Hello again, Everyone:

Lots of responses on this thread! I would like to comment on two items posted since I last visited the board.

To NeedHelpFast's post of January 07, 2008 09:02 PM - Yes, indeed I am the Publisher of ILW.COM. Anyone who wants to verify this can send an email to the site admin at webmaster@ilw.com

To SonOfMichael's posts of January 07, 2008 09:28 PM, January 07, 2008 09:39 PM, January 08, 2008 08:55 AM - I am afraid I dont understand, please help me understand your point. You are saying you want "Michael" back. I presume you mean back on this board. I presume you also mean that he once was on this board and was then removed by the admin. Am I correct so far? If I am, please clarify, and I will look into the matter.

To everyone else - I have been seeing the postings on this board, and clearly people have divergent views here. Please keep your conversations within the boundaries of good taste and the law, and you will all be fine.

Thanks for your attention and time.

Sam

P.S. I have asked the tech folks about the audio issue - I expect to have an answer next week. There is no other ball currently in my court from the community.

As for your quotes 4now regarding my statements on this forum, if you don't understand the difference between supporting illegal immigrants against hate, and supporting illegal immigration, then there's no discussion to be had.

Hi Everyone:

I received a private message on this thread. Apart from confirming my identity (which one poster requested), we do not feel comfortable in engaging in private conversations. So, if someone sends in a private topic, I will reply on this public forum, but will post the message without attribution - anonymously.

Here is the private message:
"I respect people's opinions whether they are for or against immigration, illegal immigration, etc. But personal attacks have to stop immediately. Quite frankly, I do not expect much out of you in "enforcing" this new directive. Perhaps you can change my mind by adding consequences to validated violations. Or perhaps you should provide a list of governing rules on this board of what will not be tolerated. I know occasionally, some posters, including myself, might get hot tempered, but there has to be a line drawn somewhere. Don't you think."

Now, my response:
Firstly, we agree that a line has to be drawn somewhere. Secondly, the rules of the board are posted (and have always been posted) on this board, on every page at the bottom under "Terms of Service". Thirdly, there will assuredly be "consequences to validated violations" on this board. That's why I am here. Disagree or agree however much you like - but if you use foul language or violate the law, we will act. Please feel free to report violators in this thread.

As I have posted before, this is a two-way conversation. I dont want to act unilaterally, I want to be transparent about what we are doing, so that everyone in the community knows what we are doing and why. We want this community to grow. Over the years, some have used this community for support and research, and some have used this community for expressing their point of view. We are fine with both usages. However, we will enforce the few rules that we do maintain.

One of the reasons I am posting under my personal ID, and not as an admin is because I want to express my personal opinions from time to time, which we would hesitate to do from an admin account. So, for the record, I am pro-immigration, and would as far as to say that I am radically pro-immigration.

Thanks for your attention and time. If you like this community and want to contribute to it, I encourage you to let your friends know about it, and encourage them to get involved in the community too.

Awesome . . and thank you.

Just so we are clear, could you outline the differences in standards that are set for US Citizens and for immigrants? My understanding is that immigrants are free to curse and knock America whereas US Citizens will be banned if they defend America and ask for a rational immigration policy; is this correct ? Thank you

I received a private email yesterday which should be responded to publicly (though I will post it anonymously here). Here is the email:

"I just read that you would be willing for a poster to moderate this board. Review my postings and determine if I would be an acceptable candidate. If you provide guidelines, I will do my best to enforce those guidelines, without limiting freedom of "respectful" expression. I frequent this board everyday anyways, might as well make acceptable use of my time. Let me know, I am willing to be objective and fair."

