Petition for a Happier Kingdom

[Miestrâ Schivâ, UrN]

Tone of voice, Mick - you adopted that nasty tone of voice which suggested that we were either making it up or crazy. I am accused often of lowering the tone, but your supercilious attitude (and the bitter sarcasm of others) in these threads really gets on my wick.

[Capt. Sir Mick Preston]

Jan 26, 2013 22:02:41 GMT -6 Miestrâ Schivâ, UrN said:

Tone of voice, Mick - you adopted that nasty tone of voice which suggested that we were either making it up or crazy. I am accused often of lowering the tone, but your supercilious attitude (and the bitter sarcasm of others) in these threads really gets on my wick.

Interpretation of my "tone of voice" - you can't do that over a typed word.

Your interpretation is subjective. Without asking me how I meant the questions to "sound" , I don't think it's fair to decide if I was asking honest questions, was being supercilious , being denigrating, or ... anything.

Where was I nasty? Where did I call anyone crazy?

I asked where you were getting your quotes, and it was shown . I thanked you for that .

[Miestrâ Schivâ, UrN]

We might want to take this to PM, but Sariah was not the only one who got that implication from your words. Rhetorical questions demanding sources for something that was purposely obvious to us seem like deliberate trolling.

To veer back on topic... it's exactly this kind of nonsense that should be Thunderdome, and which normal people rightly have no interest in.

[Capt. Sir Mick Preston]

Jan 26, 2013 22:10:32 GMT -6 Miestrâ Schivâ, UrN said:

and which normal people rightly have no interest in.

Can I troll just a little bit ? (smiles)

[Miestrâ Schivâ, UrN]

Seriously? Not in politics threads. Trolling in politics threads drags them into Thunderdome territory quicker than anything.

Also, do you really not want to answer my questions about your view of the role of politics in Talossa?

[Sir Alexandreu Davinescu]

S:da Schiva, no one is calling for an end to politics. That is a wildly distorted straw-man. People are asking to be able to be Talossan without having to be political, and that is a very different thing. It is also something that seems fairly uncontroversial to me. I realize that you might be upset and feel like you're being goaded, but it's just as unfair to characterize other people as wanting to "end politics" so they can rule, just as it would be unfair for me to accuse you of trying to force everyone to read ZRT speeches, even if they don't want to.

I recognize that you and S:da Txilvertescu believe that it is in the political majority's benefit to allow some people to more easily bypass political discussions. According to this theory - and it does have some merit - people who are non-political will tend to implicitly favor the current establishment, stymieing future revolution.

However, please pause for a moment and think about the fact that you are calling for greater moderation of the boards by that establishment, instead. That is disproportionately more power for an unelected position in a privately-administered message board. It is much[/]i more preferable to have customs in place where political discussions take place in designated areas, where they will permit some people not to be political (which is their right!) and yet will also prevent the subjective judgment of message board administrators from determining when a thread has gotten nasty.

Seriously, think it through. As I see it, your options are these:

• You can argue that everything is fine, and that the status quo is fine, and that those Talossans who don't want to watch or participate in political discussions are out of luck. Implicitly, this suggests that you think that all Talossans must participate in politics, or (at the least) must be required to navigate around it even if they just want to be a part of the community. Politics is mandatory.
  
• You can argue that the Conta Hooligan and King John should decide which threads have gotten mean or nasty, and shut them down. This will almost certainly involve a disproportionate number of threads wherein debates are taking place between opposition parties and the majority (or among the opposition parties). Can you really even conceive of a future where you are not accusing them of censoring you (justly or unjustly)?
  
• You can accept the idea of a politics board, where debates and discussions about politics and ideas will continue unrestrained without any policing of speech (except in extreme cases), as now. Citizens can be political or not, yet free dissent continues to be preserved and cherished.

I suppose this will just be ignored, like my last post, but your current position truly seems irrational to me. I understand that you took offense at the "republicans are bothering people" remark - which has since been retracted! - but I believe you are allowing that to cloud your judgement.

