Message posted by Joerg (Webmaster) on May 20, 2000 at 02:45:34 EST:

Thank you for your post, Damon. Please let me assure you that we are totally on the same side here. Being born in a country where freedom of speech was not exactly a popular idea I hate any kind of censorship.
Censorship that is done with the intent to influence the masses, put those in charge in an even better position etc. However, I honestly feel that removing those posts was the right thing to do. Please let me explain why, and I will be happy to start a discussion thread about censorship with this. I encourage everyone to voice their opinion here.
I have been reading the newsgroups for years, and as you probably know it only takes one provocative post or poster to shut down an entire thread, or the whole NG for days. The same has happened previously on this forum, and I am to blame for not putting my foot down earlier. In the future I reserve the right in the best interest of this forum to remove posts, if, as in this situation clearly the case, the vast majority of our readers feels annoyed and bothered by it. Furthermore, this particular poster was targeting me personally, and I have reason to believe that this is part of a character-assasination campaign that a certain individual has launched against me, for reasons that I do not want to get into.
Am I playing god? No sir, far from. I am the webmaster and moderator of this forum, and I am proud to say that we have a great crowd of regular posters that appreciate the opportunity to discuss their interests in a relaxed, tolerant and hassle-free environment. This is what I had in mind when I created this forum, and I am extremely excited that with the help of everyone here my hopes came true. They are here because it is NOT a newsgroup, but a moderated forum.
When I started my Area 51 research early last year I missed a forum like this, updated recently, and mostly geared towards serious research, while sticking with the facts. Now that it is there I will do whatever I can to keep it that way, not because it is mine, but because I feel that it is needed.
Thank you for taking the time to read this. I hope that I was able to express my motives, and I appreciate everyones patience.

In Reply to: Re: Knock it Off!! posted by Damon on May 20, 2000 at 01:32:40 EST:

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