I know that's a weird title, but there's a certain sequence of events that keeps repeating itself. It only happens to conservatives, so in fairness, I should clarify a few things so that maybe we can stop this trend. Here's the sequence:
Right wing guy posts politics in the main sections of the forum. I delete that post, and ask them not to do that. They complain that I'm biased and unfair, often with some variation of "can't handle the truth!" Then they defiantly post again, martyrs to the cause, bravely standing up to the tyrannical left. Leaving me no choice but to ban them.
This has happened at least a dozen times this year, and it's always right wing guys. In some cases, the members are very knowledgeable and helpful on musical topics, so I hate to see this keep happening. So I'll offer a few things you should know:
First, it may surprise you to know that I delete almost as many left wing political posts as right wing. Yes, really. (Granted, it's 60/40, rather than 50/50, but that's because lefties are less likely to post that Covid is a hoax.)
Now, when a leftie gets a post deleted, he doesn't complain that I'm biased, since I am, after all, a leftie myself. So he doesn't escalate the situation. He might be annoyed, he might even PM me, but that's it. End of story. No banning.
A right winger, on the other hand, might assume otherwise, and in extreme (and unfortunately frequent) cases, they go all in that their posts were surely deleted because that power hungry forum owner is biased against conservatives, dammit. So they write yet another post, knowing it will get them banned. I guess to teach me a lesson.
In the interest of keeping things in perspective, here's something to be aware of. This martyrdom all occurs with no fanfare. Not one person has complained to me about any of these bannings. Few, if any, people ever even saw your posts, and I doubt anyone is even aware you're missing. Kind of a waste, if you ask me.
For the more sensible members, and to the broader topic of forum bias, there's a lot of grey area when it comes to moderating a forum. So I'll clarify my philosophy with two threads as examples:
First is JohnG's "How's Your Life Affected by Covid-19?" thread. I love this thread, because it's all about supporting each other during difficult times. There are some obvious political tangents, though, most of which I deleted, but some were borderline, and in some cases, there could be some bias. Bear in mind, I'm a science guy. (I even wrote the soundtrack!
) So to the Hydroxychloroquine crowd, yes, I'm "biased," although note that I'm totally open to a thread about that or Ivermectin (in the Political sub-forum only) if you think you can make an actual scientific (as opposed to anecdotal) case for it.
Second is a recent thread where someone of Asian descent asked if he was being too sensitive about some Japanese jokes in another thread. Great thread, because although the topic is semi-political, it was an honest discussion and people were listening to each other. Ultra-tricky for the moderators, though, because there is always that certain percentage of people who are itching to pounce with their own rants about racial grievances in general.
We deleted a lot of posts in that thread, and honestly, I'm proud of the result. But ... a lot of posts did get deleted. About 50/50 and "on both sides," as a great man once said. Did we do it perfectly? Probably not, but we did the best we could, and I don't think we deleted any posts that were actually on the core question.
FWIW, I believe both sides in the conversation had valid points and I couldn't decide which way to vote in the poll. Yet two guys in that thread were so dead sure that I'm biased and one sided (presumable on whatever the "liberal" side would be) that they essentially forced me to ban them. To quote that great man again, "Sad."
One last point - In real life, I happen to love talking politics with my conservative friends. Heck, one of the moderators is a Republican, and we have total respect for each other. I have no problem at all with people having conservative views, and I'll even concede they could be right and I could be wrong. (Ha! That last part is just a joke, obviously.)
But, if you're the type who thinks politics needs to be a battle, or that VI-Control is great place to charge in and "own the libs," then as a favor to both you and to us, please rethink that. We'd rather keep you here.
Right wing guy posts politics in the main sections of the forum. I delete that post, and ask them not to do that. They complain that I'm biased and unfair, often with some variation of "can't handle the truth!" Then they defiantly post again, martyrs to the cause, bravely standing up to the tyrannical left. Leaving me no choice but to ban them.
This has happened at least a dozen times this year, and it's always right wing guys. In some cases, the members are very knowledgeable and helpful on musical topics, so I hate to see this keep happening. So I'll offer a few things you should know:
First, it may surprise you to know that I delete almost as many left wing political posts as right wing. Yes, really. (Granted, it's 60/40, rather than 50/50, but that's because lefties are less likely to post that Covid is a hoax.)
Now, when a leftie gets a post deleted, he doesn't complain that I'm biased, since I am, after all, a leftie myself. So he doesn't escalate the situation. He might be annoyed, he might even PM me, but that's it. End of story. No banning.
A right winger, on the other hand, might assume otherwise, and in extreme (and unfortunately frequent) cases, they go all in that their posts were surely deleted because that power hungry forum owner is biased against conservatives, dammit. So they write yet another post, knowing it will get them banned. I guess to teach me a lesson.
In the interest of keeping things in perspective, here's something to be aware of. This martyrdom all occurs with no fanfare. Not one person has complained to me about any of these bannings. Few, if any, people ever even saw your posts, and I doubt anyone is even aware you're missing. Kind of a waste, if you ask me.
For the more sensible members, and to the broader topic of forum bias, there's a lot of grey area when it comes to moderating a forum. So I'll clarify my philosophy with two threads as examples:
First is JohnG's "How's Your Life Affected by Covid-19?" thread. I love this thread, because it's all about supporting each other during difficult times. There are some obvious political tangents, though, most of which I deleted, but some were borderline, and in some cases, there could be some bias. Bear in mind, I'm a science guy. (I even wrote the soundtrack!
) So to the Hydroxychloroquine crowd, yes, I'm "biased," although note that I'm totally open to a thread about that or Ivermectin (in the Political sub-forum only) if you think you can make an actual scientific (as opposed to anecdotal) case for it.Second is a recent thread where someone of Asian descent asked if he was being too sensitive about some Japanese jokes in another thread. Great thread, because although the topic is semi-political, it was an honest discussion and people were listening to each other. Ultra-tricky for the moderators, though, because there is always that certain percentage of people who are itching to pounce with their own rants about racial grievances in general.
We deleted a lot of posts in that thread, and honestly, I'm proud of the result. But ... a lot of posts did get deleted. About 50/50 and "on both sides," as a great man once said. Did we do it perfectly? Probably not, but we did the best we could, and I don't think we deleted any posts that were actually on the core question.
FWIW, I believe both sides in the conversation had valid points and I couldn't decide which way to vote in the poll. Yet two guys in that thread were so dead sure that I'm biased and one sided (presumable on whatever the "liberal" side would be) that they essentially forced me to ban them. To quote that great man again, "Sad."
One last point - In real life, I happen to love talking politics with my conservative friends. Heck, one of the moderators is a Republican, and we have total respect for each other. I have no problem at all with people having conservative views, and I'll even concede they could be right and I could be wrong. (Ha! That last part is just a joke, obviously.)
But, if you're the type who thinks politics needs to be a battle, or that VI-Control is great place to charge in and "own the libs," then as a favor to both you and to us, please rethink that. We'd rather keep you here.
and hope this wont get worse.......
