THREADS-What CAN & what CANNOT ?

[HeartRockSingapore]

As forum participation increases, it becomes more difficult to manage. Forum management would like the exchange to be as freely as possible withouot interference, but is that really possible? It would be most difficult where there is no clear guideline as to what is desirable in a particular forum and what is not, except what is permissible within the law of the land.

Can poilitics be discussed in a music forum? What about religion? What about a PERSON or a CORPORATE PERSON?

It is also very difficult for a forum moderator to be alert to everything that happens outside the forum but affects the forum directly or indirectly. For instance, The Singapore Police Force has in no uncertain terms stated that the Picture of Sam (Hung At Dawn) be taken off all publicity materials before the concert was permitted to proceed, but the picture remains in this website before and after the event. This is an example of the difficulties faced by forum operators and bring problem upon oneself.

So what can and cannot appear in this forum has to be decided before it grows to big to control.

just my half cents worth.

 

[mikemann]

Hmm.... I tot James has set the guidelines clear before on the theme, which is music and music related.

Limitation wise is very hard to determine and implement. Sometime, it's best to let it be and be on hand to remedy it if it gets out of hand.

I think we should be very glad and grateful that the govt has already 'relaxed' rulings and guidelines on such issues. It's in my opinion, in line with the maturaing of the nation. In the past, stricter rules are in place for a reason, maybe we were not ready yet then. Now as society progresses, little by little, leeway given should be cherished and not abused.

Just like a little child growing up, freedom is tied to the maturity of the person. So likewise the case is similar.

We must still be vigilant against "bad apples" who take advantage of the situation, and spoil the image of the general hardworking people. So as to prevent backward steps of progress.

Progress, Singapore!!!!!

 

[stillwater]

maybe something ammendments needs to be done to:

Kopi-tiam - "Say anything under the Sun!"

 

[serialninja]

well.......i suppose we could just stick to the legal/illegal guidelines. like, slander and libelous stuff is of course, unlawful, and so are statements phrased to incite religious or racial discrimination.

there's no reason why we shouldn't talk about politics as long as our facts are accurate, and there's no reason why we can't talk about race or religion as long as we understand that racial and religious stereotypes are not the standard by which we can or should judge others.

 

[stars]

but the problem lies with these topics is not the maturity of the forumites and posters here but rather a issue of sensibility and personal judgement.

e.g some people think stem cells are just plain evil and satanic , others view them as hope for a greying world fraught with ever increasing bugs , medical costs and illnesses.

one might take a moral stand , a religious stand or a plain logical stand of reason in the debate. neither is right , neither is wrong.

just too much grey area in certain areas, that until we push the boundaries that we can discover what is the level of social tolerance and perception before there are boundaries that we may abide and limit ourselves too. OB markers i suppose. and even then , with undefined and undemarcated borders , whos to say that is the new or old border ? borders might be unchanging e.g a debate of any sort discrimination or something which is constantly fluid and changing day by day e.g presidential elections 2005

question is not so much of how the line is drawn but where to draw the line.

 

[sanXp]

I suppose we can draw up general posting rules that everyone has to agree to before posting? Any action taken will be quoted from the rules, so there will be no argument. Any person unhappy with the rules can choose not to post.

 

[Dirt]

hey ho let`s go!!!!!!!

i dun think it`s gonna make any difference .....seriously...
we`ve been having this probs since this webbie started...i know i`m the `rebel`...but i`m just pointing out the mistakes n wrong infos others r passing in threads...if i`ve offended anyone...it`s up 2 u to take it in la....

but hey...wat i`m trying to point out here is...if u think that sumthing u wanna point out or put in the thread is gonna cause trouble or a bad debate..then think twice...i doubt sum of the users here r doing so...
n it`s up to people like us to know where to stop....if it`s going outta hand just stop it n end it there...S.I.M.P.L.E!!

even if we set guidelines...if there`s a cuckoohead who wants to play punk n stir up trouble..he`ll do it....n by the time we realise...it`s already too late....damage is done....

 

[HeartRockSingapore]

Re: hey ho let`s go!!!!!!!

No Dirt, I do not think you should single out yourself as the culprit. Let's be honest, all of us who are active in posting are at one time or another contributed to someone's displeasure. It takes maturity to manage affairs here and more so knowing when to be graceful. Nonetheless guidelines are mirrors for us all to see the blemishes in ourselves, without which cultivates anarchy.

 

[Dirt]

hey ho let`s go!!!!!!!

yeah true....

but the most important msg to pass down to all users is....b considerate....b reasonable.... m i right to say that?? :lol: :lol:

all of us wanna make frens here....we wanna learn new stuffs....we nwanna improvise ourselves... :lol: :lol: :lol:

 

[serialninja]

i think the forum is a place to exchange opinions and information, not to draw moral judgements on others. in the stem cell example, some may think it's evil, some may think it's useful. both can agree on facts of stem-cell research, though. cells are harvested at the blastocyst stage where cell differentiation hasn't taken place, and there are no nerves, which means there is no pain. it is, in essence, a collection of dividing cells and physically and mentally not more than that.

the point of contention here is whether you think it is spiritually more than this collection of dividing cells. whether this bunch of dividing cells is already human or whether it isn't human yet (but has the potential to be human), and whether it has human rights even though it has yet to actually become more than a clump of dividing cells.

at this point, individuals will have differing views. the forum can act as a way of seeing different perspectives on issues, which is important for growing knowledge and understanding the society we live in. but it's unlikely that in controversial issues people will be convinced by another's arguments. therefore, the forum doesn't seem an appropriate place to try and convince others to adopt your views (religious or moral), nor does it seem a fair platform on which to presume to know enough about other individuals so as to pass a moral judgement on them.

