Commonly, one can make positive and negative arguments for every idea under the sun.

Usually, it comes down to weighing the pros and cons, and trying to figure out on which side the scale tips. And that’s a difficult call.

I have been deliberating in my own mind the question at issue on this thread.

I think the idea of a cap on the number of threads people can post has merit

However, prior to instituting a new rule, perhaps we first should review the efficacy of the 30 days/30 posts rule that was enacted at the beginning of the year.

Brett Golden started posting threads after less than 48 hours on the board and with only 7 posts to his name. I realise there is a glitch of some kind on the Breaking News forum that allows people to bypass this rule, but Brett’s first threads were posted in other parts of the board. This means that either the automated software is malfunctioning, or he was given a pass by one of the mods. Reading over the points made by Crystal re this rule, it’s possible Brett passed muster. I’m not singling him out, but using his case as a reference for reviewing the rule. I think we need to get the facts here.

As far as the general discussion goes, I believe free speech is an ideal that we should cherish. As affronting as I find white supremacist beliefs, advocating that anyone should be denied the right to express their opinion, would take me one step towards the possibility of losing my own freedom to same.

It’s true that if an arbitrary exclusion or limitation is proposed on views of one kind, then the question will arise as to how we determine the degree of offensiveness of different viewpoints. For instance, I found the views expressed by Cyberella and the Infidel, who came over from the Jewish Task Force site to promote their Islamo-phobic campaign, , just as abhorrent as the anti-Semitic and racist views of the likes of Brett golden.

And as how to minimise their impact on this site, I lean towards the approach of simply not engaging them. Sure, each person should be extended the benefit of the doubt. But one only needs to exchange a few posts, or observe for a while how the poster debates his/her points with others, to determine if it’s worth spending time and effort debating.

Tethys

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-- Harry S. Truman