#193, 9 June 2004

Today, I left the ABS forums, with this message. This was a difficult decision, but I do not plan to come back unless some major things change, so please do not try to convince me to. Interestingly, 5 members have also left as a result of this.

<&S][nner> The last sound on the worthless earth will be two human beings trying to launch a homemade spaceship and already quarreling about where they are going next.

I (with the assistance of a few friends) have assembled this basic framework for (theoretically) better forums. This has not been tested, however, a forum system with these properties may be implemented in the future. I will change or add to this as I see fit.

Initial Conditions

1. Small community (< 100 members).
2. No ruleset.
3. All members have no powers.
   • Special case: Host/forum creator/admin(s). It is assumed that they will act as normal, powerless members.

Projections

1. When it becomes necessary, members will be chosen by other members to be in a position of power (moderators).
   • Note: I have a bit of an issue with the term "moderator", as it seems to imply that they are no longer really a member, which can lead to all sorts of bad consequences.
2. When it becomes necessary, a ruleset will be created that is agreeable to both members and moderators.
   • Recommendation: A ruleset that is not strict and absolute, but rather, a set of general guidelines that allows for judgment on a case-by-case basis.

General Concepts

1. Moderator actions should be subject to review.
2. It should be possible to remove the ability of certain members to create threads.
3. It should be possible to have threads go through a review process before they're posted.
4. It should be possible to restrict the ability to create threads based on postcount.
5. It should be possible to have certain members' threads go through a review process based on postcount.

I would like feedback on these ideas. You can contact me in #emptv on irc.luniticfringe.net.