Option to ignore moderators

[lettinggo]

Hola

It is a bit sensitive area I wander into, but I would like to know if it could be possible to ignore moderators please?

The reason behind this question is, that over the last 13 years I have been a member of this forum, there have occationally been members who, in my opinion, have dominated the forum with instant answers to every thread and, in my opinion, forced their views upon the forum in a way, that I not found positive for my experience of the foum.

Personally, I like to see a diversity of answers and in the cases where I have found a user dominating the foum, I have just clicked ignore that use, so my experience of the forum became less influenced by that user.

So. My question is to have this option available for moderators as well, so I can choose which answers I see in the threads.

My personal opinion is, that the forum mainly is for the members and the moderators assist the members in guiding them to use the forum.
If a moderator takes over the forum by dominating it, then I find that the forum is changing in a way that I don't think is good for the forum or its members.

If you read this and somwhow is provoced by it, please bear in mind, that the only thing I am asking about is, to be able to choose which answers I read and which I choose not to read.

With kindness,
Lettinggo

 

[Robo]

I'm very hesitant to respond to this too quickly!
But will be curious to see the answers.

 

[SabsP]

A very good and honest question from the OP.
I asked about this already and no we members can not ignore the moderators.

 

[Robo]

A very good and honest question from the OP.
I asked about this already and no we members can not ignore the moderators.

I take the OPs point.
Not specifically pointing at Moderators.

But some members almost 'live' on this Forum at times and 'jump in' at every opportunity to provide comments, perspectives, advice......... (looks in mirror)

I put it down to enthusiasm for the topic, but see how it could be viewed as being a bit dominating the conversation. Point taken. Though the OP may not see this comment.

 

[Flog]

If you read this and somwhow is provoced by it, please bear in mind, that the only thing I am asking about is, to be able to choose which answers I read and which I choose not to read.

I agree with the sentiments expressed in your post.

 

[chinacat]

I too have wondered why the ignore option is missing from moderators details.

 

[woody66]

Just a thought!
I listen to the posts in a thread; if i think no not for me i skip to the next post!
Some are great some not so great; i make that choice as i go!
We all offer our opinions freely but opinions differ all the time!
Even if you think that person has the wrong spirit to fit your criteria; their next nugget of info might be the answer your looking for!
Have you ever wondered why the same posters dominate!
It's probably because their the only ones interested enough tto take the time to reply

 

[peregrino_tom]

Interesting! I've never used the 'ignore' function myself (just too nosey). There are some people who dominate the discussions, and not necessarily for the general good.
I have often mused how different the forum would look - and whether it would be improved - if, those who have walked on the camino were allowed only two posts for each kilometre they've walked on the camino, and no more! Obviously just wistful thinking, but some days I really long for it..
EDIT OK, so I'd give someone another 50 posts for every day they've volunteered on the camino

But seriously, I'd be surprised if there wasn't a technical solution where moderators can post as a moderator separately from posting as a member of the forum?

 

[Robo]

I too have wondered why the ignore option is missing from moderators details.

I suppose they can't do their job, if they are ignored and not 'visible'.

It's a tough gig though isn't it?

 

[JabbaPapa]

I have often mused how different the forum would look - and whether it would be improved - if, those who have walked on the camino were allowed only two posts for each kilometre they've walked on the camino, and no more! Obviously just wistful thinking, but some days I really long for it..

So people seeking advice prior to a first Camino -- would be allowed zero posts ? Might be a bit counterproductive LOL

 

[chinacat]

So people seeking advice prior to a first Camino -- would be allowed zero posts ? Might be a bit counterproductive LOL

those who have walked on the camino

 

[Damien Reynolds]

Wait, you can ignore people? OMG how many of you are ignoring me? oh darn, they aren't seeing this. Is there a stat somewhere that says followed by / ignored by? I'd be totally interested in that... I tend to be somewhat of a contrarian though so I expect to be ignored on occasion. The only people I ignore on the camino is anyone walking backwards (I don't mean literally) and anyone using a cart without medical issues.

 

[Turga]

there have occationally been members who, in my opinion, have dominated the forum with instant answers to every thread and, in my opinion, forced their views upon the forum

True, but in my opinion the most prominent in that category have not been moderators. There have been a few (only a few) examples of a moderator closing a thread with a statement such as “This thread has gone off subject. My opinion of the matter is this and that, and now I will close this thread.” There you can talk about forcing a view on others.

the only thing I am asking about is, to be able to choose which answers I read and which I choose not to read.

