Off Topic Discussions

There's a thin line between off-topic and ridiculous, but I did feel those polls fell into the latter catagory, and I'm fine with the admin having the last word--after all, they've steered things right before, so why not now? I've certainly dabbled in off-topic discussions, and had a good time with them--but there's a maturity a post-er should bring to even an off-topic subject.

Perhaps a good rule of thumb before you hit that submit button is an examination of the subject line/poll title. When you post for advice on a CE 2.0 network issue, you don't write HELP, PLEASE!!!! Just the same with off-topic--if the subject line sounds too ridiculous, then it usually is, and the post-er should self-edit. Before admin does.

We self-edit in our work, in our relationships, etc.; no reason why we shouldn't do the same here.

Jake

my opinion... yttan, you're not really wanting full freedom because then you'd no longer be alive as the first stranger could shoot at you and kill you on the street. (NO, not me, i'm just a little geekette who hates such things.)

as for the polls, they were way too out of place on a HPC forum...
and i can understand if they hurt some people's feelings, and thats why i felt very uncomfortable myself too.
so i'm glad the issue has been sorted out...

Edited by cmonex 2006-03-27 7:05 PM

also, capitalisation on the internet is usually intended as SHOUTING. I consider it anoying to see full capitalized posting headers in the latest post section on the website, and I tend to ignore these as much as possible.

C:Amie:

Freedom of speach is a tough issue in any context you choose to view. And there are a zillion forums where it continues to be discussed to death without agreement or resolution. And I'm certainly not reactionary enough to suggest planting the seeds of site control and editing will eventually lead to structured and controlled censorship. As a matter of fact, I'm all for the common sense approach. If you read something you dislike, then simply don't respond. Ignore it. Without support, the threads will eventually evaporate and disappear. I'll be kind and not delve deeper into it here.

Edited by Rich Hawley 2006-03-27 8:37 PM

Admins have no reason to apologize. If forum members abuse their priveledges, moderators need to step in. This nonsense about free speech, and self-discovery is exactly that, nonsense. It's called trolling and I'm glad it's come to an end.

I'd put that a little differently myself. Freedom of expression and free speech are actually not identical concepts. Courts here in America have held that there are limits to "free speech," citing the age-old example of yelling "Fire!" in a crowded movie theater. Such an exclamation contributes nothing to the free exchange of ideas; it only incites panic. If we value the free exchange of ideas, we each have a personal responsibility to be mindful of how others may hear what we say. Put another way, if we want others to take our ideas seriously, we must learn to communicate our ideas in ways that the others can understand, relate to, and feel comfortable with.

That said, I have to say that I'm actually happy that yttan10 has reconsidered his/her earlier intent to discontinue posting on this site. I note that (s)he has acknowledged being a minor, and that adds a little perspective for me. I'd like to think that this is a valuable learning experience for him/her (and for the rest of us).

"Hear hear!" Excellent point CE Geek, freedom of speech is not absolute. I am simply one of those people who always stands guard against the loss of any individual right or freedom in fear that once lost, it will never be recovered. I have to rely upon the good judgment of others to temper the balance between theory and reality.

Rich

Must.....resist urge.......to lecture.......must......resist.....*insert blood curdling scream here*

OK, but I'll try to keep it short. Two things:

a) Free Speech is tricky. Speech is also a behavior, and it generally *is* the role of government to restrict the behavior of citizens to the extent that such behavior affects others. Generally, US Supreme Court decisions have drawn distinctions based on intent of the speaker. Speech acts must be reasonably intended to convey ideas or information, rather than provoke actions, in order to be protected. Thus restrictions on pornography and so-called "fighting words" (language specifically intended to provoke violent responses in others) have been upheld. The "shouting fire" thing falls under this as well.

b) Free Speech protections do not entail the right to methods of dissemination. Your right to say whatever you want doesn't give you the right to demand that I use my media outlets to carry your speech. You can say whatever you want, but you can't demand that I help you spread the word. This is a privately run website. The operators of the site can permit or prohibit people from using it based on any criterion they choose. If you don't like it, you can go start your own website and say whatever you want. Now, if C:Amie and company went as far as say, hacking your hypothetical site because they didn't like what you say, then free speech protections would come in to play and they could (and should) be arrested. But if the owners of HPC:Factor, who operate this site free of charge and for the benefit of the HPC community, decide they don't want things said or discussed on the site, it's *their* free speech right to not allow those conversations on the site.

*steps off soapbox*

And it is with 100% sincerity that I appreciate the efforts of C:Amie and ClintonF to make this the quality site that it is. As a matter of fact, I've always felt that, if anything, they were too generous in the tolerace of some topics.

And you said Btrimer what we all feel, "But if the owners of HPC:Factor, who operate this site free of charge and for the benefit of the HPC community, decide they don't want things said or discussed on the site, it's *their* free speech right to not allow those conversations on the site."

The only thing I feel bad about is butchering Yoldering's name for the past 6 months...I read it as Yodeling for a long long time, and even when it was mentioned before, I never made the connection until this morning....

Rich

Geez, Rich, his name only appears 1,000+ times on here! ;+) I know what you mean; I can't even say it right in my head and my brain tries to process "yodelling"... I have to slow down my thoughts to say it correctly to myself.

I wanted to say something like btrimmer stated in his point "b" but couldn't figure out how best to put it. I echo your sentiment and applaud your eloquence.

Edited by KBoyKool 2006-03-28 10:53 PM

haha It's ok. ha ha LOL


LOL Hahahaha

It is much more enjoyable here since the fluff threads have stopped.

True, but did anybody see those few spam threads that were started the other night?(Before they were deleted) Like, selling cell phones and stuff... Does that happen often?

I think that spamming in general is absolutely absurd. By now, dosen't everyone who uses the internet know not to pay any attention to that crap? I think that spammers need to realize that most internet users aren't inexperienced anymore. Especially an intelligent group of forum users like ourselves. There is a time and a place for advertising, but I really don't see how spamming will increase a person's sales at all.

Very wise observation.

On the topic of spamming, there was a spammer who posted links to this: "anti"? spyware program and this person did it twice, before they were deleted, fortunately..