Board issues - USM Forum -- Message Board

Date: Jul 17, 2006

Board issues

Date: Jul 17, 2006

I do not have a problem with registering.

Date: Jul 17, 2006

Nothing the adm would like better. The board seems to have hit a lull anyhow and this would put the final nail in the coffin.

Date: Jul 17, 2006

I'd have no problem registering, but I'm a bulletproof outsider. Isn't there some residual concern for USM faculty being at risk so long as Thames is still in the saddle?

AE

Date: Jul 17, 2006

I'm all for it, but like AE am a bulletproof outsider. Keeping down spam is going to be a full time job for somebody, once the spammers find us. My son the security guru says that all message boards eventually have to go to registration or face chaos.

And you can have a pretty anonymous email address -- yahoo, excite, gmail all offer free email accounts.

Date: Jul 17, 2006

Free Speech Acvocate wrote:

Nothing the adm would like better. The board seems to have hit a lull anyhow and this would put the final nail in the coffin.

I disagree. Plenty of responsible people are on here with their own names, or only lightly disguised. Registration is mostly to hold down spamming and "sock puppet" games. (Sock puppets are multiple poster names used by the same poster.)

Date: Jul 17, 2006

I had hoped we could last a few more months while the presidential search is ongoing. I fear some interesting information will not be posted and discussed if registration is required. Personally, I enjoyed reading the long discussions of controversial topics. Some of those longer threads had only one poster identified. I'd hate to see that end

Date: Jul 17, 2006

Reporter, there would still be anonymity. Here's how it works: your screen name would be "Reporter" and you could use an email address like "newshound@yahoo.com" for instance to register. You would still be anonymous. Requiring registration would just keep those "tipcell" type posts off, and would prevent you from being "Reporter" and then being "Newshound" and then "Shocked Reader" and then "I don't care" -- all on the same thread in a space of several minutes. Unless you wanted to set up that many accounts, of course! Nobody would still know who "Reporter" actually was. It would be up to the WebMaster to let you have more than one account if it was needed for some reason.

Date: Jul 17, 2006

Frequent poster, that was brilliant!! How clever of you! You just amaze me with your grasp of the situation. What are your thoughts on the meaning of life?

Ok, Reporter -- of course, I was "Frequent poster." That's a "sock puppet."
Don't you ever get the feeling something like that goes on pretty often on this board?

Date: Jul 17, 2006

Go back to one of our original posters.... Free Speech for a Free Society....or something like that.....do we still accept that concept?

Date: Jul 17, 2006

LVN wrote:

...." That's a "sock puppet." Don't you ever get the feeling something like that goes on pretty often on this board?

LVN, I don't have time to register all my names. I'm everybody else.

Date: Jul 17, 2006

Joker wrote:

LVN wrote:
...." That's a "sock puppet." Don't you ever get the feeling something like that goes on pretty often on this board?
LVN, I don't have time to register all my names. I'm everybody else.

ditto

Date: Jul 17, 2006

For the record, I'm not LVN.

Date: Jul 17, 2006

Free Speech Advocate wrote:

Go back to one of our original posters.... Free Speech for a Free Society....or something like that.....do we still accept that concept?

Please explain why you think registration would inhibit free speech.

Date: Jul 18, 2006

I don't have any problems with registration. It does not inhibit free speech, not in the least.

The other board that I belong to is a registration site, they get an email address and that is all, once I registered, I got a reply from their webmaster stating I was good to go. My identity there is annonomous, where here I use my own name. (Note, please forgive all spelling mistakes, its late)

Date: Jul 18, 2006

Registering sounds like Thames' idea. Yep, nothing will kill this board faster.

Date: Jul 18, 2006

Thames' idea? It's the webmaster & moderators idea, because moderating an unregistered message board is a major PITA. My brother has had to give his up.

Listen, folks, I brag about my kid, but he's a security analyst for one of the big security companies. When I was out at his house and we were looking at this board, he was amazed that we don't have registration, and told me "that won't last, everybody eventually has to go to registration."

I don't know why some of you think it's such a security risk. Unless you're mad about giving up your many, many names. You're revealing some ignorance too.

Date: Jul 18, 2006

As a staff member of Southern Miss and wouldn't mind a simple registration process in order to protect the board.

Anyone can get a "dummy" email account.

Date: Jul 18, 2006

I support registration, too. The only people it would probably stifle at this point would be the COB mob and the anti-COB mob (god, I can never keep that all straight), and would that really be such a bad idea?

If the anonymous posters don't like it, they are free to start their own anonymous board...Activeboard is free and open to all.

