Moderation Complaint Thread # 29304821

[Giant Squid]

In the OT, Dookie (Nimrod) recently made a thread arguing that when religious people do good deeds it can actually just be a selfish act trying to get to heaven. I found this to be an intelligent commentary on morality. Ming said it "demonstrated ignorance" and closed it. It is my opinion that it is not the moderator's job to judge whether a thread is right or not, only whether it is disruptive and violates the rules of this site. Would anyone important reading this please look into that? Thanks.

EDIT: Complaint 2: There were 83 posts on a thread continuing an old tradition, that of the Apolyton Elections. Last year, we held some elections just for fun (NOT to get someone to overthrow the mods or anything). People put a lot of work into this year's elections, and they were just closed under the pretense that "Apolyton is not a democracy". While this may be true in leadership, I don't think even the Communist Chinese have a problem with people holding mock elections for nothing, especially when they're already half done.

Please remember that both of these threads were the only threads the poster was allowed to post for a good part of a day, that they both saw nothing wrong with them, and that they were both made useless.


PS: Don't yell at me, I'm SUPPOSED to post OT moderation stuff here
<font size=1 face=Arial color=444444>[This message has been edited by Giant Squid (edited September 06, 2000).]</font>

[Ming]

Blah Blah Blah...

You know that the "election" game is no longer played here. You have micronations for that. This is a game site, not a micronation. It would have been closed much sooner if I had seen it, but I've been away for a week.

Next... Dookies attempt to insult people that believed in God deserved to be closed. It is an interesting topic, but he presented it as a pure insult to anybody that believes in God. If he wishes to have a more mature discussion on the point, I see no problem with the topic. It has been discussed before. The way it was written was just asking for a flame war.

So complain all you want... I expect it from you

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Ming
CivII & Off-Topic Forum Moderator
Ming@Apolyton.net

[Giant Squid]

I know nothing of the sort. The elections preceded micronations by a long time, and many people who participated in the elections have flatly refused to join micronations when I have asked. What is more, you allow one micronation thread on the front page anyway. Fine...count this as the one thread and re-open it if you insist on misunderstanding the meaning of micronationalism.

As for Dookie's thread, I have no clue how you can construe that to be an insult. Personally, I think threads that say religious people are evil because they're responsible for the Crusades, etc. blah blah are far more insulting, but those have been left open. The thread makes a very valid point, and, in fact, I happen to agree with it. I strongly doubt it was only to insult religious people; there would be much easier ways.

PS: Just out of curiousity, when was the last time you reversed one of your decisions?

[Ming]

As far as Dookies thread being insulting... it is a matter of opinion. And while we both disagree on whether it was insulting or not, the point is, I thought it was insulting, and it is my job to monitor this stuff.

And your memory must be failing you... Even mock elections have been off limits for a long time. Yes there were some elections attempted a long time ago, and that is why they aren't allowed now. Again, if you want to hold elections, go to a micronation and vote all you want. Your point that some people don't want to be involved in micronations is not relevant.
And to your point that this should be allowed if you call it a micronation thread is a joke. I don't care what you want to call it... but an election is an election. Any such threads in the future will be deleted without comment. And if it continues, people will get restricted.

And yes, I have reversed myself in the past... but neither of the cases you mention here warrent it. Yeah, it's just an opinion. But you are welcome to yours, and I am welcome to mine


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Ming
CivII & Off-Topic Forum Moderator
Ming@Apolyton.net

[Murgatroyd]

Ming: I have already PMed you on this topic, but I will make my position public here. To put it bluntly, I think your decision to shut down the elections was a blatant abuse of power.This was a fun little thing that had been going on for a full week. No one thought that the election would lead to an actual shift in the balance of power, and over the course of the week, it did not get out of hand. We do not expect you to be perfect all the time, but we do expect you to be reasonable. Please reopen the thread.

Murgatroyd
p.s. I consider your threat to "restrict" anyone who posts a thread like this in the future to be unreasonable.

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Repeal the 1 Thread/8 Hour Limit!

[Ming]

Again... It's your opinion, and I have mine. In the past, I have closed down any attempted elections since the original ones. I'm just being consistant. The only reason that thread wasn't closed down sooner was because I was on vacation and hadn't seen it.

Again, you want elections... go to a micronation.

And GS... one question for you. Have you ever admitted you have been wrong?

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Ming
CivII & Off-Topic Forum Moderator
Ming@Apolyton.net

[Provost Harrison]

I have seen several occasions where threads have been closed down tonight, and in my opinion, they have been overmoderation. MarkG or MLeonard or DanQ haven't seen fit to do this so far. So why should you be any different? Sometimes I think this dislike of spamming is becoming a damn psychosis!

[Ming]

Gee... everybody is different the last time I checked

We all use our own judgement and opinions to do the jobs we do. I'm sorry we don't agree... but... that's the way it is. One of my jobs is to stop the spam. And I do what I feel is in the best interest of Apolyton. We are all welcome to our opinions

[Giant Squid]

Ming: Sure. SSOM, for example. And while the rest of us have our opinions, we tend not to force them onto others. And if everyone's so different, why is yours the only opinion that counts in the closing of threads. (PS: I'm not too mad about the elections, but I really think that morality thread was legitimate)

[Ming]

I'm just doing my job... I am the moderator, remember

And again, you are welcome to your opinion, just like I am

[Murgatroyd]

I agree with GS about forcing one's opinions on others. Also, please stop using that " " in the middle of what we want to be a serious discussion.

Murgatroyd
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Repeal the 1 Thread/8 Hour Limit!

[Caesar]

<center><table width=80%><tr><td><font color=000080 face="Verdana" size=2><font size="1">quote:
<img src="/images/blue1.gif" width=100% height=1>
</font>And again, you are welcome to your opinion, just like I am
<img src="/images/blue1.gif" width=100% height=1></font></td></tr></table></center>

Now you tell us!?!

Ah, I think the mods are doing a great job, keep it up

[Ming]

You guys seem to forget that it is my job to moderate the OTF. I'm sorry you don't like the fact that there is a moderator who enforces the rules. And you are free to disagree with the rules. But I will continue to do the job I have been tasked with.

Deal with it

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Ming
CivII & Off-Topic Forum Moderator
Ming@Apolyton.net

[Hydey]

I don't have a problem with the moderation here, all I would ask is if I start a thread and it gets deleted that the moderator concerned let me know what the problem is.
That way I will know what I have done wrong and not make the same mistake.
Please let me know if this is too much to ask.

[Urban Ranger]

Ming,

Have you received e-mail messages complaining about Dookie's thread again? So you gave in to these yellow livered cowards again? Sheeh. I don't think Dookie means to insult everybody who believes in God. It is entirely possible that some do good deeds just as a means to an end. It is also true that some men join Chrstian Fellowships just to meet girls. I don't see pointing these facts out can be construed as an insult.