Censoring

[Sean L.]

...wow, you caused DD to stop writing Big Meow and come down here to pass sentence?

Darn. That's less time for Big Meow!

[Kathy Li]

Originally posted by Agent M:
... And kli, sorry if I'm "attacking" him again, really I don't mean to insult or hurt anyone, or be hypocritical. Please let me know if I need to stop and I'll stick with the "if you can't say anything nice, don't say anything at all" rule, but I think brad needs to hear what people have to say about him.

No, no problems, M. As long as you stay polite, you are also allowed to say what you think. The whole ad hominem lecture wasn't about not attacking, it was about the best way to attack. Sometimes the good fight needs to be fought, and things need to be defended.

Sean: DD's a pro. She writes fast. It's one of her many superpowers that she can board admin, blog, and write.

[Wizard of the Stars]

i may b a newbie, but i can see a problem when it smacks me in the face. brad, u r being very offensive to your fellow boardmates. you have a right to express your opinion, but for the love of all that is holy PLEASE be a little more polite. you act like your opinion is the only one that matters, but what about the rest of us? can't we voice our thoughts without getting insulted for our troubles?

this has been a rant brought to you by WotS.

p.s.- go dd! but see brad, you made such a big deal that u actually dragged diane duane herself out to yell at you. if you had been slightly less attacking, maybe you wouldn't have had your other post censored in the 1st place.

p.p.s.- before you attack me for "ganging up on the American", i'll have you kno that i am 100% U. S. of A.!

p.p.p.s.- i fully agree with you on the abortion thing.

have a nice day!

[sharklord]

Hmm...Well, Brad it seems the whole boards have passed judgement against you. Ironically, you have now bought yourself true censorship. Whereas before you could speak at will with the restriction of common decency, now you can speak at the will of a moderator.

It's not good when I--I who have for ages been dormant on these boards, hear about your behavior through other people. Which was one of the reasons I decided to renew my activities here: to find out of the rumors I've heard are true.

Beware Brad, and anyone else new. DD is one of the (perhaps) few top forum admins/creators who takes a very personal role in her responsibility to maintain a clean forum for all of the members, young and old, no matter what their religious, social, or whatever preferences may be. This is a difficult project, to say the least. Remember that these forums are an extension of DD's credibility, as they're ulimately controlled by her. In the same way that we don't one-line, in order to make the most of her money, we should be mindful of what we say to perserve her (and our) repuatations as decent people.

There is no gain to being the "bad boy." Such showboating has no place here, as antagonism isn't glorified as it may be elsewhere. I'd suggest you rethink your strategy before you find yourself at best friendless or at worst without access to these forums.

I sorely wish I could tack on a hardy "or you'll answer to me!!" to the end of all this, but, obviously, I can't. I don't run these forums, but the Power that does hasn't shown herself yet to be a doormat to her members. Watch yourself, buddy.

[magicalmike]

Okay, Im going to be probably a little nicer to brad than he deserves, after all some of the things he said realy angered me, but well I think he has learned his leson. I mean DD had to take time to come down here and yell at him well than i think he understands that he was bieng a little inaproprate and needs to back off. Searisoly people have been ragging him left and right im mean back off people. Lets not be sarcasting or insulting for one minuate and say this politly to Brad.

Please Brad, will you be more kind and courtious to others when expressing your oppinions.

Also see thisLink it is where DD posted about censoring i sugest everyone read it.

[Sean L.]

I quite agree with mike, in a way that since judgment as been passed down from the Powers That Be, we might as well stop with all Brad-bashing. While there may be hurt feelings left and right, it is a sign of maturity and intelligence that you need to resurrect his ghost and bash at it for your pleasure. Does saying that he is a terrible person make you a better one, in any way?

If there is a lesson to be learned, it is to be civil to your fellow boardmates; this, however, goes both ways. From brad to us, but also from us to brad, and other people that might ruffle feathers. As "terrible" and "stupid" as he may be, he still deserves a modicum of respect as a person. Just because he said bad things does not give you the right to say bad things back, especially now that the Powers have _already_ punished him.

[lostx in memory]

Originally posted by Wizard of the Stars:
you have a right to express your opinion, but for the love of all that is holy PLEASE be a little more polite. you act like your opinion is the only one that matters, but what about the rest of us? can't we voice our thoughts without getting insulted for our troubles?

I agree with WOTS. I might be new around here, but I can still see what's going on. You have every right to express your opinions, but you don't have to be rude and offensive about it. And if your opinion is going to be that offensive, did yo uever think about editing it so that it doesn't hurt as many feelings?

