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Arslan Jumaniyazov
Joined: May 13, 2004
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A Note to the Moderators
March 29, 2009 - 09:45 PM
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This is probably my last message here, unless moderators decide to change their authoritarian behavior, of course. I have been here almost five years. I have seen many participants, including moderators, come and go. This used to be a better place--both in terms of having more intellectually rigorous discussions and guidance of the discussions by the moderators. It is no longer the case, and the moderators bear a significant responsibility for the current quality, or lack thereof, of discussions we have here these days.
There used to be moderators who had the humble courtesy of consulting experienced participants. The present moderators assume that the tig guidelines is a sacred text which has a strict interpretation defined by the current moderators and it should be strictly followed by everyone.
Moreover, present-day moderators have developed a new tradition of blocking entire discussion threads. What, pray tell, do you want to achieve with that? It was a couple of weeks ago that I logged in to post to the discussion "Iran's Preconditions" and was surprised to see that it was blocked. Now, a few days ago, our super-wise moderators decided to block another discussion thread. The reason? There were many complaints. Well, if that is the case, why don't you deal with specific comments and specific persons against whom complaints were leveled? Why don't you take appropriate measures against specific persons violating the guidelines (if you are so strict about that) instead of blocking entire discussion threads?
It was also mentioned that some members had posts personally attacking other members. Why is it ok to attack entire groups of people (e.g. Palestinians or Jews) but not ok to attack a specific person who attacks entire groups of people?
My last message (unless you guys change your authoritarian attitude): grow up, learn from older moderators, and, heck, learn from participants who've had more experience here than you did.
And good luck in finding more participants and a greater diversity of opinions!
Arslan
This post was edited on: 2009-03-29 at 09:48 PM by: Arslanik
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Omar ibn Anjum
Joined: Mar 17, 2009
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Re: A Note to the Moderators
March 29, 2009 - 09:48 PM
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Though I have only been here a little while, I agree. 
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Mwashighadi
Joined: Oct 9, 2005
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Re: A Note to the Moderators
March 30, 2009 - 06:04 AM
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They say "The greatest enemy to Freedom is the respect for it"
With Freedom comes responsibilty and I hope Omar and Arslan's griverances gets addressed and I also that they too will get to understand where the moderator is coming from so that ultimately it is a win-win. We have this forum becuase we desire to talk,. share and build not destroy, mend not tear, unite not disperse, discuss not argue and I know we will achieve these things no matter how long it takes.We do that everyday anyway.
I hope Arslan will continue writting because we are waiting to read, show me a society that has stoped talking to each other and I will show you a society at war.
I know we prefer to talk.
Lets continue talking
Sere (Taita for peace).
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Luke Lieberman
Joined: Feb 13, 2003
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Re: A Note to the Moderators
April 3, 2009 - 09:56 PM
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Hear Hear!
I've posted thousands of times, I left for a beat but when I came back the level of debate was considerably lower.
What I would say to the moderators - is don't scratch that itch to exercise power.
In a well moderated discussion you would not even notice that there were moderators.
Sometimes you have to let people fight it out - Arslan and I fought some serious battles - now we are good friends.
my last thought - possibly on this website - political correctness is the death of honest debate
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Liam O'Doherty
Joined: Dec 13, 2008
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Re: A Note to the Moderators
April 4, 2009 - 06:21 PM
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Hi there TIG members, especially Arslan and Luke.
Thank you for the feedback.
First, I'd admit that a mistakes have been made and that I share in the responsibility. Apologies. I'd like also to respond to the issues which you have raised, humbly explain my perspective and tell you what I am going to do to address these issue in the future; however, this will take some time and I have an exam (Saussure & Lacan) which I really, really need to study for.
In short: A lot of your statements about my intentions, my strict interpretation of the TIG guidelines and my desire to stop debate about tough issues are incorrect. I am committed to doing what I can to promote the dialogue TIG enables.
I believe the source of this problem is too few moderators on the boards, and I will be giving proper access to some additional moderators very shortly.
For first steps, I have unlocked the Gaza thread and I have sent an email to Mekhala, the other current admin so we can effectively follow up.
Any feedback regarding behavior on the TIG discussion board, suggestions for empowering more productive discussions or about the evolution of the TIG guidelines and procedures is certainly welcome. It is my goal to make TIG as member driven as possible and I respect your opinions as well as the significant contributions you have made to our forums.
Your patience and understanding are greatly appreciated, as is your participation with TIG.
Sincerely,
Liam
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Mekhala Chaubal
Joined: Dec 17, 2008
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Re: A Note to the Moderators
April 6, 2009 - 01:02 PM
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Hello TIG members, especially Arslan and Luke,
This is Mekhala, and I am currently the other moderator who works on the forums. Thank you for your comments, and the opinions you have expressed in them, because well, that's the point of having discussion forums smile. While I agree that the rules of discussion have not been adhered to, I do disagree about the moderators miusing forum rules, simply because, we only consider locking a forum after sending a number of prior warnings to members who do not follow the guidelines. These guidelines, (where I agree, have much room for improvement), are nonetheless important to make TIG a democratic place for discussion. I too, like Liam, fully invite questions, comments and suggestions for improvement,and do think that while locking a forum can be harsh, perhaps members can suggest other ways of ensuring that discussion rules about respect, diplomacy and most importantly, about acceptance of differences in opinion are adhered to. In all cases, feedback is very much welcome, and perhaps if we all make the effort to keep the discussion boards meaningful and constructive, we can perhaps consider changing forum lock rules as well.
I hope this answers the points you have brought up, and also, welcome any questions, comments or suggestions you may have.
Sincerely,
Mekhala.
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Robert
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Re: A Note to the Moderators
April 13, 2009 - 01:20 AM
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I would like to see other threads re-opened.
Is TIG policy to allow monitors to edit other peoples posts, then continue on to berate them? after edit of course.
Is Aymanelhakea that shallow? If anything his actions simply confirm my beliefs.
I certainly do not agree with everything people like Arslanik or Omar have said. However I would never think about silencing them. In fact I'm even trying to view things from their perspective. Gagging personal opinions, doe's not take us down the path of open-discourse.
Embracing political correctness and shaming others into complying, has hindered open and honest discussions needed to be had in this world over issues of race,religion, etc..
We’re encouraged to celebrate diversity and embrace differences, but only the good stuff. We can’t talk about or even acknowledge the bad without being called names or censored. Honest dialogues aren’t really honest all.
Do we accomplish anything by changing words and not attitudes?
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Saladin
Joined: Oct 1, 2002
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Re: A Note to the Moderators
April 19, 2009 - 06:38 AM
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Arslan, I liked your statement:
It was also mentioned that some members had posts personally attacking other members. Why is it ok to attack entire groups of people (e.g. Palestinians or Jews) but not ok to attack a specific person who attacks entire groups of people?
In that sense, sometimes moderators are compelled to intervene.
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Arslan Jumaniyazov
Joined: May 13, 2004
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Re: A Note to the Moderators
April 19, 2009 - 05:43 PM
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I am glad to hear this open discussion about this topic and the willingness of the moderators to review the questions I and Luke have raised. I hope, the discussions threads will be moderated better in the future.
Arslan
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