participation way down? - Page 5

[pear-shaped]

Originally Posted by lach 

Here's one way not to drive off members: don't post threads in the Adoptive and Foster Parenting board soliciting donations for Pat Robertson.

I've been in here, giving MDC another chance, sad to see what was once a thriving community fade away, but really I think this is the last straw.  Based on this "partnership" with such a vile man, the race baiting facebook posts, and allowing such disgusting homophobic remarks to stand, it's really obvious how MDC intends to resurrect itself, and that's not something I'm interested in being involved in, even in a jokey "this is what you should do!" way.

This is how I feel...if this is what MDC has become I don't want to be a part of it anymore.

[Ldavis24]

guys just pretend like that incredibly offensive thread in Adoptive Parenting never happened then all will be well  (sarcasm)

I wonder how long before it's taken down from the other spot it is in...where you can't post about how freaking offensive it (and the fact that MDC consider Pat Robertson a person worthy of working with) is to so many people.

I'd love an "official" explanation for the whole mess but I'm not holding my breath.

[limabean]

Originally Posted by Ldavis24 

I wonder how long before it's taken down from the other spot it is in...where you can't post about how freaking offensive it (and the fact that MDC consider Pat Robertson a person worthy of working with) is to so many people.

You can't reply but you can flag it as inappropriate...

[Ldavis24]

Originally Posted by limabean 

You can't reply but you can flag it as inappropriate...

way ahead of you

[AdinaL]

The second location of that thread has been removed.  That forum is not open for discussion yet, and we were unaware that anything had been posted there.  It is down now.

[Ornery]

Adina, could you please explain how Mothering doesn't know that posts are being made under Mothering's user name?

Also, is there a way that I can discuss my feelings over this incident without getting my thread removed or me being banned?  I can send a strongly worded pm to whichever mod or admin but feel that we as a community should be allowed to discuss how hateful this is to us.  Or is this where Mothering asks us to give *us the benefit of the doubt again?

ETA: *them

[purslaine]

Originally Posted by AdinaL 

The second location of that thread has been removed.  That forum is not open for discussion yet, and we were unaware that anything had been posted there.  It is down now.

OT a little - but can we discuss why it happened  (not the pulling - the existence of it in the first place)?

[purslaine]

Posted at the same time, Ornery....but I bet a lot of us would like a reasoned discussion on the matter.  It might help improve our community to have things out in the open.   

[AdinaL]

Originally Posted by Ornery 

Adina, could you please explain how Mothering doesn't know that posts are being made under Mothering's user name?

Also, is there a way that I can discuss my feelings over this incident without getting my thread removed or me being banned?  I can send a strongly worded pm to whichever mod or admin but feel that we as a community should be allowed to discuss how hateful this is to us.  Or is this where Mothering asks us to give us the benefit of the doubt again?

Quote:

Originally Posted by kathymuggle 

OT a little - but can we discuss why it happened  (not the pulling - the existence of it in the first place)?

Well, as you are aware, promotions are posted under the Mothering User Name, as are giveaways, etc.  We (meaning Cynthia and I) don't post all of those, some of those are posted by our Huddler partners, who deal with our ads.   We use the official User Name so as to avoid confusion if some person no one knows starts posting promotions/giveaways.  We simply didn't realize that that thread had been placed in multiple locations.

The appropriate place to discuss this would be in Q&S.  I just wanted to let folks know that the threads were down. As Cynthia said in the other thread, this is not something we would usually host, and it has been removed.  

You are welcome to PM me and chat about it as well.   And it can be as strongly worded as you like. :)

[Think of Winter]

The heavy moderation and lock down on TAO really slowed my participation, too.  Now I'm visiting even less, because I'm put off by the commercialization of the site that's been happening for the last few months.  My impression is generating clicks to sell ad space is more important than supporting the community that is here.  Putting our threads on FB and sending them out in emails?  The "Recent Reviews", that are taking up lots of page space and are nothing but glorified ads?  The "Mothering" screen name posting inflammatory topics to get more clicks?  I'm not much of a fan of the new "Ask and Expert" board, either.  There were plenty of interesting conversations going on here,  but they got yanked.

