I think it is necessary, now, that we discuss the nature of an administrator, as I've come to be enlightened that perhaps the position of administrator is not precisely what I had previously thought it to be.
In chat, Phat said to me:
quote:
I can Admin when and where I choose
This came as somewhat of a shock, to me, because I was under the impression that the role of an admin was not to hand out warnings and disciplines only when they felt like it, but to discipline people who were out of line”whether they felt like dishing out that discipline or not. I guess his words kind of struck me as if a police officer said "I can protect and serve when and where I choose," as if upholding the law was only part of their duty when they felt like it, and at other times they could turn a blind eye if they thought it would be too much work. (I know, most police officers do do this, but I'm still sure it's not very moral of them).
This whole thing was brought about when we began to discuss the behaviour of NJ in
Divinity of Jesus. It seemed that NJ swaying off-topic was against forum guidelines, and his misrepresentation of his opponents position was immoral, in my opinion. I asked Phat why he had not done anything about it, though it had been pointed out to him earlier that day, and he replied:
quote:
Phat
Nem, while not entireley honest, did make some good posts that challenged Jars whole modus operendi
To which I replied:
quote:
Jon
show me the good points he made
Phat originally refused to present the points he felt NJ had made which were good and relevant, but I persisted that he tell me to prove that he was not just playing favourites with the other creationists. He presented these:
quote:
Phat
- You claim the person is perennially off topic so that you can gain control of the conversation and direct it where you want it to go.
- Use the words and phrases "palm the pea," "irrelevant," "bullshit," "strawman," as a way for you to palm the pea withirrelevant bullshit. In other words, its a strawman.
- You then answer questions with questions, which is no answer at all, or you refuse to answer and pretend the question was never asked.
My response:
quote:
Jon
all of those things have nothing to do with the thread
that is just NJ barking at jar
any points that NJ made that you think successfully refuted jar's?
quote:
Phat
not really
In other words, Phat admitted knowing that NJ had made posts for the purpose of barking at jar (immoral), and that those posts had nothing of content which addressed his opponent's (jar's) position (against forum guidelines). Given that we were now able to agree on the matter of these two things and that these two things were clearly what they were, I said:
quote:
Jon
good
then he should've been disciplined
Then Phat says:
quote:
Phat
NJ at least puts up a good argument
Which shocked me, since he had just admitted only several lines up that NJ had made no points that he thought successfully refuted jar's. I asked him, then, how a pointless argument could be a good argument, to which he responded:
quote:
Phat
well I stay out of such debates
I inquired, then further, and told Phat that I thought the purpose of an admin was to discipline irregardless of preference, to which Phat replied:
quote:
Phat
I can Admin when and where I choose
. which brought me to my current state of wondering just what an admin is and what an admin does and is supposed to do. Phat did not want to discuss the topic any more, and so told me to bring it to the Moderation thread, and told me that he did not care if I pasted parts from our chat. And, so, here I am, in the Moderation thread, asking all the good folks here what their opinion is on the duties, responsibilities, and/or privileges of being an admin. Is it solely a position of responsibility? Is it solely a position of privilege? Or, is it somewhere in between?
Thanks,
Jon
P.S. I'd like to add that this thread is in
no way directed at Phat or any other moderator in particular. It is merely an inquiry to help me gain understanding. I included the quotes from our chat in order that the readers might be able to better follow my train of thought and perhaps understand what I am asking better.
In considering the Origin of Species, it is quite conceivable that a naturalist... might come to the conclusion that each species had not been independently created, but had descended, like varieties, from other species. - Charles Darwin
On the Origin of Species_ _ _ _ _ _ _ ____ _ _ _ _ _ _ _
En el mundo hay multitud de idiomas, y cada uno tiene su propio significado. -
I Corintios 14:10_ _ _ _ _ _ _ ____ _ _ _ _ _ _ _
A devout people with its back to the wall can be pushed deeper and deeper into hardening religious nativism, in the end even preferring national suicide to religious compromise. - Colin Wells
Sailing from Byzantium
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