A Guitar And Gear Support Forum

Posted: **Fri Jan 08, 2021 8:38 am**

Ok, so it’s evident that someone here did not appreciate my firearms posts.

I was not aware that my posts violated any “Rules of the Road” policies or offended any forum member. That was not my intent.

It’s unfortunate that I have had a total of 4 posts anonymously deleted and no one from the forum (moderators/admins) reached out to explain why. And, if there was an offended forum member, they did not reach out to me privately to expressing their concern.

I do not want to turn this into a shite storm thread so please, let’s not go there. I would appreciate it if whoever decided to delete my posts would reach out to me privately or publicly and explain why. That would be great. Also, the “Rules of the Road” section should probably be updated to include this new policy.

Peace and love my AGF brethren.

Posted: **Fri Jan 08, 2021 9:02 am**

I would second the request for an explanation. I've been part of other threads this week ( beside's spikes ) that simply dissapeared with no notification or reasoning to the originator. Not all of them were of the same subject matter ( firearms ) either. In fairness to some of the moderators, I have made private contacts to them and they are also unaware of the reason for these threads being deleted.

AGF has always been a great community, and part of that has been because of the transparency and honesty of all involved. If someone is indeed just deleting threads based on personal ( or whatever ) reasons without stating said reasons, or notifying users, that is very uncool.

Posted: **Fri Jan 08, 2021 9:58 am**

I'll throw out that I had SQL errors last night. So just because you hear hoofs doesn't mean there are zebras.
They may or may not have been deleted intentionally.

Posted: **Fri Jan 08, 2021 10:11 am**

ID10t wrote: ↑Fri Jan 08, 2021 9:58 am I'll throw out that I had SQL errors last night. So just because you hear hoofs doesn't mean there are zebras.
They may or may not have been deleted intentionally.

I would give that benefit of doubt had there not been a similar thread deleted within 45 minutes of posting it this morning...

Posted: **Fri Jan 08, 2021 10:51 am**

I have no horse in the race, having not participated in any of the referenced threads (that I'm aware of), but I would agree that there should be clarity in rules of appropriate topics to discuss as well as reasons why anything would be deleted.

Posted: **Fri Jan 08, 2021 10:52 am**

Spike wrote: ↑Fri Jan 08, 2021 10:11 am
ID10t wrote: ↑Fri Jan 08, 2021 9:58 am I'll throw out that I had SQL errors last night. So just because you hear hoofs doesn't mean there are zebras.
They may or may not have been deleted intentionally.
I would give that benefit of doubt had there not been a similar thread deleted within 45 minutes of posting it this morning...
zebras.JPG

I really hope that isn't the case. I understand intellectually but where does it stop? I don't have the right to enjoy the forum, I have the privilege. So we must not post things that are not 6 string electric guitar related or they shall be deleted, unless it is about a dead dog, or a sick cat, or a wonky transmission; but we can all agree that those things are not offensive to someone's delicate nature?
Not my circus, not my monkeys.

Posted: **Fri Jan 08, 2021 11:07 am**

Yes, I guess I'm just more disapponted than mad/upset. I mean this is the type of behavior that I would have never expected from our cool little corner of the interwebz.

Other azzhat forums, yes, AGF? Never in a million years...

Posted: **Fri Jan 08, 2021 11:22 am**

I kind of thought what would get deleted / locked were politics. religion or a really bad case of potty mouth. The gun and knife threads I've seen don't to my mind fit in those categories. I'd like to why yours was pulled and find out if such threads violate something.

Posted: **Fri Jan 08, 2021 11:32 am**

I have to admit I have wondered why there were so many posts here about someone's new gun or which gun should I buy due to the fact that this is actually a guitar forum. Don't get me wrong I enjoy shooting to. I'm just saying maybe this isn't the forum to discuss them.

Posted: **Fri Jan 08, 2021 11:38 am**

MichaelR wrote: ↑Fri Jan 08, 2021 11:32 am I have to admit I have wondered why there were so many posts here about someone's new gun or which gun should I buy due to the fact that this is actually a guitar forum. Don't get me wrong I enjoy shooting to. I'm just saying maybe this isn't the forum to discuss them.

