Moderator complaint: fitzgeme

Quacksalber

I am new to this forum and posted on the following thread about dental amalgam fillings.

http://www.boards.ie/vbulletin/showthread.php?t=2055133828&page=3

I engaged in debate which was on topic with valid points and provided references. I did not use swear words or say anything abusive. I did question a previous posters (fitzgeme) expertise on the area - this same poster happens to be the moderator. I believe I am entitled to question someones expertise if its is relevant of the discussion am I not ?

In return I have been banned for daring to disagree with/challenge the poster/moderator and his response on the thread has been abusive - using swears to denigrate my references whilst simultaneously admitting to not having read them.

The reasons I have been giving for my banning via pm are "bad attitude, insulting the mod, annoying mod with PMs. Agressive. Topic not for this forum."

I do not believe my posts had a bad attitude or agressive but are clearly wishing to engage in debate about a topic I happen to know alot about. My topic was clearly in line with the previous debate. AS to annoying the mod with PM's. I sent one message to the mod in his capacity as a poster on the thread as I was not sure he had seen my post. I would happily post my pm here but I have not kept a copy - please feel free Mr Super-Mod to look it up if you will.

It should also be noted that the moderator claims to be a dentist and as this profession has deeply vested interests in the topic being debated on the thread I put it to you that my banning from the thread amounts to censorship surrounding a topic that the moderator has vested interests in - since his livelyhood is parlty made up from placing amalgam fillings.

I request that:
a) my ban is lifted
b) the thread is unlocked
c) this moderator is not allowed to practice censorship on issues where he clearly has conflicting interests given his profession

GuanYin

I looked this over.

To be perfectly honest, you're approach was both confrontational and excessive. You PM'd and replied "demanding" information from another poster (who happened to be a mod).

If you wish to engage in discussion in a forum, a certain level of civility is expected. By all means make your point, by all means stand by your assertion on an issue. However you can do so without being aggressive.

Your style of debate is probably what got you into trouble here. Apart from PMing a user you are debating with in a thread, questioning someone's education based on the bias of your argument is over the top.

Personally, I don't think your posts read very well and I'm not privy to the PM you sent, but if it is like the posts I can understand why fitzgeme reacted as he did.

As for your proposed resolutions.

a). I will comment on this shortly.
b) That won't be happening right now.
c) That isn't quite how I see it. Fitzgeme has the education and the knowledge. The burden of proof is actually on you in this case and you haven't made a strong case. Your accusation here is both exaggerated and quite frankly, offensive.

BuffyBot

Having had a look at your postings, you do come across quite badly.

I'm willing to go along with what is said above

btkm8unsl0w5r4

The old mercury/amalgam debate is an old one which will not be resolved on this Internet forum. The dental profession is always on the back foot with this because somehow anyone who says amalgam is safe must be a liar even though white fillings are more profitable for us? Anyway, more importantly the scare mongering that the anti amalgam people put forward serve only to whip up fear in people who are already fearful of dentists. This does nothing to improve the oral health of the population.

Regardless of the debate...the posters replies I felt were confrontational and aggressive. He has few posts and no credentials on the dental forum. He does however have a strong sense of entitlement as a keyboard warrior. I stand by my decision and am sorry if the poster feels hurt by this. The dental issues forum is on a fine line at the moment. More and more people are reading boards and the media is getting hold of information on here and using it as fact. I also feel my position as a poster on the board is untenable but I will continue to moderate even though any time I do so, I must offen somebody.

Quacksalber

Right. I had an eloquent and selubrious answer all typed out and then my stupid compter wiped it. Suffice it to say, if this is the style of censorship-cum-moderation practised around here, then I regret even signing up.

BuffyBot

Well, we're always sorry to hear that - but at the end of the day, numbers speak for themselves.

The vast majority of our users appear to be able to function within the norms we've established. We hope that you can do the same and keep contributing, but ultimately the choice is yours, not ours.