Update on Alex's fire situation

[glend (Glen)]

If anyone is interested, I have contacted Alex via sms this morning to see how things have been going around Tabulum this past week. I am told that smoke has been the big problem at his place, as a respiratory issue for folks, especially the old ones. He has spent most of the past week in a wheelchair.
Alex cannot post his usual updates because he is serving out a ban, and I have no idea if he will return.

[casstony]

Hopefully Alex does return - he adds a bit of colour to the forum. (even if he's a little too colourful for the TOS at times )

[Startrek (Martin)]

I was beginning to wonder if Alex was ok or not as we are so use to him posting on a regular basis
Hope he gets back on his feet soon and back into AP and posting
He is a wonderful character and has time for everyone

[Imme (Jon)]

It would be a real shame for this forum if Alex didn't return.

He1 is one of the reason I come to visit.....I really enjoy his posts

[blink138 (Pat)]

Originally Posted by glend

If anyone is interested, I have contacted Alex via sms this morning to see how things have been going around Tabulum this past week. I am told that smoke has been the big problem at his place, as a respiratory issue for folks, especially the old ones. He has spent most of the past week in a wheelchair.
Alex cannot post his usual updates because he is serving out a ban, and I have no idea if he will return.

what ban? an iis one??
lol he is rather colourful but he is always polite
pat

[Nikolas (Nik)]

Pity about the ban hope he returns soon, as a moderator in another forum I can understand why bans occur, Good to hear Alex is not in imminent danger in the fires.

[mynameiscd (Andy)]

Good to hear that Alex is ok.
Sorry to hear about the ban.
Alex has some of the best posts, some of the most colourful images, and always gives encouragement to beginners and the experienced.
I really hope he returns after the ban, he is one of the reasons I look forward to IIS but I know there are TOS rules.
Cheers
Andy

[Outcast (Carlton)]

Thanks Glen,

So good to hear that Alex is okay & hopefully not in any immediate danger..

Hope he does return to the forum; as others have said, whilst a colourful & candid character, he is full of inspiration & encouragement which I believe we have all benefitted from at some stage of our Astronomy journey

Cheers

[bojan]

Come back, Alex!
(BTW, I tried to contact him via forum email, but it seems this method doesn't work or he is not checking his emails).

[leon]

I haven't been posting much lately and am surprised to hear about a ban, he is so polite and a caring fellow.
hope we get him back soon.

Leon

[RB (Andrew)]

There has been a lot going on behind the scenes that members don't get to see (obviously).

The TOS specifically states that "Religion" is to be avoided and not discussed.
Even some of you guys (bojan and others) have pointed this out to new members pushing their particular religious views lately.

I've publically & privately warned such individuals ('Blindman', et al) about continually breaking the TOS rules.

JohnF continually broke the TOS rules on religion and received a 2-month ban but unfortunately, I also had to give Alex the same ban because he too creates topics that take jabs at religious groups knowing full well that he's been warned many many times by Mike and the other moderators
He's received bans before so he of all people knows whats expected on here.

We can't have one set of rules for people that hold religious views while having another set of rules for non-believers and allowing them to post "anti-religious" views without allowing a rebuttle from believers due to the TOS rules.

Same goes for Anti-American (anti-Trump) setiments, Global Warming and the like, all of which are spelled out in the TOS for this very reason, we have members on here from America, we have members on here that hold religious views, we have members here that don't believe in Climate Change and Mike has specifically asked us to moderate on these topics accordingly.

It's not just a matter of being cordial and polite, it's a matter of not continually breaching the IIS TOS Rules even after being asked and then warned not to, many, many, times.

RB

[N1 (Mirko)]

Originally Posted by RB

Same goes for Anti-American (anti-Trump) setiments, Global Warming and the like, all of which are spelled out in the TOS for this very reason, we have members on here from America, we have members on here that hold religious views, we have members here that don't believe in Climate Change and Mike has specifically asked us to moderate on these topics accordingly.
RB

So we are free to discuss climatic changes on other planets but not our own. This is wrong. Astronomy is also about drawing conclusions from what we see elsewhere about the world we live on. I'd say most people on here don't believe in climate change, because there is nothing to be believed. There is evidence, and there is its interpretation. So maybe the TOS should allow certain things to be discussed, as long as the discussion is scientifically based. And by doing that, even those who disagree with a certain interpretation of the available evidence, get to say why they disagree. There is nothing wrong with that. The TOS should enable scientific discussion, not serve to appease those incapable of it.

