Pulling the plug on Speakers Corner

[Tink1717 2]

Why don't you pull the plug on SC? It seems more trouble than it's worth. There are currently four stickies reminding everyone to behave in there. Why tie up all the moderators with a forum that is clearly not working? Just my $.02. Carry on.

Skydivers don't knock on Death's door. They ring the bell and runaway... It really pisses him off.
-The World Famous Tink. (I never heard of you either!!)
AA #2069 ASA#33 POPS#8808 Swooo 1717

[pilotdave 0]

Cause then all that crap would come back to the bonfire where I'd have to see it. I think of SC as dz.com's trash can. Course I've never opened it so I shouldn't judge.

Dave

[AggieDave 6]

Were you around before the Talk Back split? Do you remember all of those threads being in Talk Back?

I go into SC sometimes (its easy to get sucked in sometimes), but I can and have left it unopened for quite a while since I didn't want to deal with it.

If we didn't have something like SC then Bonfire would revert back to the old Talk Back, or the Greenies would be spending all day deleting threads in Bonfire that were SC type threads.

--"When I die, may I be surrounded by scattered chrome and burning gasoline."

[Tink1717 2]

I was around for Talk Back. It was pretty ugly in there too. I was just thinking that the moderators spend too much time regulating that one particular forum. Anything that consumes that much in the way of volunteer resources ought to be looked at with a critical eye.

Skydivers don't knock on Death's door. They ring the bell and runaway... It really pisses him off.
-The World Famous Tink. (I never heard of you either!!)
AA #2069 ASA#33 POPS#8808 Swooo 1717

[sunshine 2]

I'm thankful all that crap isn't in bonfire. I never go in SC cause i don't care about that stuff. Tis nice to not have to see it.

___________________________________________
meow

I get a Mike hug! I get a Mike hug!

[TomAiello 26]

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I was just thinking that the moderators spend too much time regulating that one particular forum.

I know that I prioritize SC last, so if I have limited time, I read the topical forums I moderate first, and if I run out of time, SC is the one that gets overlooked. This might contribute to it being so unruly, especially as I would suspect that others treat it this way too. But, it does mean that it rarely consumes time and energy that I could be spending on other forums.

-- Tom Aiello

Tom@SnakeRiverBASE.com
SnakeRiverBASE.com

[JohnRich 4]

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I'm thankful all that crap isn't in bonfire.

One man's crap is another man's intellectual stimulation.

[bbarnhouse 0]

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One man's crap is another man's intellectual stimulation

Or mental masturbation

[JohnRich 4]

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Or mental masturbation

If you guys don't enjoy the discussions there, that's fine. However, many people do enjoy the intellectual debate, and I don't think you guys should be denigrating them just because your tastes are different. I don't know of anyone in Speaker's Corner making fun of Bonfire participants...

[bch7773 0]

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One man's crap is another man's intellectual stimulation

Or mental masturbation

MB 3528, RB 1182

[feuergnom 29]

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I don't know of anyone in Speaker's Corner making fun of Bonfire participants...

maybe because they are so absorbed talking religion, guns reps vs dems younameitwhateveritis & calling everbody not sharing their beliefs a liberal ?

as for intellectual debate: oh come on john, you gotta be kiddin with "intellectual", it's nitpickin & hairsplittin and quarreling over a single word most of the times.


edit 4 spell before i get caught by the grammar & spell-police

The universal aptitude for ineptitude makes any human accomplishment an incredible miracle

dudeist skydiver # 666

[SkyDekker 1,465]

Looks like sangiro has taken you up on your suggestion.

[jumpergirl 0]

I was just thinking the same thing! I came here to see if anything had been posted about it... Hmmmm...

Oh well.

[JohnRich 4]

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I don't know of anyone in Speaker's Corner making fun of Bonfire participants...

maybe because they are so absorbed talking religion, guns reps vs dems younameitwhateveritis & calling everbody not sharing their beliefs a liberal ?

as for intellectual debate: oh come on john, you gotta be kiddin with "intellectual", it's nitpickin & hairsplittin and quarreling over a single word most of the times.

Once again, my response is the "one man's trash/treasure" saying.

Those who don't like it, can simply avoid it. But those folks shouldn't try and shut it down, because obviously others do enjoy talking there. To each his own. Why not let others have their fun in their own way? Why this urge to censor others just because you don't understand them?

[MattM 0]

I enjoyed SC... was good entertainment....

Matt

[Zenister 0]

if you don’t like the games that are played in there then don’t come in it’s not very difficult really…the forum works very well to keep the 'people under the stairs' and the arguments they find entertaining from spilling over into the bonfire and disturbing the "who's ass is hottest?", "i really need some virtual attention" and "how drunk are you?" threads...no one is required to participate or even view what goes on inside, enter of your own free will.... assuming freewill still means anything

honestly I’d prefer a ‘virtual waiver’ and have everyone don their flame proof suit at the door, debates would get more lively, more entertaining and we could discuss nearly anything without someone continually whining for moderated protections..…

Just my 95.40

____________________________________
Those who fail to learn from the past are simply Doomed.

[Tink1717 2]

I said what I said mostly because of the half assed way that it was being moderated. Censorship, even in guise of moderation, is wrong. I'd rather have no forum than a selectively censored forum. I even have a problem of how and why they moderate the other forums. Why moderate at all? you don't see anyone trying to moderate the real bonfire at the DZ, why moderate it here?

