Grieving, and giving others grief, often coincide.
In Kiwi funerals I’ve noticed that people are all stoic decorum at the memorial service and eulogies. But once the formalities are done and the wake begins; there’ll be a dust-up in the carpark. And by the next day; parts of the family won’t be talking to one another for months, if not years, about some possibly imagined slight.
Perhaps coincidentally, Open Mike today got a bit messy, while other posts stayed civil. If my analogy holds,Tonight’s Daily Review might get a bit heated, especially with people coming home after a work week and having a drink or two. I’m not trying to tell the moderator’s their job, or excuse bad behaviour (or winding people up to provoke such). But perhaps any bannings might be best to be on the low 48hour cooling off side, rather than anything that’ll give too much time for brooding?
In my view, things get “a bit messy” due to inconsistent moderation.
If you are a RWNJ, getting banned, at times seems to be on a whim and is sometimes ended with “a mouthful” of criticism from the moderator. Yet regular left wing commentators can insinuate sex with goats etc and nothing is said.
KiwiBlog has minimal moderation, there are regular left wing commentators and at times the debate is “robust” and the odd bit of abuse is tolerated.
Political blogs need input from all areas, either allow the debate to run or lock it down to registered users only.
Often moderation is about patterns of behaviour, either individuals, or what is happening in a discussion. That might not be as visible to commenters as it is to moderators.
Moderation here will always be inconsistent because working within the Policy is left up to individual moderators. Best thing to do is learn the culture of the place and, if you are here a lot, the idiosyncrasies of individual moderators.
I don’t see a bias against RW commenters myself, but there probably is due not to moderators not liking the political content, but simply the fact that being a RW commenter here appears to largely involve conflict. A notable example would be someone like Wayne, who sticks to the politics and doesn’t get into the abuse, so he never gets moderated (and you can be sure that there are plenty of moderators who disagree with his actual points). If you want to be rude/abusive, you take your chances as to how that is going to be seen.
The other thing to remember, and this is important, is that all moderation is done by volunteers and takes more time than you can see from the front end. That influences my moderation and I would guess that of others. I’m more likely to hand out a ban if I’m having to spend too much time trying to explain shit to people as a moderator, especially if they should know better. Wasting a moderator’s time is listed in the Policy.
Agreed but conflict is part of the political debate, I have no issues with banning for abuse but let’s also not get sucked into only one point of view.
It’s easy to post on a daily basis, links to stories that support a point of view but that can easily be refuted by a link arguing the opposite (but then the debate becomes whose link is right and whose is wrong, I.e. 9/11 debate and it’s just not worth the ulcer …).
I think too much emphasis is given on having to provide “evidence” to an argument rather than debate itself around such things as diverse political ideology.
Just because a publication like The Canary says something, doesn’t mean it’s right, it’s simply a point of view but some are so dogmatic in their views they can’t (or don’t want to) accept that and then the abuse starts.
For the record I am not a JK supporter as I think National is Labour in drag, I support ACT…….
I agree, conflict is part of debate, but there are limits to that otherwise it becomes counter productive. Ask some of the authors (and no doubt commenters) who were here in the first few years when the moderation policy was more open.
I think the rest of your comment is about content, and that’s not really the purview of moderation, except where it causes problems to the thread or community. I have my own views on the debate culture here and the value of linking and how the debate goes, but I think in the end if people can’t make a political response and can only abuse, then there’s a line that’s getting crossed. Moderators are there for when the line gets crossed, not to try and control the conversation so that no-one ever crosses it (much as I’d like to sometimes). I do think that commenters have a fair degree of control over how conversations go, and when I’m a commenter I try to be mindful of that. But yeah, there is a wide range of ideas here about what constitutes good or useful debate. Herding cats come to mind.
“I think too much emphasis is given on having to provide “evidence” to an argument rather than debate itself around such things as diverse political ideology.”
Interesting, I hadn’t thought about that. The easiest way around that afaik is to express ideology as a belief or opinion. If people ask for evidence you can then point out that it’s an opinion not a fact, and explain why you think that. However one needs to be genuine in that e.g. not just put “I think” in front of a statement of fact.
Yet regular left wing commentators can insinuate sex with goats etc and nothing is said.
