Sockxpert.com - Stock Images. Yours?

[David O'Neil]

Risto: There is no need to get mad. Thank you for confirming the truth to my statement. If you modify your phrase in the future to something like: "no one will stop you, unless it touches a nerve with the moderators," there is no need for me to make simple, observational statements, as I did.

Best wishes,
David

[pauland]

I think Risto is quite forthright in his views on the microsites and it can come across as a bit abrasive. He's human like the rest of us and we can cut him some slack rather than beat every posting nuance to death and bore us silly in the process.

Paul

[David O'Neil]

...beat every posting nuance to death and bore us silly in the process.

I agree--he didn't have to beat it to death, but he did.

As per my take on stock microsites: I don't care. Use them if you feel drawn to do so. Don't if you don't. The owners of those sites are only human as well, and are trying to do the best they can for themselves. They believe that the world is a cutthroat place, so their business practices reflect that. They are wrong--the world is not a cutthroat place, but only a spiritual shift in perspective will change that idea.

[remi]

David,

it's no question: no one will stop you, unless you post the wrong things. I'm sure, you have no problem with that, because some moderation is necessary within a forum.

Remi

[geminiguy]

Actually, I am extremely grateful Risto did what he did, (as he is charged with as an administrator) He did his part, which is to maintain the look and feel of this site, as well as advise it's members to simply "be careful"
If he had wanted to delete the entire ordeal.... he "would" most certainly have had every right too.. But it is clear that he saw it important enough of a subject to keep it alive (and he only "moved it" on to a more appropriate spot on the forum)
Through this thread, and thanks to Risto's advice, I have learned the value of "looking before I leap"!! And thus, I have actually been investigating ways in which to protect myself (my work) even before I once again, begin to investigate the world of marketing... because as you said yourself Dave, to sum it up (it is shark infested waters...) and people like myself are easy prey out there.... It's nice to have someone around to throw you a life preserver (even when they didn't "have to")
I am completely new to the pc graphics and marketing world, and I am extremely naive when it comes to any of it.... (as I am sure are others)
And to add, I have seen Risto (and the Mods) do nothing but conduct such matters as keeping this site as nice as it is,etc. with nothing less than the utmost professionalism and politeness.

[David O'Neil]

...And to add, I have seen Risto (and the Mods) do nothing but conduct such matters as keeping this site as nice as it is,etc. with nothing less than the utmost professionalism and politeness.

I have seen otherwise (but not very often), and Risto's responses to me in this thread are one example. A professional response would have been "Yeah, David, you're right, point taken. How do you feel about stock microsites?" Instead of responding like that in a manner to lead the conversation, he responded in a manner designed to inflame. I guess he was having a bad day.

...no one will stop you, unless you post the wrong things. I'm sure, you have no problem with that, because some moderation is necessary within a forum.

No, I don't with it. But when a socially responsible conversation is taking place, and that conversation is axed without any explanation, and the moderators don't state why it was discontinued, or post somewhere that discussions of such and such a nature are not allowed, even though the board's topic guideline indicates that they are, something is wrong.

As a test, I'll post this thread. Will I get banned, even though I've only tried to be helpful in all of my postings? Will the thread get pulled? If so, will someone somewhere state that discussions on ethics and prudence are not allowed? Will they create a sticky stating what other topics are not allowed as they come up? Will they modify the board's description?

Color me a fool, but at least I've said my peace.

Best wishes to all, including you, Risto. My statements in a past PM about being in awe of your talents still stands, and I thank you for giving your time to moderate these boards.

David

[pauland]

As I said in the other thread, if you need to push boundaries, you're probably not getting what talkgraphics is (like I would know definitively - LOL).

Better to make some drawings and let boundaries and moderators see to themselves. I think my mums advice would be "boundaries are there for a reason, so stay well back..".

Paul

[Soquili]

David is there something specific that is bothering you?

From reading your statements it would appear you feel you have been singled out and that your personal rights have been restricted.

I don't see that anything Risto said would have prompted statements about threads being deleted without justification.

As a test, I'll post this thread. Will I get banned,

What has happened that you feel you may be banned by starting a new thread?

