of one. He can obviously afford to pay some assistants. He should put them in charge of moderating TMP's various fora.

I would do it for free. And I am sure that many of you feel the same. Our vaunted self-interest should be good enough for Bill. But now, he doesn't really trust anyone enough to allow "policing powers" out of his hands. And so he's created this thing that cannot run without him.

TMP is not well. But it isn't too late, I hope, to turn the atmosphere of the place around and treat it like a democratic state which polices its own. Bill may not be capable of allowing himself to engage in the experiment. But this way is poisonous. Just put yourself in the position of someone whose RL is on a shoestring budget (surely the vast majority of people worldwide; the free Net is all they can afford: when they have to pay to have a voice they move on: and the forum becomes a club of elites). They have no reason for coming here when they cannot speak. There is no trust built in. They are lumped together with Frotherites and Company. De facto "unclean" status. I would be sorely tempted to never come back.

Your analysis of the state of TMP strikes me as being a bit over the top, Ace, as does your assessment that any significant number of reasonable non-supporting members would move on because of a conviction that they are entitled to post more than 50 weeks out of the year (in exchange for a material contribution of nothing), or your assertion that someone who can afford miniatures as a hobby cannot afford to support a website that connects him to a whole world of like-minded hobbyists.

I'm sure your concern for the future of this site is genuine and arises from the recognition that, although flawed, it is a significant asset to the hobby. However, it seems to me that the amazingly regular parade of those who, here and elsewhere, prophesize the imminent demise of TMP if Bill doesn't see the light and run the site as they dictate, would all be much happier people if they stepped back, took a deep breath, and learned to accept TMP for what it is.

Hmm. So, on the positive side, the non-paying members can post 98% of the year.

Dan

It's the way this is done, Artisan. But you don't see it that way. Fine by me. I'm just telling you how this rubs me. If I wasn't a supporting member, Bill's behavior would brass me off. If he isn't concerned about objections, that is also fine by me. I'm only saying these things because they need saying. He could have done this entirely different and avoided any problem at all. In fact, nobody needed to know that the "cat's away" in the first place. If the boards were moderated by his assistants the site would be run without any hoopla or interruption to anyone coming here.

I'm quite enjoying the current more relaxed pace of TMP.

Flies are starting to buzz over the Ultra Modern and Bluey Fezzy. I'm sure other boards are similarly moribund. No new memberships are happening (go figure). Is this your vision of "more relaxed"?

Sorry Gwen. But you were gone the first few days. And I've placed MY people in the important position already.

GWA is gentleman of the bed chamber(very important position)

Mithmee is minister of war crimes

Winston Smith is minister of making sure Winston Smith doesn't misbehave.

Cacique Caribe is minister of nuclear armerment (yes TMP will under the Gunfreak regime be a rouge nuclear power)

Tango is minister of the Internet

Kevin C is minister of American affairs

Frederick will be my Prime minister, because Canadian prime ministers are good world wide PR.

Murphy is minister of veterans affairs (we'll have lots of wars so we'll have lots of veterans)

And Bowman is minister of environmental protection, science and doomsday weapon development.

Your minister of the internet is a basic member so he can't get in