Michael Hartlef
12-01-2011, 13:58
Your post was under moderation.
danbaron
12-01-2011, 22:39
This seems to me to be a hard problem.
I believe in free speech (and free expression).
I think people should be tough enough to withstand words. If something is not at least partially true, then, why should anyone be bothered?
Generally, I think the more open a forum is, the healthier it is.
On the other hand, I guess there has to be a line drawn between what is only someone's opinion, and what is intentionally destructive. (It's the same way in societies, free expression does not extend to hitting someone on the head with a hammer, and few people find that restriction unreasonable.)
Maybe, if the moderators view someone's posts as being too inflammatory, then, that person could be quarantined (temporarily?) into posting only in his own sub-forum. Then, those who were offended by the person's posts, would just not read the posts in that sub-forum. That way seems less fascistic to me, than silently removing someone's posts, like the thought police.
For instance, if my posts upset the moderators, then, they could make a sub-forum called, "Dan Baron". I would be exiled to it, like Napoleon to Elba. (But remember, that Napoleon escaped. Then he was sent into super-exile, at St. Helena. However, I don't know how I could potentially escape from my sub-forum exile. Maybe if I was a very clever hacker.)
But, I want to be clear, that I don't mean to offend anyone with these ideas. :) These thoughts just came into my head, maybe I didn't get enough sleep. :) I hope no one's mad at me. You're not, right? We're all friends, aren't we? Kind of? Sort of? I mean, we're not enemies, are we?? Why would you think that?? .. :)
;)
I must have missed something, but Dan that is a clever idea about virtual exile... some nice creative thinking there and possible solution.
danbaron
14-01-2011, 01:16
It makes sense to me, Kent.
I don't like the idea of banning someone from posting.
If a guy offends the administration, then, they could put him in his own sub-forum. He would only be able to post in it. Anyone who didn't want to read posts from the guy, could just avoid that sub-forum. After, say, three months, or six months, you let the guy back into virtual society, and determine if he has been sufficiently, "rehabilitated".
While the guy was in, "solitary confinement", there would be no excuse for someone who knew about the situation, complaining about what the guy posted. If someone complained, then, I think it would be fair to ask why the offended person read the convict's posts. The case could be made that the offended person was looking for trouble, was attempting to persecute the offender.
Maybe, for instance, a warning could be displayed before someone entered, "The Sub-Forum of Confinement". That way, new forum members could not wander in there unintentionally. Now that I think about it, you don't need a separate sub-forum for each offender. You just need one sub-forum for them all, like a prison. You could display a warning sign, and then no one could claim that he had not been forewarned.
:p
You should come out with a module for bulletin board software to do this. Clever and useful to solve a problem on many forums. The Exile Module :)