I've made 215 posts on TalkBoard Topics since the last TalkBoard election. I stuck around after the Election 2007 forum closed because I had gotten to know the people and (blush) they had said some nice things about me.
Here are the subjects on which I wrote:
1. I was
initially in favor of a forum for VX (Virgin America). The proposal failed on December 3, 2007. Two days later, with the newly elected members seated,
RichMSN recommended an immediate re-vote. I was dismayed.
As I explained, an immediate reversal would be disrespectful to the prior TB. If the only constraint on what you do is having the numbers to win, the TB becomes a purely political body.
On December 28, kokonutz and Punki went ahead and made the proposal anyway.
I called them out, despite my belief that VX deserved a forum. A significant number of posters disagreed with me on this. I explained myself further
here and
here. I guess I'm just a stickler for giving respect in order to get respect.
The motion failed when Jenbel abstained, as she explained eloquently
here. You might also read my posts below hers, numbers 168, 169, 173, and 197.
VX finally got its forum on April 1 by unanimous vote, after Randy privately brought some new information to the TB.
In summary, the VX debacle exposed a difference of opinion on process. Some believe that the TB should behave like a political body, where numbers are all that matter and collegiality counts for nothing. I disagree. If you want a politician on TB, don't vote for me.
2. I participated in a fun discussion on smilies. Adding smilies is still an open issue, but it does not appear to be high on anyone's priority list.
3. I
supported a proposal to create Choice Privileges forum to give us a place to whine about zero-notice changes. The motion passed.
4. I expressed an open mind about OMNI post counts but
I deferred to Randy's long experience with OMNI. I once again advocated a less confrontational process
here and
here . Then I
added some humor.
5. I posted a few times on the "Input Welcome for Talkboard Meeting" thread. The tail end of this thread foreshadowed the recent intense debate on what to do when a TalkBoard member receives a 30-day suspension.
6. After the TalkBoard meeting all the discussion was about the Ambassador proposal. In this case,
the formal proposal preceded the public discussion, a procedural error IMHO.
The public discussion revealed several concerns that the drafters had not anticipated. The Achilles heel of that proposal turned out to be the question of how Ambassadors would be chosen.
I
proposed self-nomination but kokonutz convinced me that my idea was defective. I couldn't come up with anything better, and the discussion spiraled down into questioning of motives. The motion failed, attracting only 2 votes.
I participated in a subsequent discussion,
stating why I now thought the concept was fatally flawed.
7. In a classic case of bad timing, I suggested adding ATA to the title of the Southwest forum in January. Just over 3 months later, ATA shut down. Good thing the TB is so slow!
8. All the above makes it seem as if TBT and even the TalkBoard is mostly aggravation and a waste of time. I was not particularly planning to run for TB again this year until the final and biggest debate of the year: the new TalkBoard Guidelines.
When the new TalkBoard Guidelines were proposed in early September, it quickly became clear that the issue of how to handle future 30-day suspensions of TalkBoard members was the main obstacle. I participated heavily in the discussion, attempting to identify the objections and resolve them. As you can read for yourself in posts 184, 185, 188, 189, and 193 of
this TBT thread, I eventually discovered what it would take to bring the most vocal opponent of the provision on board and achieve a consensus agreement. Cholula revealed a few days later (in post 321) that he was on board with this idea. The latest version of the proposal, expected to be approved any day now, matches the "wait until Randy decides" compromise described in these posts.
Unfortunately, it took several weeks for the rest of the TB to catch up. First the proponents tried to ramrod through the original proposal, despite the fact that the public discussion had shown the very realistic prospect of a compromise. I expressed my regret at this course of action
here. Perhaps someone on the TalkBoard listened, because the proposal failed.
Then the other side made a formal proposal at the other extreme: no suspension provisions at all. I called the proposer out on that
here, again citing the lack of consensus. This proposal was not voted on, so perhaps it was not seconded. Next came the back room negotiations that gave us the latest version, which even kokonutz and CluebyFour could agree on.
We could have achieved this consensus result a month earlier if not for the steamroller crews. If I am elected to the TalkBoard, I will stand in front of the steamrollers on behalf of any TB member who is willing to compromise.
The favorable outcome of the great TB Guidelines debate encouraged me that perhaps the future of the TalkBoard is indeed less political, not more. I will work to continue this progress.