I’m assuming we’re all on the same page when it comes to defining freedom of speech versus what actually constitutes hate speech or inciting violence, right? Well, that’s precisely the line we’re walking here. There shouldn't be any topic off-limits for a decent debate, but let’s be clear: we aren't going to permit anything that violates the law or basic standards of civilized discourse. If we can sit around and hash out history regarding Burma, Albania, Mexico, Canada, or even the treatment of Native Americans, then there is absolutely no reason we can't have a serious discussion about walls and Israel. I certainly hope nobody here thinks that discussing walls or the situation in Israel should be treated as some kind of forbidden taboo. To me, pretending those things don't exist or shouldn't be talked about would look like a blatant form of antisemitism. On the flip side, though, I have to wonder: is there some unwritten dogma suggesting that everything the State of Israel does is inherently beyond reproach and immune to criticism?
Why on earth are you starting threads that have absolutely nothing to do with the subforum you're actually posting in? Just try heading over to politics/world news instead.
dustypuma5 pointed out this aggressive spamming all over the forum is such a fascinating way to behave, honestly; it really makes you wonder how much of a connection the owners of that portal—or even their little activists—actually have to the big cities and that whole polished, metropolitan upbringing
Look, Nick, we aren't here to sit around and dissect Shady or anyone else on this board specifically
As far as the whole "convincing" thing goes, I don't feel any particular need to sell you on my logic, though honestly, anyone with even a shred of common sense should be able to grasp why we aren't carving out special little sub-forums just for people who insist on acting like they're in some kind of perpetual battlefield The bottom line is this: we aren't going to segment this community based on denominations, we aren't picking moderators based on their personal beliefs, and we certainly aren't going to give preferential treatment to any specific religious group over another It’s the exact same reasoning behind why we didn't spin up a dedicated LGBTQ+ forum, because, as Shady pointed out—and he's right here—we all inhabit the same world and we actually need to learn how to talk to one another I'm assuming that's been made sufficiently clear by now, given how many times we've had to lay it out for everyone?
hollowtrucker77 said:So, I guess? Which part of this is actually difficult to wrap your head around?? Back in the day, before we moved away from animal sacrifices, people would drink the blood and eat the meat of the creature being offered up (which, let's hope, was just an animal) The whole idea was that through the act of sacrifice, that flesh and blood became sanctified, bringing a divine blessing to whoever consumed it 🙂 Jesus essentially abolished that practice by shifting the entire concept to a spiritual level through wine and the host—acting as a ritual to receive blessings through consecration, which we now refer to as his body and blood
And now, just because someone decided to ask a question, what are we supposed to do?? Ban rowdyhawk10? Outlaw Islam on the forum? Ban everything except Christianity??...
Or, we could try something else that actually seems useful: we could clean up the religion subreddits by removing anyone who isn't capable of civilized communication, regardless of what denomination they follow, and leave actual space for people who are genuinely interested in interfaith dialogue and actually want to learn something from "the other side"
I assume you're aware that Christianity didn't just blindly adopt Jewish customs, but rather integrated elements from its entire surrounding environment, right?
Look, I said it then and I’m going to say it again right now: if you're actually looking for an echo chamber where everyone just nods along, feel free to go find some niche, specialized subreddit and argue with people who already agree with you. We don't support ghettoization here on the forum.
So, I guess? Which part of this is actually difficult to wrap your head around?? Back in the day, before we moved away from animal sacrifices, people would drink the blood and eat the meat of the creature being offered up (which, let's hope, was just an animal) The whole idea was that through the act of sacrifice, that flesh and blood became sanctified, bringing a divine blessing to whoever consumed it 🙂 Jesus essentially abolished that practice by shifting the entire concept to a spiritual level through wine and the host—acting as a ritual to receive blessings through consecration, which we now refer to as his body and blood
And now, just because someone decided to ask a question, what are we supposed to do?? Ban rowdyhawk10? Outlaw Islam on the forum? Ban everything except Christianity??...
Or, we could try something else that actually seems useful: we could clean up the religion subreddits by removing anyone who isn't capable of civilized communication, regardless of what denomination they follow, and leave actual space for people who are genuinely interested in interfaith dialogue and actually want to learn something from "the other side"
Jose Barrett said:I’m all for having one Christian moderator and one Muslim moderator assigned to the Religion subforum. They represent the two largest groups on that board.
An atheist just can't be truly objective in every single situation when it comes to faith, mostly because they lack the necessary background knowledge.
It would be the same if I tried to moderate the Natural Sciences section; I have zero business doing that since my expertise is in sociology.
And how exactly is that supposed to work?? Who gets to moderate whom, and who is barred from moderating who...?
For instance, if some Muslim guy posts that all women are nothing but loose cannibals just because they wear short skirts and sleeveless tops, is a Muslim moderator just going to stand behind him and claim that's a valid opinion?? Or if a Christian writes that Muslims are basically outlaws because they follow some outlaw doctrine... Who on earth handles that kind of moderation? Is the Muslim mod supposed to call the admins for a jihad, or should the Christian mod just nod along and say, "Yeah, that's right"? And so on, and so forth...
Jeremy Young19 said:How can a moderator claim to be objective if they lack the fundamental understanding or context of the very content they are supposed to be overseeing?
And who actually said moderators don't understand what they're moderating? The whole point of being a moderator isn't to dictate how people should think or tell everyone what their opinions ought to be; it's simply about stepping in when posts cross the line and become inappropriate. Just because someone thinks they have a free pass to spout whatever nonsense pops into their head and throw insults around—only to hide behind some "God told me this is okay" excuse—doesn't mean anything; honestly, that's just bad math on the part of whoever thought that logic would hold up.
Roger Barrett2, have you finally realized that you're the only one left who thinks Twitter actually messed this up? And regarding what the moderators are doing... well, they're moderating. They’re just doing their jobs by keeping the subforum readable and preventing a flood of nonsense from people who desperately want to be seen as religious, pious, or deeply spiritual. Look, you don't need to belong to some specific, recognized religious denomination to recognize when someone is being outright insulting or intentionally trying to start a fight. A moderator's actual job is to remain objective, not to take sides or try to "understand" where one particular group is coming from.
hollowtrucker77, I'm gonna go ahead and wrap this thread up, but don't be a stranger—feel free to shoot me a DM or just kick off a new discussion if you need anything else
So, I have to hand it to them, the whole setup is actually pretty clever if you think about it. 😁 For those who aren't quite in the loop: the plan was basically to bait people from that other forum by stirring up a little bit of paranoia over here.
Raymond Wright said:well sure ...there are also cell phones you can use to coordinate meeting spots, hahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahaha ha
...which also pass through various servers, hierarchies, and whatnot... 🙂 Look, let's be real here, private messages on a forum are only as secure as any other data sitting on a server and since there isn't some foolproof way to prove a breach to the general public—just stay sharp and watch what you type 😁
Step one: report the post. Step two: file a report with the mods, ideally including a direct link or at least some kind of hint about where on the board this thing actually lives.
As far as we know, it’s buried somewhere in the Politics section, and apparently, dustypuma5 is making a huge deal out of it. 🙂