How should we manage the Q&A with Paul Gogarty? Opinions please....

DeVore · 06-10-2010 01:45PM #1

Mr Gogarty hasnt asked for any special arrangements for his Q&A day (Wednesday 13th provisionally).... but I also want to make sure we maximise the opportunity to put our opinions to him and seek answers..

There are several possibilities each with advantages and drawbacks, which I'll list here and poll you guys and gals to see which people want. Please consider carefully:

1. Questions are submitted and either I or someone chosen from here will act as interviewer.

pros: Keeps the signal-to-noise ratio high
cons: Prevents complete engagement.

2. A number of "representatives" are selected across the spectrum of the forum and they have a discussion with him using submitted questions.

Pros: high S2N ratio
Cons: More engagement but still at a distance.

3. A mixture of 1 and 2.

Pros: Covers more bases.
Cons: Spreads his time thin, especially as we will have several topics.

4. Open access thread, free for all.

Pros: Everyone can have their say.

Cons: Will overload the man with questions and some people will "soapbox". Will need strict moderation or it will turn into a brawl. Some people wont accept their answer and will be a "dog with a bone".

My suggestion is that we go with #3... I'll elaborate:

We run two threads per topic (I'm thinking 3-5 topics as we decide in the next few days). One thread is constrained to Q&A from a spectrum of posters here with questions submitted in next few days from everyone.

The other thread is a freeform discussion NOT centred on questions and answers but rather as a round-table discussion of the topic at hand, with which Mr Gogarty is invited to engage but isnt reliant on him doing so.

Reasons: My reasoning for thinking this way is:
1. I want us to be able to ask hard fair, civil, questions.

2. I dont want the man abused, I dont care how much you disagree with him, you can do so politely or you can leave. Same rules as for everyone.

3. I dont want to overload him with 50 questions every time he answers one but also I want people to be able to follow up on questions and that will be the 5 representatives job, to press him on issues.

Along with all of this I want to run one thread which is NOT based on questions but rather "If I could tell the Green Party / Government one thing, it would be this:" where people can post and they wont get a reply but it will surely be read.

Again civility is required, I'm not having this turn into a shouting match or a competition to see who can get the nastiest slur in.

I want us to be able to invite and attract other politicians here, so we can take them to task over issues, but first they have to feel like they arent going to be ambushed or mauled. Note that that doesnt mean they cant be asked tough questions but you dont see me using abuse as part of my repertoire and I have a good track record in debates

Thoughts? Input?

DeV.

Permabear · 06-10-2010 01:53PM

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Slydice · 06-10-2010 02:03PM

I suggest you create two polls to show him the opinion of boards.ie users towards him (favourable or unfavourable). One for before the Q&A day (then locked) and the other for after the Q&A day (then locked).

Possibly also have before and after polls revolving around your tweet to him (i.e. Should the TD's resign and trigger a G.E.):
http://twitter.com/DeVore/status/26121448679

@PaulGogartyTD I and others would like to know why you and other supposedly angry TD's dont resign and trigger a G.E. http://bit.ly/bCf1rm

Eliot Rosewater · 06-10-2010 02:10PM

Slydice wrote: »

I suggest you create two polls to show him the opinion of boards.ie users towards him (favourable or unfavourable).

I totally disagree. He'd obviously only get a 10 or 20% approval rating, and that would a very negative context in which to talk here. If I were Mr Gogorty I might interpret such a poll, with its utterly predictable outcome, to be a dig.

And as for a second poll, I think you put too much stock in people changing their opinions. The "anyone-but-FF" voting bloc certainly wouldn't budge.

I think he should be treated with respect as he's going out of his way to talk here, and he's also a human being, which is sometimes forgotten. I think option #4 is undesirable because many posters would be unwilling to show such respect.

Slydice · 06-10-2010 02:18PM

Eliot Rosewater wrote: »

I totally disagree. He'd obviously only get a 10 or 20% approval rating, and that would a very negative context in which to talk here. If I were Mr Gogorty I might interpret such a poll, with its utterly predictable outcome, to be a dig.

That makes sense to me and I had thought that the polls might be seen as a dig.

I do think they would work well for him though. The before Q&A polls could give him a heads up of the sentiment on this sites towards him and his party. The after polls could give him an idea if the Q&A day had any impact on that sentiment.

DeVore · 06-10-2010 02:23PM

DF: I think we will have to have a broad selection of people from those who a militantly opposed to what is happening (and can convey that in an intelligent way) to those like myself who are angry but unsure what the best course is and want a robust debate to ferret out the truth from the spin.

I would like to see people with a good track record of engagement here and people who are respected and believeable in terms of integrity.

I will ask for names to be put in a hat and for people to say they either want to do it (and are willing and able to commit a sizeable chunk of time on Wednesday to this) or they agree with the stances of those who DO want to do it and agree that they represent their view.

