No, I think I'll think first, thanks. After waiting what seemed a decent interval then deciding it was, in the end, my choice to make.
What I finally came up with:
Your mission, should you choose to accept it, is to ponder the following and see what topic you're put in mind of:
• Toxic
• Moral Panic
• Culture War
• Nuance
Here's another hint: there's already a very long thread about it.
This is not an attempt to start another. It is an invitation across the road to answer the question put here, along with any follow-ups, if you're so inclined.
(You don't have to register. In fact I'd prefer you didn't, though it is an option if you desire a conversation that doesn't involve going through security every time. Note that the field for email address will accept anything as long as it's in the standard format. Be as creative as you like.)
My powers at YACF are limited to bolding text, with a splash of colour for good measure: Please don't address the topic here. I'm already rolling the dice with Judge Jeffreys and Horace as it is, and hope that C-3PO* in particular does not find this post detrimental to the experience of the forum.
A word once uttered can never be recalled.
* The actual moderator, as opposed to the jokey figureheads - Ed.I immediately then reported myself ("Heads-up"). It seemed only polite.
Later in the day my post was removed.
I've no idea how long it lasted, other than long enough for a single reply to my question, which it's safe to assume was a direct result of my invitation. Although that was a 100% better turnout than expected, it's a paltry return for the time invested (that was the last of maybe a half dozen drafts).
The following notice from the moderator this past summer, stuck to the top of the politics board, is instructive:
Masters,
Several threads have had to be locked or pruned recently due to persistent non-excellence by some forum members. This is detrimental to the experience of the forum by the majority of members and continues despite repeated warnings from yours truly.
If there is any repetition of this, offending members' ability to post will be rescinded, possibly permanently. There are alternative platforms available for winding up other people. I understand that Twitter is particularly open to this, since it fell into the grubby Imperial hands of the Grand Musk Elon.
You are in control of what you post here. It is not a personal soapbox, a platform for trolling, or a playground for personal insults.
Thank you.
I don't know what non-excellence was being referred to, but I do know that we are not in complete control of what we post there. A reminder that this is advertised like so:
Seeing as it's unmoderated in the sense that
Fargo is a true story, that ought to be reworded, don't you think?
Given that certain members are very much allowed to use that board as a personal soapbox, not to mention insult with impunity, it's clear some animals are more equal than others at YACF. One must make peace with that if one is to carry on.
Something
