Open Post
This is an open post for the readers. I want to hear from you. Whether you comment on here occasionally, frequently, or never have I want to hear what you have to say about the site and what direction you think it should be going. I do put a lot of time into this site and I enjoy it very much. I just want to make sure that I am making the best use of the site for the readers from the outside and the many Roanoke Firefighters who check it out daily.
Leave a comment for others to read. The topic could be on whatever really. Keep it civil please. If this is a feature you all like, I might continue an open post on a regular basis.
Leave a comment for others to read. The topic could be on whatever really. Keep it civil please. If this is a feature you all like, I might continue an open post on a regular basis.
27 comments:
I am waiting for my free City issued shed. Give away a $54,000 shed, fail to collect business taxes, raise retirees insurance rates, and daily wasted tax dollars. No wonder they are facing a budget crunch.
And the chiefs are going to denver and spending 10 grand during this tight budget year!!! What a scam!!
What is up with the IAFF1132.org site!?!?!?! It is not our union site anymore!?!
Instead of just bitching about the state of affairs in the fire dept I would like to give you some feedback. I love to read your site I think you do a great job and injoy reading the comments that people leave. But I think you have gotten away from posting about what we do (fire news, training, stuff guys do in the stations) for more of a rumormill type of post. Most of the time I am right there w/ you on the subjects. Frankly I am sick of talking about the budget a mistakes admin continues to make. We lost. We knew going in, it would be a long shot because the powers that be hold all the cards. Maybe now is a good time to go ahead and prepare for the future knowing we will have to live with the bad choices made by the people in charge. You could talk about safty. Improving our firefighting knowhow. The more tools in your toolbox the better. Now it may not replace the manpower but the better you know your job the safer you can be. Last thing is finding a way to shift the balance of power into our direction. We are helpless untill then.
Just a housekeeping post. Rhett has complained that he gets lots of comments but cannot post them due to the use of legal names. I don't think he really wants to censor us, but more so protect himself, the website, and the firefighters. Certain comments could lead to legal issues like slander and libel.
I know that there is one person who is referenced in a lot of the posts due to his blatant disregard for caring about us and making our lives hell, so from now on, if you want your comments posted, please use the initials "V I" to reference this person. If you don't know what this stands for, ask around, you will find out soon enough.
VI....do tell.
I think the post is good overall. However, those of you who read the posts should know that Rhett does not put everybody's comments up. Ive left several comments in the past and present that don't get posted to the blog. Its his blog so he has the right to do with it what he wants but he definitely censors some of the comments.
If you ask me, its not an open blog....its Rhetts blog and he chooses which comments make it and which ones do not. Rarely, if ever, are my comments derogatory in any way towards one person. In my opinion this blog site is a farce because everyone's voice is NOT heard.
I am open that I do not allow all of the comments. Usually it is for your own good. Here is a list of how to get a comment rejected:
1. the use of names in a way that might be viewed as slander.
2. stupid, childish, and immature comments.
3. unprofessional remarks.
4. Anything else I deem not worth posting on the site.
I will tell you this...If you want your comments posted there is one very easy way of doing so. Get a blogger screen name and I will post every comment you make. You can still hide your identity, it will just lend some credibility instead of everyone hiding behind "anonymous".
I have never understood why you all are so scared to voice your opinions. I do it right here in the posts.
I have read some really good posts, but they did not follow the list above. That is the only reason it was rejected. I have read some really good posts where they slip on one sentence and say something like "So and So" is a fucking idiot or something else slanderous like that. If you leave that part out I would post it.
I am just thankful I am healthy enough to do this job and to work in this department. It's a dream job and I still love going to work every day. Yes, things could be better.....but my, how they could be worse. Be safe.
I like the immature posts. I think they're funny, something to read while at the station that might be amusing sounds worthwhile to me. I agree that there should be no slander posted but c'mon we are firefighters. I dont think we will ever be accused of being professional or mature, why afterall we wear t-shirts to work with mouths full of tobacco.
You should not be so stringent on what does or does not make it to the website comments.
As for the "anonymous" postings. Well, as the previous person posted - things could be much worse....which is what our lives would be when VI feels vindictive. Im pretty sure he reads this.
Please make it a point to read the "Editors Opinion" in this months Fire Engineering magazine. Sounds so very familiar. I think we should each make copies of it and send to all City Council members and City Manager.
Secondly, I would like to thank Rhett for taking the time, effort, and risk to provide this forum for us to share our thoughts. I too have submitted post's that didn't make the cut. But I never have nor plan to submit one without signing my name to it.
