Ben Stein Unlocked!

[mrmephistopheles]

Originally Posted by ThePenIsMightier

Looking through the original thread, nearly every person who had an opinion other than Ben Stein's was banned. No porn posts. No advertising. Just thought I'd point that out.

Indeed. It was a matter of personal attacks, and failing to follow forum rules.

Now to address your unfounded personal attack on myself...

The sardonic nature of my accusation wasn't clear, and I've only myself to blame. It's entirely obvious to anyone following along that yes, indeed, you are capable of reading.

You can read too. You just chose not to read the first sentence in the first and last paragraphs of my previous post. Here let me reiterate. I support the troops. I cannot imagine being one, and that's why I live in Dallas. I don't like hurting people blah blah blah war is stupid. I still support the troops. No need explaining anything to me. I can read.

I certainly did read it and replied to it.
I never accused you of not supporting the troops (and in fact made no comment on anyone's preference on the matter) - simply that you did not understand the purpose of the 'movement', if you will. You made that clear when you said you didn't understand how US servicemembers in Iraq were defending yours or others' freedom. I explained that it's without regard to where they are and what they're doing that their primary job is the defense of the nation.

I don't follow what you mean about your decision to live in Dallas because you don't want to serve in the armed forces.

Thank you for that insight. I know.

Sorry if I broke it down Barney-style for you there, but you clearly stated in that first sentence that you didn't understand the situation. I was merely trying to help.

Well we can make our own conjectures about why we started a war on terror in Afghanistan and ended up in Iraq. It seems obvious to me, but I can't be certain.

Agreed. In the end, it'll still only be conjecture. What we should be concerning ourselves with at this point is the election of a better leader and pressuring our representatives to resolve the situation. Much as blame needs to be heaped around, pointing fingers does nobody any good right now.

Understood, but Best Buy isn't a discussion forum. It's a retail store. Here we come to discuss whatever is on our minds. When discussing whatever, opinions often rise. Saying you are making this place better by silencing opinions that differ from your own is well...

an opinion. It makes the place better for you, but you aren't a "customer".

I know. I simply couldn't conjure up a better comparison on short notice.
This forum isn't necessarily to discuss ''whatever is on our minds", but primarily a place to discuss the 240sx, with an OT forum for flavor.
Opinions are fine and welcome, so long as they're presented appropriately.
For the umpteenth time, we're not making an effort to 'silence opinions' - it's a matter of keeping the forums a nice place to be. How can you possibly blame me for the fact that the people banned weren't capable of controlling their emotions sufficient to continuing an argument?
Again, it's not a matter of making it a better place for *ME*, it's for the general public. If I was the kind of admin you're painting me as, I'd be deleting users and posts willy-nilly and you'd never even know that anyone disagreed with me. It's irritating that people enjoy taking moderation personally and will without fail, make the mod/admin out to be a power-crazed jerk.

In the end, it's a private forum open to registration pending agreement to a set of rules designed to keep the forum running smoothly. It's not a democracy and freedom of speech is not a given. Given that all of the admin/mod staff is American (and some of us have served in the military), we tend to support the ideals our nation was founded on. We don't, however, stop ourselves from eliminating a problematic user if it means editing a post or banning them.

I believe in one's freedom of speech, and prefer to let people's opinions air freely. I cannot abide personal attacks though, and users that break forum rules cannot be left unchecked. If you sincerely have a problem with our handling of our forum, we suggest you seek comfort elsewhere.