Moderation & Board Issues

[LORD_RED_DRAGON]

Thats because pop culture told them so though.

what???

 

[Horus]

It was a joke. I was trying to make fun of the whole "brainwashed youth of America" philosophy. But don't think too hard about it, or it'll make your head explode. (My jokes tend to have that effect on people.)

 

[LORD_RED_DRAGON]

It was a joke. I was trying to make fun of the whole "brainwashed youth of America" philosophy. But don't think too hard about it, or it'll make your head explode. (My jokes tend to have that effect on people.)

 

[Tongue_Ring]

Well that is a good skill to have and you're lucky to have the genes for it LRD. My Finnish genes give a different character.

"The Culture of Finland is inherently hard to define. However, there are some general characteristics often associated with Finnish society and every day culture. Finns are generally a reserved people, like other Nordic peoples in Norway or Sweden. Traditionally, Finns enjoy peace and nature, though the modern, urban lifestyle is popular with many.

A sense of melancholy and depression is sometimes associated with the Finns. People in Finland are reserved when meeting strangers and sometimes take a long time to become familiar with others but, as a result, relationships are deep and lasting. Alcohol is considered to be an effective method of lowering these inhibitions. Still, Finns tend to be less gregarious and inclined to small talk than most of their European peers." From Wikepedia

so, being anti-social is genetic? interesting

 

[speed]

I'd just like to add, that I've received a number of complaints about Inhumanist, with pleas that I ban him from this board. Now, Derek and I do not have the power to ban anyone, only delete or close their posts and threads. Mr. Inhumanist, I implore you to please stop harrassing others, even if it what you write, is meant as a joke. Perhaps after a few weeks, others may accept your sense of humor--if thats what it is--a bit more. But for now, I am asking you, to please refrain from the harassment, and the many-times, shallow and childish posts, or I will have to start deleting those posts in which you exhibit such behavior. And I'd rather not do that.

 

[Tongue_Ring]

I'd just like to add, that I've received a number of complaints about Inhumanist, with pleas that I ban him from this board. Now, Derek and I do not have the power to ban anyone, only delete or close their posts and threads. Mr. Inhumanist, I implore you to please stop harrassing others, even if it what you write, is meant as a joke. Perhaps after a few weeks, others may accept your sense of humor--if thats what it is--a bit more. But for now, I am asking you, to please refrain from the harassment, and the many-times, shallow and childish posts, or I will have to start deleting those posts in which you exhibit such behavior. And I'd rather not do that.

if you're going to delete individual posts instead of deleting entire threads, then you should quickly delete the innapropriate posts the instant you see them/someone complains about them

 

[speed]

if you're going to delete individual posts instead of deleting entire threads, then you should quickly delete the innapropriate posts the instant you see them/someone complains about them

I think I will do that from now on Tongue Ring.

 

[Tongue_Ring]

if you're going to delete individual posts instead of deleting entire threads, then you should quickly delete the innapropriate posts the instant you see them/someone complains about them

well this just seems to be what the moderators job should be, because they can't ban people

 

[Anvil]

[Regarding the new Policy announcement- moved and edited by Justin S.]
I approve. As long as censoring of people's writing is not happening, I'm happy.

 

[Silver Incubus]

I don't know if anyone else uses the new version of firefox, but since I have d/l it i keep getting an error that keeps all the posts from appearing. the error looks like this under the posters name.

vbmenu_register("postmenu_4912613", true);

if anyone knows why this is happening it'd be appreciated.

 

[Norsemaiden]

Justin S closed my thread on the consequences of America reintroducing the draft. I have warned in the past that I thought Justin S would take just this kind of attitude towards any threads that are about practical subjects like politics or applied philosophy. Most of those on the board seem to agree that the subject was a legitimate one for a thread. This is surely an over censorious approach by Justin S.

 

[speed]

Justin S closed my thread on the consequences of America reintroducing the draft. I have warned in the past that I thought Justin S would take just this kind of attitude towards any threads that are about practical subjects like politics or applied philosophy. Most of those on the board seem to agree that the subject was a legitimate one for a thread. This is surely an over censorious approach by Justin S.

I closed alot of your threads too, hehe. But it takes some time to get used to moderating. I'm sure there will be a compromise of some sort in the future. And they're both smart capable guys. I will say upon re-perusing the policies, perhaps eliminating all current political "hot" topics is a bit extreme, but well-intentioned (staving off those ridiculous politcal flamewars).

 

[charles_dexter_ward]

As Justin said, although current affairs may have their place here, current affairs aren't this forum's focal point - I'm not sure your thread was really presented in a manner from which philosophical discussion was likely to arise. Quite a borderline decision methinks, but you're being somewhat melodramatic, it's not difficult to see his point of view.

p.s: Hi folks, new here.

