You guys all know that a month from now no one will really care, right?
I quoteth Shakespeare- "Much ado about nothing!"
You guys all know that a month from now no one will really care, right?
I quoteth Shakespeare- "Much ado about nothing!"
Well, no - that is not the way a community works. A forum/bar/club is as much defined by its regulars as by the host or the designer, and its success will depend on how civilized all of them manage to negotiate the rules. "Go away quietly" doesn't cut it, unless you have ways and means to force your subjects to stay within the boundaries of your kingdom - lacking a border police, any forum will quietly bleed to death if it fails to achieve a balance between the interests of the operators and users.Originally Posted by D. Bryant
I remember the early nineties, at the very start of the internet, when many BBS sysops got a rush of "we are the net and you all are newbies" megalomania and started to sport a "accept my rules or go away" attitude - which pretty much killed off the whole BBS thing (and many core structures of the Fido network) on the spot, several years before the Internet could provide a substitute in the form of web forums...
Well actually yes. There are no free speech rights here.
It is not a matter of rights - indeed, freedom of speech mostly is not. Many European countries, including the UK, have nothing even remotely resembling a constitutional right to freedom of speech, but it nonetheless is a universally accepted concept - among individuals as well as between a state and its subjects.
Last edited by Sevo; 27-Mar-2012 at 09:25.
I go to "The Lounge" when I want to exercise free speech, not "For Sale".
And I have been known to knowingly SPEND more to buy an item from a forum member that I could get it "Buy it Now" on eBay, simply because I was familiar with the seller's reputation. I had a greater faith on what I would receive here. I always try here first when I'm looking to buy something.
Freedom of speech is defined by the Constitution. The Constitution dictates how the government and agents of the government behave toward citizens....it does not impact how we behave toward one another. If I search your computer remotely, I have not violated the Fourth Amendment because I am not employed by the government either tacitly or implicitly. If the owners of this forum wanted to make a rule stating that we could only express opinions if we filled out the appropriate forms and submitted them for approval three weeks in advance, they would be within their legal rights. They wouldn't have very many members (and those they had would likely wear a swastika beneath their underwear), but they would be within their rights. What say we all just go back to making pictures and having fun?
Ditto.
Sometimes people don't know exactly what they are selling and make an honest mistake in misrepresenting it. I think most people, in that event, would rather be corrected before the sale than complete the sale of a misrepresented item.
Hopefully the new rule, if upheld by the court, won't prevent that sort of (public but polite) correction that currently occurs. Forcing those corrections to be via PMs will inhibit the process.
Mike → "Junior Liberatory Scientist" ✌
Why do you believe this to be true?
I think it will enhance the process. Someone who will not make the correction after being PM'ed politely, will be suspect -- those who made an honest mistake will correct the situation on their own post.
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