Personally I agree with you. Moderation can be inconsistent, and not being even-handed is one of the ways we do get it wrong more often than any other. At the same time this is a left-wing blog and right wingers will always face a bit of a head wind.
“Wah it’s not fair” – welcome to the real world, but unlike the real world here your privilege accounts for nothing. Switch it off, move to another blog, have some crackers to go with your whine, toughen up & get some guts.
As the person asked to cool down today I appreciated the instruction. Sometimes feelings of injustice can be tolerated not expressed. I’m sorry for coming close because I don’t want the moderators dealing with me and it’s rude of me to be so rude – my bad.
I think they just working on the meme that The Standard is a nasty place unlike that nice Kiwiblog fellow where for some reason right wing views are held in higher esteem.
Apparently the Tory doesn’t believe in links; “I think too much emphasis is given on having to provide “evidence” to an argument “. Or as Groening said:
Facts are meaningless. You could use facts to prove anything that’s even remotely true!
Yeah, the USAn election is taking up a lot of space, but it is politically the greatest show on earth. Plus there are always those who’ll stop to watch a train wreck. I’m going to be happy when it’s over (or at least; differently unhappy, which is about all one can hope for these days).
RUSSIA DROPS FISH BOMB ON NEW ZEALAND AFTER NZ PRIME MINISTER KEY ATTACKS PRESIDENT PUTIN Thursday, October 13th, 2016 http://johnhelmer.net/?p=16564
By John Helmer, Moscow
The Kremlin has dropped a fish and meat bomb on New Zealand. The casualties are reported to be women, children and the elderly forced to eat food formerly sold to Russia; together with fishermen and farmers whose annual income of US$100 million from exports to Russia has been lost since the start of the Ukraine war.
After the New Zealand Prime Minister, John Key, attacked Russian policy in Syria and on September 26 issued a public insult to President Vladimir Putin, Moscow reacted with the announcement, nine days later, that New Zealand (NZ) exports of meat and fish may be banned from the Russian market. The NZ media have broadcast the prime minister’s attack on Putin; they are not revealing the Russian reaction. NZ government organs, including the NZ Ambassador to Moscow, Ian Hill, refuse to acknowledge the threatened food ban, or to discuss what is happening.
Civilian exploration may be the official mission of a Chinese deep-sea research ship that sailed clockwise around Australia over the past week and is now loitering west of the continent. But maybe it’s also attending ...
South Korea’s internal political instability leaves it vulnerable to rising security threats including North Korea’s military alliance with Russia, China’s growing regional influence and the United States’ unpredictability under President Donald Trump. South Korea needs ...
Here are 5 updates that you may be interested in today:Speed kills and costs - so why does National want more of it?James (Jim) Grenon Board Takeover Gets Shaky - As Canadian Calls An Australian Shareholder a “Flake” Billionaire Bust-ups -The World’s Richest Men Are UncomfortableOver 3,500 Australian doctors on ...
Australia is in a race against time. Cyber adversaries are exploiting vulnerabilities faster than we can identify and patch them. Both national security and economic considerations demand policy action. According to IBM’s Data Breach Report, ...
The ever brilliant Kate Nicholls has kindly agreed to allow me to re-publish her substack offering some under-examined backdrop to Trump’s tariff madness. The essay is not meant to be a full scholarly article but instead an insight into the thinking (if that is the correct word) behind the current ...
In the Pacific, the rush among partner countries to be seen as the first to assist after disasters has become heated as part of ongoing geopolitical contest. As partners compete for strategic influence in the ...
The StrategistBy Miranda Booth, Henrietta McNeill and Genevieve Quirk
We’ve seen this morning the latest step up in the Trump-initiated trade war, with the additional 50 per cent tariffs imposed on imports from China. If the tariff madness persists – but in fact even if were wound back in some places (eg some of the particularly absurd tariffs on ...
Weak as I am, no tears for youWeak as I am, no tears for youDeep as I am, I'm no one's foolWeak as I amSongwriters: Deborah Ann Dyer / Richard Keith Lewis / Martin Ivor Kent / Robert Arnold FranceMorena. This morning, I couldn’t settle on a single topic. Too ...
Australian policy makers are vastly underestimating how climate change will disrupt national security and regional stability across the Indo-Pacific. A new ASPI report assesses the ways climate impacts could threaten Indonesia’s economic and security interests ...
