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But diginty ain't the thing I miss..

So, for those of you who don't frequent C&T, I'm going to put a quick preface here.

Back in the way-old-day-old, C&t was moderator-less. So, they picked the most irritable wanker of the bunch, and made him a mod. So, he strolled forth and issued warnigns and bannings, and generally got drunk and pissed on the floor. After a while, he ended his bender, and decided to make some rules, so what he did to the fair and innocent C&T users was nice and legal. Now, after a time, he got sick of being the only irritable wanker there, so he brought in some more corrupt fascist pigs to dominate the feeble masses with.

No, I'm kidding. Kinda. They did elect an irritable wanker. I'm that wanker. However, my view for C&T, having spent a great deal of time there is that the people know what they want, and they deserve to get it good and hard. So, that being my motto, I've always let C&T kinda run by majority vote. Kinda. I established some base rules which were built off the foundations laid by Ryonin. Then, I let the C&T regulars (who were the only ones who really cared) give theri input on the direction of the forums.

What I would do, every few months.. Not a set schedule, really.. just a "whenever it seems to be needed" kinda thing.. Well, anyways, I created a "C&T state of the union" thread. A basic poll on moderator status, and a thread for users to post their feelings, opinons, and notes about the forum. Direct feedback from the users that care the most about the forums. They can and did, post whatever they wanted in terms of forum status. They suggested improvements and changes they wanted or felt we needed.

()Preface over. Now, onto present s**t.)

This seems to have worked pretty damn well, as far as I'm concerned. C&T doesn't seem to have a mass influx of ******** and rabid goat rapists, and at the end of the day, that says I did my job well. So, what we're doing here is the next evolution of that step. Basically, C&T is one of the saner forums on gaia. I know this from personal experience. However, since Gaia is dedicated to its' users, we're goignt o try to take this one step forward. This doesn't mean a suggestion box which I will pee in daily. This means that the forum rules, stickies, and policy will be user defined, approved, and created.

Nifty s**t, eh?

Now, this isn't all set in stone. This is just the idea I'm proposing.

Here's how it works.

We set up a team of users for each sticky. (or multiple stickies as they choose) The users determine the content, the layout, and the creation. They make the sticky, it gets final approval from the mods, and then it's placed in the correct location, and stickied.

The users approve all rules that are forum-specific, except those that are required to have. (TOS violations, and general GAIA rules are in by default and cannot be removed.) Now, these aren't sweeping changes to the rules, but it does include a few things.

We have a DTD or "Done-to-death" threads list. These include very common topics and threads that are pretty basic answers. The users determine which topics are off limits, and add them to the list. Pretty simple. It's been in effect for a while, and it seems to work pretty well. There is also a statute of limitations on some topics, because technology changes and so do the answers.

Also, a possible new rule; (looking very positive that it's going to be a new rule, so be warned ye.) The "No bullshitting" rule. Basically, Lying or bullshitting about anything gets you a warning. Simple, eh? It applies to C&T because false information, while annoying and stupid, also has good potential to be damaging to a users computer harware, software, and felony-free status. Basically, lying can cause very real, expensive real-life consequences. So, you get punished for doing so. In a perfect world, this would be a forum-wide rule. However, since in the world of computers and tech, it's pretty easy to determine fact from fiction, it's much, much easier to apply. IE: You can have certain hardware, and you can't because it doesn't exist, or isn't for sale.

So, basically, calling "bullshit" on somone is a viable application, and if it isn't defended adequately, the "bullshit" rule is applied, and the user receives a warning. Tada.

Basically, this helps the users of Gaia be involved int he evolution of their home forums, and how they want Gaia to be. Direct user involvement in their part of Gaia. Now, all of this is subject to mod and Admin approval in the end. This means that some pretentious user with a hard on for ******** people over won't be able to do anything detrimental.

Basically, I see C&T as the perfect staging ground for this, sicne we've already been doing it in part, (in the past, I've tried to keep the users updated with forum changes, rules and information, because.. it's their ******** forum, really.) and this just seems like the logical evolution of that.

If it works out, it might even be viable in other Gaia forums, helping to create a better user experience.

So, taking that idea a step sideways, feel free to post your comments/ideas/questions about this system here. Is it viable for the rest of Gaia? Is it viable for C&T? Is it just a plain ol' stupid idea? Am I a man of sheer brilliance and irrefutable sexyness, surrounded by masses who hunger for my gleaming sweat and improbable p***s? Did that last question make you go "ewwww" and shudder a little?

Appropriate lyrics follow.

For you, fube.

-------------------------------------

I'm a shoe shine boy
I throw s**t on your shoe
Excuse me sir, I could make it look like new
This is all I know about marketing
Such a bad place to earn a living

I got this spoon
I could clean your ear
My price is.....
See, you can hear
There's no dignity in this
But diginty ain't the thing I miss

This is a bad place
This is a bad place
This is a bad place to earn a living

Gimme some money
I know that you've got
more than you need
and I need a lot
Don't know why you should do it
but really reasons don't mean a s**t

This is a bad place
This is a bad place
This is a bad place to earn a living