Thanks. That’s especially generous considering that apparently no one so far has extended you the same courtesy.
Poysyn announced an intent to pursue a new form of treatment, acupuncture, for his/her and her/his MIL’s physical ailments. The OP made it clear that s/he knew little or nothing about the practice, and asked for advice in choosing an acupuncturist. A poster saying, “Wait a minute, before you start maybe you should consider this,” may not be telling the OP what s/he wants to hear, but they’re certainly not off-topic, and they’re not being rude. So this example of your simplicity sounds like soap suds to me.
…and the thread did not ask you how to spell acupuncture, or the OP would have really been hosed. Czarcasm, nobody asked you what the thread was not. What I’m asking is why IMHO is now the go-to forum for the unfettered enabling of people who want to embark in blissful ignorance on controversial or questionable activities, including medical regimens that will directly impact their health and well-being. Your answer is simple indeed: if there had been a debate, you’d have moved it. You didn’t move it, therefore there will be no debate. I suggest that just maybe the reason it wasn’t a debate is because there had been no responses at all to the OP when you leapt in and limited the discussion. Could it be that IMHO has always just been above threads that contain any disagreement or contention? http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=350885 Apparently not.
So I suppose the Straight Dope will soon be the in place for would-be bulimics, trephination enthusiasts, etc. There’s no reason for it to be limited to medicine: there are plenty of people who have beliefs they can discuss openly only with like-minded folk. They have theories about genetics, mostly, but they have lots of religious and political ideas too. Up to now, they’ve stayed away from this board, but you’re working on making them a home of their own, where never is heard a discouraging word. I hope, Czarcasm, you’ll be here to welcome them.
Because, of course, the true destruction of a message board’s character always begins with an acupuncture thread.
I think that’s what destroyed CompuServe.
I know! Czarcasm, you’re the guy who invented those “free speech zones” where you could say almost whatever you wanted, out of the sight and hearing of whatever event or people you wanted to reach, aren’t you?
Your talent for inventing arguments you can answer while ignoring the ones that have actually been made will, I predict, make you a legend among moderators. First and only use of the word “censorship” came from, let’s see, you. Complaints that you’ve restricted posters’ freedom of speech are existent only in that room of your imagination where you’re winning this argument.
The problem is not that posters can’t begin another thread that addresses perceived flaws in the assumptions behind or factual basis of or ethics involved in an OP. The problem is that by excluding those facts and reasoning from the original thread, you’re creating a safe zone where any manner of idiotic crap, benign or dangerous, can find validation without restraint or dissent. There are people who don’t especially want their worldview challenged or questioned, and, while they’ll read their own threads, they won’t look around in other threads for evidence that they might be wrong. Thanks to you, they’ll have a forum in which they will find nothing but support.
The truth is, a would-be bulimic would find only supportive, enabling, pro-bulimia posts with which to hasten her own horrible demise at sixteen, as long as she had the sense to word her OP correctly and post it on your watch. And for that bold new direction in the SDMB’s mission, thank you.
I was going to post this in the original thread, but apparently I’m not supposed to. Pretty fucking stupid.
I tried acupuncture for three months several years ago to help alleviate migraine and other chronic pain issues. After three months of treatment, I had the longest migraine I’d ever had to date - approximately two weeks with no breaks. So the idea that “it can’t hurt” doesn’t seem to be true. The treatment was with a reputable physician who was also trained in acupuncture and other non-traditional practices.
Exactly. It would have been one thing if bunch of sanctimonious asses had posted in that thread saying how stupid acupunture is and what a fool anyone who believes in it is. But, stories like yours are exactly the sort of thing I’m sure the OP of the other thread would have appreciated hearing. But, noooo. Our very own Sphincter Boy, Czarcasm, had to go and cut the legs out from under thread before it could even stand up. I’m neither defending nor defaming acupuncture or its adherents–my opinion on that score is irrelevant to my complaint. It’s the preemptive Mother Hen attitude that burns my cheese here.
As for the OP? I’m mildly with King here. While I can see the benefit of restricting “acupuncture is bullshit!” posts, there does need to be room for “Have you delved into whether acupuncture is effective? Here are some resources that cast doubt on its efficacy” posts. I don’t know how to draw the line, but I would have drawn it more liberally than Czarcasm.
Oh yeah? You better sleep with one eye open. I got a red hot meme with Lefty engraved on it and I aint afraid to use it.
(I do concede that my accusation of Gaudering was, shall we say, somewhat less than accurate. Oh hell. Have it your way. I was wrong. There. You happy?)