Posts: 2,314
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Rob, if I were you I wouldn't even waste my time with this subject. You had Punaweb running for five years and you banned only two people during that time?! That speaks for itself! It's your site, you set the rules and you make the decisions. I think you have done a hell of a job managing this site. Just my 2c.
Aloha,
John S. Rabi ABR,CM,CRB,FHS,PB,RB
http://www.JohnRabi.com
Typically Tropical Properties
"The Next Level of Service!"
Posts: 2,980
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Joined: Aug 2006
This is a great website. I would not be a homeowner in Puna without it (and being a homeowner in Puna is a good thing!). It's a great, charitable community that I like to think is reflective of the District as a whole. There is no right to free speech on a privately run web forum. The right to free speech is only protected from government interference. So here, it's Rob's Rules, and that works out pretty well.
Sometimes the people that are the liveliest and most rambunctious add a special something that livens up the forum. It is always a shame to see them go, but they almost always leave voluntarily. I would still greet them as a neighbor if I met them at the Cash and Carry, and I have kept in touch with one or two.
The bottom line for me is that Punaweb has given me a great deal of guidance and allowed me to meet people that I would not have met otherwise, and to make connections that I would not have made otherwise.
I always think about the first time I came to Puna and met Jerry at the tidepools. Each figured out who the other was from our discussions on Punaweb. It was very cool (and Bear pointed out a great snorkel spot). I also met a great realtor, John Dirgo, through this site, not to mention many others, both near and far.
I've gained a lot, so I think you should be given a lot of latitude in how you run the place. I think you are very good at knowing when to draw the line. We are guests in your home and so need to conduct ourselves accordingly.
Posts: 2,019
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Rob!I can not thank you enough for this website.
I've learned so much,I met amazing people,I have got a lot of priceless advice.Everything has been said.I just want to add that the key is not WHAT you say,but HOW.The people who chose to shout and insult are not interested to discuss or resolve the problem.
And if they do it in a public,they insult everyone around who is forced to listen or leave.
So if I am sitting in a beautiful coffee shop by the ocean,sipping my coffee,talking to my friend...And here comes some bum and starts bothering people,filling the room with insults and stink...
Well,if the bum stays,I have to live. But I want my coffee and a nice time with my friend!
It's your coffee shop,Rob!
___________________________
Whatever you assume,please
just ask a question first.
Posts: 121
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OK, I'm probably gonna get slapped on the wrist for this, but here's something I just received on email today, and I think maybe it applies to some of the folks that spout off at the mouth without remembering their manners.....
"Never hold your farts in. They travel up your spine, visit your brain, and that is where ****ty ideas come from."
Sorry....I couldn't resist. Maybe some of these cranky people just need to "loosen up" and let 'er rip (rather than letting 'er rip outta da mout!)...
Again, I'm sorry for the curse word here.... maybe posting this was a ****ty idea.... [  ] Ooops, said it again....
Katie
Wherever you go, there you are.
Wherever you go, there you are.
Posts: 26
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Rob,
You're waaay more tolerant than I would have been. There just comes a point when enough's enough.
Your website is awesome! Hope you never get discouraged, because I don't know what I would do if I couldn't lurk on Punaweb. All of the information from so many people is just incredible.
Thank you so very much for the wonderful job you do!
Posts: 1,261
Threads: 55
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Punaweb is an invaluable resource for anyone interested in Puna. I wish it existed years ago, maybe I wouldn't have moved here twice and had to leave if I had a venue like this to help me know what to expect and what to avoid. Thanks Rob
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I'll offer my 2 cents. Even for us old timers - Punaweb helped me bridge the gap of a 9-5 office and working from home. At first when I left the office, I missed out on the social aspects of an office. I have found nice friends among the group, and also as a bonus some very nice clients. If the cost of that is a few wingnuts, well every group has them. Rob, you've done a great job in moderating with a light hand.
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Your question was "how open and tolerant should Punaweb be"?
It already is very open and tolerant.
Its open and tolerant of diverse opinions and knowledge levels -- as long as those opinions and information are offered in a helpful open-minded manner leaving things open for discussion and intelligent discourse. Some people have their own agendas and will not listen to another's opinion, no matter how well-presented, researched and thoughtful that opinion may be. Those people almost inevitably turn to personal attack and for that they should be reminded/reprimanded/removed as appropriate. Personal attack is the last, weakest defense of those that will not listen to reason. Its the online equivalent of kids in a schoolyard yelling at each other "you're a poopie-head!", "no, YOU'RE a poopie-head!".
The very few times (in several years, at least) that I've seen it necessary for you to intervene, Rob, was in a couple of situations:
1) the aforementioned "poopie-head" attack (by the way, "Poopie-Head Attack" would be a great name for a band).
2) when someone basically ridiculed (as a group) everyone that did not agree with them and offered no new information to sway other's opinion. In short, their response was "I know better than you, so shut up (poopie-head)".
3) when topics veered too far into issues that are known to be irrelevant to Punaweb (i.e. "Would a Candidate X be better for Puna and Hawaii versus Candidate Y" -- good topic, allowed as long as it dealt with that politician's platform or history on topics of concern to the Big Island and specifically Puna. "Politician Z has wreaked America and is a great big poopie-head" -- not allowed as this is not the place for national politics). Believe me, I have as strong of opinions on national and geopolitic issues as anyone, but this isn't AmericaWeb or WorldWeb -- its PUNAweb.
There are topics on here that I have opinions about -- but they are just personal opinions that really offer nothing to the discussions. I don't post in those threads because there are other far better informed people that do post. Instead, I learn from those people, check their sources and consider if perhaps my opinion should change.
Rob, you have been amazing tolerant. Recently, some people (and some I like very much unfortunately) have felt it necessary to voice the opinion that "Rob banned someone I like/Rob doesn't do it like I would/Rob is hogging the dodgeball and won't let me play".
Well, they need to get their own dodgeball.
(poopie-head -- sorry, couldn't resist)
John Dirgo, R, ABR, e-PRO
Aloha Coast Realty, LLC
808-987-9243 cell
http://www.alohacoastrealty.com
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Aloha kakou!
PUNAWEB - don't leave the mainland without it!
It might seem like a repeatable offense and deserve incarceration in the REAL world - BUT I echo ALL positive exclamations of how open and tolerant Punaweb IS!
This forum of diverse opinions, subject matter and personalities shows one of the joys of life - it's called community. While it might be easy to disavow the reality (using pseudonym's) of an internet forum pulling people together for a common cause - here it does!
The next best thing would be a daily LUAU! [ ] [^] [:p]
'O wau no me ka mahalo,
Joey
Posts: 496
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Aloha Rob, and a huge mahalo for YOUR Punaweb site! Like many other 'newbies', I have been reading - and learning! - far longer than I have been posting, and the overall feeling I get from the forums is one of tolerance, sharing of information, and goodwill.
Rob, you do a remarkable job in moderating the discussions. I certainly wouldn't have the patience you have shown recently. Just wanted to add my voice to the chorus of support from new members and old-timers alike.
aloha, Liz
"The best things in life aren't things."
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