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Thread: ChessTalk censorship

  1. #1
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    Unhappy ChessTalk censorship

    K. Liles points out that censorship is a regrettable, but common, practice at ChessTalk. And I thought it was just me.

    more evidence, etc., to follow, depending...

    Quote Originally Posted by Yevgeni Yevtushenko
    When truth is replaced by silence, then the silence is a lie.

  2. #2
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    Fwiw, I recall that when Chris Mallon was moderating this CFC Discussion Board (not sure if he does presently) there was a zero tolerance policy towards personal attacks on other posters, at the least. Not much in the way of posting (or blogging) on this message board by non-Voting Members these days, though.
    There are more things in heaven and earth, Horatio, than are dreamt of in your philosophy.
    Hamlet (1.5.167-8), Hamlet to Horatio.

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    Quote Originally Posted by Kevin Pacey View Post
    Fwiw, I recall that when Chris Mallon was moderating this CFC Discussion Board (not sure if he does presently) there was a zero tolerance policy towards personal attacks on other posters, at the least. Not much in the way of posting (or blogging) on this message board by non-Voting Members these days, though.
    Also funny is I used to moderate/admin Chesstalk as well. Got told to do something I really didn't agree with, did said thing under protest, then got screamed at over the phone because Larry thought I hadn't done it, so I quit.

    Pro tip: Don't scream at volunteers.

    I'd be very interested to know what DOES get censored over there, however, because the stuff they allow to remain is pretty bad sometimes.
    Christopher Mallon
    FIDE Arbiter

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    We cannot tolerate the things that are tolerated on Chesstalk because it would open the CFC to huge legal liabilities. It was one reason why we could not consider buying chesstalk as there are plenty of landmines in the posts sitting in the archives.

  5. #5
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    Default When truth is replaced by silence, then the silence is a lie.

    Quote Originally Posted by C. Mallon
    I'd be very interested to know what DOES get censored over there, however, because the stuff they allow to remain is pretty bad sometimes.
    I can send you a PM if you like. You could also contact K. Liles who noted some similar past censorship experience on the thread I linked to.

    Quote Originally Posted by K. Liles
    This is ChessTalk and such things happen - mostly without explanation. I had a similar experience and no (public) statement was ever made. I refrained from revealing what *I* was told in that instance because there would have been nothing good to come out of it, but the not so subtle censorship on this board is basically unknown until it happens. There are no guidelines - just reaction.
    I too was a ChessTalk moderator, volunteering for free as well, worked on some guidelines for conduct, but was relieved of my duties (without warning), etc.., ostensibly for combining moderation with participation. The real reason was that I had the "wrong" politics and those who objected had a much louder voice than those who did not. That's pretty well, near as I can tell, what happened this time around when half a thread was deleted without warning or explanation. A certain middle-eastern country cannot be mentioned in a way that would put it in a negative light.

    As long as there's not proper moderation over there, I would agree with Vladimir Drkulec's remark that it could be a liability and danger to the CFC. And not just personal attacks, expressions of racism, misogyny, homophobia, etc., etc., but also something as simple as plum laziness by posters who can't even be bothered to quote articles, etc., but post an entire piece, with barely any credit to the author(s), without acknowledgement. Copyright violation might be less annoying than hate propaganda, but it can still get an organization into trouble.

    And, in fairness to Larry B who runs that board, he's managed to kill two birds with one stone by (a) removing my "offending" remarks, and (b) removing other remarks that included personal attacks, libel, defamation, etc. that could be subject to later litigation. So he's not without some skill and finesse of his own. Or good legal advice. lol.

    But of course that means that there really is no well moderated discussion board for chess-related matters in Canada. And so, some views are simply silenced, as I found out this week. Perhaps the French language side is run differently, or there is another site altogether. They're often ahead of us in such matters.

    Hopefully, my last remark won't get me into trouble over here. Heh.

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    Quote Originally Posted by Vladimir Drkulec View Post
    We cannot tolerate the things that are tolerated on Chesstalk because it would open the CFC to huge legal liabilities. It was one reason why we could not consider buying chesstalk as there are plenty of landmines in the posts sitting in the archives.
    Wait, was buying Chesstalk actually a thing that was proposed?

    Quote Originally Posted by Nigel Hanrahan View Post
    I can send you a PM if you like. You could also contact K. Liles who noted some similar past censorship experience on the thread I linked to.
    Yes please.
    I too was a ChessTalk moderator, volunteering for free as well, worked on some guidelines for conduct, but was relieved of my duties (without warning), etc.., ostensibly for combining moderation with participation. The real reason was that I had the "wrong" politics and those who objected had a much louder voice than those who did not. That's pretty well, near as I can tell, what happened this time around when half a thread was deleted without warning or explanation. A certain middle-eastern country cannot be mentioned in a way that would put it in a negative light.

    As long as there's not proper moderation over there, I would agree with Vladimir Drkulec's remark that it could be a liability and danger to the CFC. And not just personal attacks, expressions of racism, misogyny, homophobia, etc., etc., but also something as simple as plum laziness by posters who can't even be bothered to quote articles, etc., but post an entire piece, with barely any credit to the author(s), without acknowledgement. Copyright violation might be less annoying than hate propaganda, but it can still get an organization into trouble.

    And, in fairness to Larry B who runs that board, he's managed to kill two birds with one stone by (a) removing my "offending" remarks, and (b) removing other remarks that included personal attacks, libel, defamation, etc. that could be subject to later litigation. So he's not without some skill and finesse of his own. Or good legal advice. lol.

    But of course that means that there really is no well moderated discussion board for chess-related matters in Canada. And so, some views are simply silenced, as I found out this week. Perhaps the French language side is run differently, or there is another site altogether. They're often ahead of us in such matters.

    Hopefully, my last remark won't get me into trouble over here. Heh.
    Personally I'd have an "Off-topic" subforum so that people don't have to see the non-chess stuff if they aren't interested.

    I tried hard in the past to make this board a good place for moderated chess discussion but you need a critical mass of people (20 posters posting 3-4 times per week plus some others who post less) before it really starts working. Perhaps, the next time the CFC needs a new website, the forum can be integrated which would likely help push some traffic.
    Christopher Mallon
    FIDE Arbiter

  7. #7

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    Yes Chesstalk is for sale. Price is $10,000 plus applicable taxes...not interested in negotiating...so send a cheque payable to Chess'n Math, 3423 St-Denis #400, Montreal, H2X 3L2...and it is all yours!
    Last edited by Larry Bevand; 10-26-2017 at 06:47 PM.

  8. #8

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    Quote Originally Posted by Larry Bevand View Post
    Yes Chesstalk is for sale. Price is $10,000 plus applicable taxes...not interested in negotiating...so send a cheque payable to Chess'n Math, 3423 St-Denis #400, Montreal, H2X 3L2...and it is all yours!
    In the metric system, with the coma as a decimal separator, this means 10$. I will buy chesstalk for 10$ .

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