[Agatha_Ann]

Originally Posted by Think of Winter 

The heavy moderation and lock down on TAO really slowed my participation, too.  Now I'm visiting even less, because I'm put off by the commercialization of the site that's been happening for the last few months.  My impression is generating clicks to sell ad space is more important than supporting the community that is here.  Putting our threads on FB and sending them out in emails?  The "Recent Reviews", that are taking up lots of page space and are nothing but glorified ads?  The "Mothering" screen name posting inflammatory topics to get more clicks?  I'm not much of a fan of the new "Ask and Expert" board, either.  There were plenty of interesting conversations going on here,  but they got yanked.

There is one expert in particular that seems to use the forum to belittle members and solicit money. I wonder what the process was to select them and what type of stamdards they are held to?

[eclipse]

Originally Posted by Agatha_Ann 

There is one expert in particular that seems to use the forum to belittle members and solicit money. I wonder what the process was to select them and what type of stamdards they are held to?

Yeah. Would it be considered defamation to point out which one on this thread?

[SleeplessMommy]

I miss the coops, the swaps, the FUN threads in TAO. And the service chicken.

There are other forums for natural parenting, crunchiness, family fun, etc. Even snark-free forums. I am sending a psychic transmission of the URL.

[Buzzer Beater]

Originally Posted by SleeplessMommy 

I miss the coops, the swaps, the FUN threads in TAO. And the service chicken.

There are other forums for natural parenting, crunchiness, family fun, etc. Even snark-free forums. I am sending a psychic transmission of the URL.

Transmission not working...PM me please?

[ollyoxenfree]

Originally Posted by Think of Winter 

  The "Mothering" screen name posting inflammatory topics to get more clicks?  

This really irks me. I participated in at least one discussion - mostly to express my unhappiness at the inflammatory language since it obviously was used to provoke responses. I've otherwise been trying to resist, even though some of the topics interest me. I especially wanted to write something about "blaming" parents for educational problems since that was so clearly written to incite debate, but I held off.  

And yeah, I wonder about the point of the "experts". One of the things I liked about this board was the sense that any poster might have something worthy to contribute, and no one person could claim their contribution was more valuable than another. I haven't read the "experts", so I don't know how good or helpful their advice and opinions are. There is something about anointing experts that undermines the wonderful collective wisdom held by the group. I know that wasn't the intention, but that's the message I get. 

[Siennaflower]

Originally Posted by Buzzer Beater 

Transmission not working...PM me please?

me tooooo please!

[ollyoxenfree]

I just came back to add that the format changes don't bother me at all, but maybe I'm in the minority. I think there could be some streamlining of fora and subfora, and lach did a nice job condensing them in her pp. Generally, I find it a pretty user-friendly place and the ads are less bothersome than many other places (no slow-to-load pop ups with annoying graphics and sound).   

[Owen'nZoe]

Thank you for the explanation, Adina. Can I ask one more question about the thread that was yanked? I don't remember the name of the poster or the exact wording of the post (and can't go back to it now), but someone who claimed to work for Mothering said that the organization in question is a "sponsor" of Mothering, and that Mothering in turn sponsors that organization. Could you please explain what this means?

[Ldavis24]

Originally Posted by Owen'nZoe 

Thank you for the explanation, Adina. Can I ask one more question about the thread that was yanked? I don't remember the name of the poster or the exact wording of the post (and can't go back to it now), but someone who claimed to work for Mothering said that the organization in question is a "sponsor" of Mothering, and that Mothering in turn sponsors that organization. Could you please explain what this means?

I think it was polliwog

[AdinaL]

Originally Posted by Owen'nZoe 

Thank you for the explanation, Adina. Can I ask one more question about the thread that was yanked? I don't remember the name of the poster or the exact wording of the post (and can't go back to it now), but someone who claimed to work for Mothering said that the organization in question is a "sponsor" of Mothering, and that Mothering in turn sponsors that organization. Could you please explain what this means?

Chris is a Huddler employee, you might have seen her posts on other promotions or giveaways, she works very closely with Mothering on our contests and giveaways.  To my knowledge, the support/sponsor was as an advertiser only. I am unaware of any other Mothering support of this organization.  

That is about the end of my knowledge of the situation.  :)