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[quote]QUOTE: Originally posted by edblysard Well, Are we a bunch of fine and outstanding adults, or what? Not only did we show a young man how real growns up deal with differences of opinion, we also got to thump our cheast and drag our knuckles in the dirt along the way! What a excellent example we set for all the young readers out there. When we had the chance to particapate in answering a honest, straightforward and well put question from a young man about the merits of CN dropping or doing away with part of its name, instead of teaching the guy how adults debate important issues, we went straight into the dumper, trading insults like little kids! I am "new" to chat rooms and forums, in fact, this is the only one I visit on a regular basis, because its fun, and I learn something new each time I visit. Yes, we poke fun at each other, the railroaders here are pretty good at it, even if wabash wont give me back the mirror! But the ruckus raised on Mitchels thread gave me reason to think about what we do and say here. Like dharmon, I think once it gets to the point that you feel you have to trade insults and call names, then you ought to take it to the e-mail part of this forum. I see there are moderaters listed at the bottom of the page, although I can only assume they modify or edit postings for contents, not moderate a debate. Which leaves us all in a bind. What ground rules do we follow when we do have a difference of opinion? As the particapants on the forum, shouldnt we be policing ourselves, or should we leave it up to the editor to decide when enough is enough? And when is enough enough? We ought to be able to debate any issue in such a manner that Dan's daughter, and mine for that matter, should be able to read it, and not in such a way we would be embarassed for them to do so. Do we draw the line at a certain point, say, when someone begins to use what we all, as adults, would consider foul language or curssing? If so, what is that line and what constitutes crossing it? Who gets to decide what is and isnt a personal attack? My skin is pretty thick, I work with a bunch of insult experts, but others may not have the same level of tough hide I do, so when do we call it quits? Can we even come up with a working set of ground rules we can all agree to follow? It would have to be voluntary particapation on the part of us all, and we would have to be the ones to decide when one of us has gone too far. Is this possible, for us to act like adults and police ourselves? If you think so, then lets here your ideas for some workable ground rules or guidlines. Please keep in mind that, although this is a forum open to all who wi***o join, it is a privatly owned website, sponsered by a few companes who like railfans and railroaders, and as such, they have the legal and moral right to remove, edit or alter any thing here they dont like or feel is not right. Its part of the rules of being in the club, ie, the guys who own the club get to set the rules. So far, they have allowed a lot of leeway to several of us who havent excersised self restraint, but I get the feeling that they are tired of the childish antics of a few, who are putting the enjoyment of this site by all of us at risk. So, if we dont like censorship, and I for one dont, then we are left with the task of being our own self censors, if only to protect our use of this site. That said, how about the rest of the grown ups ponying up to the bar and antying up your two cents worth? And ideas on how we go about setting out and enforcing ground rules for grown ups? Or am I just whipping a dead horse? If you can, Stay Frosty, Ed [/quote] There's a lot to be said about people who cannot bear to lose a debate so stridently that they evoke emotionally charged topics in hopes of steering the discussion away from the ultimate failure of their point of view, it's a cheap tactic and should be regarded as such. I've seen members try this ploy with emotionally charged replies such as "I'm the decendant of halocaust survivors" more than once, and I always have to wonder "what does that have to do with railroading?"' What does whether or not a member can read, write, or spell properly have to do with railroading for that matter? Yet, we see these cheap shot type maneuvers deployed in a form as to question whether or not the holder of a point of view has "'validity"' with wreckless abandon I think the point you are driving at, is keeping it "constructive"', is the comment one is about to make a constructive contribution to the topic at hand, or is it one designed to evoke some emotional toll against the target? There are constructive forms of criticism, and when used properly, a discussion can grow as the result of same. But if the goal is to make the holdeer of opinion opposed to yours "feel bad" or think twice before daring to express that opinion again, maybe it would be better off left unsaid?
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