Hi everyone, many of you don’t know me but I’ve been a regular here from the beginning–first as a lurker and now as a proud member of the BMT Welcome Mat Society. 🙂
I wanted to take the time to discuss the way this site has developed over the past three months since it went live. Many of you have joined over the past few days via links from DailyKos, and to you all I say ‘Welcome’. The welcome mat is also extended to anyone who just happened to stumble into the Frog Pond on their own.
The BooMan Tribune, while a spin-off of DailyKos, is not the same site. Sure the design is similar, there are a lot of crossposts and familiar faces, but a distinct difference in style can be found here.
Follow me below the fold for the Golden Rule of BooMan Tribune…
From the BooMan himself on March 22nd:
Post Script: Today I have had to try to arbitrate my first dispute here at BooTrib and it wasn’t a process I particularly enjoyed. But it comes with the job.
And I just want to disseminate a new rule based on my semi-collected thoughts:Not everyone is as smart as you. Not everyone one is as well informed as you. Not everyone writes as well as you.
And I don’t care how dumb, ignorant, and illiterate you are, there is someone, somewhere who is more so.
So, when it comes to having disagreements and debates and discussions…this is the rule:
Don’t be a prick.
Don’t act in a way that would get you punched in the face or thrown out of a dinner party. Don’t treat other people with disrespect even if you think they are stupid and ill-informed.
Don’t mock someone because they have trouble expressing themselves.
Don’t be a prick.
That’s the rule.
You can believe it or not, but this rule has worked to a huge extent here. I realize that we got a big influx of new members recently, but I believe we can still commit to civility and respect towards one another and continue this site trademark.
On another note (this may also change with more members), the pace here is much, much slower than DailyKos. And that’s okay. I have found it quite rewarding to be able to chew on a diary for longer than a day <gasp> and then possibly write something in response, or not. I am constantly humbled by the level of talent, insight and level-headedness found here. This observation extends to all the new virtual faces I’ve seen, thank you for being an active participant.
To wrap it up, I went from being a lurker to a researcher on the topics that I feel passionate about because of the BooMan Tribune. There is a lot of hope to be found here but we are going to be walking a tight-rope over the coming days, trying to feel our way through a growth spurt.
All I can say is: Let’s be patient. This includes me.
In the coming days and weeks expect to see a new user guide and updated FAQ’s, as well as top-notch diaries (hopefully from you). The way I see it, as long as this place continues to be a venue for hope through political activism, then I’m happy to keep swimming around in the Frog Pond.
Peace, Pax, Pace, Pacem y Paz.
I think green is a much more calm color than orange (plus it’s the spouse’s favorite color). Maybe that helps matters.
I’m not used to being in on the virtual “ground floor” of any organization. Maybe this will inspire me to do some research of my own on topics that interest me, mainly public transportation, and post diaries with a little less fear and trepidation.
Thanks to everyone for the warm welcome…
Yes! That’s what this site is all about. I’m looking forward to seeing some diaries from you. I live in Tucson and our transportation system is very lacking, so I’m very interested in seeing some of your research. See u around!
Good morning Mr. Eegee – and thanks much for posting this. Yesterday afternoon I had no choice but to leave the site. I experienced frustration over the overall tone, frustration that my posts were suddenly being met with accusatory, unproductive replies (for the first time), and frustration over the time it took to post. (I understand the difficulties related to an influx of so many new members, so I apologize in advance for my whining.) In contrast, before leaving the site, I had the very good fortune of encountering some top quality new members – and I really look forward to continued conversation with them. So for now – I’ll do my best to disregard the bad, and focus on the good.
I came back today, only to find that some of my comments had disappeared without explanation. What happened and what did I miss? But I smiled when I discovered that you somehow found my comment regarding DB, and that you were able to reply. It felt really good hitting the super troll option and watching that ugly post vanish into oblivion – allowing the new members to continue their discussion without harrassment.
Although you wrote this diary yesterday, thank you for starting my day on a highly positive note. You never fail in that regard, and I sincerely appreciate your consistent tone of generosity and good will.
Good day to you and good day to all!
I was wondering where you were yesterday. I hope your day is better and know that I’m one of those people who looks for you in the comments.
Good afternoon! I just got back from a client meeting, so I haven’t been around today. Yesterday, just for kicks, I timed the posting of one of my comments in comparison to personal activities. From the moment I hit the post button, I went to the restroom, fed my cat, washed some dishes, heated and ate lunch, cleaned the kitchen, ironed a blouse, chatted with my husband. . .and my post was still clocking.
I really, truly, genuinely, sincerely want to wish all the new members a warm welcome from the bottom of my heart. And I want to be right alongside the best of the bunch in serving as a welcoming ambassador on behalf of this site. It’s just that the timing of events corresponded with the only few days in which I could finally kick back and enjoy BT after being immersed in overwhelming family matters and work obligations. (Whine, whine, whine)
Most of all, thank you for your kindness. I instantly feel good when I see you’re in the neighborhood, and you consistently offer a sense of security in your pleasant, humorous, reasoned approach (as she latches onto his leg :^). And I’ll always view you as a star for the many ways in which you’ve contributed to the success of this site.
Have yourself a glorious day! (As for me, something recently transpired leaving me tremendously disappointed with another member of this community, and under the circumstances I think it best that I sort through my feelings offline. My husband just bought 19 movies, so I’ll likely go find something light and fluffy for a diversion – like American History X, perhaps :^).
Hey – before I lose you. . .what is an eegee?
Eek, I’m not used to all this attention. No need to latch onto the leg, I offer an E-hug to you 🙂
Eegees is a local chain here in Tucson that features GREAT frozen drinks and subs. It’s a good weapon to have around to survive the summer months. My favorite is the piña. </commercial>
Thanks for the eegee link –
On my way out the door I ran across another powerful Ghostdancer diary, so I stuck around for awhile.
