Are we all equal on FR?

[JoeV1]

I wonder if the rules on this forum are applied equally? Several weeks ago I was denied posting privileges because I jokingly advocated a "plan b" in fighting the so far failed war on illegal immigration. My "plan b" was to have border guards retreat to within 200 yards of the border and while fitted with night vision goggles simply drop any illegals attempting to gain access to America.

Now frankly I am not concerned with the fact I was denied posting privileges for a day(reason given was "advocating violence")but I wonder if the folks who post pictures of exploding nukes over text that calls for turning the middle east, or N Korea into a glowing heap of slag. were also denied the ability to post. I did a cursory check and found the names of the posters associated with the nuke threats posting regularly after the aforementioned posts appeared.

Is it possible that some are more equal then others here? I have been referred to as a "newbie" as if that somehow makes what I say less credible then someone here a longer period of time. I believe opinions are opinions and the length of forum membership does not serve to make ones credibility stronger.

It does seem that there is a "good old boy's" network operating here and the old timers are given more leeway as far as the rules then are the newer arrivals. While I have been a FR member for only 8 months I have been an avid political forum debator for 8 or 9 years on places such as the NYT, WP, LAT and others.

There was another incident in which I was accused of a personal attack although I was merely responding to an attack on myself. I never used profanity and merely responded in kind to another whose main complaint was that I was wrong in criticizing the post of another person because that person was a 5 year member. I was also told I didn't know what I was talking about. This resulted in a few back and forth retorts which I frankly found amusing and in no way took as an insult.

I thoroughly enjoy verbal jousting and never shrink from a confrontation. It appears that others see fit to run to the moderator at the first sign of getting back what it is they dish out. It is at that time that I believe the good old boys network comes into play.

If any of you would like to see the posts that caused this simply ask and I will happily post them.

[ClancyJ]

The "old-boy network" is merely the institutional memory of FreeRepublic. -PJ

Good point - and all of us will be "old-boy network" one day too - unless we get banned first.

[KC Burke]

Well thank you.

The romper room attitude, the prayer threads, the running jokes and the small faction battles do have their purpose: They develop a sense of fellowship and unity. These let those that might not otherwise form bonds, do so to their own surprise.

[Sloth]

And yet some newbies can post vanities without impunity and older freepers are called on the carpet for scrutinizing them.

No, that's just you getting criticized for being a colossal jerk, hijacking threads and calling newbies 'trolls' w/ no evidence.

[metesky]

Is that a nuke in your pocket or are you just glad to see us?

[Stu Cohen]

A relative used to tell me "life isn't fair" all the time as well.

One day I told here "Yes, but that's no excuse for not striving for fairness". She never said that to me again.

"Life's not fair" is simply a copout by people who don't want to bother doing the right thing, IMHO.

I never use that phrase with my kids. It's like saying "well kids get injured growing up". It doesn't mean that i'm not going to do everything in my power to prevent that from happening.

So while "life isn't fair" may be a factual statement, I think it is too often used as a crutch and as a deterrent for those who would strive for fairness.

[rwa265]

Go to the top of the page, click on search, and type in 'zot' in the Search Words field. After looking at a few of the threads that come up, you will get a good idea of what zot means.

[metesky]

Laz has been set down a couple of times, Leapfrog.

[TChris]

Oh, NOW I get it!! I advocated violence by the use of a rifle which is available to most people and that was a violation. However, had I advocated violence via a weapon only accessible to the military, such as a plasma weapon of some kind, then I wouldn't be in violation. Is that the way it works? Thank you for clearing that up.

So, how old are you, Joe? This sounds just like my 13-year-old talking. The persecution syndrome and the bitter sarcasm... It sounds like you have deeper issues at work here. If you hate FR so much, don't come here. You're free to post hateful messages at DU. They'd probably love it.

[William Terrell]

Please identify any of these posters with access to nuclear weapons, and we'll immediately suspend them.

Well, ordinarily I couldn't care less about these little spats, even though entertaining to read, but this notion captures my interest. Folks can advocate violence on FR so long as they don't possess the weapon they advocate using?

[k2blader]

The DU has the reputation of gorillas ranting and spewing.

Gorillas worldwide are greatly offended.. ;-)

[zeugma]

What I thought was funny was that you complained after receiving:

Complain in private, and you'll usually receive an explanatory reply. Bitch in public, and, well, you'll definitely receive something

Which got you slapped again. LOL. Sounds like something I'd do just to annoy the Powers That Be.

Sometimes my sarcasm runs so deep that I almost immediately regret posting. One of these days a post like that will get me suspended for a few days.

[P_A_I]

Netizen wrote:

I think the button was hit. Big difference.
We should be able to know who hits the button? Might stop a lot of frivolous 'abuse button' pushers if their screen name was going to be made public.

Pretty easy to hide and accuse people anonymously.


______________________________________



That's a darned good idea. The "ability to confront your accuser" was a foundation of this nation for this exact reason.

Would probably make the moderation easier too, and make the whole thing more transparent to all users.

I hope they take this suggestion. I'm suprised nobody thought of it before.
252 Stu

---

You fellas aren't clear on the concept. The moderation on FR is purposely set up to be anonymous. - It's a question of control.

[metesky]

You gotta do what I do: give $50 a day and nobody bothers ya.

[ClancyJ]

Have you sought help for your paranoia?

[Michael Goldsberry]

My original post about him was meant to point out how much he brings to FR, not how many times he's been suspended.

[eastforker]

Did I mention any names, didn't think so yet you are here calling me a jerk.What was that about attacking someone on a crossthread???

[Stu Cohen]

I get really tired of the old "oh, be careful going there, there are some weirdo's posting there". Which is what I was told years ago when I happened to mention FR at work.

I understand, but one person's "weirdo" is another person's food for thought.

Here in LA am I considered a nutjob simply for refusing to let my kid speak spanish.

I suppose I could acquiese and acquire more friends by becoming a bi-lingual family, but that would just be cowtowing.

I feel that we tilt a little in that direction sometimes. "Don't say that or the left will think we are weird". Well, if some people are thinking weird things, it's better to know, IMHO.

[Rebelbase]

" TLBSHOW "

He got banned from LP last month. Bwahahaha!

[daybreakcoming]

***It's a forum, folks, it's for fun***

With your pants on fire before the 2nd post, I felt a little sorry for you that you showed your whiney butt so soon. But based on your commment above - don't think you belong here. Yeah, there's fun threads, but for the most part, you will not meet with a more serious forum. You probably should stick to your LAT, NYT, and WP forums for fun and fantasy.

PS: I've seen two year FR veterans telling six year vets that they didn't know what they were talking about. Life continued on for all.

[Rebelbase]

"WAS CGEB ever reinstated?"

Don't think so.