Radio Hosts Are Not Politicians

[Cephkiller]

I recently had a thread deleted because of the new "no politics/no religion" rule here at BassResource.com.  The subject I was discussing had nothing more to do with either topic than numerous other topics we discuss here and elsewhere and I like to refer to as "life."  I simply pointed out what I thought was a piece of ironic humor contained in a current popular news story.  I referenced no political party or figure and no religion or deity in the post.  I was aware that the previous thread had been locked and took special care to avoid the same pitfalls as well as warning anyone else posting to my thread to do the same.

I realize that the topic can lead to discussions of race relations which could be construed to be politics by someone who is interpreting the definition liberally.  That is why I objected to the rule in the first place (see sticky above).  Politics is present everywhere in life.  Everything we do is affected by laws and lawmakers.  Every decision we make in life is guided in some way by Earthly laws or some sense of personal morality or religion.  Perhaps the rule was intended to prevent controversy or hard feelings, but it is a slippery slope and with my thread deletion today I think the rate of downward acceleration has just escalated severely.

I also realize that this thread will likely be deleted and perhaps I'll be warned or even banned because of it.  I have seen countless examples that any disagreement with the rules on this board is verboten.  Any criticism is quickly crushed.  I no longer care.  If none of you are prepared to duel with me in the arena of ideas, I will not respond anyway.  Personal attacks and reactionary protectionism are not ideas by the way.

What RW did to me today is exactly the same to me as if I were speaking to my best friend and he told me to shut up and only discuss what he wanted to talk about from now on.  However, if you care to know, Kent, I am not blaming you, but only the misguided rule I tried to soften in the first place.

No personal hard feelings exist on my part toward anyone.  I simply want a lively discussion on this topic and although I am passionate about this debate, I am not angry, only resigned to my inevitable fate.  It's a shame that it had to come to this.  I spend a lot of time here.  I have learned a lot and I hope that I have contributed much as well.  A substantial part of my love for BassResource.com has died today.

Here I am.  Let the pile on begin!!!!!

[Panamoka_Bassin]

Only gonna say this:  This isn't the place for it.  The are plenty of other boards that are discussing this subject.  Go there for that discussion, stay here for bass stuff.

'Nuff said.

[Cephkiller]

Only gonna say this: This isn't the place for it. The are plenty of other boards that are discussing this subject. Go there for that discussion, stay here for bass stuff.

'Nuff said.

Thanks for bringing this up, PB.  I forgot to add that the reason I want to talk about some of these things here is because it is interesting to me to get the bass fisherman's perspective on them.  I do discuss things elsewhere, but I care about and respect many of you on this board and I want your perspective.  It's like talking to my friends in real life while we are fishing together.  It's much more fun than talking to strangers.

[Glenn]

Hi Cephkiller,

I appreciate your honesty.  You're correct, the post about Imus wasn't a political/religious thread.  RW catagorized it wrong.

That said, it had the potential to explode into an ugly thread very quickly.  The post you made before was fine, but the discussion that followed almost immediately turned into racial divides and differences, making it a very touchy subject.  It hadn't turned ugly...yet.  All it takes is one person making a "Joke" and another person missing the humor and then the whole thing escalates very quickly.  

Ironically, that's exactly what happened to Imus.

RW had the foresight to see this potentially explosive situation, and so he did what he needed to do in order to diffuse it.

"What RW did to me today... "

Let me make it clear - this was not directed at you.  It wasn't the initial post you made, but rather the direction the thread was headed that prompted a response.  It wasn't censorship, or some devious diabolical manuever to thwart any discussion about Imus.  It was a response to diffuse an explosive situation before it erupted.

It's important to note the moderators and I often walk a thin line.  We're like police officers sometimes. If we wait until things boil over and erupt, we're critisized for waiting too long.  If we take proactive measures to prevent things from erupting, the response is often, "What the ????  What did I do wrong?!!! You're overracting!"  

RW took preventative measures, so your response was the latter.  If he waited for it to erupt, it would have taken more work and effort for all the mods and I to clean it up, and we probably would have lost a member or two in the process.  And then there's the PM's, e-mails, and phone calls I would have had do deal with.  It can be very time-consuming and distracting to fix a problem and settle disputes.

Taking preventative measures, while seemingly premature and harsh, is often the better choice between two difficult situations.

