**NEW POLICY** 8/17/11

[TWCToday]

If you wish to request that changes be made to your local forecast then a moderator must approve your request. Please PM one of us to approve your request. There are no restrictions on posting legitimate errors and issues with your local forecast. This new policy is an attempt to ensure that the STAR Support Team is not overwhelmed with pointless requests. Failure to comply will result in an immediate warning or suspension.

Thank you.

[Localonthe8s]

Thank you for implemeting this. I was wondering why the number of LF requests has skyrocketed during the past few weeks, as all I've been seeing now is topics in the STAR support forums.

[twcfan68]

I just wanted to say that I was really waiting for something like this. I was surprised at how active that forum has become lately, and I don't want us to abuse the privilege of having the actual TWC STAR Team here.

[TWCJim]

Thanks for telling us Martin. We hope we'll learn better in the near future 

[Eric]

I agree with this policy.

Some, but not all, of the requested changes have seemed somewhat frivolous and just an attempt to custom-tailor the Star to one person's personal preferences, ignoring the fact that many, many other people see the same Star, too.  I hope that my one request to reduce the amount of ocean on a map to less than 50% doesn't seem so frivolous in comparison.

[Localonthe8s]

I agree with this policy.

Some, but not all, of the requested changes have seemed somewhat frivolous and just an attempt to custom-tailor the Star to one person's personal preferences, ignoring the fact that many, many other people see the same Star, too.  I hope that my one request to reduce the amount of ocean on a map to less than 50% doesn't seem so frivolous in comparison.

Yes, and some of the same people here have made 4 or even 5 requests in any given time.

[Eric]

Yes, and some of the same people here have made 4 or even 5 requests in any given time.

Yeah, that's definitely an abuse of the privilege.  Maybe such people should get their own Stars. 

[gt1racerlHDl]

Kinda figured something like this would happen, every time i logged in all i saw was new replies from the WeatherStar Tech Support 

[Charismatic Applesauce]

It's good that this rule was implemented. I've been noticing many STAR requests Herr lately, and I've been thinking that all these requests might annoy the STAR team.

[TWCToday]

I agree with this policy.

Some, but not all, of the requested changes have seemed somewhat frivolous and just an attempt to custom-tailor the Star to one person's personal preferences, ignoring the fact that many, many other people see the same Star, too.  I hope that my one request to reduce the amount of ocean on a map to less than 50% doesn't seem so frivolous in comparison.

Yes some people don't tend to think that others might not want to see a local forecast built around one persons location. As for your request I feel your pain. Living on the coast the IS maps get centered so that half is just water. Its probably just an automatic part of the configuration process. Not sure if they will change it for you since its something that affects a lot of other people

[TWCToday]

I am glad most of you feel positive about this. I made a small mention to keep requests to a minimum a few weeks back but it seemed to be ignored. The surge of activity from some new members has prompted a lot of requests. They didn't really know better so I don't place the blame on them.  Having the STAR Team participate is a wonderful opportunity for this forum. I am grateful to those individuals who take the time out of their busy schedule to visit here on almost a daily basis! Say what you want about the programming at TWC but the staff is some of the best in the industry. 

[Eric]

I agree with this policy.

Some, but not all, of the requested changes have seemed somewhat frivolous and just an attempt to custom-tailor the Star to one person's personal preferences, ignoring the fact that many, many other people see the same Star, too.  I hope that my one request to reduce the amount of ocean on a map to less than 50% doesn't seem so frivolous in comparison.

Yes some people don't tend to think that others might not want to see a local forecast built around one persons location. As for your request I feel your pain. Living on the coast the IS maps get centered so that half is just water. Its probably just an automatic part of the configuration process. Not sure if they will change it for you since its something that affects a lot of other people

They changed it extremely quickly.  Now only a small portion of the screen is ocean, while the rest is land with several more cities displayed.

[Eric]

Having the STAR Team participate is a wonderful opportunity for this forum. I am grateful to those individuals who take the time out of their busy schedule to visit here on almost a daily basis! Say what you want about the programming at TWC but the staff is some of the best in the industry.

That is so true, especially considering (I assume) they do this outside of the usual requirements of their job.  I'm also thankful to them for their time and dedication, especially since they're not always given the thanks and respect they deserve.

[TWCToday]

I don't want to sound like a jerk or nothing, but there is a new policy regarding requests for the STAR team. They now must be approved by the forum's admins. As for reporting errors, they don't require approval. Sorry to burst your bubble 

How do we know this request wasn't approved?  Does this policy mean that all approved requests must be passed along to the Star team through an administrator's account on the member's behalf?  That would make things rather complicated for the rest of us to keep track of, wouldn't it?

Don't want to garble this thread with discussion on the new request policy, but I think there should be some way for members to know if a request was approved by admins or not. Otherwise there may be some issues.

Well I would make it so admin would have to approve all posts but that is time consuming and a waste of effort for a post every other day. The forum will be monitored and if an admin determines it is in violation the necessary consequences will be distributed. This is partly why it is an immediate 50% warn. There is no complications on the members behalf. Quite frankly any commentary in the STAR Support forum needs to be kept to a MINIMUM. It is not the members responsibility to monitor these posts. If a concern is raised the proper way to respond to any situation is to file a report. I have noticed an increase in chit chat over issues being posted. If you have nothing to contribute to the issue then posting is not necessary.

[Eric]

Now I'm confused.

Originally, we were told that any requests to the Star Team would have to be approved by an administrator before it could be made.

Now, it's that we're supposed to police ourselves under penalty of an immediate 50% warn or worse?

I can understand the logic behind not being able to monitor every post that's made in the forum, but these two statements that have been made can't exist together in the same rule about making requests.

So, what is it?  Do we contact an administrator first?  (And then what happens?  Are we given permission to post it ourselves, and what mechanism exists to show other members and administrators that it's been approved?  Or is it posted for us by an administrator?)  Or, do we simply post a request and hope that it's valid, with the knowledge that an improper request will result in a severe punishment?