How do YOU see the board?

[Ohma]

I'm not intimidated as such. But in general, outside of a very few subjects, I recognize that I don't have nearly the same experience or knowledge that most of the senior posters have on topics throughout the forum.

I think that most of the newer posters who do feel intimidated feel that way because they've been pushed out of many discussions where they do feel they could actually contribute when a senior member (who has participated in many similar discussions and already has most of the pertinent information at their metaphorical fingertips) pretty much posts everything that the newer member could think of to add in one post.

Not sure how to alleviate that though.

[Coyote]

I see the Senate as a part-time vocation, like the Reserves. We go about normal business and only report when there's a need, otherwise... resume normal programming like there's nothing special.

Sometimes I wish we could do more, because it seems like a wasted resource with potential, but, eh... [shrug].

[Metatwaddle]

As I've already taken the precaution of bribery I fear nothing.

RedImperator has informed me that your previous bribery was insufficient, and that he will be requiring regular payments.

Personally, I think there is a very diverse population amongst the senior "staff" of the board. Some are very approachable, like Stas, or Wilkens, or even Mr. Wong himself. Others are downright frightening and pissing them off in any way seems to get board powers brought against you. Perhaps I don't have the same experience as others, but fighting against mods about their decisions seems like a completely futile struggle unless you get a higher mod on the totem poll on your side. This powerlessness is probably what is being expressed. If a mod really wanted to, they could HOS the crap outta an unpopular poster and no recourse would exist unless Wong or one of the super-mods actually wanted to waste the time to defend them.

This is even further exaccerbated by the fact that the easiest person on the entire board staff to disagree with is Mr. Wong himself. Despite having the most broad reaching powers on the board, his use of this power never replaces his argumentation and he actively refutes positions he dislikes, and if he cannot concedes to them. Against other mods, such concessions could never take place because the thread would already be HOSed, Locked and bringing up the point again for another x months will probably get you on the short list to bansville.

This sounds about right to me. I don't tangle with the mods as a general rule, but I generally have more respect for the ones who don't fly off the handle when someone disagrees with them. Pablo Sanchez and Frank Hipper are pretty even-handed in that respect, along with Mike (whom I used to find much more intimidating; I don't know if his style has changed or if I have). I get the feeling that some of the more hot-tempered mods think they will be respected more if they come out with guns blazing every time, but I actually respect those mods less than the others. Intimidation and respect don't always go hand-in-hand.

As a general rule, I do think the mods are a little intimidating. Some in particular I don't feel comfortable questioning in e.g. N&P threads, because I know that I'll be flamed to a crisp for asking an innocent question. But I don't think that's new; even back in 2006 (before the midterm election), I remember saying I wasn't sure the Democrats had anyone that could be a serious presidential candidate in two years. A mod called me retarded for asking. A mild flame, to be sure, but it stuck in my mind because it was such an overreaction. These days, rather than asking questions, I often just bounce ideas off RedImperator in person.

As for the board in general, I think it's already been remarked upon that there's an echo chamber effect in here. There are a lot of people and few real debates to go around. I've been chewing over Axis Kast's idea that the problem is that we're mean to Republicans and Christians. I disagree with him that religion and political affiliation should be "protected" from personal insults in the same way as race, gender, sexuality or transgender status. You can and should change your religion or your political views in the face of good opposing arguments; you can't change your gender or your sexual orientation. Frankly, I think most Republicans will leave here after a while, because many Republican positions are not sustainable in the face of serious argument, and we're not a particularly patient group of people. But I do think our current level of flaming is excessive, because the quick driving-off-the-board of people with opposing viewpoints allows us to become complacent, and therefore worse debaters. I also think the banhammer is occasionally dropped too fast, for the same reasons. I don't want us to be more civil as a favor to Republicans and Christians, I want us to be more civil as a favor to ourselves. Nobody tests their ideas by fire anymore, and that's not good.

[The Duchess of Zeon]

Anyone is welcome to PM me about anything and I will either address it myself if it's appropriate, or bring it up in the Senate proper, for the record. Even if it's from someone who hates me.

[Uraniun235]

I'm not going to do the whole board right now. Here's what stands out to me:

Senate - I think people need to just fucking chill out about the Senate. Oh no, someone might feel slightly overimportant. Who gives a shit? I haven't seen anything terribly oppressive come out of the Senate.

