This is to address persistent and lingering questions about FM Appointments:
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1. Being an FM is a service. It is NOT supposed to be some kind of "reward" or "medal" to "deserving" members. The ULTIMATE OBJECTIVE of the process is to promptly handle/look into Reports filed by members, which is expected to lead to good site administration. So, please, let us not lose sight of the END RESULT. Let us NOT get lost in arguments about who "deserves", etc. The ultimate objective is BETTER Forum ADMINISTRATION - we should not be losing...
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sight of the end goal.
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2. Towards meeting the above objective, the MOST important attribute is PRESENCE on the site and the WILLINGNESS to look into Complaints and handle them. There are many, many very Senior/respectable members on the site, but they may have other professional/domestic priorities to attend to. We cannot force people to be FMs. UNLESS a member VOLUNTEERS and states that "Yes, for the next 3 weeks, I am relatively free and shall look into Complaints and handle them", we CANNOT force-appoint members as FMs. Anyone who still has objections to some of the appointments should have volunteered, themselves!!!
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3. Stressing the above: A member may be very Senior/Respectable/Deserving, but maybe nowadays, he is just busy with other things. As FM, that person will be completely INEFFECTIVE, since he/she is not even present on the site. Or even if he is present on the site, he/she may not be interested. A very senior, respected member who writes very good travelogues or a Sr. PNR Monitor having excellent accuracy or a TLM making useful station updates would be an INEFFECTIVE FM IF he is just not interested in looking into Member Complaints and actively and promptly addressing them.
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4. Once again, the FM post is NOT about who "deserves", but about who is able to do the task EFFECTIVELY. A member may or may not have been controversial, may or may not be Senior, may or may not be respectable/senior/deserving. Our ONLY PRIORITY is to ensure that he is an EFFECTIVE FM. Yes, being an FM is a challenging task requiring maturity. And if a member is not mature enough, FM-ship will raise his maturity level - and will help him later in life. The site's ONLY responsibility is that, WHILE he is an FM, he is able to do the task effectively and is fair-minded and controversy-free.
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5. There are many checks/balances to prevent abuse of FM privilege. Every FM Action requires a corresponding Complaint Entry. ALL current FMs can see all Complaint Entries and the discussions therein. So, it is a request NOT to engage in CONSPIRACY theories. Nothing is hidden. All FMs will be back as regular members after their term. Regular members will be FMs one day.
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6. The site's priority is to have EFFECTIVE FMs who are PRESENT on the site and are WILLING to look into Complaints - irrespective of whether that member is Senior, Junior, respectable or otherwise. Subrat, the member concerned, irrespective of his past history has been an EFFECTIVE FM so far - and that's the ONLY thing the site cares about.
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Thanks.