Is anyone up for asking admin to appoint a couple of us as hosts of the UK group?

[muriel_volestrangler]

I would see it as a very occasional job only - if there were any DUers who had a pattern of posts designed to disrupt rather than discuss, and both hosts agreed a block was justified, then they'd do it. They could also lock completely off-topic threads, and maybe pin threads it's useful for anyone - regular or visitor - to see quickly (eg a pinned referendum thread might be an idea in the next couple of months).

Anyone up for that? I think most of us would be suitable and could work with the others, whatever our precise ideological inclinations ...

[LeftishBrit]

1. I think it would be a good idea to have a host or two

We mostly chug along OK; but there have been times when a host would have been a good idea.

I think you'd be an obvious person for the role!

[Bad Dog]

2. I'd be quite happy.

By and large I get on very well with everyone on this group, although there are a couple of rightwingers who pop in occasionally and seem out of step with everyone else on here.

Also I can't countenance people spelling theatre or neighbour incorrectly.

[Ghost Dog]

3. My attitude on that is

if the audience is particularly American-English-speaking, as is the case at DU, I'll try to write American-English (but without the WTF grammar).

I wouldn't be suitable as host: need to take time off/out regularly.

[Bad Dog]

4. I make no concessions.

They make none for us, I can be a bloody awkward bastard. Hence unsuited for any position of responsibility.

[muriel_volestrangler]

5. It would take almost no time at all

That's why we've managed without one for 4 years. But the past few months have made me think there's an occasional need to stop disruption of the group. And if you're going to not touch DU for a week or more, it might be easy to hand it on to someone else, either temporarily or permanently (it wouldn't be the end of the world even if no-one would, and if anything host-related came up, it just sat there).

[Ghost Dog]

12. Well, you have my vote. I can be available if needed,

but time off/out means I sometimes simply do not connect to the internet for days on end...

Also, as a long term self-exile in Europe, I'm quite superficially observing UK affairs from a certain distance.

[Denzil_DC]

13. I'd be happy with either or both of you taking on the role, among others.

Maybe someone else could step up so we have a reserve?

If we go ahead with this, I believe we need a group statement of purpose to take to Skinner when we ask for him to do the necessary. It needn't be involved, and it should be pretty self-evident from the nature of the group. Any suggestions for wording, anyone?

[Denzil_DC]

6. I'm OK with this if the concensus is to go for it.

We've only got one sporadic "disruptor" that I've seen, but you never know what'll crop up, I guess.

[Ironing Man]

7. ...

we definately need something, and it would be infanitely preferable if that person was a brit who understood our nuances, language, 'banter', politics and the way we do - and don't do - politics.

and can we please not refer to 'that' person as a right winger. he's not a right winger, he's an ill-informed idiot with no critical thinking or logic capabilities, he's also a really bad forum member with no ability or inclination to engage with others - it is, as we prove everyday in our real lives and on other forums, perfectly possible for people who hold different ideas to discuss them in a friendly, expansive manner without needed to cage people off onto different camps that don't speak to each other.

DU can be a tedious echo chamber with its ridiculous call-out threads and vacuuous demarkations - this section is an oasis, lets keep it that way...

[Denzil_DC]

8. I don't know whether your comment was intended for me or for the whole thread,

but I don't think Bad Dog was referring to "that" person as a right-winger (you'd have to ask him who he may have had in mind). After seeing "that" person's few posts over a number of months, I still have no idea where on the political spectrum he (she? it?) sits beyond predictable kneejerk hostility toward Corbyn and those perceived as supporting him.

I'm on record in the past as having said that I felt the regulars in this group generally rub along together OK without the need for hosts.

Let's be honest, I suspect any need for hosts on this group would decline enormously if we had a couple installed and they just blocked "that" person from United Kingdom (Group), after which they could resign if they wanted and we'd truck along as before. I haven't seen any other particularly off topic or baiting posts here, and I don't recall anyone else having posts hidden.

