I would like to ask you to do me a small favor. A couple of small favors. Now, I know most of you, being dealers, will not be used to people supplying excellent and sensible reasons for asking you to do something, but I'd like to be an exception to that rule.
Realise that the forum is and will be only as good as its threads and posts, and the general continuity of the individual topics. Threads are called threads for a reason. Something to do with the start, middle, and end being part of a continuous useful item. As in any good conversation, stuttering, stop-start confusion isn't a communication method that works on a forum.
In return for your posting freedom, please ensure that your post has some connection to
a) the first post in the thread, and/or
b) something relevant that was mentioned in a previous post on that thread. The great thing about threads is that they are inexpensive.
If something you've read on one thread gives you an idea that doesn't qualify with respect to a) or b), please feel free to start a new thread.
The bottom line is that a thread is a conversation, open to friends. Blurting out the first off-topic thing you think of isn't cool.
The forums are provided as a clearinghouse (a useful one, in my opinion) for dealers and suits to share information and insights into the gaming industry as it affects them.
You will find that within these forums there are some debates. Debating is not a purely rational affair and you may as well know it. The reason for this is simple. The people in that forum are not purely or even primarily rational creatures. They base their arguments mostly on emotion and a sprinkle of bullshit.
The skill of debate is how to tap into the bullshit that helps you, avoid the bullshit that doesnt, and somewhere in the process, communicate the facts and logic of your position. It is not an easy skill to learn.
This why you will see some childlike behavior on here from time to time. - We're learning as we go. Keep that in mind and don't let the arguments sway you from not registering to become a member. Some day all this will fall into place.
I will allow both sides of any debate to have a say.
Realise that we are all under the same potential stress as anyone else who deals or supervises in a casino. We all suffer the same slings and arrows and smoke and stiffs and varied holes at work. This forum may be considered a refuge from that. But I ask you, who wants to walk into his refuge and straightaway be hit on the head with a written barstool?
Again, the forum is what you, individually, make it. You can, with your new-found freedom, decide to throw barstools around the place, but it's not cool and it will do you as much personal good as if you did it in reality.
Read your post again before you hit the send button. If you have doubts about any part of it, delete that part - it's never worth leaving it in. It doesn't matter what the other poster wrote. Be the bigger man. Opps, person. That should apply to the Mods as well.
Decide to be barstool proof and win the debate with common sense (although remembering that common sense can't be taught - don't try.) .....It's your refuge. Control the only poster you can. YOU.
Other suggested guidelines:
Oh come on now, it wont hurt to read them. It's painless and in doing so we can all get along a little better and make this an informative and educational forum. No, there's no need to thank us. It's all part of the service.
Communicate clearly
Write clearly when you compose a message. Review your message carefully before clicking Send; typos are confusing. Remember, if your message can be misunderstood, it will be. We have no spell check but you could use MS Word then copy and paste or download Google toolbar that has a spell check that works on here.
Refrain from using ALL CAPS
Typing in all capital letters is frowned upon; it's the equivalent of screaming at everyone. It also makes your message more difficult to read.
Don't post meaningless messages
Posting messages that say nothing more than "Me too" is a quick way to irritate other members. If you agree with a posting, either enjoy your consent by yourself or reply with an informative comment about why you agree. Imagine how dull a board would get if it contained nothing but hundreds of "me too's." and "I agree"
Refrain from crossposting
Crossposting means posting a single message to several different message boards, and it is almost never appropriate. Such posts tend to reduce the quality of the discussion and needlessly increase the traffic on the board. Find the best place for your post, and please confine your message to one board.
Quote from the post you're replying to
Include a small section of text from the post you're replying to, so others will have a quick reminder of the topic. Simply click 'ezCodes' just above the message window you type in and to the left you will see all sorts of cool options that will help.
Please do me this very important favor. Don't put my ass into hot water!!! Please do not use the real name of any casino employees in a hateful or harassing theme. This is one area where the moderators are instructed to remove such posts. Steve Wynn, George Bush is one thing, using the real name of our peers, a dealer or a floor supervisor with or without their consent is another. This can be a gray area I admit. All I ask is that when real names of regular dealers, floor supervisors, shift and casino managers are used, the mod should ask themselves, is this in the best interest of the community? You may not want your real name published on here so consider how that person may feel. Just don't do it.
Realise that I have selected the site's moderators from a pool of volunteers. I'm sure you'd agree that, although the forum content is created by you the posters, I have a legitimate right to "pick the staff" that suits me. In return for your posting freedom, if you find yourself in a beef with a moderator, or if you feel like insulting one of them over a mod-related issue, please take a moment to ask what part you might have played (however small) in creating that situation.
Ask if your offending post wasn't perhaps more troublemaking than witty, etc. In short, give the mods the benefit of the doubt, forget the issue, and move on. We all do it in real casino life, why not use that vastly underrated talent (it's what a dealer really gets paid for) here also.
However, if you feel that the mod (Or anyone for that matter) in question has missed your point, please explain it to them in a civil private message. Not on a thread. Simply click on their handle and send a nice little "WTF?")
The mods have been asked to respond to such messages in a positive manner, with a view to resolving the problem. If that route provides no relief, then please address your beef to me (Diceteach@Yahoo.com) ...then please accept my final decision. Realise that things have to end somewhere. Here, that somewhere is the site administrator's decision. (Me) Any better ideas?
Wow, that was long.
Thanks for reading all this and have fun
Scott