Then I guess it comes down to me and probably the mods and Dav to select people we think will do a good job.

DeV.

Permabear · 06-10-2010 02:30PM

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Bottle_of_Smoke · 06-10-2010 02:31PM

I think option one with Scofflaw doing the asking would work quite well.

gandalf · 06-10-2010 02:40PM

Bottle_of_Smoke wrote: »

I think option one with Scofflaw doing the asking would work quite well.

I for one would have serious reservations about Scofflaw doing the asking given his public support of the Green Party on this forum.

Permabear · 06-10-2010 02:44PM

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Scofflaw · 06-10-2010 02:46PM

gandalf wrote: »

I for one would have serious reservations about Scofflaw doing the asking given his public support of the Green Party on this forum.

I'd have to second that - no matter how I tried to be objective, I would both be seen as being soft on him because he's a Green, and quite possibly would be soft on him because he's a Green, so I'm at least going to agree with him implicitly on a number of basic issues. That won't apply quite so strongly in Gogarty's case as it would with Gornley, Ryan, or Cuffe, because I don't really know the man, but it would still be a factor.

However, I appreciate the compliments!

cordially,
Scofflaw

hallelujajordan · 06-10-2010 02:47PM

I would like to see people have the opportunity to communicate directly with Mr Gogarty, using their own identity, their own experiences and their own language.

I understand why this cannot be done in an open thread format but perhaps if mods / delegates could filter the relevant messages from within an open thread and just take the responsibility to move the relevant message from the open thread to the restricted thread ?

Scofflaw · 06-10-2010 02:55PM

hallelujajordan wrote: »

I would like to see people have the opportunity to communicate directly with Mr Gogarty, using their own identity, their own experiences and their own language.

I understand why this cannot be done in an open thread format but perhaps if mods / delegates could filter the relevant messages from within an open thread and just take the responsibility to move the relevant message from the open thread to the restricted thread ?

Questions from the audience style - I think that falls under DeVore's option 3.

cordially,
Scofflaw

gandalf · 06-10-2010 03:00PM

My preference would be for a form of number 4 with all responses pre-moderated. That way any noise, abuse or soapboxing could be removed.

Nodin · 06-10-2010 03:19PM

Option 2, with a picked few and a random selection of poster to mirror each one, headbangers and the rest being usually discernable by post /infraction history. If its only a "moderators choice" it gives the appearance of elitism/cronyism etc.

No, I've no idea how you'd randomly pick a few. A hat and bits of paper etc I suppose....

DeVore · 06-10-2010 03:19PM

If we went with reps I could see Scoffie being one of the five for balance but equally there will have to be some eloquent determined critics of the GP too...

I think my role here should be that of "host" rather then getting involved directly.

Which ever way we do it, we have to have some public access involvement. I did say that we will have an open debate for each topic too where I would "encourage" Mr Gogarty to engage.

To be fair to him, he suggested that right off the bat, but I may have more experience regarding exactly HOW bad a free for all can get

Our usual civility rules apply and (with some serious tongue-in-cheekiness) might I remind EVERYONE that posting "with all due respect, f*ck you DeVore, F*ck you", will get your ass kicked off the site regardless of who you are

We are a respectable operation here, with standards, unlike some other places. *cough*.

I'm actually looking forward to this now. I want show people that their cynicism is unfounded and that it IS possible to have a meaningful debate online.

DeV.

ILA · 06-10-2010 03:22PM

DeVore wrote: »

I'm actually looking forward to this now. I want show people that their cynicism is unfounded and that it IS possible to have a meaningful debate online.

DeV.

Sorry, Devore, I'll be sitting this one out. I believe my view that debate (online or offline) in terms of the current political and economic situation is absolutely meaningless.

Only the spilling of blood and gore will solve anything at this stage

06-10-2010 03:24PM

Agree to have all mods of politics actually present actively moving abusive/spammy posts and dross from the thread.
Add more mods on a temp basis for the day,as many as needed to ensure this.
Zero tolerance for discussion flow disruption.

It's only one day so going the extra mile for that day so as to have the thread used operating openly exactly as any other normal thread here albeit with the extra over sight of the several extra temporary mods as needed to ensure high signal.

There is in my opinion no need for any special new formula,just the extra bods and good coordination amongst them,set up a temporary private sub forum for them for the day if that helps.

Finding 10 or 50 open minded temporary helpers who can commit for the day out of the 1000+ mods [there are that many aren't there?] shouldn't be hard.
DeV you'll know who to pick out of the volunteers to be honest,you'll have too many qualified volunteers.

DeVore · 06-10-2010 03:57PM

The mods are already on that ball... but getting 10 or more people all of a single mind on something as vague as "flow disruption" is easier said than done.

I think we have to have some form of free access alright... hence my suggestion of a "round table" discussion where everyone isnt expecting every second post to be Mr Gogarty's response to the previous one... He has said he's willing to engage in those discussion and I'm happy to take him at his word.

