"- Political Discussion Are Prohibited, As Is Any Discussion On R

[saehn]

@saehn: I'm not sure if they check 100% of the threads, this is a good question. If I were hando though, i'd be rather concerned about EVERYTHING that goes on in my forum. Wouldn't you?

Not really, most of it would not be my business or interest. I wouldn't hold myself responsible for the contents of every single post that occurs on my board. If I did that, I wouldn't have a board to begin with. Unmoderated boards all over the world would not exist if this were true.

Even if I were concerned, banning religious/political discussions would only reduce my workload by less than 5% (a good guesstimation). Hando didn't ban religious/political discussions in an effort to reduce mods' post-filtering workload.

If Hando was that worried about every message, he would have made these forums so that each post was moderated prior to publishing. There's a real community killer. I should know: my company runs a board like that. It's useless to the people it was intended to help.

 

[prairiefire]

fair enough. thanks for your reply

 

[NoidZ]

@saehn: I'm not sure if they check 100% of the threads, this is a good question. If I were hando though, i'd be rather concerned about EVERYTHING that goes on in my forum. Wouldn't you?

Not really, most of it would not be my business or interest. I wouldn't hold myself responsible for the contents of every single post that occurs on my board. If I did that, I wouldn't have a board to begin with. Unmoderated boards all over the world would not exist if this were true.

Even if I were concerned, banning religious/political discussions would only reduce my workload by less than 5% (a good guesstimation). Hando didn't ban religious/political discussions in an effort to reduce mods' post-filtering workload.

If Hando was that worried about every message, he would have made these forums so that each post was moderated prior to publishing. There's a real community killer. I should know: my company runs a board like that. It's useless to the people it was intended to help.

I would like to hear that from Hando personally. You might think you can think for him, but these rules ARE rediculous. No offends, but if Hando is man enough, he can speak for himself.

 

[saehn]

Even if I were concerned, banning religious/political discussions would only reduce my workload by less than 5% (a good guesstimation). Hando didn't ban religious/political discussions in an effort to reduce mods' post-filtering workload.

If Hando was that worried about every message, he would have made these forums so that each post was moderated prior to publishing. There's a real community killer. I should know: my company runs a board like that. It's useless to the people it was intended to help.

I would like to hear that from Hando personally. You might think you can think for him, but these rules ARE rediculous. No offends, but if Hando is man enough, he can speak for himself.

I would like to hear a justification given as well, be it from Hando or whoever was responsible for the the rules. My intent was not to speak for Hando, but to rule out workload reduction as a possible explanation. I don't think that was the basis for the banning on religious and political discussion. Hopefully we'll hear something soon, as WarmFluffyUK suggested.

 

[DaveC]

Then again, I find this very sad. Ban the people who flame (if there is any flaming), then your problem is solved. Somehow some people here can't seem to understand that. The people which just want to discuss/hold a dialogue are the ones who still don't have an awnser to their questions or are missing out something they are interested in.

I don't think banning everytime someone flames is the answer either. There are always going to be times when tempers flare. Someone can make a comment that someone else doesn't like and the other may flame back. We aren't all saints on here. As I said a better option is the person(s) involved should be WARNED first. Not by a suspension but a post by a mod in the thread. If the flaming continues then a suspension would be in order. Otherwise we will have everyone here walking on eggshells wondering if their post may be considered a flame and if they will be banned soon. I don't think we want that.

Also this is the OFF TOPIC thread. Maybe there should be a disclaimer that if you are easily offended not to enter. So if you are so sensitive about your religeous/political views, avoid the topic. Simple. If it really does get out of hand then close the thread.

 

[namco]

In my view, on all this, it seems that political correctness and the recent events on religion/politics (the trouble that kicked off when the controversial cartoons about Allah/Mohammed were published in the newspapers, extreemist jihad type terrorism etc etc) has deemed discussing such matters a "no go area". Not only that, when the internet first started out, it was deemed (until recently) the last place for freedom of speech, and now because hosting servers are on different countries soil, it means that the law of that country can be applied to that virtual space the the hosting server is sat on, so to speak.