In the meantime, I’m SO sorry for being clingy – YIKES! That couldn’t be further from my personality. (pssst. . .I let go of your leg, so you needn’t be creeped out 😉 And thanks so much for the e-hug 🙂
I was just informed that I didn’t respond quickly enough to the needs of my dear cat, so she proceeded to go upstairs and bury herself under the covers of the freshly made bed. (Leaving a not so very invisible lump right in the center) In light of the emotional feline crisis at hand, I best be off to tend to her needs and give her some love.
I’m absolutely delighted that our host somehow got things running smoothly in such a quick fashion – great work on his part!
Good night!
I always make a stop to get an “Eegee” when I’m in Tucson.
Being in the same neighborhood (so to speak!) I’d love to see diaries on transportation. Some of the rail changes in the Bay Area and the positives / negatives of BART would be great.
Glad you’re here Cali Scribe.
(what the hell, I’m a Leo AND a redhead)
Orange is a great color. Warming and energizing. I wear it often.
I am not dissin’ green, which has, in the past been a favorite. I have found that I love colors in direct opposition to what I find in my environment. In California, there’s a lot of golden hues in the sere hills — and so I gravitated towards green. Now that I’ve lived in Europe and the East Coast, two places far more lush than the native land I left behind, I find myself steering away from the colors of my environment. Bright orange, pinks, etc.
…there was no greater meaning to this post. Ha.
I love wearing orange. It looks great on me (and the Dutch soccer team) and I even feel a bit more vibrant when I’m wearing it.
I love my orange dining room
And my orange cat
And my orange and white cat
And orange popsicles
I even like the fruit…
Well, actually neither green nor orange are in my color group (I’m technically a summer).
And the spouse, though he loves green, is forced to wear blue (and an occasional oatmeal) five days a week for his job — wearing a uniform definitely makes life easy for him.
And I have my first diary, but it’s not on public transportation. Give me a few weeks to catch my breath! 🙂
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World Cup Qualifier
Finland – Holland 0-4
van Nistelrooy
Kuyt
Cocu
van Persie
Marco van Basten is the greatest as coach –
won 8 – tied 3 – lost 0
Kuyt het 2e doelpunt!
Oui aka @dKos as creve coeur and new creve coeur
WELCOME: Make Yourself Known @BooTrib aka lost treasure of dKos
Dammit ,-)
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if you have a chance during next few hours, please check in on the newbie welcome thread now and then, to add some support.
Muchos gracias, as we say south of the border, and add a bit of traveling, unless the only border left is at the Rock of Gibraltar. That’s the place to be sunshine and tranquility.
Oui – Liberté – Egalité – Fraternité
Oui – I’ve been snowed under (not literally, Finnish summers are very nice) and I’m travelling again the next 3 days. There’s an Elvis exhibition opening on the Finnish West coast where I shall meet my namesake, Elvis’ half brother. Then on to the reopening of my museum further north. http://www.bonkcentre.fi/p0_eng.htm
I’ll be back with a diary or two next week
Did you say World Cup qualifiers? No repeat of 2002?
Good news…now, in what round do they get beat by the Brazilians, yet again. (And I still maintain that Brazil’s winning goal–I think it was the winning goal, but in a one goal match, every gaul is the winning goal–in the 1994 quarterfinals was offsides.)
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Marco van Basten is building a closely knit team of young, talented players. Not selecting experienced players like Edgar Davids, Seedorf and Kluivert. A lot of young players selected from across the Netherlands, not from big clubs playing in international competition like England, Spain and Italy. Team from Alkmaar called AZ had a tremendous year, in UEFA European Cup played well upto the semi-finals. Were beaten by a goal in last 30 seconds of the 30 minutes extended play.
Brazilians in WK 1994 USA, with Bebeto and Romario (ex-PSV, ex-Barcelona) scoring that off-side goal. I believe the linesman was selected from the UAE Emirates who missed the call. Dick Advocaat as coach missed some opportunities in the defensive line-up. Ronald Koeman lacks speed, so need to position two swift backs next to him. Advocaat chose in the semi-finals friend Jan Wouters, who lacked speed to intercept Bebeto.
WOW – it’s so easy coaching from a position with a cold beer in front of the screen at home. This weekend, watch for the World Cup -20yr olds, played in the Netherlands!
WELCOME: Make Yourself Known @BooTrib aka lost treasure of dKos
But I’ve realized I probably shouldn’t wear orange on the days die Oranje are playing…they seem to lose when I do that.
I was in the St. Louis airport watching it, on a layover between flights to Washington state for a job interview. Sitting in the airport bar, I was the only person watching the match…and I was yelling at the tv on that offside goal.
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One of two independent countries within the Netherlands, Friesland and Limburg with its governor being the other. LOL They have not yet decided to join the Twaalf Provinciën van Holland.
Langstra from (West) Friesland
WELCOME: Make Yourself Known @BooTrib aka lost treasure of dKos
Well, the full name is langstraat. I know that part of the family came from Friesland, and I think other parts came from Zuid Holland. Been trying (off and on) to learn some of that stuff…should take a trip over to do some research (and go back to the Concertgebouw)
I took my first trip to Amsterdam a year and a half ago and fell in love. Couldn’t get my mouth around the language, though. A “g” as hard “h” totally threw me, and I kept wanting to make “oe” into “ü”. I just wandered the streets trying to pronounce the things I was reading, not knowing what the hell I was saying.
I can’t wait to go back…that time I’ll get to hear the Concertgebouworkest (the Rotterdam Philharmonic was fine–and they did play my favoriet, Mahler 1–but I wanna hear the Concertgebouworkest).
