You have created many of the threads which argue, very stridently in my view, against the government measures to control coronavirus.
I have? Which threads are they then?
The irony here is that the Government is
not currently mandating masks to control the spread of Sars-CoV-2 and this debate is about people who are seeking to change Government measures; I am not seeking to change these measures and am arguing against people who are lobbying for the Government to change its position.
My particular beef is your constant allusion to some agenda of "totalitarianism" (your word).
I've not used the word 'totalitarian' in the past 9 months and can find no record of me using the term 'totalitarianism'.
Yet I feel you moderate the forums, shall we say, with a rod of iron.
If you are unhappy with any moderation decision, you need to contact us directly; it's not for discussion on forum threads.
I'm not forcing anyone to use this website; if you choose to use any website then the terms of that website apply. I don't see what this has got to do with the topic though; the original poster raised a very good point that the matter of face masks has become a hot topic and there is a debate to be had over whether it is left vs right or authoritarian vs libertarian ideology or something like that.
I do not see how such a debate has anything to do with whether anyone likes or dislikes the way any website is run; people are free to use (or not use) any website they wish, in accordance with the T&Cs of that website.
Whilst I said already that being moderator does not rule out having personal opinions, perhaps we can all see the hypocrisy in this?
If we are speaking as moderators we will use red text. Moderators are allowed to have personal opinions in the same way as anyone else.
Clearly the need for standards of conduct matter in the forum, so why not in real life?
Of course we do; I am not suggesting that in "real life" (as if to say this website does not exist in real life!) anyone can do what they want; no-one here has said that. It's a false equivalence and strawman argument to suggest that people are saying that. But the freedom to simply exist as a human being and live a normal life is currently under threat. This is hardly the same thing as having laws against things like racism.
I suggest you look again at the topic of this thread, and read the original post as I think you are confused about what this debate is about.
Whilst I don't have the current cabinet in high regard, it is the job of government is trying to keep us safe against a dangerous illness.
Sars-CoV-2 is not a dangerous illness in any meaningful sense of the term, except for people who are unvaccinated and aren't young/healthy. The Government cannot keep people safe against an endemic infectious respiratory virus and even if it was possible, face masks will not do so, unless they are of the tight fitting kind that are designed to filter aerosol particles
By contrast nobody is going to die if a Rail Forum thread goes a bit off topic.
This is a false equivalence
I would also point out that your frequently stated views on masks are at odds with those I understand to be held by unions who represent front-line rail staff.
Rail Unions views are not representative of their members. The Unions act disgracefully and I know many rail staff who are fed up of them.
As a forum where many rail staff (used to) hang out, if you are trying to prosecute a "culture war" (whatever it is, it sounds rather aggressive!), many valued forum members are going to decide they want no part of it and leave the forum.
It is not me who is trying to 'prosecute' (?) a culture war; I am merely observing its existence.
If anyone wishes to leave because they believe that loose fitting flimsy masks are effective and cannot stand being part of a forum in which the founder believes they are not effective, that is entirely their choice.
Most rail staff I know are as much against ineffective mask wearing as anyone else, and don't feel the stated Union positions represent their views.
That is absolutely the feedback I am getting too.
It was the same with my (non-rail) Union, so I quit them.