Mod Post: Re-introduction to the Comm

[sopdetly.livejournal.com]

So there's a lot of you here now -- we're closing in on 500 members! That's really fantastic, and I welcome you all.

I wanted to take a moment to say a couple things about this comm, and about how I run it.


Let's talk modding first.

• As the right-wing is a traditionally small-government political movement, this comm is equally "small government". I'm the only mod, and I don't see that changing any time soon. This is a comm for the people, by the people. You are all accountable to yourselves and each other, and I'm not going to hold anyone's hand or read every post and comment looking for trouble. If something comes up that you cannot handle yourself, though, you can absolutely contact me. During the weekdays I will be slower to respond, but at nights and on the weekends, I should generally be quick to jump in.

• Via popular vote, we do not allow anonymous commenting on this comm. Non-members may comment, but they will be screened. I leave it up to the discretion of the poster to decide if they want to unscreen a comment or not. If you find a lot of your nice, supportive comments are remaining screened, I'd recommend you simply join up! If your nasty, trouble-seeking comments are remaining screened, I'd recommend you find another comm to bother. :D

• Trolls get banned. Sometimes trolls are more obvious than others. If it's not totally obvious, I try to give the benefit of the doubt, unless I'm provided with reliable information that shows they're definitely not someone we want around (see last night's fun). A ban is permanent. I don't do temporary bans for bad behavior here -- either you smarten up when the comm calls you on it, or you remain a troublemaker and you're out.

• I also try to leave evidence of bad behavior up, especially if it's just comments in someone's post. Sometimes a troll's post will remain up as well. There is no official rule on deleting comments, but I expect people to use good judgment. The screening button is very nice for dealing with stuff, I find, as it's easy to undo. If you accidentally delete something, just speak up.



Okay, I think that'll cover that. Let's talk about the comm. Actually, let's talk about what the comm isn't.

• This comm is not to debate the merits of conservative politics vs. liberal politics. On any particular day, some members may be more willing to humor the idea and have a friendly discussion, but if no one responds to that kind of comment/post, don't come crying to me. Try another comm, like debate.

• This comm is not only for right-wingers. Polite and curious left-wing folk may certainly join us and ask questions to better understand our points of view. We'll respond better to polite queries, and as stated above, we're not here to debate our positions.

• This comm is not only for Americans. While the vast majority of members are American, we'd love to hear from our right-wing friends all over the world.

• This comm is not only for one kind of right-winger. We're not always going to agree on everything. The biggest conflict seems to come on the social issues, and considering the Republican party at large seems to have the same problem, we're certainly not going to solve it here. We've also got Libertarians, and Republitarians, and people who just know they're somewhere to the right of the Democrats and liberals. Be respectful, but I won't ask you to all agree.

• This comm is not just for girls. We've got some guys here, too! :D

• This comm is not just for politics. With the election over, I'm really hoping to see an increase in fan-based discussion. You don't need to connect it all back to politics, either. At least here you can be sure you won't get a huge lecture on how "Look to your left" really is a Deep Political Statement from Doctor Who. ;)


You can always contact me with questions or to point me to problems. PM me right through LJ, or send me an email (sopdetly @livejournal.com works just fine). I really love this comm because it's pretty much one of the most low-maintenance places I've ever been. You gals and guys are great at keeping each other in check, and as rare as problems are, it's even more rare when the problem stems from a true member.

This is a new role for this comm -- we're no longer supporters of an administration that is widely unpopular on LJ. Instead, we're the loyal opposition, the patriotic dissenters (well, for 8 years dissent was patriotic, though so far it seems that now dissent is simply racism). It's my hope that this comm does not become a pit of anger and frustration. Certainly we will disagree with many things President Obama does. But while he ran on a campaign of "regaining" hope, I like to think that we as his opponents will never lose it to begin with, when faced with difficult times. My country has been through a lot in my lifetime, as has the world at large. I tend to take an optimistic point of view on the future, and right now I cling to that view the most. And it'll be places like this that I will turn to when things feel bad.

We've been here for 5 years, and I look forward to the next 5 as well.

And so, I accept the nomination for presi--

Oh, wait, wrong speech.

Well, it sounded good, anyway ;)

Okay, mod post is over. Class dismissed! Don't play in the streets and don't let the liberals steal your lunch money. (Hmm. Too realistic to be funny? I'll just hush now....)

Comments

[darth-firefly.livejournal.com]

Don't play in the street? What if you live in a cul-de-sac?

I assure you that the majority of my lunch money either goes to the good working American Citizens or to legal immigrants.

[izuko.livejournal.com]

• This comm is not just for girls. We've got some guys here, too! :D

Don't go spoilin' our cover.

[mprice.livejournal.com]

I was almost expecting to read: This ends this Special Announcement. We now return you to your regularly scheduled fan!girling already in progress. ;-P

[kimaginethis.livejournal.com]

Thanks for this!! I was getting extremely depressed opening my lj and seeing more posts about Obama, Pelosi and the rest of the crew here than among the rest of the people on my f-list.

Since I joined the comm right around election time, it'll be interesting to see just what sorts of posts are generated. I made one here not too long ago about openly-conservative stars (GASP!) and that seemed to get a lot of response.

[scarletumbrella.livejournal.com]

(*waves* Hi! Could you possibly tag this post as "mod post" or something similar so that it can be easily found again later? I went looking for it and it took me a little while to find it because it wasn't tagged... I'm just thinking, in the interest of future reference for members and non-members alike. :) Thanks!)