Tangled Metal wrote:So someone, other than CG, made a decision about the Brexit thread that you disagree with and, with others no doubt, feel wasn't neutral, right?
First off I'm biased because I think there's too much political discussion on this cycling forum anyway so personally I am glad the Brexit thread was shut down. With that declaration up front I would ask you what makes you think there's bias in the decision to lock the thread? I've not time to read this whole thread to find out. Could you bias be part of your opinion? Are you neutral in coming to your opinion?
I've dropped in and out of Brexit threads on several forums and I almost universally have the opinion that their only use now is to argue among a small group of hard core and totally partisan participants without much real benefit or outcomes worth viewing. I've stopped visiting them. Occasionally I'll drop in if something actually happens but always disappointed across all the forums I visit. What is the point of serving without the chance of changing others views? It seems to me more a form of bloodsport where it you can't get the stronger, regular ones you'll pick off the weaker, visitors to the thread instead. It's the internet warrior thread full of men trying to assert themselves over others. I'm very cynical about it and see those polarised, political threads as evidence to why political threads shouldn't be in a cycling forum.
I have already stated those reasons in this thread.
It is not something I wish to keep repeating ad nauseum and if you haven't read it, with respect, that's not my problem.
I wrote it once and Admin has admitted "being biased". And that's fair and honest enough.
For it is not my wish to mount a full scale personal assault here, merely point out what I thought a particularly bad decision for all the wrong reasons.
The contentious issue is/was whether the B thread was locked for moderating reasons (for which no evidence has been forthcoming), or for political "expedience"?
The general drift probably becoming ever more distasteful to "Admin".
That is, and always was, the nub here.
Nobody forces anyone to read insignificant ordinary people's views on any subject on this fairly small forum (though it is often very interesting and diverse place).
And nobody minds at all if people don't read stuff!
However I do value my small bit of freedom of speech. And I really do detest censorship or suppression in any form.
A right of reply is sacrosanct.
The "Tea Shop" is an open discussion forum?? "Open" being the operative word.
Politics has a rightful and reasonable place within it??
I would say yes.
I thought the "B thread" had again become quite interesting actually, as the "great" day approached.
Real and substantive had long overtaken "gut feeling".
It was locked, IMV, for that very reason.
The same reason why, I think, that the, "What Has The EU Ever Done For You" thread was TOTALLY deleted before the Referendum.
An abuse of power and privilege?
My view is that locking the last B thread was done because the main thrust of the thread had become noticeably positive about EU membership and that the problems arising through leaving had become more obvious.
I suggest that you, "Tangled", go and have a look at that last locked Brexit thread before you comment again. For you will find a pretty reasonable, sometimes quite interesting, and polite discussion.
((With a rather personal, but totally unrelated to Brexit, little spat, (and quite unmoderated)) in the later pages).
So how much actual time was being spent moderating that last B thread in comparison to others??
((The seemingly innocuous (no pun etc) "Vaccine" thread attracted a notorious mocking strife causer immediately, and was quite heavily moderated on the very first page!))
Time spent on "spam" is totally and completely irrelevant to the discussion here.
Abusive language is automatically detected on the forum?
And other forum users flag what they consider offensive to be looked at by a moderator.
So where is this supposed taking up of too much time??
And who or what caused the B thread to be locked?
These are questions that have not been satisfactorily answered in my opinion.
......
<SNIP - please stop the Brexit stuff. Thank you : Graham >