Index of SPPS Budget Discussion http://www.e-democracy.org/stpaul/spps-posts.html _________________________________________
I am sick of you libs shouting down opposing viewpoints. As with the Mpls list, the St Paul list has become, sadly, a mutual appreciation society for the Left.
I won't deny that there is "some" truth to what Paul suggests here, but at the same time, I'd like to challenge what I think is a very common mistake that folks make when evaluating or judging the overall qualities of this forum.
With great respect, I would like to suggest that Paul's perceptions of our forum being a bunch of "liberals shouting down opposing viewpoints" was based upon only a handful of actual posts. A handful of posts out of a total of 130 plus in the last week.
This will be true of many of the comments that I get in the next 1 to 2 weeks. I'm certain to hear many complaints about our forum being "junk" or "nothing more than name-calling and insults." But, like Paul's perception, these judgements will be based on very few actual posts.
1 (ONE) nasty post in our forum has more impact that 25 polite, constructive, and informative posts.
Just so we don't forget, since last Saturday when the issue of "same-sex marriage" first appeared in our forum, there have been:
130+ individual messages in the forum
(about 80 on "same-sex marriage debate) 42 different people have contributed
to our discussion
(I bet very few of you suspected that so
many different voices appeared in just the
last week).The following topics have all appeared in our forum during that 1 week time frame:
Hmong Refugees
Air Pollution / Air Quality
Benanav's Travel
The city Housing Inspection Web Site
Announcement about Neighborhood Leadership Program
Stadium Bill
Mayor Kelley's Photo Op in Denver
Proposed CVS drugstore at Snelling and University
GSE Website
TIF Financing
Downtown Development at Old Jail Site
Development at University and Snelling
Search For New St. Paul Police Chief
I-35E Median Plantings
Bus Strike
Como PlanetariumYET - many people will judge the quality of our discussion based up what 2 or 3 people said in a total of 5-10 actual posts.
The overwhelming majority of participants and posts in our forum this week were thoughtful, constructive, and as respectful as one might expect - given the nature of the topics.
Just something to think about,
-- Tim Erickson List Manager St. Paul Issues Forum http://www.e-democracy.org/stpaul/ Hamline Midway Resident 651-643-0722 [EMAIL PROTECTED]
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