I would think the moderator could delete counter-productive posts and writers fast enough to keep the forum clean and effective.

If my experience is any indicator, I had a very difficult time getting my first post up.

Were it not for certain positive signs, I never would have stayed with the trouble I had initially.

I think it would be worthwhile to have new members write of the ease with which they posted their first contribution.

Removing posts is important--because forums can be ruined by them.

Gaining support and learning from others is more important.

Is it possible to have posters review their total contributions for deletion and correction. I saw in our guidance here that correction was called poor form. In a debate that is true.

But in building a body of rapidly read doctrine, correction is the name of the game.

Debate is not one of our objectives: collaboration and effecting change is,

I think the moderators you are thinking of are the paid, full-time moderators. We don't have any of those around here yet. All we have is a retired grandfather with 20 other community projects going, and who would like to write and spend some time with his wife, children and grandchildren, all who live nearby.

Besides, I doubt you have any experience running a BB that is targeted my the bankers and corporatists like this one is. I get at least 18 or 20 new registers each day, all of whom are phony, and who only want to post spam, porn, and anti-reform junk or just plain static and white noise. Whatever is disruptive and off-topic suits that latter group just fine. All they want to do is stir up controversy and division. Imagine that.

Yes, John, I had a difficult time getting it up as well. You had registered under two different variation of your name, neither of which you said you wanted. Before you could log in to post I had to manually delete one of the two names you created - the one in all caps - before I could fix the system to allow changes to your second user name with some caps and a middle initial to one without any caps and no middle initial. Whew! Yes, that was more work than I had to do to get anyone else clear to post. I'm not sure your experience would be typical. It wasn't typical for me. There have been one or two other people who claimed difficulty posting, but I think that was mostly just not reading the announcement about delayed first posts. Yes, I remember your telling us that you didn't know if the software was going to be "acceptable" to you. Well, I'm sure glad you stuck with us through the hard parts. It's all downhill from here. OK, are they going to redo the BB software for us too? I told you once, I didn't choose it. It'd not user friendly. Ellen's webmaster chose it. I'm working with it as best as I can. And it's free. Anyone care to donate for the $$ stuff? I'm all ears. Yes, they certainly can, and have been, and will continue to be. They can also ruin a moderators entire day. Than what? Removing or relocating posts? I guess that depends on who's doing the posting and who's doing the removing. However, I do think we have had many good comments and discussions, and I hope some are learning something from others. The goal is to gather support for a movement of coalition of movements to achieve money reforms, and to identify certain core principles we can all get behind and support to the fullest.
That is what is important. Any user can delete or edit (change) any post THEY made at anytime, unless the post, topic or forum is "locked" by a moderator or administrator. Changing a post under debate or contention is always poor form, unless openly done, and noted in the "reason for editing" space. Changing a post that is not under discussion or contention, or is part of the process of building a consensus statement is always proper, as long as there is a true consensus. We have polls that allow for gathering opinions among contributors. Collaboration sometimes involves discussion and debate, where there are differences of opinion, so there are times when discussion and/or debate is warranted. The key is to always keep the discussion on ISSUES and not on persons or personalities, and to keep them respectful and civil.

Bottom line is that I was about ready to close the forum after about a month because of all the "attack & diversion" posts and fake registrations and spam and porn getting on the board for a few hours or a day until I could remove it. I don't like moderating the forum one bit. I'd rather write articles and attend to my blogs and work on the several books I have in progress. I'd far rather be posting here than moderating junk posts and bogus registrations. In fact, I was hoping maybe we could trade places, and you could take over the moderation chores. So much for hoping and wishing. Back to reality....

The decision to hold all new users posts in a moderation queue until after the third post was an undesired and unwanted compromise to allow the forum to continue. The other option, and I am still considering it, is to make membership by invitation only, or by written request for membership. Then no one could register by themselves, and the 3 post mod could be removed.

Does that address your questions or issues?

