Poll - member input requested..

[Marty]

I have come back to this 3 times today..not knowing my answer. Coming to this board and few others is a relaxing thing to do, and I know those topics can get heated. I can choose to stay away from it, but I usually lurk anyways. Not sure if I like the idea, but if others do, it is OK.

Kevin, your room is safe!

[bridget]

I voted "yes" though it would have to be heavily monitored to keep it under control. I'd like to trust that members would have respect and kindness towards one another even though we might normally post on the cat boards or dog boards exclusively. I see the need for a board where people can talk about NCR and NDR topics, ask questions of other members regarding life or news issues, or just post about things going on in our lives.

I think you could give it a try....you can always close the board if it becomes too much trouble.

Thanks for the poll!

[k9Karen]

I'm voting yes. I think it would be a great place where the 'cat-people' and 'dog-people' can come together and get to know each other. I think one of the rules should be that you can disagree with an opinion without being disagreable or rude, and personal insults must be banned. (You can hate the idea without hating the person). That's what killed the 'other board' we are better off not talking about. It should really get interesting as the election gets closer. Of course, if the polls have it right. over 90% of people already have their minds made up anyway. I doubt a forum like this will have too much of an effect on those, like me, that already know where they stand (ABB).

[Traci]

Cindy, your comments, my sentiments (and hopes) exactly

Re: confusion between Kevin's Room and the new forum. Kevin's Room is currently a forum where non-pet health topics are posted, and a 'safe room' if you will, to discuss mild-natured topics, humor, teasing Davet--or Kevin-- (just do a quick run through the topics, you get the idea). The new forum would be similar except more open to topics rarely presented here....politics, religion, current events, family issues, society, topics that affect all of us in some way or another, whereby members can exchange opinions, ideas, even rational debate.....as long as people respect each other, act civil and do not cross the line (the disclaimer will spell it out)

As stated, it would be strictly moderated, and all users would be expected to follow the rules...as always, there are no exceptions to our House Rules, same would apply to the disclaimer for the new forum in particular, but since we understand the nature of the topics to be posted, the "rules" would be alittle more strict (in that heated arguments, flames, personal attacks for voicing an opinion would not be tolerated). To that effect, if a member chooses to enter the forum, it is at his/her will and understanding of the rules and disclaimer.

Kind of hard to explain further without actually testing it out.

Keep the votes and comments coming...

[jason]

to clear up some recent issues here, let me say the following.

difference from kevin's room is that issues that are deemed easily heated (this is semi-loose keep in mind) will be allowed in this new forum but not in kevin's.

there have been a few topics deleted from kevin's room that most are probably not aware of. the way kevin's room is now is how it will always stay, you can discuss non-health related and non-animal related issues there yet you are near guaranteed (admins/moderators are not perfect) to not be offended by entering and reading. the user (you) will also feel safe from having to wade through strong opinions that could easily offend. i dont think i need to give examples of kevins room topics, they are there now.

this new forum will have the possibility of offending. lets face it...not everyone on this board believes in god. as a matter of fact, some people probably think i should of capitalized the word god. so, perhaps someone will start a topic called "god or God?" and give their point of view asking for others to chime in. as long as the points of view do not attempt to undermine another persons character, it will be allowed. doesnt mean CatHelp-Online nor its administrators agree with it, it means that the discussion is allowed to take place. the topic "god or God" would not be permitted in kevin's room since its not what we consider as topical for there...if you have a problem with that, then your probably on the wrong board already.

comments on the above example such as "people who dont capitalize God are clearly going to burn in hell" will not be tolerated as it violates part of the rules for the forum in addition to the entire board.

the actual disclaimer/rules for this forum are still being drafted, it will probably be semi-long winded if i spend some serious time on it...but the jest of it is "feel free to talk about various issues that you and your sane friends may talk about but be mindful to do so with regards to other point of views"...something like that. basically, your topic freedom will be expanded but you must still be nice.

i have no problems with keeping a strict handle on this new forum as i and Traci have with the others already. we have quite a long list of banned ip addresses and usernames with plenty of space for more, i loose no sleep with it.

we really do appreciate users taking the time to put down your concerns, questions and thumbs up or down on this issue. thank you.

[momPaws]

I agree with others- thought that was already what Kevin's room was..maybe another room would be overkill and dilute threads???????
PS- after reading Jason's post above - would not like to see a space that could promote controversy. That is why this board is so good - decent discussions and just fun type of ribbing. I believe to carry it further in one room could cause friction to spill over on the entire board.
There are many "controversial type" of boards out there for people who like to get mad and argue..just my humble opinion...and whatever you do, you do.

