just a simple question...

[stafford_rules]

using "Nazi" in a comparison to the REA and the Sioux isnt acceptable right??? Why doesnt anyone not do anything about posters that refer to this type of thing???

[administrator]

using "Nazi" in a comparison to the REA and the Sioux isnt acceptable right? ?? Why doesnt anyone not do anything about posters that refer to this type of thing???

No one had done anything because it had only been an hour since the offending post. Calling your opponents nazis is indeed obvious personal smack and not allowed.

We try to keep an eye on things, but the high traffic of the site guarantess that quite a few users will see any unacceptable posts before we do. The best thing to do is report them and then ignore them.

[Shawn-O]

using "Nazi" in a comparison to the REA and the Sioux isnt acceptable right??? Why doesnt anyone not do anything about posters that refer to this type of thing???

Looks like the admin pulled the pin on him.

[mksioux]

So let me get this straight, the comment by Piper was "unacceptable" and warranted getting banned, yet the moderator decided to essentially reward the unacceptable post by pulling it out of obscurity and giving it its own thread? Wouldn't it have been more prudent to simply close the thread, issue warnings, and/or delete the posts?

This is simply a TIRED argument. It's been hashed out over-and-over and serves absolutely no purpose anymore. Do we really want siouxsports.com to deteriorate into uscho.com, where you can't have a decent discussion about Sioux hockey without some Gopher fan bringing up Nazis?

[jimdahl]

So let me get this straight, the comment by Piper was "unacceptable" and warranted getting banned, yet the moderator decided to essentially reward the unacceptable post by pulling it out of obscurity and giving it its own thread? Wouldn't it have been more prudent to simply close the thread, issue warnings, and/or delete the posts?

The unacceptable post was the one in which Piper flailingly attacked the Sioux, all Sioux fans, and UND's hockey arena by calling it a Nazi palace. Calling his opponents Nazis was a random, off-topic, personal attack on those with whom he disagreed. His demonstrated inability to politely have an on-topic conversation with those with whom he disagrees is why he's not welcome to post here -- I think the message board is better without him.

That post is actually still in the original thread. The unacceptable post did lead to a secondary discussion of whether Engelstad really threw birthday parties for Hitler. The question of what actually happened is certainly not something we're trying to suppress, it's a relevant community discussion, and many people seemed anxious to have it. So, I split that topic to free the hockey discussion of Nazi accusations, but to allow people who want to discuss Engelstad's parties to do so in an appropriate forum. Its also now clearly labeled so others who are disinterested can more easily avoid it. So far, it's been rather on-topic and not resorting to personal attacks.

Do we really want siouxsports.com to deteriorate into uscho.com, where you can't have a decent discussion about Sioux hockey without some Gopher fan bringing up Nazis?

I think our response to this situation was self-evident. Anyone (Gopher fan, Sioux fan, even Caps fan) who starts shouting "Nazi, nazi, nazi" when they feel the argument isn't going their way will be immediately banned, as was Piper.

[mksioux]

The unacceptable post did lead to a secondary discussion of whether Engelstad really threw birthday parties for Hitler. The question of what actually happened is certainly not something we're trying to suppress, it's a relevant community discussion, and many people seemed anxious to have it.

I think there's a big difference between someone starting a non-flaming thread about whether Engelstad threw the parties (not suppressing) and splitting a discussion resulting from a flame-throwing post (encouraging). The "Nazi Palace" comment by Piper was clearly a reference to Engelstad and his parties. Rewarding the comment with its own thread is like saying "your post was unacceptable, but you do raise a good point worthy of discussion."

I guess we'll agree to disagree on the relevance of this topic. It happened over 20 years ago and has been discussed ad nauseum ever since Ralph made the donation. The level of interest amongst Sioux fans is probably very low. It generates a lot of activity because Gopher fans (and now Bison fans) love to talk about it becuase they know it gets under the Sioux fans' skin, and then Sioux fans feel obligated to respond. That doesn't make it a worthy discussion, it makes it a tired and frustrating discussion. But I know...I can just ignore the thread. I guess I've just been around too long.

[PCM]

That doesn't make it a worthy discussion, it makes it a tired and frustrating discussion. But I know...I can just ignore the thread. I guess I've just been around too long.

What if some of us Sioux fans want to engage in the discussion? If you don't want to participate and you don't want to read the thread, then don't. That's your choice. But don't deny others their choice.

[jimdahl]

I think there's a big difference between someone starting a non-flaming thread about whether Engelstad threw the parties (not suppressing) and splitting a discussion resulting from a flame-throwing post (encouraging). The "Nazi Palace" comment by Piper was clearly a reference to Engelstad and his parties. Rewarding the comment with its own thread is like saying "your post was unacceptable, but you do raise a good point worthy of discussion."

It really sounds to me like we generally agree -- Piper's message was meant as a flame, and a non-flaming thread about whether Engelstad threw the parties is legit.

The difference seems to be that I think the discussion about whether Engelstad threw the parties is still the same legitimate discussion, whether it was spawned from the flame or not. I guess I could have just started a new thread about it (which you would have thought legit) and just told people to go there, but moving the existing posts seemed to make sense as people had already begun discussing it in earnest.