Happy Valentine’s Day!

February 14th, 2012

Hi Andrew,

Many people wonder why there are so many conflicts and wars. It usually starts small and ends big. Violent language is one of the small triggers. Sometimes it involves humiliation and loss of dignity. Deleting a response to an inappropriate answer containing the word bullshit is scandalous. It is absolutely outrageous. It doesn’t meet the high standards of the Fluther community which I greatly value. I am referring to this:

http://www.fluther.com/108224/how-can-doing-communion-unworthily-cause-damnation-to-your-soul/

Here’s a short version of what the argument is all about in my opinion.

Question: How do I solve my religious problem?

Answer: Soul, communion, salvation, god or gods. It’s all bullshit. Give up your irrational beliefs and you won’t get hurt.

For some questions or problems not all people have good answers right away. Of course people in free societies have the right to both challenge and bash other people’s beliefs. Other people have the right to challenge such bashing and disagree with advice given by others, especially when it’s a radical one, capable of hurting the person who asked the question, and potentially others who share this person’s beliefs. There’s a difference between helping people and hurting people. Fluther’s general section should be about helping people.

Let me use a different example to make my point clear.

Question: How do we solve the Israeli-Palestinian conflict?

Answer: Holy land, Israel, land of the Jews. It’s all bullshit. This is Arab land and the Jews and their American collaborators should give up their beliefs and the idea of the state of Israel so they won’t get hurt. We should encourage Hamas to get more powerful weapons and remove the zionist entity once and for all. This will end the conflict.

Again, for some questions or problems not all people have good answers right away. The Israeli-Palestinian conflict is a good example. For decades people have been looking for answers. Many think some answers won’t work. Like the supply of more weapons. They speak out if this gets suggested.

Instead of learning about the disagreement with a previous answer, the person aking the question and the Fluther community is forced to read this:

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Response moderated (Off-Topic)

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Any posts that do not directly answer the OP’s question ‘How can doing Communion unworthily cause damnation to your soul?’ will be removed as off-topic. Questions or arguments for the reinstatement of a quip should be directed to the moderation team via the contact button, not posted within the thread, further derailing it.

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I’m siding with people who become the victims of strong and violent language, who become the target of bashing, who are being humiliated because of their beliefs, and who are being told their beliefs are bullship. I should have the right to challenge an answer in the general section. I have a very clear expectation that the moderators remain neutral and allow disagreement with previous answers. When someone is told to swallow a particular pill, someone else might say, don’t swallow this pill.

So if this narrow-minded view of being “off topic” prevails, then I guess the views of the community organizers and my view as a community user are no longer compatible.

Kind regards,
Matt Browne

January 3rd, 2011

I’m calling you Andrew-Wan Kenobi from now on.

September 27th, 2010

I would suggest narrowing down a specific brand of piano, and looking specifically for that model. My recommendation is to look at a Yamaha P22. It’s a smaller studio upright, works well in apartments, great professional sound. You should be able to find one in good shape for $2000 to $5000. I have a P1, which dates from 1961. It came from a country club bar. We have numerous friends who are professional musicians, and all say nice things about the sound of the piano when they play it.

The Yamaha P22 is similar to the piano in White Rabbits’ “Percussion Gun.”

August 7th, 2010

The Federated is going OK, but I would like to see more interaction with the new folk. Do they get directed to the guidelines and about us, or just jump in cold like most people.

July 2nd, 2010