wally and kara both e-mailed to ask if i could mention the proposal that's going on at the common ills and nothing would make me happier. i'll just make this post about the common ills in fact. if you watch friends, you know they title episodes 'the one . . .' so i'll call this 1 'the one about the common ills.'
for those who don't know, blog links come via a members panel at the common ills. c.i. will be the first to note 'no blog expert here' and in the early days there would be someone e-mailing in 'i hate that blog you just added.'
it's a community, so what to do?
if c.i. says, 'john pool has a blog, a number of members like it, let me know if you think we should link' it's the ultimate in democracy. but what if john pool isn't liked by the members. then people know john pool almost got linked but in the end didn't. that may play on american idol but that's neither the common ills nor c.i.'s style.
so a panel was created and members serve on it. while they serve on it, they look at blogs that have gotten attention from the members and determine whether they are link worthy or not.
you don't want to end up with some 'bull moose' or other such shit - dlc masquerading as left.
the panel, being made up of members, are representative of the members themselves. and since they are reviewing suggestions for a month's time, they are able to get a better feel and to discuss what they've seen.
it's representative democracy.
and the panel is an independent 1. c.i.'s really been proud of that and members who write me have been as well.
every e-mail about eli's statements and delinking from the hideous dopey (who's kiss off is apparently the only thing any 1's ever read at load of crap) have been overjoyed by the action and so proud of eli for the way he wrote it up.
he was so nice about it but so clear. and the community was sick of load of crap because he'd a) trashed them for not helping him 'clean these panties!' b) he'd called c.i. a liar because c.i. didn't quote him (i read them, dopey never asked to be quoted and, as shirley has pointed out, the automated e-mail explains the policy on quoting so there are no excuses not even for that ____
- who knew sweet shirley knew such strong words?), c) he'd spread rumors that i'd been to his dopey site load of crap - he wishes; he's like an exhibitionist exposing himself and being mad that no woman wants to look, d) he mocked someone's illness, e) he then went on to insult women and feminine men while calling others catty.
that meow in the room, it's coming from you dopey.
so as the panel took responsibility for their decisions and actions, they decided to write a proposal consisting of various planks. this is to be voted on by membership. disclosure, i've already mailed in my vote. it's instant run off voting which i say bravo to the panel for.
there are 13 voting days left. you must be a member to vote. you request your ballot by e-mailing c.i. at common_ills@yahoo.com. c.i. will note the ballot 1 more time tomorrow because the panel had requested three days of notice.
you do 1 e-mail for your vote and you send it to keesha, eli and c.i. (which common ills community members the uk computer gurus have made an easy function for any 1 confused by that). also listed on the ballot is shirley's e-mail and you can contact her with any questions you have about instant run off voting.
i talked to shirley by phone today and asked her what the most asked question so far was?
she's got an interview in common ills community members gina and krista's gina & krista round-robin tomorrow. they did the interview wednesday and she answers that in her 1st question so i'll just steer you to the round-robin.
sometimes a visitor will stumble onto my site (gee, wonder what they're looking for) and they'll e-mail something along the lines of 'what is so damn special about the common ills?'
well if you have to ask ...
it's a resource/review and it's a community of people who share common beliefs. that's the easy answer.
but it's so much more. it offers so much interaction. a member will note that they like something and c.i. will see if they're comfortable with e-mailing another member. if they are, they share that interest and other things. which is how most of us have gotten to know each other.
gina and krista's round-robin grew out of that. c.i. paired gina and krista together as e-mail buddies when krista was feeling very low. not only did it lift krista's spirits, it also allowed krista and gine to start their own round-robin which is a weekly thing they do where they exchange ideas and debate issues. they do this in private away from the eyes of the likes of dopey. (but they sure do have funny talks about dopey, don't they?) and isaiah does an illustration for them each week that's evolved into a continuing comic opera with regular characters. in addition, they'll offer an interview with a member that lets you really get to know who makes up the community.
in addition, every other week community members the uk computer gurus send out their e-mail which is full of tips for online safety and examples of violations of privacy.
but are we done yet? no, we are not.
at the common ills, besides the day to day learning of what members are noticing, members like cedric, keesha, gina, keshawn and dallas will write entries (and don't forget the year-in-review). and of course ruth does ruth's morning edition report which is a must read. kat covers music for the common ills. and isaiah is the common ills illustrator. that's quite a community.
but are we done yet? no, we are not.
the common ills has spawned blogs and continues to do so. folding star started a winding road, i started sex and politics and screeds and attitude, ty, jess, ava, jim and dona started the third estate sunday review, betty started thomas friedman is a great man, and kat's started kat's korner.
the common ills just celebrated their 6th month anniversary. if you ask me, that's an amazing record for 6 months. all that and a dedication to social justice and the left.