Paradox: How can you choose that you don’t want to read some answer unless you have read it?

 

[JustOneGuy]

You cannot ignore moderators for obvious reasons: if they moderate you, or a thread you wrote in, you and everyone else need to know what happened and why, and act accordingly.

But I think you are hitting the dynamics of social groups here: there are people who find fulfilment in life by participating in every discussion, answering every question, etc. Just like at school, where there was always a top student in the class who would raise his hand to answer every question from the teacher and show how good and clever he/she was.

And who knows, maybe I'm doing exactly the same thing right now...

 

[ivar]

This comes like this as default setting when the forum software is installed. I guess one of the reasons would be that a moderator might need to get in touch with a user to communicate any issues this user might have with the forum rules. Imagine a user breaking rules, and one of us trying to get in touch to communicating this. If some/all of the mods are on the "ignore" list, this will not be possible.

I think you just need to suffer through this... remember being on the forum is not required by law.

 

[Marbe2]

I agree that occasionally, some threads may close prematurely, or a particular poster’s opinions or moderator tends to irritate me, for whatever reason. As far as “Ignoring” I simply bypass, scroll past, the poster in the thread itself.

One of my concerns is that some news posted, that appears to be honest information, and which might be helpful to pilgrims, but might impact the commercial aspect of the Camino negatively, seems to get closed quicker than other posts?

Finally, I think the moderators, in balance, do us a great service!

 

[SabsP]

I regularly ignore posters here. I am more than certain other posters ignore me. I consider it as a badge of honour for myself...

 

[JustOneGuy]

I should add that I do not ignore anyone in this forum because in my opinion it is very well moderated. I think that polemics, even the most subtle ones, should be nipped in the bud, even at the risk of damaging someone or a topic that was not polemical for us.

In other forums, however, I have silenced some forumists because they were particularly polemical. And I frequent forums to relax, learn, and discuss, not to argue or fall into endless bickering.

I prefer a moderation that is sometimes excessive, even toward me, to one that lets controversies go by that create a bad climate and attract controversial subjects.

 

[Pelegrin]

. I am more than certain other posters ignore me.

I don' t understand why. I appreciate very much the information given about Spain and the Camino on this forum. I am Spanish and I learnt a lot here. For example, I live in Madrid and now I now how to go from T4 to Atocha.

 

[chinacat]

I regularly ignore posters here. I am more than certain other posters ignore me. I consider it as a badge of honour for myself...

I only ‘liked’ your post so you’d know I wasn’t ‘ignoring’ you.

 

[SabsP]

I don' t understand why. I appreciate very much the information given about Spain and the Camino on this forum. I am Spanish and I learnt a lot here. For example, I live in Madrid and now I now how to go from T4 to Atocha.

You cannot like anyone. Like I said before : I see this forum like my local pub. When someone irritates me I find another corner with other punters.

 

[JustOneGuy]

I regularly ignore posters here. I am more than certain other posters ignore me. I consider it as a badge of honour for myself...

this is the perfect example for a lesson on Cognitive Bias.

Only people that do not ignore you (or me) can tell you that. All the others cannot. So, you will always have the impression that nobody ignore you, even if 99% of the people does.

In astronomy something similar happens, for example, with galaxies: only galaxies with a surface brightness above a certain limit can be observed, that makes our understanding of galaxies potentially highly biased.

Why I say so in a forum about the Camino de Santiago? I do not know... probably too much free time today

 

[Caomhin O Fearghaill]

Hola

It is a bit sensitive area I wander into, but I would like to know if it could be possible to ignore moderators please?

The reason behind this question is, that over the last 13 years I have been a member of this forum, there have occationally been members who, in my opinion, have dominated the forum with instant answers to every thread and, in my opinion, forced their views upon the forum in a way, that I not found positive for my experience of the foum.

Personally, I like to see a diversity of answers and in the cases where I have found a user dominating the foum, I have just clicked ignore that use, so my experience of the forum became less influenced by that user.

So. My question is to have this option available for moderators as well, so I can choose which answers I see in the threads.

My personal opinion is, that the forum mainly is for the members and the moderators assist the members in guiding them to use the forum.
If a moderator takes over the forum by dominating it, then I find that the forum is changing in a way that I don't think is good for the forum or its members.

If you read this and somwhow is provoced by it, please bear in mind, that the only thing I am asking about is, to be able to choose which answers I read and which I choose not to read.