"a bloo bloo bloo they're saying mean things about Testing"... AND?! Is that IT? Fucking come on, if all that's happening is a bit of impotent huffing and puffing, pat yourselves on the back and move on. Maybe if something had actually happened there might be cause to be a bit butthurt, but whatever.


News and Politics - I've figured for awhile that I was just being basically immature in my emotional response, but I was stunned to see IP of all people post this about N&P:

By the time the next big confrontation began, over resource constraints and sustainability - which, is a highly-technical topic full of projections which the peakists could simply inundate the opposition with factoids and scream that they are deluded and insane - there were no outsiders, just insiders who were turned-off by threads whose only apparent end goal was to compete over the most bleak possible outcome and fatalism.

With the election coverage over, I hope to spend less time in N&P. It's too bloody depressing.


Pure Star Trek - What would happen if a forum became so inactive that any thread reply would be called necromancy in any other forum? I think PST almost got to that point once, and I secretly hoped it would get to that point because I wanted to know if Ghost Rider would get pissy at someone for replying to a thread that was over two weeks old and still in the top ten threads listed.

There have been times when I have seriously wondered why PST was still open. It has a bit more purpose now that the new movie is upcoming, but other than that it's just one huge "lol starfleet is fuct lol voyager sux lol" dogpile. I tried lampooning that attitude a few times and gave up.

I think PST is seriously the worst forum here. (Maybe SWvST is better? I don't know, I don't visit there - that place just seems totally obsolete any more.) It's seems like the same shit on different days every day, and it gets really old when it seems like half the participants seriously hate the material.

As much as I'm not a fan of it, I think we would get a lot more utility out of a 40K subforum than we do out of PST these days. Maybe PST should be closed, shuffled to an "archive" section, and all future Star Trek discussion can be lumped in with the rest of OSF.

[White Haven]

Most of the Senators don't frighten me. Some of them disgust me when they go to town on each other/their target of the month, but by and large, they're what they're meant to be: examples of the best of the forum's posters. I see the Senate in the same vein as Vetinari in Discworld sees committees, for the most part...something to sic on an issue if you really want to make sure nothing gets done regarding it. As a result, I'm somewhat depressed that they're the ones who field the 'next Coliseum thread' questions.

[ray245]

I think there is no need for a pure star wars or pure star trk forum any longer. Same goes to SW vs ST.

It is better to have a general science fiction section in my opinion.

[RedImperator]

Honestly, nothing, which was the point I was making. It would open some sore spots for some old posters if a new one came up, because the dynamics of the two sides is different. But no one will make it because the HAB will instantly napalm the thread the shit. Same with any thread about the Triad from B5 because Adarx killed it.

A lot of topics are simply undebatable in OSF because there is too much butt hurt about some thread from half a decade ago.

Oh come off it. We don't have Gundam vs. real world or any other mech vs. tanks thread because it's generally accepted the mech side would lose, not because Sea Skimmer's barbarian hordes will turn up and flame everybody to cinders. We hardly ever have debates on the validity of space fighters anymore, either, and there's not some hard sci-fi usergroup ready to drop down from the rafters to devour anyone who suggests space fighters might be a good idea. Is that because everyone is traumatized from the last time there was a thread on that subject, or is it just because one side definitively won and nobody feels like starting an argument just to lose?

Point in fact, there was a "Are mechas viable" thread a few weeks ago. It went four pages, including a multi-page tangent about orbital bombardment, stayed entirely civil, and the dogpile consisted of about three people. And the mech side still lost. It seems to me these debates you want to see aren't happening because people don't feel like starting hopeless arguments, not because the tread-head hordes are scaring everybody off.

But I'll tell you what: we have a Colosseum that's not getting much use. Pick a subject and find a volunteer to debate the Gundam side. I'm sure finding a volunteer for the real world side won't be hard. They (or you, if you care to) can go at it in the Colosseum, no dogpiles, no mods. I'll even request there be no commentary thread until after the debate is over, so there's no dogpiling-by-proxy.

[White Haven]

Most of the Senators don't frighten me. Some of them disgust me when they go to town on each other/their target of the month, but by and large, they're what they're meant to be: examples of the best of the forum's posters. I see the Senate in the same vein as Vetinari in Discworld sees committees, for the most part...something to sic on an issue if you really want to make sure nothing gets done regarding it. As a result, I'm somewhat depressed that they're the ones who field the 'next Coliseum thread' questions.

