# Herald and KMK are New Admins



## Semper Fidelis

Sorry I've been so scarce here. It's a combination of the busyness of life combined with my progressive vision loss that makes interaction more difficult.

Losing Patrick was a tough thing both emotionally and for the board. Chris Coldwell has really been the backbone of this board from an Admin perspective for many years and I can't thank him enough but Patrick had really done quite a bit for the backened and helped us set the tone along with the other Admins. That is not to downplay in the least the work that the other Admins do but simply to note that there's a lot of work and we really need to make sure we have enough folks to do the basics. Bill (@Herald) and Ken (@KMK) have agreed to help out so a warm thank you to them.

Candidly, some of us have been doing this for 15 or more years now so it can get tedious. We really need our community to keep an eye out for people you think are showing maturity and restraint in their interactions and let us know whom we might add as moderators.

My two teenage daughters think I'm being silly when I tell them that social media is the devil. In part, I'm being a silly dad but when they ask me whether I trust them I tell them "No, I don't trust you because I don't trust myself. In fact, I see Pastors sinning all the time on Twitter and Facebook." 

We've always tried to set a different tone here. We're not perfect but we're not going to lower our standards. Some of you are long in the tooth here and a bit hard to deal with even though we still love you the same way we love the old Uncle who shoots his mouth off occasionally but it does mean that we have to have Mods willing to step in to keep the discourse civil and, oh yes, Reformed. There's been some suggestion that if we get to the point where we can't keep up with it then we'll have to just make it read-only and stop discussion altogether, which I am unwilling to contemplate at this point. If we can't keep up the standard then it will be necessary but I think we're getting new folks in all the time that we'll be able to keep going.

So thanks to all of you who collectively make the board what it is as a virtual Reformed community. Remember that it is Reformed and that we're trying to control our virtual tongues unlike the rest of the world so that makes the job of Admin and Moderating a challenge because we've only ever been able to find sinners to fill those roles.

Reactions: Like 12 | Edifying 1 | Amen 1 | Rejoicing 2


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## Hamalas

How would we go about "nominating" people to serve as admins? I have someone in mind who I think would do a wonderful job in that role.


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## Hamalas

Also: thank you, thank you, thank you to all our admins! (Both old and new!)


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## NaphtaliPress

Use the PB Contact Form. But let me outline that the normal procedure is for the board owner (Rich) to promote established members who have demonstrated level headedness and solid commitment to the Reformed Faith as stipulated by the board rules to moderator, and after a time doing that (not necessarily 15 years!), if the need arises as it has, to promote to Admin.


Hamalas said:


> How would we go about "nominating" people to serve as admins? I have someone in mind who I think would do a wonderful job in that role.

Reactions: Informative 2


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## jw

Hamalas said:


> How would we go about "nominating" people to serve as admins? I have someone in mind who I think would do a wonderful job in that role.


https://puritanboard.com/threads/how-to-nominate-someone-to-be-a-moderator.98140/


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## OPC'n

It's a tedious task I'm sure not one I'm jealous of, but I do thank you all for all the hard work you put into this board and hope I'm not being an old uncle.

Reactions: Amen 1


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## ZackF

OPC'n said:


> It's a tedious task I'm sure not one I'm jealous of, but I do thank you all for all the hard work you put into this board and hope I'm not being an old uncle.


Aunt in your case Sarah.

Reactions: Funny 1


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## Herald

What I find amazing is that I've been a member off this board since 2005!

Reactions: Like 2


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## OPC'n

Herald said:


> What I find amazing is that I've been a member off this board since 2005!



The funny thing is is that I thought you had been a administrator this whole time lol

Reactions: Like 1 | Funny 1


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## Username3000

Herald said:


> What I find amazing is that I've been a member off this board since 2005!


Moderators cannot be new PB converts!

Reactions: Like 2


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## Herald

OPC'n said:


> The funny thing is is that I thought you had been a administrator this whole time lol


I do have administrator privileges on my PC.

