So we read in the "FORUM RULES AND LEGEND" FAQ's the following:
"...this is a private forum that is open to the public in general, but with certain restrictions including but not limited to those listed herein. Using this forum is a privilege, not a Constitutionally guaranteed right, and this privilege can be revoked at our sole discretion."
and also,
"IS THIS A MODERATED FORUM? Sort of. The Slowtwitch.com editorial team "peeks in" and occasionally posts to this forum. What moderation there is occurs after the fact, that is, we don't monitor a post before it is published, you publish it and then we eventually read it (or not). This forum receives about 1800 posts every day, on average, and this is simply too many posts to read and monitor. Accordingly, anything you see that you consider abusive or in bad taste; if you read a post that you think ought to be brought to our attention; please apprise us of this."
and finally...
"WHAT CAN'T I POST HERE? Your post should not be off-topic. We are especially cranky about trial-by-internet..."
In my opinion, and m opinion only, the "spirit" or tenor of the forum is genrally very, very good. It is light-hearted and constructive. I bend the "commercial" rules all the time, hyping product, my business, (hoping to) establishing credibility... Hopefully not to the detriment of anyone else.
Perhaps a central theme to whether or not a post is utterly appropriate or inappropriate is the spirit or intent in which it was authored: Was it meant to help? Inform? Assist? Promote? Was the intention of the post- either veiled or overt- constructive in nature?
Or, was an element of the posting to cause harm, duress or exert a negative effect on someon, including seeking revenge?
The intent seems to determine whether a post is appropriate or not, and that is a judgement call.
Willfully injurious posts have no place whatsoever in m opinion- but it is NOT my forum.
Dan writes in the "RULES":
"WHAT IS CONSIDERED ABUSIVE? We don't know, but we know it when we see it."
This is a large enough gray area that controversy is bound to start occasionally- especially during the months of the year when our attention isn't turned as significantly to the sport itself due to the weather and being couped up inside. It always gets ugly during the winter.
What's the answer? Dan makes a suggestion in the "RULES" FAQ:
"If you take a deep breath before you post, and give your idea a second thought before you push the 'send' button, you probably won't write anything with which we'll take umbrage."
In a perfect world- even a good one- that may be all the moderation we need...
Tom Demerly
The Tri Shop.com
"...this is a private forum that is open to the public in general, but with certain restrictions including but not limited to those listed herein. Using this forum is a privilege, not a Constitutionally guaranteed right, and this privilege can be revoked at our sole discretion."
and also,
"IS THIS A MODERATED FORUM? Sort of. The Slowtwitch.com editorial team "peeks in" and occasionally posts to this forum. What moderation there is occurs after the fact, that is, we don't monitor a post before it is published, you publish it and then we eventually read it (or not). This forum receives about 1800 posts every day, on average, and this is simply too many posts to read and monitor. Accordingly, anything you see that you consider abusive or in bad taste; if you read a post that you think ought to be brought to our attention; please apprise us of this."
and finally...
"WHAT CAN'T I POST HERE? Your post should not be off-topic. We are especially cranky about trial-by-internet..."
In my opinion, and m opinion only, the "spirit" or tenor of the forum is genrally very, very good. It is light-hearted and constructive. I bend the "commercial" rules all the time, hyping product, my business, (hoping to) establishing credibility... Hopefully not to the detriment of anyone else.
Perhaps a central theme to whether or not a post is utterly appropriate or inappropriate is the spirit or intent in which it was authored: Was it meant to help? Inform? Assist? Promote? Was the intention of the post- either veiled or overt- constructive in nature?
Or, was an element of the posting to cause harm, duress or exert a negative effect on someon, including seeking revenge?
The intent seems to determine whether a post is appropriate or not, and that is a judgement call.
Willfully injurious posts have no place whatsoever in m opinion- but it is NOT my forum.
Dan writes in the "RULES":
"WHAT IS CONSIDERED ABUSIVE? We don't know, but we know it when we see it."
This is a large enough gray area that controversy is bound to start occasionally- especially during the months of the year when our attention isn't turned as significantly to the sport itself due to the weather and being couped up inside. It always gets ugly during the winter.
What's the answer? Dan makes a suggestion in the "RULES" FAQ:
"If you take a deep breath before you post, and give your idea a second thought before you push the 'send' button, you probably won't write anything with which we'll take umbrage."
In a perfect world- even a good one- that may be all the moderation we need...
Tom Demerly
The Tri Shop.com