[Tiara]

[RANT]

Why not? We have topics about cocks, wangs, tallywhackers, etc, Girl scout cookies and AIDS bombs for crying out loud.

Now a thread with political CARTOONS gets locked. And I stress the cartoon part. Really, nobody is forced into those threads and they can still be locked if need be. It seems to me like you guys should either have some policy about ALL topics that are not for on this board or just moderate in a normal manner cause this is just getting a bit weird.

Just my 2 cents. If you, the admins, disagree, just lock this damned thread but it's just a bit annoying to see all kinds of nonsense topics sprout everywhere while a more intelligent political conversation is denied. I know they sometimes get a bit overheated but that's politics for ya. You can always lock it then.

Bleh...

[/RANT]

[an0n]

Time of the month?


*runs*

[Fineus]

an0n? hush.
 
Tiara, point well taken... I can't and won't speak for the other admins but this does merit some consideration

[Tiara]

No, not that time

Yet...

[Tiara]

Originally posted by Kalfireth
Point well taken... I can't and won't speak for the other admins but this does merit some consideration

THANK YOU!



Sorry, but I just luv' being right.

[vyper]

The axe weilding maniac has a point.

Edit:

I'm a mod on my university's discussion board. On there, we run into all kinds of issues pertaining to people's posts not only violating board regulations but also university regulations as a whole. The problem with political threads is that people can sometimes convey a reasonable argument using unreasonable terms which can seem to be xenophobic, racist, aetc.

The other main problem is that electronic communication often leads to misinterpretation of the speakers meaning. You can't see thier body language, thier facial expressions, or hear thier tone of voice.

I think the combination of both of them in a very multicultural board such as HLP is asking for trouble, but good admins can handle these things. Just ease off the lock button guys, and everyone else remember to be careful HOW you say things.

[Fineus]

buh-DUM.

[Martinus]

[color=66ff00]Generally I see it this way: Sandwich likes to keep us updated on his view of what goes on in Isreal. It's important to him.
I don't take part in that kind of discussion so I rarely see where it goes.

As for the cartoons, as I said I was more concerned about the anti american sentiment than the actual cartoons themselves. I may not like america but I don't have to run around screaming about it at every chance I get ad nauseam. Politics is ok provided it's sensibly discussed. The cartoons were obviously inflammatory and the thread title belied the tone in which they were posted.

I don't really take part in either religious or political threads because I see circular arguments (best description I can think of) the only time I step in is when someone reports a grievance or when the thread degenerates into petty bickering.

I considered locking the syny-whatsit *goes to find dictonary* thread but it's more dumb humour than anything else and is entertaining rather than offensive. If you have a genuine problem with it then say so and we'll try to accomodate you as best as is possible. Silly threads I have few problems with, they generally dissapear fairly quickly at any rate.

It's hard to find a balance or to please everyone but I tend to allow for things that are amusing or entertaining and lock threads that are inclined to make people unhappy.
[/color]

[an0n]

I suggest either opening a politics forum which is auto-pruned every 10 days, or directing people to NW where I can thin the herd until everyone agrees with me and all those who refuse to are banned. That way you'd have a valid reason for nuking politico threads and you could say things like "It's not our fault you pissed off an0n" when they started whining.

Simple.

[vyper]

[q]The cartoons were obviously inflammatory[/q]

Political commentary is not inflammatory, it's called free speech within a free society Maeg, be careful not to blur the line between the two.

[an0n]

Originally posted by vyper
[q]The cartoons were obviously inflammatory[/q]

Political commentary is not inflammatory, it's called free speech within a free society Maeg, be careful not to blur the line between the two.

Firstly: No, it's satire.

Secondly: Stop trying to start ANOTHER political debate.

[Martinus]

[color=66ff00]This forum does not hold with american doctrine, it is international and thus a far more sensible approach must be taken.

Free speech is all good and well but what you see as 'just an opinion' others may take great offense to.
[/color]

[an0n]

Translation: "Shut the **** up. We'll do as we please!"

[Tiara]

Originally posted by Maeglamor
[color=66ff00]Generally I see it this way: Sandwich likes to keep us updated on his view of what goes on in Isreal. It's important to him.
I don't take part in that kind of discussion so I rarely see where it goes.

As for the cartoons, as I said I was more concerned about the anti american sentiment than the actual cartoons themselves. I may not like america but I don't have to run around screaming about it at every chance I get ad nauseam. Politics is ok provided it's sensibly discussed. The cartoons were obviously inflammatory and the thread title belied the tone in which they were posted.

I don't really take part in either religious or political threads because I see circular arguments (best description I can think of) the only time I step in is when someone reports a grievance or when the thread degenerates into petty bickering.

I considered locking the syny-whatsit *goes to find dictonary* thread but it's more dumb humour than anything else and is entertaining rather than offensive. If you have a genuine problem with it then say so and we'll try to accomodate you as best as is possible. Silly threads I have few problems with, they generally dissapear fairly quickly at any rate.

It's hard to find a balance or to please everyone but I tend to allow for things that are amusing or entertaining and lock threads that are inclined to make people unhappy.
[/color]

My view on this is when a thread is clearly intended for amusement (like the cartoon one), that anyone who doesn't see that and comes in just to make trouble should be kicked in the sack. Hard. They're ruining it for most people.

Again, you're not forced into those threads.

I mean, you should ban the people who irrationally argue with people in such thread. Not locking the entire thread depriving everyone else of a good discussion. I can undersatand it when you lock a thread when it gets out of hand and I'm all for that. But also look at who was irrational and point that out. And if they continue to display their inability to have a proper discussion, simply ban them (temporarily at first ofcourse).

The problem does not lie with the topics, it lies with the ones who post in it in an irrational manner.

All points of view can be discussed in a rational manner. If one is uncapable of doing so, that person should be taken down. Not the thread itself or even the entire possibility of discussing a particular topic.

[vyper]

[q]Free speech is all good and well but what you see as 'just an opinion' others may take great offense to.[/q]

Let's call off the next UK election, someone might get offended that a party calls for us to pull out of europe.

[an0n]

I certainly won't.

[Tiara]

Originally posted by Maeglamor
[color=66ff00]
Free speech is all good and well but what you see as 'just an opinion' others may take great offense to.
[/color]

Those people don't deserve to be on this board. They can't argue in a rational manner and tend to pick a fight and cause the thread to be locked. Deal with them seperately.

I'm more then willing to moderate political topics if you guys don't wanna you know. *wink wink* *hint hint*

[Martinus]

[color=66ff00]That I agree with, I have a tendancy to stop things before they start I must say. Some have accused me of over reacting  and perhaps they are correct but caution is in my nature.

I'd rather be cautious and close something that could evoke strong responses from many (something an anti american thread generally does) than let it slide and watch people who come here with an interest in freespace be put off by something unrelated.

This site is primarily devoted to Freespace and gaming afterall and I moderate with that in mind.
[/color]

[Flipside]

Well, the problem is here is keeping everyone happy. The British sense of humour is just fine with this kind of thing, for example, after all, watch a few episodes of Spitting Image and these cartoons are nothing.
However, there is a possibility that the cartoon thread would explode into a massive flamefest about Iraq/Israel/USA, an awful lot of them seem to do that these days
So while I can very much laugh at the humour, and am glad Mik pointed these out, I just think Maeg was trying to head off another one of what Carl describes as those threads.

I suppose in hindsight it might have been better to post something like 'Play nice or I lock the thread, just to let you know ' but then, hindsight is always clearest.

[an0n]

Make me the HLP Intelligence Admin and I'll do some......'cleaning'.

You'll never need to worry about the mental hygiene of the members again.