I think it inappropriate and arbitrary to have closed this thread

kennyc · 07-19-2010, 10:10 AM

https://www.mobileread.com/forums/sho...46&postcount=9

Yes it is a serious matter and I labeled it as a serious thread.

Snuffing out world leaders is a serious topic, but so is genocide, starvation, slavery etc.

I'm P.O.d that the thread was closed inappropriately in my opinion.

Sparrow · 07-19-2010, 10:27 AM

I think it was a harsh decision.

I can see the concern that it was a thread likely to become heated (my post probably didn't help elevate it any

) - but closing it seemed premature.

The justification for closing it - that it discussed murder, and contravened someone's opinion of what constitutes good taste - is strange because:
a) opinions on taste differ
b) mobileread has plenty of "bad taste" posts
c) there are lots of discussions about fictional murders hereabouts, as any fan of Sherlock Holmes could testify.

I'd have preferred a more objective justification.

Wetdogeared · 07-19-2010, 10:43 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by kennyc

https://www.mobileread.com/forums/sho...46&postcount=9

Yes it is a serious matter and I labeled it as a serious thread.

Snuffing out world leaders is a serious topic, but so is genocide, starvation, slavery etc.

I'm P.O.d that the thread was closed inappropriately in my opinion.

I think that your thread was justifiably "snuffed out" kenny.

When you are asking for names you are talking about murder, hypothetical or not. It would be like asking what race to exterminate next, which country should we starve next, what group should be enslaved next.

IMO, I don't think there is any way to reword the question that would make it acceptable.

Plus, there are the forum guidelines to consider. World leaders are politicians.

Quote:

7. Political and Religious Topics

Past experience has shown that threads debating religious or political matters are unlikely to be edifying, and often become bad-tempered. Our mission is to support the mobile reading community. There are other sites which focus on contemporary political and religious discussions, so we strongly recommend that you debate these topics elsewhere.

MobileRead reserves the right to edit or delete posts about politics and religion, where these are unrelated to mobile reading.

kennyc · 07-19-2010, 10:53 AM

WDE, I understand what you are saying, but particularly when we are speaking hypothetically, which we do when discussing books - fiction or non-fiction -- that seems to be perfectly acceptable. And certainly I don't disagree that political discussions can get out of hand and that it is up to the owner and moderators to manage that if it gets out of hand, I felt it was terminated without anything getting out of hand.

I mean really it's trade-offs right. There are corporate and political leaders that are killing, maiming, mistreating and causing terror that would be stopped with their elimination.

Maybe the question should be what leader is causing the most harm to humanity?

Oh well....my time on this Earth is short.....let's move on.

kennyc · 07-19-2010, 11:13 AM

Just one more thing and I'm dropping this. I was reminded through a P.M. of all the wackos out there that cruise the internet and could certainly take a discussion like this as a call to arms rather than an intellectual exercise......probably best to drop it for that reason even if it is an intellectually fascinating exercise.

mtravellerh · 07-19-2010, 11:21 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by kennyc

Just one more thing and I'm dropping this. I was reminded through a P.M. of all the wackos out there that cruise the internet and could certainly take a discussion like this as a call to arms rather than an intellectual exercise......

That exactly was our concern.

MTH

Moderator

DixieGal · 07-19-2010, 11:22 AM

I love you guys like family, but it was not appropriate and you know it. Heck, they even made me take "Boycott BP" off my signature, which was a very mild statement. I went away for a few days and read a book, then came on back when my hurt feelings got better. Remember, this is a privately owned website, and Alex has to be careful what goes onto the web under the MR umbrella. Take yourselves away from computers and email. Go outdoors and read a book in the shade for the rest of the day.

Worldwalker · 07-19-2010, 12:23 PM

In some countries of the world, insulting, let alone discussing the killing of, national leaders is considered a serious crime. I don't think MobileRead really needs to deal with the fallout from that kind of thing. It wouldn't be fair to other MR members if MR lost its hosting, was blocked from certain countries, or got visits from the authorities, just because someone wanted to discuss something which was, in fact, off-topic for the site.

happy_terd · 07-19-2010, 12:38 PM

Can we make a thread where we choose what world leader gets chronic explosive Diarrhea?

kennyc · 07-19-2010, 12:44 PM

Sorry I have to respond to that one worldwalker. I think it is presumptuous to assume that my posting was "off-topic" for the site. Certainly if I'd thought that I would not have posted it in the first place. I think it was and is a judgment call given that other topics just as inflammatory or 'off-topic' are allowed to be discussed.

