Live chat for Asheville City Council 02/09/2010
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Join us today at 5pm for real-time observation, policy discussion, and pithy comments as we liveblog tonight’s Asheville City Council meeting.
The agenda and all the supporting documentation can be found here. For the complete multimedia experience, be sure to turn on your TV to Charter Cable Channel 11. (As of this post, there is no web-streaming of council meetings.)
This week, as an experiment, and because certain people are scared “The Man” is stalking them, Facebook Logins are not required. However, people who opt not to use a Facebook login will find their comments delayed since their text will be placed into a moderation queue.
Even those with Facebook logins will, at first, notice a delay as the moderator confirms your account. This is done because trolls depend on anonymity like hyenas depend on abandoned carcasses.
Please re-read those last two paragraphs. Go ahead, I’ll wait.
…
Understood? Good.
If you have problems with chat that are _NOT_ related to: “My comment isn’t showing up immediately”, then fire an email to brainshrub@gmail.com.
Why all the moderation precautions?
Because I’d rather be accused of censorship than allow a curmudgeon ruin this experiment in participatory democracy. If you don’t like the moderation precautions, set up your own chat room. After all, it’s a free country. (Kinda.)
If you’d like clarification about what is, and isn’t, acceptable – please read the ScrutinyHooligans comments policy.
Here are two examples in case you’re too lazy to follow the above link:
- Acceptable Comment: I disagree with Councilperson Bluster’s proposal to tax petrulli oil. I find it socialistic, unchristian, and against the Founding Fathers wishes. Also, I feel Bluster cares more about developers than the citizens of Asheville. Bluster is a mean, shortsighted person.
- Unacceptable Comment: I saw Bluster cheating on her spouse last night. Also, here is a link to a pornographic website. And by the way, I have several mean things to say about another person not on council because I have a personal grudge against them. I advocate violence. Ha Ha! Isn’t it funny how I made a violent/racist comment? Oh, hey, I’m “just kidding” … so I think that makes it okay.
The most common innocent non-trolling mistake people make is to copy + paste tons of text from other sites into the chat window. If you have a point to make that requires a reference to another article – then please limit yourself to a few sentences and a link.
Also note: Councilman Smith has absolutely NO control (editorial or otherwise) over this liveblogging event. Any observations, opinions, humor, etc. are solely the responsibility of the person making them.
And now, without further ado, here’s the chat-box. Simply click “start” after 5pm. (You won’t see a “start” button until 5pm.)
- pvh
15 Comments
February 9th, 2010 at 3:24 pm
The moderation que, of course, will make it easier for The Man to dispatch his black helicopters and catch you sitting there waiting for your message to pop up.
Best to use Facebook – social media confuses The Man and causes his black helicopters to wobble in flight.
February 9th, 2010 at 3:25 pm
queue, even
February 9th, 2010 at 3:43 pm
This week, as an experiment, and because certain people are scared “The Man” is stalking them, Facebook Logins are not required.
You don’t have to be a dick about it, Paul. I asked a simple, legitimate question: “Why Facebook? How does requiring it help facilitate this discussion?” I never, ever got a straight answer. What I got was ridicule and circular reasoning. “We’re requiring Facebook because people will post nasty things otherwise.” “How does Facebook prevent that?” “You should see the nasty things people are trying to post.”
Thanks for the condescension, but no thanks.
February 9th, 2010 at 3:51 pm
1) How would anyone know I was referring to you unless you said something?
2) I’ve explained why fb login is required repeatedly. When I found an elegant solution just for you – you upped your demand that FB login be dropped for everyone.
My suggestion: Let snark roll off your back and be thankful so many people at SH, including myself, respect your opinion enough to try and accommodate you.
- pvh
February 9th, 2010 at 6:04 pm
Is this ‘the man’ to which you refer?
http://news.cnet.com/8301-13578_3-10448060-38.html
February 9th, 2010 at 8:23 pm
Why is everbody so sure they haint no black heliocopters?
Fact! Heliocopters exist.
Fact! Black paint exists.
Fact! Paint will stick to heliocopters.
Fact! Black heliocopters are often used to abduct people who try to warn the public abou
February 9th, 2010 at 11:46 pm
Best live blog ever, y’all. Well done. So glad you were here in community.
February 10th, 2010 at 1:26 am
FACT
February 10th, 2010 at 1:56 am
Paul
With all due respect, you never explained to me why you felt a Facebook login was so necessary. I asked for specifics, and your private response to me amounted to simply restating the need to police uncivil comments. I wanted to understand how a FB login ensured that, and why you seemed so intent on making it a requirement, as opposed to simply moderating things directly, and you never acknowledged the question, much less answered it.
The fact that you made the non-FB login available this time would seem to show that it isn’t as indispensable as you made it seem a couple of weeks ago. And that’s all I was trying to get – an option for anyone who doesn’t want to have to sign up with FB, not just me. I’m glad you decided to provide that option.
Yes, I reacted badly when you opened up the chat with a dismissive “certain people are scared “The Man” is stalking them” comment. That wasn’t a fair or respectful characterization of my concerns, or the others who questioned the need for Facebook.
My suggestion to you: maybe don’t treat someone asking questions as someone you have to song & dance.
February 10th, 2010 at 5:01 pm
s th blggrs hv n prblm wth prsnl ttcks n th lv cht, t lst frm nd t th rght ppl, nd tht Grdn hs n prblm ndrsng thm. Thgh f crs f wrt th sm thngs bt thm wld b cnsrd s trll, Hypcrts!
February 10th, 2010 at 6:48 pm
I have nothing to do with the liveblog, Alan. I was at the meeting with you.
(If you don’t like the way things work around here, you don’t have to visit. There is also the option of starting your own blog where you can make the rules.)
You haven’t been censored, though finding fancy new IP addresses to get around Admin’s disemvoweling is very tricksy. You’ve never been labeled as “troll” that I’ve seen.
Lastly, I imagine there are very few who escape your keen eye for hypocrisy.
February 10th, 2010 at 8:08 pm
will someone get Alan a tissue please.
February 10th, 2010 at 10:27 pm
Will someone please get Alan a child. Just one?
February 11th, 2010 at 1:23 am
“There’s only one rule that I know of, babies — God damn it, you’ve got to be kind.” SH Comments Policy.
I’m afraid I agree with Alan, in that the criticism towards him during the live chat crossed the line into the ‘unkind’. He annoys me too sometimes, but he shows up, he has things to say, and he’s not always wrong.
February 11th, 2010 at 8:23 am
It DOES come down to our individual filters. I can come up with something snarky to say about just everyone who posts here. Ralph, Jim, Michael, Gordon, Alan, Shad, Barry…..As I watched the Council meeting and read the live chat, I too was struck as to how much the chat was starting to resemble some of the worst trolling on the C-T website or even Stomperland.
The old adage about bringing it down to your attacker’s level by matching his snarkiness is true.
I’m not saying that I don’t get annoyed by some of the commenters on this blog; I AM saying that it is better to keep my snarks to myself, and in the future, I hope that the conversation can stay civil and focus on the issues and not on a drinking game whose only purpose is to belittle someone.
In the spirit of full disclosure, I said some snarky things last week on this site, and if I offended any one, I apologise and will try to hold myself to the standards that I have set out above.
The live chat otherwise was a very good adjunct to watching the live television coverage, and I was TOTALLY impressed with the two women police officers for coming forward with their stories. I have to assume that they were not coming out for the first time at Council, but if either of them was, WOW!