O. T. Farewell

**mah** · March 28th, 2012, 04:37 AM

Heads up Todd White. I have sent you a PM.

**mah** · March 28th, 2012, 04:50 AM

Heads up OG. If you are watching or someone passes on this message, Please PM with your email address if that is OK with you. Your loss to the Board is a major blow. Mine not so much.

Regards, Marshall.

**Todd W. White** · March 28th, 2012, 10:10 AM

Hello All,

Well, first let me say that I am sorry for not spotting this sooner - my daughter just got married, and this all hit the proverbial fan at about the same time. Thus, my mind was on other things, like how to pay for the wedding...

That said, I would also like to personally apologize for any offenses that have been caused or taken - I know that was not anyone's intent, including AB.

As for the Off-Topic problem - I think the suggestion of having a specific "Off Topic - post your non-Altec related comments here" is a very wise idea. It would have headed this series of events off. If it is OK with everyone else, I'll get that going.

Regarding the moderation issue -

I have always felt that there has never been the real need for much moderation on our Board. With rare exception, and I've dealt with those rare exceptions (like RomyTheCat), we've never had any problems with our Board members. True, we've all gone off "chasing rabbits" here and there, but we're pretty good at self-correction, so I've usually let things take their course. Our Altec Family is pretty well behaved.

That said, when AB offered to help me, it was initially so that we could get my entire Altec library online and searchable. Since that library is monstrously large, I welcomed his offer to help. During the course of several discussions about that, he offered to help as an assistant moderator, so to speak, so as to help free me up from my already hectic schedule, and make it possible for me to start working on collating the Library.

AB is full of vim, vigor, and vitality, something that I rarely possess these days, probably because I'm getting old.

As a result of his desire to do a good job, he's made a few mistakes, as have we all in life, but has always been willing to correct them. But, again like all of us, he has blind spots, and we all know how hard it is to see around our blind spots.

Therefore, I offer the following thoughts and ask for ALL of you to give me your ideas:

1. I think the idea of placing a discussion of "Off-Topic" items is a good one. What say ye?

2. I think that posting a "sticky" with a SIMPLE set of "Posting Guidelines" is a good one. What say ye?

3. I think that when someone posts something that appears to the Moderator(s) to be questionable - for any reason - that the person who made the post should be contacted privately first, before any changes or alterations in their post is made by the Moderator reviewing it. The only exception to this - and we've always had this as our guiding principle on this Board - is profanity and flaming (aka serious name calling). Other than that, I feel like we can probably govern ourselves.

In other words, aside from profanity, flaming, and perhaps some sort of brow-beating behavior, we can self-moderate, as we've always done, without intervention from a Moderator. The Moderator(s) would intervene ONLY after having discussed the issue politely with the person who made a possible questionable post in private. Otherwise, I think we can govern our behavior on our own just fine. What say ye?

Let me know what you all think - this Board really belongs to ALL of us, so I want it to continue to be a source of interesting, fun, and enjoyable sharing about our favorite subject - ALTEC! If you prefer to contact me privately, feel free to do so knowing I will keep our discussions in the strictest confidence.

Thank you all for being here, and thank you in advance for your cooperation and participation!

**cls500** · March 28th, 2012, 11:07 AM

I agree with everything the Owner has noted. This forum is far to important to allow it to degenerate into a snarky, ugly pissing contest. I have learned so much here and have enjoyed reading all the posts and hope to be able to continue to do so far into the future. Thank you all for sharing your knowledge.

**Altec Best** · March 28th, 2012, 11:20 AM

Thanks Todd for reviewing this.

**cradeldorf** · March 28th, 2012, 12:22 PM

I'm good with all that Todd said.

**Cal Weldon** · March 28th, 2012, 12:47 PM

Hello Todd and all,

As many of you know I am a moderator at another audio site and have been for quite some time.

I believe that Todd is on the right track instituting other forums that in the long run will cut down on AB's work.

The suggestions I would like to offer include:

1. Having more than one moderator. On the other site we have quite a handful, including Panomaniac, with virtually all decisions made by a team. Really cuts down on the personality issues.

2. Not allowing for editing of posts. This will cut down on perceptions of heavy handedness. If rules are broken then the entire post is removed regardless of how much of it is in violation and a note sent to the alleged offender suggesting action. This action can include sending them the post in entirety (as not many save their own posts) and asking them to rewrite it before resubmitting.

AB, I know how thankless it can seem at times. Goodness knows you get 10 or 20 criticisms for every praise but not to worry, you'll grow into the boots, your skin will thicken. Soon you'll be the best moderator of all - the kind no one notices.

Good luck to you.

**Altec Best** · March 28th, 2012, 02:42 PM

Thanks Cal ! Your voice is always appreciated as well.I plan on doing No Moderation unless someone needs my assistance than I'll be all ears.

All The Best to You !

**Audio_by_Goodwill** · March 28th, 2012, 03:54 PM

Originally Posted by Todd W. White

Therefore, I offer the following thoughts and ask for ALL of you to give me your ideas:

1. I think the idea of placing a discussion of "Off-Topic" items is a good one. What say ye?

If you mean one unending thread, I think that's a bad idea. I would expect that to be difficult to navigate. If it was just stuff like what you cooked on the grill last weekend, that would be fine. However if it were how well a certain non-Altec amp would work with Altec speakers, as the thread that sparked his brouhaha, then I think any valuable info would get buried.

2. I think that posting a "sticky" with a SIMPLE set of "Posting Guidelines" is a good one. What say ye?

Absolutely.

3. I think that when someone posts something that appears to the Moderator(s) to be questionable - for any reason - that the person who made the post should be contacted privately first, before any changes or alterations in their post is made by the Moderator reviewing it. The only exception to this - and we've always had this as our guiding principle on this Board - is profanity and flaming (aka serious name calling). Other than that, I feel like we can probably govern ourselves.

Sounds reasonable considering the limited traffic this board gets.

**Altec Best** · March 28th, 2012, 04:57 PM

Originally Posted by Audio_by_Goodwill

If you mean one unending thread, I think that's a bad idea.

No with the upgrade coming soon.You will be able to open your own thread within the Off Topic Sticky thread.Same for the Marketplace. Steven contacted me today and said maybe couple weeks,providing no unforeseen problems...

VB version 4.1.11 coming soon boys.