I support the goals stated in the OP. Unfortunately, I won't be monitoring the forums, I'm just back briefly for a short visit to see how WL is doing (and waiting for my last game to start).
I'll repost a recommendation I made in another wrongly buried thread,
https://www.warlight.net/Forum/184394-downvoters-want-ban-discussions-warlight:
I've seen so many hidden threads in warlight since the new update has been implemented. What do you think of the people that downvote threads which are based on politics, race and other subjects?
I just spent a chunk of time going through some of the hidden threads, finding ones that have been wrongfully downvoted, and upvoting them. E.g. I just upvoted this thread and downvoted Speng's and a couple other flamey comments. The topic of the thread itself is legit, even if you don't like the OP poster or some of the comments/commenters below it.
Here's a few tips for people who really want to help the forums and avoid pointless voting wars:
- Only downvote a thread if the OP itself is junk. If you're just sick of trolling and flaming in the comments then downvote the trolling and flaming comments, not the whole thread.
- If you downvote whole threads just because of some annoying bickering in the comments, you'll end up fostering a vote-war culture in the forums.
- Take the time to make your downvotes *accurate*. This way, you'll foster a culture where people put more thought into their comments, and the overall quality of the forums will improve. Invest in this strategy *now*, and you'll have a lot less downvoting to do in the future.
Tabby, just for the record, I've been downvoting all your comments that call for banning, suppressing, or deleting political/controversial speech. I really think you should re-think your stance on how to address the *real* problem of political extremism. You are resorting to the authoritarian measure of attempting to silence speech you don't agree with. That is one of the worst reactions possible.
The way to fight bad ideas is with good ideas. The way to fight speech you don't like is with *more* speech, not the suppression of speech. (There are a few exceptions to this, such as defamation, etc., but political/controversial speech does not fall under these exceptions.) In other words, use your speech to counter others' BS; don't try to shut them up.
You may want to explore other options than just logical argumentation. For example, I would recommend trying to respond with satire and humour:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Satire. It's one of the best ways to critique truly terrible ideas. Show the public the absurdity of what you call 'Nazism' (which is an inaccurate label, btw).
PS: Am I being a hypocrite by downvoting your comments? No. Because I am not trying to suppress your ability to speak, I'm only using downvoting as a mechanism to improve the quality of the forums, as Fizzer intended. I believe that, if your efforts were to continue and grow 'successful', it would drastically reduce the quality of the forums. You can express and explore the idea of censorship without outright advocating that it be implemented.
Your efforts to censor others is currently promoting -- and will only result in -- a culture and atmosphere of voting wars. And if Fizzer were to acquiesce to your demands (I severely doubt he would, frankly), the forums would degenerate quickly and end up an authoritarian wasteland of ideas. I've personally witnessed this happen on several occasions over the years.
Edited 9/15/2016 17:43:41
