Selective Banning

by Elsewhere 75 Replies latest jw friends

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  Elsewhere

  I hate to see people get banned or silenced - even the people who are causing trouble. When it comes to regulations, I could almost be described as Libertarian.

  Because of this I would like to make a proposal - instead of leaving the banning power in the hands of a central authority, I propose that banning be placed in the hands of the individual. I'm referring to a feature that I have seen in the Yahoo! chat forums. If you come across someone who you find to be offensive, a menace or harassing, you can individually "ban" the person so that YOU no longer see his/her posts. Everyone else will still be able to see him and his posts.

  I discovered that the people who truly deserved to be banned would be banned by almost everyone within a very short period of time - and no one could ever accuse a central authority of censorship.

  You end up with free speech without the annoyances.
• 

  Farkel

  Elsewhere,

  You described yourself here:

  : I could almost be described as Libertarian.

  I describe myself here:

  "I am a Libertarian."

  And proud of it.

  (Although it is rather nonsensical to use those terms on a mere discussion board and think they can mean much in that venue.)

  Farkel

  Edited by - Farkel on 18 August 2002 19:44:39
• 

  Solace

  Elsewhere,

  That is SO interesting, I've never heard of that.

  Boy would that come in handy at work.

  (Fingers in ears) La,La,La I cant here you La,La,La
• 

  Elsewhere

  LOL @ Heaven
• 

  plmkrzy

  If you come across someone who you find to be offensive, a menace or harassing, you can individually "ban" the person so that YOU no longer see his/her posts. Everyone else will still be able to see him and his posts

  I've seen that feature in yahoo chat but never paid much attention to it. I'm trying to imagine what a post would look like when others are responding to the one banned. If I was to ban someone I felt was offensive and only read others responses it would make the other's look like they were not making any sense at all. But I don't know how it would really look because I never used it.

  So how far off am I?

  plum
• 

  Elsewhere

  plmkrzy,

  That is a very good point... sometimes I would read other peoples posts that had a response to someone I had banned and they would look a bit strange. But as I pointed out... most people would ban the same few pests, so the mystery responses were at a minimum.
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  COMF

  This would work very well, if the issue was of offending those familiar with the forum, and who are looking to converse with others here. If I've understood correctly, though, the big concern is for new people who are having doubts about the borg and looking out their Watchtower windows, but are still steeped in the lifestyle and not yet capable of dealing in a mature manner with such things as profanity.
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  Solace

  Just imagine,

  Our rivals could talk about us left and right and we would be totally unaware.

  Boy, would that have come in handy during high school.

  (Talk to the hand)
• 

  Pathofthorns

  I liked the thought of your suggestion Elsewhere. While many feel the posts manifesting some concern over moderation and censorship were about the "right" to use profanity on this board, I think those that understand the issue appreciate a broader picture. If it was about profanity Simon could activate filters to take care of that.

  If your suggestion was implemented, I think very few people would ban anyone at all. Because of human nature and people's curiosity most want to be able to make that decision for themselves.

  I think it is a suggestion that is worth some serious thought if it is technically possible. 5 out of 5 stars for your suggestion.

  Path

  (Okay, so it won't let me rate this thread, but if I could I'd give it a 5..lol)

  Edited by - Pathofthorns on 18 August 2002 22:0:22
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  Elsewhere

  An advantage of this is that those who are trouble-makers will be banned by most people... in time they will get tired of being ignored and will just go away. This will prevent people from filling the site will an enormous amount of profanity and harsh posts behind everyones back. There will inevitably be a few posts like that, but as I said, the poster will get bored of being ignored....