She's the Boss

[admin]

I was going to put this post up about a week ago when I made several changes to this site. But, the rumor mill started hot and heavy and I am surprised at what I have heard. First, let me clear up a couple of things.

People are apparently onto me. I have received emails from people asking if I am running for council as Ted's running mate. This is part true. I am running for council this year. However, I have seen the error of my ways. After seeing the great job that Trenton and Washington's are doing, I have renounced my affiliation with the Republican Party. I am an open minded person and have come to the conclusion that socialism works. I have joined the Socialist Party of New Jersey and will campaign to bring those same socialist principals from Trenton and Washington to our town. With the stimulus bill doing such a great job and unemployment under twenty percent, how could we go wrong?


OK.... the above paragraph was a big fat lie. It is Monday morning and I decided to have a little fun and wake some of you up. If you spit your morning coffee all over your monitor, then I had the proper effect. Besides, if I wanted to be a socialist, I would be a Dem. ;D

The real answer is a big fat NO, I am not running for anything. Like I said, I was going to make this post a week ago, but I was very entertained by the emails I receive. I even told people to keep the rumor going. It is funny. Of course, I am still friends with the GOP and Dems in this town and I am simply going to continue doing the things I have been doing to work together and make this a better town for all of us.

I suppose the rumors started due to the site changes I made and the silence that I have employed. Make no mistake, if I were running, I would not change this site for that purpose. I have nothing to be ashamed of on this site and I am certainly not ashamed of this site as a whole. IMO, this site is an asset where we have always welcomed any of the people from our town to engage in civil, open, and honest discussions about our town and those issues that affect all of us. We have also done quite a bit to highlight the great things in our town. When it comes to topics, this is has been a very well balanced site.

Also, if I were running, people would know it. Since I took a shot at the Dem party, now it is the GOP turn. The local GOP has made mistakes in not campaigning stronger and earlier in past years. If I were running, I would have started my campaign yesterday, not after Labor Day. In other words, people would know it.

Now, for the big question. Why the site changes?

I have always relied on the feedback and suggestions from site participants. Early on, Marc Le Vine was a person who helped me out a great deal in shaping the site. Lisa has helped out quite a bit along the way. Many others have as well. Many things that people see on this site, both the home pages and the message board, are the direct result of suggestions I have received. That is why there has always been such a strong and diverse amount of topics to pick from.

By taking the above approach, I always had hopes of instilling a sense of ownership in all participants. This is YOUR site. It is for the people, the residents. It is evident that people have responded to that. We have had so many community minded people participate and read this site. It is a positive reflection of this site that we have only had to ban a couple of knuckleheads for their awful behavior. And we have done that while respecting people of all beliefs and from all walks of life.

One suggestion I have heard is to get rid of the hardball categories. That is what I have done. They are not really gone, just hidden. I delete nothing. Lisa has been a person who believes that this would be a good thing to try. I was never against the suggestion and I think now is a good time to give it a try.

Some people have criticized that the site is too negative. That is crap. There has always been a lot of very good things on this site that reflect our town well. The other argument against that is, if people want to shape the site to something different, they can easily participate and change the tone and discussions very easily.

But, with the changes made, we will be accentuating the positives much more. Although I have included and added many positive categories to begin with, now will be a good time for those people who wish to avoid politics and other hard hitting issues. The site is very community minded and all are still welcome.

Some of you might object. Please, if you agree or disagree with the changes, send me a private message or an email. I will NOT be responding on the site itself. I will continue to listen to the feedback I get from all of you.

For those of you who do object, stay with us and give this a chance. If it does not work out, I can always bring back the old threads. We do have to give this a little time and see what happens.

One last thing. I have been quiet for the past week. I am going to continue to do so. It comes down to one reason, I need a break from this darn site! I will be back posting at some point, but it is time to give the reins to someone else for a while.

Lisa is the boss for now. I will make no admin decisions without consulting her. I am doing this because she does have good ideas and now is a good time to give her the room to try them out. In other words, She's the boss.

AS I have always said,

Keep it sane and keep if freehold

Brian

PS- I was going to have Ka19 also play a part in these new changes. For undisclosed reasons, he asked me to remove him from a moderator position. That was his choice not mine and I will respect that.

[ka19]

Thanks Brian. Good post, and did spit out my coffee when you said you were running; after all, aren't I the one who is allegedly running on the GOP ticket this year??? LOL!

I love the redefined direction for the site, by the way.

[richardkelsey]

Brian:

You are the boss.

I agree with your sentiments -- and I have always said, the site is what the participants make of it.

