I had hoped that the locking of this forum a couple weeks back would have impressed upon those who would run afoul of the Reasonble Person Principle, that such behavior would not be tolerated… apparently I was mistaken.
From here on in, I will not hesitate in the least in editing anything that smacks of a personal insult, attack or defamation of character/business. I will most likely not give any warning to those who have demonstrated in the past that they cannot play nice. I will copy the posts in question to present to the real BIG DOGS at C&F for their perusal, along with the request that the poster(s) be removed from the forum… and for some, it won’t be their first time.
Please, keep the content of your posts to this forum within the boundaries set by Dale.
I admit to not reading all threads but what’s the problem? I have not seen any personal attacks or insult here recently not did I spot any buiness defamed unjustly. Could you point us to where things went off the rails?
EDIT: OK I see you edited Royce, not a post that I remember as going for a person in particular. Is the language or the home truths that are the problem with the complainants?
I for one would like to see Peter’s question answered. It’s hard to play by the rules if they are different from what you think is reasonable. All I’m saying is that it seems one man’s reasonable is another man’s personal attack. Is making private third party personal attacks more reasonable than public general statements that others feel are personal attacks?
I just don’t want to get into trouble over any unreasonableness criterion I am not aware of, as far as I can see.
It was an obvious personal attack, utilizing phrases like ‘…you suck’ etc. I do not have an issue with anyone’s opinion, and I am certain that I may share a good many of them… especially if I have personal experience of the situation that might merit them. I do, however, object to the manner in which this particular opinion was expressed… and it was far from a ‘civil’ response, and was clearly directed to the author of the topic.
My decision to delete the post was due to it’s malicious content, and was NOT a result of my personal judgement of Royce (or anyone for that matter). I do not know Royce, his character or his ‘offline’ personality and motivations… how could I judge any one I have never met? I have a ‘hunch’ that I would probably like Royce were I to meet him in person, and going by the content of his other posts, I find myself in agreement with him, and I DO feel he has volumes of wisdom and good ideas to contribute to this forum.
All of that aside, again, I will not hesitate to edit what I deem to be postings that run afoul of the rules that Dale has made clear we are to follow… period. It is simple really, play nice, and we have a piping forum to play in. Do not play nice, and this forum goes the way of the dinosaur… I’d rather keep this forum around a while longer.
He said something like ‘maybe you should consider that PERHAPS you suck’ which to me at least stops short of a personal attack in my opinion and,whether you like the wording or not, asks basically the same question I asked in another post on the same thread. It was, like my own post, a call for some introspection on the side of the piper and perhaps a consideration for the others not to extend blind support like ‘go for it, let them have it’ while not knowing whether or not the request to leave the pipes in their box was reasonable or not.
It was obviously the wording that made you ax the post. Or just the request by the originator of the thread who felt insulted.
Not to raise any hackles or nitpik, but would it be possible just to edit out the offending lines? e.g. if someone makes a reasonable posting, but has only one or two lines that are not, shall we say, in good judgement, just remove those offending lines?
Obviously, if the entire post seems to be aimed at belittling or slandering someone else simply because they don’t subscribe to one’s own views, the entire post should be removed, but if there are only one or two offensive lines, wouldn’t it be enough to just remove those?
If this would be too burdensome for the moderator I would understand.
I would simply like to offer my thanks to you Joseph for giving up your time and effort to save this forum and to Dale for running it in the first place.I have spoken to several friends who watch but do not participate and we are unanimous that the Forum is a better place to be since simple courtesies are being observed. Keep up the good work, a lot of us really appreciate it.
So it’s form not function that was the offending element here. If Royce were to eliminate “You suck” from his vocabulary he would be sanitized and appropriate for human consumption.
Realizing that some are more sensitive to appearance than to substance and more prone to self-protection than self-evaluation I might be able to negotiate this jungle of thin skins.
I’m not offended by the comment “You suck”, as long as it’s not directed at me. If it is directed at me, I’ll get suitable offended but that won’t mean it’s not true.
And while you are it, read the rest of the policies.
These are the rules, they are not negotiable… period. I am quickly losing patience with this argument. You have the right to continue to complain and/or express your opinions (within policy limits). Me? I will in turn exercise my right to discontinue responding to them.
The word “suck” has been used in a number of contexts. I think it is pretty clear when it is okay and when it isn’t. It isn’t the form, it is the function, the context, the intention.
It is true that one could mistake the intention of a writer, especially in this situation where there is no facial expression to help interpret things.
Therefore, I think just looking over a strong statement to see if it might appear to be a personal attack on someone should do the trick. If you are in doubt, then tone it down or clarify it. If you offend someone, then apologize or explain what you really meant. Sort of what you might do when talking to people in person. And if your post gets edited, okay, now you know what is considered too strong if you were in doubt before.
The moderator is attempting to not have this forum closed down. I think it is not that hard to see that there are some difficulties involved in that. I think he is doing a good job.