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The Dutch underground used the pronunciation of key words to thwart the Germans from infiltrating their movement. Only through collaboration of Dutch citizens, did the Germans manage to pick up cells of the underground.
Sound familiar to the insurgents in Iraq and the American occupier? In WWII the underground would also liquidate Dutch citizens who had betrayed them. Recall film of Dutch young woman Hannie Schaft from city of Haarlem: “Meisje met het Rode Haar”.
WELCOME: Make Yourself Known @BooTrib aka lost treasure of dKos
My partner’s father was there during that. He himself was too young but his brothers, uncles, and cousins were involved somewhat. I saw a great photo of him (~6-7 years old) astride a gorgeous German motorcycle which had been ‘organised’ from the Nazis.
She is currently researching these relatives with hopes to write a book on the subject. The Dutch govt. has been very helpful with regard to her relatives’ war-time records and such. We’re thinking it may also be a good excuse for a trip back sometime.
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The greater the mess becomes in Iraq, and the US occupation is extended, I find it increasingly difficult to understand if any good will be brought forth from GWB’s adventure. In the end the Iraqi’s will unite, revolt and increase their attacks on the infidels. During WWII, the Germans experienced increasing difficulties with acts of resistance.
Just this week an Iraqi refugee, living in Amersfoort, the Netherlands and a naturalized Dutch citizen was arrested. The secret service AIVD had suspected he was involved in attacks on US forces in Iraq. Upon his arrest, the Dutch police found video evidence of him placing a road side bomb near the city of Fallujah.
Thanks George and Dick, you are not even containing terror, but it’s spreading throughout the World.
WELCOME: Make Yourself Known @BooTrib aka lost treasure of dKos
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When you have time, do some research on these sites, beautiful rural country between the great rivers Maas and Waal. Religious belief strict Dutch Reformed – Hervormd en Gereformeerd – success.
Arie Jan Stasse’s Home Page – LANGSTRAAT
“Most of them lived in the Alblasserwaard, Land van Heusden en Altena and the Langstraat. I “collect” all inhabitants of the villages of … ”
WELCOME: Make Yourself Known @BooTrib aka lost treasure of dKos
I’m familiar with the strict Dutch Reformed tradition…grandparents are still part of it, but I’ve managed to escape. My sister (the Methodist minister) calls them Dutch Southern Baptists–all the rules but none of the emotion 🙂
Just as an aside, IIRC, Creve Coeur means Indian Princess (as well as a nice little airport).
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Partial roots in Creve Coeur of course, see dKos handle I use. Spend some years in my youth in the town, now city of Creve Coeur. The population grew from 1,501 to above 5,000 during those years. Loved it growing up in the rural area.
It began with a road: Olive Street Road, now called Olive Boulevard. The road followed a centuries’ old Indian trail that took the high ground from the Mississippi River to the Missouri River. Carts, wagons, carriages and stage-coaches took passengers and freight both west to new lands and east to the city of St. Louis.
With a name that in French translates as Broken Heart, the City of Creve Coeur will leave you anything but broken hearted, although it is a town whose name is steeped in legend. One tale tells of an Indian princess named Memetonwish, whose unrequited love for a French trapper led to tragedy. Heartbroken, the Indian princess is said to have thrown herself from a ledge overlooking Creve Coeur Lake, which then reshaped itself in the form of a broken heart.
Oui aka @dKos as creve coeur and new creve coeur
WELCOME: Make Yourself Known @BooTrib aka lost treasure of dKos
Oui – i’ve updated the Acronyms dkosopedia page. I was waiting for a recent open thread to post a msg.
This past week has been murder – sorry for the delay.
Thanks for the football update!
in fact, i’m typing on my ORANGE couch at this very moment! however, green is my spouses favorite too and a perfectly good color to boot.
Orange is one of my lest favorite colors (the orange at Kos doesn’t bother me so much because it looks kind of yellow to me).
Remember that creepy discount store that went bankrupt in the late 80’s, Zaers or some thing like that? Their stores were all painted orange, and something about them always give me the heebee jeebees. I think that may have something to do with my long standing dislike of the color orange.
In the immortal words of the bood abides:
Tips/Flames?
Why am I suddenly feeling very mortal right about now…? Thanks for the prop Man Eegee… wish I had more time to do some things currently… I’m really Jonesing… unfortunately reality has been sucking lemons over the last week for me, and will for the next couple days…(sigh)
sent your way buddy. If you get too overwhelmed, take that paper bag off your head and breath deeply into it. We need your snarky mortal self around here.
Nicely stated. I truly hope that the Tribune can stay a civil place and avoid the epic flame wars that dKos is prone to have.
And for the record, I am a 1980’s baby. Patiently awaiting the upcoming anniversary of my birth.
Well done, Man Eegee! Perfect tone.
Also, while we often deal with serious (as well as silly) topics, we don’t take ourselves too seriously. After all, no matter how you look at it, our logo is…. a frog. Quite a nice frog, mind you, even though it makes me think of Don Knotts doing the funky chicken or something… but still, it’s a frog. We must accept that and become one with the pond.
Thanks for putting this together 🙂
I’m thinking there may be stuff we’ll need to incorporate into the FAQ and community guide, by the way.
Yeah, maybe it’s time to revisit that stuff. I know BooMan has been extremely busy (so if you’re reading this Boo) we’re still around to help you out.
and receive a gift/surprise 🙂
You and those surprises!
Still trying to unload those stuffed eels?
Ya don’t mess with the frog!
Darwin is our mascot,
We shall not be moved!
Darmin is leader,
We shall not be moved!
He is mean and lean
(so what if he’s green?)
WE SHALL NOT BE MOVED!
