Future of the Forum

[Minoosh]

ETet

My main concern is that this forum has a certain existing "respectability" that is associated with both the manner of its operation, the quality/character of the participation that it allows to persist upon its message boards.

Yes. Yes. Yes. I don't know anything about the legal or technical issues but I'm very grateful for the opportunity to practice my rhetorical skills in a (mostly) abuse-free environment. When I plug "jref forum" into Google I now get a header that says "Justice Brothers - JREF Forum." Are these ral people? I have no idea. However, I've been grateful for this place since I joined - I used to write and edit for a living and this format fills a need I have to fiddle with language and strive for persuasiveness.

I don't know the deep background but if someone wants to flesh it out they can PM me. I don't know why Icerat is critical to the forum's future. (nothing against him; I just don't know how things would work).

Ultimately, after looking around, I haven't found any forums that are suitable, full-fledged replacements, and I understand that this new forum (and I really feel that it is best to think of this as a new forum and not a continuation or mere movement of this forum to a new location) will try to mold itself into a form that the existing JREF forum members will find familiar, pleasing and acceptable.

One alternative I see is to go to mainstream news websites, register and make arguments based on reason and not abuse. It wouldn't be too good for my blood pressure, but it might help illustrate the potential of respectful discussions.

I'd like to think that my absolutely brilliant arguments will remain on the Web . As a (mostly) former writer and editor I winced when most of the content disappeared after the closing of the newspaper where I worked. Some of that content was later restored. What I post on JREF is not my property but I like to think it's out there somewhere.

ETA: As a general rule I avoid posting personal information in profiles. But if you've made them available on JREF I don't see any reason not to make them available elsewhere. The cat's out of the bag. Sorry I am so ignorant about the actual issues but I've never been involved except to post responses and start threads.

 

[This is The End]

When I plug "jref forum" into Google I now get a header that says "Justice Brothers - JREF Forum." Are these ral people? I have no idea.

That is old.

I have zero idea what it means though.

http://www.internationalskeptics.com/forums/showthread.php?t=238673

 

[Meed]

...its the very nature of those 4000 posts that has made many question his suitability to be in a position to make such important decisions of the future of these boards.

I can say the opposite. I've been impressed with icerat as a poster over the years and have definitely learned some things from him. That makes me slightly more comfortable with the situation than I would feel if he were a complete unknown.

 

[Trakar]

This times eight million.

Also, I heard if you want to sign up at the new forum you have to buy a case of Nutrilite bars from Icerat.

Nutrilite bars! He told me it was an Amway starter kit!
Why I oughta,...where's me spinach?

 

[Foolmewunz]

This times eight million.

Also, I heard if you want to sign up at the new forum you have to buy a case of Nutrilite bars from Icerat.

Nutrilite bars! He told me it was an Amway starter kit!
Why I oughta,...where's me spinach?

Don't think of it as discrimination, but you guys are obviously the downline. My sooper sekret signup request emphasizes that it's not so much how many posts I make but how many posts the people I convince to come to the new forums make. For each post they make, I get credit for 1/5th of a post or 10 Skepcoins*. But the real success, of course, is going to be in the private tutorials I can give on "How to make the most of your MLM Skeptics Society Membership". I get 20% back from the hotels and 700% markup on the DVDs.

*Oh, and the new currency is Skepcoins. We need to interest the gold bugs, silver hypers and end-of-the-world-as-we-know-it types. Those people spend money. And we need money!

 

[Trakar]

Don't think of it as discrimination, but you guys are obviously the downline. My sooper sekret signup request emphasizes that it's not so much how many posts I make but how many posts the people I convince to come to the new forums make. For each post they make, I get credit for 1/5th of a post or 10 Skepcoins*. But the real success, of course, is going to be in the private tutorials I can give on "How to make the most of your MLM Skeptics Society Membership". I get 20% back from the hotels and 700% markup on the DVDs.

*Oh, and the new currency is Skepcoins. We need to interest the gold bugs, silver hypers and end-of-the-world-as-we-know-it types. Those people spend money. And we need money!

You know, I had an early opportunity to get in on the initial stages of some of the early psychic hotline and pagan spell 900 numbers very early in the game and I continue to kick myself 30+ years later about having a social conscience that overruled my normally reliable fiscal greed inclinations,...ah, but we digress,...hopefully such, genialities will continue in transfer to a new forum, so long as they do not stray too far from, or fail to tie back into, the thread's general topic?

 

[Trakar]

Nutrilite bars! He told me it was an Amway starter kit!
Why I oughta,...where's me spinach?

I need to find a little corn-cob pipe twirling smilie for my "I Yam what I Yam!" Popeye schtick!

(Ahhh! my eyes! my eyes! whatever you do! don't google image search "corn-cob pipe" my poor sin-stained eyes! As a Christian I suppose I should pluck out my offending eyes, but as a good roman catholic I know that I can dip a little holy water, light a couple of candles and fondle my rosary for fifteen minutes or so and I'm covered with..., oops, wandering again, never mind me...its shock, that's what it is,...first there was Usenet, and then Google bought it and killed it. Omni boards, AOL boards, BAUT, JREF, ...oh, yeah, I hate Comcast xfinity as well, there is no customization, it sucks on SD, my internet is actually slower,...sigh!)

 

[Belz...]

you answered a different question than I asked, but then answered the one I asked. I think.

