And if I visited a new board to check it out and saw some of the same stuff I have seen in this forum I would not venture into that place again.
I do see where you're comming from, and your point has grounds. I still refuse to believe that rational people will pass judgement on an establishment solely based on a few select people. Would you avoid a bar because a few guys got too drunk and started fighting?
I do not "troll" looking for "trouble". Since I have posted in many of these threads I "see" all the subsequent responses. Perhaps it is different for folks that are not moderators...
My misunderstanding. I was lost as to why anyone besides our group would be in the midwest thread.
Folks have been asked to "cool" it....by me....by Duane and Tony. While profanity has recently been reduced other types of posting rule infractions continue unabated.
We're trying here, boss! Things were getting better, then Andy opens his mouth one time, and it's Civil war again!
Duane and Tony both volunteered for the moderator positions they hold. They weren't "given" anything of worth to me ...other than a headache I share with them.
Ah, I was under the impression that they were logically selected for an actual reason such as knowing "who is who" rather than on a voulinteer basis.
It does make me wonder if when you guys are together if you would in fact deal with each other in the same manner if you knew you were being observed by folks you respect and would not want to offend? I also wonder if you would speak in the same way in front of your children or significant other?
Unable to speak for everyone else, I can only say that I am always true to who I am. I have my own views, opinions, feelings, demeanor, and others should accept that. If they pass judgement on my character by how I interact with my friends, so be it. I respect them enough to be a real person rather than a ficade of happy bunnies.
The funny thing about being offended... Is that it's a concious choice made by social bounds. One thing may be offensive to a certain group, while it is perfectly normal to another. Should one culture be squandered in order to prevent another from making an irrational choice of feeling bad?? Persoanlly, I like to be happy, and if I remain unoffended, I can retain that. Words are harmless. It's the choice people make to internalize them that does damage.
Would I speak the same infront of my significant other? Absolutely. If I'm actually going to care about another living being, I want to be completely comfortable with them. Enough so that I can be myself, and be confident that they can and do accept me for who I am.
Would I speak the same infront of my children? This is the only grey area in my mind about the subject. Hypothetically, if I wanted to have a child, I would make sure (s)he knows the consequences of said language. I am perfectly fine with my hypothetical children using explitives when the time arises. Consequently, I would also want my child to know that other parents are frequently up-tight about these words, and would ruin perfectly good relationships because hearing such "vulgar language" apparently does more irreparale damage than losing a best friend.
As stated the posting rules are pretty simple and not all that restrictive. Wait and see what they become like if we have to live by the new Trademark Approval terms we got from Ford.
While trying to avoid lessening the awesomeness of your efforts, I hope this day never comes. Sacraficing freedom at the cost of a special golden sticker of approval seems futile to me.
There are MANY ways to joke around and make fun of someone without calling them names or using profanity....all it takes is some imagination. And it can ALL be done within the limitations of the posting rules.
This is very valid, and as we have seen in the past, select users apparently chose to step into other people's business and press the "Report Post" button for their "friend", the recipient of said comment. This, I assume, forces you to have to review said posts, correct? I would imagine this would put a negative light on anything seen, as the intended implication of a "Reported" post implies that another member has already passed a negative judgement. Additionally, having to deal with the arduous task of reviewing every reported post puts you, the administrator, in a poor mood to begin with. It would take a very objective eye to look past this.
All I am saying is that the punishment should correspond to the crime. As a group, even, we were getting progressively better and better. The punishment should remain consistant in any type of conditioning. Lessening amounts of discipline, and the effectiveness wears off for obvious reasons. Increasing intensity, and the person you are trying to condition becomes discouraged and gets the mindset of "What's the point, they will just ask for more and more!"
Imagine you have a kid in middle school who gets Ds. You want them to get As. You tell them they lose their allowance every week until they get straight As. What would you expect the child to do when you tell them they have worked hard, and are now getting Bs, and you step up the punishment to "No allowance OR Cell Phone" until they make the extra effort to get that A?? Great motivation tactic there!! .....
I've always been a fan of public humiliation. A stickied thread called "Meanie-Heads: Melon, 2TC, Sinhumane, etc." listing all of the week's antagonists in the title would be entertaining. Then the forum members can point and laugh at those on the post of shame.
But locking the thread? Seriously? What does that even solve?