Subj : Lights Out
To : BOB KLAHN
From : Lee Lofaso
Date : Fri Dec 18 2015 04:15 am
Hello Bob,
BK>>> The Debate echo means something to me. As does Fidonet in
BK>>> general.
LL>> Then be part of it by participating! Invite others to join
LL>> in! Stir the pot, and create your own pot of gumbo!
BK> Not unless we have some people who can discuss without
BK> attacking.
Participants are allowed to freely express themselves in this echo.
As moderator, I am not going to impose limits on that speech. The
one rule I expect (and insist) all to abide by is -
NO ILLEGAL ACTIVITY!
As far as I know, the first amendment remains part of the US
Constitution. The United Nations Declaration on Human Rights also
guarantees freedom of speech, with the US being a signatory.
I am not willing to part with that philosophy.
Fidonet is about communication. Open communication between
people from around the world, not limited to any particular group,
or region. Limiting that communication by imposing restrictions
on what can be expressed (or by whom) is called CENSORSHIP.
If you want to be like Donald Trump, who apparently thinks he
can insult his way to the presidency, then go ahead and start
your own echo with that in mind. But I doubt you will be able
to find many followers.
You see, The Donald can get away with it because he is a jerk.
A jerk with a lot of money. And he knows it. But you are not
The Donald. And you do not have a lot of money. Not like The
Donald, anyway. And you know it. As does everybody else.
You want people to play nice. Well, you know what? Politics
ain't beanbag. SO GET OVER IT! Ain't no way in god-given hell
The Donald is gonna play nice. So why should anybody else?
BK>>> It used to be a great place to have discussions. It has declined
BK>>> drastically, with the loss of most of the people willing to
BK>>> discuss without attacking.
LL>> And who's fault is that? Your lack of participation is part
LL>> of the reason why this echo lost its luster. I am not
BK> I participated until there was little to participate in, Even
BK> you didn't post much for quite a while.
Posting one or two messages every three or four months is not
going to generate much, if any, traffic. You have to do much more
than that. I am not faulting you, only stating the obvious.
Blaming others is also not going to fix things. Expecially
in light of the fact that some things cannot be fixed. And this
is probably one of those things. Fidonet has become a relic
of the past whose best days are long gone, and is now just a
small fraction of what it once was.
BK> We don't need another flame echo, go to all-politics if you want
BK> that.
No echo in fidonet has many participants. Most have none at all.
This is not a designated flame echo, where no rules apply. In a
designated flame echo, participants know what they are getting into.
And those who don't find out quickly. Kind of like a Don Rickles
performance. People actually pay good money to see his act. And
if insulted by the King of Insult, they feel honored. Or shamed.
Depending on point of view. But, the point is, people do this
willingly, and knowingly.
Freedom of speech does not mean putting a gag on those whose
views you disagree with. That is called CENSORSHIP. Yes, there
are many forms of censorship, not all of them obvious.
One positive thing that can be done is to allow participants to
use an alias/handle. Sysops and moderators can do that, as they
have been doing ever since the creation of fidonet.
As moderator, I made a change that you were too chickenshit to
implement. I have already mentioned what that change is. But I
will mention it to you again, in very simple english -
Every participant in this echo is free to use an alias/handle
of their own choice.
How did I accomplish this? Why has no fidonet administrator
objected? Well, you see, it's like this. No fidonet administrator
wants to give up any of his/her "power" - and part of that "power"
is their god-given right to use an alias/handle of their own choice.
What I did was declare ALL participants in this echo co-moderators.
That means you, Bob Klahn, are also a co-moderator of this echo.
It also means that some other participant might be using an
alias/handle of Bob Klahn ...
LL>> I am the official moderator of the Debate echo. The origin
LL>> of this version is 2:203/2 - which means you are shit out
LL>> of luck.
BK> Where did you register it?
The FidoWeb, silly. ;)
--Lee
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* Origin:
news://eljaco.se (2:203/2)