PST, SW, ST, don't give two shits. Everything's been done to death, nothing new's come out in ages to alter anything, and, even more so, nobody cares. Fantasy, too hard to quantify, most of the threads end up being about mediocre comic books or the occasional thread locked because the only qualification for debate is how much AWESOME one side has. OSF, sometimes interesting, because the more obscure universes get brought up, where you can both explore unexpected aspects of them, or see truly strange opponents pitted against each other. Oh, and STOP WITH THE CULTURE THREADS. Ahem.

SLAM has some good threads, but I admit I don't go there often because most of my forum browsing is at work. As good as some of the threads are, they're heavy reading, and I don't have the time or attention to devote while I'm on a laptop on the sales floor. OT is good for a chuckle at the crime stories now that they're banned from N&P, otherwise it's usually forgettable. N&P I watch fairly carefully, both for a nice condensed squirt of news links, and for some interesting (albeit heated) discussion. G&C...I'm a gamer 'nuff said. As an aside, NECRON! Still waiting on your response in Recondite War! ARSE, HoS, Testing...meh, take 'em or leave 'em, usually leave 'em. AMP and Fanfics have some truly quality stuff if you sift through the dross, and it's definitely worth doing so.

The mods...are spotty. Some are level-headed, and have my respect. Some are a bit quick on the trigger for minor things, and those (Mike included) still hold some respect, but I just sigh when I see them cook off. And then a minority fly off the handle at the slightest provocation, and those I respect only as far as the fear of their power commands.

[Brother-Captain Gaius]

I agree with a number of points made here, but I shall attempt to elaborate my exact feelings on the matter:

For me, at least, it is not that the Senators and Governors intimidate as a group by virtue of said titles. Rather, it is several individuals (and I shall not name names or get into the whole finger-pointing business) who, unfortunately, poison the well. Said mods/senators tend to be overly aggressive and very quick to toss flames around - and in my experience, rarely bring anything of value to a discussion.

I don't post a whole lot these days for a number of reasons, but I do read OSF, OT, G&C, and especially N&P pretty thoroughly. In doing so I've compiled an informal list of posters whose name I see and say "Oh! That person posted, I'll check out the thread because he/she probably just posted something very insightful or informative." In my mind at least, mods and senators should ideally be on this list for the most part. The sad reality is that only some are, and indeed all too often the opposite effect exists - "Oh, that mod/senator posted... the thread's probably a load of garbage now."

Someone also brought up nepotism. I think there is definitely some element to that which is contributing to the (perceived) problem. I'm not necessarily saying it's bad or that we should have a bloody revolution or anything of that nature, please don't misunderstand me. But speaking as a member who's been around for quite a long time, I can't help but feel some (and I stress some) of the elder moderating staff aren't really in the position by any virtue of merit, but simply because they were around in the ASVS days and "shot the shit" with the good ol' boys during the SW vs ST heyday.

The former moderator Enlightenment springs to mind. He had some pretty fuckin' crazy political views which were pretty unpopular at the time (I suspect that would not be the case were he around today, but I digress), but he was a good moderator. You could get into debates and arguments and flamewars with him because it was like he had two totally separate personas - his flag-burning, anti-American radical board member one, and the totally cool, impartial, and utterly incorruptible moderator one. Unfortunately, the unnamed individuals above don't quite seem to make that distinction - the two roles on the board meld into one all too often, and we see just plain angry behavior without the sense that this person is not just going to lose his/her cool and start hitting Lock Thread buttons.

Maybe that perception is undeserved and not entirely said mod/senator's fault, but it is the perception nonetheless. Don't get me wrong - much of the mod and senator teams are upstanding members in my eyes with piles of positive contributions and virtually zero negative ones. Many of them are even very approachable and helpful, and help foster a good image for the board and the senior members in general. But the handful of "Angry mod/senators" pollute the group in my eyes, and unfortunately it's human nature that negative impressions stick much more readily than positive ones. I don't get the sense that I can approach any of that short list of "bad apples" and receive any kind of rational or reasoned response, and by association I tend to be reluctant to do so with any other mod or senator.

I hope that was the sort of feedback you were looking for. If not, I'm happy to clarify.

[Havok]

Aside from the Jo Blo forum, which was were I first went to talk about Star Wars, this is my first exposure to this type of thing on the internet. (That's not entirely accurate, as I vaguely remember reading BBSs when I was a freshman in high school, so 1991, but I wasn't exposed to any culture) And basically the internet as a whole as this place served as a spring board.

