Hello Bob,   
      
    BK>>> The Debate echo means something to me. As does Fidonet in   
    BK>>> general.   
      
    LL>> Then be part of it by participating!  Invite others to join   
    LL>> in! Stir the pot, and create your own pot of gumbo!   
      
    BK> Not unless we have some people who can discuss without   
    BK> attacking.   
      
   Participants are allowed to freely express themselves in this echo.   
   As moderator, I am not going to impose limits on that speech.  The   
   one rule I expect (and insist) all to abide by is -   
      
                    NO ILLEGAL ACTIVITY!   
      
   As far as I know, the first amendment remains part of the US   
   Constitution.  The United Nations Declaration on Human Rights also   
   guarantees freedom of speech, with the US being a signatory.   
      
   I am not willing to part with that philosophy.   
      
   Fidonet is about communication.  Open communication between   
   people from around the world, not limited to any particular group,   
   or region.  Limiting that communication by imposing restrictions   
   on what can be expressed (or by whom) is called CENSORSHIP.   
      
   If you want to be like Donald Trump, who apparently thinks he   
   can insult his way to the presidency, then go ahead and start   
   your own echo with that in mind.  But I doubt you will be able   
   to find many followers.   
      
   You see, The Donald can get away with it because he is a jerk.   
   A jerk with a lot of money.  And he knows it.  But you are not   
   The Donald.  And you do not have a lot of money.  Not like The   
   Donald, anyway.  And you know it.  As does everybody else.   
      
   You want people to play nice.  Well, you know what?  Politics   
   ain't beanbag.  SO GET OVER IT!  Ain't no way in god-given hell   
   The Donald is gonna play nice.  So why should anybody else?   
      
    BK>>> It used to be a great place to have discussions. It has declined   
    BK>>> drastically, with the loss of most of the people willing to   
    BK>>> discuss without attacking.   
      
    LL>> And who's fault is that?  Your lack of participation is part   
    LL>> of the reason why this echo lost its luster.  I am not   
      
    BK> I participated until there was little to participate in, Even   
    BK> you didn't post much for quite a while.   
      
   Posting one or two messages every three or four months is not   
   going to generate much, if any, traffic.  You have to do much more   
   than that.  I am not faulting you, only stating the obvious.   
      
   Blaming others is also not going to fix things.  Expecially   
   in light of the fact that some things cannot be fixed.  And this   
   is probably one of those things.  Fidonet has become a relic   
   of the past whose best days are long gone, and is now just a   
   small fraction of what it once was.   
      
    BK> We don't need another flame echo, go to all-politics if you want   
    BK> that.   
      
   No echo in fidonet has many participants.  Most have none at all.   
      
   This is not a designated flame echo, where no rules apply.  In a   
   designated flame echo, participants know what they are getting into.   
   And those who don't find out quickly.  Kind of like a Don Rickles   
   performance.  People actually pay good money to see his act.  And   
   if insulted by the King of Insult, they feel honored.  Or shamed.   
   Depending on point of view.  But, the point is, people do this   
   willingly, and knowingly.   
      
   Freedom of speech does not mean putting a gag on those whose   
   views you disagree with.  That is called CENSORSHIP.  Yes, there   
   are many forms of censorship, not all of them obvious.   
      
   One positive thing that can be done is to allow participants to   
   use an alias/handle.  Sysops and moderators can do that, as they   
   have been doing ever since the creation of fidonet.   
      
   As moderator, I made a change that you were too chickenshit to   
   implement.  I have already mentioned what that change is.  But I   
   will mention it to you again, in very simple english -   
      
   Every participant in this echo is free to use an alias/handle   
   of their own choice.   
      
   How did I accomplish this?  Why has no fidonet administrator   
   objected?  Well, you see, it's like this.  No fidonet administrator   
   wants to give up any of his/her "power" - and part of that "power"   
   is their god-given right to use an alias/handle of their own choice.   
      
   What I did was declare ALL participants in this echo co-moderators.   
   That means you, Bob Klahn, are also a co-moderator of this echo.   
      
   It also means that some other participant might be using an   
   alias/handle of Bob Klahn ...   
      
    LL>> I am the official moderator of the Debate echo.  The origin   
    LL>> of this version is 2:203/2 - which means you are shit out   
    LL>> of luck.   
      
    BK> Where did you register it?   
      
   The FidoWeb, silly.  ;)   
      
   --Lee   
      
   --- MesNews/1.08.05.00-gb   
    * Origin: news://eljaco.se (2:203/2)