When Moderators Become Censors

[AnonymousDog]

I've been on a lot of forums over the years. Even ran/owned a few. One was even an un-moderated Christian forum (ask me sometime how that went over). For the most part this is a pretty calm and civil place. If there is a lot of moderation going it's pretty unnoticeable which I think speaks to how well this place is run.

Would I have closed the thread in question? Probably not but I'm pretty liberal in letting people have their say and it wasn't my call. All in all this is a pretty great place to come for info and discussion and I appreciate the work put into it. I plan on sticking around.

 

[Pleasant Travels]

First of all,...yes, it is their sandbox, so yes,...it is their rules. My philosophy is that as a libertarian, so property rights and respect thereof are a big deal for me. I agree that the mods here are perfectly within their rights to be godly and heavy-handed if they choose to be. (I'm not making an accusation there, just painting a picture.)

But at the same time, I have always found it to be cowardly and pathetic to provide a place for discussion, then limit, restrict, censor or edit said discussions. Yes,...there will always be a need to look out for and deal with ACTUALLY disruptive weenies. But as an adult, I'm perfectly capable of filtering through the morass of voices and opinions and personalities for what I want out of a forum, and I ALWAYS resent it when others choose my menu for me. I prefer the anarchy of free discussion with all its warts and pimples over the smooth and artificialness "moderation" brings.

I wish to make clear that I understand and reccognize the moderators and forum owner have no malicious angle and in fact have benevolent intent. I am not claiming that anyone on staff has any evil motivations or a black heart. Truly, I mean that. And yet it stinks most foul.

 

[Dingfelder]

Not speaking about any particular thread, but I have seen people quit the forum because of hyperactive moderating. We've lost some excellent posters because of it. Sometimes it can be helpful, but it ruins a lot of forums by making encouraging good people to leave and intimidating others into silence. Here it often takes the form of stealth editing, which is particularly egregious. People don't like their posts re-written on the sly. It's bad in every way there is to be bad. At most, sections should be deleted, possibly saved until a discussion is had with a poster, and a decision only then made to either delete a post or a particular section. I have seen this done very successfully elsewhere. No one should ever pass themselves off as anyone else. Worst idea ever and, of course, implicitly creepy.

There comes a point at which a moderator might stop truly moderating and instead insist on becoming part of the discussion and controlling it. It can start innocently enough, sometimes with the thought of or under the guise of being helpful. With rare and obvious exceptions, that is almost always a terrible idea and leads to poor outcomes. People don't come to forums for the moderators; they come for each other. I've seen it destroy numerous forums over the years, until you're left with only butt kissers and the worst of the worst. It can happen quickly too.

 

[lenny flank]

My goodness, people sure do like to weep and whine a lot......

I see the value in the rules. Dragging politics and ideology into the arena only ruffles feathers and causes rancor and hard feelings that is utterly unnecessary since it has nothing to do with the topic of the forum.

Sadly, though, there is ALWAYS somebody who wants to preach at people, and then want to cry about their martyrdom when they're not allowed to preach at people. It is tedious and tiresome.

I am happy that the mods do such a good job of ending it. It makes the forum a much better place.

As for those who don't seem to like it, I respectfully suggest that they go to another forum where they can preach their politics to their heart's content. Have at it and enjoy yourself. Bye.

 

[Qxxx]

"politics and ideology" and soapboxes .... oof, what a drag. rvwandering was right suggest people start their own forums for that.

 

[Wabbit]

Sadly, though, there is ALWAYS somebody who wants to preach at people, and then want to cry about their martyrdom when they're not allowed to preach at people. It is tedious and tiresome.

Irony? That's hilarious!

 

[cyndi]

I think it's all been said, here. So, I'm closing the thread