i think it is in fact, a matter of maturity. i know there are a fair number of young forummers here and i'm not sure how composed they remain during controversial topics, but to be fair, there are adults who aren't capable of remaining composed under pressure. so it's a fallacy to assume that just because they're young, they're not mature enough.

further, to set rules beyond what the law has already stated undermines any credibility we have when we complain about a lack of freedom of expression. i constantly hear people whining about how closed singapore is. boo hoo. the only law singapore has restricting freedom of speech is the one that makes statements that incite religious or racial hatred illegal. if we make even more rules restricting freedom of speech beyond what the goverment has put in place, we have no right to complain that there's a lack of expression here. we can't blame others for all our issues. in this example, the government passes 1 law, we put in a bunch of extra rules of our own accord, and then we complain that our lack of freedom of expression is all their fault. that's not right, and it's obvious.

let's grow up a little and let people post what they're thinking in a responsible way. treat people like adults and respect their opinions, and give them a chance to express themselves. give people some leeway, but hold them responsible to their posts. if they post something illegal, report them. if a thread gets out of hand, close it. aside from that, i honestly think the forum should remain as it is.

cheers,
dharma s.

 

[turbochicken]

thing is, alot here infact aren't adults and need to be corrected and educated on certain matter-of-fact issues and perceptions coz they dish out premature judgements.

while it's healthy to respect others' views on issues sensitive or less, it's necessary to upkeep dignity in areas like religion and politics.

would encourage those here to engage discussions without pun, and the receiving end to filter out the unintended sarcasm or whatsoever. not all topics and replies suit encouraging reponse; some just beg to be corrected.

even musically, preference aside, certain misconceptions just need to be trimmed and debunked. we're here to encourage and improve, not live and let live.

i personally prefer to just stick to music discussion, since soft is a music forum and website.

 

[sanXp]

I still think that there should be rules so that everything will be more clear cut. The system should be diplomatic where everyone can vote on the rules. Once there is a rule system in place, moderators can be chosen to enforce the rules, making the job easier for James and allowing soft to expand gracefully. Having so many members, forums, threads and posts, having James moderate the whole forum based on his opinion might cause a problem in the future, "If he can do it, why can't I?" Maybe James might have thought it was ok at first but changed his opinion, or he might have completely missed the post because he can't be around all the time, so therefore if rules are in plain black and white, there will be no argument at all.

Like the stem cell example, maybe there can be a rule stating that no one can talk about stem cells, till in the future when the maturity level of the forum increases the rule can be removed and mature discussions can happen?

One has to keep in mind that there are teens posting in the forums, teens with rules at home, and that they find every single chance to 'break loose' at a place without rules, so therefore to maintain a level of maturity and seriousness rules are needed. Adults shouldn't have to worry about rules, they should be common sense :wink:

 

[SoundMixPro]

Live and let live...but before that

Salutations from us to James.

Forums are supposed to be regulated. Maybe all we need are some 'moral' editor volunteers to read the subjects before allowing it to be posted. Its a hassle to rewrite the program lah but this is one way.

James can set rules for the editors and they just sorta help him and this website that we all come to depend on so much.

As it is, James has yet to respond so lets just wait to see what he has to say before we lay concrete on something. Aight?

So....yeah..... where the hell is my beer again....

Darren

 

[soft]

haiz... i am sipping my afternoon kopi and enjoying the cool breeze.

ok, serious business here.

story 1
sometimes when i go travelling, i eat at MacDonald's. in some countries, people clear up their table. in some countries, peopele dont.

i like to clear up my own table. i dont need a signboard that say "Please clear up table after meal".

story 2
my parents stay in a corner terrace house. their neighbour like to feed stray cats at the alley next to my parents' house. ok, i understand that the alley is public property but why did the neighbour choose to feed the cats there instead in front or behind or inside their own house? after eating, the cats will poo and pee at the alley which is just next to our living room and dining room windows.

i like to set up a signboard "Please do not feed animals here".

My father never went to school or had any education but I like to share with you what he said.

"You do anything also can but don't disturb others"

 

[Vaiyen]

ya loh, we don't need this forum to be an extension of the nanny state. Is it very hard for everyone to exercise some discretion and commonsense?

 

[SoundMixPro]

nanny state

Agreed. Totally agree. That would be a better plan than what I said. :smt023

 

[Scream_ed]

One thing that we may wanna think about is whether we can agree to disagree, esp. in threads like Kopi Tiam. Man, I've seen some threads here where things turn so ugly that James had to lock the thread. Kinda like an adult stepping in to separate two scrapping kids...

I mean, opinions are opinions la. If nobody are allowed to express their dislike for something (objectively, like how some guys prefer Les Pauls to Strats...), then what is the Kopi Tiam forum for? Might as well just post Avatars of coffee cups and char kway teows.I seriously don't believe that all the few thousand forum users here can agree on every single time on evey single thing.

I agree that personal attacks, and comments on religious issues/matters/etc... should be handled with care, esp. when we are refering to music styles that sometimes have potentially racist overtones (for example, EXAMPLE, I stress, "mat rock". If it's sung in Malay, I'll just call it Malay rock...).

Other than that, I have pretty much enjoyed the benefits of having this site around. Man, without Soft, the Northeastern jam thing wouldn't have happened. Kudos to James.

 

[sanXp]

"You do anything also can but don't disturb others"

If only everyone thinks that way..

 

[wangdexian]

Well, if only people knew when to compromise and deter...

 

[stars]

hmmz ok .. this thread like going off tangent

hmmz the general proposed ideas

1) guideline / code of conduct for forum behaviour

2) leave the system as it is now , works fine as it is.