With kindness,
Lettinggo

I think so, letting go is best...

 

[Camino Chrissy]

I spend a lot of time on this forum as any "regular" poster would know. After finding it in early retirement, along with seeing "The Way", both were catalysts that inspired me to explore travel through the eyes of simply walking and find joy in it. I do not participate on any other forums or social media, so I suppose you could say I "ignore"(pun intended) those. Being on here keeps my Camino interests alive, and stimulates the planning of another. I enjoy getting to know the personalities of other members who post regularly. I have never chosen to ignore anyone and I was not aware, nor thought about the fact that moderators are exempt.

 

[Tom Conklin]

This thread is a marvelous example of a bunch of good people making a salient point while trying not to hurt anyone's feelings. Hopefully the salient point is not lost on everyone.

 

[Peterexpatkiwi]

Personally, I like to see a diversity of answers and in the cases where I have found a user dominating the foum, I have just clicked ignore that use, so my experience of the forum became less influenced by that user.

As somebody who has posted three times as many messages in two years as your good self in 13, I will hold up my hand and say 'guilty as charged'. But then I guess it's a moot point because you probably won't be reading this.....

And no, I'm not trying to denigrate your excellent question and the honesty inherent in it.

As @Robo points out some of us seem to practically live on the forum. Because of my current personal circumstances I most certainly do; I typically log in at least twice a day. There are several reasons for this, not least of which is my desire to pay forward the assistance that I myself have received from other forum members. Also, as Chrissy says,

Being on here keeps my Camino interests alive, and stimulates the planning of another

I too ignore a couple of forum members, but that has been more to do with their constant negativity or the (to me) unnecessarily rude answers they have consistently given, especially to newcomers. I had originally 'ignored' more, however I came to realize that the vast majority of the content posted by those individuals was far too valuable to ignore. I found myself in the situation below:

Paradox: How can you choose that you don’t want to read some answer unless you have read it?

I am here first and foremost to learn, I cannot do that if I ignore answers I dislike.

be able to choose which answers I read and which I choose not to read

You can of course theoretically just not read a response from any individual, moderator or not. I say theoretically because it requires significant self-discipline.
Ultimately I have found that rather than ignore people I prefer to simply scan their responses and move on.

 

[MichelleElynHogan]

Moderators please note: I am not jumping in on this topic.

 

[t2andreo]

A very good and honest question from the OP.
I asked about this already and no we members can not ignore the moderators.

A very good answer.

In my personal experience, having been both suspended and banned from the forum over the past 12 years I have been a member, I speak with some small degree of first-hand knowledge.

The moderators are there to keep all discussions within the guardrails of the Forum Rules. IMHO, you try to ignore or circumvent the moderators at your own risk. On occasion, something you may deem reasonable may be considered disruptive or divisive.

Over the years, I have learned, sometimes from the outside of the forum, that on balance, the moderator system works quite well.

I would not want a forum without a Sheriff (and deputies ) to keep everyone behaving in a civil manner.

Hope this helps the dialog.

Tom

 

[LTfit]

I've never felt the need to "ignore" anyone, why? It is just as easy to scroll on or ignore a thread.

I'm sure that I miss the majority of posts and threads as I've become selective over the years, that is normal I believe as my interest in certain topics has faded and there are many others to fill the gap

 

[Rick of Rick and Peg]

I'm not saying whether being able to ignore moderators should be done but this is how it could be done.

Create several new members with moderator privileges and with names that start with "mod_" and assign each to a different current moderator (and maybe prevent any non-moderator from using that prefix). Remove moderator privileges from the accounts of the people acting as moderators now so they get "demoted" to just members. Then these demoted members permanently log into the forum with their "mod_" accounts on a different browser. They browse as before but if moderation is needed they switch to their alternative browser where they are logged in with their moderator accounts.

 

[bullingtonce]

A very good and honest question from the OP.
I asked about this already and no we members can not ignore the moderators.

Concur; we cannot and should not ignore moderators. If this condition so exists and someone finds it undesirable or unacceptable they can leave the forum. There is a reason we have moderators. Are they perfect? No, and never will be but neither are the members of this forum. And I am sure that moderators, at times, would like the option of ignoring certain members! Welcome to life. Chuck

 

[truenorthpilgrm]

I read OP's post and immediately went to get popcorn, lol

 

[Gerard Griffin]

In my opinion the forum is over-moderated. We don't need to be protected from unpopular opinions, and I'd prefer free to controlled speech. I've observed that posts critical of hospitaleros, for example, tends to be banned, even when improvements might ensue, apparently on the grounds that humility is an attribute of the pilgrim. Perhaps, but so is honesty. Let truth and freedom prevail.

