Re: POLL OPEN - New Group Owner Needed

[Guest guest]

Could our two group owners candidates give us a brief summary of how they

plan to run the group? Some people like stricter, more formal

administration, while others prefer a more relaxed approach, with a broader

range of topics.

When does the poll close?

Do we need any additional moderators? If the group could use any additional

moderators, I'd be more than happy to help. The more moderators, the

quicker messages get approved and the less work per person, so even if you

guys don't NEED additional help, I'd still be happy to help reduce your

workload, if you guys are interested.

This isn't a completely selfless offer, I have been feeling unproductive

and this seems like a good way to make me feel productive and help my

fellow CP sufferers.

If my help isn't needed now, please keep me in mind if an additional

moderator is needed in the future. Even if you guys would like to wait

until the new owner is on place, I'd understand that.

Thanks to everyone in this group.

Steve M in PA, age 22

Hi All

Yahoo Central has finally given us permission to elect a new group owner.

Ken, our original owner, died many years ago. Since then, the group has

been looked after by the Moderators. However, if anything were to happen

on Yahoo, the Moderators would not be able to put the group back together.

We need to restore ownership, so please vote.

http://health.groups.yahoo.com/group/chronic_pain/polls

If, for some reason, this link does not work for you, please sign into the

group, then scroll down to Polls. Click on the voting information

(question) and vote. One vote per person of course. :-)

http://health.groups.yahoo.com/group/chronic_pain/

Thanks

Lyndi

On behalf of your Moderators

Kaylene, Lyndi, , and Cheryl

[Guest guest]

Matrese wrote:

> Could our two group owners candidates give us a brief summary of how they

> plan to run the group? Some people like stricter, more formal

> administration, while others prefer a more relaxed approach, with a broader

> range of topics.

The group will continue to run as it has been. The moderators are all in

agreement with that. We're the same people who have been working in the

background for the last dozen years. When Ken died, the group was too

much for me by myself, as the other two moderators had lost interest.

Kaylene stepped into the fray to lend a much needed hand. She and I

worked hard behind the scenes to clean up a lot of mess. It took us

months, but we got it done.

> When does the poll close?

Next Sunday.

> Do we need any additional moderators?

That's something that will be discussed once we are a proper group

again, with group owners.

Moderating is often very tedious, as so many group members rarely

remember that we have blind people trying to read this list too. So,

the moderators spend a lot of time removing old posts from incoming

messages and changing text messaging into readable posts. We need to

snip things down to where they need to be for our low vision and no

vision readers. It's bad enough being in pain all the time, but being

unable to see and being in pain all the time, is much more difficult.

As it states on our home page - this is an inclusive group, and group

members are expected to abide by the posting rules. But since so many

members rarely take the time to do their own editing, so that everyone

can read/hear the posts, the moderators have to do it. This really slows

down clearing posts. We tried just rejecting the posts and asking people

to clean up their own stuff, but lots of people just didn't bother to

edit the post and send it back in. Many complained it was too much work

for them.

People who consistently follow the posting rules, don't have to be on

moderated status. Unfortunately. only a handful of folks are in that

situation. The rest just keep doing their own thing and therefore, have

to be moderated.

If a group member will consistently follow the posting rules, without

the moderators having to fix each post so that it's readable by our

blind members, they are our first choice to come off moderated status

and also our first choice for moderators. (That's how we four ended up

as the moderators).

People who can't/won't follow the group posting rules, and be thoughtful

towards those members who have to use computer programs to read the

posts aloud, cannot even be considered for moderator duties.

We have the posting information in the file section, plus I send in

posts about once a month, reminding our sighted members that we have

other members who can't read text message slang, rows and rows of dots,

weird abbreviations, etc. Yet only a handful ever follow the simple

rules. For example, it is not difficult to type 10 years. Yet people

frequently type 10yr. That 10yr is just gobbledygook to a program that

reads messages aloud.

So, if anyone wants their messages to clear faster, then they need to

consistently do their own editing, so that the moderators don't have to

do it for them. They also have to consider other's feelings and not be

rude to them.

We'd love to just let everyone write in, but then we would have many

members who couldn't read the posts. That isn't fair to them, when we

sighted folks have absolutely no excuse for not taking the extra minute

to make sure the basic rules are followed.

The moderators all live with chronic pain, but we manage to make sure

our own posts fit the guidelines. We also manage to make sure other

people's posts fit the guidelines too. If we can do that, then our

sighted members should certainly be able to do the same for their own posts.

http://health.groups.yahoo.com/group/chronic_pain/files/

Getting off my soap box now.

I will get back on it again. :-)

Lyndi