Misuse of User Blogs and Commenting Abilities

It has become somewhat apparent that the blog section of the site has been misunderstood by some users. Likewise it has become equally as apparent that the comments from some users are directly against the Rules of this site. So far we have pretty much just let the blog section go on its own, and likewise have been very lenient on the comments as well, but as the site continues on it is becoming more obvious that we need to explain what the purpose of the blog section actually is, and what is actually an abuse of the system.

The purpose of user blogs is to facilitate users posting news entries on their own (without an immediate reliance on the team members), to facilitate users sharing personal stories related to 9/11 activism, and to post opinion pieces on current events and 9/11 related news. It is NOT the purpose of user blogs to facilitate continuing arguments on individual topics or opinions, to publicly question members of the community, or to post short pot-shots at other users.

Likewise, the purpose of the comments section is to facilitate users sharing their thoughts on the topic of the post, to link to further information related to the post, and to ask genuine questions about the subject matter. It is NOT the purpose of the comments section to facilitate personal attacks, post under-handed attacks, post profane images, confront other members of the community, or to facilitate user-to-user flame wars.

Right now our only real option on blog entries that are not reasonable is to simply delete them. In most cases I have entirely avoided this at all costs due to the inevitable questioning of motives, however there has to be some point in which we maintain the original purpose of the blog section and not allow it to become little more than useless posts always focused on arguing the same subjects over and over.

There are at least 20 subjects which 9/11 skeptics disagree over, and the user blog section was not intended to serve as a location from which those disagreements can be argued over. Put quite simply, this is a community blog site, not a message board forum, and it should not be used as such. In order for this site to continue to serve a purpose there has to be some level at which users can agree to disagree with others, and realize that there will always be points in which we disagree. Users who decide not to participate in this online community in any other way than to use it as a central hub from which to argue their pet topics will eventually find their blog abilities removed. My point is that users who can only focus on these differences and contribute nothing more serve little purpose to a site like this which is meant to serve to the greater 9/11 community regardless of our personal opinions.

As for comments, these have gotten better and worse at the same time. I have asked some individuals to take the high road when it comes to the comments and to contact me directly when someone else goes against the rules of the site. Since it is not possible for us to moderate every comment real time we frequently will have to scan through the site for inappropriate comments, in cases where almost every single comment is inappropriate there is little that we can do. So, if someone attacks you, or uses excessive profanity, etc. etc. - instead of responding with a comment which breaks the same rules, take the high road and notify us and let us have a chance to do the moderation ourselves.

In other words, please chill out people, and please realize this blog section is not a message board forum, and that users who contribute little to the site other than to 'stir the pot' will eventually have to be moderated to prevent the entire site from de-evolving into little more than a place to argue with others. The point of this site is not to prove exactly what happened in every facet of 9/11, the point is to bring focus to alternative 9/11 related news and activism. We can leave the arguements of proving who is right and who is wrong to the numerous 9/11 sites out there that already focus on these things, and instead focus on getting some real accountability and public awareness to facilitate asking questions and demanding answers.

p.s. This rant isn't meant to be directed at everyone, or even a majority. In general the blogs section has been quite a big hit as far as I'm concerned, but I am growing frustrated at being placed in the middle of ongoing arguements on the site that are really against the original intentions of the blog section anyways.

Sounds all fair to me.

