This effort gives us all a chance to hone our verbal and writing skills. It makes us more articulate defenders of liberty.
When the same Freeper is banned, we condemn him to become an antiFreeper, and we deprive ourselves of the opportunity to shape and sharpen our positions.
I am wondering if the Moderators would be willing to give the Freepers a chance to save one of our own through reasoned dialogue before sending the target to Never Never Land.
I am leaving for Fresno for a meeting with JimRob in an hour, so I won't be here much longer to participate in any discussion.
I am sure JimRob will read your comments, and I'll catch the hell or the glory on the other end. : )
What say you Freepers?
You can't save the world, BADJOE. The current system seems to be working fine. Swift and sure punishment is the only thing 4 year old minds understand completely.
5.56mm
BTW...it's pretty tough to get permanently-banned around here. And when I was unfairly--IMHO--suspended 2-3 years ago, I found other things to occupy my time until JimRob reinstated my posting privileges after a month-long cooling off period. To become an anti-FReeper, often you need to have an ulterior motive.
Say "Howdy" to JimRob fer me, mi hermano...MUD
I guess I would have to say that this would depend on the motivation of the poster in question, which might or might not be a known quantity. If this hypothetical poster genuinely wanted to participate in and contribute to the community, then I would in theory support engaging in some sort of dialogue before booting them permanently. On the other hand, constantly feeding trolls who come here solely to disrupt would be counterproductive and reduce FR to little more than Usenet with a good front end.
If memory serves, there used to be a FR feature called "The Alley" - an anteroom of sorts where personal disagreements could be worked out. Wouldn't such a place, out of the flow of normal posts, be an ideal venue for resolution of disagreements like this?
This sounds like a great idea.
I respectfully disagree. Most NORMAL people, if banned, would never be so obsessive and compulsive as to become an Antifreeper. It takes a very strange psychology to become one of those people. If I got banned -- if you did, if any of us did -- we would move on, get different hobbies, perhaps open a forum, or participate in another forum like this one.
Most of us are not so petty, vindictive, or obsessed as to become one of those Pathetic Wandering Souls.
Call Kenneth Copeland Ministries now and get his new CD together with a special commemorative Bible. It explains the righteous way to salvation, through faith.
Hallelujah! Operators are standing by!
We all know the line, some will test it every so often, but they honestly know the line is there for a good reason. If the line is too far out there, good communication will be hurt. I know if the vulgarness is too horrible, I will be gone. I can go to an MTV chat site and see all the vulgar name calling I can stand. This needs to be an adult atmosphere where good discussion can occur, the "LINE" makes that a possiblity.
The only people I see that are permanently banned are those who continually step way out of line.
I have a question though. If you are going to be seeing Jim in an hour or so, and if you have no intention of participating in this discussion, why didn't you just bring it up with him?
The "America had 9/11 coming" crowd does not belong here. I don't want to see or hear or read them except in videos smuggled out of Pakistan. I certainly don't want to see them at FR.