AskMeContentEditor asked this question on 5/15/2000:

Hello Wiccans,

We here at AskMe.com have received a spate of emails regarding a user named DD_3000, and a few from him as well. We are aware of his presence in a number of places at AskMe.com (including Wicca), and have been monitoring his postings for quite some time.

We have a general policy here at AskMe.com of not being totalitarian dictators, of not imposing our ideals from on high, and of not censoring ideas. We believe that an open forum of exchange is one of the site's best features, and work hard to facilitate such an open sharing of ideas.

To allow such an exchange of ideas to exist, we have provided users with a number of features:

1. Experts who receive direct questions can either answer the question or can decline to answer the question, with no loss of points. 2. Questions on the question board can be answered or ignored. 3. Experts who post profiles that indicate that they have particular beliefs can either be asked questions, or be ignored. 4. Experts who post answers that other users disagree with can be given low ratings, or can be challenged on the question board.

I am pleased to see that experts in Wicca have chosen to take advantage of all of the available tools, and have been quite pleased at the creative nature of many of the answers given to DD_3000's question board postings. (Favorites include: "God created the heaven and the earth ... but not before having a nice cup of herbal tea.")

Unfortunately, such openness often comes at a cost, and that cost can include some users feeling as if their ideas are challenged, not respected, or otherwise belittled. I am afraid that DD_3000's postings to the Wicca question board and certain experts are having that effect.

Although I would prefer that the users of AskMe.com deal with differences of opinion themselves -- either by ignoring people with whom they disagree, or by discussing the differences intelligently -- I can see it is time to step in and take some action in the Wicca category.

1. I have removed all postings from DD_3000 that are not direct questions. 2. I have warned DD_3000 that posting statements unrelated to the question board topic is inappropriate. 3. I have removed Wicca experts who were abusive in their responses to DD_3000. Such abuse by anyone is not tolerated at AskMe.com. 4. I will monitor the site and continue to remove postings and users who do not live up to the general communal standards of internet etiquette.

I hope that such monitoring will not be necessary for long, and that the users of AskMe.com will exhibit the tolerance, openness and intelligence that they are so capable of. Your feedback is welcome, either with an answer to this posting, or by emailing me at abuse@askme.com, attn: Content Editor. I will attend to each email sent to this address personally.

AskMeContentEditor

TripleGoddess gave this response on 5/17/2000:

Thank you for addressing this issue in a manner that I feel is appropriate for all concerned. Bright Blessings, Raven