What problems does the Cafe face?
1. Discrimination:
The second sentence of rule #3 has long held a sour note for many Rangerphiles, perceiving it to unnecessarily single out homosexuals for exclusion.
2. Censorship:
The same rule makes it impossible to introduce the possibility of a homosexual character, even a noncanonical character, and even if graphic depictions of sexuality were never portrayed. This imposes unnecessary limitations on writers and artists in the course of the potential development of characters and storytelling.
3. Moralizing imposition creating a double standard:
Among the rationalizations offered for anti-homosexuality rules has been the statement that homosexuality was banned because it is "immoral", with such view stemming at least partially from the moderation staff's religious beliefs. The resultant completely arbitrary declaration that homosexuality is somehow "outside" the ratings limits of the Cafe, even when not portrayed as erotica or sexual activity more graphic than what would be perfectly allowable for heterosexual character depictions, is both an unfair imposition of those beliefs on everyone, whether they hold those religious beliefs or not, and a hypocritical double standard granting one sexual orientation freedoms being denied to another.
4. Excessive Authoritarianism:
The technological abilities of the PhpBB bulletin board software to edit, remove, censor, and competely control the content of the board lends great power to the moderation staff, and the amount of that power available to them has at times outpaced the clear definition of how and when that power should be used so as to maintain a fair environment in which the freedom of expression is correctly balanced against the need to moderate. There is no real transparency of the moderatorial process and the moderation staff often acts without accountability or responsibility. Conversations have been prematurely ended, threads have been made to disappear without notice, and, of course, discriminatory rules have been emplaced and enforced and the ability of the community to discuss such rules is denied to them.
What solutions exist?
I believe that the following goals should be sought in order to help secure a permanent end to the above problems:
1. The striking down of the second sentence of rule 3 ("You will not post anything relating to homosexuality, homosexual relationships, trans-gender relationships, alternative sexual lifestyles, or any other topic deemed sexually inappropriate by the moderators"). The first sentence of that rule by itself is more than sufficient to provide reasonable control over erotica, porn, adult, or other cafe-inappropriate fan material, without the harmful results inherent in the second sentence - alienating or discriminating against certain people. Therefore, and for the other reasons discussed at length in the original message, this second sentence should be removed.
2. The addition of a rule and/or policy specifically prohibiting the removal of posts in "mysterious disappearance" style or without accountability and valid explanation on the part of the moderator performing this action. Users and the community at large should have the right to be informed of why posts were removed, if they must be removed. The ability of the moderation to effectively govern the board against gross abuse is, of course, necessary, but they should remain visible in their actions and accountable to the community at large to ensure that responsibility is maintained in those actions.
3. Establish and protect the future right of the community to discuss freely the reasons and history behind why rules exist, and to propose new rules, modification to existing rules, or removal of impractical, excessively vague, harmful, or obsolete rules. Those being governed should have some opportunity for public discussion amongst themselves and their leaders concerning how they're being governed! We should not have to live in fear of reprisal from our leaders simply for expressing our thoughts on how their decisions stand to impact us!
For more on how exactly to make these come about, please see the Fighting Back page.