The Lemon Fool

I don't know about you but these days TLF is increasingly reminding me of my first year at Grammar School.

Feeling self conscious at assembly for being the 'wrong' religion...
A vague feeling of somehow being in the wrong...
Feeling 'this must all be some terrible mistake'...
Being told off and feeling disapproved of...
What happens if/when I'm 'found out'?...
Irresistibly playing up in some classes...
An increasing feeling of doom...

All it needs now is some faintly embarrassing TLF School song!

XFool wrote:All it needs now is some faintly embarrassing TLF School song!

A site about investing, populated predominantly by middle-age and older folks?

Would Pink Floyd's "money" be a candidate?

UncleEbenezer wrote:

XFool wrote:All it needs now is some faintly embarrassing TLF School song!

A site about investing, populated predominantly by middle-age and older folks?

Would Pink Floyd's "money" be a candidate?

I'd have thought, for some on here, that Dirty Cash (Money Talks) by The Adventures of Stevie V might be more appropriate...

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9o0rAvZtM7w

XFool wrote:Feeling self conscious at assembly for being the 'wrong' religion...
A vague feeling of somehow being in the wrong...
Feeling 'this must all be some terrible mistake'...

Oh god, yes. And feeling that somehow I must have been away from school on some special day when all the other kids were being taught all the cornerstone stuff that I somehow hadn't picked up. (I was never a structured-learning type - my brain was definitely lateral, and still is. As you've doubtless noticed. )

All it needs now is some faintly embarrassing TLF School song!

Well, we do seem to have some self-appointed prefects. Will that do?

BJ

bungeejumper wrote:Well, we do seem to have some self-appointed prefects.

And seemingly arbitrary rules about what can be said and where, including a ban on discussion of the rules and how they are applied.

bungeejumper wrote:we do seem to have some self-appointed prefects.

Not self-appointed. As I recall, whilst the TLF moderators all volunteered, they were actually appointed by the site sponsors and not by themselves. I am not aware if any applications to be a moderator were rejected.

At least three of the original moderators no longer perform that role. I do not know if they were replaced, nor if so how.

bungeejumper wrote:

XFool wrote:Feeling self conscious at assembly for being the 'wrong' religion...
A vague feeling of somehow being in the wrong...
Feeling 'this must all be some terrible mistake'...

Oh god, yes. And feeling that somehow I must have been away from school on some special day when all the other kids were being taught all the cornerstone stuff that I somehow hadn't picked up.

I really was away when pupils were introduced to the school and shown the ropes - due to a mistake by my mother. Instead of starting on Thursday, before actually starting lessons on Monday, I arrived on the Monday. A was given a 'timetable', I had never seen a timetable before. Bells would ring and hoards of small boys run around in all directions. I had no idea which room was which as I had no idea of the layout of the school, hardly having even seen it before. (I had chickenpox at the time of the original 11+ and took it later at an entirely different school)

It probably all went downhill from there...

bungeejumper wrote:

All it needs now is some faintly embarrassing TLF School song!

Well, we do seem to have some self-appointed prefects.

At least I won't be calling them "Sir", like I did on my first day!

Lootman wrote:

bungeejumper wrote:we do seem to have some self-appointed prefects.

Not self-appointed. As I recall, whilst the TLF moderators all volunteered, they were actually appointed by the site sponsors and not by themselves. I am not aware if any applications to be a moderator were rejected.

At least three of the original moderators no longer perform that role. I do not know if they were replaced, nor if so how.

Yes...

Alaric wrote:

bungeejumper wrote:Well, we do seem to have some self-appointed prefects.

And seemingly arbitrary rules about what can be said and where, including a ban on discussion of the rules and how they are applied.

If I've understood it correctly you can discuss the rules on Improve the Fool and discuss general moderation to your heart's content with the top brass directly.

Very few boards have special rules. These rules are not arbitrary. They have evolved to nurture the character of the boards to which they apply. I'm thinking DAK, Room 101, Company News, HYP-P. Most other boards only require the poster to stay vaguely on-topic (in addition to the general site rules).

Chris

Lootman wrote:

bungeejumper wrote:we do seem to have some self-appointed prefects.

Not self-appointed. As I recall, whilst the TLF moderators all volunteered, they were actually appointed by the site sponsors and not by themselves.

Who said I was talking about moderators? (I wasn't.)

BJ

bungeejumper wrote:

Lootman wrote:

bungeejumper wrote:we do seem to have some self-appointed prefects.

Not self-appointed. As I recall, whilst the TLF moderators all volunteered, they were actually appointed by the site sponsors and not by themselves.

Who said I was talking about moderators? (I wasn't.)

Then you would have to identify which class of Lemons you were referring to as it is not obvious.

Moderators here are like school prefects because they are drawn from the pool of ordinary Lemons. This contrasts with the TMF moderators who were TMF employees, which was clearly reflected in the style of moderation. TLF has peer moderation.

Other than the site sponsors and moderators, nobody else here has any power, so I am not sure where else your prefect analogy applies.

