Originally Posted by
gsoltso
I think that Bob has many constraints on his information dissemination process. He is in the buffer zone between what HQ wants to put out, and what some members of the public ask - the problem is the difference between the two that causes him to seem like he doesn't want to answer questions. It is the basic PR/communication quandry, you guys want information A, Bob can give information U and everything in between can't be put out or (in some cases) even be addressed. I think that Bob would like to share some more info, but due to the SSI and guidance from those above him, it is rarely going to be the same information (not really commenting on whether that is a good or bad thing, just how it boils down). Personally, there are some things that I think that could be answered without damaging the system or effectiveness, but I am also a frontliner and am not privvy to all the reasoning that HQ would use.
I think that some questions are asked and answered over at TSA Blog, but some of the questions asked over and over, are just not going to get a straight up answer because of the nature of the question, or the SSI regs. What other .Gov site will allow as many disparaging remarks in an open forum? Seriously, what other site have you seen that posts that type of open commentary? It is not perfect, but it sure is a lot more honest and open than any other .Gov site I have seen (and quite a few private sites). I know it is not perfect and we have room for improvement, but I actually think that keeping commentary on topic is a natural course. It allows for more focused discussion on the primary subject (and even you have to admit that some of the threads are about inflammatory subjects). I reiterate that I think the OTP thread will be fairly hot and have some pretty serious discussions, and I think that the postings will be even more open season than before. I guarantee you that HQ will watch that thread and you may even see new blog posts generated from the thread (at least, I would think that if we got 200+ posts about the same subject from unique users, I would want to put out as much info on it as I could, or at least let you know that it can't be disclosed). I am interested to see how it works out, I ask you gang to give it a chance to see what we can do with it.
If a question cannot be answered for whatever reason then BB should just say so. Ignoring, or appearing to ignore questions creates a lot of tension.
I consider all discussion on the PV blog to be of a political nature and there is no reason to censor comments, even the Supreme Court has ruled that political speech is fully protected. If PV was a privately owned sight maintained with private funds then no such constraints would be in play.
Originally Posted by
gsoltso
Be careful now, that getting all a-flutter can lead to a case of the vapors!
The OT thread is listed on the right hand side, right under "meet our bloggers". It may fall out of the main feed, but unlike other topics, it will always be on the main page. I still go back and comment on past posts once they fall off the page (admittedly, not as much as the top of the list, but that is because the traffic falls off and most aren't that motivated to go back and post on them).
The Off Topic thread is a giant step backwards for the TSA blog. But since backwards is the general direction the whole of TSA is headed it fits with the rest of the agency.