I would also suggest that there has not been anything about gender in this thread until just a bit ago, when you began tossing around words like "bitchy" and invoking the gender of yourself and S:da Txilvertescu. Please be careful about such casual accusations.

[Miestrâ Schivâ, UrN]

Seriously? My preference is for active but apolitical moderation on Witt. I'd trust Hooligan's judgement there. Failing that, a guarantee that people who refuse to be informed on politics will vote PRESENT.

As to gender, I do note that it's Sariah and myself who get called out as the "nasty Republicans" - not Carlüs, Eoin, Maurice or GV.

[Eiric S. Börnatfiglheu]

I still don't know what you have against theatre.

[Sir Alexandreu Davinescu]

Jan 26, 2013 22:18:46 GMT -6 Miestrâ Schivâ, UrN said:

Seriously? My preference is for active but apolitical moderation on Witt. I'd trust Hooligan's judgement there. Failing that, a guarantee that people who refuse to be informed on politics will vote PRESENT.

I truly cannot imagine moderation that will not be extremely controversial in this sort of thing. The debates that get heated are often about vital issues where folks from different parties disagree. And you are - if I can be frank - famous in Talossa for your fiery verbiage and the in-your-face attitude that you celebrate. Assuming you don't change your ways, don't you think it wouldn't be too long before a an "active but apolitical" moderator shut down an argument in which you were engaged? Wouldn't that be a much greater suppression of dissent - someone else gets to decide when you're being civil, and shut you up if they think you're not?

As to the other, I assume you're joking? If not, maybe we can have a poll tax, or a poll test - you can propose that if you wish. Those do not have a great record, historically, though, for helping minorities. In America, such things are famous for suppression of the African-American vote during the "Jim Crow" era.

It's really weird to me that you're advocating for greater policing of speech by authorities, and that people who don't know enough about politics shouldn't be able to vote.

[Capt. Sir Mick Preston]

Jan 26, 2013 21:53:34 GMT -6 Miestrâ Schivâ, UrN said:

Is political debate an important part of Talossa? If so, what limits should be set on it, if any?

Well, in a brief comment:

I do believe that political debate is important part of Talossa - to some Citizens. To others, I feel that it is not at all important. They come here for other reasons. Arts, Language, Chats, etc.

Those that feel Politics are important , join (or make) Parties, become MC's or Senators , author Bills and debate the nuances of the Kingdom.

Those that don't do none of that.

I believe that there is a time and place for everything. I believe that anything Political should be under the "Government" sub-boards. Because that is what Government is all about. I don't think it should propagate all over Witt.

Just like threads about "Secret Santa's " , "Fantasy Sports" , "Jokes" threads have their place, so do "Politics".

From there, I feel that decorum in these threads is required, not an option. If you can't post without insulting your opponent, then you need not post. If you can't follow the Rules of Witt, then you need to re-think why you are posting.

[Eiric S. Börnatfiglheu]

Can we still nail our party manifestos to the front of Witt each election? I kinda liked that part.

[Capt. Sir Mick Preston]

Jan 26, 2013 22:38:11 GMT -6 Eiric S. Börnatfiglheu said:

Can we still nail our party manifestos to the front of Witt each election? I kinda liked that part.

Only if you promise to recycle after the election is over.

[Eiric S. Börnatfiglheu]

SCOFF

Of course! We at the NPW support the environment.

[Vitxalmour Conductour]

Jan 26, 2013 21:31:43 GMT -6 Eiric S. Börnatfiglheu said:

Hey now, be gentle... a little theatre never hurt anyone.

Tell that to Abraham Lincoln.

[Capt. Sir Mick Preston]

Jan 26, 2013 23:12:35 GMT -6 Vitxalmour Conductour said:

Jan 26, 2013 21:31:43 GMT -6 Eiric S. Börnatfiglheu said:

Hey now, be gentle... a little theatre never hurt anyone.

Tell that to Abraham Lincoln.

Touche.