State of the Community (12/10/07)

[imaria]

Hello everybody!

Just posting to keep everyone updated on any changes to the community, or any news on the front.

1. The community has now turned on moderated posting. It was something I had considered from the outset, and has been recommended by fellow moderators and members alike. Since a community like this shouldn't be making new posts all the time, I don't see any serious problems with it. I do plan to look into additional moderators as soon as possible, however, so we can react instantly to news posts and the like when possible. (We're not on moderated membership yet, but expect it in the future. I'm just trying to hold off on that one as long as I can.)
2. There is news on the banned interest issue. Not only has our list of known flagged terms grown (see the user cannot_find_me for info as well), LJ Spokesperson marta has given me an update here on the origins of the program. The key points:
   
   "So far a) it's been that way since June and b) there was a one-time addition to the terms in late October and c) it's not related to the flagging program or the SUP purchase or anything like that."
   I would like to emphasize one thing coming from this information: This is yet another action by Six Apart, NOT SUP. I know there have been some theories that SUP has been stepping in to quash freedom of speech, but instead it seems this is once again a Six Apart decision. I feel this is worth pointing out because I would like to avoid blaming SUP for Six Apart's errors; should they begin to make mistakes, we'll open a whole new file for them ;] (Thanks to marta for her informative reply!)
3. I was approached for an interview on the newsblog talk_show, focusing on the creation and purpose behind this community. For those interested in getting some background, take a look!
4. Keep spreading the word! In less than three days, we've grown to almost 300 people watching this community. Take an icon or two, drop a few links, and let LJ know we're ready to make some changes.
5. Finally... in regard to the banned interests issue, we're getting to the point where we know full well what the problem is. The question becomes, what do we what to do about it? To make this effort worthwhile, we need to come to a group agreement on what direction we want to go with this. Before we contact LJ, we need to know what we are asking for. So...

Poll Banned Interests

Please leave your comments and thoughts on anything mentioned, and thank you all for your efforts!