I know this is totally off topic as most of the posts within this thead have been. But I truely would like to know what is happening that is not obvious from the posts within the thread.

[David O'Neil]

David is there something specific that is bothering you?

I have always respected your comments and actions in these boards Bill, so for you I'll try to give my best answer.

The response to the thread that was mentioned is the issue. (And the response to the thread that was just posted, but that is mild compared to the original issue. See below.) To me, the first response came across as a slight to all of the members of this board, and I am one of those who tries to change things for the better when it brings up strong feelings. (The joy of being bull-headed, like Risto.)

One problem is that the thread occurred so far in the past that I cannot remember blow-by-blow what occurred, so if the facts are wrong, please forgive me. What happened created a subjective truth, and the objective rendering that follows is the best my memory allows.

In December, someone posted a thread about a stupid flame topic that quickly proceeded to go awry. It was imbecilic, and it was probably a good thing to close it, or delete it. But as part of that thread, one of the members made the statement that 'ethics' was keeping them from taking action on the knowledge that one of their fellow members of a governing body was corrupt, which they knew for a fact. That issue wasn't tied to the original flame war, and I felt that it was very important to point out to that member that it wasn't ethics at all, but prudence that was keeping them from making a statement about the other member. In fact, 'ethics' probably dictates that they figure out a way to depose the corrupt member in a manner that best serves the interests of everyone involved, as the body being governed wasn't asking for corruption.

Before a response of that nature could be posted, Risto had closed the thread. To me, the new topic, that had nothing to do with the original 'flame' topic, was very important, as it may have a significant positive social impact. So I created a thread that dealt only with that issue, to make the appropriate points in a manner that other people could ponder and respond to.

Risto stated in that thread that I had terribly breached protocols, and I believe he implied (if he didn't state outright) that I could be banned for doing so, even though the topic of the thread he closed was not the topic of the new thread. I asked him whether the off-topic boards were appropriate for the new subject, and if not, what was appropriate for the off-topic board, as it didn't state that topic as being off-limits. He responded without answering the question, stating that the moderator's decisions were final, and not to be questioned, and at least implying that doing so would have serious consequences for me. Then, before anyone could read his reply, both threads were deleted. (The impression given is that he deleted them on his own, as it was late at night, and not many people were on at that time.)

It pissed me off, because that was a very non-professional way to handle the situation. If that subject was not to be broached again, that should have been indicated somewhere, but it never was. So when Risto made his comment in this thread about 'no one stopping the poster,' I responded in an effort to get my previous disgruntlement out of me. When he replied as he did in this thread, it floored me--I was making a simple point, and he was doing anything but acknowledge it.

Anyway, that's done and over, and he probably got the point, even though I'll agree that in a way this whole thing was stupid. But I feel better for getting it off my chest, so thank you for the opportunity to do so.

As indicated above, the response to the newly posted thread is also somewhat irking, because it comes across as unprofessional. That thread was posted because it was felt that the Off-topic board was the best board in which to discuss the interface between ethics and prudence, just as it was when I created the original thread. (The probability of a flame war on the subject is extremely small, and that it had the making of an incredibly interesting discussion with the original poster, and possibly some other members, as the OP's viewpoint was so different.) The 'feedback' portion in the new post was only part of the post.

When it was moved to the Feedback forum, it felt like someone was saying, "Ha, I don't want a discussion on ethics and prudence here, so I'll silence this by pretending that the entire thing is feedback, and putting it in the forum nobody reads." A professional response would have been to either leave it in the Off-topic forum, or to split it somehow so the feedback portion was in the feedback thread, and the Off-topic forum contained the seeds to a valid conversation about ethics and prudence, if anybody wanted to discuss that topic. (And that's my piece (peace?) about that topic, so unless someone put in something interesting to respond to, I have no plans to beat the topic to death any more.) But by moving it, as was done, its been implied twice that the off-topic forum cannot contain discussions of that nature.

That's it. It is hoped that from some perspective this post is interesting, and worth the time took making it. It is also hoped that it remains on the boards (even though this portion should be in a thread on its own).

Best wishes,
David

[gidgit]

Too many I's in one post for one to count....