Into the Forums: The week ending Jan. 2, 2009

It’s a new year, and with it comes a new week of content on the Mountain Xpress Forums. What are the burning-hot topics at the start of 2009? Let’s take a look.

In the Local subforum, Managing Editor Jon Elliston asked the forum regulars about their personal additions to WNC Magazine‘s recent list of the 50 most influential people from the Asheville area.

Moving on to Non-Local topics, the discussion is still rolling along in several well-established threads, such as Economic advice—who and who not to listen to, New York’s New Senator, More than Two Political Parties and Who is to Blame for the current Economy?

Over in the Arts & Entertainment subforum, moderator Zen has been keeping us updated on the Asheville Mural Project’s ongoing efforts underneath the I-240 overpass, sparking more than a little debate with longtime forum contributor Ralph Roberts over the “tacky” and “garish” nature of the project. In other arts-related topics, the long-established What song is stuck on your head today? thread recently cracked an impressive 15 pages, while Kanye West :: 808s & Heartbreak has evolved into quite the discussion on modern-day hip-hop.

And in the Community section, a great number of interesting topics have been posted this week. Rumors that the government may be interested in helping to bail out print-based media and Multimedia Editor Jason Sandford’s brainstorming session for a new Xpress-created Facebook app have the potential to be fun threads in coming weeks, while the thread introducing the Air Force’s in-house social networking rules are well-worth examining. And forum regular Jason Bugg’s thread about College Incentives for Pre Teens asks some interesting questions about sex-ed in the Parenting subforum.

Of course, these topics could always use another set of insights. Take a spin by the forums and let us know your thoughts on these issues, or start your own discussion.

— Steve Shanafelt, forums administrator

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14 thoughts on “Into the Forums: The week ending Jan. 2, 2009

  1. Dripolator Bum

    I find the forum section impossibly boring. And it is apparent that Steve allows Jason Bugg to break the rules simply because he is a buddy. I think the Mountain Xpress would either be better off without this sidecar, or with a new moderation commitment to clean posting…without the favoritism.

  2. Dripolator Bum: I’m sorry you feel that way. But I think it’s unfair to single out any particular poster as “breaking the rules.” We’ve only had a handful of user bans on the forums — the vast majority of those from a single poster using multiple accounts — so it’s not like anyone is getting preferential treatment. (Check the “User Dungeon” section in the General Discussion subforum for a semi-complete list of who has been banned and why.)

    We also have moderators and other admins — Jon Elliston and Jason Sandford, for instance — and if a particular user was a problem, they’d be banned regardless of any prejudices I might have.

    If you have a specific concern, please PM me (I see you have a user account) and I’ll follow up on it.

  3. bobaloo

    Then come spice them up if you think it’s boring. If you’re not going to contribute then you don’t have a place to complain, do you?

    And no one get preferential treatment at all.

  4. Piffy!

    “And no one get preferential treatment at all. ”

    I do.

    I mow steve’s lawn once a week for unmoderated status.

  5. brebro

    I enjoy these updates by “Anonymous” but wonder why Steve tries to take credit for them at the end of the story.

  6. Just to clarify, “Dripolator Bum” and “Thomas Huffington” are sock-puppet accounts of the permanently banned poster I referred to. Both accounts, which share an IP address, have been banned.

  7. Ken Hanke

    Just to clarify, “Dripolator Bum” and “Thomas Huffington” are sock-puppet accounts of the permanently banned poster I referred to.

    Would this be a poster who can be sent into apoplexy by the mention of John Waters?

  8. The (PFKaP): The IP is banned. He’s probably using a laptop and wifi hotspots. Or perhaps a proxy.

    Hanke: Indeed it is. You psychic or something?

  9. Ken Hanke

    Hanke: Indeed it is. You psychic or something?

    It just seemed so obvious. Who else has that much no life combined with that degree of tenacity?

  10. “It just seemed so obvious. Who else has that much no life combined with that degree of tenacity?”

    He’s like the arctic lichen of the internet.

  11. “He’s like the arctic lichen of the internet.”

    Simply brilliant simile, Steve. Thanks for making me happy on such a dreary day.

  12. Allan Bertall

    LOL, why let’s just kiss up to Steve. Ken, I personally find John Waters to be a strange, perverted fellow. So your comment towards whoever is not one dimensional. That sick scene in Waters’ movie where the fat drag queen eats dog poo poo is as far from art as you can get. Geez man, reconsider what you call art. There are so many good films out there without lionizing this Waters guy. Just one (or more) guys opinion. But you keep it up! Love your reviews Ken!

  13. Ken Hanke

    That sick scene in Waters’ movie where the fat drag queen eats dog poo poo is as far from art as you can get. Geez man, reconsider what you call art.

    This is not the place for this discussion, but two points — you will find no place where I have ever called this particular scene (or even Pink Flamingos in whole) “art,” and it’s curious how people fixate on one notorious bit of film (that lasts a minute at most) from 37 or 38 years ago and believe it completely defines Waters.

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