Craig Sellers
why would you say something like "we are firefighters we will never be accused of being professional or mature" You make it sound like we are a bunch of shifty backwoods hillbillies. Maybe our uniforms are T's but we don't all chew or smoke. And not all of us are dumb rednecks. Yes I am a firefighter and I hold my self to a higher standered. Yes in the fire house you play around making jokes and horseplay. In a public place or a web site for all to see you should show that you have class and can behave like an adult.
Im glad you hold yourself to a higher "standered". I guess my standards are different than yours?
I was just making a comment on the public's perception of us. We wear raggedy t-shirts, purple pants, have some funky facial hair, and have some rather unique accents. That's not saying that we are not professional but look at it from the public's point of view!!
Rhett, your comment is somewhat hypocritical. You state that you will not post anything that uses names that may be slanderous but there have been MANY posts that are slanderous and use #1, #2, and #3 as names. We all know who the people are behind these numbers yet you still post the comments.
Just my opinion.
Hypocritical? I don't think so, but I see how you might see that. See here is the deal.
Let us say that I am talking about a "cat" and that "cat" didn't use the litter box. I might say something like: The cat did not use the litter box after myself and my friends asked the cat and trained the cat to use the litter box. These are all facts and put together using proper spelling and grammer.
Someone else might say: That damn cat keeps shitting in the F#$%$#ing living room. That F(&(^&ing cat is so stupid.
Do you see the difference in the comments. I was professional (my opinion) and the other comment was crude and immature.
That is the type of thing I am up against in these posts.
Sure I may use real names and facts. I am willing to make these comments, stand up for my opinion, and live with the consequences.
How do you correlate that to an immature comment posted as anonymous?
We all know that retaliation is rampant here. It’s been going on for a long time. I have been retaliated against more than anyone here. As I still speak my mine regardless the reaction, I commend you for your work and for speaking your convictions. You have done a good job with the blog Rhett.
Those that don’t speak up deserve what they get. Fools and those that harm fellow employees should be exposed. They hope no one will speak. Like any bully, they hope their coercive punitive actions will go unchallenged. They deny problems because they accept no responsibility or accountability. They have authority they didn’t earn and can’t handle. We all suffer from their incompetence.
I want people to voice their concerns, but I agree they should keep it clean. I think the open post is a good idea. It gives commenter’s a chance to introduce a topic without waiting for it to come around. Stay safe. - Diogenes
Rett take a deep breath. If there is a word or two that does not fit the standard you like , just change the word. While your at it fix the spelling and grammer issues, surely you have the time ha. Truly your doing a great job, are some chiefs starting to cry the blog not fair.
can we name the people going to denver, if so start the list. just honesty interested.
Thanks for the comments. For two above from this one...thanks for the comment.
I would like to explain my moderation though. I moderate, meaning I approve or disapprove the comment being posted. I do not edit the comments at all.
rhett, you're doing fine. in fact your doing more than most, so don't worry about it.
Dennis
Standereds, kitty cats, litter boxes, chiefs going to Denver for free vacation during a budget crunch, retaliation, unearned authority...oh my!
Are we talking about an internationally accredited fire department? Or a bunch of circus clowns?
Once again Rett, you are full of B.S. I have posted comments in the past that have indeed been edited.
I do enjoy the blog and love to read the posts. Gives me a good sense of what the department as a whole is thinking. You post your opinions and stand by them which is commendable.
The only reason I will not put my name on the blog is fear of retaliation. I really dont care what the other FF's think of me or what I say but I do fear what the folks downtown may do to me to make my life miserable.
Sol Rosenberg
Rhett, I applaud you for the censoring. I'm greatful that you have not allowed your site to turn into the RumorMill. When it was big-it was nasty. And it made me sick to read all of the terrible things that this "family" was saying about each other. No one concentrated on the important things. Your site has made that happpen. If people want a site that the can talk ugly about each other, cuss, and quarrel, they can do 1 of two things: Go back to the rumormill or start up their own.
Sol, unfortunately I cannot give credibility to your statement because we cannot talk about it and you haven't given examples. Either way I cannot help you because you post anonymously.
I have edited comments prior with the authors permission.
And yes, I do know who some of the comments belong to either because they tell me, their writing style is unique, or they are just blatantly obvious.
So, Rhett, Can you ascertain who is purveying this post to the hungry masses? I find it unlikely that with the short, barely legible, diatribes and offsets that are posted here, that you would have the necessary data to compile an informed conclusion of the author.
Yes, you make it all to easy.
I enjoy the comments made on the blog and, for the most part, your articles. I will continue to post anonymous because of the repercussion that may/may not happen to me by a certain "breath" that may rain down on me.
Sol Rosenberg
whats up with fickner problem is the city doing right by him, like i should even ask, or is he getting screwed. can we help
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