After much thought on the subject of why ZAFur is stagnating so much, I've consulted with various members and ex-members over quite some time and I noticed a pattern that everybody seems to agree with but not have the courage to acknowledge or do anything about. As you may have guessed, I'm talking about Rakuen.
In an effort to make a stand in a rational and unemotional manner, I have compiled a list of reasons why he should not continue to administrate this site. This list I have provided as checkboxes on a petition to have Rakuen dismissed, which any signatories are free to leave unchecked should they disagree with any individual reason. I was going to compile the results thereof and rank the points by percentage of signatories who agreed, not present all points an unanimous.
At first I attempted to circulate this petition outside of ZAFur to gauge interest, as well as reach any former members who may have left for this exact reason. Given that it was deemed underhanded of me to do so anywhere other than where it is pertinent, it was removed. I find this rather hypocritical, since one of my reasons for not posting it here was the assumption that it would immediately be locked and/or removed, as such attempts have been in the past. The fact that it was removed elsewhere speaks volumes about how dissent is handled. Anyway I am now posting it here, since it was apparently said that it would not be removed.
Now I just want to clarify a couple things about petitions in general, given the amount of misunderstandings of the concept that arose after my first attempt.
- The idea behind a petition is that it does not come from any single person but is a collective message from all signatories. The identity of the organiser therefore does not matter, because in all likelihood their name will be among the signatories. Be that as it may, it was rather ironically taken as cowardly of me to circulate this anonymously.
- A petition by nature is voluntary: you do not have to sign if you disagree; it would therefore make no sense for it to allow a negative or null vote, since it would be directly counterproductive to the petition's goals. It is however perfectly reasonable to have an opposing petition for the opposite motion, given a willing organiser, enough people who vehemently disagree, and a compelling argument. Although this makes little sense when the alternative is to do nothing.
- Yes, it is possible to lie on the signature line. Obviously this is the case on any petition, which is why they generally include contact details for confirmation. This is why I specified on the form that signatures should be one's ZAFur username, or fursona name in the case of former members, in order for them to be reachable. When a petition is presented, all signatures are public, which means that anyone is free to check that their name was not put there against their will, and contest it. That is also why it is not possible to sign a petition anonymously.
- Sometimes the arguments can be subjective in nature. This does not make them any less valid if enough people agree.
- Once the petition has been presented, the recipient generally publicly responds to it and may then counter the points given. A petition is not an accusation, but a request for action with justification. It is up to the recipient to defend their choices.
The petition can be found here: https://goo.gl/forms/CO2RiqMwywXDL5K93
Please feel free to share the link to any sites and/or groups where former members, infrequent visitors and lurkers may reside.
Thank you.