Posted on 06/25/2002 3:42:21 AM PDT by Jim Robinson
Jusin Raimondo discovers brevity.
Everything? Or everything you ask him to review? Your message is ambiguous.
Your (collective) hand is certainly heavier than his ever was.
That's of necessity so. With limited participation, you get fewer opinions. We all - for various reasons - hope that will change soon. But is IS essential to work out the bugs, in my opinion.
This morning?
We have come up with a workaround for the issue that works in most cases. When we pull a thread, currently the comments on it still remain in the self-search records of those involved. We moderators have begun changing the title of the thread after pulling, to put the reason, such as "[Pulled- Duplicate] Drudge Breaking!" or "[Pulled- We can only excerpt from WashPost] Bush Wants Old People To Die In Nasty Ways".
Those who were participating on a pulled thread can thereby see the reason. And if you freepmail someone who was on it, you can ask them what the reason was.
It isn't a perfect solution, but it has cut down on the questions a lot.
Thanks, AM
I like the current approach. The policy, as I've seen it work, is to yank offensive posts and warn the offenders. Either they shape up, in which case the problem is solved, or they continue to offend, in which case the offenders are thrown off (which also solves the problem). Poster Robert-J got put in the cooler on this thread after very patient handling by Admin Moderator.
The only missing link in the solution chain is having enough Freepers willing to hit the abuse button when they see such crap.
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All,
This morning I received a number of PM's from folks letting me know that Mr. Jim Robinson, the creator of FreeRepublic.com had commented on Liberty Forum. I thought I would take the time to address a couple of the comments made by Mr. Robinson.
First, other than being honored that our budding site would garner Mr. Robinson's attention, let me state that I have the utmost respect for the organization and site that Mr. Robinson has put together. He blazed a trail from which we have all benefitted. Although my views and ideas were shaped and sharpened on usenet, the old MSNBC discussion boards, and personal boards, I still appreciated the wealth of information that FreeRepublic contained when I came across it in 2000.
That having been said, it is unfortunate that Mr. Robinson would characterize this site as an anti-Freeper site. The fact is that, although there are certainly disenchanted former FreeRepublic members here, our focus has never been, and never will be, another site.
Our enemy is coercion in all its many incarnations, and our focus is Liberty.
The fact that we are not here to bash other sites is made quite clear at every possible opportunity. Here, for example is a quote from the orientation message that most new members receive:
This site was developed to build a movement through which to accelerate our return to liberty. We are not in competition with any other sites, no matter their political affiliation. Neither are we interested in knocking anyone else. We are here to persuade people that liberty is the best choice and to teach them how to achieve it for themselves first (through logical and consistent philosopies) and then to encourage them to spread the message.
Mr. Robinson also attempts to paint our membership as "unabashed racists, anti-Semites, Marxist propagandists, angry (and I mean very angry) people who bash everyone and everything, whackos, sickos, you name it." He is probably correct, especially regarding the "whackos and sickos" : )
I would also say that Mr. Robinson unfortunately neglected to mention the majority of folks that have made LF their home, many of them with impressive intellects, whose focus is not ethnicity or religious orientation, but Liberty. It is these folks who rise to the challenge of refuting substandard ideas and concepts, and who serve to educate those many silent readers as to the superiority of liberty over racism, collectivism, and any of the many substandard "isms" that compete for peoples' attention. Liberty and objective reasoning always trump immoral concepts of human interaction that depend on coercion and weak minds for their survival.
Yes, we have a number of folks here, who have been banned from FR, and some even express ugly ideas. Although many would consider ugly ideas as sufficient cause for censorship and/or banishment, our philosophy at LF is a bit different.
Even though I can honestly say that we don't welcome ugly ideas, I can also state unequivocally that we won't shy away from dealing with them. There is no question that a commitment to Liberty requires a significant degree of courage, and I am very proud of the many courageous individuals on LF who daily demonstrate, in words and actions, that Liberty is a value worth fighting for.
A brief comment about our "low traffic." I just took a look at our site statistics and notice that, within the past 24 hours, we have logged 1,502 posts. I would say that most sites would be quite pleased with those figures after being fully operational. That we are logging those numbers while still in beta and while operating with a restricted membership, has significant implications for our volume of traffic once we open to the public.
In closing, I would like to thank Mr. Robinson, for all the hard work he has put into FreeRepublic. Although it appears we disagree philosophically, I still wish him and his son the best with all their endeavors. I will continue to focus on developing LibertyForum and I hope he will do the same with FreeRepublic. The end result is bound to be outstanding.
I would also like to thank all the LiFers who daily contribute to my education and growing understanding of Liberty and who form the core of what is shaping up to be a significant force in the movement to freedom.
Yours in Liberty,
JD
When it comes to the point that discerning between sarcasm and sincerity is all that stands between letting words stand and erasing them, you are definitely over moderating. Grievously overmoderating.
You've allowed vicious, racial attacks on members of Bush's cabinet, especially Mr. Powell.But wait, I thought the problem was that the forum had been taken over by the Bushies?
You've allowed people who support the Israeli position to say things like "F_ck the U.S." etc.Should be easy enough to prove one way or another. You should be able to provide links to all of these things that you say happen all over the place, so much so that Jim would see them if he pays attention. That would make them easy to find. Especially for a documentary lady.
You see, I pay attention (not as much as I used to, but that is something else). And I don't see what you see. I see a lot of what Jim states.
Why? Is this forum your property?
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