103 replies to this topic

[ducky]

With fresh mozzarella and a little sea salt too!

Yeah, but not too much salt. It makes me ad nauseum.

[supermom]

Yeah, but not too much salt. It makes me ad nauseum.

Huh--I was thinking bloated. Me, I mean.

uh--nevermind.

you know what else goes great with tomatoes?

roasted sourdough bread, mozzarella and worstershire sauce.

mmmm--slap a slice of tomatoe on there and voila, a nice hearty appetizer.

[Rich_T]

I like tomatoes.

I just have to ask:

What is the point of that statement?

[supermom]

I know once upon a long time ago--that John made me retire my Werewolf stories, along with NGilbert's Vampires---but that question about the tomatoes has got my fingers itching to to tell another story.......


John--you can be sooooo cruel to those of us with a wee bit of creativity......

[Steve Heard]

A few quick counterpoints...

I haven't posted much since the politics section was closed because I really don't have time for fluff and stuff. The other stuff on the forum can be useful at times, but I really don't care to read about "whining" over life's unavoidables, like dog pop and bad drivers.

Some might argue that what some people post on the political forum can be considered whining, fluff, or insignicant, and may find that dog poo and bad drivers have much more impact on our daily lives than does topics such as the President's smile or a rumor, later proven to be false, scraped off a blog and pasted here.

I think we should all get used to the idea that this forum is a commercial endeavor where money can be made from advertising. I was thinking this was a community forum, set up to be a service to the community....but it's not. It's a forum set up to make money.

You didn't realize that myfolsom.com was a commercial endeavor? That's what the '.com' means. Another clue might be the ubiquitous advertising on just about every page. Myfolsom.com is a valuable community resource, but the site and the forum costs money to run. There is software, storage, bandwidth, events, give-away items and other costs.

When one can in any way, take offense to what you have posted, there will be those that choose to take offense and that will always be a problem.

Yes, whether or not one is offended by a post depends on their perspective. You have acknowledged being offended by posts, as have many others, including me.

And, how anyone can donate their time and energy to anything set up to make a profit, is frankly, beyond my comprehension. But, I guess there are all kinds. I would rather donate my time and energy to a charity for those people who truly need help...not to those who are driven by a profit.

I can't speak for all of the moderators, but have to believe that most donate their time because they care about the community, and the forum is a valuable part of the community. Moderators on this site have donated countless hours to community events, issues and programs. We've had at least 5 city commissioners, we've started traffic calming programs, organized drug and alcohol education forums for parents, volunteered at at city events and at churches, helped create a learning center for under-served kids in town and more. It is no surprise then, that we would also volunteer to moderate on a community website.

I don't know how one can convince others to donate time to a company that is profit driven, but I'd love to find out. And I'd love to have some volunteers working for me!

John....what is your secret?????

I think John's 'secret' is that he is fair, kind, and has created what many of us consider a valuable resource. We have our moderator forum where we can discuss and sometimes disagree, but ultimately, we all love Folsom and the forum, and respect John's decisions in running it.

I think that we have turned a corner on this forum and doubt it will ever be the way it was before. I sensed that when John appointed an administrator. As far as I know there was never one before, and I wondered what it meant when he appointed one. I guess we are finding out.

Maxine, you give me too much credit. I'm not sure what you mean when you say that you 'sensed' we had turned a corner when John appointed an Administrator', because I think I've been an administrator longer than you've been a registered member of the myfolsom.com community, unless you were previously posting under other name(s).

Still, as I said, you give me too much credit. My role as Administrator doesn't give me much more power than any other moderator, except that in addition to deleting posts, I can delete and ban members, have access to the 'back end' of the system, and in emergencies, contact tech support to resolve technical issues.

I've been a member of the forum for about 7 years, first as 'fairly new' and as stevethedad for about 6 years. I think I've been a moderator for about 5 or so years.

My banning capabilities have only been used to ban spammers. I've never banned or even warned an active member of the forum. Although many threads have been closed over the years. I can only think of one that I have closed, and John disagreed and re-opened it.

Among the moderators, I think most would consider me and CW68 liberal, while John, Msgt, Camay, Tgianco, and Forumreader would be considered conservative. Mylo and Davburr probably lean more toward conservative than liberal. I respect them all, and they are my equals as far as moderating duties.

My vote doesn't count for any more than the others. For the record, John, at his discretion, has closed the politics section at least once before, and it wasn't because liberals were getting their feelings hurt. It was during the time of President Bush's presidency, when lots of folks were posting daily opinions, articles, and eventually nasty messages which crossed the line, just as was happening for months before he closed it this time around.

I have deleted very few posts on the politics forum. In fact, I argued with John once that smears against Bush were deleted while smears against Obama posts were allowed to stand.

Still, rather than ban them, I chose to either respond with my perspective, or ignore them.

