Posted by pontormo on September 3, 2014, at 12:03:21
In reply to The Hsiung-Pilder discussion-mlisofphoarthot » Dr. Bob, posted by Lou Pilder on September 1, 2014, at 9:30:56
I don't know if you recall it, Lou, but earlier this year, a subset of readers wrote that Bob showed preference toward you. They said he did not sanction posts of yours that, if they were posted by others, would have been sanctioned. They said that you were given a greater right to make statements that others would not have been allowed to make without a sanction.
It seems to me, then, that a subset of readers could think (and indeed did think) that you were being treated with greater respect and esteem than other posters at psychobabble. And if that is the case, they could also think that your reputation is being enhanced by Bob, and that you are being raised in the esteem of readers. They could think that readers might conclude that your posts are to be taken more seriously and given more importance than the posts of other posters.
And they could be (and were apparently) led to think that Bob is unfair to some posters on psychobabble (ie to the posters who would have been sanctioned).
In sum, a subset of readers could come to that conclusion, and yet another subset of readers could come to the conclusion that Bob allows defamation against you to stand, and that your reputation is therefore harmed.
It then becomes the question whether Bob should take further steps to show that no posters are being given preference and that all posters are being treated equally.
Could you answer the following questions, in a brief statement of an answer to each, so I could understand it clearly?
1. How does one know which subset of readers is correct? If being seen to be more civil by one subset involves being seen as less fair by another subset, which subset is more important? which subset's needs should be attended to? what if the FAQ, or prior statements of rules, through posts, or the tenets of any religion or theory that Bob believes in, do not give clear directions as to how to resolve such conflicts?2. How should Bob decide whether to act, when his judgment is questioned by subsets of readers with opposite beliefs?
3. Can he use his judgment in deciding how to resolve this problem?
4. If he should not use his judgment, how should he come to a decision as to whether to, or how to act?
I believe that Bob holds you in esteem, and that this is clearly visible; and that he has given you a forum to express and to argue your point of view in a way that allows another subset of readers, such as myself, a chance to understand your views.
But I would like to hear your answers to the questions that I have posed. This is not to start a debate with you on these questions, but to understand how you think on such issues.
poster:pontormo
thread:1050116
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/admin/20140902/msgs/1070708.html