Poll about the impact of the purge

[Ironclad]

I must say I feel pretty upset about this. I hope I get to hook up again with the friends I made from rdnet.

Just feels so wrong. Within 4 hours of me getting the Admin post I'm denied access and everybody has gone.

Is this the rapture?

ADDITIONAL
when I say, Admin post I meant the post in the thread, not the Admin Job tee hee
(prob pretty obvious really, just doesn't look well writ)

[Ironclad]

I am very intrigued to see if the recent actions from RD staff have had a repercussion on the image held by his fan base... Elaborate if you can...

I still don't know exactly what is going on, and what prompted the change.

Is there a good summary somewhere that I missed? The stuff I read on RDF was the usual vague crap that evades explaining any details, and espouses benevolent motives for the future.

Once again: Peter Harrison's blog haz it all: http://realityismyreligion.wordpress.co ... open-soon/

Thanks Mazille, and to Peter too. Makes for very sad reading, I don't know whether to or, .
Really really unhappy..

[Mazille]

I am very intrigued to see if the recent actions from RD staff have had a repercussion on the image held by his fan base... Elaborate if you can...

I still don't know exactly what is going on, and what prompted the change.

Is there a good summary somewhere that I missed? The stuff I read on RDF was the usual vague crap that evades explaining any details, and espouses benevolent motives for the future.

Once again: Peter Harrison's blog haz it all: http://realityismyreligion.wordpress.co ... open-soon/

Thanks Mazille, and to Peter too. Makes for very sad reading, I don't know whether to or, .
Really really unhappy..

For me it has no been a journey of two days ranging from. and to and :pissed:, then , once again, then for some of the time. My emotions on this matter are spent. and all I am left with is an emptiness where once a great community was.

[DanDare]

What he does with his forum is up to him, whether I chance to like it or not.

+1

I've learned long since that forums are transitional things much subject to sufferance and whimsy of those actually paying the bills for their upkeep. Thus, while I symphatize with anyone who may have lost something truly important to them in whatever form, I personally don't really take any of them very seriously. Not even RDF, even tho I spend much too much of my time there. Maybe I'll manage to do with a little less here... Life to live and all that old shit jazz, you know.

That's why I started the thread "Toward a new Foundation". I started it badly due to stress but I have put a new post in there explaining my thoughts more clearly after a good mornings sleep.

[Coito ergo sum]

I am very intrigued to see if the recent actions from RD staff have had a repercussion on the image held by his fan base... Elaborate if you can...

I still don't know exactly what is going on, and what prompted the change.

Is there a good summary somewhere that I missed? The stuff I read on RDF was the usual vague crap that evades explaining any details, and espouses benevolent motives for the future.

Once again: Peter Harrison's blog haz it all: http://realityismyreligion.wordpress.co ... open-soon/

Wow - thanks!

Sounds like too much trouble. If they don't want a forum there, fuck 'em. Life was good before the RDF forum, and life will be good afterwards.

Everything ends eventually.

This place looks pretty good.

[skintbuthappy]

I notice that a lot of refugees are complaining (and quite justly, of course) about the sudden evaporation of their posts following the cull of Mods.

I also notice, having been to the Morgue and viewed the cadaver of RDF, that RD's own post-count, that stood at 448 on Monday, is now 436.

(Yes, I am a sad sack who notices that kind of thing. What can I tell you? I'm sorry.)

What on earth can he have said that required the deadly blue pencil?

[Ace]

Can I change my vote? I think I voted for the wrong one now.

[my_wan]

It occurred to me that even without Josh's lying fiasco, the format change is going to be filled with even more crap than the forum was. They may control opening post, but without moderators responses are essentially unmoderated. Without the community underpinning it, it becomes a crap trap. They'll wish they had a group of dedicated moderators working for free very soon.

[Mac_Guffin]

I picked the 3rd option. It has lowered my opinion of him, but it could be worse.

[Galaxian]

After some consideration, I'm going to stick to my opinion for years that Richard is basically a really nice guy, probably too nice for his own good. I suspect that he see's the best in people and is probably a little naive with who he trusts. Richard seems to think Josh is a tech wizard, probably because he has no experience building websites or operating camera's himself, and listens to Josh tell him how awesomely lucky Richard was to have found him. the reality is that if he was unable to implement a search function for 7 months he didn't deserve to be a tech weenie for RDF. The software is free for gods sake, thousands of forums use it, and it's not like there aren't bigger forums with functioning searches.
I've worked in a situation before with a guy a the top who was a really great guy, but who put far too much trust in a snivelling little toad of a number 2....
...So, until I hear otherwise, I'm going to say I think Richard has just been taken for a ride by this twat Josh, but that his insistence on seeing he best in people means Josh might just get away with this. Who knows what he's telling richard, but i can guarantee at no point is he saying 'Yeah, I made a bit of a mess of this'