So when I got here, all I saw were stars and post counts and cool nerdy AVs. I can say with absolute certainty that no one intimidated me, but I quickly saw who the big hitters were. That is still the case. I know who deserves respect based on their arguments and actions and who doesn't. That applies for posters in general and the Senate and Mods. It is just like RL.

OSF- Sucks.(i.e. *I have no idea as I rarely go in there) They talk about TV sci-fi like Dr. Who and a whole bunch of other stuff I don't care about. And 40K. Bleh.

OT- It is informative and easy to participate in. It is much more opinion oriented and you don't need to be uber smart to get along in there. It is just as easy to get in flame fests in there as it is in N&P... or so I've heard. It is like Testings older, responsible sister. It has nice tits.

N&P- Get your flame suit on. Not that that is a problem. It is obviously a hot bed of issues. You need to be on the ball to get along well in there. It is what I consider one of the two "scary" forums on the board for myself, because the topics often involve discussion that I just don't have the background knowledge or the memory, (which go hand in hand) to allow me to hang in quite a bit of the discussion. I contribute some in regards to what I do know.

SW v ST- Sucks*

PSW- Occasionally, I like to go in there and get smacked around by the big brains like Publius and IP. In pure movie stuff, I am fine. I've read an ass load of the EU, but again, memory hinders me here. It is a good place to keep up on SW news as I find the official sight blows.

PST- I love Star Trek, however I don't have any Star Trek tattoos. I go in there on whims. I have been smacked down a couple times there as well. It is fun and informative, but VERY slow.

Fantasy- I love comic books so it is a fun forum for me and I get sad when people start talking about stupid movies and such.

ARSE- Again, I occasionally go in there. I give advice every now and then, but I think that I come from a much different life background growing up than the rest of the board and that my advice and opinions aren't really warranted or needed for the types of situations that come up for the most part.

SLAM- The other "scary" forum. This is where Darth Wong and the even scarier, Kuroneko live. (It's like he tries to melt my brain with numbers). I read almost every thread in there, but RARELY participate. When I do, I almost always stay in my pussy questioning form, as to be sure not to make ANY kind of assumptions or statements of fact. This is the place for the most well educated and the most logical. (DEATH is in there a lot... so go figure. ) It is the example of logic and debate that the rest of the board should follow.

HOS- It seemed at first that this place was were you sent people and arguments and basically declared OPEN SEASON on whatever, with flame throwers. As I was on the board longer it seemed less extreme and more just a place for the stupid to go and to serve as a warning. P.S. What good are the Horsemen anymore?

Testing- Yor mother likes to tongue my ass while I jerk of on her tits. Sometimes she brings her smart sister, your Aunt, and we will have intelligent discussion... IN HER BUTT!

My overall feeling of the board can be summed up in a post I made in the HOS today...

And something for everyone: This is a fucking internet forum. Do we really need to take things so seriously here? I remember telling Schuyler something similar a while back. Just keep to the rules, and don't get so emotionally invested in things here. We're not paid to be here, we're not here under court order, let's sit back and loosen up those tightly clenched assholes a bit.

I am so sick of fucking hearing this. This forum may be on the "fucking internet" but it is far more than just a forum. If it wasn't Oni, you would have left and NOT come back. Hasn't the stigmas of "it's on the internet so it doesn't matter" or "its just the internet so it is nerdy and queer" been swept aside yet?

Aren't we mature enough to say that we care about this place despite it's location.
Haven't we come to an opinion that this is a place where respect has been earned, and friendships made, hell, even relationships.
Are all the well wishing threads for birthdays and graduations and weddings just bullshit?
Are all the condolences for the deaths of peoples pets and loved ones just ass kissing and brownie point scoring?
Is the support for Stofks just a load of crap?

Is all the worry about the board's well being in the past week just people wanting to be involved in the drama? If it is then I feel pretty fucking stupid for thinking this place is worth something and that what Mike started here has grown into something worthwhile and worth trying to keep going.

That being said... is anyone going to actually adhere to the OP and the stance it proposed? That of personal responsibility of keeping this board something beyond just a "fucking internet forum".

[fgalkin]

What good are the Horsemen anymore?

To be honest, no good at all. I mean, I'm not sure anyone's noticed, but we've had only THREE Horsemen of the Apocalypse for Emperor knows how long.

