Censorship

[MetalBoar]

Are there certain posters on this board that you find objectionable enough, or simply irritating, that you have decided to blocked their posts? Is it just me? Is it me? If so, what is your motivation? (Since discretion is the better part of valour, please don’t mention the names of anyone you may have blocked).

I think years of objectionable Twitter-posts for political leaders, the ubiquity of David Brent/Michael Scott-types and the erroneous idea that everyone’s opinion on anything is valid have worn me down and I just want to hear from these people. I have left Facebook for the same reason.

I've blocked one person permanently and that's it. He was nuts and has since been kicked off the board. For a long time I didn't think I'd have a reason to block anyone but I genuinely believe this guy had real issues and he was semi fixated on me in one thread. Really he was fixated on Jobo (who I'm guessing was probably on a lot of peoples' block list and doesn't appear to be here anymore) and for some reason decided I was Jobo using a second account. Didn't need to hear anything that dude had to say.

EDIT TO ADD: There are people who's posts don't thrill me but I've found that even though I know what they're going to say 8-9 times out of 10 they do occasionally surprise me with a really well thought out post. It's worth it to sort through the annoying or repetitive to get that nugget, plus blocking can make threads kind of incoherent through lack of context.

 

[Steve]

Well that direct attack upon me and my post constitutes you joining my PERMANENT ignore list

@Steve
If you are contraindicated in every single post arguing against things you never said and it is obvious the attacker is not reading what you posted and refuses to read what you posted all they are doing is trolling and not worth reading. Or they have decided to make you a target and report virtually all post you make, no matter how unfounded it may be, there is no longer any reason to deal with them. Or they once argued vehemently against what you said only to later claim exactly what you said as their own..... I do not believe they are worth dealing with.... There are multiple reasons for someone to put a person on ignore for the duration beyond being "confronted with the hard truth".

I hear you. It’s all about your individual outlook. I’m sharing my own opinions, and they’re no more right or wrong than anyone else’s.

I will say regarding trolls, I don’t think anyone who is here for more than a year or so is a troll. At least, not the way I think about trolls. I think folks who have been around for a while just simply disagree with each other, and sometimes those disagreements are irreconcilable on beliefs that are deeply held.

So what feels like someone trolling you probably feels to them like you trolling them. I find that this helps me cut through presumptions and emotions related to intent.

Anyway, too philosophical. My other rule, which I’m breaking now, is to stick to jokes because sharing what I actually think makes some folks sad.

 

[Xue Sheng]

I hear you. It’s all about your individual outlook. I’m sharing my own opinions, and they’re no more right or wrong than anyone else’s.

I will say regarding trolls, I don’t think anyone who is here for more than a year or so is a troll. At least, not the way I think about trolls. I think folks who have been around for a while just simply disagree with each other, and sometimes those disagreements are irreconcilable on beliefs that are deeply held.

So what feels like someone trolling you probably feels to them like you trolling them. I find that this helps me cut through presumptions and emotions related to intent.

Anyway, too philosophical. My other rule, which I’m breaking now, is to stick to jokes because sharing what I actually think makes some folks sad.

Well, all that proves is I was right adding you to my ignore list

 

[Steve]

Well, all that proves is I was right adding you to my ignore list

A safe bet, for sure.

 

[Dirty Dog]

Am I wrong in thinking that this a privately owned/ran forum and aren’t there moderators that police the content? My thought is that if the moderator allow a post then it’s allowed and it is up to me to ignore or not. Also , Everybody wears different panties of sensitivity and I find over sensitivity just as perturbing. Maybe ones MA doesn’t culture the balance and calmness they claim it does….I know mine doesn’t. Lol!

It is privately owned, and yes, there is a staff that monitors. However...
We do not necessarily read every post on the forum. Generally speaking, we do not moderate the content of posts. If a post violates the Terms of Service, as determined by a consensus of the staff, the poster will be given a warning. That warning may have points attached. Earn too many points, and your account can be temporarily or permanently banned.

 

[Gyakuto]

…and another ignore…

 

[Monkey Turned Wolf]

I've blocked one person permanently and that's it. He was nuts and has since been kicked off the board. For a long time I didn't think I'd have a reason to block anyone but I genuinely believe this guy had real issues and he was semi fixated on me in one thread. Really he was fixated on Jobo (who I'm guessing was probably on a lot of peoples' block list and doesn't appear to be here anymore) and for some reason decided I was Jobo using a second account. Didn't need to hear anything that dude had to say.

I recall that person. He made a couple fake accounts trying to get at jobo, if I'm remembering right we ended up banning his IP and he just moved to a vpn, stopped at some point though, probably because we'd just autoban if we believed a new account was him again. Definitely a smart one to block.

 

[_Simon_]

I can't see a single post in this thread.... !

 

[Dirty Dog]

I can't see a single post in this thread.... !