It was posted in the “Water Cooler” section which is reserved for “All Your Unrelated Stuff”. That is where all other non-guitar related topics get posted so there is that.

Posted: **Fri Jan 08, 2021 11:40 am**

True true.

Posted: **Fri Jan 08, 2021 11:58 am**

The "Water Cooler" has almost double the amount of posts as the next busiest section of the forum, which oddly enough is the Guitar Talk section. Seems to me that censoring this section of the forum would be unwise.

Posted: **Fri Jan 08, 2021 1:04 pm**

I would also have to say that especially now due to what happened in Washington yesterday I would defiantly like to discuss how people feel but this is a guitar forum so I don't.

Posted: **Fri Jan 08, 2021 1:15 pm**

MichaelR wrote: ↑Fri Jan 08, 2021 1:04 pm...I would defiantly like to discuss how people feel but this is a guitar forum so I don't.

Good call.

Posted: **Fri Jan 08, 2021 1:35 pm**

MichaelR wrote: ↑Fri Jan 08, 2021 1:04 pm I would also have to say that especially now due to what happened in Washington yesterday I would defiantly like to discuss how people feel but this is a guitar forum so I don't.

It's also worth pointing out that the subject matter you speak of is clearly defined in the "rules of the road" as a prohibited topic. So it should come as no surprise if a political post gets removed with no notice. Same thing for profanity, again defined in the forum rules. If those who set policy would decide to add guns to that list, so be it - I know some forums do exactly that. Or religion. Or drugs, or whatever.

I think the real rub ( with me at least ) would be the arbritrary removal of posts/threads that do NOT violate said rules without notice/reason. At the end of the day, the site owners own the content too - and it's their right to do whatever they want with it. Having said that, if something is going to be removed at least have the courtesy to let us know why - either via a pre-defined rule, or via a private message with some kind of reason. Because I've seen threads dissappear in the past week that were not related to any prohibited topic, or firearms.

Having said all that, no one from the moderators team or the site owner has posted on this thread so it's not fair to pass judgment until we know the full story.

Posted: **Fri Jan 08, 2021 5:27 pm**

Hi all, I’m not aware of what happened, so can’t comment on any actions related to this particular thread.

Having owned forums, I know how hard it can be to strike the right balance.

Just wanted to ensure that the team weren’t silent on the topic, I’m sure my colleagues will be along soon.

Edited to add: I’m new to the group so unless something is REALLY outside the lines then I will defer to the rest of the team to deal with it, and would always make contact to say why.
I’m just the geek in the code really

Posted: **Sat Jan 09, 2021 7:17 am**

I think TJ is more or less out of pocket at the moment.
But I can assure one & all, if TJ or I lock or delete anything you post, you will get a PM explaining what we did & why we did it.

Posted: **Sat Jan 09, 2021 9:05 am**

I've had a few posts deleted myself with no explanation why. All I can tell you is I didn't flag the gun posts, but I also wouldn't really blame someone for not wanting gun posts on a guitar forum. I say that as someone who does plan to get into learning how to shoot after Covid is over.

But if anyone has recommendations on a gun forum, let me know.

Posted: **Sat Jan 09, 2021 10:14 am**

I'm not making a political statement; nor would I want to, as per the terms of this forum, and because of my own desire to not engage in such discussions. What I'm going to say is merely my observations on our culture. I would like you to think about whether or not, or for how long this forum can exist, as a "pocket dimension" inside the broader culture. I see a problem with that, and here's why.

I believe that given the state of society at this moment, and the trajectory it is on with increasing acceleration, there will soon be nothing that is not politicized. Think about it. Mathematics has already become politicized. The weather has become politicized. Medicine is politicized. In light of this, does anyone really think that music, and by extension guitar, can remain un-politicized in such an environment?

For you guys my age who were young in the 80s and remember this film, politics is like "The Nothing" in The Neverending Story. I guess that means that AGF is like Fantasia, a fantasy world with no boundaries, made up of our hopes and dreams, because that's kinda what music is, isn't it? Are the borders of our "Fantasia" being devoured by "The Nothing" of politics? Is what happened to @Spike's post an indication of this? I don't know, but it's food for thought.

