Author: Fernando Villegas
Date: 18:09:11 06/19/98
Go up one level in this thread
On June 19, 1998 at 13:28:27, Bruce Moreland wrote: > >On June 19, 1998 at 12:23:40, Albert Silver wrote: > >>I'd agree with the first unreservedly but the second is tricky. If it is just a >>lot raving without any substantiated arguments such as "Program X sucks because >>it's lame and dumb and stupid and..." You get the picture... then you might >>consider removing it, but what about the argument that goes "Program X sucks >>because it's database functions are faulty, it erased my harddisk on 3 occasions >>and the manufacturer tried to have me evicted from my home!" Here we have the >>same excessive comment but followed by an attempt at justification. The last of >>course has nothing to do with the quality of the program, but should it be >>removed? I would argue not. > >Yes, you are right. There is a spectrum here. At the one end you have the >"f--- you" posts, and at the other you have a post that is well thought-out, >considerate, accurate, and yet introduces a degree of dischord, because the >poster doesn't approve of something and is telling us about it. > >It's not like we don't want the posts at one and, and we lightly discourage the >posts at the other end, I think we really do want those posts. > >And I think we want some that are closer to the middle, too. > >But it does seem apparent that there is a lot of potential for gray areas and >mistakes. > >bruce Hi Bruce. That precisely is, the grey area, what worried me when this issue was discussed, weeks ago. The problem -for me, at least- never has been post like those posted here by a supposedly drunk guy. Of course nobody wants to see that kind of stuff. My problem was with this grey area where always a chance exist that by degrees a sense of censorship begins to win ground. What about if a day comes when you, a poster, feel that you can be erased or warned because in the middle of the post you used a "dirty" word? What, if in one post it happens I talk of soccer results with Thorsten? Or about a movie related in the most remote fashion with chess? That's the reason I don't like very much the insistence that sometimes is done about the obvious fact this is a chess site, forgeting that in any place or site there is room for non related topics, from time to time. Best dirty jokes I ever heard in my life were told in a math simposium in my university, years ago, in a 5 minutes break. Not that I think you or any of the actual moderators will do something harsh if ever I tell a dirty joke, BUT the danger exist as much the system exist and maybe it is good to beware about that from time to time also. That will never happens as much there is people worried because that could happens and then posting all the time about the chance that can happen. If such worried people does not post never, you can lose one of the parameters of this site. No matter how smart you are, you are just a human being and as such, specially in a positions of some power, you need to receive some feedback to keep yourself in track. No right or left deviations. I hope this will not bother you, bust after all this issue of the drunken guy has already produced a very long thread...:-) Fernando
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