Let me just begin by saying I appreciate moderation, lord knows I don't want to post in a website flooded with spam and stupid links to buy shoes like you find with IGN. However, a forum should be considered a fair place for epic arguments between fan boys. These arguments provided nothing personal gets said are entertaining and encourage site activity. Unfortunately, moderators on this website are very quick with the ban hammer; should users posting racial slurs or other personal defamatory remarks be banned? Yes! Now should users uttering the epic fanboyisms like Wii is last generation or the RROD be banned? Maybe, why don't we try this Wii is last gen, moderator to offender- "you have been found guilty of fanboyism and making fun of the best selling home console defend your statement or face 3 days in purgatory." Look at that now we can have fayboyism and real debate in the same forum. 

Furthermore, I would like to attest that flaming is a natural part of debate and to restrict it, would be the same as restricting someones free speech. Who would care about politics if we didn't have someone calling Palin a slut or saying Obama isn't from America. For all the other forum members in democratic countries that are not the United States they experience the same kind of banter in their elections, because it is fun and natural.  You take the passion from the debate well you might as well end the debate.  When the Japanese attacked Pearl Harbor we didn't say Japan is a great country lets not bomb the shit out of them. We said you want to attack my country or my console then defend yourself. 

The forums should be run like the Jim Rome show, 'Have a take and do not suck.' If you can't defend your post then maybe you shouldn't have posted it to begin with. It is very simple if your going to say my Wii is last generation then be prepared for someone to tell you to suck on Mario Galaxy balls. You want to spout off about RROD, then be prepared to have free replacement and huge software sales numbers jammed down your throat. Want to make fun of the PSP for not having any games well then be prepared for retaliation. 

Banning will never stop the flame wars so why not challenge the forum users to make smarter posts. Insults without justification make you look like a d bag, but if I spit in your coffee please don't hesitate to call me an asshole I deserve it! 

This is my opinion, I believe it to be correct, but if you disagree I am ready to be convinced. 

Let the discussion begin.

Real debate never involves insults, and by extension cannot involve flaming. If you cannot make a point without insukting someone then you simply do not have a point to make. The thought that you need to be able to insult someone to support your argument is, quite frankly, laughable. If you have an issue with that rule then I suggest you find another community. Most here are quite happy to support it, and the site owner likes it as a rule. I highly doubt you will convince him to let this forum devolve into senseless back and forth insults devoid of any real content.

I dont know, some of the moderation around here really sucks at times. Like Leo-J's recent ban b/c he said that he liked PS3 games, in a thread where you were supposed to talk about games on the console that you didnt own. What's next, a democrat getting banned on a republican thread? Some of the mods need to cool it: MaxwellGT, and Sega4life or whoever they are.

@Supercat
I would advise against bringing up specific examples. This thread will be locked, and action possibly taken if people want to use this thread as a staging ground to attack specific moderator decisions.

Whatever, if things that forum goers and mods do end up upsetting you then people are going to talk about it. Sorry, if the mods dont like it, but I'm not going to do this over PM or email.

It's called stealth flaming/trolling. Look it up.

Gnizmo ended this thread already, but I'd like to make a point and say some aspects of this site ARE over-moderated. 

Although, I consider myself lucky. If I was moderated for everything I should be, I'd be permabanned by now.

The mods or whoever ended up deciding that this wasn't ban worthy, and ended up cancelling the ban prematurely if you are talking about the Leo-J thing.

I am specifically asking for people to be able to defend their posts before they get banned. Flaming is a hostile and or insulting interaction between users. If someone can honestly defend their opinion it hardly seems hostile or insulting just because you don't agree with it.

Should I in a forum talking about the Wii being the best console ever be able to challenge that? Yes as long as I can back up my reason, which most users don't get the chance to do..

Should someone in a Sin and Punishment forum be banned for saying Halo Reach is better? Probably since Halo is not an RPG and is not related to the topic, but someone mentioning Mass Effect might be on topic. It justs shows that mods should be a bit slower with banning.

That's a pretty good example of a poster who should probably educate himself on what the hell he's talking about before he starts posting. Mass Effect has even less in common with Sin & Punishment than Halo does.