For goodness sake this is all getting out of hand yellow cards red cards, slaps on wrists and kicks up the backsides. Outsiders will be laughing at all this, journalists need to be challenged and so do some posters but personal and verbal attacks need to be dealt with.

I think this idiotic card trick farce needs to go, I suppose the next thread I will read will state Roger given blue card for questioning the boss and is banned from the entire internet for 22.943 days.

Dont turn this web site into a circus.

Easy for you to say Roger, but it's Mick who could end up in court ..... I have in the past been less than kind about Journalists but it's been laid on the line for us all to see - if you want to attack a Journalist, go elsewhere - and as it's Mick's site what he says goes.

Yellow and red cards are not going to stop people attacking others on this web site and I find it highly unlikely that Mick will be brought to court by anything that said on this site, if it was the case he would ban and not suspend and Davros please do not talk to me in a condesending tone again as I do not appreciate it.

His site his rules, it's as simple as that. If you don’t like them then you can go elsewhere.

Roger - the point remains - it's Mick's site. His rules. What right have you to start trying to tell him how to run his site ?

Can I just say that Mick has an absolute right to run Slugger his own way. I think he does it in a very fair minded manner and some of the carping here is ludicrous. One doesn't have to agree with every decision but hey, that's life. Davros is also spot-on in his comments.

Now, if you want to bear-bait lickspittle journo's I know a little place to go...

"bear-bait lickspittle journo's "

What does that mean?

Sol - I think David's plugging Balrog !

"I think David's plugging Balrog !"

How?

The rule is simple and has been spelt out on countless occasions. An analogy if I may. If there's no swearing in the pub and you find you can't express yourself without swearing then you're in the wrong pub.

lickspittle means: A fawning underling; a toady.
Never came across that one before.
The joy of the online dictionary.
Sol

Well said Davros and the others backing up

You might think the risks are slight but in fact there are extremely litigious journalists in Northern Ireland, several of whom have been known to bring legal actions against websites.

I have to disagree with every single comment as being absurd.

First of all if a journalist wanted to take legal action against this board the fact that the member involved with the post has been given a card will have no effect at all.

Some of the repliers to my reply I can think of at least two have on numerous occassions been involved in attacking fellow contributors insted of the issue and if this scheme was implemented they would frequently be banned.

Some members given red cards have expressed surprise and then the moderator states that the person given the red card has been a good contributor and he hopes to see him return it sounds a little pointless to me.

As someone might say the whole things a wishy washy liberal idea thats unworkable and will turn people away from the sight.

I feel it is better to give an honest opinion than to just blindly lick the moderators butt.

The difference is Roger you are not the one who would face defamation proceedings that would be Mick.

If you don't like it go somewhere else, no one is forcing you to comment here

That is a privilege that Mick grants and can rescind

Why is everyone wanting me to pull out I am happy with the site and that is why I bothered making the comments instead of performing to the norm.

Mick should make it clear that he is not responsible for anything that contributors post onto the site and Chris if the scheme was implemented you would have several cards to your name so maybe you should pull out then without people like you there would be no need for this pointless and unworkable scheme.

"Chris if the scheme was implemented you would have several cards to your name"

Why would that be I have never even recieved a Yellow?

"maybe you should pull out then without people like you there would be no need for this pointless and unworkable scheme."

How exactly is the current situtation my doing?

If you like the site Roger, good so do I

It is however Mick's site and he sets the rules

If you don't like them tough, start your own site

I have not received a card either but the fact is Chris in the past you have attacked fellow members and that justifys you getting a card under this scheme.

"I have not received a card either but the fact is Chris in the past you have attacked fellow members and that justifys you getting a card under this scheme."

How and when?

If I had broken the rules I would have been carded

I can remember a personal attack regardinf students union or something involving you. The fact you were not carded for this shows the faults with the system and why it is not workable.

Would I be correct to hazard a guess that Gaskin in the current moderator that keeps deleting all the posts?

"I can remember a personal attack regardinf students union or something involving you"

Oh yes Roger

You can't even name one time?

Good man

Don't accuse me of something until you have proof

I am not sure but this new system is fast becomming absurd so much for all the liberal wish washy nonsense to my original response to this idiotic scheme.

"Would I be correct to hazard a guess that Gaskin in the current moderator that keeps deleting all the posts?"

No, you wouldn't

I'll point to one inaccuracy of yours in that United Ireland website of yours. You stated that the combined SDLP/Sinn Fein vote is only 70,000 short of a united Ireland. What about the protestants who voted tactically for Mcgrady and Durkan and who voted for Deeney is west tyrone and what about the signifcant number of catholics which want the union to remain with great Britain, your theory is as flawed as this cards system.

Classic case of whataboutery

No evidence so you resort to whataboutery

"I'll point to one inaccuracy of yours in that United Ireland website of yours"

It is called Balrog

United Islander is YI's site

Tsk, tsk

Not very sharp this morning

I also know a few Protestants who vote Sinn Féin so your case is as weak as water

Roger
You are missing the point, which is that the rule here is "ball not man". On other sites you can slag posters journalists etc off as much as you like.. not here. Its quite simple really, and is designed to lift the tone of the debate above personal attacks.
Why don't you support us ?

Roger:

...journalists need to be challenged and so do some posters but personal and verbal attacks need to be dealt with.

I didn't reply earlier because I was trying to take the weekend off.

However, I completely agree with what you say. Indeed no journalist worth their salt would argue with it. If a journalist is talking nonsense, then by all means, expose the nonsense! But that's not the reason for the cards.

The problem is that people have not been attacking what journalists are saying, they are attacking the journalists themselves. In which case, several complications arise.

One, it pretty much always let's the journo off the hook! Two, we have anonymous bloggers, who have no visible means of supporting their own integrity attacking in the most scurrilous and reprehensible way the integrity of people who are themselves accountable by law on a daily basis! Three, it leaves us open to legal action on the part of any injured party. I (and not the te largely annonymous commentator) would be the one who had to take a stand in court.

And finally (but not insignificantly), it makes for dull reading.

Mick

Fair enough point about court action but will the fact that you have carded particulat members help you at all if it was brought to court.

Would making it clear on this messageboard that you cannot be held liable for anything which members may post help at all.

The problem I have with the cards is that I used to be a member of a web site that had a similar scheme and it was heavily policed by moderators etc it turned members away and eventually the site was shut down.

Roger

...will the fact that you have carded particulat members help you at all if it was brought to court.

It depends on the case. Taking no action will certainly not help!

Would making it clear on this messageboard that you cannot be held liable for anything which members may post help at all.

My understanding is that the law is largely untested re the Internet, but the convention with libel is that the publisher is actioned not the writer. It's therefore perfectly reasonable for the publisher to expect that certain standards are met by commenters.

...it turned members away

Understood. I don't want to see Slugger over policed. And I particularly don't want people not to feel free to criticise Slugger itself on it's actions. I also don't want people themsleves rather than their actions to feel targeted. Thus the card system.

In soccer, the idea of cards is to help expedite play rather than punish people per se. I hope that's the mutual understanding we can come to on Slugger too!