Dr. Tom

I didn't have to. That's when he was gone for a few weeks months on end and I was the one holding the bag. And since guys like Sass and Kahran tended to think like I did, I wanted to bring someone in who thought differently, just so we wouldn't miss something we should have seen or considered. Maybe you're still around because you still bring that to the table.

Yup. I wanted someone who could think outside the box we had in place at that time, IIRC. I maintain that adding you to the staff back then was a good decision. Whether your retention on staff is a good decision or not is something I'm not here often enough to answer. I'd lean toward no on general principle, but that's nothing personal; it's just because I'm a term limits sort of chap. Throw the bums out, etc.

I know, I know, it seems silly and annoying, but I really think it's ultimately necessary, especially with a large community that has a number of notable posters airing concerns surrounding possible management bias. Writing up formal rules will save you a lot of time and frustration down the line by circumventing any claims of selective enforcement. Yes. "Don't be a dick" or "Don't be a dumbass" is a nice overarching philosophy, but you need to spell out specific things people should not be doing. Then those things need to be applied consistently. If that happens, you'll get some bitching, but it won't be justified bitching.

$3.37-$3.45 here. I got a 57 on the walking test thing, but it also referred to a grocery store that closed last year, and a couple other random places that either closed or moved. I do live right around a lot of things that are pretty easy walks, though, and I generally walk to them anytime the weather is good.

You should. Doing so would make that debacle right again. Czech, I don't know what you're doing on this staff, really. You seem to be the only one who "gets it." And I mean that in a good way, obv.

In the past months, we've had some topics posted in CE that have been significantly less than relevant. The Current Events forum is for discussion of important happenings and issues on the international, national, and local arenas. Posting news stories is common and perfectly acceptable, as is starting a thread about a hot-button issue like gun control. However, stories about men severing their own penises, fishermen getting anally violated with bananas, and anything else that's similar to that is fluff. Fluff does not belong in Current Events. Fluff belongs in General Chat, or NHB if the material warrants it. Current Events should be kept for things which actually have a meaningul impact on peoples' lives.

I'm not. Not even close, really. I've never been the most svelte of individuals, but he's got quite a lot on me. I get the Daly comparison a lot. That, and Alex Lifeson (Rush guitarist). I wish I could hit golf ball half as well as Daly, and play guitar half as well as Lifeson. I haven't been the board dictator in about a year now (much to the board's detriment, from my occasional return trips). And that picture of me is from either 2000 or 2001. It's much more under control now.

I can see it now... Bob bans someone, and then starts a thread complaining about the banning. Awesome.

I wouldn't go so far as to call it blasphemy, but yes, I'd want to see Stephen Fry have a guest turn on House before the other fellows who were mentioned. And I think Fry is already reasonably famous, though perhaps not to American audicences. Jeeves and Wooster, A Bit of Fry and Laurie, and Blackadder must have given him some recognition. Incidentally, did anyone catch his guest role on Bones this past week? Fry played a shrink who had to evaluate Booth before clearing him to return to work. Very well done, of course, and now that Fry has already worked with Fox, maybe a role on House can be worked out.

A shotgun really is the best weapon for home defense. Everyone knows that chick-chack sound when they hear it. Most places don't require you to get a permit or license to own a shotgun. The weapons and their ammo are easily available. And you don't need to be accurate. Handguns are great, as long as you can reliably hit your target. A shotgun relieves you of the need to be a good shot.

Bob was someone I always thought would do a pretty good job. He's generally level-headed, which is always a plus. Looking at the current makeup of the staff, adding Bob would certainly be an improvement. Locking threads because you don't like to see a celebrity get discussed in a culture that glamorizes and even worships the very concept of celebrity is not something a staffer should ever be doing.

The last attempted relaunch of the main page produced some new writers and content for a while, and then it all dried up. As it always does, and as, I'm sure, it always will. At this point, I think another relaunch of the main site would be like beating a dead horse. Just use the domain to display the forums home page. If you want to make an Articles forum and get people to write that way, that might be worthwhile. But beyond that would be a waste of many people's time.

You have seen my face. NOW YOU MUST DIE~! The pic is about six years old by now, but yep, that's me. Thanks for the thread, kids.

This looks like the best idea so far.

It's been a while. It might be coming up on a year by now.

That sounds very likely. This is, of course, absurd. Sure, the guy is an asshat for picking on a retard, but to expel him for sexual harrassment is one of the most absurd things I've ever heard.

