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Apology from me on lack of moderation


Tony-OH

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It is not going to be a possibility to avoid discussion of some social issues on a Baltimore Orioles board in regards to The Angelos family or Adam Jones. Its part of who they are.

What is possible is that any posters or provocateurs that reference politicians, meme their likeness or talk about political parties and their underlying agendas on this board will be moderated. 

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1 hour ago, weams said:

It is not going to be a possibility to avoid discussion of some social issues on a Baltimore Orioles board in regards to The Angelos family or Adam Jones. Its part of who they are.

What is possible is that any posters or provocateurs that reference politicians, meme their likeness or talk about political parties and their underlying agendas on this board will be moderated. 

I'd argue there was quite bit of that from several parties in the two questionable threads. Was only one person reprimanded?

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Just want to go on record saying I agree with SJ.  If an issue of race comes up directly involving the Orioles organization (as in this case), it should be in bounds for discussion - but that is the only circumstance.  If it's not related to the team/organization, then it should be out of bounds.  If it strays off topic, moderation to either bring it back on topic or lock the thread is in place.  I understand what Tony is trying to do to avoid headaches for all, but I think you're going too far.

Just my $0.02.

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Also agree with Silent James and now Weams. The line between social issues, politics, and sports is non-existent. They are intertwined. 

I think when the conversation goes overboard, there should be moderation. The conversation happened. No one was hurt. It got shut down and that's what the moderator should do.  

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13 hours ago, SilentJames said:

One final thing that I feel must be said. 

Tony, who is trying to change anyone's opinion? You and I disagree about a great many things. That does not mean that conversation can not take place. It is not about proving one person right or winning the day. It is about the discussion. I feel you are invoking this rule because there are simply conversations you do not want to have. 

If someone is being immature about something, there are mechanisms in place here to deal with that person. Our own form of moderation seems to do a fine job keeping people in line and the most egregious amongst us at bay. What exactly concerns you so much about these topics that makes them so verbotten? I understand that emotions get high and heated over such things, but is the only option to simply nuke the world - especially when it was such a major event that directly impacts the team, its ownership and baseball? 

By locking and then deleting the thread we are basically just pretending that this did not happen. It did happen, and the reason things like this keep happening in the modern world is because we are too afraid to simply face the music and have the uncomfortable conversations. Now, I do not believe that this simple messageboard will solve the world's problems - but I do think that one step in that process is being unafraid to confront one's own views and a forum, like this one, which is a much more diverse place than we might realize is actually a very good place to start that. 

Most of us only go to maybe six or 10 websites on the regular. And the news we get from the internet is already tailor-made to our own preconceived political notions. The people we interact with on the internet usually already agree with us but a place like this and an entity like baseball cross the political divide in a such a way that there is genuinely a solid cross-section of views, experiences, and ideas. I'm not saying that OH should become Politico, but in extraordinary situations and events like what happened 48 hours ago some leeway should be given. 

James, it's not that I want people to ignore the issues, it's just the threads get out of hand way too quickly. Politics is way too hot of a topic and we've learned long ago that it just causes more problems than it fixes.

The Hangout is a community that is obviously based around being Orioles fans first and foremost. We all have differing political and religious opinions, and the problem is with today's climate, it is way too easy to get offended and start getting upset with one another. What I've found is that the Hangout is the one place where we can get away from all of that stuff and just talk Orioles, movies, Ravens, life stuff, etc, but not things that cause people to start grouping themselves in one corner or another.

The Hangout has been politics free since 2006 and it will stay that way. I appreciate your opinion and understand where you are coming from, but this is the final decision. Thank you for abiding by our rules and for being a longtime Hangouter.

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33 minutes ago, Babypowder said:

I'd argue there was quite bit of that from several parties in the two questionable threads. Was only one person reprimanded?

Questioning moderation publicly has never been allowed. Please follow the rules of the board. Thank you.

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1 hour ago, Babypowder said:

I'd argue there was quite bit of that from several parties in the two questionable threads. Was only one person reprimanded?