They used to be just big bad flamers to fry the trolls to a crisp (creative flaming was a must back then), then they got promoted to junior mods, with access to the Mod forum. Then, as HoS died down, they started to become a mod tryout position, sort of a proving ground like the Senate is now.

Then, the Senate came along and made them obsolete.

That doesn't mean they must be done away with, though, heavens, no! On the contrary, they are a great SDN tradition, like those British guards in the funny hats, who don't actually do much except give tourists an opportunity to take pictures. Hell, we should have a yearly horsemanizing or something, for public benefit. Maybe a flame competition. (I started out as a Horseman, you can see I'm a bit sentimental about the whole thing, da?)

Have a very nice day.
-fgalkin

[The Duchess of Zeon]

Maybe the Horsemen should be staffed by some of the more acerbic individuals on the board, giving them a legitimate way to vent their tendency to pummel the fuck out of people?

[thejester]

Meh, Gaius hit it on the head. There a people you rate and people you don't. Some mods and Senators I like, some I don't. There are a few people on here I'm wary of getting into a debate with purely because I know they're so much smarter than me, but for the rest of the time it's cool.

[Havok]

What good are the Horsemen anymore?

To be honest, no good at all. I mean, I'm not sure anyone's noticed, but we've had only THREE Horsemen of the Apocalypse for Emperor knows how long.

They used to be just big bad flamers to fry the trolls to a crisp (creative flaming was a must back then), then they got promoted to junior mods, with access to the Mod forum. Then, as HoS died down, they started to become a mod tryout position, sort of a proving ground like the Senate is now.

Then, the Senate came along and made them obsolete.

That doesn't mean they must be done away with, though, heavens, no! On the contrary, they are a great SDN tradition, like those British guards in the funny hats, who don't actually do much except give tourists an opportunity to take pictures. Hell, we should have a yearly horsemanizing or something, for public benefit. Maybe a flame competition. (I started out as a Horseman, you can see I'm a bit sentimental about the whole thing, da?)

Have a very nice day.
-fgalkin

Maybe the Horsemen should be staffed by some of the more acerbic individuals on the board, giving them a legitimate way to vent their tendency to pummel the fuck out of people?

Crazy idea kids.... but I think Mr Coffee would make a great Horseman, since there is a position that is vacant and the other three are basically out of commission. I know it is CRAZY, but Shep has done a bang up job on the Wiki and no one expected that. And you know Coffee can get creative with his insults.

[Havok]

What good are the Horsemen anymore?

To be honest, no good at all. I mean, I'm not sure anyone's noticed, but we've had only THREE Horsemen of the Apocalypse for Emperor knows how long.

They used to be just big bad flamers to fry the trolls to a crisp (creative flaming was a must back then), then they got promoted to junior mods, with access to the Mod forum. Then, as HoS died down, they started to become a mod tryout position, sort of a proving ground like the Senate is now.

Then, the Senate came along and made them obsolete.

That doesn't mean they must be done away with, though, heavens, no! On the contrary, they are a great SDN tradition, like those British guards in the funny hats, who don't actually do much except give tourists an opportunity to take pictures. Hell, we should have a yearly horsemanizing or something, for public benefit. Maybe a flame competition. (I started out as a Horseman, you can see I'm a bit sentimental about the whole thing, da?)

Have a very nice day.
-fgalkin

Maybe the Horsemen should be staffed by some of the more acerbic individuals on the board, giving them a legitimate way to vent their tendency to pummel the fuck out of people?

Crazy idea kids.... but I think Mr Coffee would make a great Horseman, since there is a position that is vacant and the other three are basically out of commission. I know it is CRAZY, but Shep has done a bang up job on the Wiki and no one expected that. And you know Coffee can get creative with his insults.

[Mr. Coffee]

Hav, why do you hate the internet so much? Is it because you're a Mexican? I don't get it man.

[Phantasee]

How the fuck do you double post? I haven't seen anyone do that in years.

I don't touch most of the top forums, because they are boring and slow. I look into OSF sometimes, but there hasn't been any BSG on for a while so there's nothing really to read there.

SLAM bothers me sometimes. Some of those threads just seem...too quiet. Not much going on. Which is good, because there aren't many people qualfied to talk about anything in there, but still. Not looking for flamefests, mind you, just some action, some posting. It's such a quality forum, but it's so quiet I don't need to check it more than once a week, in my opinion.