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Hi,Back in September of 2023, I got pitched an interview:David -Thanks for the quick response to the DM! Means the world. Re-stating some of the DM below for your team’s reference -I run a business called Animal Capital - we are a venture capital fund advised by Noah Beck, Paris ...
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Local body elections are in October, and so like a lot of people, I received the usual pre-election enrolment confirmation from the Orange Man in the post. And I was horrified to see that it included the following: Why horrified? After all, surely using email, rather ...
Australia needs to deliver its commitment under the Seoul Declaration to create an Australian AI safety, or security, institute. Australia is the only signatory to the declaration that has yet to meet its commitments. Given ...
Ko kōpū ka rere i te paeMe ko Hine RuhiTīaho mai tō arohaMe ko Hine RuhiDa da da ba du da da ba du da da da ba du da da da da da daDa da da ba du da da ba du da da da ba du da da ...
Army, Navy and AirForce personnel in ceremonial dress: an ongoing staffing exodus means we may get more ships, drones and planes but not have enough ‘boots on the ground’ to use them. Photo: Lynn GrievesonLong stories short in Aotearoa’s political economy this morning:PM Christopher Luxon says the Government can ...
If you’re a qualified individual looking to join the Australian Army, prepare for a world of frustration over the next 12 to 18 months. While thorough vetting is essential, the inefficiency of the Australian Defence ...
I’ve inserted a tidbit and rumours section1. Colonoscopy wait times increase, procedures drop under NationalWait times for urgent, non-urgent and surveillance colonoscopies all progressively worsened last year. Health NZ data shows the total number of publicly-funded colonoscopies dropped by more than 7 percent.Health NZ chief medical officer Helen Stokes-Lampard blamed ...
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This is a guest post by Darren Davis. It originally appeared on his excellent blog, Adventures in Transitland, which we encourage you to check out. It is shared by kind permission. Rail Network Investment Plan quietly dropped While much media attention focused on the 31st March 2025 announcement that the replacement Cook ...
Amendments to Indonesia’s military law risk undermining civilian supremacy and the country’s defence capabilities. Passed by the House of Representatives on 20 March, the main changes include raising the retirement age and allowing military officers ...
The StrategistBy Alfin Febrian Basundoro and Jascha Ramba Santoso
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Donald Trump’s philosophy about the United States’ place in the world is historically selfish and will impoverish his country’s spirit. While he claimed last week to be ‘liberating’ Americans from the exploiters and freeloaders who’ve ...
China’s crackdown on cyber-scam centres on the Thailand-Myanmar border may cause a shift away from Mandarin, towards English-speaking victims. Scammers also used the 28 March earthquake to scam international victims. Australia, with its proven capabilities ...
At the 2005 election campaign, the National Party colluded with a weirdo cult, the Exclusive Brethren, to run a secret hate campaign against the Greens. It was the first really big example of the rich using dark money to interfere in our democracy. And unfortunately, it seems that they're trying ...
Many of you will know that in collaboration with the University of Queensland we created and ran the massive open online course (MOOC) "Denial101x - Making sense of climate science denial" on the edX platform. Within nine years - between April 2015 and February 2024 - we offered 15 runs ...
How will the US assault on trade affect geopolitical relations within Asia? Will nations turn to China and seek protection by trading with each other? The happy snaps a week ago of the trade ministers ...
I mentioned this on Friday - but thought it deserved some emphasis.Auckland Waitematā District Commander Superintendent Naila Hassan has responded to Countering Hate Speech Aotearoa, saying police have cleared Brian Tamaki of all incitement charges relating to the Te Atatu library rainbow event assault.Hassan writes:..There is currently insufficient evidence to ...
With the report of the recent intelligence review by Heather Smith and Richard Maude finally released, critics could look on and wonder: why all the fuss? After all, while the list of recommendations is substantial, ...
Well, I don't know if I'm readyTo be the man I have to beI'll take a breath, I'll take her by my sideWe stand in awe, we've created lifeWith arms wide open under the sunlightWelcome to this place, I'll show you everythingSongwriters: Scott A. Stapp / Mark T. Tremonti.Today is ...
Staff at Kāinga Ora are expecting details of another round of job cuts, with the Green Party claiming more than 500 jobs are set to go. The New Zealand Defence Force has made it easier for people to apply for a job in a bid to get more boots on ...