 

[truenorthpilgrm]

In my opinion the forum is over-moderated. We don't need to be protected from unpopular opinions, and I'd prefer free to controlled speech. I've observed that posts critical of hospitaleros, for example, tends to be banned, even when improvements might ensue, apparently on the grounds that humility is an attribute of the pilgrim. Perhaps, but so is honesty. Let truth and freedom prevail.

Actually, yes there are people who do need to be protected from people's "unpopular opinions". Free speech comes with accountability. And based on your comment alone, I'm very grateful for the excellent moderation on this forum.

 

[peregrino_tom]

We can bicker and grouse like an extended family. But if Ivar and/or the volunteer mods (and let's not forget, that's what they are, people giving up their time to commit to doing this) said 'OK I've had enough of you entitled ungrateful mob, we are closing and you can slouch right off to FaceBook' then many here, myself included, would feel a real and longlasting sense of loss.
I do find a lot of the chat a bit pointless and I'm less interested in it than I was for my first ten years on the forum. But it is actually a really well-run entity that allows us to learn and exchange all kinds of useful and good things, and gradually get to know the different traits, angles and idiosyncracies of the various contributors.
I admit that in some way you are all my extended family, sometimes tiresome, sometimes great fun. And I would be diminished if you disappeared.
So I say thank you to Ivar and the mods for providing and iterating this rather unique platform that allows all this to happen. Muchos Gracias

 

[MaxHelado]

The reason behind this question is, that over the last 13 years I have been a member of this forum, there have occationally been members who, in my opinion, have dominated the forum with instant answers to every thread and, in my opinion, forced their views upon the forum in a way, that I not found positive for my experience of the foum.

I am a bit confused. I didn't think that the OP was raising a concern about the moderators as moderators. I thought the concern was that if a moderator consistently expresses personal opinions which upset or annoy me I cannot 'ignore' them as I can with 'ordinary' forum members.

Isn't the solution simple? A moderator should have two memberships.

One as a moderator through which he or she monitors, guides and, when necessary, takes action.
The other as an ordinary forum member where they are free to express personal opinions and, should I wish to, I am free to 'ignore' them.

I have never felt the need to 'ignore' anyone but I do think that when the word 'moderator' appears underneath a members avitar and handle I might reasonably expect their comments to be 'moderatory'.

 

[truenorthpilgrm]

Isn't the solution simple? A moderator should have two memberships.

One as a moderator through which he or she monitors, guides and, when necessary, takes action.
The other as an ordinary forum member where they are free to express personal opinions and, should I wish to, I am free to 'ignore' them.

I know on Reddit, "mods" (as they're termed) have this same function. They're able to remove their moderator badge and act as a regular poster as desired. Though I don't know if that is needed here. Reddit is sort of the Wild West in terms of comment sections.

 

[NerdGjerd]

I am appreciative of how the moderators give so much of their time moderating, and also post their Camino ideas and opinions. Thank you moderators!

I do find the title question a bit disrespectful to them.

If they were paid, I could see the two-account method being an option. But I think forcing them to use a different browser/account, if their thread/reply has an opinion element, is making their involvement harder. I think it’s fine the way it is.

 

[CWBuff]

... We don't need to be protected from unpopular opinions, and I'd prefer free to controlled speech. ... Let truth and freedom prevail.

Roughly couple of weeks ago a certain member created couple of posts. Most of the people (myself included) reacted negatively to what that member had to say (I reckon our prerogative and "right" wouldn't you say?!) However the member's subsequent responses were rude and somewhat "hostile". In addition I received numerous private messages where I was cursed out, called numerous names and at some point "wished that I die". (for all i know maybe some other members got the same) So much for truth and freedom. Thankfully moderators stepped in.

I know on Reddit, "mods" (as they're termed) have this same function. They're able to remove their moderator badge and act as a regular poster as desired. Though I don't know if that is needed here. Reddit is sort of the Wild West in terms of comment sections.

I see what you are saying but... is that "badge" so "important" to us?
What I mean is if for example I post "There is no Camino Better than Frances and St James is its only True Pilgrim" under my moderator account with the "badge on" and then do exactly the same with the "badge off" - how would a message itself be different?