N&P is the opposite, in a way. It's bumpin' all the time. I like to use it to catch some articles sometimes, there are interesting debates. It's a little tedious to cut through the flames, but whatever, I just ignore it usually.

OT is just a forum I like to look in, but there's not always something of interest to post in. I learned some stuff about cars from it, and other things, but these are more general life things. I used to read it more as a kid, but now that I'm all growed up ( ), I kind of look to it a little less.

AMP is amusing usually, I like looking at Havokeff's art, and Publius's stuff. I don't really comment too much though.

I stopped looking at G&C a while ago, once I realized it's not really useful for solving computer problems, and once I learned how to find those sorts of answers on my own. I don't do much gaming, either.

ARSE is interesting but slow. I'm only 20, I've had a fair bit of relationship experience, but it's not the sort of things I would want anyone else to look to for advice, just because I'm not very good at it. Some threads are interesting.

HoS is the HoS. I second Havok, the Horsemen suck now. I want to see multi-coloured posts, dammit! It was there for entertainment value, and sometimes threads that shouldn't be publicly visible (btw, is that still the case after the upgrade?). Now it's just the latter and other things.

The Senate is a bore, but it's not supposed to be entertaining by any stretch of the imagination (well, it could be, but I don't want to stretch my imagination that way ). Sometimes there's interesting things to read there, like this past weekend, but usually not. Unless it's a discussion about someone.

Testing is where I post the most just because I never feel comfortable posting anything other than questions on most of the other forums. It's like all the shit I'd like to post in OT except I'd probably get a reputation as some sort of canned meat product producer, so I refrain from it there and let it out here. It's all gone in a few days anyways, right?

[Mr. Coffee]

Ya know what, Hav should be a Horseman too. Guy's almost as much of an asshole as I am. Problem is, we'd have way to much fun with that gig.

[The Duchess of Zeon]

Ya know what, Hav should be a Horseman too. Guy's almost as much of an asshole as I am. Problem is, we'd have way to much fun with that gig.

Honestly, I'd also enjoy being a Horseman, I have to admit. It would be a very constructive way to lose tension. In the traditional role of the Horsemen, that is, of course. And I think I'd even be, well, better at it than the Senate.

[The Romulan Republic]

Depends on the mod.

In general though, I think I'm intimidated by any topic remotely related to homosexuality, not because I have anything against gays but just because of the recent shit storm and how raw emotions are. And the Star Trek vs Star Wars forum. In the unlikely event I had something to post there, I be afraid of posting in that place because its more like a crypt than a forum.

[Flagg]

Ya know what, Hav should be a Horseman too. Guy's almost as much of an asshole as I am. Problem is, we'd have way to much fun with that gig.

Honestly, I'd also enjoy being a Horseman, I have to admit. It would be a very constructive way to lose tension. In the traditional role of the Horsemen, that is, of course. And I think I'd even be, well, better at it than the Senate.

Coffee, Hav, and Stark would kill this board.

[Mr. Coffee]

Ya know what, Hav should be a Horseman too. Guy's almost as much of an asshole as I am. Problem is, we'd have way to much fun with that gig.

Honestly, I'd also enjoy being a Horseman, I have to admit. It would be a very constructive way to lose tension. In the traditional role of the Horsemen, that is, of course. And I think I'd even be, well, better at it than the Senate.

I second this. Marina's unique version of batshit would bring a bold new direction to the Horsemen. I know me and Hav would sure as hell get a kick out of doing the job is she was there too.

[Havok]

Ya know what, Hav should be a Horseman too. Guy's almost as much of an asshole as I am. Problem is, we'd have way to much fun with that gig.

Honestly, I'd also enjoy being a Horseman, I have to admit. It would be a very constructive way to lose tension. In the traditional role of the Horsemen, that is, of course. And I think I'd even be, well, better at it than the Senate.

I am so for this it is not even funny. I think you would rock at this!

[The Romulan Republic]

I would also add that I'm nervous about posting new topics in general, as I suspect that their's probably few things more frusturating than having a mod pop into your topic, flame the hell out of you, and then lock it. Not just speaking for myself here: I've seen other people's topics that I felt had some merit locked by mods. Even if a topic has a rather pointless or spammy op, if the underlying premise has merit the topic may evolve into something worth keeping.

Simply put, I am intimidated by the eagerness with which certain of the staff lock new topics.