- Joined
- Apr 7, 2016
- Location
- Indiana, US
As much as the Director supports freedom of speech, and as much as I try to support his views on it, behavior on this site over the past couple of years has deteriorated to unacceptable levels. Staff members have repeatedly told people to "attack the argument and not the person," and to keep discussion civilized, even when it's a hot topic over which people have strong feelings. You are allowed to have your political beliefs. You are allowed to freely express those political beliefs. Civilized discourse between members with differing political views is not only allowed, it's encouraged, because that's how we learn from each other and - sometimes - even reevaluate our positions. However, no one is allowed to insult other members, publicly, privately, or through abuse of the system. This is no secret; it has always been this way. But enforcement has been lax of late, primarily because staff members are truly loathe to take punitive actions or any other measures that might be construed as "censorship" or "abuse of power."
But enough is enough. It has reached the point where I no longer enjoy visiting this forum or interacting with its members. And while I have been keeping that to myself for several months now, I have recently realized that this is not MY problem. It is the unending and exhausting stream of rude comments and behavior that is the problem. And I'm putting a stop to it, effective immediately.
First, all political debate will be confined to the Politics Forum where it belongs. Zero tolerance outside that forum. If I see so much as a political hashtag in a comment on any of the other boards, I'll be removing that hashtag and sending an official warning to that user. Next time, I'll delete the entire comment with a second warning. Third time earns a 24-hour ban. For the really stubborn people who don't figure it out after that, I will simply continue issuing progressively longer bans, 24 hours at a time, until the offender gets the hint or they stop coming here. Those other boards are where we analyze the current global geopolitical situation, and they need to remain non-partisan, informative, and free of clutter that is not relevant to the discussion.
Second, inside the Politics Forum, while I will be more tolerant of partisan behavior in general, I will be following a similar protocol for overtly rude behavior. This will apply to personal insults and stereotypical language, such as "all Republicans are Nazis." As I pointed out to someone else, substitute the word "Republicans" in that phrase with "blacks" and the word "Nazis" with "criminals," and you'll understand why that type of language is repugnant and should not be used or tolerated. There are good people in both parties, and we should strive to be better than that. Calling someone a "traitor" (or worse) simply because they disagree with you politically is just unacceptable.
I will be showing no favoritism whatsoever. I am so tired of the whole left versus right thing that I honestly don't care where anyone falls on the spectrum. Rude behavior is rude behavior. Nobody gets a free pass.
I have tried so very hard to not let my position as Deputy Director go to my head. I have tried my damnedest to be neutral and fair ever since the Director honored me with the title. However, anyone who feels I'm overstepping my bounds, please feel free to contact the Director and let him know. But understand this: I report to no one else on this board except him.
I will leave this post open for commentary and discussion, or please feel free to send me a PM if you would rather say something in private. If you think I'm in the wrong for what I've said here, feel free to say so, as long as you keep it civilized. I don't care if someone tells me I'm wrong. Quiet as it's kept, I am actually wrong on occasion. However, I do care if someone makes it personal and posts a vile comment.
Ultimately, what happens now is entirely up to all of you. Keep things civilized and professional, and absolutely nothing will happen. You won't even know I'm here. And if you feel in your heart that you simply cannot politely interact with a specific person, use the "ignore" feature. That's what it's there for. But, keep going down the path this site has been going down for far too long now, and don't act surprised when I do exactly what I said I'm going to do.
I sincerely hope this is the last time I have to make a post like this, and I'm hoping even more fervently that I don't have to resort to the tactics I've described above.
"Be excellent to each other." Please.
But enough is enough. It has reached the point where I no longer enjoy visiting this forum or interacting with its members. And while I have been keeping that to myself for several months now, I have recently realized that this is not MY problem. It is the unending and exhausting stream of rude comments and behavior that is the problem. And I'm putting a stop to it, effective immediately.
First, all political debate will be confined to the Politics Forum where it belongs. Zero tolerance outside that forum. If I see so much as a political hashtag in a comment on any of the other boards, I'll be removing that hashtag and sending an official warning to that user. Next time, I'll delete the entire comment with a second warning. Third time earns a 24-hour ban. For the really stubborn people who don't figure it out after that, I will simply continue issuing progressively longer bans, 24 hours at a time, until the offender gets the hint or they stop coming here. Those other boards are where we analyze the current global geopolitical situation, and they need to remain non-partisan, informative, and free of clutter that is not relevant to the discussion.
Second, inside the Politics Forum, while I will be more tolerant of partisan behavior in general, I will be following a similar protocol for overtly rude behavior. This will apply to personal insults and stereotypical language, such as "all Republicans are Nazis." As I pointed out to someone else, substitute the word "Republicans" in that phrase with "blacks" and the word "Nazis" with "criminals," and you'll understand why that type of language is repugnant and should not be used or tolerated. There are good people in both parties, and we should strive to be better than that. Calling someone a "traitor" (or worse) simply because they disagree with you politically is just unacceptable.
I will be showing no favoritism whatsoever. I am so tired of the whole left versus right thing that I honestly don't care where anyone falls on the spectrum. Rude behavior is rude behavior. Nobody gets a free pass.
I have tried so very hard to not let my position as Deputy Director go to my head. I have tried my damnedest to be neutral and fair ever since the Director honored me with the title. However, anyone who feels I'm overstepping my bounds, please feel free to contact the Director and let him know. But understand this: I report to no one else on this board except him.
I will leave this post open for commentary and discussion, or please feel free to send me a PM if you would rather say something in private. If you think I'm in the wrong for what I've said here, feel free to say so, as long as you keep it civilized. I don't care if someone tells me I'm wrong. Quiet as it's kept, I am actually wrong on occasion. However, I do care if someone makes it personal and posts a vile comment.
Ultimately, what happens now is entirely up to all of you. Keep things civilized and professional, and absolutely nothing will happen. You won't even know I'm here. And if you feel in your heart that you simply cannot politely interact with a specific person, use the "ignore" feature. That's what it's there for. But, keep going down the path this site has been going down for far too long now, and don't act surprised when I do exactly what I said I'm going to do.
I sincerely hope this is the last time I have to make a post like this, and I'm hoping even more fervently that I don't have to resort to the tactics I've described above.
"Be excellent to each other." Please.
