Originally Posted by
janetdoe
Thank you for the explanation. I respect your contributions and your long history on FlyerTalk, but I have to say that I respectfully disagree with your decision in this case.
But I really didn't want to re-hash this issue in this thread, more to express my frustration with the way the campaigning restrictions are a) unclear for non-candidates and b) make it hard to 'get out the vote', even when voters are particularly engaged with an issue, and would likely be interested in voting if they knew it was an issue in the election.
I do wonder what is your perspective on the point and utility of TB (as compared to Jenbel and RichMSN).
janetdoe, no worries. As I mentioned I truly went back/forth on the issue, read everything by FTers & literally cast my vote in the last hours, having changed my perspective from when I started on the topic. I think I made the right decision, but also realize that others will not agree. This was one of the more hot button issues TB has dealt with & was a close vote.
I think you make a good point (your a) that the campaign rules might be unclear for 'non-candidates' & that might be something the CommunityDirector can mention either in public announcements or Talkmail or let the mod corps know so that they can better express it to FTers during the election timeframe, so thanks for bringing that up.
Re: the 2nd part (b), there is a way to do that:
If candidates or non-candidates are interested in bringing attention to issues (& not just campaigning for themselves in the case of candidates), they can bump the thread once & say 'hey there's an election going on, there are a variety of candidates with a variety of views, & if this issue (or others) is important to you, you might want to head over to TB to read the candidates bio/platforms, and answers to questions or raise a question that the CommunityDirector can ask.'
Heck, FTers & TB members have been known to do that when issues come up for discussion on motions and/or when voting is underway & not necessarily tied into election time.
Re: my perspective vs Rich & Jen's:
I don't regard TB as an 'experiment' & I do think TB is helpful to the functioning of FT. I think for the most part a lot of the main 'hot button' issues have gotten sorted over the years (there are still a few remaining) & guidelines created, so there's not as much broo-ha-ha & heated discussions/massive changes to the functioning of FT that used to exist in years past. That's not a bad thing and is a natural transition, especially as BBs such as FT mature. I don't think every issue has to be a hot-button issue to make TB relevant to FT & the CommunityDirector.
I think TB still holds a purpose as it is a place where FTers can go to suggest new forums & other items for the betterment of FT, where other FTers can weigh in, & TB members can consider the pros/cons/do research & bring up points that may or may not have occurred to other FTers, other TB members or the CommunityDirector, & then provide that input, in the private and public forum, to the CommunityDirector. Given the CD has multiple responsibilities, it helps to have a board that can synthesize & provide input.
koko mentioned in a post a few posts back that he views TB as a focus group for the CommunityDirector.
Cheers.