> when you do delete somthing or sanction someone for cause, figure a way to let the membership know that it happened and why.
Al, that ain't gonna happen. I think I've already mentioned that there are webmasters that have been sued because they've posted something like, "$Idiot was banned because he did $something_idiotic".
If there happens to be a thread where cuts are needed, the people that have
posted in the thread will be contacted, because they're the ones that should be concerned about that thread. If a minor edit needs to be done for whatever reason, you'll see a note in the post.
If it's spam, it just disappears. I see no reason to contact anyone about that, other than the fact that we keep a copy of it so we know WHY someone was banned.
"All other topics tolerated at the whim of Ed" (yes, I wrote that) means, "If it's non-sax, it probably won't be here for very long. Unless one of the WF staff deem that it's interesting enough or has some relation to us." It's a nice way of saying,
"We're gonna be laid back about it, but find another forum for off-topic stuff."
=========
The "Hot Topics" experiment on SOTW was a mistake. They have too many users from too many places and too many age groups to have a completely non-moderated area. Again, I like the idea of havening a place to kick back and discuss non-woodwind stuff with other people that share something in common with you (i.e. music), but I have no desire to moderate such an area 24/7.
While a lounge/off-topic area might work
better here because most of our members are professional or retired professional musicians of one sort or another, I'd still argue against having one.
One of my "functions" here, at the moment, is to listen to suggestions from Jim or Ed (and the Staff, when they make 'em) and come up with reasons WHY they won't work -- that kinda "happened"; I didn't volunteer for that. Yes, I have no problems being overruled or being proven wrong, but I'd rather be proven wrong without havening to hurt a lot of people's feelings in the process. I not only think, I
know that happened with the "Hot Topics" area on SOTW.
Again, to keep the bonsai harmonious and promote proper growth, you must trim branches. Or something like that
.