Disclaimer - I am obviously not a moderator since I have no badge! (Badgees? Ve dont neeed no stinkin badgees!")

to be perfectly honest I had my run-ins with the moderators, some of my posts were deleted and I even got slapped with a couple of points. some I could see a merit in and some I thought were un-warranted...and in the end it matters not what one thinks on the matter. We can absolutely volunteer to be a moderator and take on those responsibilities, we can also either ignore the posts or (GULP!) leave the Forum all together... Truth and Freedom!!!!

 

[truenorthpilgrm]

I see what you are saying but... is that "badge" so "important" to us?

I'm not advocating for a removable badge where one could opt in or out of moderator duties . Someone above suggested mods having two accounts and I offered up what other platforms have done.

 

[John R McLean]

I find it quite easy to skip over posts and replies.

 

[MichaelB10398]

I guess I am on the other end of the spectrum. I have found a deep appreciation for anyone that will volunteer their time to be a moderator (a thankless job by any standard). Each individual - both mods or members - usually do the best they can on a given day.
There have been a few - very few - individuals that I have found annoying. However, I typically find that it is usually me that has awakened on the wrong side of the bed or just taken the comments of those few incorrectly.
Basically, I think it is too easy to just ignore others (without need to formally ignore anyone) rather than become overly concerned about the comments of others. I hope this comment makes sense.

 

[J Willhaus]

I am learning a lot. I didn't know you could get "points" which are apparently bad?

I did know you could be banned.

I have had some off topic posts deleted.

I have "ignored" another member. I didn't know you could not ignore a moderator. I figured if you ignore one, that one of the others or @ivar could still contact us.

I am mostly fine with this forum, it's members, and the moderators. I learn things and I try to help others. I do cringe sometimes when posts seem impatient especially with newer members. I was a new member once a long while ago and people were patient with me and my questions.

 

[JacquelineA]

Gerard Griffin said:
In my opinion the forum is over-moderated. We don't need to be protected from unpopular opinions, and I'd prefer free to controlled speech. I've observed that posts critical of hospitaleros, for example, tends to be banned, even when improvements might ensue, apparently on the grounds that humility is an attribute of the pilgrim. Perhaps, but so is honesty. Let truth and freedom prevail.
————————————————————————————————

Oh believe me, every forum needs moderators. It’s amazing what negative mood any chat can change into. The forum would be abandoned by many soon. I was a moderator on a forum for dogs and people would bash eachother over nothing, I.e. on whether you’d give your dog fresh meat or dry food (really).
At some point I was walking for a few days when report came about terrible hostile replies in a topic. OP was burned over a trivial question. Tried to settle it but closed the topic an hour later. People would just open up another topic and went on. So again I got messaged during my walk. It was unbelievable. How important can you make your opinion, right.

Shutting down negative talk about hospitaleros on this forum as much as possible seems right. This is a public forum, you talk about someone and the whole world can read it. This person can not defend her or himself properly. If you have issues, complain in person or privately if you have comments to improve things, IMO.

I find this forum very clear. It’s easy to find the things you want. And sometimes an interesting topic is already closed before I can even read it, because everything’s said already. So be it. There’re so many enthousiastic people. To me it’s a positive sign actually.

 

[Peterexpatkiwi]

I am learning a lot. I didn't know you could get "points" which are apparently bad?

I did know you could be banned.

Explained here:
Thread 'FORUM RULES — Revised July 2023' https://www.caminodesantiago.me/community/threads/forum-rules-revised-july-2023.20973/

 

[Gerard Griffin]

I agree that every forum needs moderators, and that some comments should of course be removed. And also that personal attacks should not be permitted, or rudeness.

But the question is where to draw the line. I really enjoy the forum, for the wealth of information, the range of views and often the marvellous and inspiring stories that pilgrims share. I also admire the moderators, who like the hospitaleros give of their time to create this precious space. But ... far too often interesting discussions are shut down and valuable comments are deleted. I'd like to see the policy modified so that more freedom of expression is allowed.

This does not mean that comments which cross the line should not be removed; just that the line needs to be drawn closer to freedom of speech than is currently the case.

 

[Peterexpatkiwi]

@Gerard Griffin, 'freedom of speech' is relative. What you consider to be acceptable others may consider to be completely unreasonable. Personally there are a few occasions where I think the line has been bent too far in the other direction, i.e I would have liked to see something curtailed/ removed significantly earlier. So if you would like less constraints and I more clearly the line lays somewhere in the middle, which proves your point that the moderators are doing an excellent job.

