Jun 142009
 

Well, that’s that for another little while.


Six months, maybe nine & I’ll go back but a break is good and it really was just a matter of time before the challenges I threw out became too much for the ‘usual suspects’ to cope with.
What am I on about? Online discussion forums in general terms, Debate & Relate in particular. I’ve just completed my second stint at D&R, or rather had it completed for me. As the blurb states, it’s a right-wing dominated chat arena and by dominated they mean it’s heavily moderated in that direction. If you’re a muslim-hating, racist bigot who strongly adheres to Conservative biases, are retired or very close to it, misogynistic, chauvinistic and enjoy hurling abuse in place reasoned discussion on any subject, then you’d fit right in. Any non-conservative, non-irrational, free thinking elements are usually brow-beaten or as I was – twice now – arbitrarily banned with no questions asked.

[pseudonym], I’m faced with a rather tough administrative decision, one that I’ve been struggling with for a while. There is a certain posting environment at D & R that is wanted kept in the crosshairs. Lately I’ve come to realise that your overtly pugnacious, confrontive posting/baiting style is acting as windage on those crosshairs not to mention bringing out the worst in some of the other members. My opinion is, you won’t train or respond positively to tuning, and frankly I don’t have the time to train and tune. Therefore the decision is to let you go. Fairwell, [pseudonym].

The parting shot from the moderator who I suspect didn’t like having his ideology challenged on multiple levels, despite permitting all manner of ideologically oriented attacks against those not of his belief pattern by the rest of his ‘usual suspects’. The spelling and grammar mistakes are not mine, by the way. I can at least use a spellchecker. So, was I naughty? No more so then any other forum member. My only sin being my ideology and possibly my atheism. Conservatives by their very nature like their cross-hairs unmoved, preferring to work on the premise that if it ain’t broke, why tolerate contra-opinions that won’t bow and scrape, be ‘trained and tuned’ to their way of thought. T`aint me, never will be me. I’m proud of my individuality.
This will make it back to the forum, of that I’m certain. I don’t write for that purpose alone, but also to invite those who do read it, looking for a challenge and willing to engage (where possible) with an extreme right-wing collective on religion, politics and social issues, to explore D&R. See how long you can last against the rabid & irrational. It’s a challenge worthy of an agile mind. Not only is there opportunity for cogent debate, but also the unspoken challenge for anyone not of the same belief systems as the moderators, to challenge those paradigms and see just how far the envelope extends. It’s a bit of fun, it’s not at all serious, and does keep the mind active for a while. I’ll take a break and return on a few months. Might even see you there.

  6 Responses to “Paradigm Challenges”

  1. Nah, liffe’s too short. Sounds too much like Catelepsy or A Weasel’s Heart.

  2. Nah, liffe’s too short. Sounds too much like Catelepsy or A Weasel’s Heart.

  3. yes, but it’s fun to push buttons

  4. yes, but it’s fun to push buttons

  5. You bet right. My enforced and arbitrary departure from D&R was only ever a matter of time. Certain persons don’t like having their paradigms challenged. Thin veneers of honesty, even unto selves.

  6. You bet right. My enforced and arbitrary departure from D&R was only ever a matter of time. Certain persons don’t like having their paradigms challenged. Thin veneers of honesty, even unto selves.

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