>You are right about frequent violations to a strict interpretations of the rules. I am one of the violators of the "no joke" rule on a frequent basis. But there is a difference here and I'll attempt to explain that.
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>First off, Jim's "water-cooler" analogy has been bugging me but I couldn't pinpoint why until now. Where it falls short is that BSing around a water-cooler is generally done when you know everybody there or at least have some idea that what you are saying is not going to insult anyone. Most people don't discuss strong, personal, and controversial ethical issues at the water-cooler.
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>In this case, we have a news item that suddenly starts to look like it's going to be a springboard into a discussion on religion and prayer in school, not to mention gun control. These are areas where a profound difference in opinions is likely. There was already one response to the thread calling it inappropriate.
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>So I froze the thread and I stick by that decision. It is the first thread I have ever even considered freezing.
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>If Michel or any of the other sysops disagrees with that decision it will be (I'm sure) unfrozen. If a majority of the other sysops or Michel strongly believe that I made the wrong call, I will be glad to resign my sysop status.