Thanks to the Human Rights act, and a growing "up their own arseness" of people nowadays (this is not directed at anyone in particular, just in general) thanks to being nannied by the government, there is going to be not much people can do anymore/say anything without being arrested/banned/ignored generally etc.

Mega City One anyone????

As for people taking things the wrong way, I'd say things are easier, a little bit, with the introduction of smilies.

Anyway - my 2 pence worth!

 

[darkman]

Hmmmm.... I have no problem with the new rules. I am only here because I love the GP32 and the GP2X. This is also not my site. I am only a member. I am not drawn here because of religious and political debates. The main reason the site is here is because of our handheld multi media system that we hold dear.
Having access to the net, if I want a fight, I can easily find one.

So the new rules, I see as more of a need to keep us on topic and focused. And sometimes you do have to ban people. It does help to build the community. When I first joined, there was a friendly atmosphere that helped people and it had changed.

As the GP2X grows more popular, we will have more and more of the new people that will be coming to this sight seeking help (THAT WILL NOT READ THE THREADS) that we will have to lead by the hand. In doing that, we add more members to the community.

The Mods are doing their job.

 

[declaration]

Hmmmm.... I have no problem with the new rules. I am only here because I love the GP32 and the GP2X. This is also not my site. I am only a member. I am not drawn here because of religious and political debates. The main reason the site is here is because of our handheld multi media system that we hold dear.
Having access to the net, if I want a fight, I can easily find one.

So the new rules, I see as more of a need to keep us on topic and focused. And sometimes you do have to ban people. It does help to build the community. When I first joined, there was a friendly atmosphere that helped people and it had changed.

As the GP2X grows more popular, we will have more and more of the new people that will be coming to this sight seeking help (THAT WILL NOT READ THE THREADS) that we will have to lead by the hand. In doing that, we add more members to the community.

The Mods are doing their job.

Whats the point in having an off-topic section then?

 

[darkman]

Hmmmm.... I have no problem with the new rules. I am only here because I love the GP32 and the GP2X. This is also not my site. I am only a member. I am not drawn here because of religious and political debates. The main reason the site is here is because of our handheld multi media system that we hold dear.
Having access to the net, if I want a fight, I can easily find one.

So the new rules, I see as more of a need to keep us on topic and focused. And sometimes you do have to ban people. It does help to build the community. When I first joined, there was a friendly atmosphere that helped people and it had changed.

As the GP2X grows more popular, we will have more and more of the new people that will be coming to this sight seeking help (THAT WILL NOT READ THE THREADS) that we will have to lead by the hand. In doing that, we add more members to the community.

The Mods are doing their job.

Whats the point in having an off-topic section then?

I really don't think that people know how to debate a subject matter that is political or religious in nature in a public forum. It is more or less just name calling and word beating on an individual. And a "you must agree with me or else." Sometimes pacific issues are not even discussed, just beating on personalites that represent ideas. Such topics are rooted much deeper in our being than other stuff and engulf our emotions very easily. I believe such debates would require rules to be worthwhile or even have value.

 

[Draken]

Not really, the discussions that went on here were very civil (although heated) and when someone claimed something he always linked to the facts to back his words up.
We are all humans and all have our interests and opinions that we want to share with the other people on this board, it's only natural for discussions to happen, and I don't think they should be stopped.

 

[CABBAGES]

i enjoy discussions about religion and stuff but i dont think we need to here. Someone who is upset about the new rules could/should start there own board and they can let peopel talk about what ever they want maybe they can even have a link to it on gp32x.de .

 

[saehn]

i enjoy discussions about religion and stuff but i dont think we need to here. Someone who is upset about the new rules could/should start there own board and they can let peopel talk about what ever they want maybe they can even have a link to it on gp32x.de .

Or we can just have things go back to the way they were before the rule was introduced. It wasn't a problem because if someone didn't want to read about off-topic discussions, they didn't have to.

Remember that this board is separated into forums. If you don't want to read off-topic discussions, don't look in that forum. It's like watching television. Avoid the channels you dislike. Problem solved.

