Controversial subjects

[Justme]

Pardon me but I've had two posts closed down for no other apparent reason other than paranoia of what might follow. One is because of the comments of a replier to the post and had nothing to do withe the post itself.

Are those wishing to discuss philosophical issues that have been went over several times in both printed fiction and the silver screen to be silenced by ideologues who can't turn off their activist buttons long enough to see there is a larger world out there than themselves.

Truth is that anybody can bring politics into any discussion, they just need not be able to see past their own nostrils when it comes to righting some perceived wrong and something set them off.

What I attempt is not to cause any controversy, but to inspire thought. Surely those who pen stories know the need for inspired thought. I'm not saying that my thought is always inspired or even inspiring, but one thought often times opens up the flood gates of many thoughts that may just bring forth inspiration. I've gotten most of my ideas from responses to topics that I've previously posted.

Why not target the posters that turn topics ugly than the topics themselves. Otherwise anyone who says the wrong thing, anywhere is subject to have their posts locked and those who cause the issues in the first place are free to continue to reign havoc on any persons thread anytime they get a wild hair up their butts.

 

[Mindfire]

I read your threads. They weren't closed because of paranoia. They were closed because they edged dangerously close to political rather than philosophical discussion. And, not sure if you know this, but politics is forbidden on the forums.

 

[Steerpike]

Yes, as Mindfire says we don't allow discussion of contemporary politics here, and some threads more than others are apt to go down that route. The thing to keep in mind is that there are many forums out there devoted to these issues, and some writing sites that also have a place for discussing them. These sites are active and easy to find. If you want to discuss as topic that isn't within the guidelines here, simply post the same subject matter on a forum that does allow such discussion.

From my experience here, I think these types of philosophical ideas are better received if presented within the context of something you are working on, so that you're really tying the issue in to something to do with your writing. But with the ease of access of so many forums across the internet, the fact that a certain topic isn't discussed here doesn't really deprive any members of engaging in a discussion of the same subject elsewhere.

 

[Devor]

The threads were closed because they weren't just philosophy, but political philosophy. They were designed to discuss political topics in the abstract. Having taken a Political Science course, I could look up these discussions or ones very similar in the textbook on my bookshelf.

They were not close to violating the policy. In my opinion, they were in violation.

 

[Justme]

What part of this topic was in any way political?

Is freedom a right or a responsibility?

referance

This was shut down not because of the title but because of the response I received from this T.Allen.Smith

Which started out by saying

I have strong opinions on this matter but I'm going to refrain from posting them here. Due to the subject's nature, comments here could quickly degrade to a discussion on political ideologies.

Freedom is not political in any way or form unless you are some partisan imbecile who sees everything in a political mind frame.

 

[T.Allen.Smith]

Justme,
The question was not phrased simply as:

Is freedom a right or a responsibility?

But continued the question with:

If freedom is a right then shouldn't be given to everyone and if so then what precautions should free people place on themselves to guarantee that their freedom doesn't infringe on the freedoms of others?

In that light, how does it not delve into the realm of political philosophy? The above statement would lead to answers geared towards the governance of people. Restrictions "placed on themselves" can be construed as "self-governance" as much as "legislation by the people for the people".

Regardless of whether or not you'd consider a person that would respond in that way an imbecile, the high probability of such a discussion on these forums is what the moderators are guarding against.

Subjects like this are potentially inflaming. Further, they don't really have a place in a forum dedicated towards craft, industry, and enjoyment of literature.

If the conversation was relative to a story idea or execution, then this would be totally different. For example, there are several threads which discuss religions in stories and created cultures. None, however, should exist on the potentially divisive and inflammatory concepts of real contemporary religions.