Big Beautiful Dreamer
ridiculously contented
Dear Hyde Park participants,
Thank you for providing continuous lively and spirited discussion. With the election now only one day away, I wish to put forward several items of note.
1. Respect the right of others to have their own religious or political convictions without being called names on that account. This includes polictical affiliations like Republicans, Democrats, conservatives, liberals, and the like. Those who can't be tolerant can't post. (Da Rules of Hyde Park)
2. The term "teabagger" or any grammatical variants thereof, in reference to the Tea Party or any member or supporter thereof, is a violation of the rules. Enough learning-curve time has passed. Use of the term now constitutes an infraction.
3. From the time of this post until midnight Pacific Time on Tuesday, Nov. 2 (4 a.m. Wednesday, Nov. 3), no candidate-specific thread starts will be permitted. That is, no thread starts about Candidate X said Y; Candidate Z supporters said Q at a rally; Candidate M's latest campaign ad says H. This close to the election, given what's been showing up in Hyde Park, it seems all but impossible for such thread starts to result in civilized discussions; instead, they quickly deteriorate into "Did not!" "Did too!" "He did it first!"
3a. Don't work yourself into a lather reporting such thread starts. I'm monitoring HP and will see them. I promise. Any candidate-specific threads that were already on HP prior to 8 a.m. Eastern Time Wednesday, October 27, will be allowed to stay, so long as they remain civil.
3b. Once the midterm elections have been concluded, posters whose preferred candidates have won elections are strongly encouraged to please restrain their glee and/or gloating within HP. "I'm glad that X won and am hopeful that now HQP will change" is one thing. "HA! In your face, (other parties)!! Guess the Whatever Party showed you!" is another. I'm counting on you all to exercise some maturity on this one. (If, however, you wish to invite your long-suffering moderator to any victory parties at which food and drink will be served....)
4. A reminder and a plea for civility. I appeal to the presumption that all of us playing in Hyde Park are adults. We represent an impressive spectrum of employment, outlook, education and belief. I encourage everyone to take a minute, take a deep breath, think, and think again before each post.
5. A logistical matter: Months ago, I signed up for an event to be held next weekend without even thinking about that weekend's proximity to Nov. 2. I swear! The result is that I will be not just out of town but without access to the Internet from Nov. 4 through Nov. 6. I have appealed to the Webmaster and other moderators to sub for me. In my absence, it is even more important that you-all play nice for the substitute(s). It would be exceptionally gracious if you felt moved to privately or publicly thank 'em for stepping in on a particularly challenging weekend.
There. I'm finally done running my mouth. It is a genuine pleasure and privilege for me to moderate Hyde Park, and even though I'm sure we exasperate each other regularly, it's a task I value and enjoy. Thank you, gang.
Thank you for providing continuous lively and spirited discussion. With the election now only one day away, I wish to put forward several items of note.
1. Respect the right of others to have their own religious or political convictions without being called names on that account. This includes polictical affiliations like Republicans, Democrats, conservatives, liberals, and the like. Those who can't be tolerant can't post. (Da Rules of Hyde Park)
2. The term "teabagger" or any grammatical variants thereof, in reference to the Tea Party or any member or supporter thereof, is a violation of the rules. Enough learning-curve time has passed. Use of the term now constitutes an infraction.
3. From the time of this post until midnight Pacific Time on Tuesday, Nov. 2 (4 a.m. Wednesday, Nov. 3), no candidate-specific thread starts will be permitted. That is, no thread starts about Candidate X said Y; Candidate Z supporters said Q at a rally; Candidate M's latest campaign ad says H. This close to the election, given what's been showing up in Hyde Park, it seems all but impossible for such thread starts to result in civilized discussions; instead, they quickly deteriorate into "Did not!" "Did too!" "He did it first!"
3a. Don't work yourself into a lather reporting such thread starts. I'm monitoring HP and will see them. I promise. Any candidate-specific threads that were already on HP prior to 8 a.m. Eastern Time Wednesday, October 27, will be allowed to stay, so long as they remain civil.
3b. Once the midterm elections have been concluded, posters whose preferred candidates have won elections are strongly encouraged to please restrain their glee and/or gloating within HP. "I'm glad that X won and am hopeful that now HQP will change" is one thing. "HA! In your face, (other parties)!! Guess the Whatever Party showed you!" is another. I'm counting on you all to exercise some maturity on this one. (If, however, you wish to invite your long-suffering moderator to any victory parties at which food and drink will be served....)
4. A reminder and a plea for civility. I appeal to the presumption that all of us playing in Hyde Park are adults. We represent an impressive spectrum of employment, outlook, education and belief. I encourage everyone to take a minute, take a deep breath, think, and think again before each post.
5. A logistical matter: Months ago, I signed up for an event to be held next weekend without even thinking about that weekend's proximity to Nov. 2. I swear! The result is that I will be not just out of town but without access to the Internet from Nov. 4 through Nov. 6. I have appealed to the Webmaster and other moderators to sub for me. In my absence, it is even more important that you-all play nice for the substitute(s). It would be exceptionally gracious if you felt moved to privately or publicly thank 'em for stepping in on a particularly challenging weekend.
There. I'm finally done running my mouth. It is a genuine pleasure and privilege for me to moderate Hyde Park, and even though I'm sure we exasperate each other regularly, it's a task I value and enjoy. Thank you, gang.
