Mods so why then?

[Mike.357]

never mind

not my party, I am just guest

Edited May 21, 2008 by Mike.357

[Guest eyebedam]

Im only guessing here but im sure they got quite a few pm,s or messages from some soft hearted folks that either felt threatened or offended about the gay & religious post that were made in the past few days. Both topics are highly sensitive & seem to bring out the best & worst in us all.

[Guest dotsun]

I was enjoying the threads as well, I guess some ruin it for all.

[I_Like_Pie]

If you guys like that stuff...then fark.com comments should put you in paradise. On a small forum however...it is pretty caustic

[TripleDigitRide]

I love everyone here. Well, except one person.

[Mark@Sea]

TDR, I'm just crushed...

hehe

[Marswolf]

TDR, I'm just crushed...

hehe

Me too....

[The Rabbi]

I don't know what the problem was. Everyone seemed to be getting along fine. I don't think covering up differences is helpful.

[Mike.357]

well since you all are responding to my second guessed post I will add to it.

Sure I could go to some religious forum or Fark.com (whatever that is). I consider quite a few people here friends, internet friends at the very least. Even if I will never meet them all face to face. I enjoy having discussions with friends. Why would I want to go to some foreign message board and discuss my feelings with people I do not know, nor care to know?

Hell there are people on here I have no doubt I have pissed off at one time or another. There are people here who have pissed me off. For the most part differences here have been conquered and we all get along, remaining friends.

This place is, no make that WAS special. Heck it ain't so much special any more. Seems awful stuffy sometimes.

Maybe I should just keep my mouth shut and revert to my original post in this thread.

No one gives a flyin' leap anyway.

[Guest utarch00]

It does seem that a lot of threads are getting shut down lately.

[PackinMama]

Hey, is it ok to talk about FREEDOM OF SPEECH on here?????

Or are too many people too sensitive to that subject as well?

Get over it guys! If you don't like a topic, stay the **** away from it and let the rest of us have a discussion!

Just my .02.

[Guest bkelm18]

I straddle the fence on this one. While I do agree that this forum is getting more and more PC, as Mike said up top, it's not our party, we're just guests.

[Guest Hyaloid]

My primary function for loggin on here is to read about firearms and the 2nd A... all that stuff.

I may read some of the other heavier, non-gun related, stuff, but I usually won't post much in those threads.

Now, I can ignore those threads, and sometimes do... but I could see where it diverts from the 'mission' of TGO, and may turn some visitors off.

Doesn't bother me that they are there, and it doesn't particularly bother me that they are locked down.

You guys could all continue the discussions via PM, e-mail, MSN/Yahoo or any other number of venues if you wanted to I suppose...

[Guest eyebedam]

it seems like your ? Is being ignored by the powers that be.

[The Rabbi]

My primary function for loggin on here is to read about firearms and the 2nd A... all that stuff.

I may read some of the other heavier, non-gun related, stuff, but I usually won't post much in those threads.

Now, I can ignore those threads, and sometimes do... but I could see where it diverts from the 'mission' of TGO, and may turn some visitors off.

Doesn't bother me that they are there, and it doesn't particularly bother me that they are locked down.

You guys could all continue the discussions via PM, e-mail, MSN/Yahoo or any other number of venues if you wanted to I suppose...

That's why there's an "off topic" forum here. Or so I thought.

[Mike.357]

it seems like your ? Is being ignored by the powers that be.

if that is directed at me, I have no question. Questions are posed when answers are needed. I already know the answer.

[PackinMama]

That's what I thought too Rabbi

[TGO David]

No one is ignoring the question. Contrary to what some might think, the moderators here (myself included) do have other things going on in our lives that drag us away from the computer for a few hours at a time.

As for this thread...

I stated in my official explanation about why we were prohibiting religion-oriented threads that we knew full well going into this that there would be those who would complain. True to my prediction, there have been. No big surprise.

Also as I stated in my explanation, no one's freedom of speech is being violated. Anyone who wants to discuss religious issues is certainly free to find a forum that allows those topics to be discussed and avail themselves of the facilities that they provide. With any luck, they also allow you to talk about firearms issues in Tennessee so it would be a win-win situation for you.

Frankly I'm not really phased by the comments to the effect that TGO is stuffy or that we're too politically correct or that we somehow are past our heyday because of the changes that we've implemented. The number of posts per day and continued growth of the forum just don't bear that out. While it's a little sad to read that some of you just don't "feel it" anymore, it's more encouraging to me to read comments from others stating that we did the right thing and that they appreciate our efforts to keep the community united around the important things and not let it become divided by the other stuff.

Just by way of comparison, a few weeks ago the TGO moderators took a real kick in the balls over the way we handled an issue with a vendor because he was well liked. Over the past two days I've learned that the person in question is catching SERIOUS heat now on several other much larger forums for what may prove to be extremely unethical business practices if not outright fraud.

We were crucified by some of the people on TGO for our decision to drop the hatchet back then. Looking at it now, it seems that we did the right thing and maybe saved some people here from getting taken to the cleaners.

The point to this comparison is that sometimes, despite what it looks like to everyone else, we really do know what we're doing and it is ultimately in the best interest of the TGO community.

If you disagree, no one is keeping you here. I hope none of you leave, but if you do... there's not much I can do to stop you.

[Rightwinger]

The serious heat has turned a little cooler on ARFCOM. Just since we are posting updates and all.

[TGO David]

The serious heat has turned a little cooler on ARFCOM. Just since we are posting updates and all.

That's good to hear.

[Smith]

I too didn't think anything was out of line or mean spirited on those particular issues. shoot i got more grief about my opinion on people calling cops "pigs" than I saw else where. I don't take offense from anyone over my opinions and I'm sorry that others have on other topics.

To say that more important things need to be discussed than ones beliefs seem a little contradictory to me, as that is the nature of this forum. To pick and choose which beliefs are relevant seems awkward at best. All my beliefs are intertwined. No gripe though. You did what you thought was best and so shall it be. I really enjoy every discussion that I've been involved in.

[TripleDigitRide]

I'ts a beautiful day in the neighborhood.

[PackinMama]

I definitely don't think it's right.....but like Mike said, it's not our party, we're just guests. Personally, I think the off-topic section should just be removed completely since so many rules and regulations are being placed on what we can and cannot talk about there. Seems like any topic is fair game until someone gets their feathers ruffled and complains to the mods.

Hey Tungsten, how do I cancel my membership? Just kidding!

Tungsten, I think you do a great job running this place. I don't agree with you on this one, but that's the great thing about this forum......we all have different opinions and we don't have to agree to still be friends

[Im Neero]

Just to clarify in case anyone is confused, the 1st amendment protects the freedom of speech from governmental infringement. With certain exceptions, no one can make a law saying what you can and cannot say.

This forum is not the government, freedom of speech does not apply here.

[R1100R]

I feel the Off Topic section needs to remain. The are many other subject matters

that can be discussed. Religion is just one of them.