Position Statement on Religious posts

[GMG admin]

Of all the posts made on this forum, the topics that seem to cause most distress to members are those that make adverse comments about various religious beliefs.

I am called on repeatedly to intervene in threads where there has been a perceived insult against a members religious views. While the post may not directly insult a particular member of the forum (which would be against the forum guidelines), it does insult a particular religious belief (which is not against forum guidelines, strictly speaking). I have had several long-standing members leave the forum altogether because there were adverse comments posted about their religion and, despite being asked to, I did not intervene.

At one stage, I considered banning all discussion of religion on the forum, simply because it caused so many people so much grief. The consensus at the time was that religious discussion should not be banned from the forum, and simply to be treated like any other topic, albeit restricted to the Diner section, unless it had a direct bearing on the discussion of music.

And so, after long consideration, I will state my Position on Religious Discussion within the forum:

1. Any insult of a particular member will not be tolerated on this forum. All members have the right to read, post and discuss freely on GMG, independent of gender, religion, race, sexual preference, disability, etc.

2. Discussion of religion is allowed within the forum, but is restricted to the Diner.

3. Religion is not to be brought into threads in other categories unless it has a very definite and direct relation to the music being discussed. Spamming the forum with religious ideology will be treated like any other spam.

4. As administrator of the forum, I will NOT intervene in discussions/arguments of a religious nature, and I will ask the other moderators to do likewise. I am not qualified to do so, have no interest in doing so, and will not waste my time sorting out these discussions. The exception is when one member directly insults another based on their religious views.

Suggestions for happiness on the forum:

1. This is a forum for discussing music. Discuss music.

2. If you feel that a post insults your religion, then ignore it and skip to the next post.

3. If you can't ignore it, then feel free to have a civil and intelligent discussion on the topic within that thread.

4. If you are so insulted by a post that you can't ignore it and are unable to have a meaningful discussion about it, please do not come to me for help. I believe your religious views should be robust enough to withstand the onslaught of others opinions without my help.

5. Please do not interpret these recommendations as anti-religion. My own religious views are irrelevent to the forum and do NOT influence how I administer the forum.

[uffeviking]

Bravo, Rob! You have my full agreement with your incisive Position Statement!

[g r e g]

I really like that position. I don't think you could do much better. 

[D Minor]

For threads that take an extreme (or strongly negative) position, a warning label may be appropriate, such as:

NOTICE: Several posts on this thread are strongly Anti-Catholic . . . . . . . . and if you are offended by such posts, you may want to avoid this thread . . . . . .

Of course, for folks like me, anytime such a warning appears, my interest in the thread becomes all the more intensified . . . . . . .

[RebLem]

As a member of the American Civil Liberties Union since November 1967, I applaud your stand, Rob.  I believe that the remedy for bad speech is good speech, not censorship.

[shadowritten]

An excellent attitude and approach, and one which I applaud. So, too, will all level-headed members, I'm sure.