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

[piikki]

So far we've had over 5000 views, 300 posts, from around 60 people. It's fairly obvious that this isn't a non-issue. It's also fairly obvious what most people think.

My interpretation would be that most people don’t give a toss. They are quite content to discuss scuba here. It's an interesting read though.

Although I might sympathize with a lot of things said about the overt Americanness of this board, and often feel frustrated knowing that I have had to make a conscious decision not to participate in several topics I’d desire because I know ‘where it will lead’ and how quickly my non-American strong views will be (automatically) misunderstood – I still view this board as SCUBAboard. This is not rec.all.my.life and I don’t expect it to be. I don’t waddle over to other areas of my interests and demand to express all I’ve got in the same place either – unless people are willing to accommodate me.

If I find friends I want to hang out with, I try to arrange to be with them. At this day and age – and how it sounds to be here on board too – people have a lot of options to communicate with the ones they want to. I can ask if it’s ok on someone’s turf but I don’t really expect to talk sex, drugs and politics at the other hobby sites I frequent either. Indeed they are way stricter about off-topic banter and some of them are even way larger than Scubaboard. And even more American

I much rather the serves not be crashing all the time under the pressure, and ‘personal stuff’ not spilling over to General areas. Because it will, kid us not. We’ve seen how well some people can contain themselves. I am already tired of some of the stuff in some of the areas. You see how other members need to explain some old wars or “personalities” to eg newbies who do not understand what is going on with bitter remarks and weird responses out of context. We don’t need the religious and political jabs and sexual innuendo to start slithering between the lines. It will. Let's be realistic. Don’t need more cryptic posts on the general area that are ‘just funny’ but ‘just for few’. And just wait till someone is wronged in the Opt-in area and the Headlines appear in the Whine&Cheeze and Site Support because EVERYBODY needs to know now!!!

And I thank the Scubaboard for being one of the few “adult” sites that in today’s world actually cares for monitoring for foul language. I find demands to allow more cussing and rude language just plain silly. Because it happens everywhere else and “is real” makes Scubaboard weird in this regard? Just because it happens does not make it not desirable to try stop it from happening here. Kudos for that. If that’s too childish for you, or limits your expression, I’d turn the gaze inwards for a moment.

 

[Damselfish]

My interpretation would be that most people don’t give a toss.

I bet lots of people don't agree with the way many things go here, but also figure there is no point in posting about it - just watch others beat their heads against a brick wall doing it. Sort of like for every letter a TV network gets about a cancelled show, or a politician gets about an issue, it is figured there are N times as many who agree but don't bother to write.

Some complain, some tolerate it, some quietly go away. I know I keep getting closer to the last.

 

[Missdirected]

This thread has become useless. I can't fathom someone would want to sit and read 16 pages of the same people moaning and restating their opinion ad nauseam. This thread has become a train wreck. Talk about bullying...

Pikki - loved your last paragraph.

 

[NathanBrazil]

I bet lots of people don't agree with the way many things go here, but also figure there is no point in posting about it - just watch others beat their heads against a brick wall doing it. Sort of like for every letter a TV network gets about a cancelled show, or a politician gets about an issue, it is figured there are N times as many who agree but don't bother to write.

Some complain, some tolerate it, some quietly go away. I know I keep getting closer to the last.

Convenient to interpret silence that way.

 

[merxlin]

This thread has become useless. I can't fathom someone would want to sit and read 16 pages of the same people moaning and restating their opinion ad nauseam. This thread has become a train wreck. Talk about bullying...

Pikki - loved your last paragraph.

You are probably right about it ending it's usefulness. Trying to categorize and assign moral direction to how and why particular mods do what they do, without input from those mods, is pointless conjecture. However, the purpose of this area was to provide feedback to the management about the board. I think they should have learned much from this thread.

 

[fisheyeview]

This thread has become useless. I can't fathom someone would want to sit and read 16 pages of the same people moaning and restating their opinion ad nauseam. This thread has become a train wreck. Talk about bullying...

Pikki - loved your last paragraph.

I think you are wrong about that MissD. El asked for feedback on the board, and this is the first serious feedback he has gotten. How is that useless?

With the exception of a few Trolls this thread has been pretty civil. I haven't felt bullied at all. There are different points of view on this, and people should be allowed to express those views.

 

[piikki]

There will never be consistency - GET OVER IT. Who cares if it is a more liberal view that gets censored or a more conservative one - SHOCK NEWS - real people making decisions coloured by their beliefs. Whatever next?

The mod's are a diverse set of people, from different cultures, countries and different backgrounds. They are human beings - they get happy, sad, tired, good days, bad days and all of things things shape their unpaid and generally unappreicated work on this board.

You'll never get a perfectly consistent set of enforcement of the rules, as there will be disagreements between the mod team just as the members will disagree. Whining about it will not achive anything productive - maybe heed the lesson and stay away from subjects you are unable to comentate on without being sufficiently careful to stay within the guidelines.

I think that pretty much already answered the question about Mod inconsistency. The biggest whiners about Mod-infarctions seem to be the repeat pushers too. However quite pushy from me to state something like that: I am quite unaware of the BIG incidents people are referring to. I would render a guess that if there was a poll about how many members feel wronged by a Mod, the results would be quite overwhelmingly on the NO-side.

I myself have been surprised of couple of the Mods/Mod choices/actions but generally I would say that they seem to be doing pretty well for a board like this. I think it’s good people are taking SB seriously and get nearly crazy about it but demanding some measurable “sameness” from Mods sounds a bit unrealistic. I am sure my opinion will change the moment I get personally wounded in some Mod blunder, real or concocted…

To an outsider it appears that some people might be more bitter than hyped up though, and one wonders if it always really is change that is sought. Often it appears that the regular content on SB starts to bore the old timers at some point, and then it’s “action at any cost”. Maybe at that point an order for SB2 is in place. Then one can just hang out with divers but do not even need to talk about diving. Maybe people who want to deal with that need to deal with that. It’s not “go away”, it’s just “expand the horizon” type of thing. Why risk the existing when you can build something to exist side-by-side. And why make others do the work and policing for you when there seems to be so much enthusiasm to make it happen? This has been suggested, there is no need to take it like an insulted kid – fly with the idea!

 

[Cacia]

I am sure there are many people aware of crossing the TOS and feeling some responsibilty to do it anyway. Both the right and the left have some passion, because these things matter.

What I fear the most is that more and more people will be silent out of fear of being inappropriate and we will all slip into comas.

I gain so much from people here and am fascinated with their opinions and why they hold the ones they do. Even when the moderation is inconsistent, that itself is pretty interesting. Have people really been offended lately, on a regular basis?

I like to think I am pretty objective, but I see that Christians get kicked around more than most. I guess it is just their turn or something, but it is all over the place, not just here, fwiw. Most of the ones here hang pretty tough in the face of lots of condescention and I admire that about them. It has been good for me to be exposed to that tolerant, kind group of them. I am not sure I would get that exposure anywhere else I go.

 

[jepuskar]

And I thank the Scubaboard for being one of the few “adult” sites that in today’s world actually cares for monitoring for foul language.

Does that even make sense? Monitoring foul language is something that is done in school in the 5th grade...for kids...not adults. Also, dont think that the kids who find themselves here learned anything more negative then when they watch their local news or step outside.

So who are we protecting? Your virgin ears?

It is possible to maintain a civil forum without personal attacks AND one that allows ADULT language to be used.

Outkast has a song that some of you should listen to..its called ROSES!!!

 

[jepuskar]

I agree with jepuskar and the OP.