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With interest, I have been reading this thread for a few days and have kept silent. We have not been so silent on our private staff forum, and the behavior here, mostly by a small number of members, has been a subject of discussion for quite a while.
The staff is a diverse group with strong feelings regarding free speech, and personal temperament of our members. Many here contribute a great amount of information to the group, some contribute nothing of value, and most fall somewhere in between. Nearly all are adults and are treated as such.
My view of membership is simple, anyone has the option of coming here if they find some benefit, or leaving if they do not. I don't care who stays or goes, but we have some responsibility to maintain a level of decency. and a level of discussion that most reasonable people can accept. If you choose not to help in fund drives, welcome to the majority, 75% of you never have. If we do not receive enough support from the rest, we will go dark, and you will miss us when we are gone. Our lives will go on.
There are some posts containing sexual innuendo that may make some uncomfortable, but they are intended as humor and not designed to hurt anyone. We have usually turned a blind eye to these unless they cross the line to being pornography. we can't define pornography exactly for you, but we all know it when we see it. We will continue to judge every post individually and only intervene for excessive bad taste. That line may differ among us. Some ore more easily offended.
Argument in threads is inevitable in any real discussion. There are many ways to disagree and even more ways to be disagreeable. We ask that profanity and "fighting words" be avoided. they do no good for anyone. But a clever turn of phrase, or cleaver repartee can be stimulating and effective. It has always been used in debate, and you will find many examples in the debates in the British parliament and US congress,that have become classic and are often quoted. There is nothing wrong with wit, and it should be encouraged.
Any person too thin skinned to be the butt of well formulated barbs, and the wits to answer in kind should avoid this place, or limit your participation to the more gentle threads. If your idea of repartee is barroom swearing and challenges to fight, you have no place here, or in any civil company. This is a discussion forum, not a wall in a public bathroom.
As for me, If I think someone is a jerk, I will try to find some civil way to let them know my feelings. They are free to find a civil way to disagree with me.
An election year is soon to be upon us. If past experience is prelude to future behavior, there will be some heated discussions here as the election nears. I hope we can keep it heated, but not reach a point of saying things that we regret the next day.
Let me assure you that the only "hall monitors" here will be the moderators, who have that position because they have proven themselves to be capable of using good judgment, whether you happen to agree with them or not. We only have taken action in the past on a fraction of the complaints we receive.
My intentions are simple. I will lock any thread that veers into bad taste, or childish squabbling. I will delete any post that is crudely abusive. If that post is quoted in a reply I will either edit out the quotation or delete the entire reply. If you find your posts missing without any explanation, you can figure out why and change your behavior. Just be happy you did not disappear along with your posts. I hope the other moderators will do the same if I don't get to the post first.
Do not expect an absence of disagreement. Without it this forum would be pointless and deadly dull. This is a discussion forum, not a tea party. If you seek a tea party, seek elsewhere.
On a personal note, I have moderated these forum's for over ten years, I have never received, or asked for any compensation, and I never will. A number of you have thought it cute or a display of bravery to attack or insult me, often ungrateful wretches I had helped numerous times. I have been disliked for my knowledge, my education, my background, my politics, my successes in life, and what I say. Yet not one person here has ever seen me use my position or ability to retaliate against them. All have seen me help people who may have attacked me the previous day or week. I never hold grudges, but if you don't want me to tell you in a civil way what I think of you, stay away from me. I will be here until death retires me. Either mine or the forum's.
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) it gets. And everyone else, please respect any posts that have this text (or something like it) attached to it. Don't reply in an attempt to defend the member who is being attacked as he (or she) has already stated that they are ignoring the attack. If enough people did this, the level of discourse in the forums might rise significantly.
