A quick word on "Overwhelmingly Negative Influences"

[Fidel_Castronaut]

I would think reading the posts in any given thread, where it's clearly an issue would be enough. Especially when the behavior has been admitted to by the person causing the shitstorm in the first place. But it all comes down to subjectivity doesn't it? What one person views as being offensive, another may not. It is what it is, I guess.

Seems to be the only way to solve the issue is for me to place limits on my own freedom of speech and let the offender do what he does best.

Heres the thing though, and we need to be careful about what we are regarding as contravening the rules.

Offence isn't covered by the rules. We don't care if a post is 'offensive' as that's a meaningless term. After all anything can be offensive to anyone, and nobody should be interested in moderating 'offence'.

I also just feel we need to be clear on this salient point. Nobody is restricting your freedom of speech. Not once has anyone told you 'you can't do x or y' if it does not contravene the rules. That there have been encounters between members who disagree is not something we can do anything about. We aren't here to moderate interpersonal conversations and relationships any more than we are to moderate offence. I appreciate the conversations in question revolve around heated and personal topics, but really, the principle is the same. I'm not going to moderate people's beliefs, ever. It's not what I volunteered to do and if someone told me I should I would leave and never come back.

I'm not going to comment further on this now unless someone needs me to. I think I've made my position clear, and I hope that people can appreciate our stance and we can move forward together as a forum. I am a member before being staff, after all. I didn't stop being a member when I became an admin. In fact I view my staff duties as almost non-existent because this forum is, generally, pretty good at self-regulation.