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Friday, May 13, 2011

Victoria Advocate please wake up

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I've appreciated the Victoria Advocate's on line forum for several years but lately, I'm ashamed that they don't have the expertise to keep a banned poster from posting for more than two days or so. I'm sick and tired of watching good posters leave because of the nonsense that is allowed. I turned in Roy Mark two of the five times that he has been banned but that's not my job. A regular poster may lose his cool one of these days, get their comment deleted and leave because of the shame of what they posted... Not so with Roy Mark, he has infected the forum for several years now. Don't you have the tools and the desire to keep him banned?Roy Mark doesn’t think so,because he keeps returning to make a mockery of the rules.I'm not a detective but I can see what is in front of me.

Whatever you thought of Pat Bean,no one can say he didn't run a tight ship...He kept posters from  cutting and pasting entire articles, posting unsubstantial comments, and he challenged the posters online but most importantly, he kept Roy Mark banned. I know the current moderators are up to the task, because it seems like they have a laser beam on comments about UHV and the City Council. That's fine, and your paper is justified in some cases because we should know how to control ourselves. We're all adults. The other day a poster was allowed to post four blogs within a matter of hours. Yes, if it was eventually corrected, but it was allowed to happen. People will obey the rules if they are enforced according to the way they were set forth by this newspaper. It’s going to take a heavy use of the DELETE button for awhile, and they will whine but the message would have been sent.There are a lot of people on your side and I have some emails to prove it, but a small group (that I know of) thinks the forum should be cleaned up. Posters come and go, but I think we need to retain the good ones.

The online forum used to be intimidating because you had to actually know something before commenting. The veteran posters or the designated moderator would politely ask for a legitimate source. The delete button was common back then until everyone got on board. It wasn't perfect but it was a lot better than the free- for- all forums we have today.

I'm not going to be a daily tattletale because I'm quite content with my little space over here, but I was hoping that the forum could go back to its original format. An exchange of ideas, a little disagreement now and then ,but a place where I could learn something. We have some smart people in Victoria but smart people don't engage in daily nonsense. I'm but a lowly poster, and I know my blog and comments wouldn't be missed on the VA forum, so I'm not saying I'm quitting; I'm just not contributing as much, until we clean it up.

BTW, I agree with the deletion of the Chauncey M. DePree, Jr. article…It was trash and it needed to go into the waste basket before some unsuspecting poster would take it for fact.

I need a time out.

10 comments:

Kyle said...

I'm sure they'll ban him soon - I'll keep working on it!

Edith Ann said...

Let's face it. I don't think the VA is into QUALITY, just quantity.

It is very frustrating to have to wade through the postings of folks who know how to type, but don't know how to think.

Take the time out. Resist the urge to post until you just can't stand it. I promise you will be glad you did. Then when you return, it will be on something that is really meaningful to you.

Yes, I miss Joe Patrick Bean. I remember how my republican friends used to just scream about him!

Mike said...

Kyle
I think Roy will have to force their hand..:-)

Have a good weekend

Mike said...

Edith Ann
It doesn't always lead to quantity; remember the forum would go silent for hours or it would be a continuous loop of two posters (Roy Mark being one) matching each others nonsense; post after post.

Take a timeout? .....That's good advice; I think I'll try it.

I remember one republican friend of ours used to go ballistic ,when Joe Patrick Bean wrote a disclaimer at the bottom of her letter to the editor... Yes, I can imagine all the frustration some republican posters went through when their talking points from Fox News we're not allowed to stand as facts.

Have a good weekend

Mike said...

Well,well,well tonight's VA forum moderator is keeping everyone on topic,that's a very good start...Perhaps,that is a first step to a forum of discussion,as it once was.
Am I being over optimistic?
Now,do something about Roy Mark or reinstate all others.

Kyle said...

I suspect if I keep hounding MightyJo they'll eventually delete me as well - it was fun while it lasted!

Mike said...

Kyle
Please don't do that.....You provide wit,credible commentary,and you a great example of a good poster....That's what he wants,take out one poster at a time...He knows he will sneak back on and start the cycle all over...I know ,he has tried to bait me several times...Roy Mark will get himself deleted,he can't help himself.

Mike said...

MightyJo is not that mighty because he can't seem to get past the VicAd moderators this morning.

Anonymous said...

"BTW, I agree with the deletion of the Chauncey M. DePree, Jr. article…It was trash and it needed to go into the waste basket before some unsuspecting poster would take it for fact."

We reported the vote of no confidence at UH-V re Provost Labrecques accurately but Victoria Advocate was mistaken when it claimed we were not a reliable source. If the Victoria Advocate had been smart or competent journalists, they would have contacted me and avoided their mistake. In Texas terms, they shot from the hip and hurt themselves. Our story proved to be reliable. Next we reported that Provost Labresques stepped down in the wake of the vote of no confidence. This time the Victoria Advocate followed our lead and reported the story. Mike, it's simple to make accusations or play the "trash" game. You can do better than that.

Chauncey M. DePree, Jr., DBA
Editor, www.usmnews.net

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