I think moderator Darrel should have nipped it in the bud when the first post
was made. By his laissez-faire attitude this topic spiraled out of control.A
stricter control on topic other than technical should be exacted by the dormant
moderator.
Amen.
On Sunday, October 6, 2024 at 09:49:08 a.m. EDT, Joel Ewing
<[email protected]> wrote:
Well said! This list has never been a platform for free speech TO a
mainframe audience, only relatively-free speech ON TOPICS directly
relevant to IBM mainframers. I say relatively-free, because someone
who persistently argues for a point after being directed to an
authoritative source that demonstrates his point is wrong also risks
being ostracized.
At least one poster (GC 10/3, 14:49) should have been suspended
immediately for his childish, baseless and off-topic insults.
JC Ewing
On 10/4/24 00:16, Brian Westerman wrote:
> Just my own observation, and my comment is something I normally would not
> offer, but maybe the forum needs a zero tolerance policy for political,
> racial, social, and sexual content. This isn't "X" or Meta. I am all for
> people joking around and sometimes going kind of off topic, but "off topic"
> doesn't need to be into areas that are offensive to anyone on either side of
> a political, social, racial or sexual issue. They simply have no use on this
> particular type of forum.
>
> It should not take the moderator getting involved to stop a thread, any
> member should be able to ask it to stop without coming under criticism for
> being anti-anything if they point out that something is or seems to be
> off-topic. Simply stating that it's not allowed to be a discussion,
> shouldn't be considered that the person pointing it out is
> anti-something|anything. They could even be wrong, but it should be enough
> to at least stop and think about whether it's off topic and explain yourself
> or the subject without having to resort to flaming the person.
>
> This forum, in case anyone may have forgotten, is IBM-MAIN, there are lots of
> other forums to discus the other "stuff", and they are well suited and
> actually quite a bit better suited for those other types of discussions.
>
> I think the time warnings and trying a reasonable approach has long past.
>
> Most people understand or should understand, the difference between what
> IBM-MAIN's purpose is and what is off-topic from that purpose. A simple
> warning from anyone that something is, or might be off topic should be
> adequate to make the party's stop and think about it, without assuming the
> person pointing it out is anti-"them".
>
> If it's pointed out, and the topic is not related to IBM-MAIN's purpose, and
> the people don't stop the thread voluntarily, all those involved should
> probably be sanctioned, and kicked off the forum for at least some period of
> time.
>
> In the case of the current thread in question, whether someone is, or is not,
> for, or against, a political, social or racial "side" is not even relevant to
> the question of whether or not it's off topic.
>
> The problem with getting off topic int he first place is that even reasonable
> people can get lost in the woods when it's allowed to progress to the point
> where nothing discussed contributes to any IBM related technical knowledge,
> questions or thoughts.
>
> That said, we are supposed to be here to discuss IBM operating system and
> programming problems and solutions and discuss ways to do things. While
> personal preferences sometimes and even oftentimes come into play, they
> rarely (approaching never, ever) need to devolve into political or social, or
> racial or sexual issues.
>
> I'm not normally a Kumbaya kind of guy. but com-on people, isn't this just
> another example of taking things out of the realm of IBM-MAIN's purpose and
> into places that we aren't really supposed to, and never should, (as a group)
> enter???
>
> Brian
>
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--
Joel C Ewing
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