Oh how GC has changed over the years. As I've been here the rules have progressively become stricter and stricter, to the point that I spend far less time here as a result. I'm an American and I believe in free speech; maybe a Dutch website just isn't for me? Here are a couple of the "rules" or "policies" that I dislike about GrassCity: No discussion of firearms. No discussion of BitTorrent, etc. I see a large number of threads deleted because there are already existing threads on the subject; where in the rules does it say that we are not allowed to post something that is already posted? Just because something has been discussed before doesn't mean no one has anything new to bring to the table. I will admit that I am no Dutch lawyer but if GC could really be in any sort of legal trouble for the content posted by anonymous users, it would be news to me. No wonder I live in America. Overall the site has been great and some of the people here are wonderful people, but I don't know how much support I can give to a site that contradicts my views on freedom. I certainly won't become a paid member of the City anytime soon.
The no discussion on firearms rule comes straight from SJ and since this is his site, it is what it is. I do know that Dutch laws are quite different than ours regarding firearms. However, the majority of any past discussion regarding firearms has been nothing more than the glorification of them when it comes to violence so I can see why the rule was created since SJ is more about peace and love for this site than the violence that can be related to firearms. The BitTorrect thing is a common sense rule for a forum that is backed by a business. While there may be definite exceptions regarding what's shared, we can't have a wishy-washy rule on it. It has to be all or nothing. If anyone has anything new to bring to the table regarding certain topics that we have many, many threads on, then they are welcome to bring it to one of those threads. Unique threads on topics that have been discussed before are more than welcome but if it's the same stuff over and over, it will probably get deleted. As you stated, you're not a Dutch lawyer...neither am I. However, SJ has people that he's consulted with and is very well aware of what can and can not be discussed on his website. Getting to the first point of your post...yes, the City has changed. We have over 260,000 members compared to the small number that was here in 2004 when you registered and the even smaller number when I registered in 2001. With growth, things change. That's just how life is. When you have thousands of people discussing something that could affect this site, or worse yet, SJ's business, rules have to be set and enforced. Back in the day when it was only a few compared to thousands, things could be kept under control without set rules. Now, with all that said, I'll throw in my own 2 cents as a member and not an Admin. I'm very much about my freedom as well because, as an American, my freedoms are being stripped on what seems a daily basis right now and I'm not happy about it at all. However, this is a private website, based out of another country, given to us by an individual to bring stoners together so I can certainly live without discussing certain topics here. If I want to discuss guns, then I'll go to a website dedicated to them...the info will probably be better there anyway. If I want to be involved with BitTorrents, then I'll do my thing without discussing it with anyone at all...anywhere. Just like with the no porn rule, if I want to look at porn, I'll do it at a website dedicated to it. You just have to decide for yourself whether the community means more to you then what you can't discuss. I visit another site where I'm NOT allowed to type fuck or shit or anything even similar. I can't type "Well, fuck, I can't believe that!" I think it's a silly rule but because of the site and the info that it provides to me, I'm OK with posting without the vulgar language. I'm just glad the site is out there. I'm glad the City is here for us and while there are some things I also might want to discuss that I can't due to the rules, I deal with it. Just the other day, I made a thread, re-read it and realized (duh) it wouldn't float here and axed it. If I want to discuss it somewhere else, I most definitely have that option...and I harbor no ill feelings over it because the Grasscity Community means way more to me than what I can't discuss here.
