Fred Fuller
Moderator Emeritus
I once told Bullfrog Ken (who used to do an extraordinary job of moderating here in S&T) that I view S&T pretty much as a sort of one-room schoolhouse. The reason I say that is because there are similarly oriented forums out on the web which are available by invitation only from the folks who run them. There are others, like 10-8, which allow no anonymous membership and require a certain demonstrated level of training and/or experience before allowing people to post there.
We don't do that at THR. We do try to maintain a higher level of conduct and a more productive dialogue here on THR as a whole than the average internet gun board, and we seem to be doing something right in that regard. If in doubt as to expected behavior here on THR, please read the forum rules at http://www.thehighroad.org/code-of-conduct.html .
And I for one view it as our primary aim to attempt an even higher level of discussion here in S&T, while remaining available to all comers. We don't allow certain types of discussion, or certain types of conduct here in S&T (if in doubt, please read the 'stickies' at the top of the main page). Armed self defense is a serious business. We take it seriously here. Unfortunately, a lot of attempts at humor do not translate well on the internet, smilies notwithstanding. So we don't encourage comedy here.
Nor do we encourage boorishness anywhere on THR, and certainly not in S&T. And I'm getting more than a little tired of seeing so much of it lately. In PMs to various members who cross various lines, I sometimes find it necessary to remind: This is not your little brother's Internet. Please do not conduct yourself as if it is. This is not an "anything goes" forum.
Just because you don't use your real name here (neither do I, for that matter), just because you are sitting at a keyboard and reading a monitor, please do not assume what you say here does not matter.
It does matter.
This is the Internet after all. We do not have the benefit of having known each other personally for years. We did not go to school together, or serve in the same unit in the military, or work together in the same business. We know each other by our words. All we have here to relate to each other are our words. Those words matter.
And everyone has to start somewhere. No one is born knowing all this S&T stuff, and no one dies knowing it all, either. Everyone has to learn, and that process lasts a lifetime. As instructor Louis Awerbuck says- "The state of the art is a moving target." There has to be a place for people to get some help with the basics, but that is no reason advanced practitioners can't benefit from the same place as well. Think of it as a sort of "one room schoolhouse" approach, if you would.
In order for that to work, a certain amount of tolerance is necessary- along with a minimum amount of maturity. Please consider this a reminder, if such be necessary.
I can- and will- provide stronger reminders if necessary.
There are no external restrictions to participation in S&T. If you're a member at THR, you have full access to read and post here as well. That might not necessarily mean you SHOULD post here, though.
I can't ban anyone just from S&T, for example- the board software isn't set up for that. But I have found it necessary to ban members in the past because their conduct here so egregiously violated clearly stated rules for conduct which apply strictly to this subforum and not to THR at large. Again- if you haven't read the rules for participating in S&T, please do not close out this session on THR without doing so.
I spent 30 years in the world of work as a reference librarian. I answered questions for a living. Along the way I learned the best way to elicit good information is by asking good questions. If you have a (to you) serious question regarding any aspect of strategies and tactics, feel free to ask it here. If you want to troll, or waste time, or try to be funny, this is not the place for it.
I expect all members here to be treated with respect as a minimum standard of conduct. If you object to something here at THR, it is your job to let a staff member know about it. You can report posts, or PM a moderator. But it is not your job to start flame wars. You can reprove a fellow member for conduct or statements you do not feel support the aims of THR, certainly- as long as you do it with the same degree of respect you would demand were the tables turned.
If you have a private argument, take it to PMs. If you have a private question, take it to PMs. If you can add a meaninful contribution to the discussion at hand, post to the thread. If you cannot, don't post. It really is that simple.
Since this post is buried in a thread not everone will see, I'm going to move it to the top of the page and leave it as an open thread on the off chance anyone might care to comment. Since there are more than enough stickies there already, I'm not going to sticky it. The staff has been discussing streamlining "the rules" for S&T, but there's a lot of other stuff going on that have kept that from happening so far. So I'm afraid you all have to cope with things as they are for a while longer.
Meanwhile, feel free to read here. If you want to post, you can do that, too. But please- think first, then post.