Australia’s agriculture sector and food system have prospered under a global rules-based system influenced by Western liberal values. But the assumptions, policy approaches and economic frameworks that have traditionally supported Australia’s food security are no ...
Following Trump’s tariff announcement, US stock values fell by the most ever in value terms (US$6.6 trillion). Photo: Getty ImagesLong story shortest in Aotearoa’s political economy this morning:Donald Trump just detonated a neutron bomb under the globalised economy, but this time the Fed isn’t cutting interest rates to rescue ...
A listing of 36 news and opinion articles we found interesting and shared on social media during the past week: Sun, March 30, 2025 thru Sat, April 5, 2025. This week's roundup is again published by category and sorted by number of articles included in each. The formatting is a ...
This is a longer read.Summary:Trump’s tariffs are reckless, disastrous and hurt the poorest countries deeply. It will stoke inflation, and may cause another recession. Funds/investments around the world have tanked.Trump’s actions emulate the anti-economic logic of another right wing libertarian politician - Liz Truss. She had her political career cut ...
We are all suckers for hope.He’s just being provocative, people will say, he wouldn’t really go that far. They wouldn’t really go that far.Germany in the 1920s and 30s was one of the world’s most educated, culturally sophisticated, and scientifically advanced societies.It had a strong democratic constitution with extensive civil ...
Skeptical Science is partnering with Gigafact to produce fact briefs — bite-sized fact checks of trending claims. You can submit claims you think need checking via the tipline. Is Mars warming? Mars’ climate varies due to completely different reasons than Earth’s, and available data indicates no temperature trends comparable to Earth’s ...
Max Harris and Max Rashbrooke discuss how we turn around the right wing slogans like nanny state, woke identity politics, and the inefficiency of the public sector – and how we build a progressive agenda. From Donald Trump to David Seymour, from Peter Dutton to Christopher Luxon, we are subject to a ...
Max Harris and Max Rashbrooke discuss how we turn around the right wing slogans like nanny state, woke identity politics, and the inefficiency of the public sector – and how we build a progressive agenda. From Donald Trump to David Seymour, from Peter Dutton to Christopher Luxon, we are subject to a ...
I was interested in David Seymour's public presentation of the Justice Select Committee's report after the submissions to the Treaty Principles Bill.I noted the arguments he presented and fact checked him. I welcome corrections and additions to what I have written but want to keep the responses concise.The Treaty of ...
Well, he runs around with every racist in townHe spent all our money playing his pointless gameHe put us out; it was awful how he triedTables turn, and now his turn to cryWith apologies to writers Bobby Womack and Shirley Womack.Eight per cent, asshole, that’s all you got.Smiling?Let me re-phrase…Eight ...
In short this morning in our political economy:The S&P 500 fell another 5.6% this morning after China retaliated with tariffs of 34% on all US imports, and the Fed warned of stagflation without rate cut relief.Delays for heart surgeries and scans are costing lives, specialists have told Stuff’s Nicholas Jones.Meanwhile, ...
When the US Navy’s Great White Fleet sailed into Sydney Harbour in 1908, it was an unmistakeable signal of imperial might, a flexing of America’s newfound naval muscle. More than a century later, the Chinese ...
While there have been decades of complaints – from all sides – about the workings of the Resource Management Act (RMA), replacing is proving difficult. The Coalition Government is making another attempt.To help answer the question, I am going to use the economic lens of the Coase Theorem, set out ...
2027 may still not be the year of war it’s been prophesised as, but we only have two years left to prepare. Regardless, any war this decade in the Indo-Pacific will be fought with the ...
Australia must do more to empower communities of colour in its response to climate change. In late February, the Multicultural Leadership Initiative hosted its Our Common Future summits in Sydney and Melbourne. These summits focused ...
Questions 1. In his godawful decree, what tariff rate was imposed by Trump upon the EU?a. 10% same as New Zealandb. 20%, along with a sneer about themc. 40%, along with an outright lie about France d. 69% except for the town Melania comes from2. The justice select committee has ...
Yesterday the Trump regime in America began a global trade war, imposing punitive tariffs in an effort to extort political and economic concessions from other countries and US companies and constituencies. Trump's tariffs will make kiwis nearly a billion dollars poorer every year, but Luxon has decided to do nothing ...
