In all honesty, the site was unfortunately in need of a shakeup. I did find that finding worthwhile threads in the GD forum was becoming increasingly difficult.

I think people needed reminding that Prince.org is a service, provided selflessly by Ben and Matt, and it's potency is diminished if the constructive stuff is outweighed by stuff that someone created on a whim without considering its use in any way.

It never feels good when someone has to finally get harsh. (It stung when my girlfriend's dad finally exploded at me for continually leaving her house in the wee small hours but I needed it to wake me up to stop being inconsiderate!) However, that does not mean that cracking down is not the correct way - it just hurts a bit, especially as Matt and Ben have been so liberal (even passive) upto now. Although one could perhaps quibble at times with the moderators' use of words in getting tough, let's look at their overall strategy and not pick them up on small and trivial matters.

In the end, I understand what is happening. Hopefully this crackdown will eliminate the waffle rubbish and only leave the stuff that we only really care about only. Remember that we do have a chatroom if people really need to satisfy their momentary impulses for a bit of silliness. I certainly do from time to time!

Peace, Prince.org! This is a great community!

2the9s said:

Here being prince.org in general you *@$%# lol.

I liked the general discussion forum. why only discuss prince-issues? that wont work because who can possible define that? the JW discussions should be part of a prince forum because they are an important part of prince. foreign politics are also subject to attention in many of prince's lyrics. and yea, vagina's "I wanna fuck prince thread" is surely no rich contribution in my book, but hey this is supposed to be a free site.
I appreciate just that freedom, because I know as much as I debate here with many people and as much as we might have different insights or different opinions we have one thing in common after all: we admire the music of Prince.
however, I do not have any sympathy for hate-threads or topics such as "I wanna fuck ben". in my opinion the site-moderators should do it like in the past: they should view the threads before they post them and disregard them in case they are offending, insulting or truthfully meaningless (like the "fuck ben" thread).
I think ben, if you decide to keep the general discussion forum closed, two things will happen:
1. the flamers will post in the other forums
2. its a limitation of freedom. If I decide to post a non-prince-related topic that honestly moves me, I would have to justify myself for doing so.
if you really want prince.org to be a message board with threads in the like of:
"what song shows prince's diversity Vol 67"
"which Prince song is best for romance Vol 132"
"whats better - TRC or Lovesexy Vol 1001"
it will quickly become boring, dont you think?
peace

PrincPDC said:

No offense,but if you wanted to discuss only Prince,there were other forums for that.Why do people keep complaining about the lack of Prince topics in the "General Discussion" forum? If you wanted to discuss his music,you have the "Prince:Music" forum for that.If you wanted to discuss his Music Club,there is even a forum for that too.The "General Discussion" forum was created to discuss OTHER topics that may or may not be directly related to Prince (at least that's what I think it's main purpose was).

To those of you complaining about the "General Discussion" forum...I bet most of you spent more time on that forum than ANY other forum on this site! Tell me I'm wrong:)

I for one am glad GD is closed. Perhaps the other boards will see some action and get used for their proper functions from now on...

I'd love to say :

"Ben, this site is about Prince. Those ungrateful brats abuse the site and disrespect your decisions." etc., etc. etc.

BUT...

1. This site, for the time I've been lurking and posting, has NEVER been just about Prince.

2. "Nonsense" posts and flame wars have always been a staple, for as long as I can remember. Very few people here can say they have never engaged in or encouraged these types of posts.

3. Conflicting signals part 1... When Ben said Pook was funny when he came back from spamming OKP... what was that? When he replied favorably to a thread dedicated to poking his outbox... what was that? Even some of Matt's replies to his extremely unpopular Shausler decision could be called flame warrish - hey, even I, of all people, practically ignored disparaging comments made about me by replying only twice, and let me tell ya I had a lot more to say. What happened to "just ignore it" or "send an orgnote"? I guess the desire to defend oneself from personal attacks can be quite overwhelming.

3. Conflicting signals Part 2... Pook response to Ben's "Pook is funny" comment was "it's official!".. or something along the line, implying it was condoned or tolerated by Ben himself, Ben did not say "NO! Spamming OKP would be unacceptable!" Instead, on another thread, he said something like "let's hope OKP sees this for what it was... a joke." Yeah.. but isn't this also a way of saying "spamming can be just a joke"... including on the Org?

4. Conflicting signals, part 3... The OKP thing was allowed to float around for two weeks or more. I had been one of the few that said "watch out!", but from all the reactions, I concluded that I may have been a little too serious. I mean, even Ben was saying it was just a joke, so I thought I should lighten up and I did. Now I know some think "they have real jobs and can't monitor this place 24 hours a day...", but the OKP threads were absolutely starring anyone who visited the GD forum in the face, so I doubt they were hard to find and to close.

