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Prince · 02-10-2004, 11:45 PM

While it is true that the board doesn't belong to the people, without the people there'd be no community, and thus no purpose for the board, either. Right? Which means that ultimately we'll just have to find a way to get along.

I guess the subject matter's already been done to death, but I wanted to share my thoughts as well anyway. As far as the privacy of the journal entries is concerned, I personally never assumed that they would be completely "for my eyes only". That's just the nature of the Internet, and by posting in an online journal I accept the risk.

The issue of free speech, that a few touched on, is another thing entirely. A lot of the time when posting on TFP, I feel slightly worried that I am going to say something, accidentally, that someone will be offended by, and I will get banned for it. I've even expressed this concern to staff members in the TFP chat, and they told me that generally no one gets banned without a warning.

However... I still worry, I guess. I really like TFP, I've no qualms with its rules, and I thoroughly enjoy being part of a community as open-minded and welcoming as this one. I guess that alone is enough to generate concern; when one finds something that they deem precious to them, they want to hang onto it, and worry about making a mistake that will cause them to lose it.

I think what adds to this is that every now and then, especially recently, I see people getting banned, and not knowing why. And not just minors who stumbled on the site and signed up, but members that were here long before I found the place, members whose posts I've enjoyed immensely and whose footsteps I've followed in an effort to become a better member of this fine community. Seeing these said individuals suddenly carry the "banned" label is unnerving, obviously. Probably most so because there is no way to know what happened. That makes one feel a bit...paranoid, I guess, would be the word.

Don't misunderstand - I do believe that the admins and mods at TFP are honest and good at what they do. I don't question their decisions. It is simply that the abruptness of these bannings makes one feel wary of saying or doing anything that might rub someone else the wrong way. Hell, I feel a bit worried just posting these thoughts here, because someone might interpret this as site-bashing - while my intent is nothing of the kind. I am mentioning this because I think others share similar concerns, and I think these concerns are really felt needlessly.

I fall short of providing a solution, though. A thread of explanations of bans? Hardly...not everything has to be explained (what does?) and mods are busy enough as is. I guess I don't have a solution. But I think this open discussion is a healthy step in the right direction - as long as we all keep our cool and realize that each action has a reaction. That's how a community works, after all.

02-10-2004, 11:45 PM	#45 (permalink)
Prince /nɑndəsˈkrɪpt/ Location: LV-426	While it is true that the board doesn't belong to the people, without the people there'd be no community, and thus no purpose for the board, either. Right? Which means that ultimately we'll just have to find a way to get along. I guess the subject matter's already been done to death, but I wanted to share my thoughts as well anyway. As far as the privacy of the journal entries is concerned, I personally never assumed that they would be completely "for my eyes only". That's just the nature of the Internet, and by posting in an online journal I accept the risk. The issue of free speech, that a few touched on, is another thing entirely. A lot of the time when posting on TFP, I feel slightly worried that I am going to say something, accidentally, that someone will be offended by, and I will get banned for it. I've even expressed this concern to staff members in the TFP chat, and they told me that generally no one gets banned without a warning. However... I still worry, I guess. I really like TFP, I've no qualms with its rules, and I thoroughly enjoy being part of a community as open-minded and welcoming as this one. I guess that alone is enough to generate concern; when one finds something that they deem precious to them, they want to hang onto it, and worry about making a mistake that will cause them to lose it. I think what adds to this is that every now and then, especially recently, I see people getting banned, and not knowing why. And not just minors who stumbled on the site and signed up, but members that were here long before I found the place, members whose posts I've enjoyed immensely and whose footsteps I've followed in an effort to become a better member of this fine community. Seeing these said individuals suddenly carry the "banned" label is unnerving, obviously. Probably most so because there is no way to know what happened. That makes one feel a bit...paranoid, I guess, would be the word. Don't misunderstand - I do believe that the admins and mods at TFP are honest and good at what they do. I don't question their decisions. It is simply that the abruptness of these bannings makes one feel wary of saying or doing anything that might rub someone else the wrong way. Hell, I feel a bit worried just posting these thoughts here, because someone might interpret this as site-bashing - while my intent is nothing of the kind. I am mentioning this because I think others share similar concerns, and I think these concerns are really felt needlessly. I fall short of providing a solution, though. A thread of explanations of bans? Hardly...not everything has to be explained (what does?) and mods are busy enough as is. I guess I don't have a solution. But I think this open discussion is a healthy step in the right direction - as long as we all keep our cool and realize that each action has a reaction. That's how a community works, after all. __________________ Who is John Galt?