Censorship
"We've decided to close this thread because it's in violation of our Serious Eats Terms of Use. Not only is it not on topic, it's degenerating into unproductive personal attacks. The Serious Eats discussion forum is a place for passionate eaters to talk about food and share their enthusiasm. Posts that deviate from those topics, or disrupt the spirit or feeling of the place, will be deleted. Users who continue to abuse the site and/or fail to adhere to the terms of use will be banned. Thanks." [Editor's note: this quote refers to this post.]
I confess, I did not read the "Terms of Use" closely enough. I know I cannot be trusted not to "disrupt the spirit or feeling of the place." I shall not post again.
Add a comment:
Previewing your comment:
HTML Hints
Some HTML is OK: <a href="URL">link</a>, <strong>strong</strong>, <em>em</em>
Comment Guidelines
Post whatever you want, just keep it seriously about eats, seriously. We reserve the right to delete off-topic or inflammatory comments. Learn more at our Comment Policy page.
If you see something not so nice, please, report an inappropriate comment.
Start Talking!
Need a question answered? Have advice to share? Start a Talk topic now!
Sign up to get your questions answered and share advice.
23 Comments:
Oh Lou! Don't leave! This seems to be a general statement made to help keep the integrity of the site.
ThatGirl153 at 3:47PM on 04/09/07
Well, I'd have to agree. But my question is who it disrupting the spirit or feeling of the place? I'm not trying to cause trouble, but alot of people who enjoy this site felt attacked. Meanwhile, those who enjoy the site were attacking someone who was trying to get their opinion accross. Who is wrong, both sides or just one?
Lilartist at 3:51PM on 04/09/07
Smacka Lou again. Whatsa matter you?
JerzeeTomato at 3:52PM on 04/09/07
I never felt personally attacked, but I was certainly annoyed by the person's condescension, in addition to this sense of entitlement; that is, that the site should be what he thinks it should be.
I did see red at the corn question, particularly when the nice people on this site actually responded to it. I'm surprised the thread went on as long as it did, frankly.
The short answer to yhour question, Lilartist, is that the spirit was disrupted by one individual who did, in fact, attack the site and its members.
Barbara Hanson at 3:58PM on 04/09/07
Well put BaHa - I agree.
Lilartist at 4:00PM on 04/09/07
I've found this to be such a lively, warm, and inclusive site--but that thread distressed me for all the reasons BaHa described. So I'm relieved that it's gone. But, Lou, I hope you'll reconsider. I'd miss your posts.
baboo at 4:56PM on 04/09/07
I feel that the Serious Eats team have labored tremendously over this site and have created a place where anyone and everyone who is passionate about food can participate. That doesn't mean that opposing viewpoints and healthy discussions are not welcome; they are encouraged and add value to the site.
However personal barbs and insults are not appetizing for any of us. In the future, when somebody veers into such sour territory, let's simply ignore it and have faith that the hard-working Serious Eats team will handle those who pollute the atmosphere in a way that doesn't require us to participate. Let's avoid the temptation to stoop to posting hostile words, even if they feel justified. That's not censorship. It's just playing fair and clean.
Acme Instant Food at 5:40PM on 04/09/07
Let's have faith, and let the leaders decide, we don't need to fuss with the details? Umm... history?
I stoop to nothing. Censorship is a word that means, according to WikiWedia, "The removal or withholding of information from the public by a controlling group or body." That may be OK with you, but not with me. It's not a hostile word in any context I can imagine.
Unappetizing? May I decide?
Lou at 6:42PM on 04/09/07
Here's how I see it, Lou: If this were your blog, you could decide.
baboo at 7:57PM on 04/09/07
And I'm with you, Acme Instant Food, re: the Serious Eats team. Thanks so much for all you do, Serious Eats team!
baboo at 8:04PM on 04/09/07
If it were my blog, and I wanted to control the comments, I would make it moderated. If you send a comment to a moderated blog, it may never be made public. Shut down a public discussion on your public blog? Censorship. BTW, I have a blog. I just don't tell anyone where to find it.
And I also think the Serious Eats team is doing a fabulous job. This is one of the best food sites I've ever seen.
Lou at 8:26PM on 04/09/07
As of right now they have not shut down any discussion. The thread they closed was just everyone arguing. If you owned a store and two customers were fighting in your store, you would have every right to kick them out and that would not be considered censorship.
ThatGirl153 at 12:36PM on 04/10/07
Serious Eats is what it is - take it or leave it. It's what I like to refer to as the only "compilation" site on the 'net - sort of a "best of" site. The discussion boards are fairly one-dimensional and not well-participated in at this point.
