So what's TCR's fate?

[scottjf8]

Marc - are you just going to shut TCR down post 1/1/07? Is someone else taking/buying it from you?

Also are we just mass inviting *everyone* from there here? Or will it be more of a select group?

Wondering minds I guess....

[Marc]

The exact plans are still being finalized, but the general idea is that this will be a replacement of TCR. Our goal is to make this place more easily accessible to people so it can be TCR++, so to speak.

As of right now, the plan is that tcrebel.com will simply redirect to here as of some date in the future. At least a few weeks before that, though, a public announcement will be made at TCR so people can go to both places and "move in". It will be an open forum available to anyone who wishes to join us.

[Turtleboy]

I sort of like that idea that everyone starts with a free slate and no one is banned (does that apply to Montag too?).

[scottjf8]

Originally Posted by Turtleboy

I sort of like that idea that everyone starts with a free slate and no one is banned (does that apply to Montag too?).

He will do something stupid soon enough, so I'm not too worried

[Marc]

Originally Posted by Turtleboy

I sort of like that idea that everyone starts with a free slate and no one is banned (does that apply to Montag too?).

Yup. Everyone. Even those under 18 will be welcome.

Now, how the reputation system will factor in, we're not exactly sure. Right now, losing enough reputation makes your access to the Debate Club read-only, but it's conceivable that other consequences might be added as well.

In addition, we have the published rules and a parallel infraction system so that the guidelines of exactly what the rules are and what consequences there might be are a bit more formalized. Slight, infrequent infractions won't carry any long-term consequences, but for more problematic users, the infraction points will build up and can lead to loss of privileges, temporary bans, or even a permanent ban.

[Philosofy]

Can we invite people? (I'd like to invite Doom, with your permission.)

[Marc]

I don't think having him over here would be a problem, so go ahead and invite him.

[Philosofy]

What about Otto? I just want to make sure none of the old timers feel left out.

[Marc]

Sure, Otto is fine.

[RegBarc]

What about abuse of the reputation system? Theoretically, if someone decided to go nuts and start downvoting the crap out of specific people without due cause.

[Skittles]

We have countermeasures to prevent misuse and/or abuse of the Reputation system. First, we have the Timeout System, which places you into the virtual corner of Main Square. You get your own forum where all you get to read is your own posted comments. Continued abuse is then followed by the Spanking system.

Come to think of it, I believe you've been repeatedly abusing the reputation system, Regbarc...

[Marc]

Originally Posted by RegBarc

What about abuse of the reputation system? Theoretically, if someone decided to go nuts and start downvoting the crap out of specific people without due cause.

More seriously, the reputation system has built in controls to prevent that. You can only influence someone else's reputation under limited circumstances:

• You have at least 10 posts
• You have at least 10 reputation points yourself
• You can only give reputation to others 10 times per day
• You must give reputation to 10 other people before you can repeat someone

Now, if you do give extra reputation that doesn't qualify, the system makes a note of it, but assigns it a value of 0 so that it won't affect the receiving person's reputation.

[RegBarc]

Originally Posted by Skittles

Come to think of it, I believe you've been repeatedly abusing the reputation system, Regbarc...

Psh, in my dreams.

[RegBarc]

Originally Posted by Marc

More seriously, the reputation system has built in controls to prevent that. You can only influence someone else's reputation under limited circumstances:

• You have at least 10 posts
• You have at least 10 reputation points yourself
• You can only give reputation to others 10 times per day
• You must give reputation to 10 other people before you can repeat someone

Now, if you do give extra reputation that doesn't qualify, the system makes a note of it, but assigns it a value of 0 so that it won't affect the receiving person's reputation.

I see; that makes a heck of a lot of sense now. In the future, is there a way we could sticky or put in the rules how the reputation works so everyone's aware of it before they try something...silly?

[Marc]

Yes, we do need to have this kind of information about reputation as well as how the infraction system works.

[eddyj]

I don't know Marc, I think the TCF method of having vague or unwritten rules and inconsistent moderation is something you should strive for here.

[Skittles]

You discussed moderation in a less than perfect light, eddy! You're getting banned now, bub!

[eddyj]

Oh, well. Only wasted 11 posts then. Oops, 12 now.

[doom1701]

Originally Posted by Marc

I don't think having him over here would be a problem, so go ahead and invite him.

And so begins MSq's downward spiral...

[Makita]

Originally Posted by doom1701

And so begins MSq's downward spiral...

+1

2
3
4
and 5 charachters!
heh heh heh

Where/how will 'adult' topics/subject matter be handled? Will there be a seperate section for it/them?

[Marc]

Originally Posted by Makita

Where/how will 'adult' topics/subject matter be handled? Will there be a seperate section for it/them?

I'm very sensitive to the Websense issue, so I want to ensure that any adult-oriented stuff is squirrelled away behind a locked door so as not to offend the sensibilities of all those network firewalls out there.

The plan that we have right now is that there is a subscription model available for those who wish to donate toward the site. It's $12/year, and it basically gets you some added perqs like longer signatures, bigger private message box, more PM recipients, and a few other token things. It also gives access to a "VIP Lounge" which is a general subscribers-only area.

Once someone is a subscriber, they can then request access to the "Red Light District" which is the adults-only area. The reason that it's only available to subscribers is that by subscribing (via PayPal), they have made a reasonable demonstration that they are 18+. Since minors theoretically can't have PayPal accounts, this seems to be a reasonable way to cordon off that area from impressionable minds... Well, the young minds anyway. Your impressionable mind isn't my concern.

[eddyj]

Where is the option to donate/subscribe? I would be morer than willing to donate, even aside from the extras.

edit: found it in the user CP.

[Makita]

Originally Posted by Marc

Since minors theoretically can't have PayPal accounts, this seems to be a reasonable way to cordon off that area from impressionable minds... Well, the young minds anyway.

What about th eyoung minds which are over 18? Like the ones that are 3 years old in the head of a 30 year old? Do they get a free pair of Diapers with the donation to put their token things in?

Originally Posted by Marc

Your impressionable mind isn't my concern.

HEY!
(these new Smilies could be a bad thing - WOW can't have to many Smilies -Eh?)

[Kiyo]

About websense: does all it take is someone complaining about it to get it blacklisted? It seems to me that TCR was sort of a 'closed door' to begin with and required a registered user account to access. Sensibilities aside, is there anything that will prevent someone malicious from paying the $12 fee then reporting it? If someone could do that (and I, for one, wouldn't place it out of the realm of possibility), it strikes me that it would sort of defeat the point of your scenario..

Personally, I'd like to see TCR stay around, if nothing more than for some of the existing threads like the LiveJournal stuff.

[Marc]

I don't know what's up with Websense. I do know that I had modified the registration page for TCR to state in no uncertain terms that there was sexually-explicit dialogue and you had to be an adult to register. I'm sure that would set off lots of red flags (rightly so).

I'm sure that Main Square will be flagged by Websense as a forum/chat area, but that's usually not a problem for many sites.

If Websense were to check it out, they wouldn't see the adults area since that has to be explicitly requested, and I doubt that they'd go through that much effort.