A post in another thread I thought was interesting:
His POV assumes a lot about what constitutes “soul” in a message board. But to get away from the specifics of THIS board for a moment, it’s something I hear a lot, especially in relation to discussing boards like 4chan.
So, do you think there’s inherent value to being able to say or do whatever you please in a message board? What about the ability specifically to flame/insult/what have you? Is it being “wimpy” to not be able to do so? If so, to what extent?
I think it’s good to have a place that lets people blow off steam and say whatever they want to one another, so I would vote to lift all the current bans on pit language. Yes, words can be hurtful, but I would expect anyone who is a member of this board to have the intelligence to understand that The Pit by its very nature is not going to be a warm and fuzzy place. That is not its purpose.
I don’t think it’s “wimpy” not to allow certain things to be said, but I do think it perhaps prolongs the acrimony between “pit-er” and “pit-ee” when both are posters. If people had the freedom to just get whatever beef they have with another poster off their chests using any words they wanted in one fell swoop, I don’t think there would be as much sniping and subtle displays of hostility in other forums. It’s like the internet equivalent of a couple of guys getting into a fistfight and then having a beer later on.
You can’t say and do whatever you please in real life. The only reason people want to do it on the Internet is because they aren’t looking people in the eye and they aren’t accountable for their words. It is phony “power” fed by anger, anonymity and offense.
In real life, people have a chance to walk away, to avoid you, to punch you in the face if necessary, and by all means, to continue the conversation without you. Obnoxious assholes get marginalized and ignored.
On an unmoderated Internet, you can spam bullshit and abuse until you overwhelm the ability and interest of others to maintain that line of communication, and thus you destroy other people’s rights to communicate.
Seeing as the restrictions are only words, and all you get is a reminder if you slip up, I don’t see the problem. We’re Dopers–surely we can take the time out to replace one word with another before clicking submit. It’s an unnecessary annoyance, but hardly changes anything. What changed the “soul” of this board was how it was accomplished, and who left or reduced posting because of it.
The only time it’s really bad are places like Wikipedia where you can’t even discuss how angry someone has made you without it being characterized as a personal attack. You are not allowed to even make reasonable determination of intent–you have to assume good faith. Sure, it’s a good idea to do in most situations, but there are times when it is not.