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Quote by: PatrickHenry  I see your point Athena, but the practical matters of administration come into view. A reliably benevolent absolute monarchy is preferable to a democracy that is chaotic and vulnerable to disinformation and subterfuge.
We must also recognize that Volconvo is a business enterprise. It was created from an idea by its founder, then purchased and operated in a businesslike manner by its present owner. As 5010 notes, unpopular decisions may be bad for business, so the current of events here is somewhat self-correcting.
The members here are both the source of content and the means to revenue and a positive cash flow.. Can an individual member get kicked out just because the owner opposes their views? The answer is a qualified "yes," but the owner is faced with certain imperatives.
Various viewpoints are conducive to debate, the stated purpose of the site. By ejecting controversial views, the diversity is diminished and the quality of debate impoverished. So the owner has incentives to retain even those who are opponents of his stance on the issues.
And I don't think Jason is an idealogue. He seems like a pragmatist. |
If the owner wants to charge a fee for providing something from which he hoped to profit, fine. Charge the fee, but I am not "donating" money to something that is privately owned by someone hoping to make a profit, knowing I will not share in the monetary benefits if this forum becomes as successful as MySpace. We are already "donating" our time and energy.
The autocratic thinking here alarms me. There is nothing is wrong with one person profitting from the work of many? I mean, look at the bigger picture, the reality we actually live. Arguing for the rights of the owner/king, doesn't set well with me. I don't care if Jason is ideology or pragmatic. The question is why should I "donate" money to something that can only profit him? Why should the working class, pay taxes when they really have no political power?
The French revolution came about, in part, because the aristrocrats were previlleged and weren't the ones to pay taxes. The peasants were taxed and had no political power. We fought a revolution against this mentality and people are arguing the right of it?