I was browsing the forum a minute or two ago and there was some moron being incredibly racist and stupid. Just why bother? If you have thoughts like that, keep them to yourself - just because we can't see your face, doesn't mean we won't think your an idiot. Oh well, me complaining on my own won't get anything done, please my fellows lets try to keep it clean.

People like to "go out in a blaze of glory." Usually it's more like a sputtering balloon.

Fine fine no more trolling, i promise.

You can speak freely on the internet, so why not voice your opinion? Now many, if not all, would completely disagree with you (perhaps ban) but thats usually the worst that happens.

Figure this: You're racist? Heres the worst that can happen-
Speak your views here: Banned
Speak your views in Harlem: Get shot.

Free speech and right to ones own opinion on the internet, baby! You may hate people for it, but thats your opinion!

As for people just being dicks....we all gotta entertain ourselves some way

Some_Jackass:

Free speech and right to ones own opinion on the internet, baby! You may hate people for it, but thats your opinion!

Your right to free speech doesn't include private institutions such as this website. We have the right to censor you if we think what you're saying in some way adversely affects this business. There are plenty of places to be a bigot. This isn't one of them.

There are certain rules you have to play by every where, be it a poker match or just here. And you [The user] gave your word when you signed up for this site, that you would play by the rules like it or not. Admin just make sure you honor you word, and they'll remind you when your not doing that [be it with a ban or w/e]. Free speech is some else's rule of the game but not theirs. And it isn't censorship if you want to argue that way, because there is an agreement of what can and can't be posted. If it were let say, which is the best game of all time thread and some one banned the topic starter for illegitimate reasons, then that would be considered censorship

[Censorship is the suppression or deletion of material which may be considered objectionable, harmful or sensitive, as determined by a censor.]

Free speech only exists on the Chans. Here we've got rules and we're damn peculiar about enforcing them here. You want to speak your mind? Go somewhere where the trolls frolic freely, when you're here, you gotta behave.

[quote=sirdiealot88 post=18.68703.637302] just because we can't see your face, doesn't mean we won't think your an idiot. quote]

So since we can see yours shall we assume you are?

wilsonscrazybed:

Some_Jackass:

Free speech and right to ones own opinion on the internet, baby! You may hate people for it, but thats your opinion!

Your right to free speech doesn't include private institutions such as this website. We have the right to censor you if we think what you're saying in some way adversely affects this business. There are plenty of places to be a bigot. This isn't one of them.

I disagree, i think people should be able to speak freely on the internet or in person as long as they have a valid reason for there beleif. Although if there just being a nonce then they should be banned, un-needed frustration and arguements not nessicary.

its the rap music.

RedForceRanger:

wilsonscrazybed:

Some_Jackass:

Free speech and right to ones own opinion on the internet, baby! You may hate people for it, but thats your opinion!

Your right to free speech doesn't include private institutions such as this website. We have the right to censor you if we think what you're saying in some way adversely affects this business. There are plenty of places to be a bigot. This isn't one of them.

I disagree, i think people should be able to speak freely on the internet or in person as long as they have a valid reason for there beleif. Although if there just being a nonce then they should be banned, un-needed frustration and arguements not nessicary.

Sorry, but it's not a matter of agreeing or disagreeing, it's a fact. Free speech is protected by the government (well, most of them anyway). Independent organizations, such as the ones that run most (all?) online forums, are not affected by it. That means, free speech gives such organizations the power to be as lenient as they want (as the previously mentioned chans), but if The Escapist wants to limit what people can post it's in their right, which makes sense when you remember web hosting costs money and they are the ones paying for us to put this online.

Not that I don't think The Escapist is a little ban-happy; I'm just saying they have the right to be as ban-happy as they want. If you want a forum where you can post any crap there are lots of small-time ones where the mods are right down there playing games with you. (Heck, I'm running a game in which, out of ten players, three or fours are mods.) And there are always the chans, which come with an entirely different set of disadvantadges.

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Permaban lol just kidding, you guys are now being silly.

GO to 4chan or 7chan and post this same thread there if you don't want censorship, see what you get. There are certain rules you have to follow in society also, if you don't do it there are consequences to not abating by said rules.

I'd prefer a strict unofficial code of conduct that protects well than an environment in which freedom of speech costs possible perma-ban without reason or leniency like 4Chan.

RedForceRanger:

wilsonscrazybed:

Some_Jackass:

Free speech and right to ones own opinion on the internet, baby! You may hate people for it, but thats your opinion!

Your right to free speech doesn't include private institutions such as this website. We have the right to censor you if we think what you're saying in some way adversely affects this business. There are plenty of places to be a bigot. This isn't one of them.

I disagree, i think people should be able to speak freely on the internet or in person as long as they have a valid reason for there beleif. Although if there just being a nonce then they should be banned, un-needed frustration and arguements not nessicary.

Look, if you write something offensive on this website it's the same thing as if you went down to wal-mart and spray painted "WAL-MART SUCKS" on its wall. You're allowed to say whatever you want but if you're hurting their business with what you're saying they have a right to stop you from saying it on their property.

The only good reason for getting yourself banned is when you're on the GameSpot Forums, and cannot take the System Wars fanboys any more. That's what I did. Oh, fake MGS4 spoilers :D

Ugh im over dick heads hiding behind 'free speech'

If you haven't been temp-banned at least once you're not a true Escapist. Fact.

y'know, I've said some pretty obscene things and I havent't been banned yet. My general impression is that you have to try really hard to get on probation, even.

Or you can just let the stupid take over for a few seconds.

Apologies Abound.

NOTE: See, I'd think I'd get banned for my constant little aforeward. It gets annoying after a while...

The_Logician19:
y'know, I've said some pretty obscene things and I havent't been banned yet. My general impression is that you have to try really hard to get on probation, even.