Here’s 7 updates from this morning’s news:90% of submissions opposed the TPBNZ’s EV market tanked by Coalition policies, down ~70% year on yearTrump showFossil fuel money driving conservative policiesSimeon Brown won’t say that abortion is healthcarePhil Goff stands by comments and makes a case for speaking upBrian Tamaki cleared of ...
It’s the 9 month mark for Mountain Tūī !Thanks to you all, the publication now has over 3200 subscribers, 30 recommendations from Substack writers, and averages over 120,000 views a month. A very small number in the scheme of things, but enough for me to feel satisfied.I’m been proud of ...
The Justice Committee has reported back on National's racist Principles of the Treaty of Waitangi Bill, and recommended by majority that it not proceed. So hopefully it will now rapidly go to second reading and be voted down. As for submissions, it turns out that around 380,000 people submitted on ...
We need to treat disinformation as we deal with insurgencies, preventing the spreaders of lies from entrenching themselves in the host population through capture of infrastructure—in this case, the social media outlets. Combining targeted action ...
After copping criticism for not releasing the report for nearly eight months, Prime Minister Anthony Albanese released the Independent Intelligence Review on 28 March. It makes for a heck of a read. The review makes ...
After copping criticism for not releasing the report for nearly eight months, Prime Minister Anthony Albanese released the Independent Intelligence Review on 28 March. It makes for a heck of a read. The review makes ...
In short this morning in our political economy:Donald Trump has shocked the global economy and markets with the biggest tariffs since the Smoot Hawley Act of 1930, which worsened the Great Depression.Global stocks slumped 4-5% overnight and key US bond yields briefly fell below 4% as investors fear a recession ...
Hi,I’ve been imagining a scenario where I am walking along the pavement in the United States. It’s dusk, I am off to get a dirty burrito from my favourite place, and I see three men in hoodies approaching.Anther two men appear from around a corner, and this whole thing feels ...
Since the announcement in September 2021 that Australia intended to acquire nuclear-powered submarines in partnership with Britain and the United States, the plan has received significant media attention, scepticism and criticism. There are four major ...
On a very wet Friday, we hope you have somewhere nice and warm and dry to sit and catch up on our roundup of some of this week’s top stories in transport and urbanism. The header image shows Northcote Intermediate Students strolling across the Te Ara Awataha Greenway Bridge in ...
On a very wet Friday, we hope you have somewhere nice and warm and dry to sit and catch up on our roundup of some of this week’s top stories in transport and urbanism. The header image shows Northcote Intermediate Students strolling across the Te Ara Awataha Greenway Bridge in ...
The podcast above of the weekly ‘Hoon’ webinar for paying subscribers on Thursday night features co-hosts & talking about the week’s news with regular and special guests, including: and Elaine Monaghan on the week in geopolitics and climate, including Donald Trump’s tariff shock yesterday; and,Labour’s Disarmament and Associate ...
I'm gonna try real goodSwear that I'm gonna try from now on and for the rest of my lifeI'm gonna power on, I'm gonna enjoy the highsAnd the lows will come and goAnd may your dreamsAnd may your dreamsAnd may your dreams never dieSongwriters: Ben Reed.These are Stranger Days than ...
With the execution of global reciprocal tariffs, US President Donald Trump has issued his ‘declaration of economic independence for America’. The immediate direct effect on the Australian economy will likely be small, with more risk ...
The StrategistBy Jacqueline Gibson, Nerida King and Ned Talbot
AUKUS governments began 25 years ago trying to draw in a greater range of possible defence suppliers beyond the traditional big contractors. It is an important objective, and some progress has been made, but governments ...
I approach fresh Trump news reluctantly. It never holds the remotest promise of pleasure. I had the very, very least of expectations for his Rumble in the Jungle, his Thriller in Manila, his Liberation Day.God May 1945 is becoming the bitterest of jokes isn’t it?Whatever. Liberation Day he declared it ...
Beyond trade and tariff turmoil, Donald Trump pushes at the three core elements of Australia’s international policy: the US alliance, the region and multilateralism. What Kevin Rudd called the ‘three fundamental pillars’ are the heart ...
So, having broken its promise to the nation, and dumped 85% of submissions on the Treaty Principles Bill in the trash, National's stooges on the Justice Committee have decided to end their "consideration" of the bill, and report back a full month early: Labour says the Justice Select Committee ...