Now, my response:
Firstly, thanks for your email and your interst in this board. Currently, our policy is to see the postings, and slowly learn about the various frequent posters. We will probably move in the direction of some kind of moderation in the next few months. This will not be a secret process - I will be discussing my thoughts with the community openly as the weeks unfold going forward. No need to send us private emails volunteering your time (though I do applaud your interest) at this stage. Our concern is straight forward - almost all the volunteers we have had for over 8 years have approached us on their own with a clear proposition - give me the moderating power and I will ensure that the anti-immigrationists (the volunteers usually refer to them as "hate mongers") will be off this board, and then the board will be of much more use to immigrants". While we are unabashedly pro-immigration ourselves, we are confident that the pro-immigration position can be defended easily agains the antis, and we are convinced that to try and silence the antis' opinion (even if that would be right, which it isnt) is impracticable in an open electronic medium. There is no need to stoop to the antis level to win the debate for the hearts and minds of Americans.

Our metric for this community is very simple - we are watching overall traffic numbers and the size of the community. As Wikipedia has shown, give a subject sufficient mass, and many sins can be washed away in the volume.

Thanks for your attention. Please remember that I will definitely respond on this thread within one business day of any post on any working day. If more time is needed, as on the audio question, I will so indicate in a posting. Thanks again.

Sam.

Sam U, thank you for your response to my question yesterday.
While I understand that freedom of speech is valued to you on this forum, the way most forums on the internet are run, is they post a list of dos and don'ts, which overrun the constitution. It is the right of any privately owned board to set the rules irrespective of freedom of speech.
Here is an example of a widely known board and the rules on it are:

The following are common examples of violations that may result in immediate post removal, warning, board sanction and/or suspension from the site:

Including another individual's contact information and/or email address in a post.

Including profanity, vulgarity, hate speech, disruptive, or hostile comments, interpersonal disputes, or threats of violence in a post.

Including material (graphic or text) that is obscene, ****ographic or adult in nature.

Using JavaScript or active code; making repetitive or disruptive posts; or otherwise taking actions that interfere with site operations.

Attempting to impersonate eBay staff or other eBay members.

Encouraging others to violate eBay policies or the eBay User Agreement.

Advertising merchandise, auctions, services or commercial Web sites, including offers to trade, "wanted" posts, or charitable solicitations.

Refusing to follow eBay staff instructions.

Posting email content from private parties.

Posting material that in any way violates the eBay User Agreement or Community Values.

Inappropriate threads started on Community Discussion Boards..

Posting listing reports or member violations. To report suspected violations, please review site policies under the Rules and Policies page or use the Contact Us form.

Discussing or reposting deleted posts or warning letters, or discussion of sanctioned or no longer registered members.

Misusing the violation reporting function to maliciously or frivolously report content as not in compliance with eBay policy.

http://pages.ebay.com/help/policies/everyone-boards.htm...PageName=CMDV:BD0002

These policies are strictly enforced. It doesn't matter whether the community member visited the boards every day for the past year or ten, when they violate the rules, they get a 7 day suspension. If they continue to violate the rules, they receive a 30 day suspension. If they come back and continue, they get an indefinite suspension from ebay boards.
A similar tactic could be employed here.
There should be a better operating report feature on the site, with a list of violations to choose from whenever a post is reported. It would enable a better decision making process for the admins to moderate the board.

quote:

Originally posted by Sam U. of ILW.COM:
... I will ensure that the anti-immigrationists (the volunteers usually refer to them as "hate mongers") will be off this board, and then the board will be of much more use to immigrants". While we are unabashedly pro-immigration ourselves, we are confident that the pro-immigration position can be defended easily agains the antis, and we are convinced that to try and silence the antis' opinion (even if that would be right, which it isnt) is impracticable in an open electronic medium. There is no need to stoop to the antis level to win the debate for the hearts and minds of Americans.

So obviously I was correct in my conclusion that this person will be bent on distorting censoring opinions and ideas of US Citizens.

None of us so called "hate mongers" as YOU call us are or have ever been ANTI-immigrant. We have always been PRO-immogrant despite the way you distort and censor our opinions. We are against criminals from coming in here and raping our children and our white women and violatiing our laws. That is NOT hate mongering ! Like I said, the best way to censor another's opinion is to declare it hate speech or calling them hate mongers and using that as justification to ban them.

