Yep, this forum IS for the faint of heart. Not long ago Karenchild complained about my long thread about ecology and got the easy-to-steer Baron to move it.
To be fair, if a pencil dick bullethead like vanzandt is going to get the site in legal trouble dancing around the edges of threats...
Certain threads that go off the rails create an excessive amount of complaints that I have to deal with. So it's not really about moderating political opinions at all. It's about the conversation going way beyond political discussion into nonstop insults, threats, doxxing and personal attacks. So yeah, at some point I have to say "Ok, enough of this bullshit. I'm not spending one more second of my life dealing with more complaints about this thread, these certain members, etc."
I'm not suggesting you do or don't moderate the forum. That's your call. What I'm saying is you shouldn't mislead people by saying one thing and doing another. IMHO, that will cause unnecessary problems. But... it's your fiefdom so that's the last I'll say about it.
Well I'm glad it was @spy as I am nice now. I assume, I don't know what was deleted. Quoting posts people signed their name to though... Thought that was coloring ON the line, not over. However, it's annoying, takes admin time. Maybe "rarely moderated?".
I think @Baron should get a post box address so people can send Secret Santa gifts to show appreciation if he insists on keeping this free.
I don't think I'm saying one thing and doing another. The point of saying the politics forum is not moderated is so that people can feel comfortable participating knowing that their political opinions won't be tampered with. In other words, I don't have any political bias and have zero interest in manipulating the political debates that take place here. However, on occasion I am forced to step in occasionally to delete ridiculous non-political posts that contain nothing but name-calling and personal attacks. In my opinion, that's not moderation, it's TOS enforcement and damage control. Big difference. And the reason why is because TOS enforcement actions usually arise because I am flooded with complaints, either through the post reporting function, email message, or my phone ringing or receiving text messages at all hours of the night. You are free to disagree with my approach, but just know that how I operate is based upon my experience of doing this job 7 days per week for the last 27 years, and in no way am I trying to say one thing and then do the opposite.