I censored them all.

 

[_Simon_]

But seriously, no I haven't ever put anyone on ignore, but I totally understand why people do. I've been close to it though... but thought I'd wait it out with those people and see what happens.

It's been a great practice in seeing what emotional reaction comes up within me upon reading some approaches and outlooks... a valuable exercise in self-inquiry

But that being said... some people I have found near IMPOSSIBLE to have a conversation with

 

[Xue Sheng]

I censored them all.

I'd censor you too.... If I could...bacon pusher

 

[Buka]

I put myself on ignore once, I damn near melted into a puddle of bacon drippings.

 

[MadMartigan]

I've definitely put some people on ignore. 1 eventually came off after I checked and saw some decent posts.
For me it is always about disrespect. If someone is combative and rude... looking to argue rather than discuss, then I have better things to do than read what they have to say. Even though it may not be directed at me, seeing blatant disrespect for other (especially proven experts in their field) just makes me mad... and I don't want to bring extra anger into my world. As a quote I once read said (words to the effect of), 'the purpose of the martial arts is to bring the practitioner to peace'. If one person in a thread is taking away from that peace, then it's Ignore time.

 

[Oily Dragon]

I made up 3 general rules for social media. I chose the number three because it's small and I can remember about three things at a time.

1, laugh, it's all fun, even if it doesn't seem that way.

2, don't take no **** from anybody. See 1.

3, when it comes to martial arts, if you're in this for the long game, we'll all be combate for some time, so get used to the feeling. See 2, then 1.

 

[jks9199]

Am I wrong in thinking that this a privately owned/ran forum and aren’t there moderators that police the content? My thought is that if the moderator allow a post then it’s allowed and it is up to me to ignore or not. Also , Everybody wears different panties of sensitivity and I find over sensitivity just as perturbing. Maybe ones MA doesn’t culture the balance and calmness they claim it does….I know mine doesn’t. Lol!

Our Moderation philosophy is to use as light a touch as we can. Many times, a Mod (or even Mentors) will post in a thread to try to calm it down or pull it back on track. Sometimes it's subtle, sometimes not so much. We can escalate, all the way up to banning a member if needed -- but we don't discuss actions taken against any member with anyone but that member. Praise in public, punish in private.

 

[Instructor]

While a few folks have rubbed me the wrong way a time or two I've never felt the need to block or ignore anybody here. At worst I just take a day or two off from MT and read a book.

 

[Gerry Seymour]

Are there certain posters on this board that you find objectionable enough, or simply irritating, that you have decided to blocked their posts? Is it just me? Is it me? If so, what is your motivation? (Since discretion is the better part of valour, please don’t mention the names of anyone you may have blocked).

I think years of objectionable Twitter-posts for political leaders, the ubiquity of David Brent/Michael Scott-types and the erroneous idea that everyone’s opinion on anything is valid have worn me down and I just want to hear from these people. I have left Facebook for the same reason.

I used the ignore function sporadically before I was a mod. There was one poster who stayed on ignore for about a year. Others, I moved to ignore when they kept repeating the same argument, refusing to engage any contradictory thought in a meaninful way. But I'm also a bit of a bulldog about what I see as erroneous logic, strawmen, and just plain misinformation - I have trouble letting those things go, if only so someone reading the thread later will see a counterpoint, rather than seeing an unchallenged opinion. Sometimes I just used ignore to get my brain to stop participating.

 

[Gerry Seymour]

I know I’m on some folk’s ignore lists, and for people who need it, I’m glad the function is there. I think who people ignore and how they go about it is pretty interesting and informative.

My belief is most of the time, when someone puts someone on their permanent ignore list, it’s because they were confronted with a hard truth about themselves and they didn’t like it. If you think you’re open minded and someone challenges that, or if you think you’re a fighter, or if you think you’re an expert on some thing or other… and someone suggests maybe you’re not as expert as you think or maybe you have a gaping blind spot. Nobody likes that, but it says a lot to me about their character how they respond to it.

We have some folks here who are, frankly, delusional. They have created an internal fiction. And mostly, that’s harmless. The stakes are pretty low.

For my part, I will mute some folks from time to time, but generally not longer than a few weeks. I like to read all the posts, even the ones with which I disagree.

Not everyone consistently brings value. Some have brought value sporadically, but were more often either sowing misinformation and ill-considered thoughts, or were just trying to be controversial. I imagine those folks ended up on a lot of permanent ignore lists, without ever having presented some hard truth - often they presented hard-to-understand untruths.

 

[Gerry Seymour]

A safe bet, for sure.

I've always ignored you. My post count reflects that.

 

[Gerry Seymour]

But that being said... some people I have found near IMPOSSIBLE to have a conversation with

Yeah, well right back at you!!

(Or maybe I should back off the coffee when the paranoia starts?)