Might seem like a grand philosophical question, but bear with me!.
My understanding of it is for folk to discuss motoring related topics. Someone might say something which someone else disagrees with, and they say so. For the most part, this seems to work well enough, though occasionally neither party will back down, things get heated, and a moderator has to intervene. Very occasionally, someone, I'm thinking particularly about someone who shares how name with a famous Fireman, comes along and posts stuff so offensive it needs to be removed, as it should. But unless said post is obviously and deliberately offensive, (as far as I am concerned) it should be left as is.
But, as I have discovered very recently, it also appears that a post with no obvious offensive content can be simply removed with no explanation, simply because (presumably) someone decides it has offended them.
To that end, I have a few questions.
1, What is the criteria for a post to be removed?. Mine, as far as I am aware, was not offensive, so can I just decide any post is offensive, click the button, and it will be removed no questions asked?.
2, If the above is not the case, what is the level of perceived offence where a moderator would say to the complainant, "I can't see anything offensive so I'm not prepared to remove the post" (it would be helpful to know this for future reference).
3, This is more aimed at whoever decided my post caused such offence it needed to be removed completely. If you can't discuss your grievance, what is the point in using a forum, or indeed any other form of social media?.
I'm not big on social media myself, just this forum at the moment. But from what I hear, other forms of social media are pretty much a free for all in terms of being offensive to others. This is the main reason I don't use it. In the years I have been a forum member, I think only once or twice have I clicked on the offence button. The reason being that virtually nothing I have read on the forum has been offensive enough to do so. There are plenty I read which I disagree with, for which I am free to post a response should I choose to......
.........Because (and the circle is now complete!), that is (IMO) what the forum is for.
So, if the moderator and/or higher ups in the forum hierarchy don't feel differences of opinion should be allowed to exist, and that forum members who take umbrage with something someone else says, shouldn't (at least initially) deal with it themselves (unless clearly, obviously and deliberately offensive), them what do they think the forum is for?
As an aside, obviously I'm only aware of anything I post going missing (and then not always), but it makes me curious whether anyone else has had a post removed for no apparent reason (i.e, it was not, in your opinion, offensive and/or derogatory)?.
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