Would someone PLEASE tell me what is going on here???

[styky]

I read the thread and it didn't appear to be a "big fight" to me. I have read far far worse here many times before!

That's what's better known as a tempest in a teapot.

[Connie Fournier]

I would like to thank those who support my right to post. Further what I find really interesting is that quite a number here who have never supported me publicly will pm me privately with their support and questions.

FWIW, I happen to believe that you are right about the state of the economy, but you are no posting Saint, either.

There is a fine line we are walking here. I think everyone wants FD to be a place where civil discussion can take place and we can learn from one another. The problem is that we discuss issues like politics and religion, and everyone knows that these are subjects that can bring out hostility in people. That's why they used to say you should never discuss politics or religion in polite company.

In any case, we were slipping too far over the edge as far as flame wars taking over threads, and the moderators were forced to take corrective action.

The moderators will step back and give everyone more room again.

But, I hope that everyone will make an effort to be a bit more polite to one another. Of course you can disagree with each other, but you don't need to carry those disagreements from thread to thread, and you don't need to insult people that you disagree with.

I think if we all work together we can strike a good balance.

Meanwhile, if any of you have complaints about how the forum is moderated, we would REALLY appreciate it if you would send us a PM. Our political enemies monitor what is written here, and it is really disappointing when our friends post things that can be used to bash us.

[shiva]

The common denominator in most "situations" here seems to be the suicidal swan diver Ya-dah. He stirs the pot and makes no effort to converse on any issue. How many good people have to be lectured to appease this FN twit?

I couldn't disagree more. I'm with Styky on this. I have seen the clique mentality on FD for as long as I've been posting here. It happens on all message boards unfortunately. If there is a common denominator, it isn't Yoda.

Kudos to Yoda for continuing to post despite knowing that the gang will pounce on him no matter what he says. Whether I agree with him or not, is irrelevant to me.

If anyone casts ad-hominems instead of sticking to the topic of the thread, it isn't Yoda that starts it. Let the moderators do their jobs in an unbiased manner. I think you might be bringing in a bit of bias in the way you perceive events.

[Kate Shaw]

I agree we should not have name-calling and insulting personal language as knee-jerk responses to things we do not like.

I disagree with the idea that we shouldn't call attention to people harping on the same string (and I am guilty of this too) in every thread they post.

[shiva]

I agree we should not have name-calling and insulting personal language as knee-jerk responses to things we do not like.

I disagree with the idea that we shouldn't call attention to people harping on the same string (and I am guilty of this too) in every thread they post.

As Styky says, if you generally don't like the topic a poster posts about, why go on the thread? If it's only to look for some reason to criticize them personally and hurl insults, why bother?

It seems to me people should be able to post on whatever subject they wish and the 'free market' will decide if it's of interest. To jump on the thread in order to hurl personal insults is the behaviour that needs to be corrected, not the posting of articles that may or may not be of interest to other forum members. It's really pretty simple.

[Post Tenebras Lux]

Hey, I got an idea. Connie and Mark should shut the site down.

Let everyone else go back to doing their complaining at the local coffee shop.

The Fourniers can have a life of peace and quiet and look after personal affairs ... instead of babysitting grownups that haven't learned to take criticism as easily as they give it.

Just a thought.

Note to Connie and Mark: Please don't take my advice.

[free_life2]

Every once and awhile I agree with Yoda, but with the majority of his posts I just skip after the first sentence.

He has a one track mind and can be very rude, big deal....I prefer free speech over any alternative.

[Post Tenebras Lux]

Every once and awhile I agree with Yoda, but with the majority of his posts I just skip after the first sentence.

He has a one track mind and can be very rude, big deal....I prefer free speech over any alternative.

Good post.

It is somewhat puzzling that on a site that is defending free speech, there are so many here who don't understand that includes the freedom of others as well as yourself.

[HSMom]

The moderators will step back and give everyone more room again.

I hope this does not mean taking away Winston's ability to kick offending people off of threads. It is my opinion that the moderators on this site need more powers and tools to keep order, not less and that the kicking tool has worked big time to curtailing personal attacks and bad behaviuors of all parties and over all made the site much more enjoyable to come to.

This kicking tool helps facilitate the kind of productive discussions we wish to have here. Let the worst offenders adjust.

[HSMom]

Sorry I messed up the quote above. If a moderator can make that Connie's quote and not Yoda's I would appreciate it. Thanks.

[Peter O'Donnell]

Speaking as another moderator who luckily missed out on this round, I would ask all FD members to be tolerant of our decisions about what constitutes "flame war" material ... we may sometimes appear to be too strict in our interpretation of it, and long-term that would not be a good thing perhaps, but on the whole we've seen an improvement in the situation since late summer, and we find ourselves facing difficult choices sometimes.

We're not out to "get" anyone and we respect the concept of spirited discussion -- but any post that takes the form "you have nothing to say" is usually pointing towards the kick-meter, and as with Section 13, truth is not necessarily a defence (word to the wise).

If we knew in advance who had nothing to say, we would not need Free Dominion.

And sometimes those with the least popular ideas are closer to the truth than we want to acknowledge, not always, perhaps even not often, but it does happen that the unpopular idea is the one that eventually prevails.

By keeping that principle alive here, we maintain the integrity of it for wider use where its application is more obvious to us, as holders of those generally unpopular ideas in the wider context.

Also, Nobby McNasty says, grrrrrrrrrrrrr. In a pirate voice.

[Maikeru]

How about a 'hell thread' where scrappers are confined to posting for a day ?
That way, folks could bloody one another in silence before returning to the thread which set them off, relieved of stress...

Labels: "I'll see you in hell first", "go to hell", "hellbound", "hell to pay", " the hell you say", "hell's bells", "hell hath no fury like a poster scorned"

[Peter O'Donnell]

Hell will freeze over before David Suzuki posts on Free Dominion.

[RedDog]

Shiva, we'll have to agree to respectfully disagree. I'm going to call BS when I see BS and I've had it coming in return more than once.

That said, I'm somewhat flattered that I'm part of some "clique" I wasn't aware of. Cool.

[HSMom]

Shiva, we'll have to agree to respectfully disagree. I'm going to call BS when I see BS and I've had it coming in return more than once.

That said, I'm somewhat flattered that I'm part of some "clique" I wasn't aware of. Cool.

Some people's comments on here bring me right back to my old high school's hallways.