Bans for opinions?

blackadder

i've also recieved a pm from a mod implicitly telling me that expressing my opinion will lead to me getting banned. this relates to a post in a thread debating the origins of christianity which held some interest for me.

I did not use bad language. i didn't call any one names. i neither insulted nor defamed anyones religious observations or faith, but asked for an engaged debate on the subject without chestbeating. i considered the post of one of the mods to be a touch unheplful in helping that debate along and i said so. i thought i had done so with a degree of diplomacy.

so, is it the simple case that expressing an opinion which is is some way critical of a moderator will lead to you being banned?

This isn't trolling. This isn't (to use the term you seem to prefer) 'Muppetry'. It's a valid question and I believe it should be answered.

Vexorg

Blackadder.....


Hey get your own thread...


Vex.


[Edit oops - i see some decent mod has given him his own thread]

DeVore

ok, now he has his own thread.

Blackadder, if you have an objection then you should bring it to me. If you were sent a dodgy pm, please forward it to me and post a link to the forum that you were posting in (I am presuming it was the Humanities forum).

Its not that I doubt you but you my be confused about certain rules etc. Also, mods are only mods of their OWN boards, they have no power on other boards.

Only an admin can ban you Boards.ie-wide.

YOU WILL NEVER EVER BE BANNED FOR EXPRESSING A CIVIL ONTOPIC OPINION WITHIN THE BOARD CHARTER.

Why would we do this site if we didnt want peoples opinions... its basically ALL it does


Talk to me man, I'll sort it out.

DeV.

Talliesin

Your opinion didn't actually have anything to do with the thread did it?

blackadder

Tal: Actually, i believe it did have a relevance to the topic. Specifically that I would like to have seen it debated with some passion and reason and a little less machismo.

Devore: I appreciate the offer. I spoke to the mod who sent me the pm and cleared the matter up somewhat. I appreciate that I am not a regular poster and may not be aware of the posting history of some of the posters in that thread. The bluntness of the moderator post just took me aback a touch.

cheers

Talliesin

Originally posted by blackadder
Tal: Actually, i believe it did have a relevance to the topic. Specifically that I would like to have seen it debated with some passion and reason and a little less machismo.

blackadder, after the annoying pettiness about whether the thread was worth having or not we (for the last couple of posts primarily The Corinthian, vorbis and myself) were discussing the origins of Christianity. This is something all three of us have an interest in, as indeed do others as is shown by other portions of the thread.
Now the three of us have different views on the topic (my opinions are closer to The Corinthians than to vorbis', though quite different in others that haven't really come up in the thread, though they have elsewhere) so the discussion is a bit heated. Heated does not mean macho.

Your post had nothing but machismo, it said nothing about the topic in hand and just berated the participants (whether all or some of us isn't clear) for unstated reasons, questioned the moderation (against the rules) complained about the threat of banning (the threat that had enabled us to get back to the topic in hand) and made a bizarre comment about us not exhibiting "Christian behaviour". I never attempt to exhibit Christian behaviour so I don't personally care. I assume that was directed at vorbis, though I see nothing in that thread that gives evidence to your claim that he is not an honest and sincere practitioner of his faith. This is of course in direct opposition to your claim "i neither insulted nor defamed anyones religious observations or faith".

When I saw that post I feared that we would return to another pointless flame-war about the existence of the thread itself.

blackadder

Tal,
the subject in question is one which i have a great interest myself. It's been something of a hobby for some years, so i wasn't posting what I said to enflame anyones tempers. I said what I said in the genuine hope that people would simmer down and have a good chat.

My difficulty lay with the rather sneering tone taken by a few people. Much in the same tone that you have just addressed me.

The issue regarding moderators has been discussed to death and resolved (see my above post). There is no need to mention it again.

DeVore

Perhaps you should start a *different* thread then to discuss your idea/opinion on whatever it was.

If its philosophical in nature I'm sure the mods of Humanities will be happy to see it.

You have to recall that writing on the internet is a tricky business. People read your words in a different tone of voice then you hear them as you write them.

I'm always being accused of being a grumpy bastard because I make a big effort to hit the nail bang on the hard and be brief about it when I'm taking someone to task. Often I just mean to be clear but people read it as "DeV cutting someone down, hard".

Given that there were some complaints about your post, people may have through you were being sanctimonious or attempting to revitalise the previous flamewar (that I had only just put out!).

Take it easy, and welcome to Boards.

DeV.

Talliesin

Originally posted by blackadder
the subject in question is one which i have a great interest myself. It's been something of a hobby for some years, so i wasn't posting what I said to enflame anyones tempers. I said what I said in the genuine hope that people would simmer down and have a good chat.

Simmer down from what to what?
It was a perfectly innocent thread. As threads on the subject of religion not restricted to practitioners of that religion go it was pretty civilised.

My difficulty lay with the rather sneering tone taken by a few people. Much in the same tone that you have just addressed me.

People were short, but not sneering. The first sneering post since the row over the thread's existence was yours.
I'm not being even sneering, though I am being more than a little annoyed. I'm not yet convinced that you are an idiot, though keep up the good work.