Ribbit, Ribbit, Ribbit
Sorry if this isn’t the place to put this but:
the load times of this site are exceeding long and
I have 1.5M down.
Do you have a dedicated server and optimizations
for the mySQL loading?
I’m also posting to find out if others are seeing this.
It varies here but a “mySQL persist” command
helps on these and a few other opts.
have a dedicated server but (per my programmer):
“we are hitting a bottleneck on the upstream bandwidth on the DSL,
Seems to be nearing saturation. The line is rated for 756 kbps maximum, but I doubt that it
can exceed 700k. Currently its averaging 400-500k. (bits per second => divide by 8 to get bytes per second).”
You might consider going to a hosting company which has
T3 connectivity, guaranteed # uplink connections/
guaranteed uplink BW.
They do everything in terms of server sys. admin/backup
except pgm your actual site code.
If your site grows and with this latest mass exodus I’ll bet it does, this will become
a very serious issue.
we realize that. This was a sudden an unexpected spike.
I have over 7,000 vistors already today, our previous high (before yesterday’s near 5,000) was 3,000.
We also have experienced a 35% spike in users in under a week. We are ready to move, just didn’t expect we’d need to so soon.
Thanks for your advice 🙂
I don’t have the traffic at all like you’re going to get, but I am an engineer, so if there is any need, feel free
to email me.
Well, I try to stay very focused on my issues, because
in the grassroots graveyard, most commonly listed cause of death was “splintering”… but even I just found
what was going on way too much for a multitude of reasons.
Anyway, glad you’ve got this going and it’s gaining
momentum!
Thanks.
I’d take any advice on a cheap place to use for my server. I researched it months ago and have some ideas, but you sound like you might have some good advice.
I’m on bluehost, but a cheapo few sites doing a shared
isn’t the same as a high traffic dedicated server.
That said, they seem to be very good, almost zero
downtime but the biggest thing was i did a bunch
of custom PHP stuff with my forum software. I lifted
invision power board and made a series of mods to
it and I needing a few settings changed on their
end in terms of mySQL queries and they did it pronto.
They also have a full shell on a cheapo that has
all Linux tools one would expect…not jailed or
“semi enabled” due to some funky embedded server ver.
of Linux.
I have a lot of graphics on the forum and they load
fairly quickly from here (< 1s).
Before I moved webhosts I literally quizzed them on PHP, mySQL, domain name MX records and so forth and they passed. I also know they
have battery backup and I believe redundant servers…
but I’d ask.
On the other hand, I have to tell them what servers
I’m going to access with scripts, but this is just
because I was so cheap I won’t buy an IP address and
they have a major firewall.
A dedicated wouldn’t have any problem accessing 3rd party sites with scripts.
My fav plug: they are all Americans, all employed
here in the US, no offshore outsourcing or replacing
engineers with cheaper labor stuff.
Anyway, when I went hunting last time, in terms of
el cheapo shared, 1GMB traffic per month, 2000 hits
sort of things they have been good.
Cheap was a keyword here. I didn’t check out the more
exp. webhosts and I honestly don’t know how
they would be with dedicated but their cheapo shared
has been very good.
I’ve had websites since 1996.
When I was shopping I found some incredibly horrific
web hosting companies out there also.
just because I have absolutely no idea what you are talking about. Well, except for the no outsourcing thing. I got that.
I think I’ll do that. 🙂
Normally I don’t geek out on political sites, just
he’s got a new technical issue due to a magical sudden
massive number of new members.
Good deal on offshore outsourcing/race to the bottom.
This is one of the big areas grassroots can have an effect, “Buy American” in so many words.
hi BooMan – congratulations on your busy site. It’s a nice problem to have. Well, looks like I’m part of the traffic jam now (just registered an account here yesterday) so I’ll offer my suggestion for a reasonably priced server – I’ve been using linode.com for a couple years now and can recommend their “virtual dedicated” servers based on that experience. You may find what you need in one of their service plans.
Try to guesstimate your bandwidth requirements – for example, say traffic levels off at 10,000 visitors – loading an average of 5 pages, each 100 kB – that would be about 5 GB of bandwidth per day = 150 GB per month. That could cost a bit, but you can get a decent rate if you know ahead of time that you’re looking at that level of usage.
Other solid hosting services you might want to check out: pair.com and fluidhosting.com – reasonably affordable and very reliable – and that is really the best value in terms of actually getting the service you are paying for. Fluidhosting.com also offers a few different “virtual dedicated” server plans with higher bandwidth allotment.
And, plenty more good hosting services out there, some new ones still establishing track record for serious consideration – textdrive.com might be one to take a closer look at in that category. I hope other users can suggest ones they’ve had good experience with.
Well, also unfortunately lots of cruft to watch out for on the low end. Just remember – if it seems too good to be true, beware. Feel free to email if you want to go into more detail about any of this (address @ gmail.com: f.fnord+bmt)
I’ll suggest John Companies. Don’t let the strange name throw you – they’re top-notch.
Though i’ve no idea of your budget.
I think i’ll go click some ads…
Would it help you if we remind all these nice new people to click all your lovely non-offensive ads whenever they think of it? Just a thought…
and even more, tell people we’re to advertise.
Mo’ women, older, more purchasing power…
Blah blah blah…
I’ll be offering up the coffee mugs soon, too.
Will do!
Jeez louise, BooMan, those increased traffic numbers are boggling. As somebody said upthread, you guys have shown unbelievable grace under pressure. Please DO let us know what we can do to ease the strain, including clicking on your ads. I should have thought of it myself and didn’t so I really appreciate the gentle suggestion from CabinGirl.
I’m back. I clicked. Damn you, I saw a couple of purses I liked. This is a dangerous place.
What happened? I’m glad to hear of it, especially as I feel guilty for being so scarce myself lately…but I’m just curious.
