Just the FAQs

The Geography of The Slacktiverse, part 1

Starting April 4 2011 TBAT will begin to add links to the websites of Slacktiverse readers and posters on the sidebar. Readers who wish to have their website in the new blogroll should indicate their desire to be added by including the address of their website in a comment to this post.

 

The Board Administration Team
(hapax, Kit Whitfield and mmy)

 

 

F(requently) A(sked) Q(uestions)

Is this Fred Clark's Slacktivist blog?

Yes and no.

Fred Clark ran his popular Slacktivist blog at this web address for years, and his excellent posts can still be read in the archives. However, for a variety of reasons, he decided move his posts to Patheos, a religious discussion website in March 2011.

While Fred continued with his policy of evangelical liberalism at the new location, it was and is a website that hosts a variety of different viewpoints, some of which were troubling to a number of members who felt that they could not, either for emotional, political, or ethical reasons, continue to participate in Slacktivist once it was hosted by Patheos.

Concerned that these people would lose an internet 'home', Fred generously handed administration of the original TypePad site to individuals whose names had already been brought forward on the board as possible moderators of a new blogging board. The name was changed to The Slacktiverse to mark the transition, and since then it has been a group blog that tries to carry on the ideals and discussion that Fred first shared here, and to maintain friendly links to the new Slacktivist site for those who choose to go there.



Do the adminstrators moderate?

We continue the moderation policy run by Fred, which is to say that The Board Administration Team (TBAT) only removes obvious spam. In his years of running Slacktivist Fred only banned two posters, both after a long and sustained campaign of personal abuse; TBAT might one day be obliged to do the same, but it is hoped it will never come to that.

TBAT members answer questions in posts signed 'The Board Administration Team' marked out by a distinctive icon. If a member of TBAT posts under their own name, it is a statement of individual opinion rather than board policy and carries no more weight than that of any other poster.

Posts are never censored either for unpopular opinions or bad manners. The community, however, tends to take a dim view of poor logic, rude behaviour and callous attitudes, and seldom hesitates to call them out.



Do you cross post with the new Slacktivist?

Because of the nature of Fred's agreement with Patheos, we cannot reproduce his posts in full. However, we post notifications when new Left Behind posts go up and include an excerpt. Fred does not give TBAT advance notice of any of his Left Behind posts nor does he, at the present time, provide TBAT with excerpts of his choice. Please respect his copyright and do not post large chuncks of his text in the comments.



Did Fred create the new policies?

No. They arose out of community discussions and in some cases were decided by vote. At present the general board consensus, the results of the voting and the natural inclination of TBAT is to follow Fred's example of using minimal moderation while making every attempt to keep board readers involved in any issues that affect the general functioning of the site.



Did TBAT write all the posts signed 'The Board Administration Team'?

No, any post with that signture prior to March 9 2011, either as a main post or (very rarely) in the comment treads, is by Fred Clark. When the name of the board administrator was changed, Typepad automatically changed it in the archives as well. This is a bug rather than an attempt to undermine Fred's right to be indentified as the author of these works.



I'd like to contribute, how do I do that?

E-mail TBAT. We aim for posts that carry on Fred's theme of living with integrity in today's fraught political culture and are interested in as diverse a range of viewpoints as possible.