Actually with as many members as we have here with ton's of posts, it's hard to believe that there aren't too many problems.  That's a tribute to the members here, as well as the mods.  We're very fortunate.

[Cephkiller]

I am impressed that this post was restored.  Everyone gets to see me in all my up on the soapbox ranting glory and I received a dignified response. I'd say my desire to remain an active member here and still maintain my dignity was fulfilled.  Your intention to keep the wraps on things is unchanged.  You allowed me to express my opinion without changing your position at all.  Under the circumstances, I'd say this is as close to a win/win as we are going to get.  Thank you.  Perhaps I'd just better try to stay out of the Everything Else section from now on.  I'll try.  I promise  

[roadwarrior]

Nope.

C'mon now, it's just a bump in the road.

NBA rules: No harm, no foul.

[fourbizz]

The staff does in fact do a very good job of toeing the line.

I belong to two other local forums. One is so overmoderated and ridiculous that it just sucks now. The other is undermoderated to the point that it has become a shell of what it used to be. No fishing related threads, just bickering and complaining.

Well run!

[justfishin]

Yet again, Al Sharpton Wins. His wanting everyone to walk on rice paper without breaking it,  " his rice paper ", is succeeding and certainly won, even in our little forum. This is just a personal statement from me, and is in no means a answer or opinion on anyones decisions made in here, its just a personal belief and statement that I feel is self evident in how this particular post was handled. Have a good fishing year, all.

[senile1]

I do think we are missing some lively discussions on the forum over the last few months.  Maybe it's just me.  I think this site is managed well, but I miss lively debate as long as it is done in a respectful manner.  The trouble is once you reach a certain number of members, there will inevitably be a knucklehead or two who can't understand someone having an opinion other than his or hers.  That's too bad.  

[Marty]

I think this site is managed well, but I miss lively debate as long as it is done in a respectful manner.

I also like lively debate, it's a lot more interesting than blandness.

[RecMar8541]

Undoubtedly this is a great site, I do not *** the mods here, they walk a tight rope.

I love a good intelligent conversation, however, that often leads to problems, and those problems tend to drag things down a bit.

The keyword here is intelligent, unfortunatly as senile said some knuklehead will mistake an intelligent opinion by someone as being stupid, simply because it isnt there opinion, then the poop flies, and it gets out of control.  

My own personal belief is that comes from a lack of one single word. RESPECT.  It isnt always easy to respect someones view....when they differ from our own.  Especially if it is something we are passionate about.

Respect is a 2 way street, for example....If Imus had any respect he would have never said what he did in the first place.  If he would have taken 2 seconds, and a measure of respect for those women, he would have shut his suck....

The greatest censorship we can have is make sure our mouth isnt a scud missile.....meaning make sure it has proper guidance before we fire it off....

[Glenn]

Who said you couldn't debate? Debate all you want.

But when a thread turns into generalized, deragotry racial remarks and slurs, it's not debating any more. That thread was headed in that direction. RW had the foresight to catch it before it got that far.

The politics/religious posts ALWAYS turn into heated arguments and angry name calling.  ALWAYS, without fail.  

We tried to allow them, really we did, and tried to moderate, edit, police, and control the outbursts, but to no avail.  There's just no way to avoid the pending explosion.  People are just too passionate about these 2 topics.  So... no more.

[KYbass1276]

Part of me likes the no Politics or Relgion Policy and part of me dosen't, I like to blow off a little steam about what steams me here and there and like a good debate, but on the other hand it does get old and almost always goes south ( no offense southern guys).  Its hard to try and please everyone and I do feel like the no politics/relgion is probally best in the long run.  

[Claude]

So what all falls into politics???

[Glenn]

The thread about Imus wasn't about politics or religion.  It falls under the rules of conduct here. Read the FAQs regarding the rules of conduct.

Ok guys, this is getting ridiculous.  I'm not going to even attempt to explain or define every possible nuance to what is and isn't religious or politics.  There's just too many variables.

Bottom line - if the thread is disruptive, disrespective, deragotory or declines into an endless argument over who's right and who's wrong, or is full of negativity, or is a sales-pitch, it's subject to action by the mods.  This is just an example, and not inclusive. Read the FAQs.  

EVERYTHING is reviewed here, and as you can tell, usually no action is taken.  So the field is pretty wide open.

[frogtog]

Give it up and lets just all go fishing. Get to see all the other crap on cable

every time I turn it on. 8-)