Some want to make it history -- and make no mistake about it -- as recently as this weekend while in my beloved hometown, it was made clear to me that site is not beloved.

Why?


The reason is simple -- among the thousands of posts and hundreds and hundreds of topics, people actually take tough positions on tough issues and, occasionally, direct some sharp criticism at the town officials and the machine that dominates this town at every level.

That type of free, fair, rational, open, civil dissent is the backbone of democracy -- and in a town ruled by one party -- an essential element of the site as a place for addressing issues outside the control of the machine.

To the extent those elements of this site continue to exist -- the site as an entirety, its participants, and the like will be the careful target of pressure.

I wrote once -- and probably more than once -- on pages now not readily available, that once dissent dies, you have either a uniformly happy town living together like eden -- or you have given over total control. The absence of dissent is not evidence of peace and prosperity -- it is more likely evidence of control and domination.

This site has been a remarkable resource for good -- and that is just on the happy and shiny pages. It has likewise been a source of good from the discussion and dissent it fosters. No bad has come from this site, ironically enough, that was not a result of someone connected to or an active part of the machine.

The site -- in the end -- belongs to its participants. Brian has the right to take this site in any direction he wants, and given the remarkable job he has done for this town -- to his own detriment, I embrace his right to experiment and change the site.

I will continue to stay active and monitor the site -- until they kill me off.

My guess is -- the site won't grow and people will stay clear until it is dead, or control has changed hands. The machine does not want the site to be a part of Freehold, and they certainly have no interest in dissent outside of their control. In the absence of those facts, they will continue to undermine the site, dissuade active, responsible participation, encourage attacks on those involved, and generally misrepresent the site and its good characteristics.

I hope I am proven wrong.

When the last poster leaves, however, which will likely be me, I will remember the many who stood until the end in the name of free, fair, responsible, civil dissent and discourse. I will remember those who helped neighbors and strangers. I will remember those who fiercely fought free speech, attempted to undermine it, and attacked those who practiced it.

I will remember most those who turned passion into action, and logic into the weapon of choice for a responsible citizenry.

I will leave this thread with one last thought. I was in Freehold for about 36 hours this past weekend. As usual, I was there under circumstances I wish had never caused me to come. In just 1.5 days, I ran into three separate people who thanked me, of their own accord, for my years of active work speaking up for Freehold. It was quite gratifying.

The point I really wish to make, however, is that no one thanks you for sitting down. No one thanks you for keeping quite. No one thanks you for failing to dissent.

Let's hope that the responsible dissent continues, along side, of course, the great works of this site -- in whatever form it takes.

[richardkelsey]

Jul 20, 2009 14:13:05 GMT -5 lisas84 said:

Are you F-ing kidding me? A conspiracy theory? Like those people have nothing better to do all day than sit around and think of subversive ways of getting rid of a little website? Don’t they all have full-time jobs and families along with other responsibilities, plus their public service?

Sorry, but little Freehold ain’t Washington DC or Trenton. I find it very laughable to think that this tiny town has a “machine.” I guess then the machine-conspiracy theory also goes for the township next door that has enjoyed pure Republican “machine” rule for years. Both town leaders are honorable people just doing the best they can for their respective municipalities.

Maybe the reason why people don’t post is because they don’t want to be torn apart by the Anti-Machine. Just a theory.

Brian was being upbeat with a great sense of humor in his post. You came along like the Hindenburg on here.

I kid you not. I wish I lived like you on the big rock candy mountain. :-)

Why so hostile?

Perhaps you should re-read my post -- from a non-machine perspective.

[fiberisgoodforyou]

Jul 20, 2009 21:52:11 GMT -5 richardkelsey said:

Jul 20, 2009 14:13:05 GMT -5 lisas84 said:

Are you F-ing kidding me? A conspiracy theory? Like those people have nothing better to do all day than sit around and think of subversive ways of getting rid of a little website? Don’t they all have full-time jobs and families along with other responsibilities, plus their public service?

Sorry, but little Freehold ain’t Washington DC or Trenton. I find it very laughable to think that this tiny town has a “machine.” I guess then the machine-conspiracy theory also goes for the township next door that has enjoyed pure Republican “machine” rule for years. Both town leaders are honorable people just doing the best they can for their respective municipalities.

Maybe the reason why people don’t post is because they don’t want to be torn apart by the Anti-Machine. Just a theory.

Brian was being upbeat with a great sense of humor in his post. You came along like the Hindenburg on here.

I wish I lived like you on the big rock candy mountain. :-)