5. What about setting the tone proactively? I've rarely seen a new thread by Matt, Kevin or Ben in the GD forum. Using it from time to time would constitute proactive hosting. Not only do we get conflicting signals from replies and inevitably selective moderation, but we don't know what the Org's honchos think constitutes a good GD topic. Using the "guests at a party" analogy, they are like hosts that invite everyone, but only come out of the kitchen to kick unruly guests out and forget to hang out a little, give special instructions to the DJ, etc.

6. The reaction to the locking of Shausler's thread was overwhelming. Now other threads had been locked before with very little or no controversy. I make restrictive decisions in my work all the time, and I have learned that when one of my decisions turns out to be extremely unpopular, it's not the time to cover my ears and look away or get all offended. I try to find out what was different about it, why it was met with such venom, and I listen with as much detachment as I can muster. I don't go around quoting Mel Brooks, saying "It's good to be king." Oooh... I know Prince.Org isn't a paying job, but that's immaterial if you care about the quality of your decisions.

Yes, I am thankful for the moderators' work, I think Ben and the gang are great people, I think they have every right to set the tone, to lock and delete threads, to kick out some people, etc. If they wanted to make this site a Prince site with a fundamentalist tone, it would be alright with me... I'd leave or just lurk, no problem... it's their place, their casa, their crib... but they have got to review their communication plan, because I think there's a reason why s:::t happens... it never just happens. This new format was launched a few months ago. I'm not sure how much experience the staff has at moderation or at maintaining a site with a thread-creating capacity. From reading the old Org, I think anyone with a minimum number of brain cells could foresee that this capacity would be a major moderation challenge, and the inclusion of a "Report to moderator" button is a tacit acknowledgment of that. I know it's not pleasant, but there's no way in hell it can be surprising.. at all.

Whatever happens, good luck to Ben, Matt and Kevin. Please don't take this post as another slap in the face or act of unsubordination or whatever. I am being analytical as I would with any other conflict or communication issue. ,

DavidEye said:

I spent more time on GD than any other by far. This was simply because the others are barely active and I like Prince. It was the only active forum on the site, that's not to say I thought it was a good thing.

Aerogram said:

Nails in General Discussion coffin, IMO:

1. "Invasion" of Okayplayer.

2. Reaction to moderation of Shaulsler.

3. Numerous individuals who shalt not be named.

Wow.

Well, like the song says, "all good things, they say, never last."

Hey, and that was even an on-topic quote! See, I'm learning!

Seriously, folks - I think those of us who enjoyed the GD forum should maybe form some kind of mailing list where we can continue to enjoy each other's lunacy.

Lord knows Ben's decision will force me to show more love to my OWN site (anxietyny.tripod.com), and write more in my journal (anx.diaryland.com). Come visit - that's where I'll be.

Once I can re-adjust my expectations to the Org v.1 days in terms of interaction and community, I'm sure I'll be posting as much as I did then. Which is to say not much, but whenever a topic caught my eye.

It was a fun party - make sure you have your keys before you walk out the door - drive carefully.

Good luck Matt and Ben, and see everyone else in lurkyland

- Anx

PS - Now that it's a moot point, y'all might as well know: I was BrianFellows. Just wanted to enjoy that Scooby Doo pulling-the-mask-off-the-phantom moment. "And I would have gotten away with it, too - if it wasn't for those cursed moderators and their mangey mutt!!!"

La,la,la,la,la...

Um...did I miss something? I've been avoiding the General Discussion as much as possible the past couple of days, so I'm late to this topic. But from what I understand, Ben feels we need "a break" from the activity there. That would seem to indicate that this is a temporary condition. I see only positive things coming from this.

We're adults, yes? We should be able to put off instant gratification. Maybe everyone will have a chance to reflect, relax and regroup. I'm really sorry things have come to this drastic point, but what does that say about how things have been going lately?

Blah blah blah blah blah blah blahhh

"Maybe everyone will have a chance to reflect,relax and regroup"


LOL...I think most of us will also have to get used to these other forums,since hardly anybody ever posted on them:)

What it comes down to people, is if you don't like a thread don't friggin read it. And don't bitch about it either. Quit your crying and move on. It's that simple, and it saves people a lot of headaches.

0 stars!

CarrieCee said:

Preciseley. Self-moderation.

BloodyMouth said:

U hardly ever post, so what do u do, lurk constantly? If u lurk and never post, u have no right 2 complain about what u've "been dealing with", cuz point-blank, u havent contributed anything but silly comments about me. Do u have my picture hanging in ur bedroom as well? DAMN.

