Medievia's examples are all documented fact. Soleil does not represent a mere difference of opinion. The case is really crystal clear, and because of that it is the poster-boy example of copyright infringement in this community. A general analogy that does not include this essential information is simply not enough to generate the moral imperative in this case.
Please take note: Soleil was not banned because people were angry at her. Soleil was banned because people were angry with her, and there was no way we could ask them to forgive the ongoing infringement that was one of the reasons the forum was created in the first place.
As stated in my last post, Medievia is an exceptional case that warrants an exceptional response. Therefore I vote the later, for sufficiently ambiguous definitions of 'officially condemn'.
The forum never was, strictly speaking, about "open discussion". It has had a specific purpose that restricted certain types of discussion from the start -- namely flames, spam, advertising and off-topic posts.
The forum is for high-signal discussion, and the moderation decisions should further that purpose. In this case, I feel they have.
|