[casstony]

While I agree that the suppression of climate change discussion is wrong and deniers are fools, the Mods have a difficult (though highly paid) job and I think we just have to go along with the TOS and whatever rulings the Mods make.

[snowyskiesau]

Having been a moderator on a number of forums, I agree about the various no-go subjects mentioned here. Not so much from the view that they shouldn't be discussed at all but they are too far off topic (astronomy).



A reminder of the rules then a ban with the ban period increasing each time it is imposed seems fair.



Lots of other forums exist to air your religious, political or crackpot opinions

Hope Alex is safe. I went through bush-fires here in Tassie earlier in the year so can sympathise with his situation.

[JA]

Stay safe Alex.

Best
JA

[RB (Andrew)]

Originally Posted by N1

So we are free to discuss climatic changes on other planets but not our own. This is wrong. Astronomy is also about drawing conclusions from what we see elsewhere about the world we live on. I'd say most people on here don't believe in climate change, because there is nothing to be believed. There is evidence, and there is its interpretation. So maybe the TOS should allow certain things to be discussed, as long as the discussion is scientifically based. And by doing that, even those who disagree with a certain interpretation of the available evidence, get to say why they disagree. There is nothing wrong with that. The TOS should enable scientific discussion, not serve to appease those incapable of it.

I'll put it to you this way:

Mike has invited us into his 'living room'.
We're welcome to discuss things and share our astro observations and photos.
He's asked us that while we're in his 'living room' that we not discuss religion, climate change, politics.
I think it's only polite that we respect that.
He has stated many times in the past, IIS is not a democracy, it's his forum.

If you find the need to express your views on those subjects please find another forum, social media, platform to take up your cause.
(I'm paraphrasing his words btw).

RB

Originally Posted by casstony

While I agree that the suppression of climate change discussion is wrong and deniers are fools, the Mods have a difficult (though highly paid) job and I think we just have to go along with the TOS and whatever rulings the Mods make.

Originally Posted by snowyskiesau

Having been a moderator on a number of forums, I agree about the various no-go subjects mentioned here. Not so much from the view that they shouldn't be discussed at all but they are too far off topic (astronomy).



A reminder of the rules then a ban with the ban period increasing each time it is imposed seems fair.



Lots of other forums exist to air your religious, political or crackpot opinions

Hope Alex is safe. I went through bush-fires here in Tassie earlier in the year so can sympathise with his situation.

Thank you, I appreciate people that understand what it's like to moderate a big forum such as ours.
Houghy, Al and myself have dedicated untold hours on here, since 2005, and we've seen many members come and go and I might add many good moderators come and go because of the pressure of this unpaid job.
We have families and family commitments too and we try our best to keep an even keel on IIS.
We can only offer our best, under these difficult circumstances.

Originally Posted by JA

Stay safe Alex.

Best
JA

Yep, stay safe Alex, good luck with your dad and the fires.
As I explained to Alex just before I banned him, I have both parents suffering from cancer and another relative in the hospital with a terminal illness.
And I have fires that are coming our way too and have to do prepair for the worst for my family.

RB

[Rainmaker (Matt)]

For Alex, RB and others being impacted by these fires,
Hope you guys and your families stay safe and don't suffer any losses.

(To the moderators, my thanks for a job well done, helping these forums on an even keel is a challenging task, one I doubt I could keep up with.)

Stay safe and remember property is replaceable, people are not

[RB (Andrew)]

Thanks Matt.

RB

[TheCrazedLog]

Originally Posted by RB

I'll put it to you this way:

Mike has invited us into his 'living room'.
We're welcome to discuss things and share our astro observations and photos.
He's asked us that while we're in his 'living room' that we not discuss religion, climate change, politics.
I think it's only polite that we respect that.
He has stated many times in the past, IIS is not a democracy, it's his forum.

If you find the need to express your views on those subjects please find another forum, social media, platform to take up your cause.
(I'm paraphrasing his words btw).

RB

Rarely do I post here and even more rarely in such a thread, but this statement was just too good and too on the money to not acknowledge.

[leee (Thomas)]

Alex - is why I continue to Visit this site.