In fact just now there was a suggestion of murdering someone in another lounge thread..... go figure...

Now if that murder should actually happen? Will MR be held liable?

Not trying to bring the powers that be down on someone else, but just providing an example of arbitrariness (which is always going to be there -- there is always grey between the black and the white and even the black and the white are seen differently by different individuals or governments as you rightly point out).

kennyc · 07-19-2010, 12:44 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by happy_terd

Can we make a thread where we choose what world leader gets chronic explosive Diarrhea?

If you have to ask....

Worldwalker · 07-19-2010, 01:40 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by kennyc

Sorry I have to respond to that one worldwalker. I think it is presumptuous to assume that my posting was "off-topic" for the site.

What I'm assuming is that MobileRead is about mobile reading. If so, then anything about any other subject, even if it has a special off-topic board to discuss it in, is off-topic for the site as a whole. If a forum's primary focus is, say, motorcycles, then a controversial discussion of TV shows will usually get cut a lot less slack than a controversial discussion of motorcycles. In the case of MR, discussion of anything not related to ebooks is secondary to the site's purpose, so the mods are going to be less tolerant there.

Quote:

In fact just now there was a suggestion of murdering someone in another lounge thread..... go figure...

Now if that murder should actually happen? Will MR be held liable?

The Powers That Be don't crawl the Web looking for threats to kill Joe Blow. They do, however, scan for threats to kill their particular country's leaders. All it takes is one hypersensitive individual in one paranoid government agency and MR gets hassles they don't need. Joe Blow doesn't have the power to have MR shut down, its servers seized, and its owners arrested; Stephen Harper does. For that matter, just one official email to MR's host could turn off the lights. So when it comes to allowing discussion of assassinating world leaders, the risk/reward ratio just isn't worth it for MR.

kennyc · 07-19-2010, 04:38 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Worldwalker

What I'm assuming is that MobileRead is about mobile reading. If so, then anything about any other subject, even if it has a special off-topic board to discuss it in, is off-topic for the site as a whole. If a forum's primary focus is, say, motorcycles, then a controversial discussion of TV shows will usually get cut a lot less slack than a controversial discussion of motorcycles. In the case of MR, discussion of anything not related to ebooks is secondary to the site's purpose, so the mods are going to be less tolerant there.

The Powers That Be don't crawl the Web looking for threats to kill Joe Blow. They do, however, scan for threats to kill their particular country's leaders. All it takes is one hypersensitive individual in one paranoid government agency and MR gets hassles they don't need. Joe Blow doesn't have the power to have MR shut down, its servers seized, and its owners arrested; Stephen Harper does. For that matter, just one official email to MR's host could turn off the lights. So when it comes to allowing discussion of assassinating world leaders, the risk/reward ratio just isn't worth it for MR.

You clearly are spinning. The topic was NOTabout assassinating world leaders, certainly not in the sense you are attempting to paint it. It was a simple speculative topic asking what if?

As far as the off topic I again disagree with your assumption. The Lounge is specifically set aside to discuss non-book related items in order to form a richer and broader spectrum of participants. I certainly would not hang around if the ONLY thing being discussed was new features for epub. ...

Anyway. Certainly there was no attempt on my part to intentionally break rules or discuss topics which could cause trouble......interesting thing is that political assassinations are being discussed right her in this thread in a more direct manner than the closed thread......Hmmmm.....think about that one for a bit.....maybe this thread should be closed before we get into even more trouble.

Alexander Turcic · 07-19-2010, 05:06 PM

Thank you Kenny. Yes, I think everything has been said on this topic. Thanks everyone for sharing your opinion on this!

Thread closed.

07-19-2010, 10:10 AM	#1
kennyc The Dank Side of the Moon Posts: 35,872 Karma: 118716293 Join Date: Sep 2009 Location: Denver, CO Device: Kindle2; Kindle Fire	I think it inappropriate and arbitrary to have closed this thread https://www.mobileread.com/forums/sho...46&postcount=9 Yes it is a serious matter and I labeled it as a serious thread. Snuffing out world leaders is a serious topic, but so is genocide, starvation, slavery etc. I'm P.O.d that the thread was closed inappropriately in my opinion.