Understand that moderators are entitled to their opinions, just as all forum members are. We are here to moderate, not to be political 'moderates'. Sometimes we do things that you may disagree with, but overall, I think the moderators, myself included, do a good job of keeping the forum clean, fun, informative and interesting.

[swmr545]

--Mods - if this is wandering too dangerously into politics, feel free to delete and let me know. I'm hoping that this doesn't turn into (like the burn day) a thread about politics - but I do have a sincere question about this. --

I have always wondered...

Why do you like discussing politics on a forum? And how do you have a non-confrontational (or dare I even say respectful) discussion about politics???

I have opinions, and frankly, I get pretty passionate about them. When I read the politics thread I get upset. Literally. My blood temp goes up, I get aggravated and feel a physical change come over me. I actually like somebody less when they reveal an opinion or a political leaning that I intensely disagree with. I don't like that feeling, so I don't expose myself to opinions/viewpoints that cause it.

Before anyone tells me I'm an idiot - just FYI - it's not a quality in myself that I like.

I'm curious - how do others think about it? Do you have the same reactions? Do you like that feeling? Why do you think politics is your twin, as Supermom put it.

I don't have an issue talking politics/religion with people that are open to hearing the other side of the issue. When I find out the discussion will be like talking to a brick wall I will usually walk away. Sometimes on the politics forum I will type out a response then walk away for about 10 mins or so then come back to see if it's really worth hitting the "submit post" button. More often then not I don't.

However, I want to get into politics (and have been involved for a few years), so I think any political discussion is fascinating and rarely have an issue with it.

[Bill Z]

I like tomatoes.

I hate raw tomatoes.

I like my tomatoes smashed and cooked. Ketchup & marinara sauce come to mind.


I also hate raw onions. Grilled onions, onion rings, French Onion Soup are all tasty.

But when you add raw jalapenos, somehow the flavor changes and all of a sudden I can handle raw onions and raw tomatoes.

Salsa anyone?!

[Bill Z]

However, I want to get into politics (and have been involved for a few years), so I think any political discussion is fascinating and rarely have an issue with it.

run for city council

[swmr545]

run for city council

No offense to the people of this great city, but I want to move out of Folsom before running for office so I have a better chance of being elected.

In the meantime, working for a non-profit lobby group has been fun. Hopefully I will be hired on as a staffer in a couple years.

[Bill Z]

We can go back to talking about blood, guts and politics.

nefarious beliefs of the rampant indigenous locals (sacramento drivers)

re-tell watercooler office jokes involving the fat guy and global warming. (phew)

object to goat roping elected officials into decision making on the ecomonic impact of quartering giant butterflies in an eco friendly bubble....... (Unqualified decision processing of elected officials)


And OTHER IMPORTANT POLITICALLY MOTIVATED CONVERSATIONS!!!!!!

Give me politics or give me death!!!!!

Well, 9 days has come and gone.

Supermom, care to guess again when john will turn 'em back on?

[supermom]

Well, 9 days has come and gone.

Supermom, care to guess again when john will turn 'em back on?

uhhhm---no offense--but go back to my original post.

Then compare to the threads posted during the last two weeks.

Blood, Guts, Politics, local drivers, water coolers jokes (politically motivated), and politicians making a@@@ of themselves.


I've seen it all--so far.

Nah-really---I know. I think Poor John is just holding out to make a point.

He doesn't want Folsom to be known as a werewolf town, anymore than he wants anyone in Folsom to get a reputation as being "like" Nicodemus......

[The Average Joe]

But when you add raw jalapenos, somehow the flavor changes and all of a sudden I can handle raw onions and raw tomatoes.

MMMMMM... toss in some cilantro, salt and a pinch of garlic and you have a mean pico de gallo.

The annoying but necessary step is to get rid of all the juice and seeds from the tomatoes as you dice them so your pico isn't all mushy and watery....mmmm pico, wish I had the stuff to make some right now...

[FolsomVW]

I think that was my original question I was trying to raise- I have yet to see where people who believe passionately about something can be civil about it.
Even that thread about the $600 gift card someone went OFF on another person. I think it's not just politics (though that seems to be the worst) I think it's online forums in general - they seem to bring out the worst in people. If we all knew the person reading our posts were our next door neighbor, or office neighbor or boss - would we still post the same I wonder?

That seems to be key. We evolved having conversations and interactions face to face, and very easily seem to forgo respect and normal order when a keyboard is used in debate. Have you ever seen some of the horrible things people will say on the SacBee's comments area? Wow, it makes even the most excited language here look like child's play.

[doj_gal]

I hate raw tomatoes.

I like my tomatoes smashed and cooked. Ketchup & marinara sauce come to mind.


I also hate raw onions. Grilled onions, onion rings, French Onion Soup are all tasty.

But when you add raw jalapenos, somehow the flavor changes and all of a sudden I can handle raw onions and raw tomatoes.

Salsa anyone?!

This is exactly my tastebuds too! My hubby hates cooking for me because of this! Good to know someone else is silly like me!