[Agent M]

Guys, something tells me that at the moment, brad isn't incredibly (sp? that looks like it's spelled wrong...) keen on coming back here, I wouldn't be if I were in his position, then again I don't consider myself to be anything like brad, so maybe he's different. But anyway, he didn't think about anyone's feelings because he didn't care if he hurt anyone's feelings, he didn't know how "strict" of a board this is, or can be, usually no one violates it so no one really notices.. because it's not as censored as brad seems to make it out to be. (sorry, little bit of a run-on there, jeez my English teacher is GETTING to me...) But anyway, he's been moderated, he may or may not have learned his lesson, and he may or may not come back. I think it might be best at this point to just let it go, move the attention somewhere else. For all we know, brad's an attention grabber who likes to call the spotlight to himself and cause chaos, because whether that was his intent or not, that's what he's caused. *shrugs* I think dropping it and leaving it be might be best at this point.

[Lamarquise]

I know I'm a little wary of posting again after the message and agreement the board had me sign. I have no idea where the limits are, or if I crossed them. So, I'm not sure whether to post again except on totally non-controversial book topics where nothing new has been posted for some time now.

[Kathy Li]

Lamarquise, I'd look at it this way: as long as you don't do what bradwart did, then you're ok. Essentially, the kind of stuff you were writing and posting that didn't get moderated before is still fine, now. Just remember that everybody else on this board is a person, and treat them as you would people in real life, and you'll be ok.

I highly doubt that bradwart, for all his vaunted bravado, would actually go up to a total stranger in real life and call them an idiot for not agreeing with his politics. Writing through a computer doesn't give you an excuse to misbehave, any more than talking on a phone does.

It's good to be concerned about what you're posting, just as you should be concerned about avoiding accidents when you learn how to drive. But you shouldn't let that keep you from getting out on the road. If you have any specific questions about what's ok to post, feel free to contact me in a private topic, and I can give you my personal judgment call, and I'm sure that PM, Lee, or DD would do the same.

[bradwart]

Well, since I can't say this in Chime, as my priveleges have been revoked, I'll say it here.

I will call this "The Bradwart(R)Peace Treaty(TM)".

Recent events have shown the only outcome of this situation. The spinning out of control of this debate will result in complete loss for both sides. In light of this, I propose a complete standdown of hostilities on this subject. In otherwords, unconditional surrender for both sides. This is a proposal, and you can reject it. However, I don't think you will.

I can only imagine the stir this will cause in Chime when it becomes widespread knowlege.

If, and only if, this treaty is fully accepted, then will I apologize to the general board members. Again, you don't have to accept either, and I realize that some things were said by both parties that can never be taken back.

Signing Off,
Bradwart.

P.S., you can call me "Your Sithness" if you please.

[Garrett Fitzgerald]

Brad, I feel that I can be an impartial observer here, since I'm no longer a board regular.

I've been reading back over your recent posts, and talking to people in chat about why you were blocked from Chime, and I concur - you've crossed far over the line here in what should be a friendly environment for young (and young-at-heart) folks to discuss Diane's work and other issues of importance to them. While you were insulted in the Iraq War thread. you went above and beyond in your responses.

I'm told that you declared that not only relatives of people in the chat room, but members themselves needed to be killed because of who they were and what the Bible says. Let me remind you of something else the Bible says: "Love one another, as I have loved you." Leviticus commands that women caught in adultery should be killed: Jesus asked which of us was sinless enough to carry out that punishment.

You have offered what you called a "peace treaty" - but you implied that you wouldn't apologize for condemming people to death until they apologized for calling you an idiot. Do you see any disparity here?

If you want to go forward from here, I think you have to sincerely apologize for making this board a worse place to be for the vast majority of the members. Then you have to think about how you want to go forward. If you can be friends with everyone (or at least civil to them), I'm sure people will welcome you back and give you another chance to prove yourself.

If you plan on telling people they're idiots, they're going to hell, and they don't belong on this earth... well, what would you think if you were on the other end?

Think about this, please.

[bradwart]

I will try to keep from exploding at this, so here goes.
First, you attack me.(Not you personally, although here could be considered something of an attack).
Then, I attack back. It goes on, until I offer a truce and peace treaty. Even after all that, someone comes along and decides that that isn't enough.

What is enough, I ask you? Where do you draw the line? And, if you consider that post impartial, the definition of impartial must have changed quite a bit. What you are attempting is to be an arbiter. And arbiters are rarely impartial, since they point the finger of blame on someone.

The reason I wanted a treaty with no conditions is so nothing like this would happen. It happened in the aftermath of WWI. The Treaty of Versailles and the so-called 'War Guilt Clause'.
That is what would be imposed if certain people had their way (not the administratiors we have), and I hope you would know that. I would be blamed for the "war", and overly drastic measures would be taken. This is something I will refuse.

Signing Off,
Bradwart.

[db_pr]

*points finger of blame at bradwart, then laughs at him*

[bradwart]

Onec again, I will exercise great care in my rebuttal. I wouldn't want to make you explode in anger.

Why, Garrett, if your message was impartial, would you edit it, around the same time my message probably got through 'customs'. Did you find the flaws I neglected to point out?

He was correcting a typo. What would editing have to do with being impartial, anyway? - Peter

db_pr, are you attempting to anger me? If so, I recommend that you raise your attempt. It's really pathetic. I have dealt with more than you could ever know.

I will not be dragged into another debate with you. That is my final word.