Sincere question....

[Spiral_Staircase]

Sorry if this is the wrong forum in which to post this question. Feel free to move a more appropriate forum if one exists.

Is there a guide somewhere that addresses what kind of topics/discussions are unacceptable around here (Feedback as a whole, not just FYM), and what leads to "banishment" or closing of threads? I'm not trying cause trouble, and I'm not trying to say that we need such a document, I'm just wondering if there is one out there. I find myself increasingly cautious about what I post, simply because I'm getting more and more confused about what's considered a "bad" thing around here. It's making it less fun around here.

Also, if this has been discussed recently, just point me to that thread. I'm not trying to bring up a sore subject or rehash old news.


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"The Edge is a great singer. Let's get the Edge up here." - Bono, 9/23/97, Sarajevo

"Brian Eno. Edge." - Bono, 09/12/95, Modena

"Edge." - Bono, 05/01/2001, Minneapolis

"You made my day, now you have to sleep in it." - TMBG

[This message has been edited by Spiral_Staircase (edited 01-11-2002).]

 

[melon]

There is, obviously, an unwritten code of political correctness. I think that, honestly, you should just use your best judgment. You know which kinds of subjects push PC buttons.

Melon

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"He had lived through an age when men and women with energy and ruthlessness but without much ability or persistence excelled. And even though most of them had gone under, their ignorance had confused Roy, making him wonder whether the things he had striven to learn, and thought of as 'culture,' were irrelevant. Everything was supposed to be the same: commercials, Beethoven's late quartets, pop records, shopfronts, Freud, multi-coloured hair. Greatness, comparison, value, depth: gone, gone, gone. Anything could give some pleasure; he saw that. But not everything provided the sustenance of a deeper understanding." - Hanif Kureishi, Love in a Blue Time

 

[mug222]

I think moderating powers are sometimes threatened too quickly. I would not mind this forum having a somewhat more laissez-faire attitude.

[This message has been edited by mug222 (edited 01-11-2002).]

 

[TheU2]

Originally posted by mug222:
I think moderating powers are sometimes threatened too quickly. I would not mind this forum having a somewhat more laissez-faire attitude.

[This message has been edited by mug222 (edited 01-11-2002).]

Yeah, I would have to agree with you.

Healthy and sometimes heated discussion is what makes Free Your Mind so interesting. If everyone posted pure PC posts, it would be a bit boring in here.

CK

 

[SicilianGoddess]

FROM ELVIS:
Everyone upon joining agrees to the terms of the forum, they are LOOSELY enforced... if you abuse your privledges here on the forum, and it deals with those terms, mods and admins will be enforce the terms of use as needed. We do want this forum to be as free and open as possible, but certain people do not know when 'enough is enough'.

------------------
It's cold in the ground
But there's peace in the sound
Of the white and the black
Spilling over

Sicy's Website

Sicy's FTP

 

[melon]

Originally posted by TheU2:
Healthy and sometimes heated discussion is what makes Free Your Mind so interesting. If everyone posted pure PC posts, it would be a bit boring in here.

I only have one piece of advice to you. You have severely compromised your own reputation by your posting style, which is generally flippant, sarcastic, and most certainly not serious.

That may be all well and good, but how do you expect people to take you seriously ever like that? Personally, I was not offended by your thread, and I was fully prepared to answer it thoroughly before it was closed. I am disappointed that it was closed, but certainly not surprised.

My suggestion to you is to take up a newbie moniker for your serious posts, never reveal it is you, and never use it as flippantly as TheU2. As much as one may not want to admit it, the source determines the accuracy more than the message at times.

Melon

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"He had lived through an age when men and women with energy and ruthlessness but without much ability or persistence excelled. And even though most of them had gone under, their ignorance had confused Roy, making him wonder whether the things he had striven to learn, and thought of as 'culture,' were irrelevant. Everything was supposed to be the same: commercials, Beethoven's late quartets, pop records, shopfronts, Freud, multi-coloured hair. Greatness, comparison, value, depth: gone, gone, gone. Anything could give some pleasure; he saw that. But not everything provided the sustenance of a deeper understanding." - Hanif Kureishi, Love in a Blue Time

 

[TheU2]

Originally posted by melon:
I only have one piece of advice to you. You have severely compromised your own reputation by your posting style, which is generally flippant, sarcastic, and most certainly not serious.

That may be all well and good, but how do you expect people to take you seriously ever like that? Personally, I was not offended by your thread, and I was fully prepared to answer it thoroughly before it was closed. I am disappointed that it was closed, but certainly not surprised.

