The avatar business

[GUSTAVUS ADOLPHUS]

I am writing this thread as I noticed the "Stalin member" thread too late as it was locked. I am said member, and thought I'd give you all a public reply. I sent Inese a personal message where I expressed my sympathy, and to tell her she was quite right.

Stalin was a monster, and communism as a whole was and is, like she said (but not her exact words) an abnormality that should have been criminalized long ago.

The response to her action was quite accurate that something needs to be done about it. However, I feel wrong reaction came out of it. You all agreed she was right in being offended, and she was right about communism, but instead of banning communist avatars (like you did with a select political ideology) you took away my rights of having an avatar and a signature. Even though I never found nothing in the rules against these types of symbols.

I never wanted drama, in fact, I saw my method as a silent protest. It got out of hand. Things were said. Some noticed a hostile milieu, and unfortunately I've felt I was stuck in the middle. I don't know why you want to defend the rights of members to have communist symbols at every price, just not me.

If someone want to reply to this, please keep it on topic, and do not resort to personal attacks.

[Ulf]

This is a privately owned forum, you have no rights, only privileges. Using a forum avatar as a form of protest is quite silly in the first place. What a great oppressive power you are rallying against!

Accept the consequences of the action you chose. You wanted to be abrasive and controversial with that avatar and here we are. Let's move on.

[GUSTAVUS ADOLPHUS]

This is a privately owned forum, you have no rights, only privileges. Using a forum avatar as a form of protest is quite silly in the first place. What a great oppressive power you are rallying against!

Accept the consequences of the action you chose. You wanted to be abrasive and controversial with that avatar and here we are. Let's move on.

Yes. I am not refuting that. I simply feel I should respond to the hysteria around this business, and explain why I did it, as I was too late for previous mentioned thread. In the beginning, I saw it as a pretty harmless way of showing that I did not agree.

[GUSTAVUS ADOLPHUS]

The Following User Says Thank You to Ulf For This Useful Post: Hors

Of course. :rolleyes2:

[Oresai]

I think everyone that has been involved in the avatar kuffuffle so far, has in other subjects contributed greatly to the site, and I`ve always been interested to read what you guys say, think, and post upon. :)
It`s such a shame, really, that there IS this fuss about images when to folks like me, it`s the words that matter.

[Absinthe]

On my work's browser I disable avatars and signatures anyway. For monts, I had been reading fora without knowing what kind of avatars and signatures each member had and I was just judging them by their words...indeed. :)

(now that was off-topic and I do believe that we should all have the rights to use them or none of us at all, not selectively)

[Pino]

This thing has got way out of hand, the Stalin avatar was up for days before a thread was made about it and because the person found it offensive GUSTAVUS ADOLPHUS has had his avatar rights taken off him.

I think it would have just been best to of removed his avatar, locked all threads and told GUSTAVUS ADOLPHUS he has done his protest and proved his point and it's time to now leave it and move on and I think he would have accepted it.

[Vulpix]

I'm very tired so I will be brief and this will be it for today on this issue from me.

Gustavus, you did agree to change your avatar after much probing by our admiringly patient moderator Aemma. However, you also said you would continue to use such avatars until you see a ban on them.

I hope you can see that we can't -and won't- be blackmailed into changing our rules to the way you or any other protestors for that matter would like it.

[Loki]

(now that was off-topic and I do believe that we should all have the rights to use them or none of us at all, not selectively)

So if one member abuses avatar usage to launch campaigns against the forum administration, we should punish everyone for it? No, I don't think that would be fair.

GUSTAVUS -- we are not unreasonable. Of course you will receive your avatar usage back once we are confident that you will not use it to wage campaigns agains the admin decisions. We don't have time for this. Both me and Arctic Fox have full-time jobs, and in the spare time that we do get, we want to make positive contributions to the forum by making improvements, sorting out technical glitches, and answering serious queries from members.

As for forum rules -- they are very simple. We haven't seen the need to complicate them. You (and Inconnu) were the only ones who used communist avatars. It is not a problem in our community (European preservationists).

Your avatar and signature use has been restored.

[Absinthe]

So if one member abuses avatar usage to launch campaigns against the forum administration, we should punish everyone for it? No, I don't think that would be fair.

I didn't know that he threatened to keep using offensive avatars so that he passes the point across. If that's the case, I find it childish as when we don't like the rules of a forum the best thing is to leave instead of trying to bend them via manipulation and extortion. But I don't see him as a person capable of doing that...anyway, problem solved:)

[GUSTAVUS ADOLPHUS]

Threatened? Blackmailed? Extortion? :eek:

Just what do you think this is, a mafia showdown?

I simply pointed out that I was allowed according to my interpretation of the rules to use Lenin as an avatar... :D



I have not extorted anyone. This is silly.

[Loki]

This is silly.

And concluded. Let's move on, ok?

[SwordoftheVistula]

On my work's browser I disable avatars and signatures anyway. For monts, I had been reading fora without knowing what kind of avatars and signatures each member had and I was just judging them by their words...indeed. :)

Aw geeze, you mean I've had this "fuck you Blaxis!" avatar all this time for nothing? :mad:

[Absinthe]

Aw geeze, you mean I've had this "fuck you Blaxis!" avatar all this time for nothing? :mad:
Yeah, tough luck :D

[GUSTAVUS ADOLPHUS]

Alright, so this matter is settled. So shut up with the "move on" thing because we're past it. We have been for a long time.

I just want to thank Absinthe for being the only one who stood up for me and wanted to hear my side of it.