Thread: Scooter Libby's Sentence Commuted

Originally Posted by Jonedangerousli

I'm confused. Is it against the forum rules to discuss sexual orientation?

It's against the rules to get off topic, which this thread has. Further, it's NOT a good idea to have discussions which deal in political, religious, etc. ideology... history has proven that they almost always end up getting out of control. The last time this happened we lost several good members because eventually tempers flared and people started saying mean spirited things. If you want to discuss these things, I suggest you it somewhere else. This is a razor forum.

What would you suggest an appropriate "Off-Topic" subject would be? Isn't "Off-Topic" by definition having to do with something other than the "On-Topic" subject of straight razors?

I'm not trying to be argumentative here but I detest censorship. I've been around forums since BBS days and this thread has been one of the most civil discussions about controversial ideas I've seen.

If you want to lose members censor them. But that is in itself off topic from the specific complaint that I have regarding your post. If you review the thread you will find that I have not been involved in the "off-topic" part of this particular part of the conversation. As a moderator your posts are held to a higher standard than that of a standard member. At least they should be.

Reviewing the threads in the "Off-Topic" forum I find a thread that has 126 responses and almost 2000 views entitled: "New Immigration bill is TREASON". Using your own stated "rules" that thread should have been locked immediately. I see a lot of debate there but to the best of my knowledge it didn't "get out of control". Must be something different about this one.

This thread has turned a bit uncivil, and definitely drifted off of the original topic. I thought it might be a good discussion. It started as one, but has since drifted WAY off topic.

If your post:

• doesn't deal with the issues surrounding Mr. Libby
• doesn't maintain proper decorum as outlined in the membership terms
• isn't apologizing or respectfully disagreeing with someone's post without a hostile air

then don't click on the reply button.


This isn't about me, azjoe or another moderator censoring anyone. It's about us censoring ourselves through self-discipline. It's about learning how our friends and fellow shavers around the world, and how their government deals with issues like this. It's about respecting one another's opinions and having some polite discussion.

Gays, homosexuals, who Jesus would and wouldn't hang out with are all irrelevant to this topic. So, let's get this back on topic where it belongs.

I wonder what kind of razor Libby uses? Bet he's an electric man.

Originally Posted by Wildtim

I just hope that under appeal a judge says:

"hey no crime, so how can there be any penalties resulting from the investigation of a non-crime? Case dismissed"

That would restore my faith in the justice system. I don't expect that, but I hope.

God's I hate fearing my government. Also feeling as if it has gotten totally out of our (the peoples) control.

Well, Libby was convicted of a crime. President Bush acknowledged that, and voiced respect for the jury's decision. From what I hear, the jury felt that Libby was not alone in wrong-doing, but he was the only one being tried by them. I don't know all the facts of the case, so I can't comment directly on whether Libby's commuted sentence is just or unjust. But it always bugs me when someone gets special treatment because of their connections. It's not right, and not fair to us lesser mortals who don't have personal friends in the Executive branch. (BTW, sorry I got off topic earlier!)

Norm

Originally Posted by Jonedangerousli

What would you suggest an appropriate "Off-Topic" subject would be? Isn't "Off-Topic" by definition having to do with something other than the "On-Topic" subject of straight razors?

I'm not trying to be argumentative here but I detest censorship. I've been around forums since BBS days and this thread has been one of the most civil discussions about controversial ideas I've seen.

If you want to lose members censor them. But that is in itself off topic from the specific complaint that I have regarding your post. If you review the thread you will find that I have not been involved in the "off-topic" part of this particular part of the conversation. As a moderator your posts are held to a higher standard than that of a standard member. At least they should be.

Reviewing the threads in the "Off-Topic" forum I find a thread that has 126 responses and almost 2000 views entitled: "New Immigration bill is TREASON". Using your own stated "rules" that thread should have been locked immediately. I see a lot of debate there but to the best of my knowledge it didn't "get out of control". Must be something different about this one.

SRP is one of the least moderated razor forums around... that's a testament to the fact that our members have good self control most of the time. No one has ever been banned. So please don't accuse me of heavy handed censorship... that's far from what goes on here. Look, we don't have to have an "off-topic" forum at all... but we do for those topics which don't quite fit in the razor, shaving, vendor, etc. forum definitions. It should be generally assumed, however, that subjects discussed in the off-topic forum will still somehow be related to str8 razors and wet shaving... or at least be informational and enjoyable to the entire community. Now, the fact that we don't enforce that concept with an iron fist should be taken that we simply are tolerant of such things as long as they stay civil. In my opinion the gay issue part of this thread was starting to display the tell-tale signs of heating up... so it was time to ask those individuals to get back on-topic. I'm sorry you were offended by that.

I was not offended by your asking folks to get back on topic. I was offended by the manner in which you did it. Maybe I didn't make that clear enough. Your "Kapisch" remark was far from civil. Had we been in a real life situation and you had said what you did the way you did you would have received a stinging rebuttal from me. Go back and read your "request" again.

Originally Posted by Jonedangerousli

I wonder what kind of razor Libby uses? Bet he's an electric man.

You think? I pictured him as a Gillette Fusion Phantom guy. That sleek black design, 5 blades of cutting power.

Originally Posted by sensei_kyle

You think? I pictured him as a Gillette Fusion Phantom guy. That sleek black design, 5 blades of cutting power.

I'm thinking electricity. Self cleaning. Portable, no water needed, can shave in the back of the limo.

Originally Posted by azjoe

SRP is one of the least moderated razor forums around... that's a testament to the fact that our members have good self control most of the time. No one has ever been banned. So please don't accuse me of heavy handed censorship... that's far from what goes on here. Look, we don't have to have an "off-topic" forum at all... but we do for those topics which don't quite fit in the razor, shaving, vendor, etc. forum definitions. It should be generally assumed, however, that subjects discussed in the off-topic forum will still somehow be related to str8 razors and wet shaving... or at least be informational and enjoyable to the entire community. Now, the fact that we don't enforce that concept with an iron fist should be taken that we simply are tolerant of such things as long as they stay civil. In my opinion the gay issue part of this thread was starting to display the tell-tale signs of heating up... so it was time to ask those individuals to get back on-topic. I'm sorry you were offended by that.

In the interest of putting this to rest and possibly preventing any such situations in the future, and since I have a policy of never mentioning a problem without having tried to find a solution first, I'll offer the following suggestion:

Create a standard post that all moderators are required to use when a thread veers off-topic. Possibly create two, if you wish to give a warning. This will accomplish a couple of goals: 1. it will eliminate the need for a moderator to try to compose a post that is not offensive, and 2. It will reduce the time a moderator must invest to get a thread back on track. A couple of example posts follow. Feel free to use them, modify them, delete them as you wish.

Example #1: Warning.

"Gentlemen/ladies, this thread has wandered off topic. Please restrict your posts to the original topic. Thank you. signed, SRP moderator"

Example #2: Final.

"Gentlemen/ladies, this thread was wandered off topic again, or it has never returned to the topic since the initial warning was issued. Please restrict your posts to the original topic. Any further posts that are not related to the original topic will result in this thread being locked and/or deleted. Thank you. signed, SRP moderator"

Joe, I enjoy being a part of this community. This will be my last post in this thread that is related to this secondary off-topic situation. If you would care to continue the discussion I'll be happy to do so in private. Otherwise I'll consider the case closed.