Darklight Posted October 17, 2006 It's not like youse haven't heard already, but as my last official thingy... anyhow WELCOME TO APOTHECARY AS THE NEW CHILL SPACE MODERATOR! Woohoo! I'm handing over the reins as of today. It's been great, it's been fun, it's been like five years and now I need to re-prioritise my time away from the computer so that more research and work gets done. High points have been Chemsha and of late BM's er... spontaneity Low points have been deliberately suppressed by my subconscious. But nevermore shall I wake up and wonder whether I'm up for a spot of censorious grumpiness before my second cuppa Please pass me my drink with the lil' umbrella in it, I'm a stranger in paradise. Chill is the most fun and the most annoying space to wrangle because its the most work. We're in the middle of a civilised stretch atm and there is a great crowd of people here who will support Apoth if he needs it, not that he'll need it It will be great to see manifest the zest and positive energy Apoth brings to the space, not to mention his skills and knowledge in so many areas, his diplomacy and general sunny warmth. I've also heard he has his own teeth, which is more than can be said for many of the people I've argued with ( joke )... now where was I? Please raise your glasses- and feel free to talk about beer all you like.. and welcome Apoth! F*n RIPPER! Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
apothecary Posted October 17, 2006 It's true, I am the proud owner of my teeth, and to top it off I haven't been to the dentist since age 9! Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Dodie Posted October 17, 2006 Congrats dude Couldnt think of a better being for the job Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
apothecary Posted October 17, 2006 If we can talk about beer as much as we want then I would like to mention that an attempt at making Henbane beer by myself and smogs failed miserably. We blame the old yeast we used. A second attempt will be made as soon as I have enough biomass to harvest. I don't even drink, lol. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
mescalito Posted October 17, 2006 It's like celbrating a birthday and breaking up on the one day Nah good choice and I know DL has lottsa stuff to do and I doubt we'll never see her again. You've got some pretty big boots to fill ol boy but I'm sure you'll do an excellent job since you obviously can't sit still long enough to meditate Do you mind starting a thread outlining the process you used with the henbane brew as I've done a damiana one before and might be able to help you work this out? Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
apothecary Posted October 18, 2006 We will photo-op the next one. Everything went according to plan we just used some bad yeast. If it doesn't work next time you will hear me for sure Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
MORG Posted October 18, 2006 Hazzah for Apo! Hazzah for beer! I'm in love with everything! http://www.fat-pie.com/pulch.htm Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
occidentalis Posted October 18, 2006 congrats Sina, there be no better creature for the job. And respect to Darklight for holding this place together for the last few years http://www.fat-pie.com/pulch.htm I thought that was going to be the first really 'nice' fat pie cartoon and then it became really morbid and depressing.... Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
noun Posted October 18, 2006 Thankyou Darklight Thankyou Apoth and thankyou to all that make this place possible There is such a wealth of knowledge on this site provided by honest open people ...gee, I got outta the right side of bed today. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Benzito Posted October 18, 2006 I don't think I could pick a better mod myself. If I was Torsten, I would just let Apo take over SAB entirely. Shop & all! He makes this internet stuff look damn easy doesn't he? Darklight is great and she has definitely helped keep this place together, but I'm surprised she has _any_ time for SAB, let alone time enough to moderate. Busy self-employed scientist that she is! Best of luck to DL and Apo in their new ventures. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Torsten Posted October 18, 2006 The choice of apothecary for moderator was an easy one. He practically lives on the forums already and is well respected and liked by pretty much everyone. Most of all he is extremely rational and that is really important for me when I have to cooperate with people. Well just have to see how tough he can be when the need arises and when someone needs a good But really this post is mostly about darklight. Even before we had moderators I could always count on DL for sound advice and a good slap when I needed one. Being a relatively stable administrator did not happen overnight and it was the guidance from someone who doesn't mince words that has made me a better admin and the forums a better place for everyone. A couple of times in the early days I was ready to retreat from the whole public face of SAB and with that retreat also shut the forums down. That's quite a few years ago now (a very long time in internet life) and I was a much weaker person then, but it was DL's strength that not only got me personally through the tough spots, but also saved the forums. At the time DL offered to take on the chill space as that was the forum that caused me the most grief. It was a mixed blessing because not only did I lose the grief, but also the control over what was going on there. I now had to play by DL's rules in her chill space. What was probably seen as a more or less temporary arrangement soon stretched to 5 years. As I mentioned in another thread recently, we are now the second oldest ethnobotany forum in the world and our closets 'rival' is only a few months older. That in itself is a huge achievement. Given that the decay in most forums starts in the social forum, one should never underestimate the importance of the moderators of such forums. If tensions build in the chill space then this affects the whole forum and if our chill space was anything like the social forums on most other forum sites we would not have such a large number of elders here. It's the elders who get fed up with the crap the quickest and I have always regarded the retention and contribution rate of elders as one of the main indicators of forum health. This is not what most members think of when they spare a thought for the modertors. The role of the mods in the sum of their activities is far greater than the daily trivialities they have to deal with and ultimately causes forums to succeed or fail. Recognising tension and solving problems as they arise rather than when they escalate is not easy, but is essential for the smooth running of a forum. A mod's job becomes harder the more complex a conflict becomes. So, 'nipping it in the bud' is an extremely valuable skill and one that has protected this forum extremely well. The result is that we have had an incredibly low number of members who have been booted, and a forum where members respect each other either by choice or because they know any other approach will not be tolerated. Most members have no idea what's actually going on in mod-world most of the time. Whenever you see a conflict arising in a forum and it suddenly cools off and becomes a sensible discussion, you can be sure that a mod has been busy writing PMs. When we realise a member is starting to go off the rails a bit we keep closer tabs on him. Sometimes we even suspend members for their own good for a day or two so they can cool off. A mod's job is to do that in the background so as not to add to the public tensions. Mods will intentionally place themselves between two aggressive parties to help resolve the problem. And most of this is done in the background. Mostly even without the knowledge of other mods or myself. DL's humour and straight forward approach has always made the job look easy, but don't let that fool you!! Being a good mod takes a huge amount of rationale and a great sense of fairness. Two things that are not compatible with PMT . So over the years we've had some interesting situations as a result of such incompatibility. However, the best role model is someone who can recognise their mistakes, apologise for them and fix them, and that's exactly what DL did. I wish being a forum moderator could be a helpful entry on a resume, because DL would get a glowing reference from me. Although I doubt that would help with her chosen career path. I hope that not being a mod will provide DL with a bit more duty free forum time so we get to see more research posts rather than moderator comments. 5 years as moderator is a long time and this place will always bear your mark. THANKS! Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
