"Theory or Hypothesis" thread

[Ian]

Regretfully, I have decided to remove the thread titled "Theory or Hypothesis" as it has degenerated into disrespect.

May I please remind everyone that only mutually respectful discussions are acceptable here. Above all, this is a photography forum. The Lounge is provided as a discussion space for non-photography topics but differences in opinion must be mutually respected, otherwise action like this will be taken.

Ian

[Guest]

Ian, you just caught me as I was logging off for the night.

First let me say that from post #1 I took pains to be respectful to each and every poster throughout this thread without offence to anyone.
I made no derogatory statements, direct or implied towards any member, a policy that I have maintained here over the past 10 years.
Shenstone has completely misinterpreted my response to his implication that opinions such as mine should be suppressed.
To what I saw as naked advocacy for the suppression of free speech, my response was simply, 'Said Xi Jinping' (fair comment I think).
In no sense was I likening him to "a communist dictator" as he claimed before you removed the entire topic without a right of reply.
As you rightly say, "differences in opinion must be mutually respected, otherwise action like this will be taken".Regretfully it has been
demonstrated that mature respectful discussions on sensitive issues on this forum is an unaffordable luxury - you were right to remove it.

Regards, Mark

[Ian]

Ian, you just caught me as I was logging off for the night.

First let me say that from post #1 I took pains to be respectful to each and every poster throughout this thread without offence to anyone.
I made no derogatory statements, direct or implied towards any member, a policy that I have maintained here over the past 10 years.
Shenstone has completely misinterpreted my response to his implication that opinions such as mine should be suppressed.
To what I saw as naked advocacy for the suppression of free speech, my response was simply, 'Said Xi Jinping' (fair comment I think).
In no sense was I likening him to "a communist dictator" as he claimed before you removed the entire topic without a right of reply.
As you rightly say, "differences in opinion must be mutually respected, otherwise action like this will be taken".Regretfully it has been
demonstrated that mature respectful discussions on sensitive issues on this forum is an unaffordable luxury - you were right to remove it.

Regards, Mark

The problem is that this isn't a forum equipped to deal with threads that develop like this. I don't doubt that you have tried your best to be careful with your contributions to the discussion you started, but despite this it has generated some negative feeling. The discussion was beginning to go round in circles and wasn't really progressing or developing. I think you realise this as well. Personally, I did not find the Facebook/sheep meme at all helpful. I disagree that mature respectful discussions here are not possible, but sometimes a thread will simply lose direction, as was the case here.

Ian

[Guest]

The problem is that this isn't a forum equipped to deal with threads that develop like this. I don't doubt that you have tried your best to be careful with your contributions to the discussion you started, but despite this it has generated some negative feeling. The discussion was beginning to go round in circles and wasn't really progressing or developing. I think you realise this as well. Personally, I did not find the Facebook/sheep meme at all helpful. I disagree that mature respectful discussions here are not possible, but sometimes a thread will simply lose direction, as was the case here.

Ian

"I did not find the Facebook/sheep meme at all helpful."
I seems to me that the sheep meme was a fair response to the Facebook meme that preceded it, which I accepted in good humour with a Like.

"The discussion was beginning to go round in circles"
As indeed has Beagletorque's Covid reality thread, whose circles are somewhat wider.

Anyway Ian, thank you again for your initial support and I regret that it generated such emotive responses.
As the thread can be of no further interest to anyone, then I would be much obliged if you would delete it.

Mark