Posted by JenStar on March 2, 2006, at 22:18:01
In reply to Re: Ethics, posted by 5 on March 2, 2006, at 22:03:06
I'm sorry you're hurting over your block.
But I don't think that he enjoys 'devotion without responsibility.' On the other hand, I think running a board like this is a HUGE responsibility. On the nuts/bolts side, he has to make sure the pages are working, that links work, that updates happen. He has to answer countless emails, some of which (I'm lead to believe) are less than civil many times. he has to do this with patience and with a certain detachment which may be hard to keep going at times.
He also has to respond to posts, make decisions on blocks, and determine when and if it's necessary to intervene "IRL" for suicidal posters. He has to deal with the ire and wrath of angry people. He has to maintain a distance, even if he might be interested in getting to know some people more personally. He has to keep the place civil in the face of relentless surges of emotion.
To me, that's a lot of responsibility, and the fact that he does it means that he 'cares' about the boards and the group here as a whole.
Anyone in the world can decide to break protocol and have a sexual relationship with someone inappropriate. Sure, Dr. Bob "could" do that if he wanted to. But he "could" do that with clients/patients IRL too, or with someone he met on the subway, or someone in a coffee shop.
He makes no claims that he's 'doctoring' us here, but he IS a doctor in real life. And this site was set up in part as a way to understand internet relationships. So I think it's rational and sensible to introduce himself as "Dr. Bob." I think it's pretty clear that even though he had a medical degree, that we are not in any way to rely on him for health administration.
If he didn't disclose that he was a doctor, I'm sure people would find THAT to be suspicious and a conspiracy, too! :)
So that is the 'responsibility' part. On the 'devotion' side, I am not sure how many people here are DEVOTED to him. I mean, I'm sticking up for him, but I'm not in any way devoted. I don't feel that I 'love' him, or that I 'care for' him. I like this site and I respect him for creating it, and overall I think he runs it well. But I don't think that's devotion. I know Deneb says she 'loves' him, but that's not quite devotion either.
I think it's natural for a person to think about stuff that affects them, like blocks. I would be somewhat worried if Dr. Bob spent hours debating internally over whether to do a block on someone. He probably only DOES spend a few minutes of time on it. Of course, we spend a few minutes of time writing the things that get us blocked - maybe it's a fair trade?I don't know. Again, I'm sorry you're hurting over things. I don't like seeing you feeling hurt. But I do think that we see things in fundamentally different ways here on the boards.
I hope you continue to stay here and keep posting, and I hope you regain your happy side. :)
jenStar
poster:JenStar
thread:615090
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/admin/20060225/msgs/615225.html