Cherry once bubbled...
It appears to me that only threads which are critical of the war are trashed. It is unfortunate that we cant discuss issues so very important to our world community. I appreciate that the US, UK, and Aussie troops are in harms way but just like in 1969 and another war there is a strong opposition to the war both in the US and outside. Isnt it a tenent of a democratic society that we can hold and express disenting views? There are a number of disturbing issues emerging from this conflict that need to be discussed. Journalism for example and the impact of "Embedding". Hopefully with respect for other peoples right to have those disenting opinions. the personal attacks have no place in a reasonable disscussion.
Is the scubaboard a place for this disscussion? .....if you have a section on non-diving issues the answer is Yes.
Cherry
I respectfully disagree. A quick review of the open threads shows that there are no war-related threads that remain open. Most have been deleted and I suspect that the participants have been warned.
You can discuss world events to your heart's content. Just not here.
Similarly, you can hold and express dissenting views. Just not here.
Finally, you can discuss so-called disturbing issues. Just not here.
I suspect that there are probably thousands of sites where you can discuss politics and the war. I'm equally sure that there are thousands of others where you cannot. This is simply one of the latter.
Providing a Non-Diving Forum does not somehow create a free for all, in which any thread may be posted. The fact remains that this is a private, non-governmental board in which the owners can limit access and content in any way they deem fit. The moderators, acting as agents of the owners, can do the same.
In this case, the owners have elected to prohibit war-related threads. I suspect that this is because the constant fighting was not helping the board and did not fit in with their vision of the board as a place where people could discuss diving. Indeed, these arguments have diminished the Board as knowledgeable members avoid posting or leave the board.
It all boils down to this. Any members' right to freely express themselves on this board is subordinate to the owners' right to limit the expression.
People who disagree have three options.
1. Accept the restrictions and enjoy the scuba discussions.
2. Voluntarily leave.
3. Post offensive threads until the member is banned from posting and the threads are removed.
Finally, let me point out that this thread is alive and well because IT DOES NOT TAKE A POSITION ON THE WAR. So stop trying to turn it into one. Any questions, please select from options 1 or 2 above. If you want to proceed directly to option 3, please PM NetDoc, Spectre or another moderator for prompt processing.
