I feel that this site is an old men's club,
"old": Do you know that one of us is only a few months older than my son? Should make it easy to guess which one. :)
"men": The market is and should be gender-neutral. Same goes for the internet. In many ways, it's the purest form of communication possible. For the most part, we don't know each other's gender, race, religion, age, financial status, or appearance. We're all black text on a white background.
When I was working at SI, I sometimes had to deal with the issue of gender, mainly because, in this kind of "world", I abhor both kinds of gender-based bias. Both kinds? Yep. Women who are treated shabbily because they're women, and women who expect deferential treatment because they're women. Both offend me deeply on a personal level. In this world, not the real world. In the real world, I'm deferential to women in the way I feel a gentleman should be.
On a side note, there was one time I deleted a bunch of posts and suspended a user for 3 days, and got a sudden barrage of emails from them (all copied to the legal department) claiming racial bias on my part. I told him I had no idea what his race was, no way of finding out, and no inclination to care. Told him the "black text on a white background" thing, but he remained unconvinced. I ended up having to ignore him.
I refer to that user as "him" just out of habit because actually I didn't know "his" gender either. He sounded "male" to me because of the vitriol and the way he jumped to a conclusion that only a little bit of critical thinking should've ruled out. "He" ended up taking the racial bias bit public when his suspension ran out, but that thought was just as quickly dismissed by the community.
The whole thing was one of those really funny but really tragic things. Funny in the "I thought I'd already seen it all" sense, and tragic in that this individual probably dealt with racial bias so much in his real life that he came to expect it even in situations where it, by definition, couldn't possibly exist.
Those people that make decisions, should have their minds made up, for these rules they impose are for total control.
One need only look at UseNet, Raging Bull, or Yahoo Finance to see why we have and conscientiously enforce rules.
Control, yes. Total control, no.
In exchange for the privilege (not "right") of posting here, all of us agree to abide by some pretty easy rules. For example, while I'm here, I can't speak in the colorful way I do in real life. I accept that. If I couldn't accept that, then I wouldn't post here. Plenty of places out there at which I could exercise my "right" to cuss people out in the most horrific language possible.
Sites like Silicon Investor, Motley Fool, and Investors Hub aren't for everyone. The thrust of the rules at each is "be civil". At Raging Bull and Yahoo Finance, there are no such rules, or they're not conscientiously enforced in a timely manner.
It's arguable that neither model is better than the other. Personally, I prefer the former model, and I'm not alone. And don't care whether I'm in the minority or not. I find the signal/noise ratio too low at Yahoo and RB and it's because there's no "control".
We do live in a free country, but not on this internet website.
I'll assume that was just a slip-up on your part. One of the things that cracks me up about Americans is the frequent inability to see beyond our own collective nose. It's sad, really.
Some of us, even most of us, who are using this site do live in the "free country" to which you're referring. Many don't. It's not about what country you live in.
But otherwise, your statement is quite correct. In real life, one is not required to be civil. Here, one is.
If you have different views than management, then you may be put in jail.
Incorrect. Joemoney obviously disagrees with me on many levels. Has he been jailed for it? Ever? He might if he breaks our rules of civility, but never for disagreeing.
And being "put in jail" here isn't even remotely like the real-life kind.
Then again, I can not see everything, and may be jumping to conclusions.
Correct.
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