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Now a PM from Randi

Wow! I am just now reading through this thread and I stopped to check and BAM, there it was. I think I am going to respond back tell them that Randi should write another book and donate the proceeds to his favorite cause.
 
Lisa Simpson said:
This is the JREF's forum you know. The money he's begging for pays for this free service we are all benefiting from.
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I think the running costs of this forum -- the inevitable monetary payments plus work of moderators etc -- are predominantly covered by volunteerism, i.e. the mods giving their work for free. A typical top-down community, where the guy sitting on top earns hugely, while others get little or no compensation for what they do for the organization and for the cause.
 
jakesteele said:
Wow! I am just now reading through this thread and I stopped to check and BAM, there it was. I think I am going to respond back tell them that Randi should write another book and donate the proceeds to his favorite cause.
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You can't respond. That's among what makes this PM such an obviously uncool PR action given the skeptical audience. What were you guys thinking?

Forum Software said:
The following errors occurred with your submission:

Randi has chosen not to receive private messages or may not be allowed to receive private messages. Therefore you may not send your message to him/her.

If you are trying to send this message to multiple recipients, remove Randi from the recipient list and send the message again.
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I got this idea: Maybe Randi should be paying the members of this forum ? Because frankly, I think that on the whole not only we do more for skepticism than JREF itself, but also make Randi and JREF famous. For example, I first came here by googling something and stumbling on a forum thread. Only after several months I started reading the newsletter and all, but after a while I stopped because there's nothing in the newsletter that isn't covered much more completely in the forum.

I think that without the forum the JREF would be much, much less well-known. And if Randi were to stop providing this "free service", then I'm pretty sure that love would find another way. I find it extremely unlikely that the forumites wouldn't find another forum to move into.

If Randi's salary is indeed close to 200,000, then I think he should be giving about 50,000 from that at least to people who spend their free time moderating the forum. Because the forum is the most important part of the JREF. The forum drives the JREF and not the other way around.

So, what about it, Randi ? Won't you fork out some money and help us fight the fakers ?
 
The main spam culprit here is automod action. When I saw I had mail I automatically assumed I had been sent to the naughty corner once again.
 
Interesting idea, Greco, but I'm gonna have to disagree with giving moderators money. Moderators suck.

Instead that money should go to the people who make this forum worth reading. People like me. After all, I'm one of the elite few who got hit with a SECOND message from Randi (I don't expect a third because right now he's the only person on my Ignore List).

As a result of reading the Wikipedia page on the JREF, I was reminded about the time they stopped sponsoring scholarships because funding was scarce (har, har, har). Since so many students are bogged down with debt, and because scholarships are often used to attract ambitious young minds (see for instance the essay contests sponsored by Scientologists and the Ayn Rand Institute), I think that would be a worthwhile alternative to my bank account. Maybe.

What I think is hilarious is that there people reading this thread who would actually describe the comments about Randi "ungrateful." (He doesn't even make 200 grand a year, and I'm sure for the Amazing Meeting in Vegas he has to personally drive (on his own dime) from their offices in balmy Fort Lauderdale. Or maybe they pay for gas. Or if he does fly, I doubt they cover it. And he rides coach).
 
I'm just going to quote this. James Randi is welcome in my box anytime (yes, I indeed went there! :eek:)

truethat said:
I see this kind of thing on here all the time. How pathetic is it to complain that we don't have a forum messenger to come to the forum to update the posters about what's going on in JREF.

AYFKM? Most of the people on this site don't donate, we don't involve ourselves on what goes on with the foundation as a Non Profit, yet we expect to be "Kept in the loop" because we're too lazy to go see what's going on???

There's a main page and newsletter, but we still want to be coddled as if we are somehow important to the JREF foundation when we don't support it, we don't care about it and we are not up to date on what it is doing.

Sorry but who the he double hockey sticks do you all think you are. You are participants on a message board that you get to use for free, you act as if you are share holders or something.

Seriously man. Pathetic.
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e: I also donated. So there.
 
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Great posts by Wolf earlier on mirror most of my views. I've been involved in this forum in one way or another (albeit a much more avid reader than poster) for a while now. When I first arrived it felt, from my very outside perspective, like the JREF and the JREF forum were closely related entities (or even the same thing). JREF activities were actively and positively discussed on the forum and I used to feel quite a close affiliation to JREF via my participation and reading on the forum. However increasingly I feel like the JREF forum is where my affiliation lies, not the JREF itself. It seems to me that recent appeals (and DJ Grothe's responses here) are symptomatic of a growing distance between the two things. I'm not sure that's a positive direction to move in, for either half of the equation.
 
Sideroxylon said:
Hmmm interesting idea, Cain. A Paypal link next to the nominate button perhaps?
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You're a thinker. That's exactly what we do. Although... I'm sure some evil people would attempt to game the system. Humans suck.

I guess money could go to the winners of those stupid contests.
 
Well, it seems pretty obvious the foundation doesn't care about the forum. Why should the forum care about the foundation?
 
I'm very upset. Not only did these show up in my inbox, but I'm unable to figure out how to delete them! It would probably take about a half a second, but that is a lot of time in my busy schedule. In fact, I'm putting everything else in my life on hold, because nothing could possibly be more important than getting these messages out of my inbox.
 
The Central Scrutinizer said:
I'm very upset. Not only did these show up in my inbox, but I'm unable to figure out how to delete them! It would probably take about a half a second, but that is a lot of time in my busy schedule. In fact, I'm putting everything else in my life on hold, because nothing could possibly be more important than getting these messages out of my inbox.
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You should also sue for lost earnings while you work it out. Or take it out of whatever you were going to donate
 
DrDave said:
Because they fund it?
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Nope, not good enough.

Yes, I'm serious.

Apparently we exist out of some sense of inertia and a new thought that we can be used as a mailing list. Certainly not as a viable and wanted community of skeptics and freethinkers. That would take actual work and after all, the JREF president has a cold.

Now, if they wanted to make this a pay-to-play forum, that would be different. I may or may not bite on that.

Probably not though. There are plenty of free forums and blogs with comment sections with communities that have the owners active and caring.

But I guess I should just shut up and pay. Why, how dare I have an opinion! Don't I know I should bow down and be an unthinking, unskeptical....oh, wait....

Wanna know what's funny? Just before I wrote this I got a message from Asian Elephant Support. No appeals to emotion. Just a thanks for your support, a listing of things they've done this year, and a reminder that it's still not too late to give. A couple pictures of cute elephants doesn't hurt, but I think Randi's kinda cute too.
 
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lionking said:
I don't know who is responsible for this, but can I assume to speak for the majority of members by saying WE GET IT. Some of us might be thick, but stickies, banners and emails have got the "please donate" message through quite successfully. Now a PM? Know what the letter "P" stands for?

Now I may be the only member to be singled out by the great man, and if so, I apologize, but I somehow doubt it.
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That's funny.... I got it, read it, and now I no longer care.

And just like that, it's over.
 
Common sense says that if you have a data base of 27,000 people who have an interest in skepticism, you would be foolish not to reach out to them to ask for donations.

You get the emails and delete them. I don't get what the big deal is. LOL
 
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