It's not about disallowing Religious or Political posts themselves as it is the restricting
of certain topics in order to "control" the misbehaviour of some people.

Like i said in my other post, the Majority of the people here are descent folk which want
to discuss whatever they want in a civil matter without having to think about what topic
is allowed or not and who are now being restricted because a few people are misbehaving.

This way the majority has to suffer the consequences only a few caused in the first place.

Besides all that, banning certain topics is like soaking up the water instead of plugging
the hole. Next time there is a problem in a topic about baseball, well let's not allow
baseball topics anymore etc etc.

It's really not a solution.

Quoting Mark Harrison:

Quote:
In fact, HomeTheaterForum, and particularly AVSForum, are very heavily moderated in my experience.

This is precisely why I do not participate there.

I really do feel that the atmosphere in the forum has improved since this trial was introduced.

Given that this topic is highly controversial no-one seems to be getting nasty in their posts.

My problem with this forum has always been that some users seem to think they can say anything under the heading of 'freedom of speech' - with no thought of the possible impact their words can have.

I also know, for a fact, that I am not the only user who has stupidly let people in this forum get to them. We've seen recently that Giga has left because of other users (a fact he recently confirmed to me in a PM).

If this moderation (either in this format or a different one after the trial) results in less bullying; or less name-calling, then I think it's a great move forward.
I also think that anyone who feels they should have the right to say derogatory remarks or call people names, or want more confrontational discussions should simply stay away if they don't like the new moderation.

So, I personally hope this improved atmosphere continues.

Quoting hal9g:

Quote:
Quoting Mark Harrison:

Quote:
In fact, HomeTheaterForum, and particularly AVSForum, are very heavily moderated in my experience.

This is precisely why I do not participate there.

And that's why I like participating there.

I am not happy with the new rules. I think discussions of any and all types should be generally allowed. While I understand that I do not have a "right" to free speech here I think it is good to favor freedom of expression generally.

I think some degree of moderation is reasonable - to police threats, foul language, use of slurs, and to lock threads when they get out of hand.

I like being able to discuss issues related to poltics and religion. I like being able to have discussions about contrversial topics with the users of these forums. I came to this site for a DVD database software but I have found politics and religion to be the most interesting to me personally.

I also believe that banning certain topics because some people can't handle a heated debate without getting hurt feelings is a wrong headed approach. What happens when a person whose child was mauled by a dog decides they are offended by the dog pictures thread? I know it's a far fetched analogy but I think it points to the fact that the answer is NOT to ban topics but rather moderate them some to curb the worst abuses.

If as a society we can not have discussions about controversial topics then where are we? These issues are often tough to talk about but they need to be discussed (I grant that they don't necessarily have to be discussed here).

I can also honestly say that I have never seen anything that I thought was completely out of bounds posted here (such as a racial or ethnic slur). However I have seen plenty of posts that were harsher and more direct than they could have or should have been but I think people need to either learn to accept that debates like these can get heated or just stay away.

Why do we need to ban political threads for those interested in them b/c some users dive into the discussion and then feel insulted/offended? Why can't those expressing a desire to ban political discussion just stay away from them and let the dicussions happen without them? I certainly stay away from most threads I think are stupid or pointless - I don't feel compelled to go into the thread and trash the topic or the users discussing the topic.

I also don't like moderators removing posts entirely - if a thread needs to be locked because it has become too heated or contentious then lock it - but deleting posts entirely (when the offensive word or comment can be deleted) is censorship. How can I form my own view of a post when it has been removed? Is it right to remove a post and then leave alone the criticism and red arrows it received. The poster is then denied the right to get green arrows from others who may agree or support the post.

I am disappointed that some users are happy that topics are being banned and seem to be happy to see some very good users leave or stop posting. That does not seem to be in the interest of a good user community. If you drive away all of those who disagree with you OF COURSE the tenor will be better but at what cost?

Brian

Mark:

In this particular regard I agree with Brian. is it good for the community that a few users have driven me, for example, to the point where most of my data does not leave my database and is no longer accessible to the Community. I don't think it is positive at all, but this small cadre of users have  forced that decision on me. I periodically will explore some Contributing and it is never long before the abuse and insults again force me to stop. I hope this ends, if you think it pleases me that there are several hundred titles which have been completely audited and correcting mistakes in the Online or just simply are not available to the Community, then you are wrong, while I mention this small cadre, i also blame the Community as a whole because they display a disgusting, to me, double standard of allowing some users to be aggressive, insulting, combative but as soon as I respond to this behavior I am jumped on. Double standards don't work for me, and as long as it continues I will keep my data right here.

I may be one user, but I am a significant user and have been for many years. I submit total audits and cover art which is typically some of the best available. It's a choice i do not and have not enjoyed making and it is a choice which I feel has been forced upon me. The part that i find quite amusing, personally is that and this applies to EVERYONE in the Community, INCLUDING those who i think display some of the absolute most atrociuous behavior, if you showed up in my part of the world and i knew about it, you would all be welcomed as the friends which i consider you to be. So, its up to the community, continue the double standard or not, that is not my choice.

I am upset that Brian feels a need to leave, that Giga has left, that DanW virtually left sometime ago and for all intents and purposes relative to Contributions his behavior mirrors mine and the numerous other people that i have seen this cadre of users run off, more than i care to count or list, nor will I name the membership of the cadre, I think most could guess who they are, though some might be surprised.

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