YES, I have a comment

I have raised two threads on "Speak Easy". One has disappeared into a black hole and the other does not show on clicking "Speak Easy".

Is there a problem ? It is absolutely no use members posting if their threads are subject to a disappearing act.

I notice that to put a thread on "Speak Easy" it has to be approved by some divine authority for literary purity and inoffensive material. this is so touching that I find myself running out of paper tissues.

By who ? Who has the authority to dictate clinical purity on what people say ? The answer is NOBODY HAS. If you are going to have a "Speak Easy", then have one, but do not expect the divinity that some holy and pure paradise expects. People are people and their views vary from A-Z. Nobody is right and nobody is wrong. Some Bible thump and others do not. If some feeble minded and immature individuals suffer a heart attack by reading an article that includes the word "Bum" or depicts a vivid description of our practical situations, then tough luck.

Don`t play about with trying to police human thoughts by implementing your own naive views on the rest of us. Enjoy yourself and let people say what they want, you just may enjoy it.

If you are going to have a Chat or Speak Easy section on your Forum, then HAVE one, but don`t try to play GOD over the rest of us.
We are normal people who live in a normal world and are not subjected to any stupid moral restrictions. If we are going to have a "Speak Easy", then let us have individual Karaoke and not a Chorus dictated by some irrelevant conductor.

Hello yabbadoo,

First, please do not assume that I am directly attributing any of the following to you directly, because that is not true. I am simply responding to your comment.

A large portion of the answer to your comment can be found in the message listed at the top of every page in the Speak Easy forum. Specifically the phrase:

This section is for polite and thoughtful debate on potentially controversial topics.

It is possible that you misunderstood the purpose of the Speak Easy forum as a place where you can say anything you want and have it be published to the world. This is not the case. By 'polite and thoughtful debate' we mean just that. The Speak Easy is not the place for you or anyone else to make a political statement, a tyrannical rant, or some other form of closed minded, one sided posting that does not bring to light a topic in a manner which encourages debate and discussion. If you are looking for a place where you can post these things then you will not find it here. We're not interested in being a sounding board.

Additionally we expect that any posting in the Speak Easy remain civilized. If one is unable to express his or her viewpoint in a manner which is polite and free of personal attack, then one is not the kind of person who deserves the right to participate. I'm sorry if you feel that this is discrimination against the potty-mouthed or something, but it's really not if you think about it for a moment. Those individuals who lack the capacity to express an idea or opinion without remaining polite and civil rely on the shock value of their strong language to carry impact rather than the actual meaning of their message. Furthermore, those who include personal attacks in their opinions have just fallen prey to one of the most simplistic of the logical fallacies: argumentum ad hominem. Such personal attacks are irrelevant to the discussion at hand and do nothing except distract and inflame. In either case this violates the purpose of the forum which is 'polite and thoughtful debate' and as such we are not only well within our rights, but obligated to the community, to remove this sort of post.

As for the requirement for new topics to have mod approval, this is unfortunately necessitated due to past experience. In the past people have misconstrued and/or taken advantage of the nature of the Speak Easy to post items which are not only in violation of the rules of the forum but also violate basic human dignity. Due to this problem the Speak Easy was in fact closed for a time, and was re-opened at the behest of our community albeit with the new restriction in place to ensure that such a problem would be mitigated for the future.

If any of this seems unfair or unreasonable to you then you are well within your rights to refrain from participating in the Speak Easy. However, I would ask that you kindly refrain from accusing censorship or discrimination on the part of the staff here before you've actually taken the time to think things through. Such outbursts will do nothing except wear out your welcome.

I hope that I have managed to address some of your concerns.

Have a blessed day,

~Blade
Forum Administrator.

Blade... well said

I hope that I have managed to address some of your concerns.

Thanks Admin for your extremely comprehensive and extensive reply. I understand all you have kindly explained.

I am not a person who goes around barnstorming through glass doors, but one who most likely has a higher tolerance threshold than others do, having come up through the hurly-burly of life. Under the rules of engagement for Speak-Easy, it is not my scene. Out of bounds from now Admin.

Thanks you so much for your time, patience and consideration.

Being somewhat a Newbie, it puzzled me that Speak-Easy was not so very Speak-Easy when one had to have a post approved before being able to speak easy. We live and learn.