By Scott Tibbs, December 16th, 2004
Despite complaints, links will stay
There has been some question about the links on my web page, specifically the link to the forums on FreeConservatives.com
I will repeat what I said elsewhere: I won't remove links to forums. The reason being that views expressed there are the views of individual posters, not the site itself. I don't agree with everything on FreeCon or any other forum I visit, but the whole point of a forum is so people can express differing views, no?
It is perfectly reasonable to question my participation on FreeCon (or any other board that has "questionable" content) in a public forum. All I can say is that I don't agree with everything posted there or any other board I visit. One of the reasons I participate on discussion forums is to exchange ideas with those who I do not agree with.
One key point to make here is that FreeCon is not my forum. Some of the things said there or on other forums I visit would merit a reprimand (or possibly deletion of a post) from me, the board administrator. I have a set of rules on my forum. The strictness of those rules, I'm sure, contributes to my forum being "a graveyard with me sitting on a tombstone talking to myself". The admin of a forum holds a higher responsibility for the content of posts than a simple member does, because he/she sets the tone for what is and is not allowed there.
If I were to run for elective office, it would certainly be legitimate to bring up statements made in a public forum, to ask me if I agree or disagree with those statements. If the voters, in such a hypothetical campaign, were to decide that posts on a forum I visit are reason enough to withhold their vote from me, that is their choice. I respect the right to political free speech and the right of people to vote how they choose, for whatever reason. In fact, if someone wants to vote against me because I have a scar on my right ankle, they are free to do so. I may disagree with that decision and explain why I disagree with it, but at the end of the day a citizen can vote however he wants for any reason he wants. That is the nature of the right to vote.
The link to FreeConservatives.com will remain on my Web site.