Alan
Maverick Leftist
A couple of quick comments and a question …
First, thank you to all the long-timers (or the pre-piers) that have welcomed all the new members. You’ve all been absolutely wonderful.
While it may be exciting to see growth, I totally get that this has to be a trying time for the veteran members. It must seem like we’ve invaded your pond – got the ripples going!
Add to that the reason the pond has been deluged – a very messy and controversial and much-talked about issue – and your grace is that much more impressive.
So again, thank you.
And the question: Regarding the rating of comments. Can someone explain a little bit about that. I understand the reason for the ration system in general, but how is it applied here at BT. Are most posts rated? If so, by veteran members? I had considered rating previous posts that I thought were very eloquent, informative etc., but held back because I wasn’t sure what the procedure was. And then I thought my not rating posts might seem rude. Thoughts would be appreciated.
On ratings:
4- is for merit, amusement, to be nice
3- is for merit, maybe a sign that you think a little too much praise has been heaped on a good comment.
2- is to tell someone to watch it, you’re crossing the line.
1- is an indication that someone has crossed the line.
0- is for trusted users only. Get enough zeros and your comment is hidden so we don’t have to read it anymore. It also indicates that you think a user might warrant banishment for abusive or trollish behavior.
ratings are for two main purposes. One: it helps us show appreciation for each other.
Two: it helps the community regulate trolls by itself w/o me having to arbitrate every dispute.
So rate away. Everyone loves to get a ‘4’.
I have to add to Booman above that we rarely give anything but 4’s here, I think I have only ever seen a couple 2’s and even less 0’s..
And we do love to give 4’s, whenever our hands are not just too tired from all the 4’s we give.
One fun thread we usually gives lots of 4’s, but the more serious diaries we tend to give 4’s to really good comments.
Thanks BooMan and Diane. My first 4s are officially handed out!
Of a small, tightly knit community.
I really hope things stay this way, now that everyone’s flocked over here from Kos (I was here pre-pie, but was lurking until yesterday), and I’ve already spotted one user who’s a known ratings-abuser, who likes to do hit and run down-rates (particuler as a reponse to reciving bad ratings). Chances are, someone like this isn’t going to drop their bad behavior just because they’ve moved to a new site.
I hope the ratings problems that have developed on Kos won’t devlope here. Clear guidelines on what the ratings mean (rather then the rather subjective ones, which no one can seem to agree on the exact meaning of over at Kos) will prevent some of the nastiness. I can tell you, I’m very tired of getting down-rated just because some joker who’s been a member for a week thinks he can down-rate me just because he disagrees with me.
Hopfully people here will be viligent against that sort of thing, and take action against it before it takes root.
The trick to coping with a concern about “rating abuse” is not to care. Write intelligently and well – the rating will take care of itself. The system is there to allow for some self correction without the direct intervention of the management. It’s not like there’s a “members only” clubhouse for trusted users, complete with beer at a discount price and a secret handshake. If you get one or a handful of “bad” ratings don’t sweat it. On the other hand, if you get a flurry of bad ratings from everyone that might tell you something.
Be the rating, grasshopper.
is always tricky. We’ve used it here as a signal of affirmation with the plethora of 4’s (in case you were noticing a high number of them). It’s a way of saying, “I read this and thanks”. Regarding abuses, I think we have a good group of people to help make sure things don’t get out of hand. I’m giving everyone the benefit of the doubt around here regardless of what they were doing at DKos with ratings, flames, etc.
The 2 rating as a Warning has been effective to tell potential fighters that maybe they need to cool it down. Thanks for your thoughts Goldfish! Peace.
But every once in a blue moon, a zero is so very, very appropriate. . .
you mean Anomalous, I dropped a couple in the past days. I usually warned them first with a rating and a comment, except for DB–that boiled my blood.
My, you were on a roll. I wondered how long DB had been hanging around waiting to pounce. In contrast to others, I don’t view his behavior as founded in being a victim – I view it as straight out dickishness. Just for the sport. It would have been far more fun just to ignore him, but that type of ugliness shouldn’t see the light of day.
Boy, I’ve obviously missed some juicy stuff. Can someone fill me in? Feel free to email if you don’t want to get into it on the board: alanslackerinc@yahoo.com
Alan
Maverick Leftist
I’ve been wondering where you’ve been. In summary, the site has grown from approximately 1,000 members to (I believe) about 1,500 members within a matter of days. Many of the members are working tirelessly to welcome the new folks, while the new members are recovering from a deep sense of betrayal from ongoing behaviors in which many individuals felt unjustly dismissed and treated very poorly in general. That took place on DKos. Somewhere, someone or many someones appear to be spreading the meme that BT is now anti-Kos. Armando came over and posted a diary. Things got heated. Relationships are suffering.
Martin has experienced a variety of negative ramifications including hate e-mail. When he hasn’t been dealing with that and ensuring things are running smoothly, he’s been working non-stop on expanding the site to handle the increased traffic. He has suffered from intense headaches. Susan and the other front-pagers have been magnificent, as have been the welcomers and the diarists. The buzzword for everything is “pie”.
Okay – up to speed?
For anyone who may read this, I have no intention of being callous or insensitive. Just trying to add a small bit of brevity/levity to a very difficult situation.
After an “advanced search” at Google of dKos and “pie” I am indeed mostly up to speed. (The ironic thing is, I never liked Markos all that much, but I am somewhat sympathetic to his low tolerance for campus feminist types.) But I’m still unclear on what Armando posted here and why it ticked people off. More info on that, s’il te plait? 🙂
Alan
Maverick Leftist
That’s all I’m in a position to speak of.