As I told you before, I have been burying a loved one a continent away with only a phone. I have not been moderating. I am able to focus a bit now. And wil be back full shortly. Tony handled everything as he has a right to.  

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Adam Jones is my favorite player. And when he originally made his comments about race in baseball I thought about replying to them.  But thought better of it.  Adam is strongly opinionated and outspoken player and it is probably what makes him a good leader on the team.  Do I agree with everything he says? No. But I don't think arguing it on a baseball board is going to be beneficial to anyone.  

I also am pretty moderate politically and got death threats once for posting my political beliefs on a Harley Davidson forum once because I was a communist.  And then I posted my political thoughts on a music forum and was called a fascist conservative  I think people these days are too extreme in their political views and if you don't agree 100 percent with their party doctrine you are the enemy.  Even if you agree with them 80 percent of the issues it is not enough. 

People don't use logic when discussing political issues.  They just get mad at each other.  It is a shame.  

 

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Could "political" threads be labelled as such and separated (like the rants) for people that want to discuss a topic? I agree it is inappropriate to mention politics and religion in a thread about sports, but then if AJ or John Angelo's makes a political comment it is Orioles related and folks might want to discuss it.

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3 minutes ago, Aristotelian said:

Could "political" threads be labelled as such and separated (like the rants) for people that want to discuss a topic? I agree it is inappropriate to mention politics and religion in a thread about sports, but then if AJ or John Angelo's makes a political comment it is Orioles related and folks might want to discuss it.

I love to talk politics and I've skirted the line here before.

 

I think keeping political talk to a minimum is a very good idea, for the most part it just causes bad feelings all around.

I just wish I could keep the folks I follow on Twitter on the topics that I follow them for.

 

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1 hour ago, Aristotelian said:

Could "political" threads be labelled as such and separated (like the rants) for people that want to discuss a topic? I agree it is inappropriate to mention politics and religion in a thread about sports, but then if AJ or John Angelo's makes a political comment it is Orioles related and folks might want to discuss it.

There's a clear record now of people integral to the team, like the Angelos' (both father and son) and Adam, making certain political issues part of what the Orioles' public identity is, regardless of whether everyone associated with the team goes along with their stances. So this presents a real dilemma for the Hangout. I think Aristotelian's suggestion is worth serious consideration.

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1 hour ago, Aristotelian said:

Could "political" threads be labelled as such and separated (like the rants) for people that want to discuss a topic? I agree it is inappropriate to mention politics and religion in a thread about sports, but then if AJ or John Angelo's makes a political comment it is Orioles related and folks might want to discuss it.

Not me. I stay totally away from political and religious discussions. My beliefs political and religious are my business. I want to discuss the Orioles. Not the beliefs and or the politics of the owner. That's a private matter. Just like the players and coaches their beliefs both politically and religiously are a private matter. They need not discussed in print. IMO 

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1 hour ago, Aristotelian said:

Could "political" threads be labelled as such and separated (like the rants) for people that want to discuss a topic? I agree it is inappropriate to mention politics and religion in a thread about sports, but then if AJ or John Angelo's makes a political comment it is Orioles related and folks might want to discuss it.

As Tony has stated, those threads need to be at another website. 

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2 minutes ago, Tx Oriole said:

Not me. I stay totally away from political and religious discussions. My beliefs political and religious are my business. I want to discuss the Orioles. Not the beliefs and or the politics of the owner. That's a private matter. Just like the players and coaches their beliefs both politically and religiously are a private matter. They need not discussed in print. IMO 

I agree completely. When social issues are in the spotlight for team members, or in the case of the last strike - the ownership, some mention of it will color discussion of the team. 

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1 hour ago, weams said:

As I told you before, I have been burying a loved one a continent away with only a phone. I have not been moderating. I am able to focus a bit now. And wil be back full shortly. Tony handled everything as he has a right to.  

Weams, my deepest sympathies to you and family. 

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