Or you can just let the stupid take over for a few seconds.

Apologies Abound.

NOTE: See, I'd think I'd get banned for my constant little aforeward. It gets annoying after a while...

Perhaps the fact that you are so apologetic makes the moderators have mercy on you.

Saskwach:
If you haven't been temp-banned at least once you're not a true Escapist. Fact.

the funny part is most of the escapist here including myself have been put on probation at least once so we learned 'oh maybe i should watch myself next time' and that's how the escapist has it's reputation for reasonable flamewars for example 'ps3: i wouldn't buy it, but that's just me' (i've said that before somewhere else and i was assaulted here i would just be treated to a '360 isn't really my type' (except for the true morons).

also probation is a way to see what you can say and to what extent.

Ah... being banned...

I'm sorry amateurs, but this is just one more field in which i excel above all.

Ok, so thats not a good thing, but some people simply get passionate about what they say and as a result leave us forever. The trick is staying malicious while avoiding trollery.

Idiots like attention and tend to be louder, like small children but they tend to be waste of space assholes.

Free Speech is like Free Trade; It can make everyone better off, or it can make everyone worse off.

kodiak90:
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GO to 4chan or 7chan and post this same thread there if you don't want censorship, see what you get. There are certain rules you have to follow in society also, if you don't do it there are consequences to not abating by said rules.

That would be an interesting experiment, trying out regular Escapist topics on other game forums and seeing how they respond.

Saskwach:
If you haven't been temp-banned at least once you're not a true Escapist. Fact.

Oh, what!! I better get myself temp-banned sometime soon... nah, I think I rather like my posting habits to stay the way they are.

Anyways, I've always thought that freedom of speech was a government thing, not really affecting businesses, such as The Escapist. The mods don't like what you say, then they boot you. Simple as that.

wilsonscrazybed:

Some_Jackass:

Free speech and right to ones own opinion on the internet, baby! You may hate people for it, but thats your opinion!

Your right to free speech doesn't include private institutions such as this website. We have the right to censor you if we think what you're saying in some way adversely affects this business. There are plenty of places to be a bigot. This isn't one of them.

See, it's like this.

Forums are here so you can voice your opinion. Sure, you can believe that the Master Chief "absolutely" kicks everyone's ass, but when it comes to such a point where you just make defamatory remarks about games like Half-Life, you will start a flame war, and no-one likes flame war starters.

There are also opinionated people to the point of trolling, spamming people with "I PWN YOUR ASS ON ALL TEH SERVERZ OF TEH HALOZ," and these people are also hated.

And then there are the people who say "The Holocaust was a good thing because those f***ing Jews deserved to die, burn and eat my s***! HAIL TO THE NAZI KING, PEOPLEZ!"

Those people are on the right path to a permaban, and believe me when I say, these controversial opinions should NOT, at all costs, be voiced.

In con-clue-shon, yes, voice your opinion on the forums is welcomed, but don't be a dick.

Maybe this site could come with an I.Q. test and some sort of racist test.

Like A jewish man is selling 5 cows, buys 4 and 2 die, how many cows does he have.

And the idiot would say "orange", the racist would say "none as jews shouldnt own anything" and a normal person would say "7, why are these questions dumbass easy?"

There you go, we can finally weed out the idiots and or racists now.

Well I for one think [deleted by moderator]. I can understand why some people think [deleted by moderator] would be an interesting thing to do but I feel that [deleted by moderator] would result in being [deleted by moderator]. I don't think moderators have the right to [deleted by moderator] however sometimes this is a necessity for [deleted by moderator]. I think this works better on [deleted by moderator], maybe the escapist start being [deleted by moderator].

I'm joking, this thread wasn't edited in anyway (that you know of) and the mods here are great.

Why do people get themselves banned? I think the answer to this is that people don't like it here, stupid or are Ultrajoe (hell knows why he got himself banned).

Take for example "Joined to Vote Valve". He joined to vote Valve and then hung around the forums for a bit, then he wrote an offencive review calling us all names and we haven't seen him again. He's the example of people going out in a blaze of glory because they don't like the forums anymore. SwiftVengence is also an example of this.

The idiots who get themselves banned usually do it by posting to stupid things or saying stupid things. For example; AlmightyJoe. He posted up a rick roll and now he's gone (Thank god he never came back [/sarcasm]). One of the more recent idiots was Xwii360, he posted a link to something disgusting and now he's gone.

It's easy not to be banned, I don't understand why people get banned.

EDIT: And the people that post FIRST!1!1!111!1!11!!!!!!!1 (hey what do you know, this has been edited.)

Free speech has to be managed. There is a point where free speech get turned into aggression and infringes on the freedom and rights of others. Free speech is not "he right to blindly babble without regard to impact" as many people insist on believing. Being obnoxious is not the practice of free speech. It is just an admission of being unable to manage social freedoms and therefore a voluntary forfeiture of access to such freedoms and rights.

Very much the same way that aggressors openly admit that they cannot manage their tendency to violence and should therefore be removed from society as harmful aberrations.

I don't know. People are stupid. I told a friend of mine to join the Escapist. Later, he told me he did, and started a thread entitled, "Fuck your thread title!" or something to that effect. Needless to say, he was banned. But he's like that in real life, it's not hatred for the Big E or the Internet making him crazy.

What was the topic about again?

If you can't handle racism, true, the other person may be a dick, but it's also telling of your own inadequacies. Racism is meaningless if you don't grant the racist the power they crave by acknowledging their racism.

As for why the Escapist in particular is so ban-happy, I can only assume it's because they're trying to be somewhat family-friendly. Not that that's a great qualifier - the KKK site is not just family-friendly, but Christian-friendly too!