This, however, fails to take into account the Schadenfreude factor. When you go to a Kings/lakers game, and the Kings win, part of the reason why being surrounded by a bunch of unhappy laker fans does not detract from your unhappiness is because unhappy laker fans actively contribute to the reason why you're happy. That doesn't really apply when you're talking about a message board, where all the people are ostensibly rooting for the same team. I certainly hope that nobody comes here to get their life to other people being unhappy.
I'm not convinced that it's 50/50, or even necessarily close to that. I think that one side is just louder than the other. But that's neither here nor there, I suppose.
Maybe? If this were just a 'maybe,' we wouldn't be talking about this.
The most fascinating thing to me about moderating this message board for the last year and change, since I abandoned any emotional attachment to the Kings, is how stridently both sides believe that they're the only ones being treated unfairly, how they're the only ones being 'over policed.' I've long been aware that both sides are certain that they're the ones who are right, but it's interesting to take a step back and realize, "Wait, hold up... so both of y'all think y'all are the victims here?"
There is a little bit of not seeing the forest for the trees happening here: in the first place, nobody was censored, despite accusations or insinuations to the contrary. He wasn't even warned, he was just asked. Asking somebody to consider a less problematic choice of words is not censorship, nor is it bordering on censorship; that's facile. And, in the second place, to say that people who "make excuses" for why the team might have struggled against supposedly inferior competition are not living in reality (which he actually said, his attempts to walk it back after the fact notwithstanding) is walking right up to the edge of the "don't be a jerk" rule, and waving your hand in front of its face, going "I'm not touching you!" I don't know why you think we should let that slide?
I think that there are some people who feel like, as long as you're not 'yelling' or cursing at other posters, then anything you say ought to be allowed. And yeah, if that's how you feel, this probably isn't the place for you; this board has never been that.