From Ahnuld: to be addressed by Mason later. (feel free to comment)
 

Hey Mat,

One way I think it would be easier to moderate and for the mods to work together would be if the admins let us in a bit on the corporate vision of 2+2. It seems pretty silly that we always argue (completely in the dark) about what actions serve the interests of 2+2 best when we dont have any insight into 2+2 corp. strategy and mission. Mods do the best they can and they are for the most part smart guys. But most of the disagreement comes because people have different ideas of what you guys want from 2+2. So if it was made clearer from up top it would be easier to mod and lead to more consensus among mods.

Re: From Ahnuld: to be addressed by Mason later. (feel free to comment
 

Interesting, although admittedly my #1 goal as a mod is to selfishly make the forums a better place for me to read and post. When that's my focus, doing the things I do around here doesn't feel like a chore. It's just what I want to do. If I was to start getting channeled into serving some sort of corporate vision, I'd probably start losing interest in moderating (possibly the site in general) unless I was getting paid.

Re: From Ahnuld: to be addressed by Mason later. (feel free to comment
 

that's exactly how i think you should feel.

That seves our corporate vision, imo. I think Mason agrees. We'll find out soon.

Re: From Ahnuld: to be addressed by Mason later. (feel free to comment
 

[ QUOTE ]
t seems pretty silly that we always argue (completely in the dark) about what actions serve the interests of 2+2 best when we dont have any insight into 2+2 corp. strategy and mission. Mods do the best they can and they are for the most part smart guys. But most of the disagreement comes because people have different ideas of what you guys want from 2+2.

[/ QUOTE ]

I think this is a good post by ahnuld. I would revise that last sentence slightly. I would say most disagreements arise because mods have different ideas about what THEY want from 2p2, and they project their own feelings onto the site's business model as a whole (probably in part because they lack specific info about it).

Re: From Ahnuld: to be addressed by Mason later. (feel free to comment
 

I think this is a good idea, but in talking the Mason and Mat this summer, I think what they want us to do is to adhere to the company goal of providing the finest discussion of whatever the topic of the forum may be.

Re: From Ahnuld: to be addressed by Mason later. (feel free to comment)
 

[ QUOTE ]
One way I think it would be easier to moderate and for the mods to work together would be if the admins let us in a bit on the corporate vision of 2+2

[/ QUOTE ]

We're a publishing company, and we built ourselves into success by only being willing to do top quality stuff. That extended into this website and the forums. The idea was to have vigorous debate without insults, and to also have a little fun.

It's a very simple mission that works quite well. Another way of putting it is that we believe in "steak, not sizzle." This allows us to state our opinions and beliefs in a straight forward manner, and it also allows us to never compromise our integrity.

[ QUOTE ]
It seems pretty silly that we always argue (completely in the dark) about what actions serve the interests of 2+2 best when we dont have any insight into 2+2 corp. strategy and mission.

[/ QUOTE ]

Again, we don't have a corporate strategy in the sense that other publishers and Internet sites in our field might. We just try to produce a top quality product and have never cared much about the profits. Yet this strategy seems to have produced a lot of profits and has made us very successful in what we have undertaken.

If any of you have more specific questions I'll try to answer them here.

Best wishes,
Mason

Re: From Ahnuld: to be addressed by Mason later. (feel free to comment
 

Steak without sizzle is impoverished fare. Only a little sizzle is good, mind.

Re: From Ahnuld: to be addressed by Mason later. (feel free to comment
 

[ QUOTE ]
The idea was to have vigorous debate without insults, and to also have a little fun.

[/ QUOTE ]Hi Mason - I likes it!

May I quote you when I feel your statement might give direction to a wayward poster in one of the strategy forums I moderate?

Buzz

Re: From Ahnuld: to be addressed by Mason later. (feel free to comment
 

Hi Buzz:

[ QUOTE ]
May I quote you when I feel your statement might give direction to a wayward poster in one of the strategy forums I moderate?


[/ QUOTE ]

Yes.

Best wishes,
Mason

Re: From Ahnuld: to be addressed by Mason later. (feel free to comment
 

Alright im going to expand a bit or what I wrote.

I think Mason is right in what the goal and vision of the publishing company is. But 2+2 as a website seems to have grown way beyond that. Im not sure what the revenues from each are, and it doesnt even matter. We (mods) don't have to care about book sales, unless that is the point of this site, to drive 2+2 book sales. To me it seems the site has taken on a life of its own though and for that it must have its own direction and focus.

I feel problems arise because most decisions are made on an ad hoc basis. Should I ban this poster? Should this thread be removed. We mods often judge by our gut feelings of right and wrong, which from what mason wrote above, is all they expect from us. That is, keep the site clean from garbage and ensure high quality discussions.

However it would be even easier imo if we had an idea of what you want the site to be. Were do you see the website in 20 years? What are some of the things that make 2+2 website so good that you would never compromise, even if it hurt profits (for example top quality advice seems to be one of those things that 2+2 would produce whether it was the most profitable thing to do or not.

I hope someone with more business experience than me chimes in here.