Moderation at the Tao bums

[mjjbecker]

There are rules, which I have respected and followed according to the spirit as well as the letter.

 

Yet the moderators suspended me (I suggest you read the entire Seth Ananda thread carefully, without bias).

 

My response is to take my freedom...not have it doled out to me by surprisingly corrupt human beings. Those who have no real power when it comes down to it.

 

All of the rules here are arbitrary, yet we respect them as members of this community. Keep it in perspective.

 

We've all read the rules. There is no 'letter'. They are not detailed. The 'spirit' of the rules though is 'to treat members with respect.' You haven't, and that is why you were suspended. The rules also clearly state 'to please abide by the moderators' decisions.' You have also ignored that. To that 'letter', you have broken the rules.

 

I read the Seth Ananda thread, without bias. Yes, I agree he was abusive and insulting and this was wrong. However, what about your actions? He would not have reacted in the manner he did-and the key word here is 'reacted'-if you had not provoked the reaction. You talk about justice and fairness, but make no mistake, in a court of law or official tribunal, circumstances are always taken into account. You are no innocent here and you would have been held accountable in any other situation for your behaviour.

 

I have been loath to get involved in any of this, utterly loath. However, it seems like Mal-and the other moderators-are being attacked in a manner far beyond any errors they may have made. FWIW, I feel Mal and the other moderators have consistently done a fine job under very difficult circumstances. They don't deserve the attacks that have been directed at them.

 

On the subject of facts, if you behaved in the 'real world' in the same manner you have behaved here, you would be liable to prosecution. Being aggressive and abusive is against the law. To do it from behind a computer is simply cowardly.

 

Clearly you have major anger issues. I hope you can resolve them, not only for your own peace of mind, but before your attitude spills over into the real world and you get yourself into possibly serious trouble.

[mjjbecker]

I have not abused anyone, either. Yet I am suspended. The reason given was that I have been 'provocative'.

 

Writing 'fuck you' to people is abusive. You have done this more than once. That you did this since you were suspended is not the issue-you have abused people.

[scotty2000]

[mjjbecker]

Ok, it's late and I'm tired but I just want to spit out a first draft of a new guideline. Feel free to discuss.

 

No more personal insults in Taoist Discussion or Personal Practice Discussion.

 

Completely disagreeing with a person and their lifestyle choices is fine. Finding someone's opinion, technique, politics, approach, etc. absurd, evil, stupid, ridiculous is fine.

 

But no insulting (or links to attacks) of individuals, nationalities, genders, political preferences, or lifestyle choices.

 

Here is an update of our insult policy, please read it and abide by it:

 

Tao bums is a moderated, privately owned, web site; all who agree with our guiding principals are welcome to join our discussions:

 

Treat other members with respect. No personal attacks.

Moderators are present to enforce this, please abide by their decisions.

 

 

This may seem restrictive but I think it'll force us to grow up a bit and think about how to present our perspectives intelligently without just flinging unproductive rudeness at each other. No one, including the originating poster, gains anything from statements like "So and so is a complete moron" or "XYZ sexual preference is abominable". If you have an opinion and you believe it's relevant to a topic at hand, post it as constructively as possible so we can learn from you, debate with you, ignore you, whatever.

 

If you can't abide by this simple constructive guideline, create a rant in "The Pit", a new little Off Topic subforum for the more primitive breed of taoist war.

 

 

Sean.

 

Further to this, Sean's clarifications on previously banning someone-from the same thread:

 

 

Thanks for the feedback spyrelx. And thank you for your trust. I will enforce with a light touch, but I also want this to be taken seriously.

 

With "Ron" gone now I think this won't be so much of an issue. He was basically the only one acting out against people. You said "Fuck you" to him in response to repeated harrassment. If this repeated harrassment had not been allowed, your "fuck you" would likely not have been provoked.

 

But I don't want anymore "fuck you". It's just not neccessary. Maybe it's exciting sometimes, it shakes things up. But it degrades the quality of communication here. Muddies the energy.

 

Listen to me like I've taken up samma vaca.

 

"Dr. Lin is a buffoon" is within reason, especially with an intelligent explanation of your viewpoint afterward. Trolling everyone who writes about Dr. Lin with "Dr. Lin is a buffoon" would not be. (obviously) But why not just write "Dr. Lin's material is disorganized quackery"? Just a thought.

 

Anyway, it's the obscene, prejucidical or inflammatory posts that I'm talking about. The posts that create a hostile environment where people are afraid to speak.

 

I always wanted this to be a relatively safe place for people to talk about deeper issues that come up through spiritual work. The sometimes sensitive issues that have you reaching for support. Elusive issues surrounding the many forms of sexual expression. Finespun gender role issues. Issues of emotional trauma and abuse.

 

The context for this type of communication is delicate and requires trust. This type of trust is chiselled away when harrassment is tolerated.

 

I learned some valuable lessons about this with "Ron". I basically ignored "Ron's" antics until they were turned on me. I usually consider myself good at putting myself in other's shoes but was near-sighted in this case for some reason. I think I wanted to be the "nice guy" here so bad I allowed a tyrant in the door with a forced smile and let him stomp all over the place. People were hurt in the process. I want to apologize to you, Lozen, Lezlie, Cam, Peter Falk triple dots (wherever he is) and anyone else here who has been personally insulted by Ron that I tolerated this for so long and only opened my eyes and put my foot down when, selfishly, the fire was turned on me and mine. In my defense I can only say that I think if "Ron" treated anyone here with the degree of contempt he has recently shown Lezlie and I, I believe I would have responded the same way I am now.

 

Moving on ...

Sean.

[mjjbecker]