BTW,I am seeking moderators, if anyone is interested, motivated, and dedicated to the goals and ideals of money reforms as expressed by Ellen H Brown, Stephen Zarlenga (AMI) or Richard C Cook. David Korten, and others along those lines.

I may actually attach a user poll on this question.

Jere~

Thank you for your very informative reply.

Forgive me, please, for any aggravation (though unintended) my clumsiness or unfamiliarty with BB's may have caused.

I am fairly well experienced with email LISTS and web FORUMS. But I have had only slight experience with BB's

I now feel comfortable enough with this software, and do like it enough, to offer my volunteer services if they can be of use.

My particular disappointment is that the ISSUES inside money system reform are not presented in logical order for a reader to readily grasp.

If they were, IMO, an initial list could be limited to a dozen ISSUES, the last one being SUNDRY, and the others arranged in priority order.

The primary presentation might be yours or Ellen's or a collaboration by a very few people. Others would copy the list to their own version, with changes they saw fit to make.

The primary presentation could take from others whatever was wanted.

The presented lists would link to actual ISSUES as framed by teams of ISSUE RESTATEMENT AUTHORS, and others could, as with the bare lists of issues, re-write them to suit themselves.

Again, the primary RESTATEMENT OF THE ISSUES could take from others whatever was wanted.

The point is to build an easily read narrative of listed ISSUES, such as:

1. The global money system designed for international trade meshes too well with "a race to the bottom" -- therefore it must be changed to encourage "prevention of want, poverty, war, disease and disaster."

2. National monetary systems designed to maximize the liberty, prosperity, and exemplary products of human labor, must be changed to also effectively "prevent slavery, wage slavery, sloth, thievery, crime, unemployment, and disregard of the Golden Rule."

3. Monetary systems of production rely on circulation of enough money to keep prices simultaneously affordable and profitable. They should not be constrained by required profit; rather they should be intentionally profitable for objective performance that adds to human health and happiness.

4. Low cost of production will always induce inadequate aggregate demand when the cycle of production and consumption is completed -- unless within the cycle deficits in demand and/or supply are corrected in time to prevent malfunction of the cycle -- which must be timed to individual human need.

5.

[list under construction]

All of the above is thinking out loud. It would have to be tested. It would aim to produce semi-permanent doctrine instead of an endless bulletin board of unconnected commentary.

====================

I think the moderators you are thinking of are the paid, full-time moderators. We don't have any of those around here yet. All we have is a retired grandfather with 20 other community projects going, and who would like to write and spend some time with his wife, children and grandchildren, all who live nearby.

[see original for complete message]

John, Thanks for your reply, and the apology. It is accepted, although not really needed.

However, I am disappointed with the same things you are. We have not yet moved very far in the direction of establishing a core of common goals and objectives that are outlined on this list. I simply have been too busy putting out fires to get around to doing the really important work of this forum, as I see it.

However the core principles already exist in the books of Ellen Brown, Stephen Zarlenga, Richard C Cook, and others. The American Monetary Act is an excellent starting place. So is EHB's and Cook's.

As time permits, I would like to post all three major proposals and see if we could reconcile them into 2 parts, an ideal system to visualize and use as an ultimate goal, and a set of minimum reforms that are needed in order to save our system, if that is still possible, and take the money power back from privateers and place it into the hands of the people.

Of course this would also entail other reforms in government, as well the regulatory agencies and bureaucracies. It would mean getting more of the power of petitions and recalls back into the hands of the people at all levels, and getting rid of the corrupting influence of money.

Many of your concerns about this forum are perfectly valid, and just need more time to be developed. I'll consider your offer to help, and of course I'll consider other volunteers as well. The caveat is that we all have to be rowing in the same direction - all working out of the same playbook, and on the same page.

I probably made the mistake of opening the forum too soon, and got pulled into replying to posts when I should have been finishing the essentials. I guess I thought I could do that as we went along, and underestimated the time it takes just to maintain the BB.

But remember, this forum has only been open about 2 or 3 months. I expect it will improve.