[Ghostavo]

And who would pay for keeping our mental health if you were in charge then?

[StratComm]

I'll go ahead and put in my 2 cents, my general opinion is more in line with Maeg's than this may seem but that's not my point.  While I have no problem with a strict moderation over the political threads on this board, (so long as it is done without bias) that stands only so long as it is uniform.  What I think is at issue here is the thread that was locked was not actually a political thread so much as one for posting our favorite satire (ROFLMAO to the Nascar one, by the way, since I can't say it in the thread where it came up) and which can generally be interpreted to be less serious and, well, quite frankly hateful, than some of the political threads that have gone on here for days.  So I guess my point is, I would like to see the moderation either take a consistant stand on the politics, period, or to see moderation in general act more to stomp out the inflamatory posting behavior.  By either standard, though, Mikhael's thread should have earned nothing more than a title change.

[mikhael]

Excuse me, but the cartoon--and the site I liked--were not "anti-american". The were critical of American policies and critical of people critical of those policies. In point of fact, the cartoons had a pretty good mix of conservative and liberal, democrat and republican, pro-war and anti-war, etc.

If it was the TITLE of the thread you objected to, perhaps you should read some of the other threads. I was directly quoted Liberator, who implied that any satire or political commentary critical of America or its government and policies was "utter hatred of the USA". It was, point of fact, satire.

Perhaps a little discussion, or maybe a sense of humor, is in order here.

If not, just tell me to shut the hell up.

[Flipside]

It's not aimed at you Mik, it's just that there are too many people around who want to take things personally. I thought the pictures were brilliant, well, the ones I understood, being British and all, some of the political aspects pass me by

But it would just take one post by someone saying something about US's policies in Iraq or something, and then someone else will reply and before you know it, a perfectly innocent thread becomes a Political flamewar.

I don't think Maeg was closing the thread because of what you posted, more because of what was doomed to follow from less mature members. As for the title, well, I know what inverted commas mean

[mikhael]

Actually, Flipside, you're incorrect:

Originally posted by Maeglamor
[color=66ff00]
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.
[/color]

Of course, if Maeg had looked beyond a few cartoons, he'd have seen stuff that wasn't "inflammatory". The title which "belied the tone in which they were posted", I should point out was in quotes to make it obvious to pretty much anyone familiar with the english language that it was intended as either sarcasm, humor, satire or possibly all three.

For the love of Joe, can anyone who has EVER read anything I've written believe for a moment that I would espouse "utter hatred for the USA"?

[StratComm]

Originally posted by mikhael
Of course, if Maeg had looked beyond a few cartoons, he'd have seen stuff that wasn't "inflammatory". The title which "belied the tone in which they were posted", I should point out was in quotes to make it obvious to pretty much anyone familiar with the english language that it was intended as either sarcasm, humor, satire or possibly all three.

For the love of Joe, can anyone who has EVER read anything I've written believe for a moment that I would espouse "utter hatred for the USA"?

I wasn't going to say anything, but all one has to do to see that the thread cannot have been 100% serious was to look at your location, and that's not giving any provisions to the fact that you are a long-standing member of this community who's voiced opinions in the past in a relatively inoffensive manner.  I also found Maeg's particular interpretation singularly odd.  It's especially odd seeing as how the thread that "inspired" that title (which I would guess was Anon's "BSE: Another reason to hate America" thread) was never locked down to begin with.  Granted, that thread got off the political bandwagon with some n00b jokes and died, but the point still stands.  The Fajulla thread wasn't ever closed either, and it got pretty nasty before it died off.  This one actually had a chance to lighten the air I thought, but I can see how it could get misinterpreted.  The standard isn't being held straight nonetheless.

[StratComm]

wrong button, ignore this

[Kazan]

last i checked mik was american

[Martinus]

[color=66ff00]Hmmm, I seem to have stepped in quite a quagmire here, I locked the thread because I saw how the fajulla thread and an0n's anti american thread went.

I took them as examples of how things tend to go. Unlike moderators I've encountered on other forums I'm not of the opinion that my decision is final, I'm often wrong as a matter of fact and in this case I think that the best option is to as has been suggested rename the thread and open it again.
[/color]

[Rictor]

Aw c'mon people, its 2 freaking pages over the course of maybe 3-4 hours. Why do you do this to me?

*sigh*

*starts reading*

[an0n]

If you put the posts-per-page up, it'll only be one page.


And I'd like to point out that if I had Admin powers, there'd be no religious or political debates. Simply because people are smart enough to know that if they try that **** with me: BAM! They're gone.

So, if I were to be accidentally granted full admin powers.......

[StratComm]

Still on about the admin thing An0n?  You already have NW, isn't that enough?

[an0n]

It would be if NW actually had a purpose and more than 5 active members.

Besides, NW is relatively tard-free because no-one with, shall we say 'contrary' political and operational ideologies is stupid enough to rear their deformed head.

So I've got no-one to *****slap around.....except for kasperl.

[Lonestar]

As for the cartoons, as I said I was more concerned about the anti american sentiment than the actual cartoons themselves.

This bugs me, cause when its anti-palestinian, or anti-french people usually accept it, and no admins own it.

Why is anti-american messages considered worse then the above? And if so, is this double standard elsewhere in the forums?

I mean no harm by this post, but like the first post exclaims. You must have a direct rule making it wrong all around, and not just pick and choose which topics to lock because you feel its not right.

Being an admin is not about emotion, its about making sure rules are followed, period.

[Shrike]

I'm really starting to get sick of political topics here on HLP.  I'm about ready to start closing every one that pops up.

Better yet, I'll just throw them all into one thread.

And no, we are not opening up a politics forum or anything of the sort.

[an0n]

Can I at least get banning powers?

[Martinus]

[color=66ff00]Now here's a fact:

Shrike; the buck stops there.
[/color]

[an0n]

I always knew he had a thing for horses, but deer too?

[mikhael]

Originally posted by Shrike
I'm really starting to get sick of political topics here on HLP.  I'm about ready to start closing every one that pops up.

Better yet, I'll just throw them all into one thread.

And no, we are not opening up a politics forum or anything of the sort.

Care to make a list of topics Shrike doesn't want posted so the rest of us don't have to put up with YOUR moody ass, Shrike? Should we avoid discussion of religion? How about discussion of 3d modelling programs (that borders on religious wars).

You really, truly, honestly don't have to read any topic after you realized its a topic you don't like. You could always, I dunno, wait for a complaint.

But hey, its your toybox. You can do whatever the hell you want with your toys. Just be so kind as to tell the rest of us ahead of time so we don't accidentally step on your toes.

[an0n]

The Laws of Wonderland
[list=1]

• No religion
• No politics
• No ATI/Radeon debates
• No Linux/MS debates
• No making statements which have little or no basis in fact
• No posting pictures of Shrike having sex with any kind of animal
• No references to Maeglamor's "Lucky Charms"
• No warez
• No porn
• No refering to Thunder as 'Kalfireth'

There ya go. A comprehensive set of rules for HLP.