Axel Slingerland
Blues Rocker
- Location
- 10 Miles North of Weedpatch
From the time I was old enough to speak in a moderately coherent fashion, if I had something to say, I said it. If it got me into trouble, I didn't mind. I said my piece and if what I had to say offended anyone, I would apologize for it. But I still said my piece. Now I have something to say so here goes.
Some time shortly after I got here, I was Moderated and had a post deleted because I said the name of an unelected person who is acting like a politician. A few days later, I said something that was also deemed political, and I was Moderated again. Then I saw a thread about magazine covers. So I posted a cover of a Time magazine and because it had a painting of Trump on it, I was banned for a few days. I understand the reasoning behind the no politics rule, but I felt that was a bit of an over reaction.
But this isn't my forum, so I let it go. And then as time went by, I realized that even though what I had on my mind would probably offend Matrix. If it does, I apologize. But I believe it needs to be said.
I have said a thousand times over the years that I was a forum administrator, depending on where you are in the world, you may have a right to free speech, but the owner of a privately owned and operated forum is not required to provide you with a soapbox for you to exercise that right. I have no problem with anyone's forum rules as long as they make sense. But if they don't make sense, I will always say so. And this no politics rule does not make sense. I could see a rule about not having Political arguments, as such a discussion would be bound to have various rule violations. Hate speech, personal attacks, etc. But a complete ban of anything remotely political? That's a bit much.
Looking through the list of the forums here, at least 1/3 of them have subjects that are based on politics and can easily lead into political discussions because of their very nature.
For example, it does not make sense to me to have a forum topic of Current News & Hot Topics, in a time when politics dominates both. With a strict No Politics rule, technically people can't talk about Social Security or Medicare, two topics very important to Seniors, because that would be against the forum rules as the policies of Social Security and Medicare are governed by Congress, thus are political. No discussion about taxes, that's also political. You also couldn't talk about the legalities of being Homeless because that is Political. You couldn't talk about the housing shortage, because that too, is political. I could go on, but I'm already old...
So why are there forums for politically based programs such as Social Security or Medicare if you have a no politics rule? God knows that every election cycle, disabled people and Seniors worry about whether they will lose their Social Security and Medicare benefits. I know I do. My medical bills for a normal year as as high as $60,000 to $80,000. My three month stay in three different hospitals in 2023 cost over $400,000, which Medicare paid for all of it except 20% on the first procedure. I would probably have a heart attack if I got a bill for $400,000.
My suggestion is instead of a complete blanket ban on all things political, in addition to the standard rules on such things as hate speech, personal attacks, etc., you just add "No Arguments of Any kind Allowed, Period" to those standard rules. After all, the following covers so much that the rest of the standard XenForo rules are essentially just saying the same thing.
"Any problem posts/threads will be removed, edited or locked, and the user's account may be terminated without notice."
As a forum Administrator, I always said that I would treat everyone fairly, no favoritism, no bending the rules, and all rules applied equally to everyone, including all of the people I chose as Moderators. I did treat everyone fairly, all across the board, and I let people speak their piece, even if I disagreed with what they said. I never agreed with a policy of "What the Administrator says is final." That is not diplomatic or fair to anyone. So my solution was to take a vote on anything someone wanted if I disagreed with it, and whatever the outcome, I agreed to it.
I would create a poll, with a two week duration, and post a notice about it. Then see how it turned out.
However, as I said before, this isn't my forum. I can't make such a decision. But if this no politics rule stands as it is, I won't come here as much as I did before, if at all. I like this community and other than the no politics rule and the 130 word maximum for paragraphs (which is too small), I like it here. But I don't like it so much as to forget about my principles.
In the meantime, if anyone wants to talk to me, send me a PM. Assuming the notification thing works as advertised, I'll reply in kind. Always...
Matrix, if this offends you I am truly sorry. But there's a lot of things I'll do and a lot more that I won't. I hope you understand. If you don't, that's ok. Just ban me and get it over with. No hard feelings...
Ax
Some time shortly after I got here, I was Moderated and had a post deleted because I said the name of an unelected person who is acting like a politician. A few days later, I said something that was also deemed political, and I was Moderated again. Then I saw a thread about magazine covers. So I posted a cover of a Time magazine and because it had a painting of Trump on it, I was banned for a few days. I understand the reasoning behind the no politics rule, but I felt that was a bit of an over reaction.
But this isn't my forum, so I let it go. And then as time went by, I realized that even though what I had on my mind would probably offend Matrix. If it does, I apologize. But I believe it needs to be said.
I have said a thousand times over the years that I was a forum administrator, depending on where you are in the world, you may have a right to free speech, but the owner of a privately owned and operated forum is not required to provide you with a soapbox for you to exercise that right. I have no problem with anyone's forum rules as long as they make sense. But if they don't make sense, I will always say so. And this no politics rule does not make sense. I could see a rule about not having Political arguments, as such a discussion would be bound to have various rule violations. Hate speech, personal attacks, etc. But a complete ban of anything remotely political? That's a bit much.
Looking through the list of the forums here, at least 1/3 of them have subjects that are based on politics and can easily lead into political discussions because of their very nature.
For example, it does not make sense to me to have a forum topic of Current News & Hot Topics, in a time when politics dominates both. With a strict No Politics rule, technically people can't talk about Social Security or Medicare, two topics very important to Seniors, because that would be against the forum rules as the policies of Social Security and Medicare are governed by Congress, thus are political. No discussion about taxes, that's also political. You also couldn't talk about the legalities of being Homeless because that is Political. You couldn't talk about the housing shortage, because that too, is political. I could go on, but I'm already old...
So why are there forums for politically based programs such as Social Security or Medicare if you have a no politics rule? God knows that every election cycle, disabled people and Seniors worry about whether they will lose their Social Security and Medicare benefits. I know I do. My medical bills for a normal year as as high as $60,000 to $80,000. My three month stay in three different hospitals in 2023 cost over $400,000, which Medicare paid for all of it except 20% on the first procedure. I would probably have a heart attack if I got a bill for $400,000.
My suggestion is instead of a complete blanket ban on all things political, in addition to the standard rules on such things as hate speech, personal attacks, etc., you just add "No Arguments of Any kind Allowed, Period" to those standard rules. After all, the following covers so much that the rest of the standard XenForo rules are essentially just saying the same thing.
"Any problem posts/threads will be removed, edited or locked, and the user's account may be terminated without notice."
As a forum Administrator, I always said that I would treat everyone fairly, no favoritism, no bending the rules, and all rules applied equally to everyone, including all of the people I chose as Moderators. I did treat everyone fairly, all across the board, and I let people speak their piece, even if I disagreed with what they said. I never agreed with a policy of "What the Administrator says is final." That is not diplomatic or fair to anyone. So my solution was to take a vote on anything someone wanted if I disagreed with it, and whatever the outcome, I agreed to it.
I would create a poll, with a two week duration, and post a notice about it. Then see how it turned out.
However, as I said before, this isn't my forum. I can't make such a decision. But if this no politics rule stands as it is, I won't come here as much as I did before, if at all. I like this community and other than the no politics rule and the 130 word maximum for paragraphs (which is too small), I like it here. But I don't like it so much as to forget about my principles.
In the meantime, if anyone wants to talk to me, send me a PM. Assuming the notification thing works as advertised, I'll reply in kind. Always...
Matrix, if this offends you I am truly sorry. But there's a lot of things I'll do and a lot more that I won't. I hope you understand. If you don't, that's ok. Just ban me and get it over with. No hard feelings...
Ax
