Posted by Dinah on November 6, 2010, at 7:34:08
In reply to Re: Babble :(, posted by alexandra_k on November 5, 2010, at 22:05:25
In the example you gave, you said that it was an older post that was brought to his attention.
Dr. Bob sometimes reads the board more carefully than other times. Sometime he doesn't seem to be directly on board at all. Even if he opens a post, say to redirect it, it doesn't mean he's read every word. I've read posts and not noticed unasterisked words before. Like anyone else, he probably has variations in his attention level and definitely in his time available. As you said, he doesn't go too far back in his pbc's and blocks. I don't really have an objection to that. I wouldn't want to suddenly see a very old post of mine receive a pbc. I never did mind having a statute of limitations for all but the worst of crimes.
I'm not saying that's always the reason. Perhaps Dr. Bob does sometimes take context into account. Perhaps he does take history into account.
There will always be some inconsistency in application. And Dr. Bob is not as consistent as I might prefer.
I'm not saying he's perfect. I don't think he's an angel or a devil. I know people are hurt here, and not just by Dr. Bob, but by their interactions with fellow posters. I'm sorry when people are hurt. I'm guessing Dr. Bob is too. It's just that it isn't one sided. As they tell us in therapy, it's not just the facts, it's also the interpretations we put on those facts. Interpretations that are formed by prior experience and native temperament, etc. And yes, of course that's also true of Bob.
Someone reminded me recently that *sometimes* when I've been hurt by Dr. Bob, it isn't that Dr. Bob is being *entirely* unreasonable. Sometimes it has to do with my own expectations. Expectations about authority in general, and possibly expectations about how Dr. Bob *should* treat me. I might think they're reasonable expectations. I still do really. But imagine how hard it must be to be one administrator, dealing with one board, yet dealing with the pasts and expectations of so many posters. He could say one thing, and people could hear a great number of things.
It's my experience that it isn't really personal with Bob, yes. History may play a part in interpretation, but with Dr. Bob history (negative or positive) takes a back seat to what a poster is doing now. For all I disagree with what happened with Twinleaf in this thread, I don't think that Bob was trying to persecute anyone. I think he was just being, as usual, more strict about interpreting something that a person has just been warned (blocked) for. I think if someone has been blocked for posts protesting (or being critical of) Bob, it might be better to avoid making comments about Bob for a while. Or to have a civility buddy review those comments. If someone has been blocked for posts about another poster, it may be better to avoid speaking to or about the other poster, or to have a civility buddy review comments about the other poster.
Would it surprise you to hear that I really wish there was more balance on Admin at least in part because I'd prefer to be mad at him myself sometimes without feeling the need to be fair to him?
poster:Dinah
thread:965628
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/admin/20101014/msgs/968759.html