This place is falling apart

[megabyteme]

Oh, and just noticed the irony that I am the one being "overly dramatic"- by posting in someone else's thread entitled, "This Place Is Falling Apart" bases on the postings of one individual.

Just let L33t, and everyone else, post (as long as it is on-topic) what they want. If their posts make them look like a buffoon, everyone will be able to read that they are.


And, yes, silencing opponents is a centuries-old (cowardly) tactic used when one has a weak argument, yet holds a popular position. It's a way of maintaining power through majority.

[j2k4]

Well, then.

I have been labelled a racist by 'leet' (I suppose I am leaving myself open to another charge by not fully typing out his name).

My basic curiosity over just what border states are to do about the flood of inbound and undocumented people is unabated, and all that he has offered are blanket slams of racism and a proffer of biometrics as an infallible solution.

Leaving the first aside, how is it that biometrics/implants are to be considered a solution?

How long before biometrics can be had on the street-corner, just like a one-off driver's license or passport?

It occurs to me that such an implant could seriously compromise one's privacy, but perhaps 'leet' hasn't considered this.

I wonder, too, why no one initiates a discussion as to why these people seem not to be the least inclined to expend much effort in aid of improving their lot in Mexico.

You don't like it where you are?

Break out the brooms and clean up your own shit.

What (if anything) does he propose we do about the sheer size of the influx of people and the load it puts on an inadequate U.S. infrastructure?

I went back to the beginning of the thread - well before my minimal involvement - and he was breaking out the racism charge almost immediately.

The rest is pretty much blather; there was something about manifest destiny being 'bullshit', which I took to be a jab at the southern aspect of America's westward expansion, but I would point out that the idea was formulated/ideated by people with bigger brains than 'leets', and quite possibly bigger even than my own.

I think, in order to effectively rebut an idea like manifest destiny, something more substantial than a label of 'bullshit' is required.

He seems to believe mere belligerence is sufficient to make his point, and any resistance need only be met by a requisite increase in belligerence or the volume with which it is broadcast.

His participation in the thread began with an outrage that escalated throughout; the only horn he blew was "racism", and the only tactic he employed was...well, I don't remember any tactics, actually.

I would normally forgo any involvement in a thread he posts in, but I find his bullying style off-putting; I think it chills any prospect of the wider participation the Drawing Room needs.

[Rart]

We've already discussed context and escalation. The fact that L33t's posts were the only ones being deleted did not help "tone him down".

The point of moderation is not to comfort people in a certain manner to their liking and "hope" they it tones them down. He was breaking the rules, simply put. And as of such, he gets warned (and moderated) for it. He doesn't receive any exclusion from rules that apply to every single member of the board, in every single section of the board. I'm not here to baby him into cooperation with the rules. If he doesn't like the rules here (which by the standard of most forums, is extremely lenient), he doesn't have to post.

And there was no "context and escalation". For the entire first half of the thread, I can see no faults in the discussion. It was a perfectly well civilized and productive discussion, aside from the obvious brash remarks from leetpirateperson. You can argue that to an extent 999969999's posts matched that criteria of "context and escalation", but as for this discussion, it is completely irrelevant (as I've mentioned over and over again now...), as leet's infractions and warnings were all received well before 9 started posting.

If you read the last 5-8 pages, L33t mentioned what I already knew- he really has no problem with whites, or anyone else. His problem was with the mentality of the participants. And, yes, sometimes they deserved to get slapped. Hopefully, they are tough enough to take someone "not playing nice". Some of his deleted posts were not offensive, BTW.

You seem to have some sort of mentality that just because you sympathize with whatever sort of situationexcuse leetpirate puts out for his brash posting habits, that he should recieve some sort of exclusion from the rules. This is not the case. He is just like anyone else on this board. People in other parts of the board have been warned for less. I'm not about to treat him differently for whatever he claims dignifies his actions. All the people he brashly insulted with incredibly hostile posts did not "deserve to get slapped". As far as I can see, it was very well civilized and productive without his posting habits. There is no need to bring that kind of attitude into the discussion.

And I'd love to see from any of those posts that I quoted of his a remark that you claim is "not offensive".

[Cabalo]

I've went through most of that thread (finally) and I agree with all the actions Rart took. Not that this was something in need to be reinforced.

This board must be one of the most lenient ones on the web, but there are a few quite simple and clear rules that were broken. If someone breaks the rules, then he gets warned/infracted. It doesn't matter if I (or any other mod) has any kind of sympathy for the cause or not. It's not relevant to the issue. Acting otherwise would be sloppy moderation.

I'm a white European Latin, as the Portuguese, Spanish, Italian and French are, for example. I could certainly be compelled to to have sympathy for his cause, but the board's rules come first. Everyone can feel sympathy for a cause, but when having responsibilities on any place, he must try to keep it as unbiased as possible, given everyone makes mistakes, of course.

See, neither Rart or anyone else on the mod team has anything against l33tpirata13, or holds any grudges. Don't try to make things personal, when they aren't. It didn't happen that way.

[megabyteme]

I thank both of you for your time and efforts on this.

There are still some unresolved topical issues (regarding the Ariz. mentality/law), but am satisfied with the modding ones as they stand.