Sounds all fair to me but not always clear.
How do you define "individual topics" in the context of 9/11 research?

the point of my rant was

the point of my rant was more related to the context of the reasoning behind the blog entry or comment.. it isn't what specific topics can or can't be discussed here, but rather what the purpose is behind a given blog entry or comment:

The purpose of user blogs is to facilitate users posting news entries on their own (without an immediate reliance on the team members), to facilitate users sharing personal stories related to 9/11 activism, and to post opinion pieces on current events and 9/11 related news. It is NOT the purpose of user blogs to facilitate continuing arguments on individual topics or opinions, to publicly question members of the community, or to post short pot-shots at other users.

i would give examples, but i dont want to go pointing fingers at anyone since i dont think this had been articulated before, but an example would be creating a blog entry something like 'Mr. Nine Eleven is nothing but a lying phony', or 'Anyone who thinks this is an idiot', things of this nature. likewise, blog entries created which are purely for the purpose of discussing/arguing of a subject are not the intention of the site (message boards not blogs would be the proper format for this).. it is one thing to have new news articles regarding a subject and discuss what affect that has on the issue, but it is another thing to simply rehash arguments that have already been had with no new information or even content in the post.. it is especially an issue when a given user does nothing on the site but focus on arguing with others over a given subject and nothing more.

im sure that is about as clear as mud, but the point is how they should be used, not what topics they should or shouldn't contain.

hope that helps, i will be contacting people and moderating them if/when something is posted which is questionable. so far there are only 2 blog entries that come to mind that i should have deleted but did not, and hopefully this blog entry will be useful for explaining the justification for deleting such blog entries should they occur again in the future.

Thank you for your claification DZ

Thank you for your claification DZ
I wrote my post below before I read it.

"In matters of science, the authority of thousands is not worth the humble reasoning of one single person."
- Galileo Galilei

dz

Want to thank you for encouraging bloggers to take the high road. The more we do this, the more effective the movement will be.

I would encourage 911Blogger to actively encourage other bloggers to share their stories of activism and information-sharing as this will give them the courage they need to continue on with the business of getting the truth out.

I can only speculate that there are others out there like me who live in a very conservative area and have no local support system for activism on 911truth, who face derision and professional repercussions for even daring to speak out. They need a little verbal support from the 911 truth "establishment." I can imagine that some of them might be scared away by some of the stuff they see on this site, which you described so eloquently in your post above.

Open discussion and vigorous debate is essential to a healthy democracy. 911Blogger should be an open forum, but arrogance and mean-spirited intolerance should indeed be identified as being unhelpful to the cause and I thank you for pointing that out in this post.

Please give the newbies your encouragement and support as that will help the movement grow and become stronger.

Taking the High Road Means Refuting the Low Road

Not so good when "off topic" includes Holocaust Denial...
People who have been frothing over "off topics" such as Holocaust Denial, and various degrees of anit-Zionism, have been diverting us from the focus on the hard evidence we have regarding 9/11.

A scientiic analysis that demonstrates that a 757 could not have passed thru a wormhole in the Pentagon, or that the strongest hypothesis for the molten metal in 3 buildings on 9/11 is explosives, do so much more for us that debates on the "off topics" that for some people is really their "on topic".

Unfortunately, some people have a perception that the 9/11 truth movement are really loonies who will believe all kinds of crap (e.g., the Apollo astronauts never landed on the moon, there neve was a Holocaust), and use forums such as thing one to pursue their crazy agendas.

They don't really belong in the 9/11 truth movement, they only want to exploit it, based upon their contempt for the earnest ones who are fighting the lies of the establishment.

I totally agree with this new policy: it is not censorship.

Those who want to argue there was no Holocaust and no moon landing have all the "freedom of speech" in the world to do so outside of this forum.

They need to get a life, and if they want to help the 9/11 movement, start focusing on the science and the news, and stop hurting us all with their not so hidden agenda.

oh my bad!

oh my bad!

?

What's the difference between an opinion piece and and a continuing argument and opinion?

Are you referring to the Blog posts that are one sentence long?

I assume your frustration is directed at people who "put you in the middle of ongoing arguments." I assume that means people who email you continually about people like myself and Ewing, in order to try to get us banned? Or people like Thomas Mattengly, who call upon you to rein in the vicious attacks flying around so people can actually have a conversation without being distracted?