And yes, the difference in readings and comments when a UK topic or story is aired here compared to when it's posted on, say, Latest Breaking News, with a far wider range of (generally non-Brit) participants, is quite striking. It's sometimes as if we're discussing entirely different countries.

[LeftishBrit]

9. I think the 'right wingers' comment may have referred to a time a few years ago when one of the mods

of the conservative site 'FreeBritannia' joined the forum.

He was actually fairly civil in debate; and was accepted for a while, but he then started posting material from rather nasty RW blogs, and was eventually banned. He then came back in at least two other incarnations. Hasn't been around for a while, however.

There was also someone at one point, who had links to both the UK and USA and was, I think, - like a number of people - genuinely a Democrat there and a Tory voter here. Never caused major problems, however.

I agree that UK-ers tend to get on reasonably well, and that debate tends to be civil. However, the problem is when people come on the forum just to bait. I think a host or two is needed for that. Not for things like whether people support Trident or not (I don't, but many Labourites obviously do); but about people who deliberately turn up to stir things up.

[Denzil_DC]

10. Yeah, like I said, I'm sanguine about the idea if a couple of people are willing to do it.

I'm not going to volunteer myself. I've run a fairly busy US blog and moderated a couple of international forums in the past, so I feel like I've had quite enough of all that and someone else should get the chance to have a go! Not that I see the duties in this group as being particularly onerous, of course.

[non sociopath skin]

11. Happy to support the idea though no ambitions to do it myself

The Skin

[Donald Ian Rankin]

14. I'm tentatively against this.

I think that group hosts are only really necessary for a group that's meant to be a safe haven for a particular viewpoint beyond the extent to which DU as a whole is.

I don't think that a forum for discussion of a whole country should be that.

More generally, I assume this is aimed at one particular poster, and I think that the appropriate response there is to ignore or not as you see fit, not to ban.

I don't think it would automatically be a catastrophe, though.

[LeftishBrit]

15. Hosts are not only for safe havens

Last edited Wed Mar 30, 2016, 08:20 AM - Edit history (1)

The main forums - General Discussion, GDP, Lounge, Goodreads, Video and Multimedia - share a large set of 30 hosts.

More parallel to our situation, the Australia forum has two hosts and Americans Abroad has one.

[Denzil_DC]

16. Forgive me for putting you on the spot, LeftishBrit,

but would you be willing to volunteer as a host?

You've been active in this group for longer than most, seem to have a lot of experience of its ups and downs, and generally come across as fair and level-headed.

If so, you'd have my support.

[non sociopath skin]

17. I'd second that.

The Skin

[LeftishBrit]

18. Thank you!!!

My answer: I would certainly be willing to volunteer as a 'minor'/ reserve host, especially as I have experience of hosting on the main forums.

I think it's probably best if I'm not the main host right now, as just because I'm a long-term and quite active poster, I may have had more encounters than some with you-know-who, and might therefore be seen as less objective on that particular issue.

[Denzil_DC]

19. OK, then, I hope I'm not pushing too fast,

but it looks like we have general agreement to go ahead among those who've piped up.

Since muriel_volestrangler suggested it (sucker!), I'd like to propose him/her (?) as host #1, LeftishBrit as host #2 and Ghost Dog as host #3. Anybody else fancy it or disagree?

As for the Statement of Purpose, the current (default) one reads:

Statement of Purpose

A group for British DU members.

Maybe it would be more inclusive to amend it to read:

A group for British DU members and anybody with an interest in the UK.

Thoughts, other suggestions?

[LeftishBrit]

20. All fine with me...

and I agree with adding 'anybody with an interest in the UK'.

[muriel_volestrangler]

21. I thought I'd wait at least until Tuesday lunchtime, since it's been a holiday weekend

and there may be people who haven't looked at DU over it.

(And it's 'him' - the 'Muriel' comes from a John Cleese character). I'm happy to be one, certainly.

[Denzil_DC]

22. Sure, no mad rush.

Just figured we could carry on going round and round on this, or somebody could put something up for folks to react to.

