Another rice editorial on Iraq

[Wombat]

I have pretty much stopped contributing to the other MURC forums because of what I consider irresponsible censorship (and other issues).

Okay, I'll bite. What the <B>hell</B> are you talking about? The only "censorship" I can recall is removal of links to illegal drivers. Yes, illegal - fruit of a poisoned tree, gained only by the breaking of an NDA.

Also, it's not censorship, since that is done by the government, and this is a private site.

[efty]

Well it has been stated many times that the Murc is not a democracy. I like political discussions within civilized limits. I guess it is a matter of ones sensitivity to certain issues and how he handles those sensitivities. In many occasions I believe that more restrain could have been shown before closing threads but that is my personal opinion and there maybe other users that find the contents offending.

It is not possible to satisfy everyone, you just need to draw a line and that is up to the moderator.

That does not mean that I will not compain when I find his decision to be premature or unjustified.

[The PIT]

My only complaint is when threads get edited. You then haven't got a clue what started the flame war and whos being the ****ole or whether it's blown out of all proportion.

[Gurm]

The only real censorship that happens here (that hasn't been resolved by now) is when people get out of line and start the name-calling... political or otherwise.

And that's fair enough.

- Gurm

[Sasq]

Brian, I'll make a note to add a suitable passage the the murc survival guide. Just give me a few days

As for threads getting locked early, well maybe yes, maybe no. but when so many threads start the same way, head the same way, and finish the same way. there comes a time when you start to nip it in the bud, before tempers flare.

If WE ALL learned to play nice, then letting the threads continue probably wouldn't be a problem. But the same arguments keep coming up with no resolution. so why repeate them.

Dan

[Brian R.]

Thank you. Unfortunately, the topic of Iraq is in my opinion the most important issue in the world at the moment and it is one of the few political discussions I like to read about.

I do read other forums on this and other topics. However, since I have been a member of MURC for quite a while (since the G200 days), I respect the opinions of the majority of its membership and like to read about political discussions here. I guess its weak point for creating violent dissagreement during discussion of international topics is its international membership. The diversity of membership, however, is also its strongpoint.

Wombat: The issues are personal and I will not discuss them.

[thop]

i haven't seen any flaming or name calling in a while. i think the last time i saw it was before dogbert was banned. actually the discussions are usually quite mature. people get emotional on emotional topics.

my only complaint is when threads get deleted without any explanation. two days ago or so i got an email notification that wombat replied to my post, i click the link and the thread (which seems harmless to me) was gone

[GNEP]

I enjoy reading/posting in some political threads - and to be quite honest the impression I get is that 99% of us here are mature enough to realise that we all hold different opinions, sometimes people act as a devil's advocate, and that political discussions are nothing personal.

George

[The PIT]

Got to admit I've never felt insulted in a thread or born a grudge.
After all I don't have to go back and read any responses if I feel upset.

[Gurm]

Well, I've borne a few pseudo-grudges. For example, I now assume that whatever my opinion is, Lefty will have an opinion which is bizarrely diametrically opposed to mine.

- Gurm

[Brian R.]

Can you say "paranoia"?

[efty]

Come on Gurm you should get over the LOTR discussion we had.

[Pace]

Well, here's a thought, rather than a "Crapper", how's about a "Cultured Lounge"...which users are admitted to on a per user basis. Which means that certain users will get their feelings hurt when they are not admitted - this is a good thing, because then they will realise what they are doing (hopefully).

Entry requirements? Well, registered on or before 'Feb 2000' and with at least 3035 posts would be a good start

Seriously though, perhaps limiting it to users who've been here a year or 2, with at least a hundred posts to their name, possibly 500 or 1000 (latter might be a bit extreme). We could see how it goes. Any thoughts?

I think people are realising that MURC wont tolerate crap, thanks to Ant sorting everyone out, so maybe this wouldn't be required. Anyone talking about 'Cultured Lounge' threads in TSB or other forums would get autobanned

P.

[Brian R.]

One question is: will the mod of the "Cultured Lounge" be able to control himself/herself over time and keep from locking and deleting threads with controversy and strong disaggrement?

[efty]

It will have a very quick death. The reason being is that as much as we enjoy political discussions we will get bored after a while. There is a place for political discussions in the soap box as long as we try to keep it civilized. My sugestion would be to just let one of those "so called" dangerous threads go on and see what happens.