I have said the following before in private, and I will say it now openly here on this forum, that I suspect I will live to see a time when it will be against the law for me to play and perform the music I love. Sounds crazy? Wait and see. The insanity of politics is going to eat our culture alive. I'm just a guy who wants to play music.

End of non political statement.

Posted: **Sat Jan 09, 2021 2:34 pm**

toomanycats wrote: ↑Sat Jan 09, 2021 10:14 am I'm not making a political statement; nor would I want to, as per the terms of this forum, and because of my own desire to not engage in such discussions. What I'm going to say is merely my observations on our culture. I would like you to think about whether or not, or for how long this forum can exist, as a "pocket dimension" inside the broader culture. I see a problem with that, and here's why.

I believe that given the state of society at this moment, and the trajectory it is on with increasing acceleration, there will soon be nothing that is not politicized. Think about it. Mathematics has already become politicized. The weather has become politicized. Medicine is politicized. In light of this, does anyone really think that music, and by extension guitar, can remain un-politicized in such an environment?

For you guys my age who were young in the 80s and remember this film, politics is like "The Nothing" in The Neverending Story. I guess that means that AGF is like Fantasia, a fantasy world with no boundaries, made up of our hopes and dreams, because that's kinda what music is, isn't it? Are the borders of our "Fantasia" being devoured by "The Nothing" of politics? Is what happened to @Spike's post an indication of this? I don't know, but it's food for thought.

I have said the following before in private, and I will say it now openly here on this forum, that I suspect I will live to see a time when it will be against the law for me to play and perform the music I love. Sounds crazy? Wait and see. The insanity of politics is going to eat our culture alive. I'm just a guy who wants to play music.

End of non political statement.

il_fullxfull.1211938615_c8p2.jpg

Perfect analogy Catman!

Posted: **Sat Jan 09, 2021 6:59 pm**

I can tell you that I have never flagged a post here except one where a guy was a blatant spammer which think Mickey took care of long before the surprise sale. I say this because I don't want anyone to think I'm against posts about guns or anything non guitar because I have wandered off topic myself at times. I mean if I find a really nice mouse trap I may tell ya about here.

Posted: **Sat Jan 09, 2021 7:07 pm**

mickey wrote: ↑Sat Jan 09, 2021 7:17 am I think TJ is more or less out of pocket at the moment.
But I can assure one & all, if TJ or I lock or delete anything you post, you will get a PM explaining what we did & why we did it.

Thanks @mickey . You, @tobijohn and @UrenragK make up the moderator team at least as listed on the site roster. @LightWingStudios - would you be able/willing to weight in on the matter as admin? Is it possible that there is a hidden mod or a hack upon us?

Posted: **Sat Jan 09, 2021 7:23 pm**

I havent found a problem with any topics, so long as we arent arguing.

Posted: **Sat Jan 09, 2021 7:32 pm**

As Mickey alluded to, I've been quite busy in my personal life (and apparently not getting much of anything accomplished) so my presence hasn't been what it normally is but hopefully will be again soon. I still take a quick scan or two everyday though but did not even notice the referenced threads so can assure you that I didn't delete them.

Although my father was a lifetime member of the NRA and the American Rifleman was standard bathroom reading (The Armed Citizen was my favorite section which usually reported on model citizens and old grannies holding at bay or blasting away masked intruders coming in through bedroom windows) and own a few guns myself (gifts from the old man), they never blew my skirt up and haven't actually picked one up in years. However, I have no problem with others discussing them nor do I think enthusiastic gun owners are all right wing extremists.

Let me add that if and when I delete a post or thread, I definitely let the member/s know why. When I get a chance (later tonight or tomorrow), I'll see what I can see...

Posted: **Sat Jan 09, 2021 9:12 pm**

tobijohn wrote: ↑Sat Jan 09, 2021 7:32 pm I've been quite busy in my personal life

Did you make a New Years resolution to change the strings on all your guitars before February?

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