I agree with Ben's decision.



WE didnt invent the 4um u nimrod.



Im not a princess, I just know it a lot, and command a certain regal presence. Can u handle that?

Boy oh boy...

Anxiety said:

really? Ok well since this is org confession...

I was mnPP1958 on the old org, Yep, Prince impersonator, and boy did u guys make asses outta yerselves!

sorry for the hassles ORGgods. never meant to cause you any pain...

thanks for not closing this site down completely!!!


hope to see you at the celebration

Essence said:

Yeah, and then people like you will complain about the posts there...

BloodyMouth said:

Yeah and this is what the site will be reduced to. It's people like you, who never question, who just say "Okay, I'll 'deal with it' and shut up" that are what make the NPGMC such a place of sheep, such a fucking disaster. Why don't you go there. This place would be better without you.

2the9s said:

Well said! Two thumbs up for...eh...um...who are you?

This is so sad. I had some really fun conversations on here. But most of all being able to sit at my desk at work and click on the org just to get away from stress at work and have a laugh.

I think some people are extremely sensitive and take things too far. If they dont like something they shouldnt read it. Let the rest of us be. Why waste 15 minutes of readying through a hundred posts so you can pick and pick at people and put them down because you dont like what the topic is about. Why waste your time.

I hope the GD forum opens back up so our conversations can continue. Its not just about fighting or beating each other up. I have learned a lot since being on here. I've learned different prospectives on certain subjects and had many laughs.

Please bring the forum back one day. And the rest of you that dont like it Dont click on General Discussion.

CarrieCee said:

CarrieCee, you have said it perfectly.
Five-star rating for CarrieCee!

yeyyy we can talk about PRINCE
HE'S 2 OLD...SO LET GO...NOBODY LISTENS 2 TECHNO
IN ALL SERIOUSNESS I'M GONNA MISS GD.IT WAS WHERE I GOT
LAUGHS AND SOME KNOWLEDGE.I STARTED CRAP WITH A FEW,BUT IF
U ASKED THEM I ALSO CLEARED IT UP WITH THEM.UNTIL PRINCE
DOES SOMETHING DRAMATIC WE WILL HAVE NOTHING 2 TALK
ABOUT THAT HASN'T BEEN TALKED ABOUT OVER AND OVER 4
THE PAST 3 YEARS.GD WAS THE BEST FORUM I HAD EVER BEEN
IN,WE WERE ALL LIKE A DISFUNTIONAL(SPELLING??) FAMILY.

Anxiety said:

Damn!!!

That was you?

You are a classic comedian!

BTW: Your stuff is coming this week... it is all ready!

2the9s said:

Look, if "self moderation" and bypassing threads you don't like is the way, then why have moderators in first place? Why not an all out free for all?

I'm sure that'd work well here...

Listen, freedom fighters and all those who are so quick to point out what we SHOULD be allowed to write and say here:

I am one of the biggest advocates of free speech you'll ever find and a staunch supporter of individual freedoms and rights. Now, where does anything state that you have the God-given RIGHT to run your mouths on a privately owned and maintained website to the point where it pisses off the very people who created and maintain it (FREE of charge, I might add, and with NO bullshit pop ups and banners)? Where does this inalienable right originate exactly?

The OWNERS of this site can do whatever they want, just as you can with YOUR website, and the only reason that we can shoot off our mouths is because THEY LET US. They have created the forum, built the stage and can shut down the theatre whenever they like; in short: "management reserves the right to refuse service to anyone."

When they close it, where will the criers cry? Where will the whiners whine?

GD is my favorite forum. I mean, how much is there to say about Prince 24 hours a day? He seems to like discussing things other than music and so do I. Discuss what you like, but please, have a little respect (especially for Ben and Matt) and see if we can keep it somewhat civil. If we can't, I wouldn't blame the moderators for closing the whole show. It's thier party.

i just started posting here earlier this month, and the general discussion was truly the best part of this site. i think it's why the site was so popular.

ben & matt, i think you've made a mistake. you decision was unthoughtful to all of the people who posted on the general discussion forum. yeah maybe it's a pain to lock threads and delete whatever, but didn't you know you were getting into that when you became a mod?
[This message was edited Wed Jun 19 7:51:05 PDT 2002 by Apollonia6]

I missed a lot i see.
Yesterday over 1.5 billion people have seen the worldcupfootball match South Korea-Italy. Fantastic game (if u're not an italian) ,great football ,great drama ,pure excitement and so on.
What has this to do with prince? nothing. Sometimes things are more important. So next time instead of a congratulations thread or so ,u have to come up with threads as; for which team would prince be ,would prince have watched ? and liked it? and so on ,princelinked?