Censorship

[Make Them Die Slowly]

Originally Posted by Crimson Blade

Was just wondering if anyone else had bought the uk Blu of Sleeping With The Enemy?
I got this quite cheaply yesterday but was shocked that it had been cut compared to the previous dvd.
All previous cuts to this film had been waived some time a go according to the BBFC website, so maybe Fox has put the wrong version out on Bluray?

Don't worry, Boo will stalk them until the cuts are back in place.

[Boo Radley]

Okay guys, I got a new one this week but I haven't got a clue as how to word it without upsetting a few or getting myself banned!! I'll let my fingers go and see how it comes out. (As I said to the missus...)

This one is for the MODS!! (We are the Mods, we are the Mods, we are, we are, we are the Mods! )
Guys, guys, one thing!
When you read this, imagine me sitting here with a big grin on my face playing Devils Advocate. I'm not sitting here, "Having a go" or trying to insult anyone, having a "rant", jumping up and down or anything like that........cough, cough!!

Now, every discussion board on the internet has moderators and before anyone leaps down my throat, I think they are a good thing or we would just end up with people calling each other names and the strongest personality just bullying their view across, making others feel their points are not valid or discouraging them from posting at all and so in effect, Mods are a necessary evil and fall into the arena of "censors." (Ohh, here we go...!!)

I presume that you have a list of laws or guidelines that if a poster crosses over, then they will be reprimanded or banned?
Are these laws set in stone? What are they?
Or is it "Left up to the Mods own values and morals within a framework?" by which I mean is it as woolly and vague as our BBFC friends guidelines?
For example, if I wrote something that say, Demdike thought was out of order but Nos thought it was on the line and Biz Eye believed harmless, what would be the outcome?
If one Mod thought that I'd gone too far does he have the authority on his own to reprimand or ban me or would there be a meeting of the Mods? (On Brighton Beach!!)
Apart from being a bully or intimidating others what other criteria would suffice a Mods intervention?
What happens if a Mod takes a particular dislike to someone for reasons of their own and then is "sensitive" to posts from that person....?

We are all human and are susceptible to our own values and morals but that does not mean our own values and morals are the right ones.

So, "King Mod" bans me for writing something he feels is unacceptable on the forum. Do I have an appeal? Can I put forward mitigation as to why I wrote what I did and have a discussion about it sensibly, like adults, or is that it....banned with no recourse or justification except King Mods judgement in the ultimate Ferman-esque way?
What would happen if a lowly poster like me put in a complaint about a Mod? If I said that on most of my posts King Mod made comments that disagree with what I write and now I feel too intimidated to post more...would the same rules apply to the Mod as those the Mod would dish out? Who would decide, the Mods friend, another Mod, the Mod himself??

We have gone through, albeit briefly, the dumbing down of the population and the insidious PC brainwashing that goes on in Western society and have shown that people are all too ready to "decide" that things "offend" them in order to show the rest of us that they are a more enlightened human being than the rest of us Neanderthals, whether the comment was offensive or not. (Blackboard, Baa baa black sheep, that bridge has a slope on it, etc, etc!)
So I write about, say, the legality of zoophillia and MTDS (Ha!) decides that he is "offended" by my musings and complains to King Mod.
The subject is "Censorship" but are some subjects censored? For example are bestiality, paedophilia, coprophillia, necrophilia, growing illegal substances, bomb making from B&Q 101, etc, just NO-GO area's? Surely on the subject of Censorship everything that is censored is a viable subject to be explored and discussed in a valid manner? (Woah, woah, there Sunny Boy, I'm not advocating anything in the last two questions, okay?)
I have noticed that when people don't like the questions sometimes asked on different forums across the internet, they will pick on one sentence, like the above, and then try and accuse whoever stated it as "Proof Incarnate" that the poster is now advocating such practices and a vile human being. Really? Grow the up!!

Swearing. Now I don't want to put words into anyone's mouths here but in my experience, everyone uses "bad" language. I do, far too much in my normal conversations - it shows a poor vocabulary - but at times a good old swear word can convey so much more than just profanity. Personally, don't know about you, I also feel it can be cathartic and justified in context but if I write the word **** here, it will change when I post it to something else or will have stars and asterisks obliterating it, losing most of its impact in the process. Why censor a word we all use every day? I could understand if this forum had an age limit of 16 but most of us here have seen Scarface and no one thinks it's a crap film because of the profanity.

At the end of the day I believe we all share the unpalatable truth that censorship is a double edged sword. It IS needed but is then twisted and bent out of all recognition by those that wield it to suit their own vision of what is or isn't acceptable. I'm not suggesting for one minute the Mods on here act like that at all, in fact although I occasionally "rant" (I prefer, "express myself with conviction!" ) I have never had a Mod on here talk to me about my conduct or contributions in an adverse way.....yet. (The day is not done!)

Although I'm interested in how the Mods see their own role in the form of censors, what do the rest of you think.......or are you all worried the Wrath of King Mod will come down on your heads?

Right, gotta dig a foxhole now and hunker down......

[Nosferatu@Cult Labs]

Well, you have certainly raised an awful lot of points which can't be simply addressed.

