Member Categories

[Brad]

Will one of the mods please explain the member categories, such as member, active member, distinguished member, member extraordinaire, etc. How are these labels assigned? Is it based on number or frequency of posts? And are there different privileges associated with certain categories? Thank you in advance.

[crfriend]

Will one of the mods please explain the member categories, such as member, active member, distinguished member, member extraordinaire, etc. How are these labels assigned? Is it based on number or frequency of posts? And are there different privileges associated with certain categories? Thank you in advance.

There is no effective difference is any of the "normal" member categories as listed. All are equal permissions-wise, and the category is based solely on the number of posts.

There are other categories, however, and those do have special permissions that are a subset or superset of what "members in good standing" have.

(1) New Members -- these can see a subset of the site, and the first several posts must be vetted by the mods before they are published. This is an anti-spam tactic.
(2) Moderated Members -- this is reserved for folks who have proved that they cannot control certain aspects of their behaviour, and thus require posts to be vetted by a moderator. They share the same subset of permissions as "New Members" (that keeps things simple).
(3) Bots -- these have a different user interface, and also have a very limited view of the overall site. This is a security measure because there are sometimes things discussed that don't belong in search-engines or as chatbot fodder.
(4) Mod -- these have visibility of the entire site, including various places and have suitable permissions to perform these actions.
(5) Master Barista -- this is typically an honorific for the lead administrator at the moment (at present, me). Powers include moderation and full site administration.
(6) Barista Emeritus -- another honorific, and right now there's just one, "Bob" who ran the place before I did. I will eventually join the category, It's just a question of time.

So, there you go. In a nutshell.

[Brad]

Thanks for clarifying Carl.

[crfriend]

Thanks for clarifying Carl.

You're more than welcome.

And it was a fight. I had to re-word item 4 several times before whatever the "security object" that sits atop Skirt Cafe would let me post -- or even preview -- it without throwing a 500-series error.

[moonshadow]

(5) Master Barista -- this is typically an honorific for the lead administrator at the moment (at present, me). Powers include moderation and full site administration.

At the risk of sounding morbid, this does touch on a matter I've contemplated on a few times over the years...

It is clear to me that the need for this website (SkirtCafe) will exist well into the future, possibly several decades from now.

Despite our active membership ranks being relatively low in comparison to larger social media giants, I'd wager that this website serves as a VERY important resource for the ever changing MIS world. Even I've seen my share of members come and go over the years here, some older member have unfortunately passed on, others just stopped posting for whatever reason, and yet still, every day new life is breathed into the site from new exciting members that post frequently.

I've personally come to look forward to "In the News and Advocacy" just to see what coder has posted today. I also enjoy the writings of many of our newer members who seem to be sticking around. I don't want to call out specific names for fear of leaving someone out. I enjoy everyone's contributions!

Anyway, to the point: Have you given much thought to who will run this site when you eventually retire the title of Master Barista? And no... FYI, I'm not jonesing for it, I'm not "techie" enough (I actually rather suck at computers in general). No, I'm not talking about just a moderator, I mean someone who can actually maintain this website from day to day, restore it from crashes, keep the various viruses and trojans out of it, and generally keep up with the actual nuts and bolts of its operation?

Also, a discussion probably needs to be had regarding who's going to pay to keep the lights on years down the line. Unless Bob just put a few thousand dollars in a special bank account that the host draws from automatically when a balance is due, then sooner or later this is a situation that is going to have to be handled.

I know many members have offered to chip in, I'd also like to extend my hand in such a case.

[crfriend]

(5) Master Barista -- this is typically an honorific for the lead administrator at the moment (at present, me). Powers include moderation and full site administration.

At the risk of sounding morbid, this does touch on a matter I've contemplated on a few times over the years...

That's not morbid in the slightest, it's merely reality, I am not immortal, and I suffer all the sorts of foibles that mortals do. Thus, it's a realistic concern.

It is clear to me that the need for this website (SkirtCafe) will exist well into the future, possibly several decades from now.

This is undeniable, and I do not see that changing any time soon.

I was challenged more than once last night when I was at my local by some random woman that the publican sat with me as to my sexuality -- which did not go over well. (I think he may be testing me.) Just because I wear skirts and have polish on my nails does not mean I am homosexual! This should not happen.

Anyway, to the point: Have you given much thought to who will run this site when you eventually retire the title of Master Barista?

Honestly, no. I'm not contemplating retiring just yet, and have a large hill to climb in the coming week or so when I'm going to have to upgrade the public forum to a new version of software. Expect a notification on that in the coming week or so, because once I get the new version running in my lab (All mad scientists have a lab!) I'll announce it formally.

Also, a discussion probably needs to be had regarding who's going to pay to keep the lights on years down the line. Unless Bob just put a few thousand dollars in a special bank account that the host draws from automatically when a balance is due, then sooner or later this is a situation that is going to have to be handled.

I've been in recent communication with Bob (now Elizabeth) on the matter and that's what's forcing the upgrade.

At present, there are no handles on who will fund the thing going forward in the very long term. If there were, there would have been codicils in my will. Just sayin'.

[Fred in Skirts]

If and when the need arises I will contribute as much as I can to the upkeep of the Cafe. I live on a very small monthly stipend but will do what I can to help.

