ADMIN: Rumours/Inflammatory posts 'thread'

[Neil Ward]

No: HPFGUIDX 20075

Hmmmm.  That'll teach me to nod off after dinner...!

I support everything Penny and John have said on this topic and reiterate
Penny's original request that the thread not be continued.  IMO, Joe Earle's
post was inflammatory because, whatever else he had to say in it, he made
offensive and unacceptable anti-gay remarks that could easily have triggered
OT responses from the group.  Any reasonable point he had to make was
overshadowed by that.

Susan McGee's comments were not, IMO, inflammatory in the context of
previous discussions held on this list, but, as Simon suggested, Joe did not
know what private correspondence the moderators may or may not have had with
Susan.  I accept Haggridd's recent point that Joe was reacting to Susan's
remarks, but it was the content of his post that was deemed likely to cause
problems.

At the risk of stating the obvious, the objective of ending potentially
contentious threads is to prevent heated debates leading to onlist flaming,
and not to censor particular viewpoints; goodness knows, we've seen some
diverse opinions on this list.  Penny's action was appropriate and was made
with the support of the Moderator Team.  Let's now respect that decision,
and return to Harry Potter topics... please.

Anyone who wishes to continue the discussion with Joe Earles can e-mail him
directly, as he suggested (especially as he has now unsubscribed).  Any
comments on the moderating of this issue should be sent to the Moderators at
HPforGrownups-owner at yahoogroups.com.

Thanks

Neil
Moderator Team
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