 

[Norsemaiden]

Well ok - I suppose that I could have tried harder to approach the subject
" in a more circumspect manner with regard to [the] larger ramifications."

 

[Justin S.]

Lets be more cautious before we make proclamations like "my fears are realized" and jump to strong conclusions. I closed one thread, a first was bound to happen at some point, and it happened to be yours (as well as being a topic that was explicitly mentioned in the policy as problematic). I have very clear and considered reasons for closing the thread (as well as backing by forum policy), and the decision was not made in anger, dogmatic spirit, or anything of the sort.

Also, there is no need for emotions to flare as one can always pm me or the other mods with their concerns, and/or post them here. Please keep in mind that locks, and many other mod decisions, are not permanent. As stated in the policy, a lock can be a simple "hold" to keep threads from snowballing, or to inform posters of problems without taking drastic measures of deletion.

Concerning Norsemaiden's locked thread:

It is titled "Democrat Congressman calls for reinstating the draft", which is a headline. Very little was done with this, and the topic was not developed beyond a few speculative sentences. What Norsemaiden did was post a headline, source NBC and a socialist website, and post a few sentences that are limited to the topic itself in a very narrow way. What is philosophical about this? What is the purpose of the thread? What exactly is too be discussed? How does the announcement of a political event have anything to do with "practical" or "applied philosophy" when nothing practical or applied is being suggested, but merely a statement of fact? What would the forum look like if we all found a headline of interest and posted it? It would be a blog.

This forum is not for the endless debating of "current events". That does not mean current events cannot be discussed, referenced, used as a springboard, etc., but that the discussion must go beyond statements of fact (headlines), sensationalism, and hollow speculative games. Its the difference between Plato's Republic and CNN's Crossfire (the difference between philosophy and mere talk)- quite clearly they treat the "political" radically different, so please dont plays games with this and feign confusion when its clear what the policy is restricting, and what its striving for.

Furthermore, many of the responses to the original post were not driving the topic into more thoughtful realms, but were simply glib reactions to the topic- "That's all we need, illegal American immigrants coming Canada.", "Aren't college students exempt from the draft? I hope so. If not, and if this passes, I'm going to Mexico.", "No chance in hell this would pass. It's just not going to happen.", etc. This is exactly the type of thing the policy is designed to prevent, thus, the lock.

I will not reopen this thread for a variety of reasons. However, if Norsemaiden wishes to re-approach the issue from a more developed angle then I think it could spur a very engaging and worthwhile discussion.

 

[Justin S.]

Forgot to say: Welcome, Charles.

 

[derek]

Oh Lord.

I quite enjoy hollow speculation. I also though much of that thread was reasonable discussion. That being said, your reasons for closing the thread seem quite sound.

 

[judas69]

Here's the thing about philosophy, it happens naturally with genuine philosophers .. regardless of the topic.

 

[Norsemaiden]

Here's the thing about philosophy, it happens naturally with genuine philosophers .. regardless of the topic.

Yes, philosophically minded people always get around to seeing the deeper meaning in the otherwise superficial.

Would a more philosophical take on the draft idea be some discussion about the right of government to force the population to fight in wars, and the moral concerns this raises? But what if we are all really curious to know how the individual feels about the proposed imposition on them, and whether there would be mass disobedience or cowardly compliance. And discuss the irony of a cowardly compliance to being sent to kill or be killed - is rebelling so much more frightening and demanding of bravery? And then the motives of the politician who is proposing the bill - and how accurate or otherwise his assumptions are.

Would the thread have been acceptable if it had moved more quickly into these sort of questions?

 

[Justin S.]

Would the thread have been acceptable if it had moved more quickly into these sort of questions?

Yes, absolutely.

I also think that pressing personal issues (like the fear of a draft) are important motivations for calling into question the notions of 'nation-state', 'obligation', economic warfare/corporations/global capitalism, etc. "Current affairs" are powerful catalysts for philosophy, but also for gossip and speculation.

I dont hold the idea that something "personal" or immediate is not "philosophical" because its not exceedingly broad. Philosophy is mindful thinking, and this knows no arbitrary level. What I am heavily critical of are two extremes (abuses)- cheap talk, and those lofty "meta-narratives" that are pure fantasy and not well thought out- In a sense, I am only concerned with "applied philosophy" (mindfulness). I closed your thread, not because it was a practical or applied matter and fell short of the "grandeur of philosophy", but precisely because how it was framed was neither practical/applied nor thoughtfully developed.

That aside, I look forward to your new thread, if you feel inclined to create it.