Truth

Date: Jul 18, 2006

truth4usm/AH wrote:

I support registration, too. The only people it would probably stifle at this point would be the COB mob and the anti-COB mob (god, I can never keep that all straight), and would that really be such a bad idea? If the anonymous posters don't like it, they are free to start their own anonymous board...Activeboard is free and open to all. Truth

Joker has an idea for Truth. Let's give this board to CoB, without moderating or registration. Then we can start a new board without registration.

Date: Jul 18, 2006

Joker wrote:

truth4usm/AH wrote:
I support registration, too. The only people it would probably stifle at this point would be the COB mob and the anti-COB mob (god, I can never keep that all straight), and would that really be such a bad idea? If the anonymous posters don't like it, they are free to start their own anonymous board...Activeboard is free and open to all. Truth
Joker has an idea for Truth. Let's give this board to CoB, without moderating or registration. Then we can start a new board without registration.

Joker, this is not a bad suggestion. Just start a new board and abandon this one. I have changed my mind and now support registration. I was listening to President Bush and he said if "they would just stop that s--- everything would be Ok. The same is true for some posters on this board. But we have to be realistic, when someone can throw s--- under the cover of darkness and not have to be accountable, it's time for a change.

This board has served us well. Sometimes it gets over the edge. Now is the time to try something new.

Date: Jul 18, 2006

if a dummy email acc0unt is all that is needed, there will still be p0sters using multiple ids, unless an ip address is rec0rded and linked specifically t0 0ne id.

Date: Jul 18, 2006

Sure, there's always a way around every system. But at least registration makes it a little bit harder for the idot trolls and COB mob sock puppets.

Why should we abandon this board to them? Let's save this one and let them start their own board, bless their hearts.

Truth

Date: Jul 18, 2006

Git'r'done. It's time for a change. A registration for this board or a new board, I now support registration. We have to manage the narrowly focused COB troops. Let them have their fight. If it a total univeristy issue, OK. Does not seem to be so or we would have heard more from other colleges. Those guys must have had more to fight over than the rest of us.

I say we move on. And as we move on, let's remember the principle of participatory decision making as we stucture a different kind of board....whatever it may become. I think the board will be stronger if we listen to all views.

For some, a historical review of the board, would be helpful. How did it originate, who controls and monitors it, and how it functiions would be useful info for many. Can someone provide that for us?

The initial efforts of AAUP and those that carried on with No Quarter are to be applauded.

Free Speech For A Free Society should remain our goal.

truth4usm/AH wrote:

Sure, there's always a way around every system. But at least registration makes it a little bit harder for the idot trolls and COB mob sock puppets.

Why should we abandon this board to them? Let's save this one and let them start their own board, bless their hearts.

Truth

Date: Jul 18, 2006

FSA, as I recall this board and the FS were always the projects of individuals. After FS closed down, the AAUP offered space, but was not ever in charge of the board. Truth had her own board for a while, right after the G & S incident, but eventually closed it. Somebody correct me if this is wrong.

As I understand it, the board is run by individuals. Anybody can set up an ActiveBoard just like this, and be its "owner" -- these bare-bones ones are free. I doubt you will get any information as to who the webmaster and moderators are. Why would they want to reveal that information? Their lives would become a nightmare.

The webmaster is perfectly free to require registration whenever it suits him/her -- just as you could do if you had your own board.

Date: Jul 19, 2006

Now is hardly the time to be abandoning anonymity with the lame duck still in the president's office. Over the summer he has canned some emeritus professors from ever being allowed to teach again - in one case it is pretty clear that it is revenge for that person speaking out in the past year. Best to keep our heads low another year while simultaneously opposing the spur-of-the-moment crazy ideas emanating constantly from the Dome.

Date: Jul 19, 2006

Angeline wrote:

opposing the spur-of-the-moment crazy ideas emanating constantly from the Dome.

Someone ought to question the provost about a report ranking doctoral programs in the 90s. It appears that only one USM doctoral program was ranked above the lowest quartile ... and that was before its systematic dismantling.

Envy is a powerful motivator.

Date: Jul 19, 2006

Back to (Board) Basics wrote:

... a report ranking doctoral programs in the 90s. It appears that only one USM doctoral program was ranked above the lowest quartile ... and that was before its systematic dismantling.

Which USM doc program was highly ranked, then dismantled? English? Could you post a link to the report you're citing?

Date: Jul 19, 2006

the '95 report is from the National Research Council. it's available at their website. the rankings were done in '93.

Date: Jul 19, 2006

stinky cheese man wrote:

the '95 report is from the National Research Council. it's available at their website. the rankings were done in '93.

Thanks SCM. I'll check it out.