Brent Nyitray
Fairlington Blade
Let the mutherfuker burn!
jnc4p
Kevin S. Willis
Michigoose
lmsinca
markinaustin
Arcanaut
novahockey
quarterback
ScottC
yellojktI thought I would take the liberty of putting up at least a draft administrative thread because I want to mention a couple of things … administrative.
I am going to work on several posts and leave them in draft for a day or two (or longer) until they are ready to go. If you look at the drafts, you’ll see that I started one this morning, but it will take a little research to plug in some references and the like. It occurred to me over the weekend that starting and holding drafts that aren’t time sensitive might be a good practice for some of us to use so that we can percolate them and post them when there’s a need for some new content. I know some others have already been doing this a bit, so perhaps I’m just slow on the uptake, but there has been some discussion before of spacing out posts, and using draft status is a good way for us not only to work on items that we can’t knock out in a few minutes in one sitting but to have a little inventory of working items to drop in at the right time to keep things moving. Just a thought.
I don’t know whether others have been using labels, but I suggest we do start using them, creating new ones as needed and using labels others have already created when they fit. With a laissez-faire, collaborative blog, I suppose we might end up with label proliferation, but labels are good.
Also, I wonder whether anyone else has the same problem I have with the text editing window positioning itself so that about 3/4 of the editing buttons (font, ital, etc.) at the top is blocked by gray. Is this another IE7 thing? It’s very annoying, and I can’t even see what the two gray, rectangular buttons on the far left are. If I knew how to take a screen shot to show what my screen looks like, I would, but I am too inept. — QB
Filed under: administrative | Tagged: drafts, ie7 |
All Things in Moderation 
qbTotally agree with the draft status of new posts and then just dropping them in during a lull or when ready.I don't know what you mean by labels. Could you give me a little hint?I don't have that problem with the post/edit post box so I can't help you there.
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lms,I noticed that there is a labels button on the editing page; I didn't use it when I posted before, but labels are normally those topic or subject labels you see at the bottom of a blog post and make it handy to search for all posts relating to a topic. Normally you would see a list of labels on the side, along with the contributors, links, etc. I use them all the time on some professional blogs I read and find them invaluable.
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And, I realize now that I was a dummy and didn't try putting a label on this very post!
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Oh, okay. I saw that down there but didn't know what it was for. Good idea. Is someone working on something technical that I don't know about because html isn't working in the comment box, or at least it wasn't. Okay, that worked, I'll go back and try to post a link on previous thread.
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While I was out for most of the weekend, including early morning to late evening yesterday, I see that I also missed being called an irredeemable disciple of Lenin or something. I am going to take the liberty of responding here to that disucssion as well, and anyone who wants to "clean it up" later is welcome to do so.I probably should not have responded to cef's retort to Scott late Saturday night when I was bleary eyed and exhausted, and I offer apologies to all if it was too pointed. It seemed like the first foul blow struck here and got under my skin, because I let it. Many of us do have sharp edges that we should file off, as someone said. I have found, since before this blog was launched, that I like and respect many of my PL "adversaries," even many with whom I've "had words." Even Michi and I traded misguided blows on occasion over at PL. And if Taroya did not lay into me and call me an a-hole or something now and then, I might have felt bad. This is no different than "real life." As I've said before, some of my very best friends are liberals, and they are dear to me even if I find their opinions … wrong-ish.This being said, however, this blog has started off on a very good note, with consistently good-faith discussion and comaraderie, and I for one am not willing to see it move in the other direction, since part of its reason for being is not to become another PL-like slurfest. I don't want to ignore any contributors here or see a bunch of exchanges of "I'm ignoring you," "you're an idiot," "you're a hopeless miscreant." If you want to ignore someone, ignore them, but keep it to yourself. There are some people I pay more attention to than others, simply because I understand and am able to engage with some better than others. But I do not intend to start broadcasting which contributors or commenters I think are worthwhile and worthless, let alone start calling people disingenuous dogmatists, etc. If this is where the blog goes, then I will not want to participate. We haven't done any of this so far, and I think everyone who contibutes should commit to avoid it. Some people like lms and Kevin have scarcely ever uttered an unkind word over on PL, and this blog is a good chance for some of the rest of us to not be trapped into it as well. You can count me out of the school of thought that says considerate tone and restraint are self-censorship.I thought about deleting cef's comment attacking me and Scott, not because it hurts me, but just because it brings the blog down, but I decided to leave it, because I think it is a good example of what we should discourage and perhaps not allow at all. Honestly, it seems to me that if this is how cef feels about it, and how he intends to behave — and he was very clear about it — then this really is not the place for him. I am going to try very hard not to respond to personal attacks in the future other than with diplomacy, should they happen, and as a collaborative effort we will all have to try to work through these issues together to achieve what I think is the ideal of this blog. But as part of this I think we will have to not be too shy about what kind of commentary lives up to the standards we are trying to set for ourselves and what does not.
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Now, perhaps I can go back to defend Tax Cuts for Millionaires!