My suggestion to you is to take up a newbie moniker for your serious posts, never reveal it is you, and never use it as flippantly as TheU2. As much as one may not want to admit it, the source determines the accuracy more than the message at times.

Melon

Yes, I do realize that some people may initially characterize the "Gay Voice" thread as being sarcastic or insincere due to the style of my previous posts. That is why I blatantly defended the post when it started to receive negative posts. You can also refer to a post on the first page where I explicitly say that the generation of the thread and my subsequent replies were not to be taken for any form of sarcasm.

Alas, I don't think that is the issue of why it was closed. I guess its not a wise thing on the board to challenge what a mod said or disagree with what they said.

CK

 

[TheU2]

Originally posted by melon:
I only have one piece of advice to you. You have severely compromised your own reputation by your posting style, which is generally flippant, sarcastic, and most certainly not serious.

That may be all well and good, but how do you expect people to take you seriously ever like that? Personally, I was not offended by your thread, and I was fully prepared to answer it thoroughly before it was closed. I am disappointed that it was closed, but certainly not surprised.

My suggestion to you is to take up a newbie moniker for your serious posts, never reveal it is you, and never use it as flippantly as TheU2. As much as one may not want to admit it, the source determines the accuracy more than the message at times.

Melon

And melon, I'd be curious to see what your opinions on the issues I presented in the "Gay Voice" thread are. SInce I believe that the admin of the board doesn't think that this is a proper place to have this discussion, drop me an email.

U2_kennedy@yahoo.com

CK

 

[SicilianGoddess]

Originally posted by TheU2:
Alas, I don't think that is the issue of why it was closed.

It was going to be closed to begin with. I just gave you a break and you blew it, so what's your point?

I guess its not a wise thing on the board to challenge what a mod said or disagree with what they said.

No one says you cant disagree with a mod. You just dont know when to quit.


------------------
It's cold in the ground
But there's peace in the sound
Of the white and the black
Spilling over

Sicy's Website

Sicy's FTP

 

[TheU2]

Originally posted by SicilianGoddess:

Originally posted by TheU2:
Alas, I don't think that is the issue of why it was closed.

It was going to be closed to begin with. I just gave you a break and you blew it, so what's your point?

Let me preface by saying I'm not being sarcastic or insincere.

I'd rather end the discussion here. However, you have asked a question that I will try to answer once you tell me where I blew it. If you don't want an answer from me, lets end the discussion.

CK

 

[SicilianGoddess]

I'm done with you.

And I believe Elvis told you to lay low.

Obviously you are not one to heed authority.

------------------
It's cold in the ground
But there's peace in the sound
Of the white and the black
Spilling over

Sicy's Website

Sicy's FTP

 

[Spiral_Staircase]

I definitely agree that sometimes people don't know when "enough is enough".

I assume the terms referenced by Elvis are these (and those surrounding them at http://forum.interference.com/cgi-bin/u2feedback/Ultimate.cgi?action=agree&COPPAcheck=OK ):
"You agree, through your use of this service, that you will not use this bulletin board to post any material which is knowingly false and/or defamatory, inaccurate, abusive, vulgar, hateful, harassing, obscene, profane, sexually oriented, threatening, invasive of a person's privacy, or otherwise violative of any law."

I realize that, in practice, most of these are often violated in here. I'm fine with that. It's good that things are LOOSLEY enforced.

Looking at that list, I would say there seems to be little tolerance here for the inaccurate and the harrassing, while the vular, the obscene, the profane, and the sexually oriented go nearly entirely unchecked.

I know I'm making way too much of a big deal about this. I realize this is only an internet forum.

Ahhhhh nevermind! This is an enjoyable place. Let's try and keep it that way without all the bickering, posturing, and threats.

In other news:
Hey, remember that time me and Billy were pickin' apples. That was the best! Just a shoe horn and a little elbow grease. That's all I ever needed to pay the bills! I guess she flipped that thing about fast as anybody could've hoped. Man, those were some good times...good times.

 

[mikal]

I think the best way to go about things is just to use common sense. If you start a thread, knowing that it may offend people, then you set yourself up for flaming. It's that simple.

------------------
Look what you did, you little JERK!

Kevin! You're such a disease!

 

[SicilianGoddess]

Yeah you forgot this part...

"We at Interference.com reserve the right to delete any message for any or no reason whatsoever"

Anyway... being a mod is not very easy, though most people seem to think it is. And its impossible to check EVERY thread and EVERY post. I wish people werent so quick to pass judgement.

