Abuse Not Welcome at Giza

Just a heads up about occasional housekeeping and a few words about how we handle abusive situations at Giza. To preserve a community for everyone, we do occasionally ban people who are abusive, make threats, etc. There are terms of service covering this, and we're just letting you know that we're on top of it when we see it, though we don't always see it.

Being 'angry' or confused isn't really an excuse. Another person did or said x isn't an excuse. And blame shifting isn't effective ("it's your fault because you didn't make me see y.") Case in point: We recently had a member who didn't understand what "recurring" meant in regard to their membership, and sent a tersely worded message that might politely be described as abusive. That person is no longer a member, a subscriber, or any other form of community member.

We do make reasonable efforts in the form of a community forum where people can ask questions of other participants, if they need clarity, and a support system for people who are stuck in some way that we can actually support. In the end, though, there's a "don't be a jerk" rule. Emotions may run high, because people are ideologically committed to some premise and are outraged if it's questioned, but it's no justification for attacks, intimidation, or harassment.

Giza is a reasonably tolerant environment. Someone can say "I voted for John Kerry" and someone else can say "I think my dog is smarter than John Kerry" and both are welcome to participate. Calling for the death of all such people (either people) or attacking the sexual habits or genetic origins of the person who disagrees, however, will get someone banned. We don't apologize for that.

Giza is also not the therapist or even the shoulder of a patient friend - it's a community of people who want to explore ideas not fully explored outside the mainstream. Back when Capital One 360 was ING - also called Orange Bank - it had a "don't unduly weigh down the system" rule. It didn't matter if it was just crazy patter–if it became excessively burdensome (too many ranting demands that made it hard to service everyone else), in ING's judgment, they moved the person on to someone else's 'teller window'.

There are plenty of places where anything goes; we just don't think the quality of information in those places is very high. So to have this, we've got to enforce that. Not everyone will agree, but it's not a democracy. Someone has to make the call. So this is us just explaining how we think about this topic, and making sure there aren't any surprises. Making sure we share expectations makes it easier and more enjoyable for everyone.

Now, on to other topics. Did you notice News and Views from the Nefarium is on iHeartRadio? That means if you have a Bose or Sonos sound system, a Roku or Apple TV, Kindle Fire tablet or Kindle Fire TV, a major Smart TV, or even a recent Xbox, or an iphone or ipad, you can pull up the iHeartRadio app and listen to Giza's podcast. It's not just here on the website. Of course, we hope you'll come back here to enter your comments and see what others are saying or asking (in the Live Vidchats). Cheers!