who controls this forum ? i mean are we safe here?
do they have the right to tell us what to say and if we say what they dont want us to say what actions taken?
im not sure this is the right place to post this but if we are gonna have our wings clipped id rather move on.
at the roots of this kind of forum "i hope ", is the thirst for the truth, thats what i assume we are all seeking as well as a good natter.
if we dont want a 1984 scenario we should ALWAYS question the powers that be even this forums. no offense meant..

I've thought the very same thing. I would also like to know the answer to that question.

[quote name='conspiracysrus' date='Jun 13 2006, 08:56 AM' post='1229340']
who controls this forum ? i mean are we safe here?
do they have the right to tell us what to say and if we say what they dont want us to say what actions taken?
im not sure this is the right place to post this but if we are gonna have our wings clipped id rather move on.
at the roots of this kind of forum "i hope ", is the thirst for the truth, thats what i assume we are all seeking as well as a good natter.
if we dont want a 1984 scenario we should ALWAYS question the powers that be even this forums. no offense meant..


You should ask a moderator via PM as opposed to opening a thread, they will advise as appropriate.
When a thread does get closed, it is in my experience always for a good reason, and in that respect the moderators are very fair and always are.

Maybe you should check out the rules for what is acceptable and what is not.

True...

However, he has a very fair and valid question. One that should be open for discussion, moderators can join in aswell, putting in their input. This isn't a dictatorship my friend, this is a worthy question to rationalize, other than simply making a mere PM.

Never said it wasnt a fair and valid question and i agree it is, i was just giving my advise as to which i beleive was what he was asking for? Thus creating a discussion? Surely i was inputting my input as you stated?

I apologise if it come across as being a 'dictatorship' buddy.

No offence meant to anybody.

None taken buddy.

I just ment that this sort of thing, although i didn't have the heart to post or say it, has crossed my mind several times too. And, we both would like a valid answer. In a dictatorship the answer is irrelevant, yet, it is very relevant here.

Is there anyone else on UM that would like to know the answer to this aswell???

I'd like to know, but when it comes to online forums, I've learned it's Nunya.

This is SaRuMaN's show, and if we don't like what we have here, we can go somewhere else.

And he knows this, and want's the best place possible (I think) so compared to many other forums I've seen come and go, and joined myself and left, this one is one of the better ones out there BY FAR.

To me, all websites are absolutely dictatorships. I think if I thought different, I'd be fooling myself.

Now, I have had threads deleted and never recieved a warning or explination or even an "oops" for it... so... give and take what you can when you can while you can. Try to stick within the reasonable bounds outlined so we can all learn.

Other than that, again this is the best so far By Far that I've seen yet.

We are pretty much free here, but not tottally, I know some people (besides me) who had unpleasant experiences with posts or threads getting deleted and then when they complained there was no answer or the thread was deleted or it was just ignored or given a poor and unsubstancial excuse.

I could say more but I'm afraid I'll get permabanned. *shuts up*

Don't get me wrong, I like this place!

We have freedom of speech but wherever you go you'll find that it is more or less restrict.

I feel free to post pretty much whatever I want as long as it fits within the guidlines of the board rules. No foul language, no nude pics , no stories of drug usage, etc.

I love being a member of Unexplained Mysteries. It's a great place to be posting.

I should also mention that you will have some moderators who will tolerate more then others.

And also be carefull. You are not allowed to question authority as in the moderators, otherwise they will ban you. I've been baned for simply asking why my thread was deleted.

Overall most of them are fair, but as time goes on, you will know which ones to kiss up to.

The answer to your question can easily be found by perusing the 'rules' which can be accessed by clicking the link at the top of every page. As to who controls the forum, that would be Saruman who is the creator and administrator of this website. The answer may sound simplistic and not very revealing, but you have to understand, how a forum functions is most times dictated by its members. This is an international board with members from around the world, so its diversity is vast and wildly eccentric. Imagine how difficult it is trying to manage and control a board which not only attracts people interested in the paranormal, not exactly a stable environment in any sense of the word, but which also delves into other extremely divisive topics such as religion, politics and conspiracies. Do you begin to see the challenge? The goal is a simple one, to insure a smoothly functioning forum. Sometimes that means upsetting some people, that's to be expected. It would be quite difficult to come here searching for the 'truth' when the meaning of that word has as many different connotations as there are members. You are free to express your perception of that belief as long as you conduct yourself civily. This is just my sense of our purpose, of course. I'll point Saruman to this thread so that he can express his thoughts on the matter.

i feel like a child!! taking advice from the lion king,scooby doo ,a fluffy bunny and danger mouses side kick!!
time, i need time.
ill observe a bit more and i will take your good advice which seems fair enough, its true ive seen some pretty strong arguements on here and i can always vote with my feet !!
i just had to hear about the neighbourhood bullys!!
i just hate authority..ggrrrrrrrrrrr

At the end of the day our only goal is to provide a friendly discussion environment where people can come and openly discuss controversial, paranormal and spiritual topics with as much freedom and as little restriction as possible. That's all. We're not interested in dictating what people should say, or what they should believe - that part is completely up to you.

