How can we make Stormtrack better for 2011?

[Keith Hosman]

Some of the forums I frequen that have an area for selling/trading have rules that when an item has been sold or otherwise no longer available, they are to PM the mods and the thread will then be locked. These forums prefer not to delete them as it can sometimes be helpfull in the future to establish a price for a similar item.

 

[Jason Foster]

Some of the forums I frequen that have an area for selling/trading have rules that when an item has been sold or otherwise no longer available, they are to PM the mods and the thread will then be locked. These forums prefer not to delete them as it can sometimes be helpfull in the future to establish a price for a similar item.

Yeah...no deleting, as the resource is good. Also good to see who is a good seller or not. That is another reason I thought a subset or section would be helpful, as when you do a search, you can pick the 'sold' section for price research.

 

[Jason Boggs]

How can we make Stormtrack better for 2011...

Go through with some of the things that are planned instead of leaving members out on a limb. For instance, is the logo contest dead in the water again?

 

[Mark Blue]

I assure you Jason the logo contest is not dead in the water. I know I didn't meet the deadline I indicated about the preliminary polls being out to everyone last week, but I underestimated the amount of organization and work that needed to be done to get it all put together and to have it setup as fairly as possible. Please be patient and you will soon see each and every logo that was submitted in one of 4 preliminary polls.

 

[Jason Foster]

Another suggestion, also a measure seen on some other sites:

A minimum post requirement before being able to post in Market Place. I think the range is between 10 posts to 30 posts, I think 10 here would be enough. This would prevent folks signing up strictly to sell a product and never contribute. Kinda have the same deal with the Target Area (for different reasons) I believe.

 

[Jason Boggs]

I assure you Jason the logo contest is not dead in the water. I know I didn't meet the deadline I indicated about the preliminary polls being out to everyone last week, but I underestimated the amount of organization and work that needed to be done to get it all put together and to have it setup as fairly as possible. Please be patient and you will soon see each and every logo that was submitted in one of 4 preliminary polls.

Thanks Mark, I appreciate the feedback!

 

[Jacob Ferden]

May I suggest an idea? (Even though I know it won't happen.) Could we go back to when politics and religion wasn't allowed in the B & G? Half the new threads in the B & G are a bunch of politically motivated, conspiracy-laden, completely inflammatory snark fests.

I understand that access to the B & G is optional, but aren't there other venues to attack each other over this stuff, rather than a site that is supposed to be about storms and chasing?

 

[Jesse Risley]

May I suggest an idea? (Even though I know it won't happen.) Could we go back to when politics and religion wasn't allowed in the B & G? Half the new threads in the B & G are a bunch of politically motivated, conspiracy-laden, completely inflammatory snark fests.

I understand that access to the B & G is optional, but aren't there other venues to attack each other over this stuff, rather than a site that is supposed to be about storms and chasing?

I'm not going to argue that sectarian political and/or religious discussion doesn't occasionally devolve into passive-aggressive "snarks" or ad hominem attacks, but the whole purpose of the Bar and Grill is to promote discussion of most any topic that isn't directly weather-related. What constitutes snark is quite subjective, and oftentimes offense is taken by a reader simply because one is on another side of an ideological fence, so criticism of an ideology might be subsequently taken more personally than not.

While I, too, was a bit skeptical of this when the rule was first modified, from a moderator standpoint we've had a remarkably low need for intervention in those types of threads since the rules were changed. I would have honestly expected more problems than what has actually come to fruition. The major voice for change a year ago was to allow those types of discussions, while simultaneously allowing users to elect to subscribe to the Bar and Grill so that they could choose whether or not they wanted to read off-topic discussions like this.

 

[Jason Foster]

May I suggest an idea? (Even though I know it won't happen.) Could we go back to when politics and religion wasn't allowed in the B & G? Half the new threads in the B & G are a bunch of politically motivated, conspiracy-laden, completely inflammatory snark fests.

I understand that access to the B & G is optional, but aren't there other venues to attack each other over this stuff, rather than a site that is supposed to be about storms and chasing?

No offense, but this has been discussed, and decided. I hit B&G a lot, but don't see all this snarks you are talking about.

 

[Bob Hartig]

Piggybacking on the previous three posts, I like the fact that topics involving religion and politics have a designated place where they can be discussed. Those topics, while they can get heated at times, are simply going to crop up, and I'd rather they do so in a place separated from the core focus of Stormtrack, which is storm chasing and severe weather. There are still rules in the B&G that require moderation, but they're more relaxed, and when juvenile remarks and flame wars arise, they're not likely to degrade an otherwise valuable weather-related discussion. By subscribing to the B&G, a person agrees that he or she is willing to accept its less stringent environment. The B&G as it stands is proving to make a good containment for topics outside the mission of Stormtrack, and the quality of the rest of the forum is better served. I'm now in accord with those who say that if you don't like a thread, don't read it. It'll live or die by its own merits.

 

[Jeff Smith]

Here is a suggestion. How about the management of Stormtrack be fair? Seems to me that there is favoritism and politics becoming more and more involved in the decisions made by management. I have kept quiet as that is my nature but I feel like I have to say something. I understand that you have to stick together, but if we break the rules, we get "infractions". If you break the rules, your post stands. Hmm...looks like room for improvement.

 

[Jason Boggs]

Here is a suggestion. How about the management of Stormtrack be fair? Seems to me that there is favoritism and politics becoming more and more involved in the decisions made by management. For instance, in the now famous and locked (despite the Administrator saying he would keep it open) "Open Letter to Spotter Network" thread why have only certain posts been removed? How about remove the moderator's post that is a direct attack on a Stormtrack member (post #9 on page 1 to be clear). After a PM to the ST administrator, I have yet to hear an explanation on why the post stands. I have kept quiet as that is my nature but I feel like I have to say something. Such favoritism or politics should never be a part of the moderation team. I understand that you have to stick together, but if we break the rules, we get "infractions". If you break the rules, your post stands. Hmm...looks like room for improvement.

I think the post was finally removed.

 

[Jeff Smith]

I think the post was finally removed.

Yes, and I edited my origional post. My comments about the management needing change stand though.

and....JASON BOGGS YOU'RE IN MY VIDEOOOOO!!!

 

[Tim Vasquez]

Re: the Open Letter thread, I did not lock it, though I do see it is open.

Regarding complaints about management: If you don't like the moderator team, vote. All moderators over the past year have been solely instated through popular election; I have not yet brought in any hand-picked candidates. If the problem is with me, then perhaps that is a problem as I do intend to run Stormtrack indefinitely, though I do run things fairly and I will in fact be instating many of the changes proposed in this thread. If anything, my problem is with not being involved enough.

Also if you have specific problems with individual moderators, I have an open door policy. You may e-mail me any time at [email protected] (preferably not PM, as there's a lot of routine business in my PM box and I don't sort through it as quickly) and I'll keep your comments private. Because of my schedule and the private nature of personal drama on Stormtrack, I cannot respond in depth to any e-mail beyond a "thanks" and it's rare that any single e-mail will lead to any sort of action, but it is an open door and this is one of our checks and balances.

Tim

 

[Robert Dewey]

I have to say that ST has become a better forum over the past month or so. I had a lot of fun with the chase cases, and there have been some decent discussions. It would be a shame to change things drastically to support the 5-10% (is it even that many?) who feel they're getting burned every time they visit the site.