There is a dedicated community on this website for Flat Earth [FE] stuff:
https://scored.co/c/flatearthresearch/new
There is no need for FE here on conspiracies IMO. If people want to explore FE they can easily seek it there or elsewhere on the internet.
My position: FE doesn't belong here. I believe the proponents of FE are ruining any chance this forum has to gain a larger following. They are time wasters and trolls who reject logical and reasonable rebuttable of their assertions. If someone disproves their idea they say it's lies and fakery without justification or evidence. If it's tiresome for me it must be annoying for others too, and perhaps it is dissuading lurkers from taking the leap and interacting here. No one should have to spend time wading through FE madness if they didn't seek it out.
My position wont change through argument. That's not what this post is about. I want to know:
Do individual, regular users on Conspiracies support banning FE posts and "discussion" from this forum?
If this motion of mine passes, the FE users would be allowed to stay, but submissions they make claiming the Earth is flat would be removed and result in a 3 day ban.
Comments arguing for FE would be removed too, if they are reported or I see them.
A note on the side bar would be added, making it clear that FE is banned here, and a link to the scored/communities FE community provided.
I think that's fair.
Since voting is easily manipulated, the way we'll decide is this:
Reply below, a top level comment, with either a YAY or NAY
YAY= I want FE banned
NAY= I want FE allowed
1 vote per user
Caveats:
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Any top level comment without a clear YAY or NAY at the beginning of the comment will be removed.
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YAYS or NAYS as a reply to a top level comment will not count and will be removed.
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Provide justification, opinions or suggestions about all this along with your vote, if you like, but place it on a separate line below your YAY or NAY.
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Replying to users is fine too, as long as you yourself have also made a top level comment with a yay or nay.
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If a top level comment is edited, the edit history will be checked and the comment may not count or may be removed.
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We have about 100 regular users/contributors, my estimate, so I hope everyone replies with a YAY or NAY. We'll give it plenty of time to ensure everyone sees this post.
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Upvotes or Downvotes on comments or on this post will be completely ignored
We're counting YAYs or NAYs from individual users only.
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Top level comments without a clear YAY or NAY will be removed.
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Duplicate YAYs or NAYS will be removed.
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Handshake account YAYs or NAYs are welcome, but they will be scrutinized and possibly ignored if they seem like sock-puppets, regardless of how they are voting. This is to ensure the minimum of vote manipulation.
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Older accounts with little to no history - or where their last comment was several months or years ago - will also be scrutinized and may not count.
I reserve the right to edit this post based on interactions and suggestions below. I may not have thought of everything. Edits will be labelled and placed at the end of this text.
EDIT
Vote over
Minus sock-puppet accounts it's 61 Nay, 44 Yay.
Most of the nays are casual, non-contributing users banging on about censorship and free speech who don't give a damn about quality content nor FE. I encourage those users to engage with FE instead of ignoring it. If you did that you would probably come to regret voting to allow it in this forum.
This will become a flat earth forum. Then when I'm nowhere to be found people will be lamenting all the fucking bullshit that gets posted here that no one is removing. FE Is a time sink designed to demoralize those who see it or engage with it. it's the Cass Sunstein project in action. It 's very clever because it relies on peoples love of free speech to remain.
Let's at least wait a bit more and see how it goes. I actually understand your position very well. You are afraid that it will basically ruin the forum by dissuading the new comers and repulsing some of the old ones and then we end up with a completely flat earth forum talking to themselves.
Additionally, due to the contentious content, it may cause more flare-ups and posts that require moderation giving you more headaches
If I may, I would like to propose another solution:
-First, it might not be as bad as you are seeing it now and projecting it for the future, they may have had an increased activity due to the balloon thing. Maybe it will calm down a bit later. If it increases to the extent that most of the hot posts end up all FE then you can take drastic action.
-Second, as an unorthodox solution. Whenever a flat earther spams too many posts about it on daily basis and keeps fighting with everyone etc.. You just send them a template copy paste text on how they should minimize their "activism", not because you are censoring or that you think they are pricks and such, but because this would drive away new comers to this forum and they would end without an audience or anyone to preach to. If they continue then maybe they are indeed feds. (Basically, censorship but minimal to keep them in check)
-Third, if you are the only one doing the modding I can imagine how hard it must be doing this since you are not getting paid by the hour. You might want to experiment with adding mods on your side, maybe multiple part time ones.
Good point about the balloon, perhaps it's a flair up.
2nd point - rational engagement with a FE poster, asking them to tone down anything, will make them post more. Try engaging with them yourself, present a rational response to some assertion they make. My experience is they are completely ignorant assholes who don't deserve any molly-coddling. And their seeming interest in any other topics is a façade to promote FE. Rational engagement is a complete fail with these people, or at least beyond my capabilities.
3rd - yes perhaps right. I don't have the ability to appoint a mod though.
You have a solid point there which no one can argue with, many people say nigger and such which in essence is not different if not worst than flat earth for a normie. I guess It depends on the audience one is targeting.
If it comes to me and if I were the mod, I would not censor anyone for their ideas. Last few days was actually the first time I looked into flat earth and I learned a lot from our conversations. The Flat Earth model is not as preposterous as it first seems, you have everything worked out. If Flat Earth was relegated to a link on the side I would have never clicked it and learned anything.