What about Bob (Wilson)?

TPTB have every right to ask anyone to do anything (or not do something) because the board belongs to them, not you. It's not that he was discussing Topic X that they told him to stop; it's that he was discussing it over and over and over and wouldn't shut up about it. They asked him - politely - to knock it off. This got his pampers in a knot and he left. It's that simple. If I had a houseguest and asked them - politely - to stop peeing in my cereal and they left in a huff, I wouldn't miss them, either, no matter much valuable information they have me in the past.

 

At some point the big picture gets lost. This forum is a business venture, not a public service.

It works great when posters can post what interest them and the income generated finances the owners to maintain the service.

However, sometimes a poster's interest works against the forum's financial survival. That's what we have here.

Bob was asked to shift from postings that worked against the business of this whole enterprise. Bob was not asked to leave, he was asked to stop postings that would sink the ship.....something we really don't want to sink. It would be great if Bob could return and contribute again.....but PC did what was necessary to keep running a successful business. I would rather lose Bob than the entire site.

 

Several bad assumptions. PC is not a public forum. PC is a private forum, open for public participation. It is privately owned and operated, and paid for with private money. Freedom of speech most definitely does not apply.

That said, the owner and moderators of this forum are very accommodating. You have to really go out of your way to get yourself into trouble. Even in Bob's case he was not banned. He simply couldn't tolerate what he viewed as censorship, so he elected to take his ball and go home. It's an option we all have, just as the owner and moderators reserve the option to boot any of us for any reason. If we don't like it, we are free to go start our own forum.

Tom

 

You can't sign on because you misread my post. I said nothing about the ability or desire to share and expand our knowledge. I did point out that there are other's on here that had as much if not more knowledge of the Prius as BobW and have not yet had a snit with the owners of this site who derive some benefit from it. Which BobW may have threatened in one way or another. Whether they deign to share it is another matter. In any case it's a matter of opinion, I just wish I had his knowledge to share or any knowledge for that matter and hope the snits, snitters and all snitting stops. Can't we all just get along? :noidea:

 

That's pretty rich, coming from you.

 

Do you have the links ?

 

The sad thing when Bob left is people that did not know, or did not care to know the details of that situation screamed censorship as if the PC staff were maintaining one of the authoritarian Middle East regimes that just fell or about to....the protests to the moderators given their tolerance was neither kind nor reasonable

 

Still stinging a bit from the dressing down I gave you for the pity post blaming everyone but Obama for starting the war in Libya? Well my friend it was well deserved. :thumb: Someone once said "Far better it is to dare mighty things. Than to take rank with those poor timed creatures who know neither victory nor defeat." At least I get credit for trying as opposed to just putting up insults as you have. :glare:

 

Why don't we all just take a moment to stop and think of a reason as to why he was asked to stop what he was doing? It wasn't just a display of hubris by Danny or the Mods! BobW's post's were diminishing the benefit this board had for them or to the community at large. It as simple as that! You can agree or disagree, it is all a matter of opinion for us on the outside that may or may not have all the facts. BobW then selfishly decided his goals were more important than those who have put more money and work into this board than all of us combined!

Now this incessant need to bring this topic up again and again is IMHO having the same effect on PC as BobW's incessant need to post negative news about the Prius, regardless of the benefit HE or ANYONE thought it had. Let BobW put that info on his forum site it's quite plain that it's wasn't wanted here. If you want to know why BobW isn't here or what he thinks about it, go ask him! Once again IMHO it only diminishes the benefits and the PC community here. :deadhorse:

 

i hope bw is tuned into the fun!

 

Friend? You really are delusional.

 

Given that PC asked to Bob to tone it down, I wish the moderators would take an equally justified (if not more justified) stand against the inflammatory "worst car in winter" posts or the repeat "rattle-trap" posts by the same person. THESE posts drag down PC more than Bob Wilson did. Bob also made good contributions, these inflammatory posters don't.

I am NOT saying that we shouldn't be critical of issues with Toyota or Prii, because we learn that way, BUT PC should be strive to be a constructive forum, not a destructive forum. There ought to be a limit to how much the mods tolerate destructive, ignorant, or hostile behavior.

 

The moderator in question did reinstate Bob's controversial post, but Bob still decided to leave. Bob is a fully qualified adult and can make his own decisions. He made the decision to leave; he can also decide to come back if he so wishes.

Tom

 

I have owned alot of cars and participated in many different forums. I think PC is one of the best. Hats off to everyone that makes this site possible for everyone to enjoy.

 

Nope, just being polite in a thread that has nothing to do with your personal vendetta against me, take your mean spirited insults elsewhere. :glare:

 

Less about Bob and more about "censorship"

The circumstances on which Bob left and countless others situations like it obsess on this fallacy:

absolute free speech

Sorry, we don't live in a perfect world - not many things get to be pure.

I hear this delusion that on the internet it's OK do absolutely anything, more than your fav libertarian country and it's bliss. We get into fights like this one...

...and after the fight we happily move on...forgive and forget - right?



That long thread concerning Bob's departure screamed CENSORSHIP...that author either did not know or did not care about the particulars of that situation.

I just get the sense many think absolute free speech would work. OK, get rid of the moderators because after all any authority MUST be evil. {sigh} What kind of a place do you think PC would be if it did?



I finally figured out why there have been so many laws and taboos on drunkness - drunks think they can act out/speakout any inhibition - just like people are doing right now on the internet...hey! when you don't allow drunks to drive, fly airliners, operate nuclear plants, it's a violaton of their HUMAN RIGHTS!


Little over a week ago, an employee working for a Social Media agency for Chrysler tweeted in traffic: "Detroit does not ****ing know how to drive". Later that day, he and the agency was fired from Chrysler. His "free speech" was infringed....should the UN make the US a no-fly zone and take action like on Libya?

I'm not at all suggesting Bob did anything extreme (he did not), but rather I'm calling out the fallacy of absolute free speech - it's turned discretion from a virtue to a dirty word.

 

Another thing I love is when people bring up "first amendment rights". Uh, no. This board, and every other board on the 'net, is run by people (or corporations), not the U.S. government. You can spout a long rant on any street corner that dinosaurs were planted by Satan, and nobody is going to stop you. I certainly wouldn't. If you come into my living room and pull the same thing, I'm going to ask you to stop. If you don't stop and refuse to leave, I'm going to call the cops.

 

Bob is dead okay!! He's dead!!! *I shake you each violently*

*sigh, my great acting skills can't be conveyed properly in words...

 

So for us newbies, Bob Wilson will only be so many lines of archival reference.