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Very nice comment qb. Obviously, many of us have a vision of a different kind of blog than the one we experienced over at the Plumline. We may or may not live up to that vision but it's a worthy experiment so we'll see. I think we all have to try very hard to temper our disagreements with the best intentions. Many of the resentments developed at the Plumline will quite naturally be brought over here and so we probably need to try to bring "new blood" on board and then lead by example.I'm not much good at critiquing or pointing out "wrong headedness" in others but I'll try if that's what everyone wants. Otherwise, I will try to lead by example and see if that works.Everyone from the Plumline who has landed here, perhaps it's time to leave the old animosities behind and start fresh.
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Well, I woulda wrote something nasty to Cefy, but he didn't mention me! What do I have to do to get noticed around here! And I was the only Conservative/Libertarian on that thread! Can I use anymore exclamation points!
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Troll, you are probably heading for probationary discipline back at the VRWC, I'm sorry to say. You just aren't meeting your quotas, and Darth Cheney does not tolerate slackers. Try to be more dogmatic and less open minded and compassionate. Maybe Scott and I can coach you up you over a beer later this week.
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You're so brave McWing…………that's why we love ya. And just a little funny to boot.
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I'd like to be a fly on that pub wall.
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Hey, someone put label on my post! Or does Blogger now respond to our thoughts?
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FairlingtonBlade, I wish you'd finish that rice post and put it up. We could use a neutral food discussion.
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Well it wasn't me qb, probably Kevin or Scott.Looks like the market's heading south again today. I've barely been able to keep up with the news but I guess it must be Europe again? Anyone know anything else?
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Troll, Have you ever noticed that lmsinca won't call you troll, even though that's your name. That's how dedicated she is to camaraderie!qb,Exactly right. But it's going to have to be a collective effort to both restrain ourselves, and especially modulate how to respond to things we might take offense to (I'm human, there's been a few things that have rubbed me wrong), and look at like we might someone getting off-topic at an agenda driven meeting. We just move it back on topic. The topic is not who doesn't know what, or who isn't as experience as us in this area . . . Feminist self-help author, Harriet Lerner, advises us (in The Dance of Anger) to make statements about where we are and ourselves when trying to communicate about a disagreement. Because it's honest, and people tend to understand that you are talking about you, and where you are, and what you are thinking. When I start telling you what you are, and what you know, and how you act, and what you always do . . . it can strangle communication.Fisticuffs can be fun in certain contexts (many of the folks on PlumLine are there to fight, as on any blog, or have their poor opinion of the opposite side confirmed, rather than open up a dialog). But as trash-talking on X-Box live is not really about any kind of substantial communication, neither is a brawl between AngryConservative467 and KnowItAllLiberal2011.But, you know. BTW, I read your comments on the tax cut for millionaires thread QB, and while I think we may disagree on the uncertainty and instability that might result from a small, incremental tax cut (indeed, one might argue that a new millionaires tax would offer more certainty than the constant battle about tax hikes or cuts do), but I should note, again, I don't see that as a justification for the tax hike. While I do support a more progressive tax system, I don't support a millionaire's tax (or anything being called that), and I think the AMT was not the right approach, either. A small incremental increase in top marginal rates up to 50% from $300k to $300 million doesn't seem like a bad idea, to me. At the same time, I'm very sympathetic with Troll's point: the government is not a particularly good steward with a huge amount of our money, in many cases, why should we support giving the government more? Which to me becomes another discussion: how do you preserve the good things government does, or even increase them, while getting rid of waste and fraud and foolishness? Or is that even possible? Every inhalation has an exhalation–is the price for every Interstate Highway System an expensive, intransigent bureaucracy somewhere else?
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"I'm not much good at critiquing or pointing out "wrong headedness" in others but I'll try if that's what everyone wants."You're already doing a great deal, lmsinca, let's not over-extend one of our greatest blog assets. 😉
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I second what you said above, qb. I think that we really can "just get along" with some effort, agreeing to disagree over some issues that we know we will never come to agreement on. And on an administrative note, I think that the idea of labels is a great one, and will become increasingly important as our archive gets larger. Right now it's easy to find an old thread if you want to go back and re-read, but if we keep growing at this rate that's going to become essentially impossible in a couple of weeks. I'm going to add the "add a label" to the part about posting on the FAQ.And please, all, go to the FAQ sheet and edit it. I'll keep bugging you guys on each and every thread for a couple of days, then you're stuck with it! 🙂
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quarterback: guilty as charged. I meant to mention I had done that, to be illustrative.
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Anyone who wants to go label (or fix labels) on old posts can certainly do so.
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Not guilty as charged, kevin, but brilliant and handy as usual.
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michi, good morning and are you leaving the FAQ in last nights thread temporarily? Am I reading that correctly? I can't seem to think of anything to add right now, I think you did a great job.Thanks Kevin, I'll just stick to who I am for now unless someone has a better idea, lol.And there was one comment over the weekend when I did call McWing "troll", which was a big slip-up on my part. I've never found that word particularly appealing.Also FYI Kevin the only person commenting so far over at Ezras is johnbannedagain. hahaha
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LM: That's funny! I'm trying add the Recent Comments widget. Works in preview but doesn't actually work on the blog. Hmmmm.
