OT: Moderators personal styles

Re: Death of a forum

William Duffield, on the Cohansey

>That forum was destroyed, in one fell swoop, by one vindictive personality who happened to have the requisite tools at his disposal and the will to use them, with total disregard for the damage he wreaked upon the community. Some would even go so far as to label him a terrorist. I think it was probably just that he hadn't learned some important life lessons, like "Sticks and stones..."

We should note, however, that the Australian forum's subject matter was a competitive sport, which is much more likely to attract unreasoning, win-at-any-cost, zero-sum, braggart personalities. And, BTW, it was the extreme power tools that they race, on the street no less, that got them into trouble, right? This forum, on the contrary, tends to attract those who are more likely to be motivated by helping each other out, and community building. Or. am I grasping at straws, here?

Forums and communities can also be destroyed a bit at a time, by each caustic or vindictive remark, because these make the experience painful for those at whom they are directed, for he who makes the remark in anger, and for everyone else who reads it. Eventually, if these things get out of hand, people will decide that they do not enjoy the experience, or that the small pains are not worth the gain, and just walk away, either to go somewhere else to share their knowledge, or entirely losing passion and interest in our avocation.

It is much, much easier to destroy something worthwhile than to build it in the first place, or to maintain it and nurture its growth and development. Destructive forces can be malicious and intentional, but more often they are the callous, or unforeseen, unplanned or even unrecognized side effects of whatever was intended, and sometimes they can even be the result of totally random events. In any case, all the members of the community need to be vigilant at all times to minimize these forces, if the community is to thrive.

OK, I'm going to get down now, and get back to woodworking. Anyone got any recommendations for wood, joinery, surface decoration, or finish for safe and effective soap boxes?

My best advice...

Bob Hackett

>Make sure there`s a non-slip surface on the top of the box and grippers on the bottom.;^)

MB

Re: My best advice...

John Johnson

>Hi William,

Quote> We should note, however, that the Australian forum's subject matter was a competitive sport, which is much more likely to attract unreasoning, win-at-any-cost, zero-sum, braggart personalities. And, BTW, it was the extreme power tools that they race, on the street no less, that got them into trouble, right? >Unquote

It might be easy to think that about us, but it's just not the case. The purpose of HRI was bench racing, not street racing >grin>

The problem is that the law here holds the moderators responsible for any comments made by anyone on the board. They are seen as publishers, and held responsible for what they publish, even if they were asleep when it was published.

We all have moments where we say things which we later regret. I have no problem with copping the consequences of my actions, or with others copping the consequences of theirs. The problem we have found here is that anyone could write something not much worse than what you just wrote on a discussion board, and as a result the moderators risk losing their house.

regards,

John

Soapbox Joinery, etc...

Don Thompson - Cutler Ridge, Florida

>This might give you some ideas:

Here is a real one:  *LINK*

Don Thompson - Cutler Ridge, Florida

>


Actual Antique Soap Box

Bummer...

Scott Burr in Ben Lomond CA

>It's sold. I really like the elephant label on that box.

Ahhhh... like I need a soap box anyway.

Re: My best advice...

William Duffield, on the Cohansey

>First, I don't think I understand what bench racing is, but unless everyone always trailers all the competitive vehicles to the track and back to the garage, there is always the temptation to put the pedal to the metal on the way home. DAMHIKT. In the back yard, I've got a vehicle the Consumers Union would rate very highly on "collision avoidance". I just think it's a whole lot of fun to drive.

I'm not trying to say that everyone who races, or builds hotrods, does it for those reasons. Nor did I mean to imply that even the majority does, or especially that any one particular individual does. I just meant that there are some correlations between personality types and the avocations to which they are attracted.

We need to be careful, because one of the subjects we do not discuss on Wood Central is politics. Objective warnings of what we can do to get us into trouble are always welcome, but the processes of law making, law enforcement, what we can, cannot, should or should not change via the political process, etc., can quickly get out of hand, so we try to leave them alone.

The moderators are going to look the other way, for now anyhow, regarding the Republican party mascot on the soap box :^)

Re: Bummer...

Don Thompson - Cutler Ridge, Florida

>If I saw that in a junk/antique store for a good price, I would buy it in a heartbeat.

My own soapbox!

And the vehicle in your back yard is?

Don Thompson - Cutler Ridge, Florida

>