I have been a moderator on another site before it went belly up because the owner broke the soft wear and decided to quit. but I do not want to do that again as I had enough of the problems that being a (in this case) Super Moderator.
Fred

[rode_kater]

I wouldn't mind chipping in either.

There are a number of virtual tip jar options available these days, of Patreon is also popular. Gotta watch out for the US-only options though.

I find Buy Me a Coffee rather appropriate for this site

[denimini]

I think that most members here wouldn't mind chipping in fiscally. Not so easy would be finding someone that could ease the burden of managing the nuts and bolts side of things. Maybe someone like Coder.
Myself and a lady joint owner of our "empire" have discussed the need for a succession plan and will probably keep putting it off because it seems morbid, until it is left to some poor unsuspecting soul with no empathy.

I was challenged more than once last night when I was at my local by some random woman that the publican sat with me as to my sexuality -- which did not go over well. (I think he may be testing me.) Just because I wear skirts and have polish on my nails does not mean I am homosexual!

This question can be an unfortunate annoyance for a man wearing a skirt. My response is to say "Sorry, I am not interested."
They reply with horror "OH no, I didn't mean that"
and I can give them the final "Well why (optional: the #@!<) else would you want to know?"

The other response would be a more polite "Why do you ask?" and if they mention skirts the reply can be "It is just a clothing choice."

[crfriend]

The other response would be a more polite "Why do you ask?" and if they mention skirts the reply can be "It is just a clothing choice."

I deflected it directly by simply and politely saying, "No." -- It was the fact that it was brought up twice that sort of got my goat. The skirt was bad enough; the nail varnish (which is there for a reason, mind) set the second round off. I guess getting told, "No." once wasn't quite enough. What is it with people?

The publican apologised to me last night for putting her next to me. However, he knows that I am remarkably good about not making scenes or causing trouble.

[Brad]

Carl- it seems like this site runs efficiently and we don't get to see the wizard behind the curtain. It may be helpful to take us on a behind the scenes tour of the site. Perhaps you can walk us thru a typical day so we can see the challenges you face and how much time you invest in this labor of love. Also it may be beneficial to discuss the costs of running the site. Anything that's free to the user is like a glass of water; we don't worry about how it gets delivered to us so long as it works on demand. Membership funding may be a good idea but its should not inhibit new users who are taking a giant personal step to join the site.

[Ozdelights]

It is clear to me that the need for this website (SkirtCafe) will exist well into the future, possibly several decades from now.

Despite our active membership ranks being relatively low in comparison to larger social media giants, I'd wager that this website serves as a VERY important resource for the ever changing MIS world. Even I've seen my share of members come and go over the years here, some older member have unfortunately passed on, others just stopped posting for whatever reason, and yet still, every day new life is breathed into the site from new exciting members that post frequently.

I know many members have offered to chip in, I'd also like to extend my hand in such a case.

As a relatively new member I value SkirtCafe. I find value in the posts both old and new of longstanding members and also as you said excited by members who have joined more recently.

Valuing it means of course I would contribute both financially and to conversations. But it certainly needs be voluntary so we don't exclude members who cannot afford.

[rode_kater]

One thing that worries me about small sites like this is, suppose something catastrophic happens and this site suddenly disappears. How would I find out what happened? How could the community be rebuilt? I've seen it often enough, sites I was member of that one day simply vanished. I don't have any good answers here.

[moonshadow]

One thing that worries me about small sites like this is, suppose something catastrophic happens and this site suddenly disappears. How would I find out what happened? How could the community be rebuilt? I've seen it often enough, sites I was member of that one day simply vanished. I don't have any good answers here.

The only way I can think is for perhaps the moderators to maintain some kind of off site email list of anywhere from 50 to 100 of the most active members.

Carl is the main wizard of skirt Cafe, if something were to happen to him (God forbid) the site would likely continue... until something broke, then assuming the other two moderators don't have the ability to get the site back online, they'd probably have to start from scratch... that's when the old fashioned email list would come in handy.

Depending on who actually "owns" skirtcafe, it might even need a new domain and host, then unfortunately, a major bulk of the content here may be lost to the pages of time.

As they say, "all good things come to an end someday", and frankly, this notion has be combing over a lot of my old post, copying them to my computer (in a word document, then finally on a formatted html file I can use later) so at least I'll have them for the rest of my life anyway as I realize I've cataloged A LOT of my personal life here.... It would be a shame to see it all suddenly dissappear.

You know what... I tell you what, note the website address below "andreapalumbo.me" (note that's ".me" not ".com"). In the event of a sudden shutdown, after its been a few days with no news, I'll attempt to reach out to Carl, and if Uncle AL and Anthony would be so kind as to send me their email and maybe phone number I'd try to reach out to them too.

I'd commit to posting any update I may find on my website, so at least we'd know what's going on. Note: this is for information only NOT a replacement for skirtcafe (I don't know how to run a forum). If it became apparent skirtcafe was gone for good, someone who knew how to create a stable and reliable replacement could let me know, and I'd post that update as new information becomes available.

Just a thought... I'd do what I can. I know I'd like to see this place hang around for a long time.