 

[Draken]

Or you could even ignore the threads in general..

 

[Javacat]

Gah, there are so many (well, 2 really) people in this thread just complaining for the hell of it. Bloody busy bodies...

 

[saehn]

Gah, there are so many (well, 2 really) people in this thread just complaining for the hell of it. Bloody busy bodies...

So you're complaining about people that you think are complaining? You may not see the point of any of this, but then why would you bother talking about it. Mind your business.

 

[declaration]

Gah, there are so many (well, 2 really) people in this thread just complaining for the hell of it. Bloody busy bodies...

We are complaining because a forum we have enjoyed for years is being made worst for no apparent reason.

And it's not just two of us. The vast majority of posters seem to enjoy free speech.

 

[Javacat]

It's interesting how the two people I was talking about new exactly who they were. It is only a small (noisy) minority complaining. They aren't stopping free speech on the whole, just saying to not discuss religion and politics, of which there are very few threads about any way.

Doing a quick search, you've only participated in 3 threads covering those areas in the past 2 years, out of the 70 odd other threads you have commented in in the off topic section. 4 including the last one that was created to try and provoke a reaction from the mods.

Gah, there are so many (well, 2 really) people in this thread just complaining for the hell of it. Bloody busy bodies...

So you're complaining about people that you think are complaining? You may not see the point of any of this, but then why would you bother talking about it. Mind your business.

I'm complaining about people that are complaining for the hell of it (or that are just going along with the crowd), which you two both seem to be doing. Anyway, you're just bitter about my comments in the slipzone

 

[daclassicgamingmaster]

You all are ruining our arguement. Go yell at each other at the slipzone, but don't weaken our end of the arguement.

 

[Mr.Jabberwocky]

People form opposing sides of imaginary armies for the pettiest of reasons. Skin colour, religion or make of handheld is enough reason for some to generalise and reject anyone who is outside the group.

This is so ingrained in humans that we have evolved racial characteristics that we use to further the process.

However, in an online community, although we come together as the GP2X 'tribe', all other differences are unknown. I guess there are always some whose identity is so tied up with their particular group, that they will always manage to broadcast the fact. But for the most part we get a very narrow snapshot of each other.

What makes this community better than most, is the fact that in the past we have had the opportunity to catch glimpses of peoples political, religious and scientific leanings.

If we cannot discuss these things the board will become the sterile help desk for noobs that Darkman seems to think would be just dandy.

Having formed associations through a common bond such as the GP2X, I feel it can only be a good thing if we discuss our differences.

There is a member who's political stance, for me at least, adds a dimension to his online persona that almost makes everything else he says forgivable. That knowledge means I have a level of respect for him that would otherwise be lacking.

Others who have earned respect on the board reflect on there cultures and break down preconceived barriers in the minds of their fellows. But only if we can know what their cultures are.

If this prohibition stays in place, declaration's 'joke/protest' Pong or Pacman thread will become a reality. Who is going to visit the boards for that level of discussion. Ironically, since it developed into a protest, it is a great example of the spirit of the members of this board. Start censoring and that spirit will find somewhere else to express itself.

 

[saehn]

It's interesting how the two people I was talking about new exactly who they were. It is only a small (noisy) minority complaining. They aren't stopping free speech on the whole, just saying to not discuss religion and politics, of which there are very few threads about any way.

We knew who you were talking about because you posted childish toilet-room insults on Slipzone. No tears on my part, but don't misrepresent the situation. The history is there for anyone to view (without your non-recorded topic name).

I'm complaining about people that are complaining for the hell of it (or that are just going along with the crowd), which you two both seem to be doing.

I wouldn't type out long messages and put thought/effort into my posts to "complain for the hell of it". Think before you write. Perhaps think twice.

Anyway, you're just bitter about my comments in the slipzone

No, I'm disappointed that a young man 21-22 years old would fit the negative stereotype so well, but I can't say I'm surprised. Isn't nihilism fun? It's cool to pretend that nothing matters (except of course the things that you care about).

You have nothing useful to contribute to this conversation. People like you are the reason we have mods.