Okay, a few things...

First, we rolled out a software upgrade late last night that primarily had to do with improvements to our Inside Guide interactive business directory, where many of you post reviews.  Please check out the new review page designs and new business listings and categories, and start reviewing!  Here's a post on the BdotCom blog explaining the changes.  If you find anything acting buggy on the Inside Guide, please contact the folks in charge of it at insideguide@bakersfield.com.

Second, regarding the page load slowdown problems that have been oft-reported recently, all we can say at this point is that the problem is complicated and multifaceted and that our team of developers is continuing to investigate.  Trust me, I like it as little as you do--especially when it occurs in the middle of me trying to suspend an account!  Heh.  If you encounter any site issues or buggy things, feel free to leave comments on this thread and they'll get seen.

Now, why am I telling you to leave those kind of issues on this thread instead of telling you to email me as I usually do?  That leads us to...

Third, I'm going on vacation.  Now, I've NEVER ever announced to you beforehand that I'd be going on vacation.  But recent site activity leads me to believe that it's prudent at this time.

Here's the important, take-away point for you.  Some of my colleagues, including my boss, the Vice-President for Interactive Media, are going to be monitoring violation reports in my absence.  This is in addition to the more-than-full plates they have in front of them for their regular jobs.  Some of you, when I've been away before, have gotten deleted or suspended by them before.  They have neither the time, inclination, or patience to investigate the context around a violation report.  If they think something needs deleting, or someone needs suspending, they'll just do it.  I know some of you think that I manage the disciplinary side of things here unfairly, but you also, grudgingly, know that I read as much as I can, that I know you, know backgrounds and histories, that I keep records of interactions and disciplinary actions.  They don't care about all that--they don't have time to, and that's not their job.

So instead of seeing this as a chance to wreak (more) havoc while the teacher's away and the subs are in, I'd advise that this be seen as a chance to practice following the rules and disagreeing with opinions without resorting to profanity, namecalling, slurs or personal attacks.  By all means, use the "report a violation" button when you see something worth reporting.  Be specific, copy the offending comment into your report, and explain your position.  And don't assume, in your language and tone, that because the offending comment is there that we obviously are cosigning on its sentiments.

Before I go, let me address one thing that's come up recently in discussions about the comings and goings of certain individuals.  Nobody "makes" me suspend someone.  No one "gets" someone else suspended.  They do that all on their own.  And no one gets permanently suspended for a first-time infraction--that always happens only after outreach and contact by me and attempts to avoiding getting to that point.  Warnings happen, then temporary suspensions that are lifted after the person in question gives me a promise in writing to follow the rules upon return.  If I don't get such a promise, or if they come back and break it, or if they respond to my offer by freaking out and cursing me out, or if they try to circumvent a temporary suspension by creating new aliases, then they themselves have, by their actions, converted their temporary suspension into a permanent one.  Some of you, by your comments, get that, and I thank you.  Others of you continue to cling to the belief that I have it out for you personally or for a group you think I think you belong to, or that I'm coddling or protecting chosen "pet" users.  Funny thing is, I get those accusations from individuals on opposite sides of the political and cultural spectrum, each saying I'm obviously in the pocket of the other.  Obviously, neither is true.

Okay, folks, I'm going on vacation.  Try to be nice to each other.

Some of you are probably going to wonder why it took us this long and why we let the situation go for so long, and for that, all I can say is sorry and hindsight is 20/20.

But from now on, the creation of usernames/personas intended only to mock other B.com users is not okay.  If you currently have one of these and have been using it, you will find it inaccessible.  Any new ones will be taken care of in a similar fashion, and if users continue to try to get around the issue by creating new ones, they will find their original accounts affected by their actions as well.

Parody is one thing, but creating sock puppets designed only to mock other users, even ones you disagree with vehemently, serves only to corrode and disrupt the community environment.

I'm sure some of you have "I told you so" ready to go in the comment box, and others are ready to fight me on this, but this is the new rule.