[damocles]

This is an expression of my personal opinion, only.

The owner of the Forum is the final arbiter of what is permissible to write on his forum.

Those of us who post on forums forget that free speech is not applicable when you visit another man's domain. If you offend him, he has the right to ask you to leave. He can also delegate that right to his agents to act on his behalf.

It may seem unfair, to the banned but, having been banned myself on more than one forum on one occasion, I not only understand it as the forum owner's right but approve of it(the right) as a measure to keep disciplined thought and civilized discourse intact on a forum where such is the ground rule established by the forum owner. It forces me to maintain a measure of disciplined thought and logic to stay in the discussion.

Where forum prejudice and bias form the forum ground rules for discussion then the forum owner does me a favor by banning me as it dissuades me from wasting my time where I am not welcome.

[IrishEyes]

I have to say, this is very impressive, and very insightful (as opposed to in-cite-ful). You've not only managed to convery your personal opinion, but also hit upon exactly how the forum is run in this particular case.

And I'd like to add that at this forum, the forum owner really does not like to ban people. He has managed to put together a staff that shares his passion for science and/or discussion, and they do not like to ban either. Every person on the staff is a former 'regular member' that was chosen for their personality, clarity of expression, and ability to distinguish personal opinion from fact. And we're all pretty big into the idea that discussion, especially dissenting opinion, is vital to the success of this place. People don't get banned for not agreeing with the owner or the staff here. Just about the only things people get banned for are spam, and the inability to carry on a civil discussion with the rest of the membership. Personal attacks against the staff is not liked, but personal attacks against the membership is not tolerated.

You can voice just about any opinion you have in this place and not cross the line. Some of my favorite people have been people that I don't agree with on any number of subjects (B comes to mind, as well as FreeT). Not sharing their opinions does not preclude me from listening to their side of the issue, and very often I come away with a unique (but very different) perspective.

I hope others see this and understand that about this site.

[infamous]

Originally Posted by IrishEyes

I hope others see this and understand that about this site.

I share these thoughts with you also Irish, it's the reason I find myself spending way too much time at my computer. I also, have had experience with other forums and chose this one for the very reasons youv'e discribed. I've made this comment before but I think it's time to say it again. This forum is much like a neighborhood community, for the benefit of the community we all need to invest our loyality and effort to make this a good place to spend our time. Some neighbors are a little more difficult than others, such is life. But everyone has something to contribute and I for one would miss any neighbor that would decide to move away for what ever reason. I also am in agreement with the originator of this thread, the rights that belong to the ownership should be respected. In my opinion, you won't find a higher degree of fairness anywhere else.

[rockytriton]

I'm all for banning people who do nothing but annoy others.

[UncleAl]

The owner of the Forum is the final arbiter of what is permissible to write on his forum.

That is an absolute truth. The Web does not censor, it compartmentalizes. All opinions are available and broadcast contingent upon the will and desire of the person. Folks who are unpopular will not be targeted, they will be forgotten - or rendered into carnival freak shows.

http://www.crank.net/

Nobody has a license to impose: not individiuals, not governments, not religions. You have no right to defecate in my parlour. Patronize compadres with a feces fetish. Democracy is a concept best visited upon others. Folks are obsessed with "saving" strangers, even if it means killing them. Make the world a better place - get rid of all the do-gooders. See?

[Dark Mind]

Can't believe I missed this . That was an excellent post and I'm almost inclined to make it a sticky . I think I'll go ahead and pass on that though and just hope more people read it .