OK. Everyone listen up, because I have a few things to say.
You may have noticed that several fellow members, including some Moderators, have recently had a mass exodus. I’d like to explain that.
Our loss of their contributions to the site is unfortunate, but everyone makes their own decisions. It is hard to conceive that you could lose people who were once your friends to something such as a question in site policy. It is sad that such a thing could make them leave, starting false rumors and chilling the air as they go.
At no time is it possible to write a book of rules that come encompass all possible scenarios. It stands to reason, then, that sometimes a precedent is set based on actions for which there is no current rule. You all know what these are- these are called “gray areas”.
“Gray areas”, as all other infractions, are dealt with as they come- and sometimes that means making a rule WHILE people are committing those acts.
There was no rule in effect to save the first moron who ever pissed on an electric fence. The fact that some people cannot see that I had to make a choice based on what I saw as the outcome of their actions is unfortunate. Just because you don’t see it as being wrong, or there isn’t already a rule for it, doesn’t mean it’s an ok idea. To do something specifically because there isn’t a rule against it, is exploiting a loophole.
To put it bluntly, there has been some assholish loophole-fucking, and now that I’ve found out about it and decided to kill it, those involved are being immature about my decisions.
That's called change, folks. I know that change is hardly ever easy, but occasionally it becomes necessary.
I just don’t understand why anyone would think that I would allow bashing other members, or site-bashing, in their journals when it’s absolutely not allowed anywhere else in the TFP. There is no rule, precedent, or concept that we’ve ever communicated to any member that says that the journals are private. The journals have “discuss” buttons, and the latest 10 are displayed on the Journals main page. What about any aspect of the entire Journal feature does anyone find private? It is confusing, then, that anyone would think otherwise.
To address the matter of “private” entries- administrators of this board must monitor these entries to be responsible. There are some things that cannot be kept in secret, such as a child predator’s personal logs, or other illegal activities. There IS a necessity for it.
Now, just to lay down the rules once and for all on this, just so we’re not confused-
- Journal entries are NOT private.
- Journal entries are subject to the same rules as the rest of the TFP. Everyone on the TFP can read them, and many of them do. It’s set up that way on purpose- to share your lives. The journals are more a place for you to put random thoughts that don’t belong in threads.
- PRIVATE Journal entries MUST AND WILL be monitored- and only by the administrators.
- SITE BASHING is just as bad as, if not worse than, bashing other members. This goes for anywhere on the TFP- INCLUDING your journals, as mentioned above.
my thanks to analog and the rest of the mods for their help