I have received several PM's from writers and editors so far, hopefully tonight, I will be contacting you all with login information so you can begin testing things out and familiarizing your self with the back end of the site. -------- http://thesmartmarks.com/ Above is the link to the testing grounds... Soon, I will have the list of writers/editors done, and will be contacting you all with passwords and such so you can login and begin to fill it with crap. Yes, Crap, as in post whatever you want just to fill the database and test things out. Your actual writing will be put to the test later on. I am looking into the rating system thing, however havn't found much to addon to this software such a thing. Linking back to these forums as the same article is the only thing I see right now. ------ If you are wanting to become a writer or editor please PM me ( Admin, not Dr. Tom ) on the forums with the following... First/Last Name* Pen Name E-mail AIM contact (if you don't have one, an MSN or YahooIM, just let me know which one, or all three) What you want to contribute to..... Sports?, Etertainment? be as specific or as broad as you want, just some type of input. If you arn't contributing, tell me you want to be a editor or proof reader... If there is anything else you would like to tell me, let me know... *First and last name are optional, but it would be nice to know you all on a more personal level than board names, when you write an article. This top section will be updated time to time with whatever you guys need to know... ----------------------------------------------------------------------- Ok, I just finished reading the other thread about the possible relaunch of the mainpage. I must say that I didn't think there was that much interest in getting it going again. It's encouraging to see several people expressing interesting in writing and contributing to it. It's also good to see that those people are among the brightest of our users, and will probably make the best writers, both in terms of quality content and the finer points of spelling and grammar. I've made this new thread so that those who are serious about relaunching the mainpage can contribute to the discussion here. Feel free to re-post your ideas and points here, and to brainstorm about new ones. Here are some things I've considered, based on reading the other thread, my experiences as a writer and editor of the mainpage here, and my experiences with other sites: -- We should stick to articles, not a blog-style system. -- All articles should have a corresponding discussion thread in an "Article Feedback" section. I've seen a few sites where this is created automatically when the article is posted. This would obviously be the easiest way of doing things. -- Writers should have access to a Writers Forum, visible only to the writers, editors, and mods/admins. Here, article ideas can be discussed, information can be shared, etc. Access would be based on group membership and permission masks. -- Writing articles requires posting them in Article Manager, and also requires knowledge of at least basic HTML. I can setup accounts in Article Manager once we've decided who's going to be writing. The way we've done things in the past was to require all writers to have their articles edited, then approved for submission by an editor. The Writers' forum would help make sure that no article sits unapproved for too long. (This all presumes we keep Article Manager, of course...) -- In addition to writers, we would need capable folks to serve as editors. This could be in addition to being a writer, or someone could simply be an editor (note that anyone with Editor rights can still write and publish articles in Article Manager). It would also be good if we could have a talented graphic artist on board. -- Rudo's comments about writers needing feedback intrigue me. I've always felt writing was its own reward, and was an inherently selfish exercise. Perhaps my view was, and is, myopic. Without adopting a blog system, how can we ensure that writers are having their article read? Hit counters? Discussion threads for each article? Something I haven't thought of yet? -- Existing writers who wish to remain writing for the mainpage are, of course, welcome to do so. Past writers who did a good job and are interested in going forward would also be welcomed back into the fold. OK, discuss away.

Ketchup is indeed the pits. I don't like it in general, and haven't used it on hot dogs in years. Mustard, onions, and dill relish is where it's at. If I want a second sauce, I use BBQ sauce (Sweet Baby Ray's only).

Any suggestions as to who would do a good job? I think a forum mod post would be a better spot for HTQ, personally. But we'd need more than just one person handling that folder.

I've read the thread in Feedback the last couple times I've been on. Any thoughts about it? Any changes to the staff (additions or subtractions) which may need to be made? Personally, I liked having folder-specific mods, at least for that folder.

I'd like to see both road teams win. However, I'm going with the home teams. Denver wins by a field goal, and Seattle wins by 6.

The only article in the last 4 weeks has been Satanico's DVD updates. I think this means the mainpage is clinically deceased. Why not just drop it and become a forum? We're obviously not going to bring in a whole new stable of writers.

AHEM.

Italy: I spent most of my time in Rome. I thought it was a very dirty city (trash all over the place, etc), but there are about infinite interesting things to go and see. The people are generally laid-back and cool, even if you don't speak the language (many people I encountered in Rome spoke at least passable English). I also went to Pisa, which is basically notable for the Leaning Tower, which they don't let tourists go into anymore for fear that it'll sink more or fall over. France: Apart from the commute to England, I spent all my time in Paris. The problem with Paris is the Parisians. Most of them are just assholes. It really is a true stereotype. You'll meet some good eggs occasionally, but they're in the minority (probably moreso now than when I went). Loose French women in discotheques are good times, though. England: It rains a lot. Another true stereotype. And another: English food sucks. You're better off eating in small pubs than big restaurants, in my experience. There are a ton of things to do in London, so I'm sure you'll find no shortage of entertainment. The people are generally cool, though the older folks tend to be very proper in that British way.

It should be 0.