What is it with...

[andrewg]

Originally Posted By: LT4 Vette
Originally Posted By: andrewg
Originally Posted By: Apollo14
Some comments seem to be borderline. Can anyone tell me if something like the following crosses the political line:

Quote:
If attacks are taking place only because of the upcoming elections in November ......


Enough with the golf and the expensive fund raising events with wealthy donors


I'm not sure.

But if it said...."President Obama plays too much golf and the expensive fund raising with wealthy liberal donors".

Now THAT would probably be crossing the line.



Or saying there is way too much murder and violence in the black communities across America.

Why didn't he comment on the 15 shot in Miami last week ?











Good point.

 

[andrewg]

I think that sometimes it's fine to allow things to stray a bit on the side of leniency.
When moderators enforce the rules in a very strict fashion...in my opinion the politically correct crowd dominates.

That makes for a rather sickening sweet discussion, don't you think?

A few off-base comments isn't going to make anyone melt...just as long as it doesn't become directly hurtful and repetitive.

But as always...rules are rules and if any of us doesn't follow them (including me) we must accept the consequences.

 

[SteveSRT8]

Originally Posted By: Mystic
I agree with you Pop_Rivit. I can think of one fairly new guy who seems to delight in bringing up controversial subjects that will cause arguments here. And people keep trying to bring in politics, religion, and sexual topics which are NOT ALLOWED!


And the same guy has a reading comprehension problem. Restated my point in a thread with a few extra words added to try and distort my point.

But when banned they just invent multiples and return. We must be VERY important...

 

[dailydriver]

Originally Posted By: javacontour
Originally Posted By: bvance554
I think its just a heavy hand with the thread locking device. This is a forum where people discuss things. Sure they sometimes get off track, but its still a discussion. If you don't want to discuss then move on. So what exactly is the purpose of locking a thread, other than some moderator sitting at home going on a power trip?


How is it heavy handed when the rules CLEARLY state no R/S/P?

If anything, it's not heavy handed enough. Or at least not responsive enough. When these things start, given the combination of clearly stated rules and recent results, weed it out early.

The rules state on R/S/P, so to complain about R/S/P threads being locked or deleted simply demonstrates a lack of understanding or respect for the rules.

I think there are plenty of places where you can discuss R/S/P if you want.

 

[Mystic]

That individual tried to attack me by repeating (out of context) what I had said in another post. And yet he has made various political remarks, started controversial posts, and even posted a photograph of President Bush. How is that not political?

I think I have an idea as to who this individual may be. And the next time he attacks me I will notify the moderators. In fact, since he says he is so concerned about political commentary, the next time he starts making political statements I think we need to notify the moderators.

 

[The_Jeff]

Originally Posted By: bradepb
I have noticed a few threads lately that I thought would surely be locked. It is a fine line, but then again this is the world we live in and it is the off topic sub-forum. Maybe we need an argument sub-forum and then people can just go there or ignore it.


They should do it, at a $50 buy-in.

There have been spin off forums specifically set up for R/S/P, and they turn into BITOG slam-fests (who knew?) then BITOG mods visit and give an us-or-them ultimatum.

 

[L_Sludger]

Originally Posted By: eljefino
Originally Posted By: bradepb
I have noticed a few threads lately that I thought would surely be locked. It is a fine line, but then again this is the world we live in and it is the off topic sub-forum. Maybe we need an argument sub-forum and then people can just go there or ignore it.


They should do it, at a $50 buy-in.

There have been spin off forums specifically set up for R/S/P, and they turn into BITOG slam-fests (who knew?) then BITOG mods visit and give an us-or-them ultimatum.

I nominate you to buy my subscription. Surely, you have enjoyed my posting, and like PBS, I need your pledge to continue offering quality content and programming to yours truly.

 

[sleddriver]

Trolls?

The younger/hip-hop-flip-flop-be-bop-post-hopitty-hop....hop-hop-hop crowd rarely knows, much less tows, the definition of internet restraint, much less self-restraint. There are no consequences. They fly in, drive-by style, drop a few bombs, get locked, change names and they're back at it again.

We do live in "interesting times" and politically divisive ones as well. Lots of bucking-up going on for the True Believers, regardless of reality. Sign of the times. However, the times are a changing and Foucault's pendulum has begun to reverse.

Paroting will only get one so far. . . .

 

[L_Sludger]

What on Earth are you talking about?

 

[SteveSRT8]

Originally Posted By: sleddriver
Trolls?

They fly in, drive-by style, drop a few bombs, get locked, change names and they're back at it again.

Paroting will only get one so far. . . .


Perfect! And we are aware of many of them, their style is rather transparent...

 

[Win]

RSP is unavoidably tangential to many worthwhile topics.

It's not the tangential RSP that crashes those threads, it's the lack of civility of the participants, imo.

 

[d00df00d]

Originally Posted By: Win
RSP is unavoidably tangential to many worthwhile topics.

It's not the tangential RSP that crashes those threads, it's the lack of civility of the participants, imo.

Indeed.

The only reason for the RSP ban is that that lack of civility is basically inevitable.

It really would be a great thing if people could talk about those topics while retaining that measure of civility. That'd be a bit of a paradox though, wouldn't it? What makes these issues salient is that they are moral issues, and moral conflicts by definition leave very little room for each side to acknowledge the other(s).

 

[Apollo14]

I mainly agree with the above.

So many things have been politicized these days by politicians and a willing segment of the electorate, that they now fall under P whereas once upon a time they might not have.

And people seem to have no trouble bringing in P to label and attack others. I myself was "accused" of being a liberal (which is not true), and I was very surprised that someone who is usually above such things accused someone of "arguing like a democrat" in a thread that was not remotely political. To be balanced, I could see why that person was angry at the other person, but why say such a thing?

 

[dailydriver]

Originally Posted By: Apollo14
And people seem to have no trouble bringing in P to label and attack others. I myself was "accused" of being a liberal (which is not true), and I was very surprised that someone who is usually above such things accused someone of "arguing like a democrat" in a thread that was not remotely political.


Yes, some on here are soooo angry with one side, and 'devout' to their cause that this happens all too often, as if they just cannot help/control themselves, or their compulsion to express their point/worldview.

So much for ONLY one 'side' getting overly "emotional".

 

[daves87rs]

Originally Posted By: d00df00d
Originally Posted By: eljefino
I think the heavy hand is off on vacation, frankly. I "notified" on something totally racist and the post and thread were still going strong 12 hours later.

^ This. Been the case for months now. All the disturbing ideas and personal attacks are coming out of the woodwork, and the mods just aren't keeping up.

The political and ideological climate in general (not just on BITOG) is hugely polarized these days. It makes people want to stand up for their side and strike out at the other side. That part is just human nature. BITOG's heavy-handed moderation made it an unfriendly venue for taking out those frustrations because the comments got deleted and the topics got locked. Now, the moderators aren't keeping up and people feel more free to wrestle with the demons in public. That draws others in, and things go downhill fast.

I've seen threads that mods have participated in, where stuff happens that wouldn't have been tolerated for two seconds a few years ago, and the thread just continues.

I spent a while petitioning moderators to bring the heavy hand back a bit. Even offered to help. That was a couple of years ago. I gave up.


Agreed with the line crossing. And in honesty, I agree that we need a few more mods...we have a pretty good group of people who could...

I also offered to help....