Censorship and SB..how far are we going to take this???

[Kim]

Second, with respect, those posts and exchanges that are political in nature are by no means tied to US government policy.

Hopefully not! Seems to be pretty OK everytime Al Gore gets bashed though.
Never mind. In a years time maybe the board will swing the other way.....who knows?

For the record - I've had supposedly "political" stuff pulled simply for that reason. Nothing to do with civility. I don't mind as I know what the rules are - but I also know completely what Azza is saying. The thing is, not all Mods are equal by a long way. You for instance Doc. You still have a post up in a thread that references one that Andy made. Andy's has gone - so has mine that lightheartedly referenced it....and one from dlndavid that referenced mine. None of that was political, but it did demonstrate the difference in toleration by different people - and funnily enough I actually think that Andy's post was actually rather on topic for that discussion!

As to El Orans & Almighty - well.......I'm actually not sure if either of them really see it the way you think they do. Maybe they just don't mention it. And this isn't a perception only felt by non-US folks. I've seen the same thing said by quite a few Americans too. Certain American standards are simply that - American standards. One I can think of right off the bat is unquestioning support for the troops. While most people everywhere that I know of also support their own troops and sympathize with the jobs they are handed, that really doesn't extend to unquestioning support of the mission. That's generally a pretty taboo statement/insinuation around here though. I wouldn't be surprised if me using it as an example now already secures me a place on the barbecue. We'll see!

The real problem in my mind is polarization. We all live in countries (well most of us) with some kind of left/center/right political systems. Nowhere do they seem to inspire the same nastiness and outright hatred that emanates from the US though. Maybe that's why there's so much poo-flinging in such discussions here. I'm not sure whether it's mainly the poo flinging that leaves the impression though. Bias is a very subtle beast. It's revealed in how things are moderated....what's left alone...what's not....and by whom - over quite long periods of time. The slightly Christian and/or Right bias of the board in this seems real enough. That's not to say that that's ALL the decisions, or how ALL the people are by a long way - that's why it's called bias. Bias can be very small or very big. Maybe it would be more accurate to describe it as the "way it leans".

 

[fisheyeview]

The real problem in my mind is polarization. We all live in countries (well most of us) with some kind of left/center/right political systems. Nowhere do they seem to inspire the same nastiness and outright hatred that emanates from the US though. Maybe that's why there's so much poo-flinging in such discussions here. I'm not sure whether it's mainly the poo flinging that leaves the impression though. Bias is a very subtle beast. It's revealed in how things are moderated....what's left alone...what's not....and by whom - over quite long periods of time. The slightly Christian and/or Right bias of the board in this seems real enough. That's not to say that that's ALL the decisions, or how ALL the people are by a long way - that's why it's called bias. Bias can be very small or very big. Maybe it would be more accurate to describe it as the "way it leans".

Kim,

Just for the record. I am about as WASPy conservative as they come. I fall somewhere to the right of Rush Limbaugh, and just a click to the left of Atilla the Hun when it comes to politics. I have strong religious beliefs too. I am a Deacon in my church.

All this to say that I favor loosening of the grip on the board, but in moderation. Let people talk about what they want to on the board (short of personal attacks and internet sex), but do it in the Opt-In forums.

If it is kept to the Opt-In forums it should not have any outside repurcutions on SB, as it will not come out in a Google search.

Not all Christian conservatives are intollerant tyrants. Everyone is entitled to my opinion, and if you dont like it **** you.

 

[MXGratefulDiver]

Not all Christian conservatives are intollerant tyrants.

Certainly not ... but some of the people with the power to remove posts on ScubaBoard are.

It has been evident ... based on what content gets removed and what content doesn't ... that some viewpoints are more tolerated on SB than others.

As an example ... it's OK to state that "our troops are in Iraq fighting for our freedom" ... but it's not OK to question the validity of that statement.

That has nothing to do with the troops in Iraq ... it has everything to do with whether or not you agree with the folks who sent them there ...

... Bob (Grateful Diver)

 

[grazie42]

The real problem in my mind is polarization. We all live in countries (well most of us) with some kind of left/center/right political systems. Nowhere do they seem to inspire the same nastiness and outright hatred that emanates from the US though. Maybe that's why there's so much poo-flinging in such discussions here. I'm not sure whether it's mainly the poo flinging that leaves the impression though. Bias is a very subtle beast. It's revealed in how things are moderated....what's left alone...what's not....and by whom - over quite long periods of time. The slightly Christian and/or Right bias of the board in this seems real enough. That's not to say that that's ALL the decisions, or how ALL the people are by a long way - that's why it's called bias. Bias can be very small or very big. Maybe it would be more accurate to describe it as the "way it leans".

