Okay. That this board leans left. That the moderation I’ve seen is in alignment with that. There have been those political mapping exercises that, evidently, due to postings by members from time to time, show the board to lean left. Whether the mods themselves participated, and shared their results, I don’t know.
But you ask for evidence, I give you that. If you’re looking for “proof”, I don’t have it. But I think the Jesse Helms vs the Ted Kennedy death threads comes pretty close. Though I don’t deny there is a defense, albeit an extremely weak one IMO, in that instance.
Y’know, I keep waiting to be disappointed by one of your arguments, and by you managing to be meaningfully right about something, which would be a serious letdown, but I have to say you somehow always manage to deliver the goods.
That your accusation that I don’t see his behavior as trolling, shows some failing on my part.
No problem. I’ll ask then if every other mod weighed in on his alleged trolling. Did they? If not, the “at least” qualifier should precede the “one mod”.
This is getting tiresome. I’ve said, and am saying, it played a part. The same way that his extremism off the right end of the spectrum caused more of a commotion than if it were to the left. That you would deny this is amazing to me.
Uh no, I am free to read the posts on this board and reach an opinion. I can then share that opinion. You are free to disregard that opinion. But from what I’ve posted in this thread, the facts as I have relayed them should at least give you pause. If not, not.
My point is that political orientation influences your (pl) decisions. It does not *dictate *your thinking and action as a mod, but plays a part in it.
While I very rarely participated in 2.5’s threads and thought some of them ridiculous, this notion that he is a troll is wishful thinking. His OPs, some of which I thought were, well, weird, surprisingly often got serious responses. People were engaged. He frustrated people. By both his extreme (right) position and the tenacity with which he held onto a position. To many of the usual suspects, this means, ergo, he is not debating honestly and is a troll.
The Ted Kennedy death thread was indicative, IMO obviously, of political favoritism. Yes, there was an explanation offered, but it read like complete bullshit to me. He made his point very well—and much more strongly with his OP than if it had been just a post in the Helms thread. It was a masterful OP to shed light on the bad taste of another.
Well, I commend you on your self-awareness and your efforts. This is not meant to be snarky, but maybe you can try harder. also, the number of times you’ve admonished posters from either side should fall along the lines you describe, shouldn’t they? Or are you of the mind that there are not more posts by people from the left than the right?
And you go right on believing that if it makes you feel better. I don’t recall having an issue with you in the past. The only blow-up I recall with the mods is a repeated one with tomndebb, who I respect highly in most regards. My view of the mods in general, which includes you, were that they were generally bright, generally fair, but leaned to the left, just like the member group itself. Big surprise. And like people with any leaning, sometimes that bias revealed itself in their work. I’ve been a member for a couple of years and think I have a general sense of the SDMB. I will grant you that my leanings probably color how I see things, as well. But I take that into account as much as I can. In the end, I can choose to participate or not. I’ve considered quitting, and might. I have lessened my activity. Partially due to work and partially due to the same old shit.
One of the things that gets tiresome is that demanding of EVIDENCE. As if every position and opinion can be supported by pointing to some magic thing that will change everyone’s mind. You’ve done it here in your post. Not everything is a scientific proposition or an issue for a court of law. I’m happy to share my thinking as to why and how I might have arrived at a particular position, and oftentimes that is precisely what is called for. But many think that a cite proves their case.
Anyway, that more than you asked for, but there it is.
Not to speak for anybody else, but the rule is that at least one mod and two admins have to agree in order to suspend or ban a guest or member in good standing. We had significantly more than that, and as Colibri said, nobody objected.
And maybe you should engage you brain before yapping with yours. But let’s see, if you think someone’s politics are of the greasy fucking scumbag variety (which may very well be the case) that they should be banned. Or be suspended. Or are a troll. Or both. Is that right? Because that is the issue. What exactly is your point anyway? That you can turn off your brain and froth at the same time? In that case, well done.
We require that multiple mods weigh in before we ban or suspend somebody. People can volunteer their own opinions and I won’t speak for them, but Colibri is correct - there was no disagreement that a suspension was warranted.
Then in general, I don’t recognize the majority you’re describing. The collective stance is a low tolerance for bullshit. The correct approach is to marginalize bullshit. What orthodoxy are you describing?
Also, you’ve mistakenly assumed that 2.5 was interested in debate. If the threads inspired debate, it was in spite of him.
Thank you. But that doesn’t answer my question. My question was were “all” mods polled, as opposed to just multiple mods. Obviously this would go to the veracity of Colibri’s earlier claim in Post 90, in which he was arguing against my claim that there was not a consensus among Dopers (including mods) that 2.5 was a troll:
Maybe you’re right. The only think I can say for him is that he started almost as many OP as BrainGlutton and was more involved in the subsequent debate. He was engaged, was he not?
(For the record, I’m not in any way implying the BG treads into trollery.)
The orthodoxy I’m describing is liberal thinking. While bullshit in general is attacked, that to the right is done so more often and with more fervor. Do you disagree with that assessment?
What Colibri told you is exactly correct. Everyone was asked for his opinion, as always happens in these cases. Nobody disagreed that a suspension was called for.
Well, I can’t dispute that there apparently are more board member who self-identify as liberal than conservative, and I suppose one could plausibily extned that bias to the Mods based on percentages, as they tend to come from the general board population, but I beleive I’ve seen enough around here be able to say to say that the claim that the Moderation is has some sort of leftist alignment is nebulous at best. Of course, that’s just my bias showing.
Anyway, that’s really about as much energy as I’m care to spend on this teapot tempest. Dude in question’s gonna be back in a few weeks then we’ll see what’s waht.
Maybe it just shows that the bullshit is thicker on the right. It wouldn’t surprise me, if “conservatism” had at its core the belief that things were better in the old days. If it’s the nature of “liberalism” to analyze this sentiment and point out that the reason the old days are the old days is because they were based on ideas that we no longer need - i.e. blacks are best kept in their place, women belong in the home, cutting the balls off criminals is okay, executing all felons is okay.
Personally, I hate communism and woo-woo new age mysticism (both arguably leftist). When those threads show up, I’m all over them. I’m getting out of practice, though, since I haven’t seen one in a while. Please start one with an OP embracing Stalin or therapeutic touch so I can get my freak on.
I appreciate your help. Look, I’m sorry to belabor this point, and I’m willing to let it go, but you keep changing the phrasing. The question is NOT was everyone asked whether to suspend. The question, since you were nice enough to want to shed light on this, goes to the accusation of trollery. So, if you’re so inclined:
How many mods are there?
How many were asked, specifically, if he or she considered 2.5 to be a troll?
How many answered in the affirmative? How many, the negative? And how many didn’t answer?
I’m glad to hear it. But when I see hateful idiots like Der Trihs get the same type of sustained attack with torches that 2.5 got, and mods helping, I’ll believe the board is more balanced. Until then, it’s the SDMB. It is what it is. Just like the socialist training ground I live in: San Francisco.
Well, hasn’t DT picked up enough Pit threads over his membership? Warnings? I admit I don’t know, I just regard him mostly as an embarrassment to my beloved atheism.