As with most forums however, it is necessary to 'moderate' the discussion. Without a set of guidelines and moderators to enforce them, the forum would quickly become anarchy, as would any other forum in similar circumstances. Without guidelines such as "no offensive language", "no flaming" and "no discussion of drugs, pornography etc." it wouldn't be possible to achieve the main goal of a friendly discussion environment. The guidelines are there for everyone's benefit, you wouldn't want to come here if we didn't have them.


This is clearly untrue, both because we would never ban anyone for doing that, and secondly because you are clearly not banned anyway as you have just written this post.

Misconceptions like this give us a bad reputation for being too hard on people for the slightest discrepencies. This is simply not the way things are at all.

thanx for your taking out the time to answer.
you paint a very clear picture and what u say makes perfect sense.
thankyou and hopefully i can control myself enough so as not to fall foul to these guidelines..they are guidelines after all right?
thanx again.

Saurman,

Actually I was banned for asking why my thread was deleted. I was only banned (suspended) for three days, but that's the truth. I had been warned a couple of times before for various bad behavior, but then I created a new thread about Bohemian Grove, one of the moderators erased it, I asked why, and I was banned for three days.

I think he/she was fed up with me, and took it personaly.

Anyways, I'm not bitter, just sharing past experiances for others to learn from.

Well, it wouldnt be the first time Scoob is being "less than careful " with the truth.

And once again Hazzard blindly follows the voice of authority.

Again, not true.

I just call them as I se them. You are clearly known around here for being, lets say, a "bender of truth" so it fits your reality.

Like you said, you call it as you see it. It's all in the eye of the beholder. Most people actually PM me to say I'm doing a great job.

I havent been a member that long but as far as I can see everybody has pretty much had an open say. This forum has opened my eyes to many new realitys. I beilve the mods are doing a great job.

A ban and a suspension are two completely different things. A ban is to be completely removed from the site on a permanent basis, a suspension is a temporary restriction of your ability to post on the forum and still allows access to most site features.

Moderators don't dish out a suspension unless you've ignored several requests to stop doing something you aren't supposed to be doing.

We encourage members to contact us via PM to ask us about anything you are unsure about, including the removal of posts. No moderator will ever suspend you for sending them a PM asking why a post was removed. What would be the point ?

The rules on psychoactives on this site is ridiculous. You cannot even post the erowid website here. I've also had to remove an avatar because it said cocaine. I know this site is not geared towards the discussion of drugs but banning it or complete censorship is not called for. In my opinion atleast.

A point you may not realise is that providers, advertisers and other parties associated with the upkeep and hosting of this site have their own rules about client sites hosting discussions or content relating to illegal activities, including software piracy and drug taking. You'll find that most forums maintain similar restrictions in these areas. If you want to talk exclusively about taking cocaine then this forum is probably not for you.

At the end of the day what we are providing here is a free forum service. If you aren't happy with what we are offering or the guidelines we expect members to follow, then don't post here.

I appreciate the honesty Saruman, and that fact that this is still an open thread discussion.

You cleared up this issue fairly nicely, and in your other posts. Im glad to see that this site of yours is reasonable and just.

I know you know about the supposid " war on the interent " that is going on right now... in which the government wants to regulate what is being said, and what not... this site would be one that would be quite difficult to regulate... with all the conspiracies that it possess'. Right?

So besides the dictating, i suppose if anyone is"watching" our posts like the BIG BROTHER idea, it would merely be harmless Lurkers. Am I correct?

You got that right. The part that im the Lion King that is.

Hey, you guys wouldnt be worrying about the rules if you had been a part of some other, un-named forums like I have...ruled by egomaniacs who really did misuse power, imagine authority and were overly dramatic.

This place aint so bad. The mods are actually kinda cuddly.

Im not worrying. I am greatful to Sarumans genuis.

There are also some that have barely any rules, and are a an ugly mess.

I hear you on the ego maniac ones 2. lol.

Anyone who visits the site can read the posts on the forum, whether that be ordinary web users at home on their computers or top secret government spies.

I imagine discussion on conspiracy theories would be difficult to regulate, as in doing so the US government in particular would be violating their own Freedom of Speech laws. At the end of the day these subjects are legitimate, legal areas of discussion, and there's not a lot anyone can do to stop people discussing them.

May I bring up something that just dawned on me?

Isn't it a bit strange that this forum is brought to us by a guy that is named after a great manipulator of men's minds, a man who used stealth and subterfuge to do great evil so that he might be a huge player of the "New World Order" in Middle Earth??

(sorry, I just HAD to throw something out for the conspiracy theorists to suddenly go agog about!)

This being said, I have to say that this is one of the more calm websites I have seen - especially considering that you have people like Hazzard and myself going up against people like Scoobysnack and Sunofone on a daily basis!! The mods that I have seen act have been fair and quick to act. Good job, SaRuMaN!