Is the moderating in ATS too strict?

Fellow reader i want to know your opinon but here is mine first.

Okay so if you wan to post on ATS yeah sure you have to abide by their rules since its their system, but when does it get to the point of impeding your right to express your self. Is it not the point of ATS a place to express yourself freely, yet if i were to put a post on "Rant" which specifically states "This forum is for members to engage in heated tirades about topics that really infuriate them" using colorfull language it would get deleted imediatly by the moderators.

So wait a minute you know what is the point then if i want to place a few curse words to express myself about the new airport body scanners being able to show your junk to the guards.

well i'm not sure if i'm being clear enough so i'll just crunch it down to one sentence:
where is my right to express my self, i thought thats what this place was all about.

well lets see how about we start here, you did agree to this when you signed up.


There is no need whats so ever for vulgarity, the majority of members have no problem and remember this is an all ages site. There are many web filters that would pick up the profanity and in turn the site can be block from educational facilities. So in turn we reach less people because of the vulgarity of a few, I think not.

Terms And Conditions Of Use

[edit on 27/2/2007 by Sauron]

When I feel the urge to use colourful language, I use the smiley that has been thoughtfully provided. Let people fill in the blanks for themselves.

Example:
It really me off that these new airport scanners can see through my clothes. Those screeners are a bunch of perverts!

Just a helpful hint.

The moderation here is strict. That's what maintains the generally high quality of the threads here compared with most other boards. Just follow the T&Cs and you should be OK.

yes you are abosolutely right i guess i've been getting carried away

If you're looking for someplace that has loose moderation where you can just post vulgarities right and left, ATS is the wrong place to go!

no i'm not looking for that i like ATS thats why i joined after watching it for a year. but anyway it was just one of those shining moments, wel all have them once in a while.

You do have a right to express yourself and ATS most definitely is a place to do just that -- express yourself! Incidentally you just expressed yourself.

It would appear that your real gripe with ATS is not with expressing yourself but, rather, to do so using vulgarities. Perhaps you are under the misconception that "freedom of speech" demands the right to use expletives to express your opinions. One certainly should be able to "say what they want" without resorting to the use of four letter words. Surely what you have to say can be said clearly and succinctly using standard English.

By the way, I have ALWAYS been allowed to speak my mind here at ATS. I have never been censored in spite of the fact that I have started threads that have dealt with such potentially inflammatory topics as racism and discrimination. Using standard English I have been able to make my opinions known without resorting to any sort of vulgarity or obscenity. In the same vein, I find countless other ATS members who are able to express themselves without the use of expletives and I don't believe that any of their "right to free speech" has been, in any way, deterred.

If you still feel that your rights have been, somehow, diminished I would suggest using a good dictionary or that you simply find another forum where the members still get their adolescent and juvenile jollies from spewing obscenities.

are you crazy... I think ATS isn't strict enough...


I know that there are only so many MODS and they all can't be here all the time.... but there's a lot that I see that is worth a warn or at least a reminder...

ATS rocks....

in a word NO !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I posted, as in past tense, on an american football message board. Predictably, rival fans logged on, and the insults flew.

Some posters were very funny, and others harmless, but there was always the few who were just there to hijack threads, and start flame wars, and the mods not only let it happen, they posted things like "we allow it because its entertainment"

THANK GOD ATS BANS THE CLOWNS


I have edited many posts because I thought it would run afoul of the ATS spirit,debating with gusto, but not making personal attacks, or hoaxes.

Please ATS, keep the clowns in the drunk tank !!!!!!

Besides...



You have no 'rights' here. The board is their property; your posting is a privilege they grant you solely at their discretion.

I've always been mystified how my countrymen believe that "Congress shall make no law... abridging the freedom of speech" means they can say anything they want, anytime, anywhere; and without consequences.

No, you just haven't chosen your words properly.

You can completely assault someone by using facts, reasoning, proving a point, and calling them affectionate names at the same time, and you won't break a single rule, got it sweety?

Resorting to foul language would take away from the overall respectability of the site, after all, this isn't an O&A message board.

So look pumpkin puss, bone up on your grammer and spelling, and rain down fire with your brain. I wasn't used to it at first either, but there's nothing more satisfying than explaining why someone is an idiot eloquently, instead of simply calling them an idiot. It might be a bit condescending, but sometimes if feels really good.

Oh yeah, and although it's wonderful to prove someone wrong and correct their factual mistakes, never correct the grammer or spelling of another poster, it's bad form, and it makes you look like a tool. If you'd really like to drive your point home concerning proper english then just make sure you make no mistakes yourself, but that's a little pretentious and certainly doesn't matter much.

I really don't think it is very strict. I think that new members sometimes need a point in the right direction, which can easily be done via u2u. The recent Anna Nicole Smith thread, half a dozen Race threads in the Social Issues or Slug-Fest forums, or even the OBL arrested in NY thread, are all indicators that the staff are very, very lenient. Rather than coming down with the iron fist, or silencing members on a regular basis, we see posts that warn us over, and over, and over again that our behaviour is out of line.

Now if our posts are filled with profanity, or a blatant attack on another member, maybe our staff is inclined to "step in". But in my experiences, staff tend to deal with things covertly without having to issue them snazzy little red badges.

I think I authored a thread once asking the question if the staff was "too" lenient. Over time I've come to understand that it is a fine line any staff is forced to walk, and I think ATS does a great job. The biggest critics of the staff tend to forget that we are a guest in someone else's home, receiving a service at no cost.

strict moderation keeps ATS how we like.

without rubbish!

we've all been warned, and thankfully there 99% of the time right on the money.

I have never been warned on ATS and I have let it fly a few times! If you are the kind of person you want a nieghbor to be and not all the time or attack someone personally then you will never have a problem.

So dont be and dont get too and the will never you.

I always wanted to do something like that.

O&A party Rock !!!

Instead of profanity, just use this:



Its expresses anger very well among other things.

Why arent the smileys on ATS, and Politcs as good as the ones on BTS?

It really and makes me that all these cool smiles are not on the rest of the sites.

I just want to say:

ignore the don't or because you will get and start and end up






[edit on 1-3-2007 by Royal76]

I personally don't think the moderators are strict at all. They just expect people to make replies in a logical, intelligent manner and not devolve into a comment degrading someone else personally. You can degrade what a person says all you want, but when it turns personal that's when ATS moderators step in. Too me, they seem pretty lenient really.

[edit on 1-3-2007 by SpeakerofTruth]

Lessee, the term "moderator" comes from the word "moderate" which means "not extreme". So to use an adverb denoting an excessive behavior in reference to moderation would be oxymoronic.

In other words, if the moderators were "too strict". they wouldn't be moderators. They'd be extremists.

The Taliban - not moderating on ATS since 1993.