We are 100 % PRO immigration for people that love America and obey our laws.

But thank you for so easily revealing your bias.

This message has been edited. Last edited by: SonofMichael,

quote:

Originally posted by SonofMichael:
... But thank you for so easily revealing your bias.

But then again let's remember that although this forum is "public" in character, it's still "private" in nature. Our membership here is more of a "privilege" than a "right" - our intrinsic freedoms in the world outside are superseded by this site's "Terms of Service." Being so, it's the publisher's prerogative to advance whatever advocacies he deems appropriate. And it's the choice of each one of us to either "love it or leave it!"

Look who's back. What happened?

I'll take it as a 'welcome back' gesture. Nothing much, 2008 just ushered in major changes in the workplace.

I agree that they can do what they want as a private forum and set different rules even; one standard for law abiding US Citizens and legal aliens who love America and a seperate one for child molesting and white womwn raping illegal aliens who villify America.

As admitted by the moderator, US Citizens and legal aliens are regarded as "hate mongers" and will be banned. Whereas criminal illegal aliens are allowed to curse and villify America.

But they are trying to make it sound they are being "fair" on the forum but they are not because they have 2 different standards of conduct. I was just pointing this out.

This message has been edited. Last edited by: SonofMichael,

quote:

Questionable USC,

If I jump off the roof are you going to follow me?

I don't have to follow you, because you can't stay out of my shadow. You need to quit talking out of both sides of your mouth! Who's stalking who, Beverly? I haven't interrupted your threads; why do you feel the need to interrupt mine with your unrelated posts? You're just a pathetic old woman seeking attention. It's really very sad.

Beverly is a hot woman !!! You could not come near a woman as hot as Beverly !!!

Nor do I want to come anywhere near to the type of woman she is! God help me!

quote:

Originally posted by SonofMichael:
Beverly is a hot woman !!! You could not come near a woman as hot as Beverly !!!

Thanks SOM. Fake USC protests too much. It's obvious she admires me and the truth I post irritates her. The fact that she/it is still stalking and naming me in every one of her/its threads is proof positive.

quote:

Originally posted by Rough Neighbor:
I'll take it as a 'welcome back' gesture. Nothing much, 2008 just ushered in major changes in the workplace.

Well let's make it official then...
WELCOME BACK RN!!

quote:

Originally posted by ProudUSC:

quote:

Questionable USC,

If I jump off the roof are you going to follow me?

I don't have to follow you, because you can't stay out of my shadow. You need to quit talking out of both sides of your mouth! Who's stalking who, Beverly? I haven't interrupted your threads; why do you feel the need to interrupt mine with your unrelated posts? You're just a pathetic old woman seeking attention. It's really very sad.

What's sad is you can't post a single word to anyone on this board without CALLING MY NAME AND ATTACKING ME.

LOOK FAMILIAR???

quote:

If you want to be the forum co-moderator, you need to moderate fairly, 4Now. Beverly applauding the accidental electrocution of an illegal immigrant was just as bad or worse than Iperson calling her a name. PERIOD!!!!![/b]

I can pull up 30 or 40 posts attributed to you where you name me perpetually. You just can't leave me alone. You should know by now you can't run me off of this board, nor can you change my opinion about this illegal invasion.

GIVE MY NAME A REST, YOUR FIXATION/OBSESSION WITH ME IS BEGINNING TO BE MORE THAN A LITTLE OBSESSIVELY CREEPY.

Personal attacks, still goading and name calling again,

Cry baby cry wipe your weeping eyes and put your hands on your hips and let your back bone slip . . .



Typical illegal alien whining and claiming WHAT DOESN'T BELONG TO YOU.

Still waiting to see that Proof of Ownership Certificate or the patent you have for this board and the threads you keep claiming YOU OWN.

When you show them to me, I'll leave . . m'kay??

This message has been edited. Last edited by: Beverly,