------------------
It's cold in the ground
But there's peace in the sound
Of the white and the black
Spilling over

Sicy's Website

Sicy's FTP

 

[bonoman]

The one and only reason i dont post as much is because of Mods. Period. Some are great, others are power hungery.

I do however read every post posted on FYM and look over Everything you...

The Gay voice thread is not offensive. Give me a fuckin break this isnt high school. Cant people disscuss things that are politically incorrect without getting their heads chopped off.

You go into a topic that you fell uncomfortable with. Leave. Not to hard.

And lastly mods should never insert themselves into topics that are heated because if anything ever makes them mad they have the power to end the topic or ban people. Its a conflict of intrest!

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Running to Stand Still-"you gotta cry without weeping, talk without speaking, scream without raising your voice."

"we're not burning out we're burning up...we're the loudest folk band in the world!"-Bono

 

[Spiral_Staircase]

It's not the flaming that bothers me. It's the censorship, or worse, the threats of censorship.

I guess I just like to kick against the goads.

 

[Spiral_Staircase]

Hey Sicy, I'm definitely not trying to pass judgement on you. I think you at Interference.com without question have the right to delete any message for any or no reason. I'm getting to use this site for free. I'm mighty appreciative of that. And I realize that being a mod probably can be a big headache. I hope you don't feel the need to try to check every thread. I guess I'm just for moderation in moderating.

U2's a decent band, eh?

 

[Elvis]

*sigh*

I really love getting involved in these debates. not.

Like Sicy said, its not easy being a mod. Let me make clear that the mods and admins of this board do so on THEIR OWN TIME. They try to do the best to keep everyone happy, if it means closing a thread - so be it. This is a community, online or offline, it IS a community. The integrity of the community must be maintained.

If CK were to walk into a public place in certain places and ask the question he did, he may be attacked, in other places he may be cheered, or laughed at. I really don't want either to happen in this community. The thread consisted of a stereotypical question which IMHO had no place in this forum.

If you have a problem with the already very LOOSELY enforced rules... email me privately: elvis@interference.com

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-Elvis
http://plot180.net/taol/

 

[Salome]

I love being a mod
I always felt this forum was overly messy at times and now I'm finally in a position to do something about it
and when things get too bad I have acted + will act on it

I know not everyone will agree with my actions (probably neither my posts as a member of Interference nor the actions I take as a mod will go down well with everyone) and that's okay
lately it seems a bit though that whatever you do as a mod always someone will complain (not referring to this thread, just something I have noticed the last few weeks) - or you close too many threads or not enough threads or the wrong threads or you just suck in general - and they never adress you personally by mail (which can be found quite easily on top of the page)

good thing I never liked any of you anyway

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Salome
Shake it, shake it, shake it

[This message has been edited by Salome (edited 01-11-2002).]

 

[Spiral_Staircase]

Salome, I have noticed that, in general, you suck. Let's fight.

 

[joyfulgirl]

I like our mods a lot--I always enjoy their posts and find them to be quite likable people, so this isn't personal in the least. Salome, in fact, is my forum crush. However, I have to say I have never seen threads get shut down so quickly and, moreover, so frequently on any forum as this one. I really don't understand it at all. I was following the discussion about the gay voice with great, sincere interest and was very surprised when it was shut down. Nothing inappropriate or offensive about it in the least. In fact, on another fan forum I frequent that has a large gay population, that very subject has been discussed a lot and the gay community was not in the least bit offended by it. They were just as curious about the phenomenon as the rest of us.

Of course our mods can do as they think best, and on one level I appreciate that they are very sensitive people. Perhaps this forum is just too conservative for me, which I find odd given that U2 is a very liberal, way out there bunch of guys, a band with some ideas that might be considered pretty radical in some ways. But to each her own.

On this other forum I mentioned, I don't even remember a time when a thread was closed--maybe once or twice in the 5 years I've been over there. Free speech and healthy debates rule. It gets ugly sometimes and the mods will come in and say, "I don't like this one bit and I have my eye on it, but carry on. Just don't kill each other." And please don't anyone tell me "well, if you like that forum so much, why don't you just stay there." That's not what I'm trying to say at all. I just don't understand why people are so easily offended by sensitive issues that are healthy when openly discussed. People get mad, get hurt, they pout, they deal with it. I guess I'd like to think that the forum mimics real life--you talk things through, work things out. If people think a thread topic is inappropriate, how about a healthy debate about why it's inappropriate instead of shutting it down. To me, locking a thread is the equivalent of someone hanging up the phone on me, or slamming the door in my face when all I want to do is talk about it.