[jason]

after reading Jason's post above - would not like to see a space that could promote controversy. That is why this board is so good - decent discussions and just fun type of ribbing. I believe to carry it further in one room could cause friction to spill over on the entire board.

again, all forums are moderated...this new addition would not tarnish CatHelp-Online into being "one of those boards that got ran over with anger and trolls". those boards have weak leaders, to put it mildly.

There are many "controversial type" of boards out there for people who like to get mad and argue..just my humble opinion...and whatever you do, you do.

yes, we agree and actually i have been to them and participated myself on occasion. we are not asking our users to accept anything similar here. i really hope people are not thinking that, we wouldn't dream of such a decision to make.

again, the idea is add a forum that allows a wider range of topics to be discussed without having it deleted. kevin's room will remain the same forever since it is serving its purpose well, open *and* safe discussions.

to be honest, i think kevin's room is harder to moderate. many times, we have had to make "on the fence" judgement calls on a topic/reply for the sake of "where it was going"...this new forum would allow more flexibility. and it will be simpler (from a moderator's point of view) to delete a topic in this forum since its not "certain topics will be deleted" but "bad tones, anger, name calling, putting down one another" will be the triggers for deleting and they are easy to spot. the actual topics will be under scrutiny (sp?) as well, but we will only delete the obvious "way out there" type of topics (im not giving examples ) and of course, we reserve the right to make judgement calls on anything as we already do.

when the new forum is created, you will not automatically be allowed in....you will have to join a group to do so....so you entering will be no mistake. we are taking precautions that we feel are needed to ensure the safety you enjoy here will not be undermined in any way.

if my assumptions about this forum are wrong, deleting it will be a point and click operation so im hardly concerned about this...Traci and i have put so much of ourselves into this board and site such that we will never allow it to become something that we do not approve of...and changes such as these will always be presented to the users first for their input.

you can still disagree with this, its ok...im just trying to keep things clear so your making informed decisions.

[Beth Va]

I haven't vote yet ...but what is the planned differences between "Kevin's Room" and the "Lounge"...

This is where I become confused

I am confused too. What would be the difference between Kevin's Room and the Lounge? I haven't voted yet either.

[jason]

I haven't vote yet ...but what is the planned differences between "Kevin's Room" and the "Lounge"...

This is where I become confused

I am confused too. What would be the difference between Kevin's Room and the Lounge? I haven't voted yet either.

Beth, ive tried to explain this twice now on this thread. have you seen my responses? seems like some folks are understanding, maybe someone has another way of explaining it.

again, the short of it is that this new forum will allow topics to contain debates on things such as politics, economics, religion, latest news (including perhaps a controversial news story), fashion, i dont know...etc etc etc....as long as people are nice and the topic is not a "way out there subject", its allowed. kevin's room does not permit debating and does not permit things like (im making this up, bear with me please) :

• i sure wish the conservatives in this country would take a moment to understand the liberal movement for what it really is, not what the media twists it to be.

  well, i think i know what you mean...im a conservative and really do understand that liberal motives are driven from compassion for humanity and while that is noble, i feel a federal government should be more balanced when taking into consideration the citizens of an entire country.

kevin's room is a fun room that is safe from debates like the above. you see, technically nothing above violates board rules yet its not allowed anywhere on the board, this new forum would allow it. perhaps most of you are not aware of this (since Traci and i tend to be quick with it) but ive deleted many posts into kevs room like the above, we know that users are not anticipating to see that and dont want to deal with it as its not something that is typically allowed.

i will take the heat for this if the general population hates this idea, i really thought it would allow people to hang out here more and voice some things that are perhaps on your mind but are unable to due to the contraints we have on other forums, but if the majority doesnt like it...then we may not move forward with it.

[Traci]

Ok, folks, let's get alittle more serious on this topic. Jason has done an excellent job of describing what the forum's purpose would be. Please read the posts in full to get the idea we are proposing.

We are taking every comment here seriously into consideration. I think the majority thus far are expressing concerns that relate to safety. In a nutshell, your safety on our boards has always been a priority on CHO...we've never let you down before, it's not our intention to ever let you down in the future.

Our intentions are to take every precaution to ensure the new forum does not negatively affect our members or CHO as a whole. It would simply be a forum to express views otherwise not allowed in other forums here. Since we have a wide diversity of people here, we thought it would be interesting to allow a wider subject content for those not wanting to focus simply on pet health. It is not "controversy" per se that would be allowed, but rather "diversity" in subject matter. If controversy appears, it will be strictly monitored and handled appropriately, in the same manner as we have with all of our forums.

Think about it, this entire thread is a perfect example of what we are proposing. Allowing different subject matter, different viewpoints, allowing expression without fear.

We'd truly like to see more comments here. Don't be shy, your input has been and always will be invaluable to us. So far we have 14 votes, now compare that to the number of registered users.