THE OFFICIAL IZBO TRIAL; Resolved: Izbo10 should be permanently banned

Thanks for accepting izbo, although I'm not sure you heeded the stipulation that you couldn't, in the course of this debate, violate the TOS, which states, "No personal attacks against other members." In fact, ladies and gentlemen of the jury, all izbo does in round 1 is engage in personal attacks against specific members of DDO or the community as a whole. Unfortunately izbo's mockery does not even stop at the frontier of DDO, but extends to Facebook as well. According to thett3, izbo has "posted quotes from Man is Good, Justcallmetarzan, and reformed arsenal on his facebook page making fun of them." The fact that izbo's harassment does not stop at the doorstep of DDO is extremely troubling. I'll offer a quick rebuttal to izbo's points, then commence with the remainder of the charges against him. == Rebuttal == R1) Izbo claims: "JustCallMeTarzan does not understand a syllogism" This argument is a red herring: completely irrelevant to the issue at hand. A syllogism, however, could accurately describe izbo's defense in round 1: All DDO users are stupid. Stupidity is the ultimate crime. Crimes deserve commensurate retribution. Conclusion: Any retribution against all DDO members is justified. However, there are clear flaws with this line of argumentation. Not only are the people izbo insults far from stupid, but also izbo's perceiving someone as stupid does not justify his retaliatory harassment or vote bombing. DDO will cease to function if we are not accepting of divergent opinions. R2) Izbo thinks people are "too dumb" to understand his arguments It seems far more likely that "what we've got here is a failure to communicate." [1] I'm sure that some authors have advanced the same arguments as izbo but in a more compelling manner. The most likely reason that the individuals izbo mentions did not vote for izbo's arguments was because he advanced said arguments with bad grammar, incorrect spelling and syntax, and a complete lack of clarity of expression. To prove izbo's lack of communication skills, I cite his own defense attorney, Danielle, in her petition to declare izbo mentally disabled and thus unfit to represent himself: " Is Izbo Mentally Disabled? IQ tests aside, I've proposed a variant in the way mental retardation is defined or described. Some psychotherapists (particularly existential psychotherapists) describe it as a mere inability to communicate effectively. Nobody's denied that izbo has shown a complete inability to communicate effectively." If the above is the opinion of the very people who were supposed to be defending him, that does not bode well for izbo. R3) Izbo argues, "Cerebral_Narcissist is a moral nihilist" This is another red herring. Cerebral did not even help me one iota with the preparation of this case, so this entire attack on the morals of the "prosecution team" falls flat. Regardless, I never argued that we should ban izbo because the TOS is somehow sacrosanct. I argued we should ban him for: harassment, vote bombing, posting hateful comments, degrading the Religion forum, and scaring away members (Cliff.Stamp, Ninja_Tru, and untold others). The site cannot function while the above behavior continues. R4) Free speech is violated Free speech applies only to "public spaces." I am not required to allow izbo to give a speech about how dumb C_N is at my daughter's wedding, for example. A wedding is a private affair and as the person paying for the wedding, I can restrict speech. In the same way, it is well within Juggle's right to restrict types of "speech" that degrade the quality of the site, which is their private property. Additionally, hate speech and "fighting words" are not protected by the 1st Amendment. Many of izbo's insults would qualify as fighting words. Fighting words are written or spoken words, generally expressed to incite hatred, that are substantially likely to provoke a violent response. Many members of DDO would be substantially likely to take a swing at izbo if he cussed at and insulted them in such a fashion in person. As such, his speech is not protected because it is considered, by our government, to be dangerous. R5) Izbo claims his ban would lead to a lack of activity Not all activity is good activity. 90% of the activity surrounding izbo is comprised of complaints about his behavior. Even if some people support izbo's cause, a site full of active izbo supporters, who routinely harass and vote bomb their opponents, would quickly become a site that none of us would want to frequent. In addition, the Religion forum has seen a revival during this brief respite from insults that was izbo's temporary ban. == Further Charges == Charge 5) Izbo is a moderator's worst nightmare. Not surprisingly, izbo gets "reported" by other users frequently. According to a subpoena of innomen's records, 46 separate users have PM'ed innomen (the moderator) to ask that something be done about izbo. In addition, more than 300 reports have been issued against izbo, all alleging legitimate violations of the TOS. According to innomen, "when [izbo]'s on a particular tear, [there will be] 26-30 reports on him" all at once. Supposedly the only reason he hasn't already been banned is because he has a few staunch supporters (such as mikeee and 000ike) who vehemently oppose his ban. Izbo also has the gall to report other users, typically 3-5 reports at a time. For example, izbo reported people to innomen whose arguments he didn't like. Izbo said, "I want a warning against them, that if they don't actually add arguments they will be banned as trolls." Innomen will need a replacement for himself within 6 months. Would any of you be willing to moderate with izbo still here? He alone takes up 80% of the moderator's attention. Charge 6) He's getting worse not better Rather than showing remorse at his behavior, izbo finds this entire process highly amusing. He has shot down attempts to reach out to him, both by jharry and by his entire defense team. Danielle says that izbo trolled his entire defense team, choosing to spew (and butcher) various philosophical principles rather than accept their help. Recenlty, he has branched out from the Religion forum to the Debate.org Forum, calling for Man-is-good's ban and purporting to run for president under the following charming thread title: "Vote Izbo to stop fucktardery." The opening post reads, "This board is full of idiots and fucktards. We have idiots who don't understand their own position, cerebral, idiots who don't understand a syllogism or definitions, jcmt, and idiots who couldn't stay on topic if their lives depended on it, mig. If you vote izbo I vow to make this a place where intelligence and honesty are valued and not pissed on like these people do." [2] This is just obvious trolling. Ladies and gentlemen, if you don't vote to ban izbo, his behavior will only get worse. He will take your decision as a green light for his behavior and will consider the outcome of this trial as a mandate that he is immune from being banned. 7) We've banned other people for similar behavior We banned askbob for harassment. We banned NoNo for trolling. Innomen estimates that all-in-all, between 15 and 20 people have been banned for violations similar to izbo's. If we grant him an exception, we must allow all harassers and voter bombers to stay. The slippery slope would also require us to keep all trolls, as long as they "generated activity" in the forums. Remember, in a poll of DDO users: 23% said that izbo's ban would "significantly increase" their enjoyment of the site and 10% said his ban would "increase" their enjoyment. If one in three DDO users feel that their experience of the website is seriously degraded merely by one member's behavior, then that member clearly needs to be banned. [1] Cool Hand Luke [2] Subsequently removed by the moderator; http://www.debate.org...