I agree Theses. But, as Shakespeare said: "Some are born prats, some attain to pratishness, and some have pratishness thrust upon them!"
The fact that Richard can't be bothered getting his head around elementary IT topics is his own fault. Then, if he invested all his confidence in the premier gatekeeper, it shows lamentable gullibility in assuming the gatekeeper is really smart, altruistic, empathetic, wise, and really honest.
And I agree as well: Josh & IT at RDF was incompetent or conscious saboteurs, as I warned on RDF months ago in the Tech board. If you go to RDF now, you'll see, it still runs at a snail's pace even though there's little traffic.
His reliance in Josh, & his continuing assertion that Josh is the best thing since sliced bread, displays poor social skills, which in his position is unforgivable.
In the company I work for, there is a managing director who is similarly bamboozled by a poorly qualified & inept general manager. He's opened a "human resources" department which is unproductive, expensive to run, and has instituted intrusive measures on 250 innocent staff; such as sudden random drug tests (witnessed in the toilet), Talibanesque dress codes (don't show too much cleavage, bra straps, or short skirts), surveillance cameras, and twice per hour time-sheet filling. But the MD is star-struck by the psycho-babble retinue around him, not realizing that the company has been taken over by zombie functionaries (his 2 co-founding directors have resigned in disgust).
In brief: Richard IS blameworthy. His latest offensive post confirms it. His entire life's-work is tarnished.

[RaspK]

Hm... I just checked up on the post count issue; I will check it further.

[JimC]

After some consideration, I'm going to stick to my opinion for years that Richard is basically a really nice guy, probably too nice for his own good. I suspect that he see's the best in people and is probably a little naive with who he trusts. Richard seems to think Josh is a tech wizard, probably because he has no experience building websites or operating camera's himself, and listens to Josh tell him how awesomely lucky Richard was to have found him. the reality is that if he was unable to implement a search function for 7 months he didn't deserve to be a tech weenie for RDF. The software is free for gods sake, thousands of forums use it, and it's not like there aren't bigger forums with functioning searches.
I've worked in a situation before with a guy a the top who was a really great guy, but who put far too much trust in a snivelling little toad of a number 2....
...So, until I hear otherwise, I'm going to say I think Richard has just been taken for a ride by this twat Josh, but that his insistence on seeing he best in people means Josh might just get away with this. Who knows what he's telling richard, but i can guarantee at no point is he saying 'Yeah, I made a bit of a mess of this'

I agree Theses. But, as Shakespeare said: "Some are born prats, some attain to pratishness, and some have pratishness thrust upon them!"
The fact that Richard can't be bothered getting his head around elementary IT topics is his own fault. Then, if he invested all his confidence in the premier gatekeeper, it shows lamentable gullibility in assuming the gatekeeper is really smart, altruistic, empathetic, wise, and really honest.
And I agree as well: Josh & IT at RDF was incompetent or conscious saboteurs, as I warned on RDF months ago in the Tech board. If you go to RDF now, you'll see, it still runs at a snail's pace even though there's little traffic.
His reliance in Josh, & his continuing assertion that Josh is the best thing since sliced bread, displays poor social skills, which in his position is unforgivable.
In the company I work for, there is a managing director who is similarly bamboozled by a poorly qualified & inept general manager. He's opened a "human resources" department which is unproductive, expensive to run, and has instituted intrusive measures on 250 innocent staff; such as sudden random drug tests (witnessed in the toilet), Talibanesque dress codes (don't show too much cleavage, bra straps, or short skirts), surveillance cameras, and twice per hour time-sheet filling. But the MD is star-struck by the psycho-babble retinue around him, not realizing that the company has been taken over by zombie functionaries (his 2 co-founding directors have resigned in disgust).
In brief: Richard IS blameworthy. His latest offensive post confirms it. His entire life's-work is tarnished.

An interesting post spoiled by a final emotive sentence. His possible incompetence with respect to the forum has no impact on the value and truth of the Selfish Gene and the rest of his magnificent works. To think otherwise is almost a superstitious version of contamination by the unclean...

[eversbane]

Professor Dawkins should do the American thing:

Stand up, admit full responsibility, accept full blame, and then fire somebody. Preferably Josh.

It's worked for a lot of American presidents. If Nixon had done the American thing he could have finished his term.

As it is, Prof. Dawkins has refused responsibility by claiming that nothing significant happened. That's going to backfire on him. It always does.

[tnjrp]

And in case anyone else if clueless about Dr. Dawkins "not owning up", his post is here:
http://forum.richarddawkins.net/viewtop ... 0&t=110356

Well, at least it's clear where he stands on the issue now. Looks like there's not going to be a rebirth of the old forum soon...

[RaspK]

And in case anyone else if clueless about Dr. Dawkins "not owning up", his post is here:
http://forum.richarddawkins.net/viewtop ... 0&t=110356

Well, at least it's clear where he stands on the issue now. Looks like there's not going to be a rebirth of the old forum soon...

I read it earlier, and practically facepalmed.