Debate, and discuss, just dont Bore me.
Published on March 4, 2007 By Dr Guy In Blogging

I joined JU because of the debates. I stayed because of the community. It was fun getting to know certain people, and then interacting with them. I read the ToU and understood that as long as I did not get nasty with my fellow citizens, I could post anything to my blog that I wanted. JU being wonky, sometimes things that I did not want to share were shared briefly, and somethings I did not want to go into the forums did.

Brad and Zoomba have as much admitted that there are problems there. As well as elsewhere with the JU system. Problems that some continue to exploit to their own pleasure - sick or otherwise.

But I always thought that we could post to ourselves whatever we wanted. As long as we did not trash the owner, Admins, or lesser members of JU, we could post our thoughts to our thoughts content! JU is not pure freedom. We have to respect others, especially the owners, but it is close. I can say I hate Bush, Gore, Kerry or Billary, and then trash them to my hearts content. And I am left in peace.

At least I thought so.

Lately, I have been a 'victim'(?) of one who does not agree with me, or my politics. He has spammed me on a couple of occasions. Not mean stuff, just repetitive. So I took it in stride. I did not acknowledge it (as it was off topic), but hey, he was not flooding me or the forums. But he posts a lot. And strange stuff that I do not care to read. But being a freedom of speech person, I don’t care. After all, It is HIS blog.

But others think different. Although he is quarantined for spamming an admin's blog, there is now a move afoot to exile him for what?

Writing articles on HIS blog (as he can no longer reply on others). It seems the clowns of DU.org are alive and well here at JU. I just have to ask why? Why are you trying to exile him? Obnoxious? Yes. Disagreeable? Yes. Offensive? Depends.

But why are we trying to dictate policy, within the ToU to Brad and Company on someone that responds little and makes even less sense? I thought this was where we could all "let it all hang out". So why are we brandishing our pitchforks and torches trying to kill a beast that has done no real harm (except perhaps to our tender egos)?

I leave you with this.

When the Nazis came for the communists,

I remained silent;

I was not a communist.

When they locked up the social democrats,

I remained silent;

I was not a social democrat.

When they came for the trade unionists,

I did not speak out;

I was not a trade unionist.

When they came for me,

there was no one left to speak out.

--Martin Niemöller


Comments (Page 1)
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on Mar 04, 2007
I haven't read much on JU the past few days due to work, but if this is regarding a certain person who has spammed numerous people's blogs, including my own, with irrelevant BS, I am very happy that he has been confined to his own blog. I find him extremely annoying and blacklisted him before his confinement.

As for outright banning, I guess as long as he doesn't violate the TOS, and Brad is willing to put up with his garbage, there really isn't grounds for it. After all, in the end, it's Brad's playground.
on Mar 04, 2007

Very well said Dr. Guy!

As long as he's on his own blog,  and not breaking the rules of the TOU,  why kick him out?

His stuff doesn't bother me since I don't read it.  It's quite simple,  just click on "more" on the sidebar then ya know who wrote what!  No more of that getting "an article by an author ya didn't want to read...

entiendes?

 I know you do doc

on Mar 04, 2007
I don't know if I'm up for exile...but I do avoid that person's articles like the plague.

~Zoo
on Mar 04, 2007
I dunno . . . I can see it both ways.

On the one hand, you make a good point when you say that he's on his own blog, not allowed to play with the rest of us, and that should be enough if he's not breaking the TOU.

But on the other hand . . . if you were an intelligent, coherent and cogent potential blogger, came to this site looking for debate and entertainment and instead found a recent articles list filled with mr. tuttle, what would you do?

Run. Run far away.

I worry sometimes that having him around will make us lose some great potential new meat in the JU.

But that's my 2 cents, take it or leave it.
on Mar 04, 2007
The problem with his stuff is it shows up in the forums...and it buries posts that actually mean something.

I don't agree with the "ban" movement, but I CAN see the purpose in not allowing his garbage to show up in the forums. Otherwise he can just keep burying good stuff with garbage.
on Mar 04, 2007
I don't want him exiled but I DO want a feature allowing me to completely hide his spam. I don't want to see 3 or 4 of his articles taking up half of the space in the Recent Articles bar or other JU features that only work with well behaved folks. I think that when someone is restricted to their own blog that their articles simply shouldn't appear in any of the auto-syndication features of JU.
on Mar 05, 2007

I am very happy that he has been confined to his own blog.

Exactly!  Let him play in his pond.  No harm there.

As for outright banning, I guess as long as he doesn't violate the TOS, and Brad is willing to put up with his garbage, there really isn't grounds for it. After all, in the end, it's Brad's playground.

Very True.  It is Brad's ice cream.

on Mar 05, 2007

I know you do doc

Yes I do.

on Mar 05, 2007

but I do avoid that person's articles like the plague.

As do I.  I dont read Col Klink's either, but I am not for exiling him either.

on Mar 05, 2007

But on the other hand . . . if you were an intelligent, coherent and cogent potential blogger, came to this site looking for debate and entertainment and instead found a recent articles list filled with mr. tuttle, what would you do?

Run. Run far away.

I see where you are going.  I came here because of Brad's Articles listed on another site.  If I had been a raving liberal, I might have not stayed here.  However, I then read several liberals and liberal articles (I did not taste one flavor and decide I dont like Ice Cream).  So anyone looking at one user and making that decision is not going to be a good contributor anyway, and perhaps myspace is better for them.

on Mar 05, 2007

but I CAN see the purpose in not allowing his garbage to show up in the forums.

Perhaps that is a new feature that the New JU will have.  When someone is confined, they cannot post to the forums.

on Mar 05, 2007

I don't want him exiled but I DO want a feature allowing me to completely hide his spam

The famous Ignore.  It would be a great addition to the features.  I would love it as well.

on Mar 05, 2007
I think most of us agree that we don't want to see his stuff. An "Ignore" button would be perfect. He has, however, broken some of the rules (putting another blogger's name in the title of an article and profanity in the title of an article) which means that, should he continue to be a bad apple and break the rules, he should go. I like the community here, and his spamming trash makes it more difficult for me to find the good stuff. If I just had a way to block seeing his things, I would be happy. And, if people could make the choice to ignore certain authors while others could choose to still see them, that would be even better.
on Mar 05, 2007

(putting another blogger's name in the title of an article and profanity in the title of an article)

Since I have him on a mental ignore, I have not seen that.  But then many members of the community have been guilty of the latter at times, and the former by some on occassion.

Another vote for the ignore!  Zoomba, are you listening?

on Mar 05, 2007
Sometimes it is hard to ignore someone who keeps pushing themselves in your face. That's what he's all about and that's why it can be annoying. Even when you choose to ignore him he's all over your own personal space as he did on a couple of my blogs, some old articles I wrote some time ago.

He doesn't have to be exiled, it's a free country and a free site, just be restricted so as not to interfere with the smooth flow of the site. That's all. It's not even a matter of the amount of articles, I've posted four at one go, although, he does go overboard posting an excessive amount all at once, it is the titles and the contents that leaves one thinking "uh?" - which I guess is exactly what he wants. We amuse him and I'm sure he's laughing his head off right now!lol!
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