Rick:
After more than a year of working with a group of docents who have helped to run the blog, I’ve decided to end the experiment. The docent model was not entirely successful, in no small part due to an overall lack of organization and commitment, but lately due to some specific personality conflicts. I’m not sure what will take its place, but I’m hopeful that we can develop some sort of community-governed system. Stay tuned.
Jason, a fellow former docent who I like and respect, called for Rick’s resignation via email to the rest of the docents earlier today. Just for reference, Rick founded and still owns Olyblog.
This dustup reflects a view of Olyblog that in my opinion isn’t entirely healthy or productive. “Olympia owns Olyblog” is hurtful because Olyblog cannot be everything to everyone. We’ve become too used to their being one place, one newspaper, one blog where we all go.
More Olyblogs.
UPDATE: Though Rick turned off comments on his thread, a post with comment enabled have popped up:
A place to comment on the “End of the Experiment.”
I feel bad for enpen.
He was easily one of the most prolific contributors.
He just celebrated one year of free wall updates and gets repaid by this.
Lesson for all those being told they aren’t contributing enough content.
No matter how much time and personal effort you give to Rick, it won’t amount to much when he freaks out on you.
I dunno, I put up my share of content over there and I never consider it effort given to Rick. Its just stuff that works over there, people seem to like it, so I keep on doing it.
Plus, I don’t really think Rick was the first to freak out. Enpen suggested booting Rick before Rick booted the rest of us.
Rick resign?
That seems odd, I don’t get it~
If you are paying attention, it does not seem odd at all.
Seems about right. Rick goes on his manic power trips whenever his ego and/or his desire for sycophants gets the best of him…
OlyBlog was pretty damn good to me. It light speed accelerated my ability to jump into the Olympia community. I have few complaints about my OlyBlog experience.
Regarding OlyBlog ownership: I was made to understand that Zhonka took on hosting OlyBlog for free because it is a community owned resource. I communicated that belief to other people, which sucks.
Rick, Rob Richards, and enpen in particular were terrible docents. I see all three as hypocritical, self absorbed and less than intellectually honest. They claim one thing, like acceptance of dissenting views, yet choose to ban and or denigrate those they can not scare into complying with their views.
I am sure that olyblog will fail because of this management style. What we are seeing is that goes around comes around. When you try to control what people say, they won’t say anything, and judging by all the zeros in the comments column of the ‘recent posts’ page I would say that I am calling that right.
I am also sure, on a slightly different note, that they will continue to claim they accept dissenting views, and offer up excuses for the failing blog, but a simple honest look, and you will see the facts plain as the nose on your face.
C.
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You were banned from OlyBlog after repeated misattribution of quotes and ideas to other people active in the space.
Two Neo-Nazis were banned from OlyBlog prior to either of our participation on the space due to threats they made toward other OlyBloggers and bigoted posts.
The space is what it is: a personal blog that invites other people to put work into it for free. I thought it was something else and was attempting to manage it accordingly. This was also my first attempt at creating a “community” space, so sometimes I sucked. That’s the nature of the beast. A kid throwing 20mph fast balls in no way stops the kid from growing up to launch 98mph gas.
– Jason (enpen)
Wow, sadly that is not at all what I was told as I recall by you or by Rick.
Anytime the question about attributing something incorrectly was brought up, I would defend what I was saying, cite my referenced, and it was announced that ‘We were not going to go down that road’. ‘We will not rehash, this or that, you have been warned.’ etc. etc.
I didn’t missattribute anything, and when I did, I was clear with a correction.
Considering the number of times this happened, it seems that discussion was not permitted, for fear of the so-called docents behavior being shown for what it was, intellectually dishonest.
If you have an example, now of what you are suggesting, I will gladly make the time to read it, and respond and make absolutely clear what I was talking about, or if necessary (which is doubtful, but possible) I will make clear a correction.
I was banned because I was willing to do things like hold firm beliefs and call things what they are, such as the very clear connection between Islam and hate, abortion and murder, and private rights trampled on by the marxist left in the case of the boycott of Ralph’s drug store.
It is up to you, whether you would like to take up this challenge or not. What I will not accept is the suggestion that I was dishonest, or ‘miss attributed’ things with out correction. You can see this issue as either water under the bridge or you can revisit the issue, what ever you do is fine with me, I prefer the bridge path, but if you choose otherwise, I will be glad to join you on that journey.
