Earlier today it has come to our (the forum staff) attention that a thread was blowing up and going in a totally wrong direction.
I feel I have to speak out on this matter specifically, but will keep it as an open letter for all to read. I'll lock the thread as there is no need to discuss this.
Anyway;
As a result a member has been banned permanently, as he's been causing too many problems. I'm not going to name names, but the ones who were in that thread probably know who I'm talking about.
As much as we want to offer a platform to discuss everything possible (excuse me; almost everything...we have a policy about religion and politics to some extent) there are certain topics that will rile this online community for one reason and another, and despite that we're aspies and might not play well with others, we are an online community and thus we have to try and converse in a manner that appeals to the majority.
Bringing up a seemingly taboo topic such as child pornography and brushing it off as anything but a terrible thing doesn't sit well with many members. It's disruptive in the most extreme way.
There are a few other topics that might not appeal to everyone because of how they were raised or where they currently reside. Gay rights don't sit well with everyone, some people might be a bit more conservative, and that's fine. You're still welcome here, just try and respect peoples views on that. However, I don't think it's that far-fetched to have a handful of topics that are universally considered a problematic issue, and I've mentioned it before... child pornography is among those.
It's not that we are going to ban someone for bring it up right away, but depending on what the message is you're trying to get across you will be on the radar of the Aspiescentral staff, not to mention you will not be in the good graces of many of the members of this forum.
Additionally, if you have proven to be a member bringing up nothing but controversy, who are we to assume that bringing up a (pretty much) universally taboo topic will go over well?
I also urge people to consider what they're saying online. We have free speech, most live in a country where it's a right, and we as a forum will support free speech, however, free speech does not mean there are no repercussions at all. People seem to misinterpret this; Free speech and the right of this, in many cases means that a government will not persecute you for speaking your mind, but it might mean people will get upset and they have every right to do so.
Lastly; and I'm bringing up this specific incident again as an example; bringing up certain topics might put this forum on the map of search engines, both the regular ones as well as ones for law enforcement. And if anything, we don't need any negative publicity. Not as a forum, and not as a group of people whose common denominator is nothing else but having autism. It's harmful for the community on- and offline.
Thank you.
I feel I have to speak out on this matter specifically, but will keep it as an open letter for all to read. I'll lock the thread as there is no need to discuss this.
Anyway;
As a result a member has been banned permanently, as he's been causing too many problems. I'm not going to name names, but the ones who were in that thread probably know who I'm talking about.
As much as we want to offer a platform to discuss everything possible (excuse me; almost everything...we have a policy about religion and politics to some extent) there are certain topics that will rile this online community for one reason and another, and despite that we're aspies and might not play well with others, we are an online community and thus we have to try and converse in a manner that appeals to the majority.
Bringing up a seemingly taboo topic such as child pornography and brushing it off as anything but a terrible thing doesn't sit well with many members. It's disruptive in the most extreme way.
There are a few other topics that might not appeal to everyone because of how they were raised or where they currently reside. Gay rights don't sit well with everyone, some people might be a bit more conservative, and that's fine. You're still welcome here, just try and respect peoples views on that. However, I don't think it's that far-fetched to have a handful of topics that are universally considered a problematic issue, and I've mentioned it before... child pornography is among those.
It's not that we are going to ban someone for bring it up right away, but depending on what the message is you're trying to get across you will be on the radar of the Aspiescentral staff, not to mention you will not be in the good graces of many of the members of this forum.
Additionally, if you have proven to be a member bringing up nothing but controversy, who are we to assume that bringing up a (pretty much) universally taboo topic will go over well?
I also urge people to consider what they're saying online. We have free speech, most live in a country where it's a right, and we as a forum will support free speech, however, free speech does not mean there are no repercussions at all. People seem to misinterpret this; Free speech and the right of this, in many cases means that a government will not persecute you for speaking your mind, but it might mean people will get upset and they have every right to do so.
Lastly; and I'm bringing up this specific incident again as an example; bringing up certain topics might put this forum on the map of search engines, both the regular ones as well as ones for law enforcement. And if anything, we don't need any negative publicity. Not as a forum, and not as a group of people whose common denominator is nothing else but having autism. It's harmful for the community on- and offline.
Thank you.
