Fellow Metal Pundits, welcome our newest contributor, Osgiliath! I will say right off the bat that he is an interesting choice for the Metal Pundit community because he's a conservative, unlike the rest of us. Nevertheless, I chose to invite him as a contributor/administrator for his impeccable intellectual ability and respectful approach to debate. Many of us on the left engage in mudslinging whenever a conservative comes across our path. I believe that is owed to our assumptions about our political opponents. Not all conservatives make foolish remarks like Rush Limbaugh, insensitive claims like Bill O'Reilly, or attempt to smear the left like Michelle Malkin. I'm sure Osgiliath rejects many of the assumptions the right has about us. We're not all Michael Moore's or Hollywood celebrities!
When I created this blog, I intended it to be solely for liberals/progressives. After some thought and experience, I learned that our agreement on most issues will ultimately prove a disservice to our cause - to become more knowledgeable about politics while enjoying heavy fucking metal! We can learn very much being in a purely liberal environment, but such knowledge can become one-dimensional, something the heavy metal culture has always fought against. Therefore, I always thought about inviting people from other ideological stances. However, I never actually tried to find them. Just a few days ago, an anonymous person responded to our posts regarding the White House and other political news items. This person offered insight, logically refuting our arguments, exposing our assumptions, and shedding light on what the other side thinks, all in a polite manner. So I decided to invite this person. I know we will learn to sharpen our arguments and positions from his intellect. While many of us will be at odds with him much of the time, I expect full respect for Osgiliath, for he is now one of us - a fellow metalhead who actually cares about what goes on in this world. I know we will all get along and help this community grow.
Kull and I were contemplating ideas for a Metal Pundit mission statement. He came up with excellent ideas, but my lazy ass never followed through. I think we should collectively rethink what this mission should be (I basically said it in the above paragraph). Let us show the blogosphere that both sides can get along and learn from each other. This blog is growing, let's make sure it becomes one of the great ones!
I have come up with several points which I think we should address before the blog becomes bigger. Please consider them and tell me what you think:
1. We currently make up 7 contributors (another two are pending), so we will be at 9 pretty soon. At that point, we will be 8 liberals with only 1 conservative. Therefore, I ask Osgiliath (or anyone for that matter) to invite any people they know who: 1. Have some interest in heavy metal, 2. Pay attention to politics/current events. My goal is to balance the playing field. So we should get some more conservative (fiscal cons, neocons), libertarians, and others on here. Which brings me to the next point.
2. I would like to have a maximum of 20 (18 ideally, 9 libs, 9 cons) administrators. Everyone who joins after that will be simply a contributor. As you can see, I have high aspirations for this blog, and I can't handle it all myself. Currently, everyone who's a contributor is also an administrator. We will use this to remove potential trolls or random jagoffs who come on here and talk shit.
3. We have to come up with a set of rules. So ideas are welcome. Nothing too complex or restraining (ie mandatory posting, maximum # of comments, etc), just some guidelines for posting comments (respect for others, no personal attacks, etc.).
4. Last but not least, LET'S TALK ABOUT HEAVY METAL!!! We definitely need more of this.
Otherwise, enjoy and let's get rolling! Please take time to visit BigNewsDay's blog. I'm not sure how big he wants to get, but he may want some contributors. Oh yeah, let's get some girls on here. We need to know what they think too!
2 comments:
Yes, welcome Osgiliath! So far you have only added valuable comments to the discussions. I may not agree with some of those comments, but at least you address the issues instead of attacking the messenger. I look forward to many intelligent exchanges of ideas.
Lefty, thanks for the plug. I'm always looking for more contributors. My site is still relatively new, so anything we can do to make both of our sites grow is cool. By the way, your new Site Meter thing at the bottom of the page is pretty spiffy. It is neat seeing the map and all the international locations you are receiving hits from. Damn, did I just end a sentence with a preposition, again?
Thanks BND. Just added the sitemeter for "cosmetic" purposes, but knowing how many hits we get is also cool. Anything we can do to help each other is great! Take care
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