Official Order #227 – The Happiness and Smiles Act

So I have been examining the Dan Carlin forums for a while for insight onto these forums. Me and Dan’s boards are similar in a lot of ways, only his is exclusively dedicated to political and historical debate, he still has that open and free flowing debate but he doesn’t have the same issues that we have so I was wondering why exactly this is. As we all know the forums have been ramping up in nonsense drama and bogged down in fruitless bickering. For a long time things weren’t this way, sure there were arguments and debates and heated ones at that, but there was not often drama and the levels of discourse were much higher. The major difference between me and Dan’s boards is that he didn’t let the user base debate site policy and administration. Therefore I will be moving in that direction effective immediately. Site policy will now fall to me and me alone and mods will be seen as administering my policy. Political and philosophical debates are far more abstract and much less personal, issues over how the site should be run are by their very nature personal and this has obviously become a huge issue. I will let it be no longer

Therefore I will be taking far more control and will be exercising my central authority. All site decisions will be instigated by me. I will be taking personal responsibility for all mod actions, and the tribune position will be dissolved within a week. I realize now that elections only encouraged rivalry among the members and was a major source of division. All suggestions on how the site should be run should be directed to me. Any criticisms you have should be directed to me. Therefore I will be keeping the PA open and I would like all suggestions and criticisms directed at me and me alone. I welcome the opportunity to hear your input but, there will be no more blaming each other, the tribunes, or mods for what happens on the site, it will all be under my direct responsibility. We will live or die by my word and my word alone. Once my judgment has come down on an issue of site policy that is it, the debate is over. I will make public all decisions by me and their justifications, but you will have to accept that judgment as a judge handing out a sentence or a teacher handing out a grade.

Besides this nothing else will change. The rules of the coffee house won’t change and I want to be robust political and philosophical debate here, but in terms of site action and policy there needs to be unity, absolution and clarity. All of which I shall move to provide. As owner of the site policy choices should be mine and mine alone.

Alright now it is time to look at clan reforms.