Many thanks to all the members here who are responsible for making THR and S&T what it is. I hope we can continue to make it better.
lpl
We don't do that at THR. We do try to maintain a higher level of conduct and a more productive dialogue here on THR as a whole than the average internet gun board, and we seem to be doing something right in that regard. If in doubt as to expected behavior here on THR, please read the forum rules at http://www.thehighroad.org/code-of-conduct.html .
And I for one view it as our primary aim to attempt an even higher level of discussion here in S&T, while remaining available to all comers. We don't allow certain types of discussion, or certain types of conduct here in S&T (if in doubt, please read the 'stickies' at the top of the main page). Armed self defense is a serious business. We take it seriously here. Unfortunately, a lot of attempts at humor do not translate well on the internet, smilies notwithstanding. So we don't encourage comedy here.
Nor do we encourage boorishness anywhere on THR, and certainly not in S&T. And I'm getting more than a little tired of seeing so much of it lately. In PMs to various members who cross various lines, I sometimes find it necessary to remind: This is not your little brother's Internet. Please do not conduct yourself as if it is. This is not an "anything goes" forum.
Just because you don't use your real name here (neither do I, for that matter), just because you are sitting at a keyboard and reading a monitor, please do not assume what you say here does not matter.
It does matter.
This is the Internet after all. We do not have the benefit of having known each other personally for years. We did not go to school together, or serve in the same unit in the military, or work together in the same business. We know each other by our words. All we have here to relate to each other are our words. Those words matter.
And everyone has to start somewhere. No one is born knowing all this S&T stuff, and no one dies knowing it all, either. Everyone has to learn, and that process lasts a lifetime. As instructor Louis Awerbuck says- "The state of the art is a moving target." There has to be a place for people to get some help with the basics, but that is no reason advanced practitioners can't benefit from the same place as well. Think of it as a sort of "one room schoolhouse" approach, if you would.
In order for that to work, a certain amount of tolerance is necessary- along with a minimum amount of maturity. Please consider this a reminder, if such be necessary.
I can- and will- provide stronger reminders if necessary.
There are no external restrictions to participation in S&T. If you're a member at THR, you have full access to read and post here as well. That might not necessarily mean you SHOULD post here, though.
I can't ban anyone just from S&T, for example- the board software isn't set up for that. But I have found it necessary to ban members in the past because their conduct here so egregiously violated clearly stated rules for conduct which apply strictly to this subforum and not to THR at large. Again- if you haven't read the rules for participating in S&T, please do not close out this session on THR without doing so.
I spent 30 years in the world of work as a reference librarian. I answered questions for a living. Along the way I learned the best way to elicit good information is by asking good questions. If you have a (to you) serious question regarding any aspect of strategies and tactics, feel free to ask it here. If you want to troll, or waste time, or try to be funny, this is not the place for it.
I expect all members here to be treated with respect as a minimum standard of conduct. If you object to something here at THR, it is your job to let a staff member know about it. You can report posts, or PM a moderator. But it is not your job to start flame wars. You can reprove a fellow member for conduct or statements you do not feel support the aims of THR, certainly- as long as you do it with the same degree of respect you would demand were the tables turned.
If you have a private argument, take it to PMs. If you have a private question, take it to PMs. If you can add a meaninful contribution to the discussion at hand, post to the thread. If you cannot, don't post. It really is that simple.
Since this post is buried in a thread not everone will see, I'm going to move it to the top of the page and leave it as an open thread on the off chance anyone might care to comment. Since there are more than enough stickies there already, I'm not going to sticky it. The staff has been discussing streamlining "the rules" for S&T, but there's a lot of other stuff going on that have kept that from happening so far. So I'm afraid you all have to cope with things as they are for a while longer.
Meanwhile, feel free to read here. If you want to post, you can do that, too. But please- think first, then post.
Many thanks to all the members here who are responsible for making THR and S&T what it is. I hope we can continue to make it better.
lpl
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Some of the posters get off the mark and make it difficult for us to get the info. It took me a while to get sm's wisdom. But he came back to clarify and that made it easier. Sorry to ramble