Basically, the role of the moderators is to keep this place friendly and free from (overly) heated arguments, patronising/antagonising other users and discussing illegal content (which could land Cult Labs in legal trouble, not to mention losing the support of the labels we represent, who would frown on such things as the tacit support of illegal downloads). Even though something may not be to everyone's taste (such as coprophilia), as long as it isn't illegal, we would probably just advise the offended party to avoid the thread in question.

In answer to one of your questions, there are criteria for infractions, such as "trying to artificially increase own post count" and "deliberately antagonising others". Most of these situations are cut and dried/black-and-white but, when there is a situation which is much more in the grey areas, we do talk to one another in order to reach a consensus about which course of action to take.

It may sound a bit like 'Big Brother', but the idea is to keep Cult Labs as a place where everyone feels comfortable reading posts, joining in conversations/discussions and not feeling bullied or that this is somewhere where we don't mind people being belittled, patronised or insulted.

Does that make sense?

[bizarre_eye@Cult Labs]

Interesting topic, Boo

I wasn't a mod from the beginning and was enlisted a little later on so came into the game when there was more of a framework in place and the mod team was more of a 'well oiled machine'.

However, I can tell you that the rules as such are not 'rigid' by any means and are treated more as a set of guidelines. The mod team also discusses serious issues before any action is taken and it tends to sway more towards the majority. However, that said we rarely have any need to discuss any moderation issues in any length here as the members for the most part on CL are a generally friendly and respectful bunch.

That's not to say that we haven't had our fair share of issues on here, but like I mentioned above, these issues are discussed as a group and we have various methods of dealing with problems; sometimes a curt PM will do, other times we have to employ an infraction system which comprises of points - the more points you amass through infractions, then the closer you are to a temp or full time ban. These infractions have a expiry date too (unless you've been banned) but we rarely employ this system much anymore due to how chilled and friendly the place is. These infractions are by no means rigid either, as what may work in one case may not work in others. For instance, if a new member joined and went about spamming and or insulting people then the would be instantly banned and the offensive posts removed no questions asked, however if a long-standing member started spouting insults one night out of character, we're not just going to turn around and ban them without first determining what has provoked it and trying to calm them down via PMs etc. if possible.

As for 'unacceptable content', the forum rules can be found here as a sticky thread in the Welcome Centre and Noticeboard section, but to summarise, anything derogatory or insulting to another member is obviously a specific no-no, as well as posting links to download sites. We also heavily discourage conversations revolving around religion, politics, or sport - as they can (and have) caused arguments in the past, and to be fair have no place on a cult TV and film forum (along with some of the other subjects that you mentioned ).

There is also a report post button at the top of every post that is made (even by mods) on the forum, and if a member is feeling like a post has crossed a line, has the opportunity to click on this and message us in strict confidence with reasons why the post is unacceptable, and we will act if necessary after discussing as a group.

We don't 'censor' things as such though, only removing posts where it either contradicts one of our rules (spam/links/insulting posts) or if a member requests it (and in this case we'd have look into the posts in question).

As for swearing, this is a bit of a touchy subject as originally the swear filter was put in place as people were openly swearing in the Shoutbox which from an outsiders pov could put them off joining up here. CL was also beginning to enter a transitional period whereby Prisoner and TZ were coming on board bringing with them a new type of fan, and although CL has pretty much remained a horror and exploitation forum the majority decision was taken to censor the two 'worst' swear words. The main aim for us here is to create a friendly, relaxed environment with no prejudices, but as in life, there are always going to be conflicts along the way.

I don't think any of us see our roles as 'censors' though (also says the man at the BBFC ) more so keepers of the peace... however, as mentioned above I am lucky (and proud) to be a part of forum that tends to 'self-moderate' in a lot of respects thanks to all of our awesome members.

[Rondadoronron]

Yeah so shut the F**K Up Boo You C**T (this is by nomeans endorsed by cult labs and is meant as a joke)

[bizarre_eye@Cult Labs]

Originally Posted by Rondadoronron

Yeah so shut the F**K Up Boo You C**T (this is by nomeans endorsed by cult labs and is meant as a joke)

You self-censored yourself, so are forgiven

[Nosferatu@Cult Labs]

I would also add that, to a large degree, this place is pretty self policing and there have been situations where someone has been mouthing off and others have told them they are out of line, without any need for a moderator to step in, and they realised they have been inappropriate and apologised.

[Rondadoronron]

I apologise I meant to say TW*T.
Don't say it ill get me coat.

[Demoncrat]

No zoophillia?!?!?!


I'm off then........


Seriously, some of those "PC" examples were just the gutter press trying to fan the flames against Labour run councils in an era where we were attacked on all fronts Boo. Don't fall into "their" traps. There is plenty to offend us in this modern world. Poverty, War etc.
I choose to see this place as an oasis apart from the mainstream.

If this sounds patronising, apologies.

[Demdike@Cult Labs]

Originally Posted by bizarre_eye@Cult Labs

You self-censored yourself, so are forgiven

No he's not. Ban Him!!!!