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Kevin, I see the recent comments on my screen (and they're updating).Yes, lms, I was just going to leave it in last night's Bits & Pieces for a couple of days and then move it up to the tab.I've always called Troll "Troll" because I think his handle perfectly showcases his sense of humor (which matches mine in many ways). I did offer to call him "Mr Troll" here, but he very graciously told me that I could drop the Mr since we're all friends together. . .
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Obviously McWing doesn't object to the name since he gave it to himself, lol. I think I'm probably just weird , and no I'm not looking for validation. When our kids were young the "S" word was taboo and it wasn't the usual "S" word, it was stupid. We used to let them pick one naughty word they could use on vacation (they had to take a vote first and all agree to the same word) and when we came home it was taboo again. I know it sounds crazy but it seemed to work.
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FYI to all, I showed my email in my profile so anyone can yell at me privately if you feel the need.
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I like that recent comments bit. Does it just load automatically, post a certain number of comments and then roll over to new ones? Very cool.
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I don't see anything under recent comments, though (nor under followers, although I saw there are followers in the dashboard — I'm not even sure what a follower is, email updates?).
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Warning, trying comments in a pop up window. I don't think it will help, so I'm going to change it back.
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Just got an email from suekzoo, she has sent ashotinthedark an email re ATiM.
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Good deal. I can't get Sue past her Net Nanny. She can read, but can't comment. Damn you, Net Nanny. Damn you!
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Late checking in this morning, but wanted to thank you, qb, for the thoughtful post above.I think we've all lost our heads in the heat of the moment, (except maybe Kevin and lmsinca), but I don't want this place to drown in a flurry of middle-school insults. Here's hoping I keep that in mind and learn to not take everything personally.
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pragmaticagain is fine with me. Let others weigh in as well though, I'm easy.
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I guess this will have to be another "clean up later" thread.I personally don't think that pragmaticagain is likely to want to (or perhaps be able) to live by the standards we are aspiring to meet. He normally trashes me at PL with withering personal insults. Maybe he could shed that persona, but I think he is someone who (like two others whom I won't name) does not believe in the possibility of a conservative/libertarian who is in good faith. As I've said to lms, at least, I won't play martyr or prima donna on these questions. If the group wants to add a contributor I would not add, I'm fine with that, but I if things go as I fear, the blog heads in the wrong direction.I saw that shrink took a break or left, apparently due to a perceived slight, which is unfortunate. We opinionated people are bound to fall into temptation now and then, but it seems to me that we are all grown ups and should be able to resist. It isn't that complicated. We just don't do that, and if we do that, we say to each other, hey, don't do that, there's a better way. We might all need a little reprogramming on this, so let's reprogram and decompress.
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Also really glad about ashot. We traded some blows long ago, too, but he's great. I tried to track him down, too, but failed.
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While I am rambling on about tone and the like, let me finish with one other thought, and that is, I certainly have no problem with good-natured ribbing or spirited debate. In "real life," your friends earn the right to call you a knucklehead when you need it, but that is because they are friends to you first, and the spirit of their comments is something that has been established. I like the show House, and my favorite line is when they all yell at each other, "You idiot!." So, I am not going to fly off the handle if lms or michi or shrink or someone says, one day, "Come on qb, don't be such a knucklehead!" (Although I doubt they will.) We manage to communicate and relate to people in the real world, and we can in the ether world as well.
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I'm seriously thinking of nominating qb as site moderator. Just kidding, I hope we don't need one, but you've really thought about this and have shared a lot of great ideas. I just put up a purely political piece to test the waters as they say, not you specifically, but everyone. I couldn't resist.
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One thing: why on earth don't you post like this in PL, quarterback?For me, it is like night and day, reading you here, and having read you on PL.
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I'm putting up a "Bits & Pieces" open thread for tonight if anyone wants to contribute anything before it posts in several hours.
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Taroya, Because you (the collective) are always calling me a fascist a-hole? : ) Hey, I don't know. I admit error. I went to PL in the first place just to ask Greg a challenging question about his posts on Cheney and torture, the pack descended upon me, the rest is history. Seriously, though, as I told lms the other day, I am laying off PL for the most part for a little while, because it is too hard to deal with the attacks from some of the crew there and remain serene about it.
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@taroya and qb: I think the thing is that the overall tone here is much calmer than PL. We've also gotten to know each other much better in just week than we could have on PL. . . plus group dynamics are different when you're talking about a small, self-selected group. Here it's harder to get your knickers in a twist and go huffing off without somebody saying, "Hey! What's up with the attitude, Michigoose?" I'd like to think that we can be open enough about calling each other out about what we feel is unwarranted poo-slinging (not that I think any of us will descend that far, but everybody has a bad day now and then).I've been off line most of the day dealing with the "Real World", but this has been a really good discussion string, qb!
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