Please note that I myself occasionally step over the line and have had my post removed. Words can be - and are - misinterpreted (lawyers would be out of a job otherwise) Fortunately we have moderators, so we don't need the lawyers.

As to who decides where that line is drawn? Least we forget, whilst this forum is a public forum it is privately owned and operated.

 

[Dani7]

that the only thing I am asking about is, to be able to choose which answers I read and which I choose not to read.

With kindness,
Lettinggo

I appreciate your honest post. For myself, I just scroll past the things I don’t want to read. When you look at how much negativity is out there on various platforms, for me this remains a civil place (the majority of the time) to share our common interests about all that is long distance walking called « caminos ».

I can leave anytime. I can read what I want and ignore the rest.

 

[Gerard Griffin]

@Gerard Griffin, 'freedom of speech' is relative. What you consider to be acceptable others may consider to be completely unreasonable. Personally there are a few occasions where I think the line has been bent too far in the other direction, i.e I would have liked to see something curtailed/ removed significantly earlier. So if you would like less constraints and I more clearly the line lays somewhere in the middle, which proves your point that the moderators are doing an excellent job.

Please note that I myself occasionally step over the line and have had my post removed. Words can be - and are - misinterpreted (lawyers would be out of a job otherwise) Fortunately we have moderators, so we don't need the lawyers.

As to who decides where that line is drawn? Least we forget, whilst this forum is a public forum it is privately owned and operated.

I'm curious ... What kind of things would you like to be removed? At what point of disagreement do you think it right to have a comment suppressed, rather than rebutted or ignored?

 

[truenorthpilgrm]

I'm curious ... What kind of things would you like to be removed? At what point of disagreement do you think it right to have a comment suppressed, rather than rebutted or ignored?

That question also piques my curiosity: what kind of things are you wanting to say? ...Also, forum rules outline pretty clearly what is and is not allowed.

 

[Madamjoy]

Hola

It is a bit sensitive area I wander into, but I would like to know if it could be possible to ignore moderators please?

The reason behind this question is, that over the last 13 years I have been a member of this forum, there have occationally been members who, in my opinion, have dominated the forum with instant answers to every thread and, in my opinion, forced their views upon the forum in a way, that I not found positive for my experience of the foum.

Personally, I like to see a diversity of answers and in the cases where I have found a user dominating the foum, I have just clicked ignore that use, so my experience of the forum became less influenced by that user.

So. My question is to have this option available for moderators as well, so I can choose which answers I see in the threads.

My personal opinion is, that the forum mainly is for the members and the moderators assist the members in guiding them to use the forum.
If a moderator takes over the forum by dominating it, then I find that the forum is changing in a way that I don't think is good for the forum or its members.

If you read this and somwhow is provoced by it, please bear in mind, that the only thing I am asking about is, to be able to choose which answers I read and which I choose not to read.

With kindness,
Lettinggo

Great question. I have similar feelings. I know we can ignore posts from X persons but I think we can also play a part by not responding the minute a new post is made. If we were listening (reading) instead of talking (typing) imagine what we might discover. Or try turning our phones off for a few hours or even a day? Now that would be scary! And when posting, we can ask ‘am I adding any value to this conversation’? It’s like walking the Camino…cultivating more reflection less reaction. Thank you again for raising this. You’ve sparked reflection in me as to how I use the site. And perhaps in others.

 

[CWBuff]

I'd like to see the policy modified so that more freedom of expression is allowed.

As to who decides where that line is drawn? Least we forget, whilst this forum is a public forum it is privately owned and operated.

re: the 2 above - one of ACW Forums that I was a very big contributor to (now unfortunately defunct) was owned and maintained by a good acquaintance of mine (who BTW is a reasonably known ACW scholar and has a number of books to his name). In any case he called himself a "benevolent despot" and rule # 1 was - its my forum and what I say\do goes!

Perhaps, just perhaps the rule can be modified but is there a process? Do we need a ConCon?

I'm curious ... What kind of things would you like to be removed? At what point of disagreement do you think it right to have a comment suppressed, rather than rebutted or ignored?

That question also piques my curiosity: what kind of things are you wanting to say? ...Also, forum rules outline pretty clearly what is and is not allowed.

I'll venture a guess that those forum rules are the guidelines of what can or cannot be said. We can, should and probably for the most part do - draw our own conclusions