[Ironing Man]

23. i'll volunteer..

i'm happy to offer my services, or to have them offered.

i'll assume that everyone knows that my politics wouldn't exactly be welcome at a Corbyn Shadow Cabinet, and anyway i'd hope that we're not looking to police our little group on the basis of politics, but on the basis of behaviour - if thats acceptable to everyone then i'd be happy to act on behalf of our little grouplet...

[Denzil_DC]

24. Well, you and I have disagreed in the past, sometimes at some length, but it's always been civil.

And I've never seen you be uncivil. So I'd support you as a fourth host, in whatever order (the order only matters if there are serious disputes among the hosts - the higher-ranked ones can remove lower-ranked ones - but I'd imagine that's a very remote likelihood in this group!). For simplicity's sake, we could rank it in order of post count, if that's acceptable.

[non sociopath skin]

26. Rather awkward that you raised politics then.

Until then, I hadn't been thinking along those lines at all.

The Skin

[Donald Ian Rankin]

32. Really?

I've been taking it as read that this is essentially about silencing one particular poster, on broadly political grounds, which is why I'm a little uncomfortable with it, on Niemolleresque grounds if nothing else.

[Denzil_DC]

33. Oh, give me a break. It's not on political grounds, broadly or otherwise.

It's on grounds of consistent trolling and adding nothing else to the group. For which said poster has had at least three posts hidden in the past few months, here, and on General Discussion when he tried it there.

If someone wants to post here criticizing Jeremy Corbyn, well, I think that's been done a number of times and it's grist for the mill.

Heading each post with a senseless jibe including "Corbynites" or somesuch (of which I don't think there are many here anyway) followed by cryptic body text that often makes little or no sense, then not engaging in any ensuing discussion, is pretty much a definition of trolling.

[LeftishBrit]

27. Great - I think it's a good idea that people from various points on the political spectrum are hosts

Last edited Wed Mar 30, 2016, 06:58 AM - Edit history (1)

Not because we should be making politically-based decisions, but to avoid the accusation from others: it makes it less easy for people to say ''they're just against me because I'm more right/left than they are!' if there are hosts from different political perspectives.

[Denzil_DC]

29. I think it's healthy to have a balance for all sorts of reasons.

So far, we have a fictitious Wing Commander with a female name, an actual female, a canine ghost, all of long standing on DU, and possibly, unless there are conclusive objections, a relative newcomer.

It's also up to you folks who've been proposed to let us know whether you think you'd be able to work together comfortably.

[Ironing Man]

30. Me to...

Yeah, that's cool with me - I think we're all agreed that we want something that can sort out trolling and bad forum behaviour while allowing us to all bump along nicely.

[Denzil_DC]

31. For me, that's the bottom line.

Anything else is gravy.

[non sociopath skin]

25. Happy to run with that.

The Skin

[Bad Dog]

28. I'm OK with that.

[muriel_volestrangler]

34. OK, it looks like a proposal for 4

Me, LeftishBrit, Ghost Dog and Ironing Man (and with 4, it doesn't matter if anyone's away from the forum for a few days - we'll be able to discuss something if needed). I'll send admin a note suggesting this.

[LeftishBrit]

35. Great; thanks for contacting Admin.

[Nihil]

36. Bit late in noticing this but fully approve ...

... in terms of the perceived requirement, the suggested addition to the statement of purpose and the nominees.

Thanks for doing this.

[muriel_volestrangler]

37. OK; these are now done

If anyone thinks anything needs doing now (which can include pinning important threads so they always appear at the top of the first page), let me or one of the others know.

[Ironing Man]

38. ....

I haz super powers....

[Denzil_DC]

39. Yay!

I don't know whether group host powers extend to editing the Statement of Purpose, but if so, it's still the old version at the moment.

[LeftishBrit]

40. Great!

As Denzil said, perhaps we could change the statement of purpose?

[muriel_volestrangler]

41. We can't change that by ourselves, but I'll ask Skinner to do it

in the ATA thread I opened.