Steering the ship slightly

Joe, I was a little bummed out when I saw that you canceled the Religious Discussion. I hadn’t plan on even looking at it again, but I believe that it was healthy. Not that you do not have the right to delete a thread – this is your site. It’s obvious that you care very much about your community – this site and people in general. I can’t even imagine the hours that you must put into this site. It seems that gradually – over time – more and more people are finding the site, and returning. Most people care about their community. They care about their State. People become very passionate about subjects that affect them and their families. Not everyone really cares that Reed’s Dairy has a great milk shake. Its nice to know – but doesn’t really draw someone back to the site again and again. People care about hard issues. Difficult issues. Pro and Con regarding issues like the “gay community” – the reintroduction of wolves into our state – city officials gone bad and even religion. These are the topics that make people enough passion to speak their mind. Opinions and comments made are something many people would like to hear. There are those who are steadfast in their beliefs – and will argue a point without ever giving in. But there are also those who are forming their opinions who might sit back quietly – make no comment at all and still find value in the arguments of others. You seem to worry a lot about “Dividing” the community. Anywhere there are people – they are already divided. This gives people a space to come talk about those issues. You have the ability to “referee” each thread – and can keep bad words or hostile comments to a minimum. But I believe that you should be a little more willing to let people discuss what they want to discuss (and you have done a wonderful job doing this thus far) but don’t take it so personally. Your site has a very bright future. Not as quickly as you want perhaps – but over time it is certain to do well. It is controversy that will make it grow. It is passion about “hot topics” that will bring people here and back again and again. Kimbal Mason gave your site probably the biggest boost it has yet had. You did your advertising efforts on July 4th – flyers – giveaways etc. None of that brought in the number of people for you that Kimbal did. People – looking for news Googled “Kimbal Mason” and found your site. It is the hard issues and serious discussions about critical community and state issues that will bring them back. Your next big boost will come from the next big event in town. And or from people visiting at the water cooler on Monday morning about serious topics of interest – likely to include good camping spots, great milkshakes and comments made about Religion. My advice to you – though you likely don’t want it– is relax and enjoy the ride. Be patient. Let people be passionate and even a little argumentative. This type of discussion is where people learn. People can read what each topic is about – and stay out of it if they want to. Just my two cents worth. Reeds does have great shakes though!

Joe - consider this. Maybe it’s not your site that is causing the “divisions” in the community. Maybe the volatile nature of that discussion is a result of the divisions that already exist in our community. Perhaps a free, open, and honest discussion would further divide us … but then again, it could bring us closer together.

I just wish that’s what it was, a discussion. It seems like when one person makes a point, someone has to come along and try to smear them, rather than provide a counter-point. Not productive.

In my home or office, no one is allowed to smoke. I’m allergic to smoke and have some serious medical complications. Certainly, I have friends and business associates who smoke. I make no judgements about my friends or associates, but due to what the consequences can be to me, I have to enforce this rule anywhere I am.

I use that as example to think about when pondering Joe’s decision to close one discussion thread on this site.

I believe all the views previously written are thoughtful and sincere. While not discounting any of the previous views, I’d like to ask some different questions just to explore another viewpoint about this.

Back to the example with which I started, if someone invited you to his/her home as a guest, would you follow the host or hostess rules for their home, when the person specifically had told you what his/her limits were? If you were invited to my home, would you respect my allergies and not smoke inside or close to me outside? There may be some who say no. There would be no second invitations to visit my home or any area where I would be at my residence or business.

This reminds me of a true story one of my grade school teachers told me when I was a little older and could appreciate what she said a bit more. I think it was her first child, but when he got to be about two years old, both she and her husband would put several Post-It notes around their home asking guest to “Please not swear/curse or use words that Bobby shouldn’t hear.” I guess, according to Mrs. M., she and her husband (both educators) had taken Bobby somewhere important in public - maybe even a family party for the teachers that year. I don’t know what was said, but my understanding is Bobby answered with a string of words that apparently made both of his parents blush and rapidly have to leave the party when questioned where Bobby would have learned those words.

Now back to Joe instead of Bobby or me, in the respective situations I’ve described above. It’s my understanding that Joe built this web site with some very specific goals when he started it. For me, being allowed to read and post on this web site is similar to being invited into his home. I consider it very nice of him to let me express my ideas within the limits he has set. If I’m at Joe’s house, should I have the courtesy to follow his house rules? I believe so. Obviously, each person has to answer my question for his or herself.

What I would LOVE to see happen is to see other users begin their own Idaho Falls area-based web sites develop as a result of the interaction on this web site. Everyone who posts has views he/she feels deeply about. Otherwise, I don’t believe each person would comment. I don’t walk away from controversy, but I do want to respect and honor Joe’s “House Rules” so to speak.

Perhaps we should ask Joe to restate his goals and desires for this site, along with his limits. Personally, I don’t feel it is right to superimpose what each of us may want to discuss at much deper levels, on Joe’s web site. Should some of you build your own web sites, I hope both that you somehow would credit Joe for giving you the idea to build it. Perhaps he would put a link to it on this site, but I don’t know for sure - I’m not Joe.

Should any of you build your own web sites to continue some of the discussions that perhaps are not the direction Joe wants to go on IdahoFallz.Com, let me know the address. I might want to drop in and write a firey statement.