So...

[DeepSpace]

I've waited patiently to see what action was going to be taken against Otium.

By way of reminder, he directly accused me of being complicit in the rape of children.

In the intervening 48 hours, Thwarting Dog has had action taken for (I assume) saying "fuck off twat" and calling another poster a dickhead. So, I can only assume that's seen as much worse.

Now, I've taken a lot of abuse from Otium over time. He clearly feels that he can launch torrents of ill-founded and offensive vitriol any time he likes with impunity. I have broad shoulders & I mostly just put it down to his fairly obvious over-active imagination. But a time comes when you cross a line, and by God he completely crossed a line this time.

I don't know why no action has been taken, nor my report of him ignored, but can only presume that because he's seen as a 'bit of a character' he has a get out of jail card.

Anyway, it's sad that nobody feels that he should be booted off here for such a repulsive comment (by no means the first), all because he is too thick to work out how to hold a sensible debate. However, contrary to his frequently espoused bile, I do have a real life out there in the real world, & I have no intention of allowing that to be compromised by keyboard warriors who get off on fantasies about being bigshots.

To those people on here who know how to handle a serious debate (generally speaking those who have a bit of a brain); cheers...I've enjoyed talking to you.

[Chips Longhorn]

Sleep on it Deepspace .

[Deleted]

He’s not worth taking seriously. Hope you decide to stay

[Deleted]

I agree, action should have been taken against Otium for his appalling accusation.

But as you say, the rules don't seem to apply to Otium. He should have received multiple straight red cards by now.

STRAIGHT RED CARD OFFENCES:

- Any post or image that can be construed as hate of FAITH - RACE or SEXUAL PERSUASION

He's expressed and encouraged hate of all of these three categories, multiple times (and his posts have been reported, to no avail).

[Gag_N_Bone_Man (Destabiliser)]

Hi all

We are reviewing the original post. The Thwarting Dog post was one that required little adjudication, black and white, and was "low risk".

this is a more complex and serious case and so I hope you'll forgive us for taking the time to review, discuss and get it right.

[Walton-on-the-Hill Terrier]

You’re not the first poster to think Otium’s got immunity Deepspace. Hang on in there and rise above him.

[themanfromatlantis]

Oct 21, 2018 22:01:43 GMT 1 Chips Longhorn said:

Sleep on it Deepspace .

Agreed. I've decided to take a break from the threads where this rhetoric continually appears. Thinking that by maybe not giving them an opposing viewpoint will eventually reduce their posts from the lectern...  

[El Mel]

Rise above it.

[DeepSpace]

First of all thanks to those people who contacted me to agree that the comments on the thread were way above and beyond anything remotely acceptable.

I’d be interested to hear from the admins how the decision is explained though.

100% of admin think that calling someone a dickhead warrants a yellow card.

Meanwhile only 75% think that accusing a poster of being complicit in raping children warrants a yellow card.

Should I presume that the dissenting voter wanted no action or more severe action?

[Gag_N_Bone_Man (Destabiliser)]

Without wanting to speak for the other admins I think this one was trickier to adjudicate than you might think when you are the subject of the comment directly.

There are a couple of issues - do we as admins think that Oti meant what he said literally or was it more of a "you're part of the problem because of the way you think" kind of comment? Also, does the fact that this was a part of a notoriously contentious thread in a notoriously tetchy sub-board on the forum mean that the context is a little different - i.e. when discussing such emotive issues does one expect that things may get heated - is the line blurry or further over than on the main board?

Calling someone a dickhead is a black and white issue.

My personal take on it is that Oti did cross the line, but that (understandably) your reaction was naturally emotive and subjective. I suppose I'm saying "I get it" but that I think we probably all know that Oti wasn't saying that you condone, encourage or facilitate the crimes being discussed.

Ironically, in my opinion, he's said worse without people reporting it. In some ways I'm increasingly of the view that the politics board is a millstone around DATM's neck but sometimes the quality of the debate there justifies its existence.

Anyway, thanks for engaging in the process and for giving us the chance to have a look. You may not agree with our decision or our rationale but I hope you can accept that we gave it serious thought, discussed it and took what we felt was appropriate action.

One final thought, without wanting to reignite former debates - in the past I've been accused of being somehow the admin puppet master banning people at will, especially those outspoken about Islam. Anyone taking a look at either the "Tommy Robinson" or "Strange Death/Islam" threads will see several posts from a few posters that would, if these accusations were true, have resulted in me pulling the strings and banning them for life.

We try and be fair. We try and be consistent. I always prefer to enter into debate, sometimes to my detriment, to dismantle, challenge or debunk arguments made about these issues and it is only when lines are crossed that I feel the need to take action as an admin rather than debate a poster. Cases like this prove our worth as a team, I think.

anyway, I've waffled on a bit now. Probably overdue a twitter row with some gammon.

[sabailand]

On the issue of politics, i go on another forum (non football) and politics is banned, it caused so many shit fights in the past the admin came to a decision.Things do get said but ultimately we should be thankfull we can let of a bit of steam now and again, and to be honest theres been some quite erudite posting from both sides of the political debates on here!