An open letter to raise the level of discourse on this sub

This is an open letter to all mods and posters on this sub to raise the level of discourse. Below I will lay out the issues of this sub and why a fundamental shift in policies is required.

 

Issue: Users are not protected

Simply put users here have been allowed to be abused by external sources for what they have posted here. Examples include Rabia's rants towards SSR (and following doxxing), or Bob's rant at this sub's posters. We do not hold moderators responsible for Rabia, Bob's, or anyone else's statements. But As moderators of the sub we do hold you responsible for allowing those attackers to still be represented here. Either by links to the attackers materials, justification by posters of said attacks, or the regurgitation of those attacks. In short, mods need to take a higher degree of responsibility for the safety of the posters here and do what is within their power.

 

Issue: This is a true crime sub that acts as a rumor mill and home for witch hunts

As in the case of the Boston Bombers, this sub has taken a direction towards a big witch hunt. A true crime sub should hold its standards to the highest possible level. Not the lowest. An unsubstantiated rumor should never be allowed to pass. Everyone, regardless of position, should be demanding a full background on every piece of information. Should look for source documents. Should understand what has been editorialized and what is spin. Mods should actively challenge and remove anything that is being paraded as fact without proof to back it up. Our standards must be higher to find the truth.

 

Issue: Personal attacks are celebrated

Jay the liar. Hae the drug abuser. Natasha the whore. The corrupt cops. The racist jury. Bob the woman beater. SSR the 'insider'. The list goes on. This HAS to stop. I know the irony of me posting "Bob the woman beater". I should have been banned, it's not acceptable. Anyone that's repeated any of the above should have been banned. There should be a hard line and no one can cross it. Personal attacks are abohrent. However, this sub has put itself in a position where personal attacks are acceptable and as my example proved, I can write anything I want and banning me would be a double standard. That's not acceptable. It's never acceptable. This HAS to change. BTW, I'd fully accept a ban now as long as the rules changed.

 

Issue: Ignorance and misinformation are allowed to run rampant

I have seen countless posts here where data has been looked at, analyzed, original documents reviewed and immediately the posts have been swamped by "meaningless", "worthless", "incorrect". People dismiss rather than perform their own analysis. In a true crime sub ignorance is the devil. There should be no data too scary to review, should it reveal information you don't like. Even worse, misinformation is often posted. Repetition of rumor paraded as fact. Partial documents posted out of context. New users should be able to come here and see clearly what is fact and what isn't. That's impossible now. We are responsible for raising the level of discourse, backing up statements with sources, not parading opinion as fact. Every side holds a part to play here.

 

Issue: There is no transparency in moderation

I have had multiple comments removed because 'they interfered with moderating'. I'm sorry, but that's not acceptable. Asking a question should always be acceptable. Accepting feedback should always be acceptable. Picking on those you disagree with should never be acceptable. A full revision of how moderation on this forum works is required.

 

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This is my last post on the forum. I'll reply to this post, then I'm done. I've seen enough to have a good idea of what happened to Hae. I would love this sub to change its ways as I outlined above. I doubt it will. Because of that I've had enough of debating why you can't dismiss "Jay the liar" out of hand and I don't want to have any more conversations with people that use such terms. Perhaps Adnan will get a fresh appeal and we'll see all the information Susan has.

Until that time, personally, I believe the right guy's in prison and the only debate is who else should have been there alongside him.

 

Where am I going, I don't know. Where am I headed, I ain't certain. All that I know is I am on my way.