Reactions: Funny 2


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## Southern Presbyterian

Herald said:


> What I find amazing is that I've been a member off this board since 2005!



Only because your Jersey accent can't be heard online.

Reactions: Funny 2


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## C. M. Sheffield

OPC'n said:


> The funny thing is is that I thought you had been a administrator this whole time lol


Which is the sure mark of one qualified for the job!

Reactions: Like 1


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## bookslover

Bill is probably easily bribed. Not sure about Ken.

Reactions: Funny 1


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## Herald

bookslover said:


> Bill is probably easily bribed. Not sure about Ken.


Well, not _easily_. How much you got?

Reactions: Funny 2


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## Pilgrim

Semper Fidelis said:


> My two teenage daughters think I'm being silly when I tell them that social media is the devil. In part, I'm being a silly dad but when they ask me whether I trust them I tell them "No, I don't trust you because I don't trust myself. In fact, I see Pastors sinning all the time on Twitter and Facebook."



To me it didn't quite qualify as "social media" but the old Yahoo and similar email discussion groups were about as bad as anything that has ever been seen here (some of us old-timers remember when this used to be a more freewheeling place for various reasons) or on FB or Twitter. Several groups I can think of had a lot of flame wars, almost unrestrained personal attacks and so on. Some of that in Reformed groups was due to the Federal Vision controversy but much of it was not. Some people seem to be unable or unwilling to restrain themselves from behaving that way no matter what the subject is. (One friend of mine is trying to operate a FB group in a similar way, with the absolute minimum of moderation, with predictable results.)



> We've always tried to set a different tone here. We're not perfect but we're not going to lower our standards. Some of you are long in the tooth here and a bit hard to deal with even though we still love you the same way we love the old Uncle who shoots his mouth off occasionally but it does mean that we have to have Mods willing to step in to keep the discourse civil and, oh yes, Reformed. There's been some suggestion that if we get to the point where we can't keep up with it then we'll have to just make it read-only and stop discussion altogether, which I am unwilling to contemplate at this point. If we can't keep up the standard then it will be necessary but I think we're getting new folks in all the time that we'll be able to keep going.



Yeah, I've wondered why some people have managed to escape having the ban hammer dropped on them (or getting the Boooooot!!!! as one former mod used to put it) and sometimes I've wondered how I've managed to escape it myself! But who might need to get the boot or who should be admonished for bad behavior or bad doctrine is not really my "business" on the PB anymore except as a "consumer" who can choose to spend my time here or elsewhere depending on the quality of the discourse.

An archived board that is closed for posting would still have some value, but much less than one where you could interact.

Things seem to be a whole lot more sedate and relaxed here compared to the early days (ca 2002 or 2003?) through about 2008 or 2010 (which roughly coincides with the rise of social media) but I also don't know what is dealt with behind the scenes. I think people with the appetite for discussions that generate more heat than light will tend to gravitate toward FB, Twitter, etc. today.



> So thanks to all of you who collectively make the board what it is as a virtual Reformed community. Remember that it is Reformed and that we're trying to control our virtual tongues unlike the rest of the world so that makes the job of Admin and Moderating a challenge because we've only ever been able to find sinners to fill those roles.



Thanks to you and to the whole team for what you do to ensure that profitable discussion and fellowship occurs here. Some may not like all of the rules, but I think you've got to draw the line somewhere. And I don't think that the lines here are unreasonable given the doctrinal position of the board.

To all: As we pray for our elders, let us also pray for the leadership here. As a former moderator here (although not an admin) I can tell you that they have to deal with some things that are essentially "pastoral issues" (even though this isn't a church) and have to occasionally deal with some craziness from some very troubled people to an extent that some of you might not believe. On top of that, I can think of at least two former moderators of this board who have apostatized, and there are probably some other issues that I'm forgetting. (I'm not referring to anything recent, BTW.)

Reactions: Informative 1


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