Please forgive my denseness newcrasher, but I’m not sure I completely understand how wide you want to apply civility. Are you concerned about civility in the Pit as well as the other forums?
Beautifully stated, newcrasher , I agree with every word.
The mods are discussing this issue off-line. We’re trying to balance lots of different issues: free speech (even if unpopular or potentially insulting to a large group), hate speech, personal insults, and group insults… and just plain good manners.
There’s no simple answers, and we’re going to have to call each incident as we see it.
And, by the way, the mods do disagree amongst themselves from time to time, but we also agree that once a call is made, we don’t want another mod overturning it: that way lies chaos. Overturning a mod’s decision is usually a group decision, behind the scenes, and that takes time … and may not happen.
Even in the cases where I have had my hand smacked by the mods, I have felt that you have always been fair and decent. My criticism is meant in the most respectful sense.
I appreciate what you guys (and gals) do to keep the Dope the fine establishment that it is. There truly is no other place like it.
Best regards,
Newcrasher
I just want to say that if I were to ever change my screename it would have to be to Hypothetical Doper
No need to overturn a decision Just clarify for events from this point forward.
OK, it’s been a couple of weeks. Plenty of time for consultation. Has the apparent contradiction in the rules been resolved? Care to fill us in?
Well… it’s not a Parliamentary system where we actually count a vote. In fact, the discussions got kind of sidetracked by other, more immediate, issues.
I think that the moderators’ conclusion was that the rules, as they stand, are pretty clear in most situations and don’t need amendment. That is, wishing death or severe bodily harm upon any group or individuals (regardless of whether they are posters) is not acceptable in general. However, we recognize that there are situations, such as discussing war or capital punishment, when such comments might be made against groups (or even individuals) outside our Message Boards. There are no circumstances under which such comments might be made against specific members of our Message Boards.
As with all our rules, individual circumstances may call for stricter or more lenient application.