DeV.

nesf · 06-10-2010 04:08PM

Deleted User wrote: »

Finding 10 or 50 open minded temporary helpers who can commit for the day out of the 1000+ mods [there are that many aren't there?] shouldn't be hard.
DeV you'll know who to pick out of the volunteers to be honest,you'll have too many qualified volunteers.

Finding 10 or 50 helpers who can all sing off the same hymn sheet and make similar calls on what's acceptable without their personal opinions playing a role would be difficult at best and extremely hard to say a priori.

bijapos · 06-10-2010 04:08PM

#3 would be my preferred option. If we can develop it so that the "5 interviewers" can also take questions from those on boards based on Gogartys answers as they happen.

I think the idea of two parallel threads is a good idea too.

OhNoYouDidn't · 06-10-2010 04:11PM

I'm slightly confused. If the questions are pre-determined, what difference does it make who or how many people present them? If, for the sake of arguement, I submit a question, its selected, and Scofflaw reads it out, what use is the audience format?

Unless you are allowing tangenital freedom to the interviewers, then 5 might be too high a number.

DeVore · 06-10-2010 04:14PM

I intend to allow tangential freedom for the interviewers, I expect them to know when to shut the hell up too

We'll start collating questions asap so we are prepared too.

Additionally, there will be a more free form discussion on the day to develop ideas subsequent to his answers or as things arise.

We arent looking to cure cancer here, just to grease the wheels of communication between Dail Eireann and the general public. If we generate light and not heat I will be happy and consider Boards raison d'etre satisfied.

DeV.

nesf · 06-10-2010 04:15PM

OhNoYouDidn't wrote: »

I'm slightly confused. If the questions are pre-determined, what difference does it make who or how many people present them? If, for the sake of arguement, I submit a question, its selected, and Scofflaw reads it out, what use is the audience format?

Unless you are allowing tangenital freedom to the interviewers, then 5 might be too high a number.

Makes a big difference if the 5 interviewers pick the questions or have some role in the picking and sorting. Different people would have different emphasis (i.e. personally I'll be backing any good serious economics questions pushed at him while simultaneously opposing any ones which are dumb, populist nonsense, or founded on false principles). Other people might focus more on different areas.

OhNoYouDidn't · 06-10-2010 04:18PM

nesf wrote: »

Finding 10 or 50 helpers who can all sing off the same hymn sheet and make similar calls on what's acceptable without their personal opinions playing a role would be difficult at best and extremely hard to say a priori.

So why bother? Then just send him 20 questions to fill in the answers at his leisure if there is to be no interpretation of answers...

06-10-2010 04:50PM

OhNoYouDidn't wrote: »

So why bother? Then just send him 20 questions to fill in the answers at his leisure if there is to be no interpretation of answers...

Well I guess the idea is there will be but yes what you said there was what I was thinking when I made the suggestion to deal with this as not a special case, other than needing the forum mods to be on duty during the threads day.
More work yes but a better more normal type of boards discussion.
Too much limitation dilutes the opportunity,I think from the perspective of people,reasonable people getting the normal satisfaction this board gives to the user in debating points with an opposing view.

Wolfe Tone · 06-10-2010 05:01PM

I think that the best thing to do is not to do it all. No one will be happy whatever way it is done.

If he wants to join he should do so as a normal person, if he feels like making a thread explaining himself he should do so, he should be treated as a normal poster.

OhNoYouDidn't · 06-10-2010 05:05PM

Deleted User wrote: »

Well I guess the idea is there will be but yes what you said there was what I was thinking when I made the suggestion to deal with this as not a special case, other than needing the forum mods to be on duty during the threads day.
More work yes but a better more normal type of boards discussion.
Too much limitation dilutes the opportunity,I think from the perspective of people,reasonable people getting the normal satisfaction this board gives to the user in debating points with an opposing view.

While I was typing I think it was clarified. Get a group of people who will be polite without being servile and disciplined enough to read the cards while spontanous enough to allow the conversation organically flow.

No bother!!

06-10-2010 05:07PM

Didn't we have a councillor on here before on one of the Dublin forums? How did that work out?

Bottle_of_Smoke · 06-10-2010 05:09PM

gandalf wrote: »

I for one would have serious reservations about Scofflaw doing the asking given his public support of the Green Party on this forum.

Forgot about that actually. Maybe Wicknight then - another poster who is very good at posing questions that are difficult to sidestep

Wolfe Tone · 06-10-2010 05:12PM

Bottle_of_Smoke wrote: »

Forgot about that actually. Maybe Wicknight then - another poster who is very good at posing questions that are difficult to sidestep

TBH what is the point in letting him come on here if only select people will be allowed to ask questions? The whole thing is to come on and engage with us is it not? Not just to engage with a mod or two.

How should we manage the Q&A with Paul Gogarty? Opinions please....

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