Quote:
Originally Posted by Winnipesaukee
All posts in that forum must now be approved by the Webmaster before they are visible. What is the reasoning for this?
Mr. Webmaster, what exactly are you trying to hide?
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Two-way street and commincation for people that don't want to read my lengthy post 
I've been asked to edit or delete my posts perhaps a half-dozen times in over 16 years of online forum participation. A couple of times they were deleted because I quoted some offensive or deleted post. That's how it's been ever since I've been online.
I fully understand there are obvious hot-button issues that should not be mentioned anywhere, just leads to problems. Obviously, we have some here as well. The thread that led up to this began very well, very well-intentioned, all of that. It developed into off-topic attacks, other hot-button issues, and was going downhill fast. It spread.
Personal communications, IMHO, work best. If it's just a few posters that simply want to antagonize and bait others they know they can stir up, that's best dealt with privately, or through deletion or moderation. If a moderator says to stop, and why, it should be taken seriously. If continued anyway, penalties are levied out. I have no issue with that at all, it's the online law.
If some can't stand reading about a NWZ issue, loading ramps, mooring ball restrictions or the like, well I have no answer for that but the obvious. I suspect Don has received ideological complaints along those lines, but have no direct knowledge of it. Most everyone wants to be able to offer up opinions in an adult manner without mean-spirited attacks veiled as responses. Shout downs serve no purpose, and are a veiled attempt at censorship in and of themselves.
I have no problem with Don's right to do what he has done at all, it's his forum, to operate as he sees fit. I would, however, appreciate personal communication to the offenders, including myself. Someone stated I didn't Get it. I think I do, but maybe not. There are only two choices here.
1) If I posted something outside the boundaries of acceptable forum behavior ( and I always want to know personally if I do that, because I would feel truly bad, and delete or modify it as necessary). I would expect posts that quoted me to be deleted as well, with a follow up private response.
2) There are a variety of topics that some don't want to see on the forum at all. That's a tougher one. I can certainly understand mean-spirited discussions, personal attacks, issues that always flare up into mass chaos. Understood. If it's one of outside perception, which means only good thoughts and no debate of ideas should take place, that's an entirely different matter. I've seen some of these folks posts result in no outrage or objection. IMO, recent activity could have been dealt with in a private manner. Much less work than moderating an entire forum.
I assume Don gets a lot of pressure from people that don't participate in threads, but complain loudly. He has to address the masses for sure. But the problem with this method is that well-meaning people are left wondering what they could post without fear of offending someone. Don't laugh, you'd be surprised at how far ideological roots go. It goes way beyond the obvious contentious discussion many of us think it does. Some people will post their broad-based opinion on a topic, even attacking a group, and view any attempt to refute or debate that post as a direct attack. Trust me, it happens, a lot. Some people view anything short of total agreement as offensive.
I hope I'm wrong, and it really is black and white in nature. I'd hate to think a civilized, informative thread about a proposed NWZ could be shut down because of mob rule behind the scenes. I certainly understand what went wrong there, I really do. And I don't condone it at all.
If anyone wants to enlighten me, feel free to do so.
Just to make certain I didn't offend anyone, I deleted most of my posts, no matter how innocent or harmless. Since I never received any communication, I just assumed.
The posts stating this forum's terms and conditions is pretty clear. There were posts that directly violated those terms. They should have been deleted, with a follow-up PM to the offending author IMO. If it happens to be one of mine, so be it. I will take care of it immediately if so informed. That's just the way it's universally done. Forgive me in advance if that statement offends anyone. But it truly is a two-way street.