Sep 28th, 2006, 10:06 AM
THE POLITICS OF MODERATORSHIP AND MOCKERY
Wherein we shall discuss the merits of moderatorship, the delicate balance between the blesed peace order brings and the corruption that accompanies all power, not matter how small, and the importance of satire, jest and Mockery.
It's my thread, so I'll start.
IT'S ALL GOOD.
Well, mostly. Threads that have nothing whatever to do with Politics, News, Philosiphy or Religion should simply be made elsewhere. I am however, pretty loose about what is fair game within those parameters.
I think without the Mockery, there's little reason to be at this politics forum, as opposed to any other, and I have no desire to be in a totally serious discussion. They are often tedious and unctious, and they ignore what a powerful tool for understanding wit and satire can be.
It should be noted, one is not required to employ wit or sarcasm, and often posters here fall quite far from the mark in the attempt. I myself have been known to be less funny on some occasions than on others. Humor, though, is subjective, and cannot be empirically judged. If it could, I would suggest myself as Humor moderator and lock threads that are poorly written. I'm sure it would bring me a great deal of joy and that I would soon (if not immeditaley) be corrupted by power, repalcimng entire posts with things like. "I am stupid and I have wet myself". Luckily for all of us, I have high standards for freedom of attempted comedic speech and would never accept or seek a position to control it.
When posters say something personal, uncalled for, beyond the pale, etc. the post itself is the punishment. It's there for all the world to see. When a poster says another has his 'head' up his 'ass', or drags two completely innocent young girls and the quality of a posters fatherhood into a discussion (as Vinth often did, and perhaps one or two other posters whose grasp exceeded their reach) they pillory themselves. Their argument suffers by the display of poor character and control.
And, as Mr. Sppadowsky pointed out, most of us here are perfectly capable of defending themselves.
If a thread becomes solely a slap fest, it could just as well take place in the Mock Wars forum, though I don't think anyone here cares to admit that all they want to do is fight without care to content. But if the insults are coupled with discourse, I say let them stand, and let the quality of the writing speak to the posters character, and let their character speak to their argument.
Message boards, silly as they are, may be the last bastion of purely written communication. I'll be the first to admit they are rarely used that way, but I believe that here at least we should let style, skill and content, or LACK THERE OF speak fro itself.
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