If you have any points of contention, I might gently suggest that you refrain from anything that may be viewed as sensitive or controversial – at least for this moment in time. I mention that from my heart, on behalf of what took place this week. On the other hand, engage as you see fit. I’m merely presenting a thought, based on observations of what took place over the most recent few days.
Poking sticks in hornets’ nests is what I do best, and what I love best. I just can’t help myself, and I hope you will understand. 😉
Alan
Maverick Leftist
Of all people, you should know I understand your blog needs probably more than most. And please don’t make me say it. . .
Okay never mind. . .for this one small moment in time, will you please consider behaving? (Requested with all due respect, of course)
What would be the harm, really, if I didn’t behave? 🙂
Alan
Maverick Leftist
I would be deeply saddened. Mostly because Martin’s been through hell and back this week, and it would be ever so thoughtful of you to think of that first, and your needs for entertainment second (or third or fourth) I’m too tired to monitor your activity – but if need be I’ll write my first diary – warning others of your premeditated mischief. And I’ll stay awake for the sole purpose of tracking you down and super-trolling you into oblivion 😉 Yeah right – my idea of super-trolling you in the past was handing out a 3. Oh. The. Horror. I bet I have you running scared now. (Watch your back)
Keep in mind, Martin invited me here, knowing full well what kind of poster I am. <g> I think, based on the level of response my diaries usually get, that I provide entertainment value for others, too, not just myself. 🙂
Alan
Maverick Leftist
And keep in mind, I was unaware you were a trouble-maker and still I appreciated your writing (but mostly when we spoke of cooking ;-).
All I ask is that you familiarize yourself with your surroundings, and consider that each one of your actions may have long-term ramifications for individuals other than yourself. That’s all I’m sayin’.
If need be, I can start sharing recipes with you, to help keep you occupied 😉
I won’t touch on the rating bit since Boo himself responded (thankfully, because I didn’t want that one on my shoulders).
It hasn’t really been a trying time for me, rather a cause for apprehension. I want the community to grow, but it’s not purely about numbers, it’s also about interaction and relationship-building. It’s a delicate balance to keep but I have faith that we’ll all do our best.
I’m wondering if the many who have come here also feel this way because of the very “lack of respect” they recieved elsewhere. Will tread lightly and learn about people here as I go.
to me. Feel free to splash around, it’s a cool place to hang out. It helps to put a personal touch to a user id which is why the welcome diaries are so important. Even if it’s just to pop in and say hi.
Excellent advice nicky! I’ve really enjoyed learning a little about the people here.
I must also admit to feeling a bit of apprehension. It has been a much more civilised pace and tone here compared to that other place. [btw, does anyone else here who has youngish children think we should adopt the Harry Potter convention of referring to ‘he who must not be mentioned’ or ‘he who cannot be named’?!]
I agree with Man Eegee about “the level of talent, insight and level-headedness found here”. And I’d have to say that the levels of all three are higher on average per user here than they are at the blog that must not be mentioned.
The smaller numbers have allowed a higher level of relationship-building.
Let’s give it time and all be gentle with each other, and these features (the “delicate balance” Man Eegee mentioned) will survive the growth in numbers. And the growth should mean Booman will be able to survive financially to keep the blog alive.
Not just younger persons — my (almost) 49-year-old big kid is a major Harry Potter fan! We’ve got to get all the major projects done before the next book comes out, because he’ll be totally useless for the two weeks after he gets it…
Ahem… yes, I forgot that half the human race is in a permanent state of kid-dom. My partner often scorns something I have said or done by saying “I’ve already got two children and really can’t cope with a third…” !
You know, I tried really hard to stay out of the drama of the original discussions, but because I’m a curmudgeon and a jaded cynic I’ll just go ahead now. I recommend a very simple system – let’s all try not to spill beer on the carpet
Circular firing squad
No matter how hard you fall, one must Never Spill the Beer. Thx for posting paradocs.
As this site gets bigger we are sure to have problems, I really hope people take your advice when we have our first pie fight.
On another note – Does anyone no what happened to some of the hidden comments? I thought I seen one from Welshman but it was gone before I could figure out what was going on.
Pie fights are inevitable but they don’t have to end in bitterness and rancor. If we just keep saying, “We don’t do that, here” or “I don’t understand, please explain” in a calm and reasonable voice the emotional heat dissipates quickly. The next time you are having an argument consciously lower your voice when you make your points. Works wonders.
I don’t know what happened to Welshman’s comment either.
soj pulled her diary where welshman had a hidden comment. There was one more, but I cannot recall if it was in soj’s or Armando’s diary (which was also pulled).
i actually got onto a computer at work and posted a comment on Armando’s diary…when I got home my comment was gone, along with the diary. Probably for the best…didn’t appear to be going well from what I saw.
Armando isn’t known for being diplomatic.
i would have used.
With all the excitement (nice neutral word) going on here for the past couple of days I completely missed that one. That took …. something. From my knowledge of his writing style (nice neutral word) I can readily beleive that it “_ … didn’t appear to be going well_”.
I know yiasemi got really steamed and started accusing soj of running a white slavery ring and some other people (newbies?) piled on. That was right about the time I logged off to get some work done. By the time I got back soj had yanked the diary and all the associated comments.
I was real surprised to hear a post by Welshman got relegated to the Hidden Comments.
Maybe we’re better off not knowing?
But it was all removed before I could figure out why.
Couple of people uprated it, so it’s no longer hidden. It was on the open thread, not soj’s (deleted) diary. He did “dissociate” himself from the site. Made me sad.
Growing pains, I guess. But I have faith in the frog pond because of BooFolk like ManEgee and many others. We’ll get it worked out.
Think I’ll go hand out some 4’s. Always cheers me up.
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Welshman had included excerpts from an private email conversation, he was reprimanded for that. Poor judgement on his part, didn’t let it effect the conversation on the thread.
