Posted by Atticus on December 3, 2004, at 9:01:54
In reply to Re: Crazymaking admin rules » Dr. Bob, posted by alesta on December 3, 2004, at 5:37:49
I think that Amy makes some very valid points. Your civility guidelines did absolutely nothing to deter HermanMunster; rather, it appears to me that he/she either simply lost interest in teasing mentally ill people for a laugh or is taking a breather before he comes back for more. In any case, the system failed miserably. How many posts will he get onto the board next time before you get around to doing something? I really can't see the Through-the-looking-glass logic in blocking Susan47 for innocently using *ss as a substitute for donkey (and using it to describe herself only, to boot) but in permitting HermanMunster to continue participating in this site after he advocated self-harm with a .357 Magnum to another poster. I'm wondering if your reference to Haim Weinberg is rhetorical misdirection. (Since I utterly disagree with Freudian theory, I find the notion of a "collective unconscious" on the Internet to be dubious at best, ludicrous at worst.) If you were to remove all your punitive powers, as Amy suggests, and the boards did continue functioning more or less as they do now, how would that make you feel? Superfluous? Is this what you really fear? I do have to note that most administrators at similar sites are far less intrusive presences, almost invisible. I often wonder why this isn't simply called "Psycho-Babble" rather than "Psycho-Babble BY DR. BOB," with your photo appearing at both the top and bottom of every board page. There appears to be less of a need to "publicly" assert and demonstrate control over the posters at other mental health support sites. Of course, this is your sandbox; you can do whatever you want (glad to see the addition of that disclaimer disassociating the site from the U. of Chicago, by the way; however, your continued use of your university e-mail address, rather than a private one, could still confuse people -- as it did me when I was a newbie -- and lend the patina of the university's stellar reputation to what is, after all, just a bit of private enterprise). But I'd be curious to know what other posters think about what could conceivably be construed as excessive self-promotion by the administrator. Atticus
poster:Atticus
thread:422145
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/admin/20041109/msgs/423826.html