The World Beyond BetterMost > Anything Goes
Off-site discussion of BetterMost posts
serious crayons:
--- Quote from: brokeplex on August 01, 2009, 05:40:32 pm ---Hi Crayons! :)
--- End quote ---
Hi 'plex! :)
--- Quote ---No, that wasn't the basic underlying problem that developed on Bettermost about a year ago. The problem, IMO, is the censorship that resulted from the "New Civility". I remember the days when Phillip's bottom line rule was NO DIRECT PERSONAL ATTACKS. PERIOD, END OF STORY. But, as the mods got a whip hand because of the new civility, the whiners and complainers started their whining and complaining and the censoring started.
--- End quote ---
Well, I guess we'll never agree on what constitutes censorship (technically, it has to be undertaken by the government; the First Amendment does not guarantee freedom of expression in a publication/site/broadcast channel that is privately paid for). Nor, apparently, will we agree about the whining/complaining/"censoring"/troublemaking or what its effect was.
--- Quote ---Nothing harms a social networking opinion site more successfully than censorship. Without the censorship there would be no "Retreat", so in a sense, the mods and the whiners created the "Retreat". Thanks, we are very pleased with Jess's handiwork. :)
--- End quote ---
I'm glad to hear it! As someone whose posts were consistently "censored" from Jess' blog, I wouldn't presume to register there. So I will take your word for it that everyone there is having a good time. It seems a happy ending all around.
brokeplex:
--- Quote from: serious crayons on August 01, 2009, 06:20:21 pm ---Hi 'plex! :)
Well, I guess we'll never agree on what constitutes censorship (technically, it has to be undertaken by the government; the First Amendment does not guarantee freedom of expression in a publication/site/broadcast channel that is privately paid for). Nor, apparently, will we agree about the whining/complaining/"censoring"/troublemaking or what its effect was.
I'm glad to hear it! As someone whose posts were consistently "censored" from Jess' blog, I wouldn't presume to register there. So I will take your word for it that everyone there is having a good time. It seems a happy ending all around.
--- End quote ---
censorship vs CENSORSHIP? ok, I will go along with that discussion, and within the context of a discussion of Constitutional liberties, a mod or two on this opinion forum deleting some posts or some language in the posts is small potatoes. but that isn't really the issue, the issue is the effects on the discussion forum when posts are deleted or modified because someone, somewhere found the post irksome or offensive or annoying. what this type of "censorship" does is to trivialize the discussions, and create an impression of unfairness and one-sidedness. of course it doesn't affect our constitutional liberties of freedom of speech, after all, a "censored" member can wander off and post his or her thoughts somewhere else. but it hurts the opinion site.
and censoring or modifying posts on a personal blog is a different kettle of fish than doing the same thing on the public forum. it did not pass notice that some of the members on Bettemost made an attempt to hijack some of the private blogs. in fact that happened on Wally and Beve's Room, and HK stopped that quickly. I might not have deleted as extensively as he did, but I agreed with his actions.
louisev:
--- Quote from: brokeplex on August 01, 2009, 06:36:24 pm ---censorship vs CENSORSHIP? ok, I will go along with that discussion, and within the context of a discussion of Constitutional liberties, a mod or two on this opinion forum deleting some posts or some language in the posts is small potatoes. but that isn't really the issue, the issue is the effects on the discussion forum when posts are deleted or modified because someone, somewhere found the post irksome or offensive or annoying. what this type of "censorship" does is to trivialize the discussions, and create an impression of unfairness and one-sidedness. of course it doesn't affect our constitutional liberties of freedom of speech, after all, a "censored" member can wander off and post his or her thoughts somewhere else. but it hurts the opinion site.
and censoring or modifying posts on a personal blog is a different kettle of fish than doing the same thing on the public forum. it did not pass notice that some of the members on Bettemost made an attempt to hijack some of the private blogs. in fact that happened on Wally and Beve's Room, and HK stopped that quickly.I might not have deleted as extensively as he did, but I agreed with his actions.
--- End quote ---
But I'm afraid the onus is on you to demonstrate that what constitutes "censorship" was not merely the discretion of the moderators in removing personal attacks and hostile language that caused discussions, particularly those in the Current Events forum, to degenerate into non-productive conflicts between the same residents over and over again. The mods who volunteered to moderate that area bent over backwards to give fair warning, to encourage civil discussion and self-moderation - and that included every one of us posting there, whether we were moderators or regular ol' residents - and to give preference to locking a thread for general overall conflict that failed to resolve after things went on too long or the debate became circular or veered completely off-topic. It was a great deal of effort to do this, and was not willy-nilly and it was not a whim by one person. You clearly see it from the lens of your own experience here, but no one person acts in a unilateral fashion to simply delete things they don't like. That has never happened here, and Phillip would never permit it to happen. We did not install "civility police" - the policy was clearly laid out in order to handle the routine daily conflict that the Current Events area had become during and after the 2008 election. So I take issue with your characterization of censorship as leading to trivializing the discussisons here or making it all one sided.
bailey1205:
Bill, I am really glad you are happier at the Retreat !!
Sounds like it's a win/win.
I guess you could look at the accusations that people were censored as whinning and complaining, but
as long as you found a place you feel comfortable in....... that is great.
Have a good life.
bailey1205:
I do see some that retreated to the "retreat" continue to come on here, so I guess it wasn't all that bad.
:)
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