Internet forums and Censorship

[Raven]

End of the day there's no such thing as freedom of speech anymore, especially online. It only takes 1 moderator or admin to personally take offense to something whether they are right or wrong and the whole house of cards comes tumbling down when he does get it wrong. And god forbid anyone who dares to say something about it. So no, evidently freedom of speech doesn't exist on internet forums, of all places, and it's no different here. It's all the same as anywhere else. Cant' say anything to certain people with clout yet it's alright for some of them to do it to you. Talk about double standards. Thing is it's not everyone either it's always one or two. Believe it or not moderators and admin assistants can get it wrong from time to time. But it takes character to admit it when you cocked it right up rather than go on the warpath - and that's a quality that all moderators and above should have except evidently there's only a few that actually do. Too many of them get made and let the power go straight to their heads. There's very few that don't change with the added power and I respect the ones that don't. People like krazylegs and devilfish for instance, they are shining examples of how a moderator and above should be - friendly, firm and fair.

[skegsagypsy]

Good post Raven, I got banned from a forum after a bit banter with a mod, he was renowned for stating stuff that was a no no to everyone else within the forum, I got the better of him during the banter, he banned me for life ! I do however understand that a mod or admin position can be a very difficult place, there is a fine line between a good mod/admin and a power hungry hypocrite , thankfully someone else does that job on the forums I'm involved with, and for the most part they do a grand but thankless job. I find it amusing though when people go on about freedom of speech, usually this means thier freedom to state what they like regardless of the rules of the forums they are members of, read the rules and if your not breaking any I'm sure you can go ahead and state your opinions, if in doubt, don't bother that way you'll not get upset at your freedom being restricted.

[Devilfish]

Raven -the bottom line is a member of admin made a decision and you didn't agree with it. Its not your job to make decisions on this site so don't get yourself all worked up about it. You can moan about it all you want, not going to change anything.

[Raven]

Raven -the bottom line is a member of admin made a decision and you didn't agree with it. Its not your job to make decisions on this site so don't get yourself all worked up about it. You can moan about it all you want, not going to change anything.

I know it's not going to change anything mate, but it doesn't mean I have to be happy about it. End of the day a member of admin made the decision but he also got that decision wrong and I was demoted because I respectfully PM'd the admin in question and told him so. And instead of admitting that he got it wrong he goes on the warpath, that's what this whole thing is all about. Might not be my job or my place but as the man himself said it's all about opinions, shame it's one rule for him and a different rule for everyone else isn't it....and considering this place was built in the first place as an alternative to that game and the politicking on other forums it's since gone an awful lot like it despite claims to the contrary.

[aftermath]

Raven Read the Rules again. especially these parts.

Flame - when a poster takes another to task on a subject, chews them out, generally abuses them. A flame can be a personal attack, but often is a well-reasoned analysis but employs heightened rhetoric. Flamers often take great joy in getting responses from people with their posts, so responding to a flame is not usually advisable. If you believe that someone is posting abusively, please report their post(s) to the moderator.

Flamebait - a post that is designed to generate a flame. This is a special kind of trolling (for more on trolls, see below) where a user is not only trying to get a rise out of people, but is also trying to enlist others in their battles. Emotions run high, rhetoric and hyperbole abound. Posting in such a topic is not something to be taken lightly. Tread carefully.

Troll - a troll is a person whose sole goal on a forum is to get a rise out of others. Most of the time it's harmless fun and obvious when someone posts that kittens are evil or coffee isn't the perfect beverage. If a post annoys you immediately and you feel the need to post right that moment, walk away. If it's important enough to demand a reply, it'll be there tomorrow and cooler heads will prevail. Some people enjoy engaging trolls, but the general consensus is that it's a bad idea to feed them.

I see you in these catagories, if you dont like it then you dont have to come here, simple as.

[Raven]

Alright aftermath you tell me where flame, flamebait and trolling ends and an honest opinion starts then. Because you were closing threads down like nobody's business the other day just because you personally disagreed with something and not necessarily because the thread was in violation of anything but your own personal feelings. Then you went on the warpath threatening bans in PM giving it the flamebait yourself to anyone who suggested you got it wrong and was being out of order. It's the same politic shit that goes off on every forum and as I said before this place is exactly the same as those, buddying up with mates whether right or wrong. There's a reason too why a lot of the original members hardly ever post on here anymore, if at all. Because it's gone silly.

I still post as I always have done, but it is all about opinions, I express mine to a newbie or to an admin, because to me you're all the same, you're all human and you all make mistakes and you're all accountable. Simple as, it shouldn't be one rule for admin and one rule for everyone else when it comes to public posting. And correct me if I'm wrong but isn't an admin or mod supposed to be impartial and not let personal feelings come into decision making ?

[Devilfish]

Raven - Yes you are correct...it's all about opinions. My staff thought it was, in their opinion, correct to close the thread.

Would you go up to your boss in work and tell him/her they are wrong and you think they've made a mistake, in fact, you probably would!

And now in my opinion, I think this thread should be closed.