[thechat] Syed Zeeshan Haider

[Joe Crawford]

William Anderson wrote:
 > I just felt the
> whole "hey look, bad evil things are happening" - hey, i get that on the
> news, I come to thechat to chill.  Sorry if anyone else is here for
> *serious* discussion :(

I like serious talk -- but not when it comes with a damned agenda. When
someone posts a news item and practically BEGS for feedback so they can
spark an argument, that's just tedious.

That's not chatting, that's a debate club.

And frankly, we don't need anyone suggesting items to debate. We get
enough debate stemming from simple chat! :-)

NOW REALLY: the basic point is that thechat has very little in the way
of rules, other than "don't be a jerk" -- and despite what I and others
have to say, I'd find it difficult to see how I can call for censoring
anyone. But that doesn't mean I have to give a damn when I'm being
begged to respond to something inflammatory. I'd prefer to just ignore.

For those of us who do have things they want to be advocates for, it's a
tricky thing to be able to proselytize effectively. At what point do you
go from simply being an advocate, to being the salesman who won't leave
your doorstep? (That's assuming that analogy makes sense) :-\

Of course, I'm probably being inconsistent with other things I've said,
in which case I'm a hypocritical jerk.

My 2 drachmas.

	- Joe <http://artlung.com/>