Uncalled for 3 day ban

Tony EH

I've been banned by Ancappaldorcha for the following exchange:

Quote:
Originally Posted by AnGaelach
I'd argue that the diehard and shrill nature of those on the far left are the ones contributing to the rise in bigotry.

To which I replied:

"I don't like ****."

"Why?"

"Something...something, the lefties made me not like them"

Such a weak line of argument.

The point being that I find it an absurd line of thought that one could excuse a racist or bigot by blaming a particular wing of politics.

This was replied to with this:

It's that person the left managed to lose. Instead of saying "you're an idiot" and ignoring the person, they're willing to listen to them.

Thank you, Tony, for completely missing the point.

To which I replied that I believed that the point was ridiculous, which is essentially "The Left made me do it".


The above exchange doesn't deserve a ban.

dudara

Hi - have you attempted to discuss this with the mod who banned you?

Tony EH

Yes. But he/she wants to uphold it.

I understand that the way the point was made was blunt, but I was trying to make the point simply.

I just don't believe that a racist or a bigot can absolve their views by blaming a particular wing of politics for their own shortcomings.

dudara

Thanks - I'll let a CMod know

Tony EH

I also see that both of my posts on the matter have been deleted from the thread now.

What is this place for these days? It used to be a place for discussion, which can often mean countering ideas you find objectionable.

However, when countering a clearly bogus statement like this:

I'd argue that the diehard and shrill nature of those on the far left are the ones contributing to the rise in bigotry.

gets you:

a. A 3 day ban

b. Your posts deleted

One wonders what the point is or whether the mods are interfering in threads based on their own political bias.

Tony EH

Any movement on this?

I don't want this unnecessary ban standing against me.

Toots

Hi Tony, I'll look into this for you. Can you please forward or post any PMs that you sent/received in relation to this? Thanks

Tony EH

Do you want me to post them here or to your PM?

Toots

Whichever is handiest for you, just once I can see them that's the main thing.

Tony EH

Ok so, I'll dump them here.

ancapailldorcha wrote:

Dear Tony EH,

You have been banned from Politics for three days for Trolling.

This means you are posting in an intentionally provocative fashion in order to gain a reaction from other members. This is disruptive and causes stress to other members.
We don't want that here.

For more information please refer to the Boards.ie FAQ.

If you wish to appeal this ban you can see details on how to do so here.

ancapailldorcha

Moderator Note

Based on the original version of this post and the edited version. No more racial slurs please.

Your post:

Tony EH wrote: »

AnGaelach wrote: »

It's that person the left managed to lose. Instead of saying "you're an idiot" and ignoring the person, they're willing to listen to them.

Thank you, Tony, for completely missing the point.

It's a ridiculous "point".

"The left made do it"

---

Tony EH wrote:

Are you serious?

I'm making the point that a bigot cannot blame the left for their own hatred of whatever target takes their fancy..

---

Tony EH wrote:

ancapailldorcha wrote:

Hi,

You posted an incredibly crude and insulting post and then went on to edit it. It isn't constructive, it's just sarcastic now. There have been several warnings on that thread.

Thanks,
ACD

I didn't edit anything.

The poster made the point below:

"I'd argue that the diehard and shrill nature of those on the far left are the ones contributing to the rise in bigotry."

Which is absolute nonsense. I illustrated it as such. He then said I "missed the point", to which I replied that it was a ridiculous point to try to blame "the left" for a bigoted viewpoint.

---

Tony EH wrote:

ancapailldorcha wrote:

Hi,

I banned you for the wrong post. However, the post in question implied that other people used that word or would use that word which I would count as trolling. There was no need to use that word at all.

I'm upholding the ban for that reason.

ACD

The point made was perfectly fine, even if it was blunt.

I'm appealing this. You're way out of line here.

---

The above is the exchange with the mod in question.

Frankly, I did nothing to warrant even a mild warning, never mind a three day ban.




I used a simple hypothetical conversation (in the first post above) to illustrate the point I was trying to make that a bigot can't simply blame a wing politics they dislike and absolve themselves of their base views. Ancapailldorcha may object to the word "****" in the post, but he's missed the reason why the word was used. I was trying to point out, in no uncertain terms, what we were talking about here.

Either way, objectionable word or not, a three day ban is nothing short of outrageous.

Toots

Thanks for posting those Tony,

OK, while I do think a ban was harsh, I feel that some sanction is warranted for the 'N' word remark. I think you could have gotten your point across without stooping to that. I've discussed this with the mod in question and I feel that the most appropriate course of action is to rescind the ban and replace it with a red card instead.

If that is agreeable to you, please let me know and I'll sort it out.

Thanks

Tony EH

To reiterate, I specifically used that word so nobody would be under any illusion that we aren't talking about some pretty dubious characters, to say the least. Characters that would use that particularly odious word all of the time.

I was neither "stooping to" using it, or employing it in a frivolous way either and it's not something that rolls off my keyboard with ease.

The reason why I made the post in the first place is because I think it's very dangerous territory to allow people who would hold sentiments like that off the hook, as it were, by simply blaming a particular wing of political thinking that's not to one's taste.

This is why I took objection to AnGaelach's opening gambit in his post.

Frankly, that thread is littered with some incredible opinion and not in a good way - which can be said of a lot of the political posting on Boards of late - and I feel the opening post was made in jest in any case. The OP is notable by their absence in the thread they created over a week ago.

Personally speaking, I don't consider the post to be worthy of a red card either (or any sanction), because as far as I'm concerned the point still stands and AnGaelach's point is demonstrably absurd and if he truly believes it, quite a worrying position to take to be perfectly honest.

Does using a harsh word, especially in the context of the point I was trying to make, warrant sanction? If so, why? Also, it was the post and the sentiment of the post I was taken aback by and not the poster.

I was simply trying to illustrate that the position was a weak one.

If you can elaborate why even a red card is essential here - given the thrust of the point I was making, I'd be interested. I've let a few unnecessary cards and bans go in the past, but this one was a bit much.

Toots

I'm not suggesting it rolls off the keyboard with ease, but seriously, I can't see how you felt it was necessary to use a word like that. Could you not have said "black people"? I really don't see that there's any justification to use that word, in any circumstance. It's also against the site terms of use (section 5)

We expect you to act responsibly in posting Material on Boards.ie. You agree, through use of this service, NOT to use boards.ie to:.....post any abusive, harmful, vulgar, obscene, sexually explicit, indecent, profane, inappropriate, or racially, ethnically or otherwise objectionable Material

As I said, I felt a ban was harsh, however I do feel that a red card is appropriate in this instance, instead of a ban.

If you wish, you can request an Admin review, and they will look at it. They may have a different view to me.

Tony EH

If you want Toots, leave it as a red card. This has gone on long enough as far as I'm concerned.

As for "objectionable material" etc, that thread and many others across the forums is littered with such. Some of the opinions being exposed are downright disturbing at present.

Toots

It's up to you Tony, it's no problem if you'd prefer to have an Admin look it over?

Tony EH

Toots is Awesome wrote: »

It's up to you Tony, it's no problem if you'd prefer to have an Admin look it over?

No, I'm done. Make it a card.

Toots

Ok so, I'll do that now. You'll get a notification message shortly.

dudara

Thanks all for working his out.