Hi Dead!
I'll do the same, but will post something I wrote on another thread today to make my point (which I have been making for a long long time):
I would argue -- as I have argued for months and months -- that moderators are not needed. At least not in the degree that they are employed. Are we a self-governing people or do we need a nanny state to make sure we are not being naughty? I have always viewed Free Republic as a virtual state, where we conservatives, right-wingers, liberty-lovers or what-have-you have the unique cyber opportunity to practice what we preach: to act as adults and clean up our own messes without big daddy government coming in and giving us all a time-out.
If we cannot self-govern on a self-professed "free republic" website, then we should all just throw in the towel and submit to the state. It really is as simple as that.
There are people who will post objectionable things. Anyone who has ever stepped outside their front door will notice that there is no shortage of objectionable people out there.
The question is what do we who believe in limited government and self-control do about it. Do we cry for the big bad government to protect us, or do we learn to deal with the good, the bad, and the ugly. I have always argued here for this kind of structure, but as you can see my arguments have fallen on deaf ears.
I do understand that leaving up profanity or racist posts leads some avenue for critics to of the forum to cite them as authorized, so their deletion is understandable.
What I really object to is the deletion of posts or threads for political or ideological reasons.
Or most offensive of all are the deletions for no obvious reason, and if you question the deletion, the "we might have to ban you" response from the almighty moderators on high.