The Petra Zone

Please remember:

No one should have to tolerate being bullied & abused through PM functions.
Messages in relation to boycotting Classic Petra, Petra or any member of the band is not acceptable.
To all those people that were sent abusive private messages from a ex-member of thezone, I am sorry that I didn't take action

That being said lets move forward!

Well said. Thank You.

Thanks, Daniel, I agree, well said. And you're right, we would do well to move on. Do keep in mind you're not responsible for other people's behavior. There are delete and (I believe) block options for anyone getting nasty messages. There is only so much one person can do. Just sayin'.

I will say Daniel has done a great job keeping this place organized and user friendly and moving foward it will stay as is, but us mods will also be more alert to growing resentment and abusive behaviors and will act with swift justice if needed.

No one on this board needs to hesitate getting a mod involved if you feel its needed.

Swift justice? Growing resentment? I am a little perplexed to be honest. I know that last year I made a couple of honest (at least from my perspective) observations about the status of things here at the Zone. And, as someone who has been a part of this community since it was a listserv, I guess I figured I was well within bounds to do so. I didn't call anyone out...I didn't name names. I did happen to endorse an unpopular position however. And, I might add, I never sent anyone an abusive PM. My point in saying all of that was that I still ended up getting unfairly banned from the Zone...a place I had been a part of almost since its beginnings. Btw, I do appreciate the fact that Daniel reinstated me after getting my side of the story. But, it shouldn't have happened in the first place. I appreciate the desire for peace in the Zone...but I sometimes wonder who moderates the moderators. I know that there are now people who are afraid to express their opinion for fear that it will lead to being banned from the Petra Zone.

I know Daniel wasn't referring to me and I'm not even positive that what happened to me was applicable in this situation (but I rather suspect it s). I do think that it does this community a disservice to muzzle free speech...and while perhaps not the intent, I fear that an authoratarian approach will have a chilling effect for some. (I know that not all the mods have advocated a heavy handed approach...but others certainly have, if not using those specific words).

Free speech will NOT be censored in anyway shape or form, but the personal attacks in the public forum and PM area will stop and be severally dealt with.

Masada (is it Eric?) you were incorrectly banned back in the the day, things were out of control at that stage.

This time it was totally different, free speech is fine.. hate speech is not. Since we took action the other day some people have started to participate again on the zone who were scared of being attacked.

Eric, it's really good to have you back, you haven't been around for a while.

Masada1 wrote:Swift justice? Growing resentment? I am a little perplexed to be honest. I know that last year I made a couple of honest (at least from my perspective) observations about the status of things here at the Zone. And, as someone who has been a part of this community since it was a listserv, I guess I figured I was well within bounds to do so. I didn't call anyone out...I didn't name names. I did happen to endorse an unpopular position however. And, I might add, I never sent anyone an abusive PM. My point in saying all of that was that I still ended up getting unfairly banned from the Zone...a place I had been a part of almost since its beginnings. Btw, I do appreciate the fact that Daniel reinstated me after getting my side of the story. But, it shouldn't have happened in the first place. I appreciate the desire for peace in the Zone...but I sometimes wonder who moderates the moderators. I know that there are now people who are afraid to express their opinion for fear that it will lead to being banned from the Petra Zone.

I know Daniel wasn't referring to me and I'm not even positive that what happened to me was applicable in this situation (but I rather suspect it s). I do think that it does this community a disservice to muzzle free speech...and while perhaps not the intent, I fear that an authoratarian approach will have a chilling effect for some. (I know that not all the mods have advocated a heavy handed approach...but others certainly have, if not using those specific words).

Well said, especially the bolded parts.

I think maybe a few of you have misunderstood my posts(rightfully so) in this topic, so let me maybe make something clear. There will not be any heavy handed approach here and everyone will be allowed to give their opinions without any fear of getting suspended or banned unless there are personal attacks involved which in that case those will be dealt with privately with multiple warnings before any action takes place.
Over the last few months us mods have been slow to act on some that were dealing personal attacks and abusive PM's and that is our fault plus we have lost some regulars members due to this.
All internet blogs/forums have some set of rules that users need to abide by and this forum will not be any different and we will do everything to make sure everybody is treated justly and fairly.

Maybe we could talk about Petra?

executioner wrote:There will not be any heavy handed approach here and everyone will be allowed to give their opinions without any fear of getting suspended or banned unless there are personal attacks involved which in that case those will be dealt with privately with multiple warnings before any action takes place.

Here's where the problem lies: I've witnessed you specifically throughout your years on this board make personal attacks by most standards, but you would act as if they aren't personal attacks. In my interactions with you, I've noticed that you have a very peculiar definition of what personal attacks are. You seem fine with attacking others, but get extremely defensive when you're given the same treatment. So how is it fair for you to be a mod and post something like this?

separateunion wrote:

executioner wrote:There will not be any heavy handed approach here and everyone will be allowed to give their opinions without any fear of getting suspended or banned unless there are personal attacks involved which in that case those will be dealt with privately with multiple warnings before any action takes place.

Here's where the problem lies: I've witnessed you specifically throughout your years on this board make personal attacks by most standards, but you would act as if they aren't personal attacks. In my interactions with you, I've noticed that you have a very peculiar definition of what personal attacks are. You seem fine with attacking others, but get extremely defensive when you're given the same treatment. So how is it fair for you to be a mod and post something like this?

So you bring up something like this with a personal attack of your own?
I choose not to sink to your level.

BTW if you want to question my mod status feel free to do it the proper way and either PM me or bring it up in the Mod Forum.

executioner wrote:So you bring up something like this with a personal attack of your own?

Thank you for proving my point. Nothing I said degraded you, attacked your character or was an insult. I stated plain facts.

I'm not going to argue with you about this in a public forum, so let's leave it at that.

separateunion wrote:I'm not going to argue with you about this in a public forum, so let's leave it at that.

Too late, you already did (argue).

Jan wrote:

separateunion wrote:I'm not going to argue with you about this in a public forum, so let's leave it at that.

Too late, you already did (argue).

You're right. I should have said "I'm not going to argue with you any more". Regardless, I apologize for my part in dragging this into the main forums. We're handling issues behind closed doors, so to speak, and hopefully we'll have some resolution soon.