I'm in total agreement with Tony's stance and I expect to get modded myself if I start stepping over the boundaries of civil argument into slander, mudslinging, accusations and the like. If that happens then I just take it on the chin, maybe a few days later I'll realize that maybe I was a bit out of order; there are plenty of other subjects I can discuss without getting my hackles up. Sometimes I avoid commenting in some threads because I know I'll be tempted to stir things up.
When we discuss controversial subjects, like activities that are illegal in the UK, then things can get very heated and what was an interesting discussion can go down hill rapidly. It would be nice if we could all debate opposing views intelligently, calmly and rationally but let's face it we are emotional people who can be stubborn and proud so it just isn't going to happen all the time. When I read a reply that I consider reactionary or baiting then I have to think long and hard about the effect my emotional response might cause before I click the "submit reply" button.
We need someone to calm us down or to lock the thread from time to time or it would be anarchy and the only winners would be the verbal anarchists. People who want reasoned intelligent discussion would all leave.
I like the discussions on controversial and illegal activities but, as Tony mentioned, we do need to be very careful how we present it. Sometimes people can give the impression that they not only condone these activities within the UK but that they practice them too and they'd like to encourage you to do the same. When this attitude is in the thread it is obviously going to cause the reputation of this forum a lot of damage if it's allowed to continue.
Nobody got too upset about the roadkill thread (taking roadkill is technically illegal in the UK) but we would get upset if somebody condoned and practised the ancient art of seal clubbing. So we do need to have some kind of common sense in our choice of words and topic when we decide to discuss a subject.
When we discuss controversial subjects, like activities that are illegal in the UK, then things can get very heated and what was an interesting discussion can go down hill rapidly. It would be nice if we could all debate opposing views intelligently, calmly and rationally but let's face it we are emotional people who can be stubborn and proud so it just isn't going to happen all the time. When I read a reply that I consider reactionary or baiting then I have to think long and hard about the effect my emotional response might cause before I click the "submit reply" button.
We need someone to calm us down or to lock the thread from time to time or it would be anarchy and the only winners would be the verbal anarchists. People who want reasoned intelligent discussion would all leave.
I like the discussions on controversial and illegal activities but, as Tony mentioned, we do need to be very careful how we present it. Sometimes people can give the impression that they not only condone these activities within the UK but that they practice them too and they'd like to encourage you to do the same. When this attitude is in the thread it is obviously going to cause the reputation of this forum a lot of damage if it's allowed to continue.
Nobody got too upset about the roadkill thread (taking roadkill is technically illegal in the UK) but we would get upset if somebody condoned and practised the ancient art of seal clubbing. So we do need to have some kind of common sense in our choice of words and topic when we decide to discuss a subject.