A plea

[barmar]

"...table hosts the option of muting kibitzers such as a on a vugraph table."

 

I am sorry. Those are your exact words. And the ONLY part I was fighting stenuously about. You advocated precisely what I fear most-- the elimination of free speech as an option.

Free speech means that you can say *what* you want, but it doesn't mean you have to be allowed to say it wherever you want. Is it a curtailment of free speech when a theatre asks patrons not to talk during the movie? No, it's just asking for simple curtesy. If you want to express your opinions there are plenty of venues, you don't have to do it while kibbitzing a bridge game.

 

That said, I believe many BBO users consider the kibbitzing channel in popular rooms to be a social gathering. It's not a "bunch of strangers", like someone characterized it -- it's usually a large number of the same people, who have gotten to know each other from years of chatting while kibbitzing. It's more like a sports bar than a movie theatre -- can you imagine someone at a bar getting away with asking other patrons to keep quiet because he's trying to watch the ball game?

[mr1303]

And here we go again. Uday/Rain/Ben/A.N.Other can we get rid of the last few posts to this thread?

 

An interesting discussion has been ruined by a long-standing personal argument that the rest of us have no interest in.

[inquiry]

And here we go again. Uday/Rain/Ben/A.N.Other can we get rid of the last few posts to this thread?

 

An interesting discussion has been ruined by a long-standing personal argument that the rest of us have no interest in.

We agree... removed.