A few years ago, I was reading the forum posts of one of the bigger photography websites.\u00a0 It was one of the forums that was supposed to deal with non-photographic discussions.\u00a0 So here was where people could talk about the world at large.\u00a0 Anyway, the discussion turned to gun control.\u00a0 I read about ten pages of comments and what I noticed was that anti-gun folks outnumbered the pro-gun contingent by about fifty to one.\u00a0 And this numerical advantage was used to good effect by preventing any of the anti-gun folks from having to complete any rational discussion of even their most outlandish statements.\u00a0 Whenever it looked like a pro-gun point was about to be made the anti-gun crowd dog-piled their opponent and shifted the argument to some new attack point and the whole process began again.\u00a0 Finally, when in exasperation the victim lost his temper and barked back at his attackers he was labeled as rabid and hateful and his comments were deleted and he was banned from the site.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
It bothered me.\u00a0 Now, I didn\u2019t know any of the participants from Adam.\u00a0 I had read their comments before and of course I had my own preferences on their opinions based on where I agreed or disagreed with them.\u00a0 But this was different.\u00a0 This was basically censorship.\u00a0 You were not allowed to have certain opinions.\u00a0 But that wasn\u2019t a policy of the website.\u00a0 At least not a published one.\u00a0 It was an unwritten one.\u00a0 Basically, it was a private club.\u00a0 But only the members knew it.\u00a0 Every one else was there at the tolerance of the club members.\u00a0 And this club was very regimented.\u00a0 There was an orthodoxy about politics, religion, sexual orientation, environmental policies, climate change, gun control, race relations and especially culture.\u00a0 Any variance from these orthodoxies were handled in exactly the same way.\u00a0 The offender was mobbed and silenced and if necessary banned.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
Well needless to say I went out of my way to be evicted.\u00a0 I waited for a topic that I was sure would trigger the mob and knowing that it was my last hurrah I went for the gusto.\u00a0 I didn\u2019t attempt logic or even anger.\u00a0 I went straight for mockery and insult. \u00a0It was glorious. \u00a0Of course, it was deleted but not until a furor arose.\u00a0 Surprisingly, I was told I could return if I apologized and recanted.\u00a0 Hah.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
Anyway, that\u2019s why I built this website.\u00a0 I wanted a place where I could talk about photography and science fiction and movies that I liked and if I wanted to talk about politics I didn\u2019t have to worry about being banned.\u00a0 I could have my say.\u00a0 But what I also recognized is that I should let other people have their say too.\u00a0 Now I don\u2019t mean I have to allow trolls to trash a thread or allow them to tell everyone else what they can\u2019t say.\u00a0 But it does mean that everyone doesn\u2019t have to agree.\u00a0 Some of my readers hate Donald Trump.\u00a0 Okay, fine.\u00a0 If you want to say why, no problem, go ahead.\u00a0 By the same token, I think the Clintons are criminal grifters who also happen to be Alinskyite radicals.\u00a0 So we\u2019re probably not gonna agree on politics.\u00a0 But maybe we both like Sony mirrorless cameras or classic horror movies or hiking in the southwest deserts.\u00a0 So, if we can agree to disagree then we can still talk about things we both enjoy.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
So that\u2019s how I see this site working.\u00a0 Because of my political slant I\u2019m gonna guess that it will mostly attract people of the same general political slant.\u00a0 But based on some of the poll results I\u2019ve seen there is a significant population of folks from the left side of the aisle.\u00a0 I have no problem with that.\u00a0 You can even have your say.\u00a0 Just don\u2019t be jerk about it.\u00a0 And that goes for our side too.\u00a0 No need to be a jerk.\u00a0 Keep it decent.\u00a0 No dog piling.\u00a0 No ad hominems.\u00a0 Just opinions and no trolling.\u00a0 Life\u2019s too short.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
There, I had my say.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
A few years ago, I was reading the forum posts of one of the bigger photography websites.\u00a0 It was one of the forums that was<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_mi_skip_tracking":false,"_exactmetrics_sitenote_active":false,"_exactmetrics_sitenote_note":"","_exactmetrics_sitenote_category":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[5,3,237,4],"tags":[669,580],"class_list":["post-2144","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-current-events","category-photography","category-reviews","category-sff","tag-censorship","tag-ocf-update"],"yoast_head":"\n