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September 19, 2007
Blog
Hello to all of the Portland blog users.
I have been attending a seminar in Longmont, Colorado, for the last week. My goal was to learn about new housing options for seniors and to figure out if we can get some of those options implemented locally. There is a very real need for programs like I saw in Colorado.
It was my hope that the Portland blog would be used to make Portland a better community. When Brian Ruckle suggested that we start the blog a few years ago, I expressed my concerns that Internet discussion boards tending to get negative fast. I had participated in three boards up to that point, and (unfortunately) people spent more time flaming each other than anything else.
Anyway, Brian told me it was important to have a blog in Portland, and we now have one. He also suggested that I do as little censoring as possible.
When I returned from Colorado and read my e-mail, it appears things got out of hand on the blog. I have e-mails from people who want stuff deleted, and I have e-mails from people demanding their rights to be heard.
Per previous discussions, I know you don't want threads deleted. You want them preserved for historical purposes. I am therefore leaving all of the posts for the last few weeks online. However, I turned off the comment flags on all of them, which prevents people from leaving additional comments.
It is time to start some new threads. Anybody in Portland may start a new thread; all they have to do is send me an e-mail, and I will give them a username and password. Personally, I would like to see more threads started on specific subjects. That will help everyone stay focused on that one topic.
Portland has good things, and Portland has bad things, so we'll have a mix of positive and negative on the blog. However, the purpose of the blog is to make Portland a better place by discussing real issues and suggesting real solutions. Please take your time in creating a thread or a comment. It takes a lot of skill and practice to communicate effectively in any group situation. It is especially difficult on the Internet.
Anyway, let's go forward from here and have some good discussions. Thank you.
Posted by admin at September 19, 2007 11:08 PM