New Asst. Moderator and Other Changes

[Van Plexico]

I have made a couple of changes to the Board today.

One, shiryu has graciously agreed to be "Assistant Moderator" and will help patrol for spam and the like. I have made him co-moderator of all the boards. Thanks for your willingness to serve your fellow fans (and help me out), shiryu!

Those of you who have been here just as long as shiryu-- this is in no way intended as any sort of slight towards you. I'm sure several others of you would have been willing to do the same, and I appreciate that fact. Your presence here is valued and you may well be called upon in the future. For now, thanks for being a part of this community!

The other change: In digging around to figure out how to make the above changes, I discovered that the controls for restricting posts are actually inside each individual category/"Board"'s control panel. The bad news-- I had to make all the changes, one at a time. I had been looking for a "universal" control, but it does not exist.

The good news, though, is that each individual board/category has a control to limit who can POST and CREATE THREADS. I have changed this from "everyone" to "registered users." This should still allow guests to check us out and decide if they like what's going on here-- BUT-- it should mean a dramatic decrease in robo-spam, if spammers must join in order to spam us.

If anyone has any thoughts on all of this, please let us know below. Thanks for all the great input and discussion on how to best handle it all.

[The Night Phantom]

admin said:

One, shiryu has graciously agreed to be "Assistant Moderator" and will help patrol for spam and the like. I have made him co-moderator of all the boards. Thanks for your willingness to serve your fellow fans (and help me out), shiryu!

I for one am not surprised by this selection; Shiryu has been a stable, friendly, responsible member of the Board. I’m sure I speak for all Avengers Assemble!dom assembled in wishing him the best in this new role. (But I feel sorry for the guy, having to clean up all that mess, too!  )

The other change: In digging around to figure out how to make the above changes, I discovered that the controls for restricting posts are actually inside each individual category/"Board"'s control panel. The bad news-- I had to make all the changes, one at a time. I had been looking for a "universal" control, but it does not exist.

The good news, though, is that each individual board/category has a control to limit who can POST and CREATE THREADS. I have changed this from "everyone" to "registered users." This should still allow guests to check us out and decide if they like what's going on here-- BUT-- it should mean a dramatic decrease in robo-spam, if spammers must join in order to spam us.

Great news! Congratulations, Van! Like you, I think this reconfiguration should have been easier, but it could have been worse! ;D In any case, this result is the option I was most hoping for. I suspect it will serve us well. (Let’s keep our fingers crossed...but not while we type, of course!)

[von Bek]

Congratulations, Shiryu!
And the solution that guest will be able to read the comments but will have to register in order to post is the best one (and AFAIK how it is in most of the other boards). If someone wants to join the community (posting and participating) he/she should register to be able to do so.

[Shiryu]

Thank you very much !! Both to Van for choosing me among many, and to the others for the warm welcome

I feel a bit like "He-Man" from the Masters of the Universe series. Something like "By the power of Vanlactus, I have the power !"

The change in posting rules is a great news too, it will make spamming much more difficult because people will need to register to do so, and as such can be identified via IP address or banned. I will do my best to keep the board clean for any other spam post left around !

[Black Knight]

Congrats shiryu, I think you will do a great job.

[dlw66]

Congrats from me, too. And certainly no slight felt -- I wouldn't have a clue toward doing what needs to be done. But, when it gets done, I will be most appreciative!!

[dlw66]

Whoa!!! Shiryu has BLUE stars!!!! And a cool title -- Global Moderator! Not quite as cool as "Vanlactus", but hey -- not many names would be! ;D

[The Night Phantom]

dlw66 said:

Whoa!!! Shiryu has BLUE stars!!!!

Great...now, whenever I see Shiryu’s name, I’ll think of those cheesy Turkish bootleg Hoth-stormtrooper figures.... ;D

On a more serious note, I’d also like to express my pleasure at the civil, civic-minded way our little community responded to Van’s earlier thread discussing the spam problem and possible solutions. Ideas were offered, critiques were given, all in a spirit of support and fellowship. No civil war here!

[Shiryu]

Once again thanks you all
The blue stars and the "global moderator" title are cool ! Only thing is now I won't find out what comes after "avenger" myself. Doug, make sure you find that out fast

[Yellowjacket]

A very good choice, hail to our new moderator.

[Van Plexico]

It's good to have an assistant moderator in place, because I will not be around as much for the next six weeks or so.

In addition to fighting pneumonia, I am hip-deep in my quadrennial celebration of the World Cup, and putting lots of time into my World Cup Diary of Watching, Eating at Sports Bars, and Gaining Weight:

www.plexico.net/2006wcdiary.htm

Some small amount of humor may be found there, for anyone remotely interested in my antics during this event.

As you know, I'm attending three conventions in the next three months, plus I will be moving to the St. Louis area for my new job, at the end of July. (Plus writing a new book, editing a special Avengers-related project, and preparing all my teaching materials for fall semester-- AIIEEEE!)

So things will be hectic. But I will try to check in here often and update the AA! site as much as possible.

[Shiryu]

Eh eh eh, that's a great summary of the world cup ! Really worth a reading.
I could comment on the comments for Italy-USA, but hey, this is not a football board (and I'm the only Italian around...) so I'll let it pass ;D