I've not been a frequenter of many message boards. I discovered my first one just over a year and a half ago so I don't know what it takes to be banned most places. I'm so non-contraversial I don't even get private messages from the mods telling me to calm down which I hear happens to some folk.
I do know that only the most egregious conduct got people banned on The Soapbox and at TehSoapbox, it's successor. However it's apparently quite common for PA to delete threads that say anything they disapprove of (yes, entire threads, not just the offensive posts- and lordie do they leave *some* offensive posts up for days! See the AW thread on some recent ranting and raving by one PA author. (You can't go to the PA message board and read those posts, they were eventually deleted, but they stayed up quite a long time.) and ban people for having opinions or *yikes* stating facts. Amazing.
The sense of it is hard to explain--perhaps it's like standing on the West side of the Berlin wall. You made it to West Berlin a while ago and have been enjoying the benefits of life in a free nation. You've managed to get the message to some of the folks you left behind and finally, they're ready to come from the East side of the wall. Imagine you've been faithfully waiting to welcome them day after day. Finally, a whole group come through at once. They all have amazing stories of their escape. You just want to dance, to celebrate what they've done. You feel good for the part you played. That's the imagry that comes to mind for me. Of course I'm a geezerette and maybe the cold war isn't something you can relate to...feel free to put your own take on it in comments. (yes, another shameless plug for comments, I have no other way to know if anyone reads this drivel!)
As I wrote the above I had a flashback to 1980 and Neil Diamond's song Coming to America. So I went and 'adapted' the lyrics to fit the occasion and posted them here.
Thanks for visiting! Come again soon.
Posted by Dawno at May 5, 2005 10:20 PM