Godwin's Law Day?

[acptulsa]

Now, not everyone here gets up early enough to notice, but for many days running now there has been a thread bearing old Adolph's name in the title on the New Posts board every single morning.

Call me paranoid, and I will not deny it. That said, this makes no sense if you take it at face value. When the Stormfront types have come crusading in the past, they have done their best to be overwhelming, gotten pwned in grand fashion, and gone away.

This has been a systematic one or two posts a day, sometimes from Stormfronters or posers as such, sometimes from silly but innocuous posters who don't seem to know better. Very systematic. Now, given this, who would be surprised to see a headline some months from now along the lines of, "RonPaulForums: Your source for Hitler 365 Days a Year!"? And open the link to see 365 genuine screenshots.

Want to have some fun with it, and play for some forum publicity? We believe in free speech, so mass bannings are not in order. And I don't know why we would just wait until it happens if we can be proactive.

My idea is a little risky, but it would get us publicity--one way or the other. So those of you who don't think there's any such thing as bad publicity might like it. I propose Godwin's Law Day.

The idea is simple: Every thread title should mention Hitler, or failing that, as many as possible. These mentions should be complete nonsequitirs. Things like New York Times and Hitler Defend Libyan Action or Hitler Hates Aimee Allen's New Album. All day.

So, if the 365 screenshots appear at a later date, those who follow such things will just say, so, that's who was spamming them. What do you know?

I think it's more likely to innoculate us than make us sick. And it could be entertaining. Thoughts?

[acptulsa]

Only one person has an opinion on this?

[Yieu]

The thread in my sig has the answer to why this is bad, and why that thread should not just be moved to Hot Topics, but be permanently deleted.

The user appears to be a troll too... well, you know what the solution to that is, it starts with a 'b' and ends in an 'anned'.

Also, a post from another thread...


Sure, we believe in freedom... but we also believe in Private Property, which is what this board is.

Please keep up the good work with the routing out of and banning of trolls. Please do not let up or slow down. We need it.

They really do drag the entire forum down and could throw a big wrench into our plans for Ron in 2012. Not joking, it is serious.

[acptulsa]

Maybe I should have included 'redact the douchebags' as a choice.

[Yieu]

Stormfront status, for a user on this forum, should be insta-ban material once we find out that is what a user is. We are more credible that way.

[acptulsa]

So, ban them subjectively? Create a rule? You may not post a thread with so-and-so in the title if someone did it the day before?

How about those who are all about free speech even if you deplore it? Is this a non-problem? Is this potential threat something better dealt with retroactively? Is there a better proactive approach?

[Yieu]

All bannings can only ever be subjective. There need not be ridiculous rules. You'll know it if you see it. Sometimes it may only need a thread title change, sometimes something else. I'm not saying to be anti-freedom of speech. I am just saying, if this site is about helping Ron Paul get elected, then we need to help his credibility, not harm it. Harm is done by trolls. They eventually reveal themselves well enough to be banned. I'm not saying go on a banning spree. It is always thought through first.

I think it is just good advice when trying to win an election and have credibility. There are ways to win an election and ways to lose them. Stormfront infiltration is not a way to win. And aside from that it is just plain disruptive to the other forum members. It is a bannable offense in the rules already. I'm not saying anything different than the rules do, and they say it for good reason.

[sailingaway]

So, ban them subjectively? Create a rule? You may not post a thread with so-and-so in the title if someone did it the day before?

How about those who are all about free speech even if you deplore it? Is this a non-problem? Is this potential threat something better dealt with retroactively? Is there a better proactive approach?

There are already rules about headings, because they show up in a google search so blatantly. I don't know what they are, mind you, but this isn't government controlled, at least as to this point, so freedom of speech isn't the issue. It's Josh and Brian's place, and they make the rules.

[BuddyRey]

I don't believe in Godwin's Law. I just call it "Godwin's Axiom" or "Godwin's Pet Peeve."

The fact is, some people and policies do evoke worthy comparisons to Hitler. It's not a tool to be abused, but that doesn't mean it's a "bad" tool.