The 2024 Independent Intelligence Review offers a mature and sophisticated understanding of workforce challenges facing Australia’s National Intelligence Community (NIC). It provides a thoughtful roadmap for modernising that workforce and enhancing cross-agency and cross-sector collaboration. ...
OPINION AND ANALYSIS:Chief Ombudsman Peter Boshier’s comments singling out Health NZ for “acting contrary to the law” couldn’t be clearer. If you find my work of value, do consider subscribing and/or supporting me. Thank you.Health NZ has been acting a law unto itself. That includes putting its management under extraordinary ...
Nicola Willis continues to sit on her hands amid a global economic crisis, leaving the Reserve Bank to act for New Zealanders who are worried about their jobs, mortgages, and KiwiSaver. ...
Today, the Oranga Tamariki (Repeal of Section 7AA) Amendment Bill has passed its third and final reading, but there is one more stage before it becomes law. The Governor-General must give their ‘Royal assent’ for any bill to become legally enforceable. This means that, even if a bill gets voted ...
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The National Government’s choices have contributed to a slow-down in the building sector, as thousands of people have lost their jobs in construction. ...
Willie Apiata’s decision to hand over his Victoria Cross to the Minister for Veterans is a powerful and selfless act, made on behalf of all those who have served our country. ...
The Privileges Committee has denied fundamental rights to Debbie Ngarewa-Packer, Rawiri Waititi and Hana-Rawhiti Maipi-Clarke, breaching their own standing orders, breaching principles of natural justice, and highlighting systemic prejudice and discrimination within our parliamentary processes. The three MPs were summoned to the privileges committee following their performance of a haka ...
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Winston Peters is shopping for smaller ferries after Nicola Willis torpedoed the original deal, which would have delivered new rail enabled ferries next year. ...
The Government should work with other countries to press the Myanmar military regime to stop its bombing campaign especially while the country recovers from the devastating earthquake. ...
The Green Party is calling for the Government to scrap proposed changes to Early Childhood Care, after attending a petition calling for the Government to ‘Put tamariki at the heart of decisions about ECE’. ...
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Welcome to members of the diplomatic corp, fellow members of parliament, the fourth estate, foreign affairs experts, trade tragics, ladies and gentlemen. ...
In recent weeks, disturbing instances of state-sanctioned violence against Māori have shed light on the systemic racism permeating our institutions. An 11-year-old autistic Māori child was forcibly medicated at the Henry Bennett Centre, a 15-year-old had his jaw broken by police in Napier, kaumātua Dean Wickliffe went on a hunger ...
Confidence in the job market has continued to drop to its lowest level in five years as more New Zealanders feel uncertain about finding work, keeping their jobs, and getting decent pay, according to the latest Westpac-McDermott Miller Employment Confidence Index. ...
The Greens are calling on the Government to follow through on their vague promises of environmental protection in their Resource Management Act (RMA) reform. ...
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Hundreds more Palestinians have died in recent days as Israel’s assault on Gaza continues and humanitarian aid, including food and medicine, is blocked. ...
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Trade and Investment Minister Todd McClay has today launched a public consultation on New Zealand and India’s negotiations of a formal comprehensive Free Trade Agreement. “Negotiations are getting underway, and the Public’s views will better inform us in the early parts of this important negotiation,” Mr McClay says. We are ...
More than 900 thousand superannuitants and almost five thousand veterans are among the New Zealanders set to receive a significant financial boost from next week, an uplift Social Development and Employment Minister Louise Upston says will help support them through cost-of-living challenges. “I am pleased to confirm that from 1 ...
Progressing a holistic strategy to unlock the potential of New Zealand’s geothermal resources, possibly in applications beyond energy generation, is at the centre of discussions with mana whenua at a hui in Rotorua today, Resources and Regional Development Minister Shane Jones says. The Coalition Government is in the early stages ...
New annual data has exposed the staggering cost of delays previously hidden in the building consent system, Building and Construction Minister Chris Penk says. “I directed Building Consent Authorities to begin providing quarterly data last year to improve transparency, following repeated complaints from tradespeople waiting far longer than the statutory ...
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OraTaiao strongly supports School Strike 4 Climate Aotearoa’s key demands: repeal the Fast-Track Approvals Bill and protect Māori lands from further exploitation. ...
