I have just read through the thread in question out of a sense of morbid curiosity (and a robust determination to avoid studying).

Regardless of anything that's been argued for or against here, I think the thread should be deleted on the grounds that it makes absolutely no sense whatsoever. At least not after that overzealous moderator's had his turn on it.

It reads like a conversation between paranoid delusional schizophrenics.

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No I can't see how that would protect free speech, but I can see how it would protect censorship.

Maybe someday a feature might be able to be added like a "wastebasket" for deleted comments where other posters are able to see the reasons for deletion or banning. This would hold the mods to account a little more if they ever decide to use their privilege against the spirit of free speech.
But to be realistic, no forum will satisfy all of the users all of the time. It's only been on very rare occasions where I've experienced any censorship problems here, so it's not a big issue for me personally.

aikmann4 wrote on May 13^th, 2010 at 11:43pm:


I disagree vehemently. You would have no choice but to delete all of  the posts I make outside of the Environment forum.

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I agree with your comments wholeheartedly Helian.
In that respect, a "wastebasket" of sorts where deleted comments could be viewed by other users who could then decide for themselves if the comments warranted deletion, or if the deletions skewed the context of the topic, would have saved me a dummy spit to highlight the fact that the discussion had been skewed. Albeit, merely resulting in a disjointed discussion.
I know that this feature would be difficult to incorporate into the forum, so it's not even a suggestion to FD, it's just a personal idea on how I think some of the friction may possibly have been avoided.

For the most part, the biggest problem I've had with censorship here is that my garbage isn't censored enough, and I've had to go back and remove it myself. So in that respect, my "wastebasket" idea would fail me, but it might be good for a laugh  

The only comments that I've made that I don't consider to warrant deletion have ocurred on Abu's board....or maybe a few by Easel before he was banned for his "free" speech.
Mozz insinuated (not in so many words) that everybody knows that Abu will side with the rules of Islam far before the largely unwritten rules of Australia, and everybody should know and accept this.
But to what extent that Abu will do this is always a source of interest and well worthy of monitoring. It's also worthy of highlighting the occassions where he has gagged posters and the reasons involved...IMO.

I've had my dummy spit, and I was satisfied enough that I highlighted my greivance.
And that's not to say by any means that I don't think that this forum has a good format, or that I don't apppreciate FD's efforts here. Anybody who has had a Mrs. would realise the value of appreciation for even the most seemingly trivial of tasks. The omission of appreciation can also be a censorship of facts. So I'll take a lesson from the women's rulebook for once in my life and say/admit/reveal that I do appreciate your great efforts FD.
If my request for deleting the said topic was granted, then I would now be disappointed because others had also voiced their opinion and deleting the entire topic would be like throwing the baby out with the bathwater.
It's all good, healthy debate..cheers  i

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I'm happy to self-censor.
To be honest, I sometimes like to write a load of crap and see if it makes any sense to me later on. If it doesn't, then I'll delete it but continue to try to make some sense of it myself. Oftentimes it's just drunken crap, but sometimes I can gleam some pearls that I really hold dear to me.
Self-censorship is underrated.

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Maybe the bar gets set somewhere between the acceptance of dishonest customers, to the value of a free society and to the profits that can be obtained by capitalist forces. ..if that makes any sense.
We fight for our freedom on a sliding scale due to the arrogant confidence that we'll continue to fight for our supposed free nation.
Forget the patriotism, we need to start investing where the best opportunites arise. Take on capitalism at it's heart and state that we will not fight for this country because our money is invested elsewhere...just like the capitalist banks.

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That frikin' bottle is useless.  
The bottle hasn't always been kind to me, but then again, neither has anybody else.
If you feel that there is something in need of looking for, then you should search Imo. Whatever gets you there, or whatever gives you some clues is a worthwhile pursuit.
If you ever get there, like religious instructions that state "You are here", then I think that that would be pretty pointless to the remainder of your life.
If I ever reached my intended destination, then I'd be in need of a new drug.

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The worm?