Islam forum stifles any debate.

craggles

forum (plural forums or fora)

1. A place for discussion.
2. A gathering for the purpose of discussion.
3. A form of discussion involving a panel of presenters and often participation by members of the audience.
4. An Internet message board where users can post messages regarding one or more topics of discussion.



The Islam forum stifles any debate that the mods there are uncomfortable with. This is not what a forum should be.

http://www.boards.ie/vbulletin/showpost.php?p=66343104&postcount=30

Time and time again when I see someone question anything in this specific forum, or if the mods simply don't approve of the tone of a poster, bans are thrown out left right and centre. The post above is a clear example of a poster being banned for daring to question the stance of a moderator.

http://www.boards.ie/vbulletin/showthread.php?t=2055938992
Here is another example. The OP has a genuine question and he should be perfectly entitled to ask it, despite the strong arm nature of the Islam forum charter. He is even humble and apologetic in his tone, anticipating a backlash from the mods before it even happens.

There is absolutely no need for such heavy handedness in any forum. I would go so far as to say that it defeats the purpose of having a forum if such discussion is muted completely by moderators who feel uncomfortable with it.

Regardless of the sensitive issues of such religions I still find this unacceptable in a place like Boards.ie.

oscarBravo

craggles wrote: »

The OP has a genuine question and he should be perfectly entitled to ask it, despite the strong arm nature of the Islam forum charter.

The forum charter sets out what is acceptable in a given forum. Each forum has it's own ethos, which may vary widely from forum to forum.

Why do you think it's OK to go against this particular forum's charter? If you don't think the charter should be as it is, isn't that a separate question?

craggles

I disagree with the charter and moderation of that forum because both aim to prevent any debate which the moderators there are not comfortable with. I have given examples of this and it goes against the very definition of what a forum should be.

oscarBravo

There are two (or possibly three) different issues here.

The first is the forum charter. You disagree with the charter - fair enough, but it's a long-standing charter, it's there for a reason, and it has received the tacit approval of the site owner. If you have an issue with Islam, you'll need to take it elsewhere, because that's not what the charter is for.

The second is the moderators' enforcement of the charter. As I've said, each forum has its own charter, which sets the scope and tone of the discussion within that forum. Some forums are more strictly moderated than others, and Islam - unsurprisingly - is fairly strictly moderated.

The possible third is the suggestion that the forum is more strictly moderated than the charter allows for. I don't necessarily feel that it is, but you can make a case for that if you like.