I say yes, you say no, OR People are Strange

Bren-2007

Well then Anne .. we'll just stay here and skate together!  I had some laceup roller skates at one time .. it was fun.

Bren

Enjoyful

I had the key kind, too, around the time that "I got a brand new pair of roller skates, you got a brand new key" song came out. 

I can't do raisins either.  Too squashy, like bugs.  Blecch.

Alpal

Well, I love raisins. I also had a key and wore it on a ribbon around my neck. I hate to admit this but I think the ribbon was PINK!!

River_Rat

Hey, I like prunes!  I'm not sure about prunes and brussels sprouts together and I'm really not sure about the chestnuts.

Moderators

How about a new start?! A new thread, and new beginning. That way Newbies won't see the negative history, only the positive, supportive side to the discussion. I won't do anything till later tonight, but I'd like everyone's buy-in. 

Enjoyful

I'm on board, unless there are prunes or raisins involved!

AnnNYC

AnneW,  I think Enjoyful said a separate site!  I agree, we don't need a Roller Derby or Mud Wrestling thread here!

Enjoyful

Yes - a separate site for political roller mud skating.  But it would probably just spill over to this site no matter what we do.  *sigh*

Alpal

I'm game, but you'll need to let Blue out of jail so she can start it! While you're doing it, please let Athena out also. Do you wear the cell key on a pink ribbon?

Bren-2007

Melissa .. can you sign Blue back in to start our new thread.  I really would prefer if she was the OP on any new thread.  She did her best to keep things on an even keel.

Thanks,

Bren

AnnNYC

To the Moderators: in the past, when there has a been a "new start," everything has been deleted.  It's sad that the good things have to be erased along with the bad.  Is it possible to edit this thread (and the other one in question) to eliminate the "meltdowns"?  That would be my preference -- but I would defer to the wishes of the Original Posters of both threads, if they can be contacted.

Thanks,

Ann

Bren-2007

My preference is not to lose this thread.  This is my home base on BCO where all my friends are.  We would lose all the recipes and other great information. JMO

Bren

AnnNYC

Also -- this is where Otter posted news of her Mom's passing, and received condolences.  I really think it would be horrendous to delete all of that.

Enjoyful

Maybe we can delete everything from a particular date forward?  It seems like the last troubles started a few days ago.

Bren-2007

Ann brings up a good point about Otters condolences.  This is a hard time for her, and maybe we can leave the notes and pics up for Otter.

Is it possible to just leave the thread the way it is and we'll start fresh with some new recipes or something.

Bren

Enjoyful

Ahhh yes....forgot that Otter's posts were on this thread.  They should be left, or at least give her a chance to print them out before deleting the thread.

208sandy

O.K. Blue is back - it was posted by Melissa a few minutes ago on the other thread - we are still request Athena - I vote we keep this thread and just delete the nasty stuff - I don't want to abandon all our other "stuff" either.

Sorry no one seems to like my new recipe - I'll try to find something better but honestly I think where cooking is concerned "less is more" unless of course we're talking about chocolate!

Hugs to all, Sandy

Bren-2007

Sandy .. do you think the prunes would work with carrots?  I love carrots .. a lot more than brussel sprouts.

Bren

Enjoyful

Oh Sandy, I'm the only one who didn't like the prunes, I think.  *shudder*  I wonder how peaches would work as a replacement?

E, Who Usually Only Cooks in Self Defense

crazy4carrots

Melissa -- I truthfully do not think the solution is to delete this thread and start afresh, because nothing will stop the same thing from happening all over again.  We've suggested our own solutions, and I truly hope that those suggestions (regarding the Report this Post) function are being acted upon, and we will see the results very soon.

The situation as it currently stands -- with posters being deleted for breaking no BCO rules -- is just making extra work for you, and I'm very sorry about that.

Bren-2007

Melissa .. if you do delete this thread, is there a way to save all the pages for Otter.  I think it started around page 200-202.

That would be great.  Thank you.

Bren

3monstmama

Can't a thread be locked?  That way no one could add to it ---and newbies would be less likely to find it becasue without new posts, it would fall down to the bottom of the heap---but the thread [recipes, support, etc] itself would still be there.  Other boards I am on have the ability to lock a thread when things are too heated.

Totally Agree that blue should be the starter of any new thread and that athena and anyone else suffering from a ban or limitations due to this craziness should be brought back.

Completely bewildered by the bunch of drama and deletions on this thread.  Aren't we grown women all suffering from the same stupid disease? 

