Who Wants To Be A Moderator? (apologies to Regis Philbin)

[groveChuck]

I nominate Abe as new Mod.
And NorBro as his foil and counter Mod, the goal being balance between the two.

Sorry about your back, Barry!
Hope you heal well and soon!

[rob norton]

Barry, how much can mods expect to make after taxes?

[John Brawley]

I second Abe.

JB

[rob norton]

Haha I third Abe.

[Barry_Green]

Or British bikes. Triumph Street Triple is clearly the most superior motorcycle produced. It is the yin of 4 cylinder and the yang of 2 cylinder rolled into one sleek, balanced, morally bullet gray package.

I have one eye on the Rocket III GT...

[Barry_Green]

Barry, how much can mods expect to make after taxes?

Not quite as much as other volunteers, but the good news is that all mod compensation is 100% tax free.

[Barry_Green]

PS what happen, how did you go down?

I took on the Continental Divide Trail, and it won. It's a largely offroad adventure trail that follows the mountain divide between the west and the east, border to border from Mexico up to Canada. I actually made it from the border of Mexico up through New Mexico, through Colorado, through Wyoming, up through Idaho, and dang near to Butte Montana before I was felled by the awful gigantic slippery hill known as Fleecer Ridge. Super-steep hill, got in over my head, hit a tree, shattered one vertebrae and broke two others and a rib, collapsed both lungs. Hats off to the Butte Montana Search & Rescue guys, truly epic volunteer effort and made me awfully proud of my fellow Americans. Seeing them in action, what they sacrificed and contributed of their own time and their own vehicles to come help some stranger out of a mess he never should have gotten into, it reaffirmed my faith that humans are fundamentally good.

[Barry_Green]

If you want to police all political speech, including that which you find innocuous and agreeable, then fine.

Thing is, I don't want to police ANY. I wish people would just be mature and respect the rules of the house they're in. But if they won't, then nuke it all, no matter how well-intentioned or innocent or innocuous it may seem.

But if you let a statement stand that I find offensive, I feel compelled to respond lest it go unanswered, implying consensus.

Well, with that I disagree. It's not anybody's right or obligation here to be the truth equalizer. Piling offense on top of offense is not the way to go. Zero tolerance is the much preferred way, which has worked remarkably well here for 17+ years, and the offenders seem to learn real quick (generally) after a few post zaps and some infractions.

Maybe you're suggesting I should report instead of responding?

I am definitely saying to report the post using the triangle-shaped "!" button. That sends a note to the moderators about a post that you find violates the rules. If you comment to it, you're just perpetuating it. Reporting it so it can be noticed and dealt with is the highly preferred way.

I flagged a post once that called a major american political party communists but nothing happened to the post.

And that's exactly the kind of horse**** that we don't need here. We don't need namecalling, mudslinging, personal attacks, or political commentary of any type. That's (apparently) what Twitter is for, so all that hogwash should be taken directly there, or, heck, anywhere else.

As far as nothing happening to that post -- it should have been immediately zapped, and the poster at least infracted if not banned. Dropping a political statement or position in a discussion has the same effect as dropping a turd in the punch bowl, and each side's turds are equally repulsive and we really, really don't want to see any turds at all, not even little tiny nuggets, not even a used corn nut, here in our punch bowl.

[Barry_Green]

Half of Montana roads ... those in the mountains ... in the shade are ice traps ... not good for 4WD vehicles ...

And I was on a 1WD vehicle... but it was in August, I saw very little ice, and there weren't many roads at all, it was a mostly off-road adventure. It was gorgeous and quite fun, right up until it all went straight to hell. But yeah, Montana was epic. It was pretty much all epic, I fell in love with northern New Mexico, all of Colorado was glorious, and the only somewhat disappointing region was southern Wyoming; once I hit the Tetons it was magnificent from there on.

Glad you are recovering ...

Thanks. It's coming along. Bones are healed, I'm just plagued with perpetual chronic pain that keeps me from doing pretty much anything, so ... looking into surgical repair to sort it out.

[rob norton]

I took on the Continental Divide Trail, and it won. It's a largely offroad adventure trail that follows the mountain divide between the west and the east, border to border from Mexico up to Canada. I actually made it from the border of Mexico up through New Mexico, through Colorado, through Wyoming, up through Idaho, and dang near to Butte Montana before I was felled by the awful gigantic slippery hill known as Fleecer Ridge. Super-steep hill, got in over my head, hit a tree, shattered one vertebrae and broke two others and a rib, collapsed both lungs. Hats off to the Butte Montana Search & Rescue guys, truly epic volunteer effort and made me awfully proud of my fellow Americans. Seeing them in action, what they sacrificed and contributed of their own time and their own vehicles to come help some stranger out of a mess he never should have gotten into, it reaffirmed my faith that humans are fundamentally good.

Thanks for sharing your story, what an amazing ride. Hopefully you can lessen/manage your pain, I’m sure the whole forum is glad it wasn’t any worse!