On a side note, I don’t care what went down with Rick and you. Olyblog is falling apart because of the way it was/is run. Excuses are made, fingers pointed, and so on, but it was on the cards from at least the time I joined. It was being used as an echo chamber, and echos only last so long. That is what happens when ideas are not permitted. As I said before, what goes around comes around.
I look forward to your decision.
C.
You claimed that Rob Richards said the OPD stormed into the Camp Quixote tents in full riot gear. This was a misattribution which you never owned up to.
You claimed Janet felt it was okay to attack people as long as she doesn’t know them. When asked for evidence of your claim you did not produce it.
You claimed that Rob Whitlock feels the murder of Israeli citizens is justified. When I asked for your evidence you provided evidence of empathy.
I initiated the call for your ban on the premise that after the 2nd instance of misattribution I warned you that one more infraction would give me cause to ask for your dismissal. Other docents may not have voted for your ban using the same rationale, but that has nothing to do with why the process was put in motion. On another occasion I stopped a call for your dismissal from the space as I thought the rationale was groundless.
Janet does attack everyone on the blog. Not one of her comments is constructive or friendly. She's snide, rude and controlling. She ranks right up there with OlyDowntowner and Wilson. They are the 3 most abusive posters at OB and their behavior is condoned.
Chris was banned for no good reason other than his opinion differred from the majority of you all. He wasn't the only one who was constantly berated, harrassed and abused on that site because of their opinion. How about S6?JstPlnOnry? How about JT? Or Norm? Or Merwyn? Or EG? Or Larry? How do you justify the way those good posters were treated? You can't and that's why they went away and formed a better way to exercise their opinions and ideas. A forum I hope you'll bring your Freewall posts to.
Rick and Rob are the worst of the worst. It's their way or no way and you were absolutely correct in calling for Rick's resignation and asking for a vote on it. The only reason Rick reacted the way he did was because he knew where he stood with the OB community and his days were numbered around there. Both are nothing but bully's who do what they want, when they want, how they want in order to get their ways.
I feel bad for what Rick did to you Enpen and to see his response to Matthew Green proves his bullying techniques. He has never accepted responsibility for his actions and most likely never will and as you see, it's costing him.
Whatever beef between you & Chris should be left behind on Olyblog. You both were wronged and should align, not continue to build walls and verbal weapons.
I don’t recall saying that about the OPD, I remember the discussion. I will look. I remember that remark even, and I think someone was citing something in the Olympian. Like I said I will look.
I claimed that Janet said that because Janet said she thought she would be less bothered by someone being attacked because she did not know them personally. I believe she was referring to the Vice President. The post is there, go look, you will also find my saying the EXACT same thing, and then someone saying that we were not going to rehash it again.
What the heck is evidence of empthy? He feels the killing of Israeli citizens is justified because he supports Palestinian terrorists (though of course blowing up innocent women and children is not terrorism in his estimation, they are just doing what they can). What is there to be confused on this point?
If I made some miss attribution there was never any honesty in resolving the issue. The so-called docents, you included, had no intention of permitting a discussion around the ‘reason’ I was banned. It was decided, in what ever form it took, that the accusation would stand, and thus a dissenting voice would not be permitted. This is predictable, provable behavior of leftists. Janet did not like being called on her hypocritical statement. Rob is so disconnected from reality and common sense he does not even grasp that he is willingly supporting murdering terrorists. As for Rob, he is a typical ‘do as I say not as I do’ Michael Moore/Al Franken style liberal. He is dishonest through and through in my opinion and generally beneath contempt.
I will spend some time and find the stuff you have brought up as I said I would. Give me a little time to get my work done and I will get back with you, as soon as I am able. All of the stuff is available on Olyblog, and on my blog.
Sorry you choose the difficult path but I will join you as I said I would.
C.
By the way, I don’t want to feel like we are over running this blog or thread. If you feel the same way, or Emmett feels this is not what he wants on his blog, we should think about taking to my blog, your blog if you have one, or in e-mail. Other wise, so long as we are not offending I don’t mind it being here.
C.
Chris got banned because he was a vicious liar who attempted to destroy other people’s reputations using dishonest methods. He was treated more than fairly by the docents, while he treated others with utter disrespect. He deserves to be shunned.
Sounds like a good idea, Chris, to take it to your blog. I’ll keep an eye out and post a link here if you start a thread.
In at least, we’re done here. Good night everyone!