Soj’s diary was at the unfortunate cross-roads of a group of talented persons coming from dKos and really hurt. The link Love in Romania with a nude pic at her new site, was poor timing.
Love soj, not her fault.
Pax.
Oui aka @dKos as creve coeur and new creve coeur
WELCOME: Make Yourself Known @BooTrib aka lost treasure of dKos
in the cross fires of the pie nightmare. It was all about timing. Soj is one of the best Diarist around the blogworld. It pains me to recall the awful comments that some people put on her diary. They were wrong IMO. I was a bit guilty when I commented on a MSO comment about what she was up to and if she was OK, she hadn’t come back to answer some of the comments (because of the time difference) I got parinoid and for a moment thought she was held against her own will by some FBI or CIA people…it was really crazy..She is back now and all is well. What she is doing is, I believe, Helping women in Romania and making a business out of it. We have Match.com, she has her new endevor. She (I can’t believe I am refering to her as a she, her idenity was unknown for so long) is an amazing person. Kind, loving, and would never be involved in something that would be shady or harm anyone. I know the new People here at BooTrib will get it and respect her, as the people who have known her for some time now do. She is top drawer and deserves nothing be Respect. I am sorry some first impressions were misunderstood.
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on EU Charter and have Bulgaria and Romania fast track to become part of EU community. Abiding by the strict rules, regulations and Human Rights issues enforced by entry will spread freedom and some wealth to those parts most in need.
I commented yesterday, the plight of women in a poor country is illustrated by the necessity of relationships sites to promote escape of desperate conditions. I believe this should not be 1st choice, emigration is a third world issue and not addressed by the world community.
As for Romania, my preference would have been an employment agency, detaching qualified women to Western Europe. Is much easier, and by 2007 would be fully legitimized. You can make a good living as intermediary, and it’s proper use of a woman’s qualification.
Oui aka @dKos as creve coeur and new creve coeur
WELCOME: Make Yourself Known @BooTrib aka lost treasure of dKos
hmmm oui – that is what Wales did to me (revealed private email) which got me banned from his site.
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Issue appears settled, did I read some comment on open thread that he left?
Oui – Liberté – Egalité – Fraternité
I don’t know. The New International Times seems to be short of posters at the moment. But I see quite a few NITs here.
I guess the ‘surprise’ is going to be a Europe or World version of Bootrib? If so – see you there!
Yes, now I discover Welshie has severed all connections with Martin and Jerome over the Soj episode (which I still don’t get at all)
I can’t be bothered to get into it, and I guess it has now disappeared?
Things happen when I’m away…
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You must have a twin or a look alike around in your absence @BMT.
I couldn’t think of any other option.
Oui aka @dKos as creve coeur and new creve coeur
WELCOME: Make Yourself Known @BooTrib aka lost treasure of dKos
.. in mysterious ways
I want to be clear on something else. BooMan Tribune is unfortunately getting a reputation of being the “anti-Daily Kos” site. At least that’s what I’m starting to read over at DKos. That is unfortunate, and wrong. We exist here to further the progressive agenda, build community, and hopefully change the world for the better. That will need to involve the cooperation of all the left blogosphere so I hope we can do our part to dispell that myth.
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That was Armando’s take yesterday in his diary posted here @BMT. Very rude and not becoming a friend and guest of Martin.
Best is just to ignore, not even reference what elsewhere in the big, bad world is discussed. It’s not worth the energy and creates negative vibes.
Oui aka @dKos as creve coeur and new creve coeur
WELCOME: Make Yourself Known @BooTrib aka lost treasure of dKos
but I was seeing that type of commentary over at DKos. Some people feel lines have been drawn in the sand between the sites and that’s false. As for individuals, they are free to participate at any blog they would like and draw any lines they want to for themselves. That was my point.
Off Topic, but could I ask a favor? Could you pick up where I left on the Welcome Wagon diary? It’s almost midnight here and I was up till 4am last night reading comments here. Thanks Oui, always a pleasure to read your stuff, looking forward to a diary soon <grin>.
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I can’t match your wit or humor, but I’ll give it my best. I shouldn’t have mentioned 3 days ago the BMT nights are very quiet, God punishes immediately!
Oui aka @dKos as creve coeur and new creve coeur
WELCOME: Make Yourself Known @BooTrib aka lost treasure of dKos
This line-in-the-sand drawing seems to me a product of the same mentality that led many people to exit Daily Kos. I think a lot of posters there get off on the drama of the flame wars that result when they post inflammatory things. If no one from Booman responds to the comments about this blog, my guess is that everyone will forget about it. And everyone here will be free to continue along our hoppy way.
Thx for your input Angelama.
my options are to agree or be mocked…
I wonder who turned the radio to Rush and I turn that crap off.
😉
I think it will be a good idea to start #10 in the Welcome Wagon Diaries after Oui welcomes the newcomers. I hope you got some rest, I really appreciate your energy here and want you to stay healthy. Now I’m going to take my own advice and get at least six hours of sleep tonight. 🙂 See you all tomorrow!
Thanks for a thoughtful diary. The reason I came and stayed here was the tone and civility. I also loved that when there are disagreements(such as Diane and I had in the beginning) there is the maturity level to agree to disagree.
Welcome to all our newbies. Love seeing all your smiling faces here and look forward to some great diaries.
Please all put out a little positive energy to the Universe for me. I am off in a couple of hours to attend a family wedding in Prescott with the mostly republican side of the family. Talk about having to work on temprence and holding me tongue…lol! See you all back here at the pond late Sunday. Hope I do not go through withdrawls.
Definitely will send good energy to you, have a great time and we’ll see you on Sunday!
Ack!