I´d have to agree...maybe part of it is that the "left" in the US is more "right" than the "center" in a lot of other countries...so when you say that you are "moderate" that may well be true from an american perspective (I´d tend to agree that SB is) but on a global scale (if one can imagine such a thing) I think the board is firmly "right of the center"...

There are whole swathes of conversation that I generally try to stay away from on this board because it doesen´t seem like the american posters will "get it" and it´ll just degenerate...the few times I have, my "prejudice" has been confirmed so I figure neither I nor the other posters need the aggravation...

perhaps it´s simly a reflection of my lack of command of the english language...*shrug*...the only thing that is certain is that if you think you know something- you most certainly don´t...

 

[fisheyeview]

I´d have to agree...maybe part of it is that the "left" in the US is more "right" than the "center" in a lot of other countries...so when you say that you are "moderate" that may well be true from an american perspective (I´d tend to agree that SB is) but on a global scale (if one can imagine such a thing) I think the board is firmly "right of the center"...

There are whole swathes of conversation that I generally try to stay away from on this board because it doesen´t seem like the american posters will "get it" and it´ll just degenerate...the few times I have, my "prejudice" has been confirmed so I figure neither I nor the other posters need the aggravation...

perhaps it´s simly a reflection of my lack of command of the english language...*shrug*...the only thing that is certain is that if you think you know something- you most certainly don´t...

LOL, I guess that proves my prism theory. Viewed by someone like you the board appears to be right leaning. Viewed from my side of the isle I think that it is left leaning. But really it is all the same board seen from our own perspective.

I don't mind people that think differently from me. It makes conversations more interesting. As long as it does not turn ugly. There is plenty of room for all opinions as long as they are cordial.

If you have felt differently here I will take this opportunity to apologise on behalf of us war mongering conservatives.

 

[BTravlin]

perhaps it´s simly a reflection of my lack of command of the english language...*shrug*...

I wouldn't worry about this too much as your command of the English language seems to be vastly superior to many of the English speaking people here. Besides, sadly, many of us Americans don't seem to take the rest of the world into account unless of course they have good diving!

 

[grazie42]

Getting back to the OP, from what I´ve seen conversations about sex, politics and religion tend to stay civil and respectful in the SI-forums (and in underground-SB ie pms)...the same is actually true of a lot of the dive-topics that tend to degenerate in the general forums as well...where those threads crop up in the "general forums"? Not so much...

I think the idea of a "not so wild west" in the SI-forum would propably work...if none of the "regular mods" feel up to it, let jepuskar or jeffG or someone mod, like the "dir practitioners zone"...make it opt-in, password protected or whatever you feel is needed...I´d like to see the rest of SB "lighten up" as well but I´m not holding my breath...

 

[JeffG]

if none of the "regular mods" feel up to it, let jepuskar or jeffG or someone mod,

been there...done that...didn't work out.

 

[Kim]

Kim,

Just for the record. I am about as WASPy conservative as they come. I fall somewhere to the right of Rush Limbaugh, and just a click to the left of Atilla the Hun when it comes to politics. I have strong religious beliefs too. I am a Deacon in my church.

All this to say that I favor loosening of the grip on the board, but in moderation. Let people talk about what they want to on the board (short of personal attacks and internet sex), but do it in the Opt-In forums.

If it is kept to the Opt-In forums it should not have any outside repurcutions on SB, as it will not come out in a Google search.

Not all Christian conservatives are intollerant tyrants. Everyone is entitled to my opinion, and if you dont like it **** you.

I think you are missing the point here. I attempted to write down how I believe the board is, at least to many, as things stand now. If you read back to my other posts you'll see that I also have no problem with the loosening that is being requested. I don't by any means think that all Christian and/or Right leaning people are automatically intolerant. I also don't think that intolerant tyranny as you put it is the exclusive territory of those view points. There's plenty of intolerant Left leaning folk as well.

Whether the board is loosened up or not, I do think that issues of fairness and balance also need to be addressed.

 

[MXGratefulDiver]

hmmmm ...

... Bob (Grateful Diver)