Main page/forum joined discussions and moderated unregistered posts

[cornelius blaze]

If you had stuck to posting .gifs, you wouldn't have said something so stupid.

Freedom of speech gives me the 'right' to type something stupid. If you don't like it report it or put me on ignore.

Plenty of times I've been asked to censor what I have written and even asked to change a gif once. So this discourse of freedom of speech here is redundant. People are banned for what they have written on forums and the anonymous posting is 'moderated'.

Oh, someone wishes me to be raped on the reputation points comments. More bravely on being anonymous.

[nothappynotsad]

Freedom of speech gives me the 'right' to type something stupid. If you don't like it report it or put me on ignore.

Plenty of times I've been asked to censor what I have written and even asked to change a gif once. So this discourse of freedom of speech here is redundant. People are banned for what they have written on forums and the anonymous posting is 'moderated'.

What a rebel! You're a diaper, bullet in the spine, and wheelchair away from being Larry Flynt...

DavidT is not a moderator and he rarely intervenes. If you have a problem with the way the forum is run, take it up with the people who moderate the forum - Uncleskinny and Kewpie.

[davidt]

This place would be pretty much be dead if it wasn't for anonymous posting. That is why it's being used. All this 'freedom of speech' talk is nonsense.

"Anonymous" posts have been around since the start of the site on the main page articles. This wasn't available in the forums until the change noted with the first post of this thread. You are free to believe I do it to 'boost traffic' but it is more about making the posting policy consistent across the site and that I want to keep anonymous posting as an option. I understand not everyone wants to go through the process of creating a login to post and as I have mentioned several times before (see this post for explanation/links), the ability to post anonymously I believe is one of the unique 'freedoms' we have on the internet.

Some people actually say they don't post on the site because anonymous comments are allowed, so traffic may even have decreased because of that.

[davidt]

DavidT is not a moderator and he rarely intervenes. If you have a problem with the way the forum is run, take it up with the people who moderate the forum - Uncleskinny and Kewpie.

Actually as an admin I do a fair share of moderation along with the other mods. I don't deal as much with forum threads but I do a lot of approvals of anonymous comments.

[Qvist]

Am I the only one who's bothered by the fact that maybe a third of the contributions on this site is now written by anonymous guests? Why and since when did the people who run this board opt for such an obviously hare-brained policy, and why is it continuing? It's one thing to not use your full name (fair enough, lots of people can't because their jobs prevent open participation uin public discussion) but this is different - there isn't even a tentative online identity that you can relate to ona more than post-to-post basis.

Anonymity breeds zero accountability, and is a direct incitement to lower standards. Also, it essentially makes banning meaningless. Is forum managementy going to do something about this, andif not, why?

And to all those who post anonymously: Register and log in, for fuck's sake. How hard can it be?

[DAVIE]

Am I the only one who's bothered by the fact that maybe a third of the contributions on this site is now written by anonymous guests? Why and since when did the people who run this board opt for such an obviously hare-brained policy, and why is it continuing? It's one thing to not use your full name (fair enough, lots of people can't because their jobs prevent open participation uin public discussion) but this is different - there isn't even a tentative online identity that you can relate to ona more than post-to-post basis.

Anonymity breeds zero accountability, and is a direct incitement to lower standards. Also, it essentially makes banning meaningless. Is forum managementy going to do something about this, andif not, why?

And to all those who post anonymously: Register and log in, for fuck's sake. How hard can it be?

I know, NOBODY LIKES IT! But the admin and mods have got their heads in the clouds. The forum is a joke. It's not even a forum anymore. There's no community. It may aswell be another anonymous chat room.

[dave.jay1@ntlworld.com]

...Must admit, I'm not a big fan of this either....I am ALL for free speech and other opinions different to mine, but you cannot even begin a debate with an "Anonymous" poster, because there are so MANY Different Anonymous posters on here, that you don't know which one is which, or whats what anymore...

[Oh my god, it's Robby!]

this thread will be moved you know
anyways, everybody knows the anonymous thing has gone too far
it was best kept on the main page, but hey, one cannot stop progress

[peptastic]

...Must admit, I'm not a big fan of this either....I am ALL for free speech and other opinions different to mine, but you cannot even begin a debate with an "Anonymous" poster, because there are so MANY Different Anonymous posters on here, that you don't know which one is which, or whats what anymore...

Agreed. It seems that people are disagreeing with themselves at times.

[billy scissors]

Ignore 'em.Simples.

[LXV. lsreadq]

To paraphrase an earlier comment, allowing anonymous posts only shows how banal many registered users' comments are, by comparison. And from what I've seen, anon comments aren't nearly as trolly as "real" comments, probably because trolling anon comments never get approved for posting in the first place.

Now if only the modmins could block registered users' comments before they're posted...

[EPbabe]

I know, NOBODY LIKES IT! But the admin and mods have got their heads in the clouds. The forum is a joke. It's not even a forum anymore. There's no community. It may aswell be another anonymous chat room.

davidt, with all due respect, I agree with DAVIE on this one. Why would anyone bother to register on the forums, if they can post anonymously? I think it's not a very positive change towards the community that was built up on here throughout the years.

[Qvist]

To paraphrase an earlier comment, allowing anonymous posts only shows how banal many registered users' comments are, by comparison. And from what I've seen, anon comments aren't nearly as trolly as "real" comments, probably because trolling anon comments never get approved for posting in the first place.

Now if only the modmins could block registered users' comments before they're posted...

Yeah, I also noticed the strikingly high quality of the anonymous posts. Which clearly are due to them being posted anonymously. Who are you, and where do you think you've learned logic?

[davidt]

Yeah, I also noticed the strikingly high quality of the anonymous posts. Which clearly are due to them being posted anonymously. Who are you, and where do you think you've learned logic?

Have you read the links I posted back in June 2011 on the topic of anonymous comments?

[goinghome]

...Some people actually say they don't post on the site because anonymous comments are allowed, so traffic may even have decreased because of that.

So presumably the admin. policy here results in discouraging certain types of people who may not be comfortable with exposure to abusive posts either of themselves or of others, and attracting more of different types of people?

As a matter of interest, regulation of this whole area to limit internet trolling and make website operators take responsibility for what is being posted is once again up for consideration in the UK -

...For years American journalists and whistleblowers alike have relied on anonymous messages in the service of vital information making its way to the public. However, if Internet anonymity is eventually quashed by legal means, it could have broad repercussions on the future of free speech online. Nevertheless, Justice Clarke claims the measures in the U.K. will continue to protect such anonymous speech.

"It will be very important to ensure that these measures do not inadvertently expose genuine whistleblowers, and we are committed to getting the detail right to minimize this risk," Clarke told the BBC.

- http://www.pcmag.com/article2/0,2817,2405669,00.asp

A lot going on today -

[ropsnen any]

Yeah, I also noticed the strikingly high quality of the anonymous posts. Which clearly are due to them being posted anonymously. Who are you, and where do you think you've learned logic?

It's a bit rich for you to be questioning someone's logic.

[Qvist]

Really? Why? And who are you? Same person as "LXV. lsreadq"?

[Borewhore]

Hey, I think I saw you shopping at Whole Foods! Do you live in Long Beach?

Why, you want a piece of this hot ass??

[Mwhorissey]

What a rebel! You're a diaper, bullet in the spine, and wheelchair away from being Larry Flynt...

I'm late to the party, but this is the funniest thing I've read on these forums in years.

The captcha for this post had the word "moreasei."