Serious Eric
Enthusiast
Many of you may be aware that the Snake Pit (Off Topic) is occasionally at odds with the law.
Some of you may also know that over the last year or so there have been periodic rumblings for a new forum dubbed Viper Alley. The Alley would be a place where we could have - shall we say - more spirited discussions at a more adult level than the current G->PG rating preferred by the owner/operators of this site.
This is not a revolt by the peasantry (as revolting as the peasants may be), rather a proposal to the VCA board of directors, arrived at (to a certain degree) with their guidance. We the denizens of Off Topic submit this proposal to you in an effort to see how you would feel about the addition of Viper Alley as a new forum on this board.
Viper Alley:
1.) It's a separate forum on the VCA board. Does not replace OT.
2.) You request permission for membership to Viper Alley. Just like you requested permission to be a member of the VCA site as a whole. The permission request specifies that membership is only for ages >= 18. Obviously this can't be proven, but at least we state that the forum is not for minors. Anyone found violating this requirement can be immediately banned. Suitable warning phraseology is included on the membership application screen letting people know that this is a loosely moderated forum for banter jokes and "spirited discussions" between adults.
3.) It's open to ANY adults regardless of viper ownership. Not VCA only and not vipers only. Here's why: Some of the best posters here are non-viper owners and some of the most *interesting* and *entertaining* debates we've had here have been with interlopers from the Supra/Vette/Wrx/ricer world. I do NOT want to close off the gene pool here. We'll just end up bored and as one member put it - "eating our own"
4.) Some form of self-moderation perhaps along the lines of what Michael Pierce suggested. Intensity ratings for each thread as voted periodically by the posters to those threads. Mere lurkers and readers cannot rate someone elses thread. How about a rating system based on the movie system which everyone is familiar with - (G,PG,PG13,R,NC17,X). Perhaps X should be the rating level which the posters use to kill a thread when it gets too foul. I know this may sound like an honor based can of worms, but hey we work on that honor system to a large degree around here anyway.
Why self moderation and thread ratings? To provide a warning or preview to potential readers that this might not be a thread to their liking. Hint hint guys ... I really think the board would look more favorably upon the Alley if we could make this feature work. And the self-moderation part is obviously to relieve a bit of the mediation burden from the true moderators.
5.) The Alley is still overseen by official mods. The guys we have now are fine by me. They're experienced and for all the slander they sometimes get, I think they do a good job of walking the tightrope. If Tony & MP are overworked and sick of it and don't want to moderate another forum then that's OK too. I'm sure we could find volunteers around here to pony up some time to moderate the Alley.
If a "self-rating" system is not working on a particular thread for some reason, the official mods can make adjustments. If trolls have hijacked a particular thread they can put em out the door. Final arbiters and referees
6.) Bikinis and calendar girls allowed. No ****, no boobage. I'm saying this to be pragmatic because I'm virtually positive the lords will nix anything more risque than PG13 pics. And then we'll be right back to the same old futile head-butting contest.
7.) Some language restrictions, but loosened from some of the crazy stuff we have to put up with now. I'm not sure any of us want to see this become the Supra Forum. Example Avatar: A split ****** thumbnail of a pornstar captioned with "Chasey Lane's Biggest Fan". Those guys are lowbrow neanderthals ... we're better'n that.
Thank you. Vote now, vote often and comments are welcome.
This is not a revolt by the peasantry (as revolting as the peasants may be), rather a proposal to the VCA board of directors, arrived at (to a certain degree) with their guidance. We the denizens of Off Topic submit this proposal to you in an effort to see how you would feel about the addition of Viper Alley as a new forum on this board.
Viper Alley:
1.) It's a separate forum on the VCA board. Does not replace OT.
2.) You request permission for membership to Viper Alley. Just like you requested permission to be a member of the VCA site as a whole. The permission request specifies that membership is only for ages >= 18. Obviously this can't be proven, but at least we state that the forum is not for minors. Anyone found violating this requirement can be immediately banned. Suitable warning phraseology is included on the membership application screen letting people know that this is a loosely moderated forum for banter jokes and "spirited discussions" between adults.
3.) It's open to ANY adults regardless of viper ownership. Not VCA only and not vipers only. Here's why: Some of the best posters here are non-viper owners and some of the most *interesting* and *entertaining* debates we've had here have been with interlopers from the Supra/Vette/Wrx/ricer world. I do NOT want to close off the gene pool here. We'll just end up bored and as one member put it - "eating our own"
4.) Some form of self-moderation perhaps along the lines of what Michael Pierce suggested. Intensity ratings for each thread as voted periodically by the posters to those threads. Mere lurkers and readers cannot rate someone elses thread. How about a rating system based on the movie system which everyone is familiar with - (G,PG,PG13,R,NC17,X). Perhaps X should be the rating level which the posters use to kill a thread when it gets too foul. I know this may sound like an honor based can of worms, but hey we work on that honor system to a large degree around here anyway.
Why self moderation and thread ratings? To provide a warning or preview to potential readers that this might not be a thread to their liking. Hint hint guys ... I really think the board would look more favorably upon the Alley if we could make this feature work. And the self-moderation part is obviously to relieve a bit of the mediation burden from the true moderators.
5.) The Alley is still overseen by official mods. The guys we have now are fine by me. They're experienced and for all the slander they sometimes get, I think they do a good job of walking the tightrope. If Tony & MP are overworked and sick of it and don't want to moderate another forum then that's OK too. I'm sure we could find volunteers around here to pony up some time to moderate the Alley.
If a "self-rating" system is not working on a particular thread for some reason, the official mods can make adjustments. If trolls have hijacked a particular thread they can put em out the door. Final arbiters and referees
6.) Bikinis and calendar girls allowed. No ****, no boobage. I'm saying this to be pragmatic because I'm virtually positive the lords will nix anything more risque than PG13 pics. And then we'll be right back to the same old futile head-butting contest.
7.) Some language restrictions, but loosened from some of the crazy stuff we have to put up with now. I'm not sure any of us want to see this become the Supra Forum. Example Avatar: A split ****** thumbnail of a pornstar captioned with "Chasey Lane's Biggest Fan". Those guys are lowbrow neanderthals ... we're better'n that.
Thank you. Vote now, vote often and comments are welcome.
