Originally posted by Lance Kinley:
It's off for the rest of the evening due to the utter stupidity going on. If the rules cannot be followed, I act.

-Lance



Memo to Lance:

You said you shut down CI because of some acts of "stupidity," and because some rules were broken. But what happened? You gave us no specifics. No explanation of what was so out of the ordinary.

So, why the secrecy, Lance? What good does it do for you to shut down a forum without telling anyone exactly why you did it? All that does is ensure that whoever went over the line will not know what they did wrong. No lessons will be learned, no improvements in behavior will occur. When you shut down a forum because of the misbehavior of a few people, you only encourage an atmosphere of randomness and anarchy.

As you know, a lot of the forum rules are broken regularly. Enforcement of the rules on CEG is lax and inconsistent. As a result, many members do not know exactly what is forbidden and what is not. Every time someone misbehaves and gets away with it, the rules get a little fuzzier. Some members may naturally decide that anything goes.

If the level of civility on CEG is going downhill, don't blame it on new teenage members, or the beginning of a new school year. Many long-term members behave worse than newbies, and many of them misbehave year 'round. If you are bothered by the behavior in CI, Lance, just take a look at the way this site is managed.

Lance, a few suggestions:

1. Post guidelines for the moderators, clearly explaining what each rule means, with procedures for determining when a rule has been broken. Ask members with experience in business, law or government to write an easy-to-follow guideline for each rule.

2. Post clear guidelines showing exactly what the consequences will be for rulebreakers. Maybe it would help to have escalating consequences, with a one-day ban for the first violation, a month-long ban for the second violation, and a six-month ban for a third violation. Post a list of banned members for everyone to see, with a written explanation of how they broke a rule.

3. Set up a review panel of experienced member that will review each moderator's disciplinary actions. Since each violation can have serious consequences, it is only fair to have a review panel approve each disciplinary action before it becomes effective. The disciplined member should have the opportunity to explain himself. In some cases, a member should be given a chance to apologize in order to avoid disciplinary action.

I know this is your house, Lance, and you are free to run it any way you want. Just trying to be helpful.