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While increased investment in defence equipment is very welcome, investment in pay, conditions of service and defence buildings is required to ensure all living and working environments are safe and healthy. These things are equally important and ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Elise Stephenson, Deputy Director, Global Institute for Women’s Leadership, Australian National University Despite progress towards gender equality in Australian elections, women remain underrepresented among candidates vying for office on May 3. They are also overrepresented in “glass cliff” seats, which are the ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Kate Crowley, Adjunct Associate Professor, Public and Environmental Policy, University of Tasmania Federal Greens leader Adam Bandt says the federal election offers “an opportunity for real change”, saying his party would use the balance of power in the next parliament to help ...
Board Chair Neil Quigley said that “suitably qualified candidates will be interviewed later this year and assessed against the appointment criteria, then the name of the candidate recommended by the Board will be provided to the Minister of Finance.” ...
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A National Party politician who is part of a secretive sect being probed for historical child sexual abuse says he had a happy upbringing in the group. ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Rachel Stevens, Lecturer, Institute for Humanities and Social Sciences, Australian Catholic University As part of their federal election campaign, the Coalition announced plans to limit the number of international students able to commence study each year to 240,000, “focused on driving ...
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Tweet: Urban design and loneliness
Grieving, and giving others grief, often coincide.
In Kiwi funerals I’ve noticed that people are all stoic decorum at the memorial service and eulogies. But once the formalities are done and the wake begins; there’ll be a dust-up in the carpark. And by the next day; parts of the family won’t be talking to one another for months, if not years, about some possibly imagined slight.
Perhaps coincidentally, Open Mike today got a bit messy, while other posts stayed civil. If my analogy holds,Tonight’s Daily Review might get a bit heated, especially with people coming home after a work week and having a drink or two. I’m not trying to tell the moderator’s their job, or excuse bad behaviour (or winding people up to provoke such). But perhaps any bannings might be best to be on the low 48hour cooling off side, rather than anything that’ll give too much time for brooding?
I agree about funerals and grief.
The behaviour today mirrors that of recent times, so personally, I see in a different context.
In my view, things get “a bit messy” due to inconsistent moderation.
If you are a RWNJ, getting banned, at times seems to be on a whim and is sometimes ended with “a mouthful” of criticism from the moderator. Yet regular left wing commentators can insinuate sex with goats etc and nothing is said.
KiwiBlog has minimal moderation, there are regular left wing commentators and at times the debate is “robust” and the odd bit of abuse is tolerated.
Political blogs need input from all areas, either allow the debate to run or lock it down to registered users only.
Often moderation is about patterns of behaviour, either individuals, or what is happening in a discussion. That might not be as visible to commenters as it is to moderators.
Moderation here will always be inconsistent because working within the Policy is left up to individual moderators. Best thing to do is learn the culture of the place and, if you are here a lot, the idiosyncrasies of individual moderators.
I don’t see a bias against RW commenters myself, but there probably is due not to moderators not liking the political content, but simply the fact that being a RW commenter here appears to largely involve conflict. A notable example would be someone like Wayne, who sticks to the politics and doesn’t get into the abuse, so he never gets moderated (and you can be sure that there are plenty of moderators who disagree with his actual points). If you want to be rude/abusive, you take your chances as to how that is going to be seen.
The other thing to remember, and this is important, is that all moderation is done by volunteers and takes more time than you can see from the front end. That influences my moderation and I would guess that of others. I’m more likely to hand out a ban if I’m having to spend too much time trying to explain shit to people as a moderator, especially if they should know better. Wasting a moderator’s time is listed in the Policy.
Agreed but conflict is part of the political debate, I have no issues with banning for abuse but let’s also not get sucked into only one point of view.
It’s easy to post on a daily basis, links to stories that support a point of view but that can easily be refuted by a link arguing the opposite (but then the debate becomes whose link is right and whose is wrong, I.e. 9/11 debate and it’s just not worth the ulcer …).
I think too much emphasis is given on having to provide “evidence” to an argument rather than debate itself around such things as diverse political ideology.
Just because a publication like The Canary says something, doesn’t mean it’s right, it’s simply a point of view but some are so dogmatic in their views they can’t (or don’t want to) accept that and then the abuse starts.
For the record I am not a JK supporter as I think National is Labour in drag, I support ACT…….