Frankly, the only offensive thing I found about the gay voice thread was when Sicy called TheU2 a fucking ass and threatened to banish him, which I thought was really inappropriate. No offense, Sicy--I just strongly disagreed with you there.

Just my two cents--thanks to anyone who actually read all this.

[This message has been edited by joyfulgirl (edited 01-11-2002).]

 

[mug222]

Terrific post, joyfulgirl. That is EXACTLY the type of healthy atmosphere I think should be emulated at Interference.

 

[mikal]

Originally posted by joyfulgirl:
Frankly, the only offensive thing I found about the gay voice thread was when Sicy called TheU2 a fucking ass and threatened to banish him, which I thought was really inappropriate. No offense, Sicy--I just strongly disagreed with you there.

I'm sorry, but I disagree with you. I think Sicy handled the situation the best she could given the circumstances.

Our mods do a great job. Their actions shouldn't be questioned like this.

------------------
Look what you did, you little JERK!

Kevin! You're such a disease!

 

[joyfulgirl]

Originally posted by mikal:
Our mods do a great job. Their actions shouldn't be questioned like this.

Shouldn't be questioned?! Isn't this forum entitled "Free Your Mind" and not "Shut Up and Obey"? I did not say our mods don't do a great job. In fact, I began the post by commenting on how much I like them, and I wasn't just being obsequious. They rock. But come on, our mods are adults--they should be able to handle some constructive criticism. Let it be known that I dig Sicy to death. But are you REALLY saying we shouldn't state when we disagree with the actions of our mods? I don't live my life like that. If I disagree with my boss, I respectfully say so, and they respect me for it.

It has been said that the reason that thread was shut down was because TheU2 doesn't have a great reputation on the boards. Well, I don't know anything about that, I don't know his reputation, so therefore maybe I was kind of reading it with more objectivity than those who already had some feelings about him. But to me, he seemed very respectful. Sorry, I just didn't get it.

I know it isn't easy being a mod, and it must be tough listening to everyone whine and disagree about their decisions. But we shouldn't have to walk on eggshells around here. It ain't in good U2 style.

[This message has been edited by joyfulgirl (edited 01-11-2002).]

 

[SicilianGoddess]

You dont know the history between me and TheU2. And you obviously dont follow his posts. I agree I have a difficult time surpressing whats really on my mind, but he was the so called straw that broke my back in that thread. I'm not going to go into detail, but TheU2 doesnt respect the mods and the majority of his posts are purposely posted to get a stir out of people.

Anyway, I apologize to him and anyone else that was offended by my comment, it was posted out of anger.

------------------
It's cold in the ground
But there's peace in the sound
Of the white and the black
Spilling over

Sicy's Website

Sicy's FTP

[This message has been edited by SicilianGoddess (edited 01-11-2002).]

 

[mikal]

joyfulgirl,

I'm not denying one's right to speak his/her mind. But the amount of criticism our mods took today was unnacceptable. I think we as members owe them better treatment than what they got today. They do a lot of good for this forum that most of the time goes unnoticed.

------------------
Look what you did, you little JERK!

Kevin! You're such a disease!

 

[joyfulgirl]

Originally posted by mikal:
joyfulgirl,

I'm not denying one's right to speak his/her mind. But the amount of criticism our mods took today was unnacceptable. I think we as members owe them better treatment than what they got today. They do a lot of good for this forum that most of the time goes unnoticed.

Fair enough--I am not aware that they received an unusual amount of criticism today. I was just responding to the one incident.

 

[joyfulgirl]

Originally posted by SicilianGoddess:
You dont know the history between me and TheU2. And you obviously dont follow his posts.

Anyway, I apologize to him and anyone else that was offended by my comment, it was posted out of anger.

True, I don't know the history. And as I said, I'm not aware of his reputation. Sorry you had a rough day in here.

 

[mikal]

Originally posted by joyfulgirl:
Fair enough--I am not aware that they received an unusual amount of criticism today. I was just responding to the one incident.

Just so you know, I wasn't trying to come down on you. You've actually been the most diplomatic out of anyone today. LOL. I guess your last post just triggered me to say what I did.

All is cool and I'm outta this thread.

------------------
Look what you did, you little JERK!

Kevin! You're such a disease!

 

[joyfulgirl]

Originally posted by mikal:
Just so you know, I wasn't trying to come down on you. You've actually been the most diplomatic out of anyone today. LOL. I guess your last post just triggered me to say what I did.

All is cool and I'm outta this thread.

S'okay--I can dish it out and take it.