I have never called for anyone to be banned, so I assume I cannot be the source of your frustration - other than by triggering others who want to shut me up since they don't like what I happen to be pointing out. But I hope I haven't been a source of irritation, but an asset to this community board, since I realize the important and valuable service you provide and would never abuse that or trivialize it.

I believe you articulated the goal of this board to be "focus on getting some real accountability and public awareness to facilitate asking questions and demanding answers."

For me the issue has moved way beyond "asking questions and demanding answers"...of whom? The government?

So my quibble here would be as to the focus of our activism. For me public awareness, at this time, is number one. Mostly because there are not enough of us who are educated on the topic at this time to be able to implement exactly what is necessary. I.E. Getting the perps in Jail and Out of Power. Right now. And re-instituting our Constitution.

I hope my goal is not too much at odds with your own.

If we try to answer questions on this board or get questions answered and we are reamed out for being "against the movement," how can we make the goal you have articulated "asking questions and getting answers?"

Don't we have to explore the questions and answers in order to know where we stand?

Don't we have to understand the issues in order to be able to intelligently discuss them with others?

Our whole topic is, anyway, taboo in the general society. How do we get around that?

Why do we imitate that situation here with certain topics "taboo?"

WW4 is being planned, the invasion of Iran is being planned, and last week we saw our Republic destroyed by the Military Commissions Act of 2006. And all that without even mentioning, and it hasn't been emphasized too much in the Mainstream Media.... the new Executive Orders which have been implemented with force of Law. Executive Orders which are Unconstitutional:

 

EO 10995 Allows the government to seize and control the communication media

EO 10995 Allows the government to seize and control the communication media

EO 10997 Allows the government to take over all electrical power, gas, petroleum, fuels and minerals

EO 10998 Allows the government to take over all food sources and farms

EO 10999 Allows the government to take over all modes of transportation and control of highways and seaports

EO 11000 Allows the government to mobalize civilians into work brigades under government supervision

EO 11001 Allows the government to take over all health, education and welfare funtions

EO 11002 Designates the Postmaster General to operate a national registration of all persons

EO 11003 Allows the government to take over all airports and aircraft, including commercial aircraft

EO 11004 Allows the Housing and Finance Authority to relocate communities, build new housing with public funds, designate areas to be abandoned, and establish new locations for populations

EO 11005 Allows the government to take over railroads, inland waterways and public storage facilities

EO 11051 Specifies the responsibility of the Office of Emergency Planning and gives authorization to put all Executive Orders into effect in times of increased international tensions and economic or financial crisis

EO 11490 Assigns emergency preparedness function to federal departments and agencies, consolidating 21 operative Executive Orders issued over a fifteen year period

11921 Allows the Federal Emergency Preparedness Agency to develop plans to establish control over the mechanisms of production and distribution, of energy sources, wages, salaries, credit and the flow of money in U.S. financial institution in any undefined national emergency. It also provides that when a state of emergency is declared by the President, Congress cannot review the action for six months. The Federal Emergency Management Agency has broad powers in every aspect of the nation.

___________________________________

This is what we are up against right now - so I realize it's a serious matter to get the Truth of 9/11 promoted quickly. We're in an emergency situtation.

I don't think discussing the broader issues of 9/11 Truth i.e. the historical context and the present political context, as well as the probably psychology and motivations of the Perps should be considered off-topic.

I agree, all of the information sharing that your board so generously provides should promote, encourage and enable activism. However, part of activism is discussing and learning from others in order to find the most appropratie goals and to hone our arguments, making them more and more approaching perfect, in order to bring in more and more people. For me, all of these issues are intertwined.

Much of the Military budget at this time is in Psyops. That is considered the key element in modern warfare. This board obviously will be a target for that. I don't envy your postion but I'm proud of what you are doing. Check out the "Art of War." All the perps read it, so so should we.

Thank you dz for your important work at this time. The information sharing on this board could be a key to getting what needs to be done implemented. So stay strong. "Let the Force Be With You" ;)