I agree, conflict is part of debate, but there are limits to that otherwise it becomes counter productive. Ask some of the authors (and no doubt commenters) who were here in the first few years when the moderation policy was more open.
I think the rest of your comment is about content, and that’s not really the purview of moderation, except where it causes problems to the thread or community. I have my own views on the debate culture here and the value of linking and how the debate goes, but I think in the end if people can’t make a political response and can only abuse, then there’s a line that’s getting crossed. Moderators are there for when the line gets crossed, not to try and control the conversation so that no-one ever crosses it (much as I’d like to sometimes). I do think that commenters have a fair degree of control over how conversations go, and when I’m a commenter I try to be mindful of that. But yeah, there is a wide range of ideas here about what constitutes good or useful debate. Herding cats come to mind.
“I think too much emphasis is given on having to provide “evidence” to an argument rather than debate itself around such things as diverse political ideology.”
Interesting, I hadn’t thought about that. The easiest way around that afaik is to express ideology as a belief or opinion. If people ask for evidence you can then point out that it’s an opinion not a fact, and explain why you think that. However one needs to be genuine in that e.g. not just put “I think” in front of a statement of fact.
Yet regular left wing commentators can insinuate sex with goats etc and nothing is said.
Personally I agree with you. Moderation can be inconsistent, and not being even-handed is one of the ways we do get it wrong more often than any other. At the same time this is a left-wing blog and right wingers will always face a bit of a head wind.
“Wah it’s not fair” – welcome to the real world, but unlike the real world here your privilege accounts for nothing. Switch it off, move to another blog, have some crackers to go with your whine, toughen up & get some guts.
As the person asked to cool down today I appreciated the instruction. Sometimes feelings of injustice can be tolerated not expressed. I’m sorry for coming close because I don’t want the moderators dealing with me and it’s rude of me to be so rude – my bad.
All good marty mars, take care.
Love the image.
http://www.nzherald.co.nz/world/news/article.cfm?c_id=2&objectid=11729169
completely non political but too good not to shear, shark cage diving anyone?
that’s intense. Have to say they deserve what they get if that goes wrong, but I guess they know that :-/
http://www.nzherald.co.nz/lifestyle/news/article.cfm?c_id=6&objectid=11728903
another time waster but i’m pretty chuffed that i got it in 20 secs
Mine a bit longer. The signs lie mathematically of course.
I didn’t see anything out of the ordinary on open mike today, just the usual deranged obsession with a celebrity election in ugly USA.
Where was the sex with goats? Anyone got a link? Tony, got a link?
I think they just working on the meme that The Standard is a nasty place unlike that nice Kiwiblog fellow where for some reason right wing views are held in higher esteem.
This kiwiblog?
They are great guys, right? These are the comments about a person who fought for those without a voice who and who had just died.
I half wondered whether David Garrett was angling to steal Helen Kelly’s identity. He’s got form.
Apparently the Tory doesn’t believe in links; “I think too much emphasis is given on having to provide “evidence” to an argument “. Or as Groening said:
Yeah, the USAn election is taking up a lot of space, but it is politically the greatest show on earth. Plus there are always those who’ll stop to watch a train wreck. I’m going to be happy when it’s over (or at least; differently unhappy, which is about all one can hope for these days).
RUSSIA DROPS FISH BOMB ON NEW ZEALAND AFTER NZ PRIME MINISTER KEY ATTACKS PRESIDENT PUTIN Thursday, October 13th, 2016
http://johnhelmer.net/?p=16564
By John Helmer, Moscow
The Kremlin has dropped a fish and meat bomb on New Zealand. The casualties are reported to be women, children and the elderly forced to eat food formerly sold to Russia; together with fishermen and farmers whose annual income of US$100 million from exports to Russia has been lost since the start of the Ukraine war.
After the New Zealand Prime Minister, John Key, attacked Russian policy in Syria and on September 26 issued a public insult to President Vladimir Putin, Moscow reacted with the announcement, nine days later, that New Zealand (NZ) exports of meat and fish may be banned from the Russian market. The NZ media have broadcast the prime minister’s attack on Putin; they are not revealing the Russian reaction. NZ government organs, including the NZ Ambassador to Moscow, Ian Hill, refuse to acknowledge the threatened food ban, or to discuss what is happening.