Jennings, LA
This post is in regards to this thread from yesterday: https://pinside.com/pinball/forum/topic/censorship-gone-mad-on-this-board
So, after speaking with every single moderator I am able to confirm that none of the moderators told Generalwtr or anyone else, via PM or otherwise, to change their avatar picture. The flag of the former Confederate States of America was not banned on this site and Generalwtr lied to every one of you to manufacture an issue to complain about and rile you up.
You were all trolled and some of you bought into it; heck, the post received 33 thumbs up. This is interesting because it was a clear duplicate account and many of you who voiced the most support for Generalwtr's made up complaint are the very people that are first to PM the mods to complain about people using duplicate accounts or otherwise turn people in for perceived rule violations.
Moderating this page is not easy. We want people to end petty bickering. We want to keep Pinside family friendly. We want women to feel welcome here. If someone searches Pinside with their children on their lap or while at work we want it to be a friendly place that does not embarrass them. This is Robin's directive and priority and we do not care if you as an individual do not have children or a spouse who reads this page or if the rule is not applicable to your interests for whatever other reason - that is immaterial to us, we are going to enforce Robin's directives such as they are.
If someone has a problem with Pinside being family friendly and PG 13 rated then discuss it with Robin via PM or the moderation team as a whole via a moderator feedback thread.
Also, I know we have been trying to keep Pinside topics more on point lately. This is something that is debated between the moderators and we do not all agree with each other all the time. If, for example, you feel you should be allowed to talk about the fundamental game play issues of Avengers in an Avengers for sale thread and a moderator reprimands you for it, start a moderator feedback thread and tell us your point of view (you might be surprised how much support you may receive from some moderators). On the other hand, if you have five posts in the Hobbit Update Thread exclusively about Tesla Cars and you get asked to stop posting about Tesla, just start an off topic thread about Tesla and carry on (exercise some judgement).
Now, back to the issue of the flag of the Confederacy:
I note that I am a libertarian, born and raised in the Deep South, and had two direct ancestors that were actual officers in the Confederate army (one of which died in combat). In spite of my personal background and general libertarian view of things even I am able to recognize that the flag of the Confederacy has been - very sadly - misused as a sign of hate and racism for several decades by numerous people and groups. I certainly wish it was not so, but the Confederate flag because of how it has been historically misused has limited or no place here on Pinside at this time.
What does this mean? This means the troll who manufactured an issue so many of you leaped at to believe has won and we now have no choice but to moderate the use of the Rebel Flag as an avatar. The made up issue has sadly forced our hand. Do not use the Confederate Flag as your avatar. This is not a big deal, just don't use it.
As for public ally criticizing moderation to garner support for your various positions and believed slights...well...start a moderator feedback thread or voice your concerns to Robin. Do not attack the volunteer mod team on Pinside in a public thread, do it in private through the various tools Robin provides.
This thread is not an invitation to start discussing the moderation. Do that in a Moderator feedback thread or via a PM to Robin.
This thread is not an invitation to discuss the Confederate Flag or issues surrounding it. Such issue has no place in pinball and really is better suited for other message boards or your personal Facebook accounts. I certainly don't feel it is too much to ask to keep that discussion off this pinball board.
Leduc, AB
