Alright, let me see what I can clarify. Jeesh, gone for a day and all hell breaks loose.
In regards to Beta Testers. We realized we needed to get a grasp for how the forum would run before we could make any real decision on if it was going to be viable or not. To do that we needed posters. However, if we just let everyone in then that would in no way be an easily controlled situation to monitor nor would it go over well if, 2 weeks later, we decided it wasn't going to work and just pulled it. As such, we decided to get a group of beta testers. We did this by having the Mods throw out a few names and from them picking the ones we felt would be best up to the number of individuals we wanted to keep it manageable.
What we were looking for was multi-fold. In part, we wanted a decent range of political identities. Conservatives, Libertarians, Liberals, Moderates leaning both ways, etc. We also wanted people who were not frequent rules violators upstairs. We also looked at individuals who had expressed issues with some of the conversation levels on the forum recently. Finally, those we thought could give positive, helpful criticism if needed while keeping the information undisclosed during the time. We were only looking for between 12 to 15 people, as anything more than that would've been too difficult.
There were a great many people who very much could've been picked and weren't simply because of the limit. This was not a "best of" list, it was not an "elitist" list, it was not a "favorites" list. The nature of a maximum number means some people are going to be left out. While we don't want any poster to feel like they are viewed as a "lesser" poster, ultimately the fact people may mistakenly think that was not worth passing up the opportunity to launch this new feature.
In regards to their ability to post despite donating. As a thanks to their help, of which they did not have to give, we decided to give them permanent access to The Loft. Even if we had not there was still consideration to give them access at least until the end of the tiered roll out to allow for their conversations to continue and to maintain the slow increase of numbers for testing purposes. However, I would note that more than half the Beta Testers have at least a silver donation with many that don't currently being past donors.
In regards to the issues about new posts, etc. As was stated in the other thread, this is at the moment not something that we plan on enacting. The only section on the site at this moment that has that ability is the basement. This is in part due to the fact that thread titles in the basement can contain content that, when upstairs, would be violation of the rules or be items that we try to keep from appearing on peoples screens without them aware it has a chance to (such as curse words).
This concern is not present within the Loft. Additionally, while some people may feel that not posting in the Loft makes it useless, ultimately that does not change the fact there is still a possible use to people in the ability to read it. So ultimately what you're asking for is the ability to flick off a section of the forums you don't have any intention of reading. The same could be said of the Middle East section, the Abortion section, the Off Topic Section, or even The Tavern. Ultimately, at this point, the team does not feel there is a great need or benefit to the forum to begin to embark down the road of allowing people the option to fully customize what they look at aside from doing it through their own efforts of avoiding areas.
In regards to the "cool enough" or "elite" issue. Its truly neither. Right now The Loft, while open for viewing, is not "fully" launched. We are slowly rolling this out to throttle the amount of people entering and to keep an eye out for any needed tweaks. By the end of this all that will be required is a $5 6 month silver donation. Donating $5 does not indicate you're "cool" enough or an elite. Nor do we feel its too daunting that if someone TRULY wants to post there that they couldn't save up roughly $0.90 a month to do said donation. We do not believe it is unfair or uncalled for in allowing one extra forum to those whose financial contributions help allow us to keep the other 45+ free and open forums active for all of our posters.
Ultimately, the ability to read The Loft is another free feature to the site...just like community groups, blogs, and the forums at large. The ability to post will be a donation perk, much like the larger mailbox or the quick access to other areas. It is not about how "cool" or "golden" enough to post there.
In regards to the rules, as already stated, all normal Debate Politics rules apply. However, there are ADDITIONAL guidelines that are in place for The Loft, but those guidelines will not cause points to be accessed. There is no rule currently, nor has one been discussed, to disallow the copying of Loft comments to the main forum.
I hope this clarifies a bit.
Never mind now