I do think I answered the right question. I would stay if the JREF kept the forum suddenly, but I wouldn't do it for them.

 

[Belz...]

...I quoted the question you asked me. I'll do it again.

Yes, again ignore the other wordings in other posts. I'll try to remember that next time.

Let's assume that we're not trying to score debate points, here, and try to answer the other question I keep asking.

You assume incorrectly.

That is a very real possibility, but that's my only choice.

 

[Francesca R]

I can speak with some authority on this as I worked on the copyright/licence clause issue when it was added. It certainly was to allow the JREF to publish the work anywhere, whether that would be on their own site, on another site, used by a book publisher, used in classroom materials and so on. It really does cover the current proposal from icerat.

Does that mean the licence clause was added after the inception of the forum? Presumably one can grandfather existing members into agreement with it with a condition that by continuing to post, a member signs onto it. What might be the case with members who posted content before it was brought in but did not since?

Third question--does that mean it is non-standard legal language (IE not likely to be found on other forums that have handed off content to a third party)?

Fourth one--to your knowledge does the JREF have full legal comfort that it does what you outline was its intention?

 

[Reno]

I will be interested to see the number of attendees at next year's TAM compared to numbers attending during the years of the forum's connection with JREF.

Posting purely to push the number of "participating" posters in this thread to 204 - although I do count reading all posts as participating.

 

[Rat]

I will be interested to see the number of attendees at next year's TAM compared to numbers attending during the years of the forum's connection with JREF.

Posting purely to push the number of "participating" posters in this thread to 204 - although I do count reading all posts as participating.

I was slightly surprised by how few people at TAM London were forumites. Or rather, by how many weren't. The forums may have helped to create TAM, but they don't seem to be the majority of attendees.

 

[truethat]

We don't need someone with brilliant theories and debating styles to handle running the forum. We need someone with the technical experience to handle the responsibility.

It's a pain in the butt to manage a forum. So I don't care who does it as long as it's taken care of.

 

[Reno]

I was slightly surprised by how few people at TAM London were forumites. Or rather, by how many weren't. The forums may have helped to create TAM, but they don't seem to be the majority of attendees.

Aye, but forumites probably looked at TAM London in the same way that footie fans look at reserves games. How many fans of the teams turn up at reserves games?

 

[steenkh]

I was slightly surprised by how few people at TAM London were forumites. Or rather, by how many weren't. The forums may have helped to create TAM, but they don't seem to be the majority of attendees.

How did you determine that? I was at the first TAM London, but only located one other forumite, mainly because nobody was advertising that they were forumites. I was disappointed that there was not a corner for forumites to gather.

But you are probably right: forumites did not seem to be a majority at TAM London, and I asked quite a lot of people if they were from the forum.

 

[truethat]

People may not have wanted to reveal who they were at TAM. Anonymity online is very appealing. Why ruin it by outing yourself?

 

[Foolmewunz]

I was slightly surprised by how few people at TAM London were forumites. Or rather, by how many weren't. The forums may have helped to create TAM, but they don't seem to be the majority of attendees.

How did you determine that? I was at the first TAM London, but only located one other forumite, mainly because nobody was advertising that they were forumites. I was disappointed that there was not a corner for forumites to gather.

But you are probably right: forumites did not seem to be a majority at TAM London, and I asked quite a lot of people if they were from the forum.

I don't remember if they did a sign-up list for London II, but London I had at least 30 names, and that's from the ones who posted in the thread. I'd imagine there may have been a few more.

But 30 or 40 or 50 isn't going to represent a huge number (although I don't remember how large the attendance was). I think the forumites in Vegas are also quite the minority (very visible, though, because they are heavily involved as volunteers - and that might be the difference to London).

 

[lionking]

I don't remember if they did a sign-up list for London II, but London I had at least 30 names, and that's from the ones who posted in the thread. I'd imagine there may have been a few more.

But 30 or 40 or 50 isn't going to represent a huge number (although I don't remember how large the attendance was). I think the forumites in Vegas are also quite the minority (very visible, though, because they are heavily involved as volunteers - and that might be the difference to London).

Agree with all of this, but I'll bet that almost all forumites who attended any TAM did it because of the forum. I'll bet that the income forumites contributed to the many TAMs over the years exceeded the cost of running the forum.

I won't bet much though.....

 

[Cleon]

Agree with all of this, but I'll bet that almost all forumites who attended any TAM did it because of the forum. I'll bet that the income forumites contributed to the many TAMs over the years exceeded the cost of running the forum.

I won't bet much though.....

Between various TAMs, cruises, membership, fundraisers, etc, I'd guesstimate that I've given about $5K to the JREF over the years. Not a huge sum, and certainly there are other forumites who have contributed far, far more than I have.

However, I don't think finances are the main issue here. It seems apparent to me that the JREF is trying to "reboot" itself after several years of stagnation, and they see cutting loose the forum as a needed part of that effort.

 

[lionking]

However, I don't think finances are the main issue here. It seems apparent to me that the JREF is trying to "reboot" itself after several years of stagnation, and they see cutting loose the forum as a needed part of that effort.

No doubt. The stagnation from the JREF's end is all due to their inaction. I mentioned SGU in this or another thread. Their forum isn't even run by SGU, but they support it. Is that such a big ask of the Foundation?