So, good riddence SC. Let's talk about jumping for a change.

Skydivers don't knock on Death's door. They ring the bell and runaway... It really pisses him off.
-The World Famous Tink. (I never heard of you either!!)
AA #2069 ASA#33 POPS#8808 Swooo 1717

[Zenister 0]

fortunately its back...
some of us enjoy it... if you dont, i'm sure you know where the link is to take you somewhere else...

____________________________________
Those who fail to learn from the past are simply Doomed.

[skybytch 273]

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I said what I said mostly because of the half assed way that it was being moderated.

You can't please everyone all the time. By trying to please everyone you please no one. IMHO, Sangiro and the moderators he has chosen for his forums do a fantastic job of promoting and perpetuating the vision Sangiro has for this community.

Until you've sat at a moderator's keyboard you have no idea how difficult, stressful and thankless the job can be. Moderators are humans and skydivers just like we are; they can and do make mistakes, they have real lives that often can (and should) take precedence over reading every post and slapping hands where needed.

As a moderator in other forums when SC was created I was very happy to see it; it made my life as a Bonfire mod much happier. I have a lot of respect for the people who moderate it - it's a job I wouldn't touch with a ten foot pole.

I choose not to participate in SC. That doesn't mean I think it shouldn't be a part of these forums. Those who enjoy spirited debate/argument on PGR (politics/guns/religion), while not entitled to a place to do so (none of us are entitled to anything here - it's not our website), are just as much a part of this community as are those who prefer to post about boobies and beer. To each his or her own...

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Why moderate at all?

Take a look at rec.skydiving, or any other of a number of newsgroups, for an example or three of what can happen to an unmoderated forum. Moderation keeps the "noise" from overtaking the "signal" - which means far less paging through unrelated posts and spam (noise) to find the information you might be seeking (signal).

Moderation is a large part of why these forums have developed the feeling of community that brings most of us back here day after day.

As for the censorship comment, think of these forums as Sangiro's living room, not as a place where you or anyone else have a right to "freedom of speech." In your living room would you not want the right to ask a disruptive, disrespectful or downright nasty person to chill out? If they refused to do so, wouldn't you want the right to kick them out on their ass, at least until they've learned to show some respect for you and your home?

[JohnRich 4]

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So, good riddence SC. Let's talk about jumping for a change.

Ah, but you see, if you eliminate "Speaker's Corner" because it's about non-jumping subjects, then doesn't that also put "Bonfire" in jeopardy?

"In Germany, they first came for the communists,

and I didn't speak up because I wasn't a communist.

Then, they came for the Jews,

and I didn't speak up because I wasn't a Jew.

Then they came for the trade unionists,

and I didn't speak up because I wasn't a trade unionist. 

Then they came for the Catholics.

I didn't speak up because I was a Protestant.

Then they came for me,

and there was no one left to speak up."


- Reverend Martin Niemoller, German Lutheran pastor arrested

by the Gestapo, 1937, a decorated U-Boat skipper during WWI.

[JohnRich 4]

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I choose not to participate in SC. That doesn't mean I think it shouldn't be a part of these forums. Those who enjoy spirited debate/argument on PGR (politics/guns/religion), while not entitled to a place to do so (none of us are entitled to anything here - it's not our website), are just as much a part of this community as are those who prefer to post about boobies and beer. To each his or her own...

Bravo! Well said.

The right to choose is always better than not having a choice at all.

Those who are annoyed by "Speaker's Corner" can choose not to enter. But if you ban that forum, then thoe who like the debates therein, have no choice at all.

[Tink1717 2]

Getting rid of SC is about a million light years away from what the NAZIs were up to. And while we're at it, why not get rid of bonfire? The content of both Bonfire and SC are available on rec.skydiving. Go there for all the flamming and trolls. Leave Dz.com for substance. Unlike what's going on here.

Skydivers don't knock on Death's door. They ring the bell and runaway... It really pisses him off.
-The World Famous Tink. (I never heard of you either!!)
AA #2069 ASA#33 POPS#8808 Swooo 1717

[bob.dino 1]

I think you're missing the fact that Bonfire and SC are separated from the serious stuff. So if you're not interested in non-skydiving waffle, just click on the minus sign beside 'Community' in the forum listing and you'll never be bothered by the noise.

Hey presto! Problem solved!

[pilotdave 0]

The lack of moderation is what made rec.skydiving totally useless. Bonfire/SC is what keeps the other forums on this site useful. I don't always agree with the decisions moderators make here, but I do absolutely believe they are necessary.

Dave

[AggieDave 6]

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Leave Dz.com for substance. Unlike what's going on here.

The non-substance is what made DZ.com the huge success it is today. That's what has built this community into the cool community it has become. For pure substance groups...well, they're out there as well. There's the S&T e-mail list, the PIA e-mail list and so forth.

--"When I die, may I be surrounded by scattered chrome and burning gasoline."