07-19-2010, 10:27 AM	#2
Sparrow Wizard Posts: 4,395 Karma: 1358132 Join Date: Nov 2007 Location: UK Device: Palm TX, CyBook Gen3	I think it was a harsh decision. I can see the concern that it was a thread likely to become heated (my post probably didn't help elevate it any ) - but closing it seemed premature. The justification for closing it - that it discussed murder, and contravened someone's opinion of what constitutes good taste - is strange because: a) opinions on taste differ b) mobileread has plenty of "bad taste" posts c) there are lots of discussions about fictional murders hereabouts, as any fan of Sherlock Holmes could testify. I'd have preferred a more objective justification. Last edited by Sparrow; 07-19-2010 at 10:49 AM.

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07-19-2010, 10:53 AM	#4
kennyc The Dank Side of the Moon Posts: 35,872 Karma: 118716293 Join Date: Sep 2009 Location: Denver, CO Device: Kindle2; Kindle Fire	WDE, I understand what you are saying, but particularly when we are speaking hypothetically, which we do when discussing books - fiction or non-fiction -- that seems to be perfectly acceptable. And certainly I don't disagree that political discussions can get out of hand and that it is up to the owner and moderators to manage that if it gets out of hand, I felt it was terminated without anything getting out of hand. I mean really it's trade-offs right. There are corporate and political leaders that are killing, maiming, mistreating and causing terror that would be stopped with their elimination. Maybe the question should be what leader is causing the most harm to humanity? Oh well....my time on this Earth is short.....let's move on.

07-19-2010, 11:13 AM	#5
kennyc The Dank Side of the Moon Posts: 35,872 Karma: 118716293 Join Date: Sep 2009 Location: Denver, CO Device: Kindle2; Kindle Fire	Just one more thing and I'm dropping this. I was reminded through a P.M. of all the wackos out there that cruise the internet and could certainly take a discussion like this as a call to arms rather than an intellectual exercise......probably best to drop it for that reason even if it is an intellectually fascinating exercise.

07-19-2010, 11:22 AM	#7
DixieGal Hi There! Posts: 7,473 Karma: 2930523 Join Date: Feb 2008 Location: Ft Lauderdale Device: iPad	I love you guys like family, but it was not appropriate and you know it. Heck, they even made me take "Boycott BP" off my signature, which was a very mild statement. I went away for a few days and read a book, then came on back when my hurt feelings got better. Remember, this is a privately owned website, and Alex has to be careful what goes onto the web under the MR umbrella. Take yourselves away from computers and email. Go outdoors and read a book in the shade for the rest of the day.

07-19-2010, 12:23 PM	#8
Worldwalker Curmudgeon Posts: 3,085 Karma: 722357 Join Date: Feb 2010 Device: PRS-505	In some countries of the world, insulting, let alone discussing the killing of, national leaders is considered a serious crime. I don't think MobileRead really needs to deal with the fallout from that kind of thing. It wouldn't be fair to other MR members if MR lost its hosting, was blocked from certain countries, or got visits from the authorities, just because someone wanted to discuss something which was, in fact, off-topic for the site.

07-19-2010, 12:38 PM	#9
happy_terd Banned Posts: 13,045 Karma: 10105011 Join Date: Jan 2010 Location: Finally made it to Walmart. Device: PRS 420	Can we make a thread where we choose what world leader gets chronic explosive Diarrhea?

07-19-2010, 12:44 PM	#10
kennyc The Dank Side of the Moon Posts: 35,872 Karma: 118716293 Join Date: Sep 2009 Location: Denver, CO Device: Kindle2; Kindle Fire	Sorry I have to respond to that one worldwalker. I think it is presumptuous to assume that my posting was "off-topic" for the site. Certainly if I'd thought that I would not have posted it in the first place. I think it was and is a judgment call given that other topics just as inflammatory or 'off-topic' are allowed to be discussed. In fact just now there was a suggestion of murdering someone in another lounge thread..... go figure... Now if that murder should actually happen? Will MR be held liable? Not trying to bring the powers that be down on someone else, but just providing an example of arbitrariness (which is always going to be there -- there is always grey between the black and the white and even the black and the white are seen differently by different individuals or governments as you rightly point out).

07-19-2010, 05:06 PM	#14
Alexander Turcic Fully Converged Posts: 18,163 Karma: 14021202 Join Date: Oct 2002 Location: Switzerland Device: Too many to count here.	Thank you Kenny. Yes, I think everything has been said on this topic. Thanks everyone for sharing your opinion on this! Thread closed.

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