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Why was the 'uniballer' thread deleted?

Jul 23, 2009
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Yesterday there were two threads that are now deleted. One was thread created and instantly locked by a moderator to announce that the word 'uniballer' was offensive and would lead to disciplinary action. The second was a thread created to debate this decision. The comments in that thread could have helped this forum with its evolution. Why were they all deleted? Critique of a moderator's decision is not sacred, it can be useful and can pave the way to progress. Is it the policy of cyclingnews.com to erase any history that does not reflect the image they wish to portray? That is a dangerous path to walk. How long will this thread last?
 
pedaling squares said:
Yesterday there were two threads that are now deleted. One was thread created and instantly locked by a moderator to announce that the word 'uniballer' was offensive and would lead to disciplinary action. The second was a thread created to debate this decision. The comments in that thread could have helped this forum with its evolution. Why were they all deleted? Critique of a moderator's decision is not sacred, it can be useful and can pave the way to progress. Is it the policy of cyclingnews.com to erase any history that does not reflect the image they wish to portray? That is a dangerous path to walk. How long will this thread last?

I can only assume that the decision has been reversed, so it's best to sweep everything under the carpet (including this thread).
 
Jun 16, 2009
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Correct, the initial thread was pulled because I decided that since I was the only one who appeared to give a rat's about the people that complained about the term, then there wasn't much point continuing.

I deleted the other thread because there was very little of any value discussed in it other than said attack on the behaviour of one Moderator and sarcastic comparisons of that word to things like Cadel's chin. Given that the source of that converation nolonger existed, I felt it would be pointlessly confusing to leave it in place. There is zero reason to assume that this one action has any connection to some overall mythical policy regarding commentary about moderators.

As far as this particular thread goes - chat away... :D
 
Oct 6, 2009
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Martin, thank you for clarifying about the rule on this term. As a poster, sometimes it's hard to figure out what is or is not allowed, so thanks for letting us know what decision had been reached instead of just leaving it up to us to assume.
 
Jun 16, 2009
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It happened once - and it was done while I was extremely tired.

Was it a good move? no
Would I do things differently in the future? probably
 
Jul 23, 2009
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Thanks for the reply Martin. I view moderation as a cross between refereeing and parenting (insert joke about us being children here). Sometimes you have to enforce the rules, and sometimes your decisions lead to questions. It is not a sign of weakness to reverse a decision, and it is also fine to stand your ground and stick with your decision if you believe in it. But it is not ok to pretend that the whole thing never happened. People with the questions are left without answers. Deleting posts or threads gives the appearance that something inappropriate occurred. The deleted thread raised questions about moderation, which as you know is of interest to many forum members. There was a larger issue than the use of one word, and now it is easy to assume that this issue is not up for discussion. Not a very healthy approach to a popular public forum. This is meant to be a discussion, not an argument, and I hope I'm bringing it across that way in my text.
 
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Thanks Martin.

It's nice to know that there can be a discussion, disagreement and reconsideration. Those qualities make this forum better, imo.

Carry on...
 
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Well, I missed the whole thing, but I have been using "The Uniballer" for years, and I see no reason why all of a sudden it is a no no. Robin Williams made it up.
 

kalb04

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Jul 19, 2010
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sky lost

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Between 1916 and 1941, Tagore published 21 collections of songs and poems and held lecture tours across Europe, the Americas, China, Japan, Malaya and Indonesia. In 1924, he inaugurated the Viswa Bharati University at Santiniketan, an All India Centre for culture. Tagore died in Calcutta on 7th August 1941.

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His profound symbolism, abetted by the free-flowing nature of his verse, create a universe of haunting beauty that expresses God's infinite love and humanity's deep compassion for all things beautiful.
 
Jun 21, 2010
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While I disagree with the moderators frequently, I applaud the decision to shut down references to "the Uniballer."

Here's why: The term is derogatory toward Lance Armstong as a cancer survivor. Making fun of people because they had a life-threatening disease and lost a body part is inappropriate. It's fine to dislike and express dislike for Lance Armstrong as a person and/or rider. But expressing that dislike based on what cancer took from him is disrespectful to everyone who has either had cancer or lost a loved one to the disease.

Using the term "uniballer" is similar to laughing at a handicapped person or an elderly person with symptomatic Alzheimer's.
 
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warmfuzzies said:
While I disagree with the moderators frequently, I applaud the decision to shut down references to "the Uniballer."

Here's why: The term is derogatory toward Lance Armstong as a cancer survivor. Making fun of people because they had a life-threatening disease and lost a body part is inappropriate. It's fine to dislike and express dislike for Lance Armstrong as a person and/or rider. But expressing that dislike based on what cancer took from him is disrespectful to everyone who has either had cancer or lost a loved one to the disease.

Using the term "uniballer" is similar to laughing at a handicapped person or an elderly person with symptomatic Alzheimer's.

Tell Robin Williams that...you know, the guy who first cracked the joke...in front of Armstrong.:rolleyes:
 
Martin forgot to take down one of my posts in the BPC thread. It was there for ages before he removed it. You must be crapping your pants about that, huh?

But I'm peed off that I didn't put in my posts about the fact you also regularly flip out and threaten violence. Wished I'd put that one in. :(
 
Jun 16, 2009
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To be clear (hopefully for the last time):

Correct me if I am wrong but Armstrong doesn't ACTUALLY speak for all survivors of cancer? I really don't care that HE is happy with the term.

The reason that I initiated the failed attempt to restrict its use is that OTHER people were offended that the term uniballer was being used to describe ANYONE. They felt that it implied that the person was less of a man because of their cancer. And yes, one of those people offended is in my extended family.

So the net effect is that the term is free to be used here.
 

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