Censorship on the forum

[stewpot54 10]

Are the people vetted who close down topics on the forum.

Correct me if I am wrong but I feel a lot of posts are closed because one of the moderators personally object to the content.

These self appointed moderators should be completly unbiased and at least give their reasons for closing a thread.

Otherwise this is not a forum for free speech.

[megalithic 10]

They are not "self appointed", they are chosen by the site owner.

Yes he might have his own agenda, i dunno, but it's a private site and you signed up to the T&C's.

[melthebell 862]

its not a forum for free speech

its a private forum we're allowed to join if we accept the rules

[BritPat 10]

Don't even bother trying. When big brother consigns some double plus ungood speak to the memory hole it ceases to exist it in fact never ever existed.

[Peas Maker 10]

Are the people vetted who close down topics on the forum.

Correct me if I am wrong but I feel a lot of posts are closed because one of the moderators personally object to the content.

These self appointed moderators should be completly unbiased and at least give their reasons for closing a thread.

Otherwise this is not a forum for free speech.

 

Wow that's really wired I just logged back in too read any responses to my thread ..... And it's gone, is this what you r taking about ؟

[medusa 16]

The moderators are not self-appointed. They are appointed by the site owner and me and apply the forum rules across the board. The admin team have a rôle in moderating the moderators (if you contact the Helpdesk then only the admin team see that and moderating decisions are reviewed when they are queried) as well as in dealing with technical issues with accounts and the site.

 

Sheffield Forum is a family friendly forum. We do not, and have never claimed to, offer free speech; we offer free speech within forum rules which means that if someone finds a post or thread offensive they report it, and if the moderating team agrees that it is not suitable for a wider family audience then that post or thread will be removed.

 

As for the moderating team getting personally involved in censoring topics along their own viewpoints, we have a policy for that which the moderating team follow.

 

If a mod or admin has been personally involved in a discussion then they do not moderate that thread. They may report a post that they feel needs attention, but action is only taken if another mod who is not involved with the discussion feels that the thread really does need attention. There are mods who don't deal with certain areas of discussion because of their own beliefs or politics, and we're fine with that because we know that if that mod is aware enough of their own beliefs and how they may change their actions to absent themselves from the thread, then this is helpful overall to the forum balance.

 

If you'd like to discuss any aspect of moderation on the site then please do so at the Helpdesk, rather than starting a thread where the admin team may not see it.