But censorship? After be being banned by chowhound so often this place is refreshing!
Livetotravel at 12:54PM on 04/10/07
@thatgirl153
To argue is "To put forth reasons for or against; debate" (American Heritage: they define "argue" as a synonym for "discuss"). There's nothing pejorative about it. Argue certainly does not mean "fight". So yes, they have shut down a discussion, although clearly a nasty one.
My only point, from the start of my silly post, was that I don't want the Serious Eats owners telling me what I can say or read. I can simply ignore the silly posts. You are completely correct: they can kick me out of their store if they want.
This is just my opinion: I could be wrong.
Lou at 1:38PM on 04/10/07
My only point, from the start of my silly post, was that I don't want the Serious Eats owners telling me what I can say or read. - Lou
Since there seems to be some confusion here, I'm going to clarify the Serious Eats stance on comments and site participation once again. (For all the details, please read the Terms of Use that everyone agrees to when they create a Serious Eats account.)
1. This is a food site. As such, discussions should be about food. If they're off topic, we reserve the right to delete them, or close the discussion.
2. When discussing food on this site, community members must refrain from personal attacks against other members.
Those are our rules. They're pretty easy to follow and we hope they contribute to a community that's fun to participate in. Here at SE HQ, we like to think of our discussion forum as a cocktail party, where people are free to talk amongst themselves about whatever food-related topics they like. That's why our forum is so free-form, and doesn't contain threads and specific boards like you find on other sites. We want things to be open and welcoming to all members, new and old alike. But if the discussion does get out of hand, just like if a fight starts at a party (or in a store), we will intervene.
Since the site's launch in early December, this situation is really the first time we've had to confront these issues with our community. That's why we're trying to be as clear as possible. We're not trying to censor our community or dictate what people read or say. But we're also not willing watch Serious Eats develop into a trolling, hostile, anything-goes discussion forum. That's not fun for anyone to read, and it doesn't bring us pleasure. And Serious Eats is about pleasure.
If you have any problems with our policy, and you feel you cannot adhere to it, please contact us and we will delete your account.
Also a note about these kind of discussions: as stated above, our general rule is that non-food related posts are subject to deletion. We recognize the hypocrisy in allowing this off-topic post to remain, but we feel it's important for the community to discuss these issues. Going forward, we will develop a specific place for Serious Eats non-food related concerns to be discussed. In the meantime, please use this post to discuss any issues or questions you may have. Or feel free to email us directly.
We appreciate your involvement in Serious Eats and we're happy to have you as a member of our community.
Meg Hourihan at 3:39PM on 04/10/07
Since you are talking directly to me (you quote my post without attribution at the top), if you wish to ban me, please do so. I don't believe I've violated your terms of agreement, but, if you believe I did, do what you have to do.
I would like to point out that I did not personally attack any other member. The "situation" started with a discussion of canned corn. The originator was disingenuous and rude, but some of the responses were just as bad. I had no part in this discussion.
You clearly are not happy to have me as a member of your community. I came here to talk about food, and if I am not welcome, I can live with that.
Lou at 5:31PM on 04/10/07
Lou, the response is not directed at you, it's for the entire community. I quoted you (and will add your name to the quote) because I felt it demonstrated a lack of understanding about our policies. So I clarified our policies for everyone's sake. We're not banning anyone. We're just asking people to think about what they're posting and asking them to follow the rules. That's all.
Meg Hourihan at 6:03PM on 04/10/07
My post demonstrated a lack of understanding about your policies? Thank you for clarifying. I will work on my lack of understanding, and try not to demonstrate it so much.
You should work on not being so insulting. I think about what I post: if I didn't care, I wouldn't comment.
Please let me know when I don't follow the rules.
Lou at 6:29PM on 04/10/07
"I don't want the Serious Eats owners telling me what I can say or read"
And they're not. So looks like everybody should be happy here -- let's eat! :D
anildash at 8:47PM on 04/10/07
Agreed. Let's eat.
Lou at 5:22AM on 04/11/07
Wow, this situation has gotten out of hand. I'm calling the case closed for myself. I really love this site and I am going to put it all behind me. I was annoyed by this situation, but at some point it was bound to happen. Serious Eats made their point clear, and I understand their point of view. I love this little community and am glad they put a stop to the absurd situation.
Lilartist at 9:00AM on 04/11/07
For what it's worth, I now realize I misunderstood, and was overly sensitive. I will continue to enjoy Serious Eats. It's one of the best food sites around.
Lou at 9:07AM on 04/11/07
I'm so glad to hear it Lou!
Lilartist at 12:38PM on 04/11/07