Haven't we better things to do that be spiteful and mean and re-create 6th grade?  I confess I have stopped following this thread even though there are lots of people I really like on it.  But I just can't take the angst in my life and I already have a surfeit of petty people.

Wabbit

Hiding the problem does not solve it.  Deja vu

And once again we will lose a ton of nice, funny and informative posts ... and even worse our condolences to otter ... due to the troublemakers. 

208sandy

E - the peaches sound like a good idea - you're not the only one who freaked over the prunes - just before I posted the recipe I talked to my BFF on the phone and I mentioned the prunes and she went "aaaccckkkkk" - I am still laughing over it all.

Bren- wonder about the carrots - might work - we'll have to try.

Sandy

Bren-2007

Okay .. I'm starting to obsess about losing all the posts to Otter and her beautiful heartfelt tribute to her mom.

Please don't delete those Melissa.  At least let us copy them first.

When my dad was dying, the posts to me on this site were so comforting.  I didn't feel so all alone.

Bren

pickle

I personally think it's a good idea to have a fresh start and in the meantime the mods/admin could continue working on the solutions to the report button etc.  I understand that you may not want some posts removed but would it be possible to copy and paste your posts to Otter in a new thread? Recipes in a new thread? I know it may take a bit of work but sometimes it's best to take the olive branch and  make decisions based on the good of the whole community.

Nothing wrong with the topics that get discussed but perhaps we could hold it to a standard like we would see if we were on a real debate team. 

I think for this option to be successful, everyone would have to move forward and let bygones be bygones. 

It's not easy to forgive and forget when you've been really hurt but IMHO it's doable and worthwhile.  

Forgiveness is a funny thing; It warms the heart and cools the sting.

Cheers

Beth 

AnnNYC

Message from bluedahlia: she does not want this thread deleted.

Alpal

My initial thought was that it was ok to start over. After some consideration, I'm not so sure that's the thing to do. So, we start a new thread, and tomorrow some gecko swoops in and deletes all our posts. Nothing has changed. Why start over? The people who are posting right now are not the problem. The trouble last night wasn't even on this thread.

I say Melissa lets us go on and she is free to suggest posts of ours which she feels should be deleted to make the thread less whatever to newbies. I still think newbies are looking for advice about other things and probably aren't looking here, but that's just my experience. Annabanana thought differently but then she was no stranger to controversial threads. JMHO

Beesie

I don't agree with deleting this thread (or the other where this has been proposed) and starting a new one.  This has been done many times before and the situation always evolves back to the same place.... and then the thread gets deleted and restarted and everything happens again.

I think that deleting the posts of those who instigate trouble and those who stalk and those who bully - and/or deleting the threads where this had been taking place - is simply is a "get out of jail free" pass for those who misbehave.  All the trouble they caused is erased and they are free to do it again.  And they do.

I appreciate that for BCO there is a problem having an active thread with so much negativity and so many arguments.  But there's also been a lot of good discussion in this thread - and as so many have pointed out, there have been the posts about otter's Mom.  Given the issues on all sides, I think that freezing this thread, if that can be done, would be the best solution. Then we can start up again, but without losing all that has taken place to-date.

And the best solution of all would be to stop the nonsense by posting the names of the deleters. Or, as I've suggested a few times, by not allowing the posts of legitimate members of the board (let's say someone with 50 posts or more) to be deleted.  Not enabling the "Report this Post" button for newbies would be another fix.  Solving the problem would be a whole lot better than erasing it and pretending it never happened.

Just my opinion.  

IronJawedBCAngel

Just my opinion, but in the relatively short time I have been on these boards, several threads have been deleted, with the suggestion of a new fresh start, and the same problem has occurred.  It seems that deleting the whole thread only rewards those that come here to cause trouble and gives them further incentive to keep repeating their bad behaviors.  In the meantime, those who play by the rules get good posts deleted and have less incentive to trust that this is a safe site to be.  This thread is located in a forum that is for those who are beyond treatment so few if any newbies should be impacted, and Blue was very clear about the intent of the thread when she started it, those who can not play well together and agree to disagree need to ignore this thread.

I understand that you are in a tough position, Melissa, but I am just saying that deleting previous threads in their entirety has done nothing to prevent this ongoing problem.  As Blue's threads seem to be the ones most targeted, I wonder at what point Blue simply does not have the energy to try again.  

As others have expressed, it would also be a hard thing for Otter to lose the posts regarding the loss of her Mom.

Please do not feed the trolls by giving them the satisfaction of knowing they have once again been successful at shutting a thread down.  Give individuals the option of deleting or editing things you perceive to be objectionable, but leave the thread intact.

Thank you for asking for our input before acting.