Considering that Voodoogasman has a "posting style" and "idea base" which is wildly divergent from pretty much everyone else on Scubaboard, it would be my vote to leave him fairly uncensored, and un-moderated. I'd call this a special case, and the forums he posts in will certainly react sufficiently, in 99% of the train wrecks he could be involved in
I would suggest giving him his own Avatar, maybe Superman from the Bizarro Universe, or an image inside of two facing mirrors, indicating a different dimension of being.
In any event, understanding can benefit from conceptual boundaries. We have people that push these boundaries in many directions, as a big discussion ensues....Voodoo tends to push in directions no one else does, and this actually has a value, in the evolution of a good discussion thread.
So maybe his Avatar should look like a picture from a Structural Geology text book...two tectonic plates coming together...the Boundary Pusher....
Divergent views are fine. I don't think the mods have a problem with those.
Boundary pushing can be fine ... depending on the boundary. Where diver safety is concerned, I think the mods have to be concerned about liability ... ScubaBoard has already been sued once, and even if the case is without merit, it still costs a lot of money to defend, and threatens the future existence of the board. That has to be factored into any decision to moderate, and if a post can be construed as violating the policies of the board and it's allowed to remain unmoderated, then liability becomes a legitimate concern.
Personal attacks are not fine ... regardless of someone's posting style or divergent views about diving. They're a violation of ToS. And when someone attacks the messenger rather than the message, they deserve to be moderated regardless of their views. Not moderating them not only sends a message that the rules don't apply to this person, it also has a chilling effect on other people's ability to participate.
When the ToS are violated, people should be moderated ... regardless of who they are, what their diving views are, or what their position on ScubaBoard staff happens to be.
To my concern, the vast majority of people who get moderated on ScubaBoard deserve to be. Most of the time they know that they're breaking the rules and do it anyway. Among those who are chronically moderated, there is a pervasive attitude of either "the rules don't apply to me" or "the rules are unfair".
Every one of us is entitled to our opinion about the fairness of the rules ... but every one of us agreed to follow them when we signed up to become members here. Our behavior doesn't just affect ourselves, or those we are responding to ... it affects the ability of others to participate in a conversation. The ToS is the internet equivalent of the rules of the road .. they don't exist for your benefit, they exist to provide a framework that makes it possible for everyone to participate. And if you decide to break the rules, and get a "ticket", then it's not the fault of the ticket issuer ... it's your fault for violating them. Man up and take responsibility for your actions ... that's what adults are supposed to do.
If you feel the rules are too onerous, you always have the right to express your opinion in Site Support, if you can do so constructively ... or in Whine & Cheeze, if you really just want to rage against the empire. But if you choose to ignore the rules, attack other posters, promote unsafe diving practices, or otherwise violate the ToS that you agreed to abide by when you joined the board, then don't expect a lot of sympathy when a moderator removes your post. You earned it.
Over the years, we've had a few moderators who abuse their position, who moderate based on personal views ... or based on who they like or dislike. But those people tend not to remain on staff for very long. For the most part, the mods try hard to be fair. Having been a moderator, I can tell you that moderators are usually pretty critical of themselves and each other ... which makes it a pretty self-limiting position. Sure, sometimes one of them will make a mistake, or a decision that some of us don't agree with. But give them some credit ... for the most part they do a pretty good job of keeping the place free of trolls and attacktics ... which lets the majority feel comfortable participating here. And that has a great deal to do with why this board has been so successful.
I'm pretty comfortable with the level of moderation that goes on here. I've watched a bunch of mods come and go over the years. I was a moderator myself for a time. And, to my concern, I think the staff we have right now is about as fair and even-handed as we've ever had on the board. Perhaps they've learned from the mistakes of the past ... and there have been some ... but I just don't see a lot of moderation going on here that I think is unwarranted ...
... Bob (Grateful Diver)