Freedom of Speech

[BarryMead]

Moderator's note to Barry;
Stop restarting threads and a subject that have been closed 8 times.
Stop looking for controversy for controversy's sake.
Stop stirring the pot for fun. There are other exciting things to do in other places.
-db

[Joe Horn]

Just thinking out loud: It is perfectly reasonable to limit freedom of speech in certain places and at certain times. During a stand-up comedy act with audience interaction, any audience member who launches into a religious or political harangue would be promptly ejected, because that's not what the people there have gathered to hear. Conversely, if somebody stood up during a religious service and started telling filthy jokes, he or she would be likewise ejected, because that's not what the people there have gathered to hear. There IS a time and a place for everything, including free speech. If the moderators here ever decide that the MoHPC forums are not the proper place for any particular posting or discussion, then IMHO it would be perfectly reasonable for them to delete it.

Disclaimer: The above was my opinion when I wrote it, but I reserve the right to learn new things, and to change my opinions accordingly.

EDIT: BTW, why is this discussion in the "Not quite HP Calculators - but related" forum? It would be more appropriate in the "Forum Issues and Administration" forum.

[mfleming]

Freedom of Speech, as enshrined in the First Amendment of the Bill of Rights, is based on the Enlightenment principle of rational discourse and an open mind to countervailing argument. It is not a license to say whatever one pleases in whatever tone one wishes. No one here, I am certain, would seek or advocate limiting the former practice.

Just my two shiny copper-plated zinc-slug Lincolns,
~Mark

[Joe Horn]

(04-30-2018 01:47 AM)Mike (Stgt) Wrote:  

(04-30-2018 01:01 AM)Joe Horn Wrote:  [...] I reserve the right to learn new things, and to change my opinions accordingly. [...]

Do I hear the words of a scientist or in the least of an enlightenment-aware mind?

If people modified their opinions as methodically as scientists modify their theories (using the Scientific Method), would we be happier, or would we become emotionless like the always-logical Vulcans? I have no opinion on that, since I have no data from which to formulate a hypothesis.

[Graham D. Wilson]

Barry,

I too was distressed and surprised that the threads in question were closed. The tone of some of the posts was very agressive, but these IMO could have been better dealt with on an individual basis. It's never a good idea to shut down a whole discussion because of the behaviour of one or two posters, particularly if the topic is relevant and interesting, as was the case here.

Thanks for raising this -- it's very important.

Graham
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Moderator's Note to Graham:
Thank you for your opinion. Everybody has one.
I just looked at my PM account here. From 3/29 to 4/24 I have sent 30 messages to, and got about 45 including the "reports" on the subject from members- on that series of flames and threads that you are talking about. Is that not "individual" enough for you? Do we need to hug and swap spit?
That was not just "one or two posters" - "behavior". It spread to 3 or 4 more bad actors and several "experts" who all disagreed.. And I disagree with you: it was NOT an "interesting" topic. It was a useful topic and as far as I can see the people's error was addressed and is supposedly being fixed. It's "interesting"ness faded quickly into a morass of name calling, f-bombing, and insult, mostly from Gier with Fermi a close second.
Except for that recent run of garbage and this new controversy for the sake of controversy here; 8000 members have posted 93,000 times in 10,000 threads with only 17 problems. 12 of that 17 concerned one former member. If that starts up again, we're going to be short some members. I'm sick of the childishness. If you don't like that, complain about me. -db
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[EdS2]

<<<Mod Note: Thank you EdS2. I'm closing this thread and leaving your post as the final word. Hopefully; the excuse for all that excitement is getting fixed right now. -db>>>

Posts in those threads were often repetitive, aggressive, and ill-informed. More heat than light, you might say.

A person can post their thoughts and their questions in any number of places on the web. Any given place might have a culture and have norms, and might offer an audience. If you want to reach a particular audience, you need to play by the local rules. If a forum wants to keep its membership, it needs to enforce those rules. If a person finds it impossible to understand or conform, they may find themselves unwelcome - that's their problem.

It takes time and energy to moderate a forum. Whatever the best possible and gentlest response might be - and I agree, a temporary ban and some well-worded private advice would be ideal - there will be times when a moderator or owner just does what they can to keep the peace, and that's absolutely fine. We, the membership, are not owed any particular level of service, or any service at all. The best we can do is to do our best to behave well, according to local norms.