Posted by yxibow on April 5, 2006, at 0:21:43
In reply to Deputy conflict of interest » yxibow, posted by gardenergirl on April 4, 2006, at 14:44:55
> I can't really address the reason for the original block because I never saw the unedited version of the post or what it linked to, and I frankly know very little about how one might obtain substances via the internet. Whether that was a good or bad decision by Dr. Bob, one cannot post while blocked. That's all I had to go on in regards to this action.
I follow...
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> > And I do voice again that there are conflicts of interest and some rather undemocratic hierarchy here, as I've posted once in the past.We know... acknowledged
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> Well, first, this isn't a democracy and has not been portrayed as such to my knowledge. Having a moderator and deputies IS a hierarchy as far as enforcing civility guidelines.I know... though it could be a democracy with work, but that's hard. I guess there's a sense of oh, why did this person be a deputy, other than they've been around... it goes much deeper, like, this individual is less psychotic than everyone else therefore they can be a deputy... that's how I see things sometimes.
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> I suppose that deputies who are also posters and who have made friends via this site does represent some level of conflict of interest. I'm not sure how to avoid that, though. I think it would be quite difficult to recruit deputies who didn't have some interest in Babble.Quite true...
At the minimum, I think they would have to be paid.
Yes... Someone also foots the bill for the web site as well so money is involved here anyhow
And I also think it takes some time and experience in posting to develop an understanding of the rules, at least to Dr. Bob's satisfaction. I suppose it could be learned without participating as a poster, but it's hard for me to imagine that.
I can understand that logic.
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> As far as having friends on the site, well, I'd like to say that's unavoidable, but I suppose it might have been possible not to come to care about people. I can tell you I've given PBC's and blocked people I like very much, and I don't like doing it.I know... and thats the remorse of conflict of interest, inevitably.
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> I appreciate your feedback, by the way. As far as appearing "quick-triggered", well, I admit there are probably certain types of "infractions" for which I have less patience than other types. I suspect that's the nature of this job, but I can only speak for myself. In addition, when I am reading posts and have the time and focus, and I see something that I am confident about that needs addressing, I see no reason not to address it then. Perhaps the others have a different process. I'm not always in "deputy mode", either. There are times I am reading for my own needs and not to monitor the site.
Yes, it was the "quick triggered" that kind of hit the spot, I don't want to be mean but it seems that way more often.
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> >But again, this warm fuzzy place that I see in one post isn't always a democracy in another...
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> I'm not sure what you mean by this.Oh, it was late at night, it was referenced to another post on the psycho-babble about someone who was happy to be on here 3 months and there was a reference to "warm and fuzzy" or something. Sorry to be obtuse.
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> >I know, there are few deputies, but these explosive arguments always seem to centre here.
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> I don't mean to be dense, but arguments center on what exactly, or where?The most, and maybe I don't frequent the other boards much, but the medication board seems to be blocked quite often for people. Maybe that's just my view as I say, I dont visit the other boards much.
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> What might you do differently if you were a deputy? Or any thoughts on how to avoid inconsistency or problems when there is an unavoidable conflict of interest?Consistency is hard, I must admit, but I think I would give 3 chances -- things usually work in threes anyway, we have this useless 3 strikes legislation in many states. It would include the obvious -- trolling, it can be clearly seen if there is an explosive long thread.
Extreme nastiness to people and the board owner -- and there is the consistency problem I admit, but clear and not fuzzy ad-hominem attacks.
Ad hominem, is used simplistically about libelous and nasty arguments against an individual like describing nasty things about Dr Bob, but it has much deeper meanings :
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ad_hominem
The "seven dirty words" -- well, they're blocked anyhow by the software usually and sometimes its necessary to release -- not towards someone, but emotionally the F and S words, because when it all comes down to it, life sucks sometimes. An average productive psychotherapy session can include lots of those.
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> Thanks again for your feedback.You're welcome.
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> gg
>I don't have a perfect answer for everything, but I think there should be more deputies, and I think perhaps they should be rotated to minimize conflict of interest.
To totally remove conflict of interest, of course, would be to have someone not associated with the board at all, or someone who doesn't post at all -- but we've touched on the difficulties of that idea. That perhaps a middle ground is possible -- that if relations develop between deputies and especially babblemail and comments between deputies and "people they like" on the board, then a rotation should occur.
Tidings
-- Jay
poster:yxibow
thread:628522
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/admin/20060317/msgs/629047.html