Lootman wrote:

bungeejumper wrote:

Lootman wrote:Not self-appointed. As I recall, whilst the TLF moderators all volunteered, they were actually appointed by the site sponsors and not by themselves.

Who said I was talking about moderators? (I wasn't.)

Then you would have to identify which class of Lemons you were referring to as it is not obvious.

Moderators here are like school prefects because they are drawn from the pool of ordinary Lemons. This contrasts with the TMF moderators who were TMF employees, which was clearly reflected in the style of moderation. TLF has peer moderation.

Other than the site sponsors and moderators, nobody else here has any power, so I am not sure where else your prefect analogy applies.

For the avoidance of doubt, we (TLF moderators) are all volunteers. I was a contributor to TMF, and still write for them (as an analyst on two paid-for services, and a twice-monthly column).

From my vague memories of being a school prefect in the early 1970s (I was publicly sacked in an assembly in 1972, having neither performed in, or sought, such a role), we have more authority than school prefects, but greater responsibilities, and more challenges.

When we engage with posters, we're not talking to giggly 13-year olds, but people our own age (I'm 67), who have often held down quite senior jobs.

MDW1954

Lootman wrote:

bungeejumper wrote:Who said I was talking about moderators? (I wasn't.)

Then you would have to identify which class of Lemons you were referring to as it is not obvious.

Well, I suppose I'd have to start with people who tell me exactly what forms of wording I should express myself in?

I'd supposed, perhaps foolishly, that my phrase "self-appointed" would have distinguished these people from the "official" TLF prefects (mods), who as (almost) everyone here agrees are doing a superb job and display endless patience. I once moderated a forum in the US for just a few months, before I was overwhelmed by the sheer weight of nastiness, bigotry, racism, bullying and intolerance that all too often pass for First Amendment free speech over there. And I thank our TLF mods from the bottom of my heart for everything they're doing.

All clear?

BJ

bungeejumper wrote:

Lootman wrote:

bungeejumper wrote:Who said I was talking about moderators? (I wasn't.)

Then you would have to identify which class of Lemons you were referring to as it is not obvious.

Well, I suppose I'd have to start with people who tell me exactly what forms of wording I should express myself in?

I'd supposed, perhaps foolishly, that my phrase "self-appointed" would have distinguished these people from the "official" TLF prefects (mods), who as (almost) everyone here agrees are doing a superb job and display endless patience.

But aren't you guilty of the exact same thing yourself, since here you are criticising other Lemons for what they say?

And don't we all do that to some extent?

Lootman wrote:

bungeejumper wrote:

Lootman wrote:Then you would have to identify which class of Lemons you were referring to as it is not obvious.

Well, I suppose I'd have to start with people who tell me exactly what forms of wording I should express myself in?

I'd supposed, perhaps foolishly, that my phrase "self-appointed" would have distinguished these people from the "official" TLF prefects (mods), who as (almost) everyone here agrees are doing a superb job and display endless patience.

But aren't you guilty of the exact same thing yourself, since here you are criticising other Lemons for what they say?

And don't we all do that to some extent?

Yeah. To some extent...

But not everyone starts whole threads about it, or starts campaigning about other posters.

XFool wrote:

Lootman wrote:

bungeejumper wrote:Well, I suppose I'd have to start with people who tell me exactly what forms of wording I should express myself in?

I'd supposed, perhaps foolishly, that my phrase "self-appointed" would have distinguished these people from the "official" TLF prefects (mods), who as (almost) everyone here agrees are doing a superb job and display endless patience.

But aren't you guilty of the exact same thing yourself, since here you are criticising other Lemons for what they say?

And don't we all do that to some extent?

Yeah. To some extent...

But not everyone starts whole threads about it, or starts campaigning about other posters.

As with Bungee, I am not sure who you are talking about there. Evidently not me since I rarely top post.

Although that does sound like you might be campaigning against some other Lemons.

Lootman wrote:

XFool wrote:But not everyone starts whole threads about it, or starts campaigning about other posters.

As with Bungee, I am not sure who you are talking about there. Evidently not me since I rarely top post.

Although that does sound like you might be campaigning against some other Lemons.

I knew you'd say that...

I think it is just a clash of personalities sometimes, perfectly natural. So for example our Lootman will argue the opposite case of anything, almost always within the site's rules, he has an opinion about. He almost never reports anything but just posts the counter-position. What usually happens is that his jousting opponent looses the will to live and reports his post on some pretext.

This is not a bad thing because it fosters debate. But it does generate a heated debate, which is, in itself, not against the rules as I understand them.

Chris

csearle wrote:I think it is just a clash of personalities sometimes, perfectly natural. So for example our Lootman will argue the opposite case of anything, almost always within the site's rules, he has an opinion about. He almost never reports anything but just posts the counter-position. What usually happens is that his jousting opponent looses the will to live and reports his post on some pretext.

Well, I never have.

csearle wrote:This is not a bad thing because it fosters debate. But it does generate a heated debate, which is, in itself, not against the rules as I understand them.

But, in my experience, clearly not as others "understand them"...

XFool wrote:But, in my experience, clearly not as others "understand them"...

There is room for improvement, yes. C.