Last year, in a fit of wrath provoked by some stupid flamewars over in General, I axed everything on the boards that didn't have to do with an EPU product and put the hammer down, basically saying, "Look, if you don't want to talk about our stuff and only our stuff, go bother someone else, because you're making me crazy."

Well, apparently that was a mistake; the boards have died off markedly since then, and even the discussion I wanted to preserve has withered away. I should have realized that, just by virtue of having been brought together onto these boards, the users gathered here make up a sort of community, and a community has to have a place to talk about whatever bullshit occupies its time when its primary common interest isn't foremost in its mind. Around here, that primary common interest is EPU (I hope), but in the interests of trying to foster more of a sense of community, I'm giving the General board back.

BUT.

I'm keeping an eye on what's going on, and if more stupid crap like what made me shut it off in the first place crops up, there will be action. That action may not actually involve shutting the board off again; it may be directed at specific users, which is probably the way it should've been done in the first place. If I have a central character flaw, it's that I tend to try and avoid direct interpersonal confrontation, so when someone's ticking me off, I will tend to get rid of that person's opportunity to do so rather than confront him directly.

Well, that's not a very good way to run a board, so.

That's how it stands right now, gang. The rules are off the board for the moment, and General is back. But along with your increased freedom of action comes OUR increased freedom of action. We, your board admins and mods, will not be bashful about exercising our powers against individual users. Moreover, we want to know what you really think, and we're going to assume that you want to know what WE really think, so there won't be any pussyfooting around trying not to offend people who've cheesed us off.

In the long run, maybe this kind of open give-and-take will be beneficial. On the other hand, the whole thing may degenerate into complete anarchy. Time will tell!

Oh, one more thing: Though the rule specifically prohibiting them is now gone, I still don't think "First post!!!1!!leven!!" posts for their own sake are in any way cool.

Happy Prince's Birthday if you're in Cephiro,
--G.
-><-
Benjamin D. Hutchins, Co-Founder, Editor-in-Chief, & Forum Admin
Eyrie Productions, Unlimited http://www.eyrie-productions.com/

I'm only a peripheral part of this community, so my opinion may not count for much, but I was disappointed when you clamped down on the boards. But, they're yours to clamp down on, so I forbore from comment.

I know from talking with other writer friends of mine that writing/moderating a blog or a forum can suck up your writing focus leaving less for the stuff you really want to do. But, I thought something needed doing about the various dipsticks present, and stripping the forums is the method that is the least time intensive. Unfortunately, as you point out, this tends to deaden discussion.

Thank you again for reconsidering and reopening. I hope the activity does return, without the morons this time.