The Fascist Administrator

Remove all ads!

Can't say that I have ever contributed much here, so maybe you others see things that I do not.

When I first came here, I thought that this site was wonderful. Calm discussion (mostly), none of the chat speak of the eternally impatient, and no juvenile name calling and trash talking so common with most message boards. And it almost always dealt with subjects that I was interested in. Sure I didn't say as much as others, but unless I really felt I could contribute and not repeat what has been said many times already, I kept my mouth (so to speak) shut.

And who do we have to thank for this? Why Taluntain, Blackthorne TA and Extremist, but mostly it seems to be Taluntain. He makes sure that he reminds people when they get out of line, is quick to ban people who flagrantly abuse the rules and otherwise main general pains of themselves, and it seems that he reads everything here so as to continue to do that. Which is great, I wish other board moderators/administrators would do the same.

But sometimes he goes a little to far. What do I mean?

• How about the time he got on a persons case because they changed thier profile name?

• Or when the same person changed to one ending with a question mark?

• Sigs are disabled. That is good. But why get on a persons case when they type their name at the bottom of their post? Sure, that could lead to quotes and things that would become 'virtual' sigs. But he called out the people that merely typed their name as well as the others. Now I will admit that I used to type my name at the end, but that was out of force of habit from the boards that did not display the name next to the post. I was more than happy to stop once I realized that I was doing it, but Taluntain's tone was that of a stern and stubborn taskmaster disciplining a habitual and intentional troublemaker.

• Then there is the gal who asked Taluntain if he could name his cat after him. Taluntain could have responded with yes/no/I don't care. But what did he do instead. He called her silly (actually he called the question silly, but implied otherwise) and essentially rebuked her for wasting his time. I wonder how he would have reacted to her had she PM'ed him instead of posting? Probably the same way. I thought the question was cute and funny.

There are other examples, but these are just the ones that come to mind now. But what is wrong with any of those things? Is anyone offended by them? Do any of them break any rules as laid out in the FAQ (or rather, did they when it happened)? Somehow, I doubt it. And even if you think Taluntain was correct on every count, does he still have to reply/inform with such a condescending attitude?

Now you can flame all you want, I won't be around to see it. And I bet this gets locked real fast so that it can't be replied to once Herr Administator sees it.

 

For the record, Tal lays out the money to run this place, so he could ask us all to have avatars in pink tutus if he wanted to and still have my support. I appreciate the fact that there are rules in place to keep this place from degenerating into the mess that happened on the last boards I posted on. I hope Mr. Grouch finds a place better suited to him.

In fact, as far as I'm concerned, Tal is a pretty easygoing guy overall -- I made fun of his Avatar once and he didn't get bent out of shape because he has a sense of humor. Some other chick got all snippy, but hey, it's a free board, right? My 2 cents.

 

Tal makes these boards worth visiting. The rules are strict, but why should strict rules always be a bad thing.

On the cat issue, it was a silly question, for Tal can not influence whether somebody's cat is named after him, and thus there was no reason to ask. (It was the polite thing to do however) It is clearly stated in the FAQ/board rules that you may not start a post with a question for one person, instead he/she should PM the person is question.

Putting your name under the post is ridiculous, everybody can see who you are if they look to the left.

 

Heh,

Now, in my ever-so-humble opinion; (probably voiced in the other old topic much like this) I feel that the moderators/administrators are doing a brilliant job, for all the reasons you listed.

Now to me this sounds like a compliment? Yes, Tal should be complemented for the work he does. And considering the incredible workload it's not too unimaginable that he might get tired/irritated/annoyed once in a while. I certainly would, and I'm sure you would too.

I work for Tal, I post news on his site, and I contribute in whatever way I can. I don't get paid, I don't get favours in return, I just get Thanks. Even if I didn't I would still do it to repay him for the guy that he is and the work that he does.

Now, as Depaara said, it's a free board, and in truth Tal can do whatever the hell he wants with it, since he pays for it. In my opinion, he does a better job than most admins out there could ever do, without abusing his position.

IaaA was an arsehole, and correct me if I'm wrong but that is what his name stood for (I am an *******), and so it's no surprise Tal got annoyed at him.

Please know that I'm not flaming you here Mr.Grouch, just giving you my view.

 

May I just say:

If you are talking about IaaA then it's good he changed his name to that because I'd rather see that than what it stood for.

He didn't go on at them about the question mark - just said it was weird. Just because Tal is a mod doesn't mean he can't voice opinions.

Sigs are disabled, the names are included there - people can see your names at the side of the screen.

The topic in question was not one that could really be made into a discussion or something, really, no offense to anyone but I think it was most likely a post for the babbledom

Mainly Mr.G you need to lighten up and take things in context.

Or, dare i say it?, you are an IaaA? incarnate.

BTW - why start this if you won't be around to see it?

If people felt they were being harshly treated they would most likely leave or PM Tal, perhaps if you, and IaaA? had stayed and got to know the site better these topics wouldn't start and flames wouldn't be thrown.

 

My voice perhaps don't counts much,because I'm quiete new here,but I think Taluntain makes a great Job !
I don't know anything about the examples you brought,expect the one with the cat(or was it a dog ?).But I think IaaA will have done enough things to annoy Tal.And that with the cats was a really silly question,because Tal couldn't really influence the name of the cat.

 

I'm new here too. But I think that the administrators do a great job, because this a forum where flame wars nearly don't occur. That's a rare thing.

 

MrGrouch --

I've been in these parts quite awhile, but fortunately, I've not had to read such dribble as this very often.

Why is it that some people have such a hard time understanding the concept of "free" and "rules"? This site is FREE to all who venture here. It's a playground provided by ONE individual -- one individual ONLY -- for the benefit of all. I find it abhorrent that some people are willing to spend time here, take part in all this place has to offer, yet so quickly turn the knife on the owner and berate him for trying to institute some common sense structure, that, again... is for the benefit of all.

Condescending attitude??? -- No one is perfect and he's shown his tolerance for posters such as yourself on numerous occasions. I know Taluntain personally and I can tell you that he's one of the most warm-hearted and generous souls I've ever known. Your criticisms are way off base here.

In summation.....Taluntain owes you nothing. And if you could, for one minute, see through your myopia, you would recognize that YOU are the one that OWES him -- as we all do.

[ April 06, 2003, 22:51: Message edited by: Spellbound ]

 

Yep. The rules are strict. And yeah, Tal forks out the cash.

It's also a lot of work. And it would be even more if he left the code and [size]/[color] tags in there. There would be no way a few "select" mods could handle the load, especially when the real trolls wanted to play.

As it is, it is a tight, focused board. The Icewind Dale of D&D boards.



Relax?

Relax. And play some games. Suprisingly enough, the game forums are an excellent place for information and tips. Have you played any of the games?