I’m pretty laid-back in general but HIGHLY confrontational when I get my hackles up (though this usually only happens when I’m being confronted with blatant assholery or condescending behavior). I guess I need to tone it down a bit if I don’t want to step on any toes here 😀
Thanks for leaving a comment. I know how tempers go, I have a healthy one myself. Thanks for the good faith and hopefully the Trusted Users will help out with any ‘blatant assholery’ around here. Paz!
I have been away and returned to all this pie stuff at Kos. Good grief! Thank you, Booman, for this site! Apparently it leaked over here, and I’m not going to try to find what I missed, that’s for sure!
However, reading in the aftermath, thought some might want to know that armando has an apology post just put up at Kos:
http://www.dailykos.com/story/2005/6/9/112032/6831
It may well get ugly, too.
Thanks to everybody for being here.
I just checked it out and I was glad to see an apology. Oh, and thank you for being here too.
Do go read it. The postings are really thoughtful on that one. Thank goodness.
I’m starting to see the diaries flowing around here, that is great!
On a side note, I’m baffled at how many BooTribbers have taken the poll. I think the most votes I ever got around here was somewhere in the 20s before, what a testament to the growth. BooMan, I hear we’re knocking on the door of 1500, is that true?
Oh, and could I bug some of you for a Recommend?
</sheepish voice>
Used to hang out a lot at the airport there about 10 or so years ago (after the 93 flood). Rapid development.
I recall a big fight with the community in that they did NOT want sidewalks in their neighborhoods as that would ruin the rural flavor.
If you’re talking about Tucson, the sidewalk issue doesn’t surprise me. They have finally formed a Regional Transportation Commission. The city grew too fast for it’s road structure.
If you’re not talking about Tucson, well then, you just got my very quick take on my daily commute to work 🙂
St. Louis, MO
And the ‘Golden Rules’ are simple, to the point, and the best way to set a productive, positive environment!
I’ve only been here a couple days, and already love this community!!
Looking forward to many more good times and great discussions!! 🙂
I loved the Bearded Dragon, what a cool pet to have.
Thanks!!
I have three of them now, and have to resist making trips to the pet stores – if they have a batch of babies, I’m too tempted to get another one!
Instead of ending up an old lady with a house full of cats, I’ll probably be the old lady with a house full of beardies someday!! :0
ME, Thanks for the diary, I have been here a while but never saw this posting by BooMan. Looking forward to more from you.
thanks! I’ll have you know that I dug up your old monarch butterfly diary the other day when I shared my parents’ porch with three of them. I lectured them as to why they shouldn’t cut down the milkweed that was growing in their backyard. So you see, you made a difference in my childhood yard here in Az.
I just re-read my comment and realized that first it sounded like I was sharing a porch with my three parents, and then it sounded like I lectured the butterflies on whether or not to cut the milkweed. Yeeesh!
We’ve had an amazing response to the Welcome Wagon Diaries. Make sure you check them out. I’m volunteering myself to compile them so they are always available for revisiting.
Given that, if you can please Unrecommend Parts 10 and 11, I want to see some more of your great writing and research on the Recommended list. Muchisimas Gracias!
I’ve somehow missed most of the excitement here and at KOS this week, along with the plethora of commiserating diaries here and the welcome wagons. I’m not such a veteran of the pond, but welcome all new people.
I did get a chance to troll-rate a couple of wiseacres over at KOS, though (hee-hee).
There has been a lot of excitement but I’m loving the level of discussion in the diaries. Thx for stopping by subtropolis.
There’s actually someone somewhere out there that makes more typos than I do?? Whew.
I’m almost too “shy” nowadays to make a diary or join in.
Usually my better stuff comes from a complete bangaway at the keyboard and a typhoon of emotions from the gut – not all of it comes from my empty tuna can called my brain.
😀
Green is my favorite color and my 15 yr old daughter’s room is totally frog decorated. She has everything from frog PJ’s to slippers to an umbrella.
I feel so at home here. I don’t diary but ocassinally post. I’m not a gifted writer but I read really well.
I blog while I’m (gasp) at work. I find I do some of my best work while blogging.
with you sweetirish from my desk here at work. It’s been rewarding this week. I’m a fan of the frog theme, there’s just too much fun to be had with the play on words. Thx and see you around. (your writing skills are great btw)
Hi y’ll…never thought in my lifetime I would be jumping around on lilly pads in a fog pond….:o)
It is more fun than I ever thought it could be…I even love the enviroment as well.
Thanks for having this spot of us to come to.
Brenda. I’ve been wading through the diaries today and learned so much from everyone.
I’ve been toiling around with the Comment Preferences so the diaries will load faster for me when they get to be rather large (like this one). I’ll share the steps I took in case you are interested in trying them out.
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What does this do? It allows any diary under 40 comments to have the default setting of Nested view. Diaries with over 40 comments will have the Dynamic Minimal view and will show only the comment headlines until you open them individually.
Play around, I barely started using this option on Wednesday and have found it to be a lifesaver. Plus it allowed me to open the West Thread again without as much frustration. 😉
(I’m persistent Boo, what can I say)
the whole ratings thing? I’m coming from online communities that don’t have it and I haven’t figured out the whole idea.
Thanks!
BooMan Tribune operates with a software called Scoop. The site FAQs and stuff will be updated very soon, but for now you can check out a New User Guide I put together last month as a first draft for the BooMan. There is a section on ratings there.
Ratings are used to help the community self-moderate the civility in discussions. They come in real handy when someone is blatantly trying to disrupt a thread with hateful, personal attacks. When a comment receives two Zero ratings (only available to Trusted Users), then the comment gets hidden and the dialogue can continue. Hope that helps, check out the guide and feel free to ask any questions you may have. Peace on this Saturday!