I read the China thread while having my morning coffee and thought what an absolute dumpster fire, I'm going to get stuck straight into these kents (respectfully) after work, only to come home and find it locked!
Not really surprising when the only rule seemed to be the highly subjective 'don't be a tit', people are terrible at judging whether they are "being a tit", the China thread being a prime example with 20 odd westerners who ostensibly pride themselves in being inclusive engaging in a pile on and trying a convince a Chinese person that the culture they were born into and likely the only one they've ever known is the evil empire!
Notwithstanding, the open exchange of ideas is the foundation of civil society and it should be re-opened with a proper rule. Play the man and not the ball and you'll get a red card.
If someone wants an actual discussion, it's on them to take the time to understand the position of the other side, so they can engage with it rather than talk past it. It's easy to be pro-PRC, if you ignore the millions of literal corpses ploughed under to consolidate its rule post-1949. What irritated me a bit was the absolute lack of engagement. As Monty Python pointed out, it's mere contradiction when the other side just calls every thing you say a lie. "Did." "Did not." "Did too!"
We simply wanted them to acknowledge that what happened over there is as well-documented as our countries' skeletons, and not just Western propaganda, as a starting point for a discussion. I understand that's risky for them to do, but it's impossible to have a discussion when the other side insists fact is fiction. That just poisons the well, which I always felt was the objective of the most flagrant offenders. IMO, they want someone like you to look at the ruckus when people lose their patience, and conclude that the other side is not open-minded. It wins their side votes in our countries, which furthers certain nations' foreign policy goals, as well as the careers of certain politicians.
Some people in CA played into their hands, which yielded the result. I thought about posting something about my thoughts, decided the result was too long and thought better of it. I probably should have said it, in retrospect. GOT was sarcastic about a paywall, but I think it's probably what needs to happen for the sub-forum to work at present. We're in the middle of an all-out media war, and it didn't shock me that it came to CA the way that it did. IMO, the choice is between moderating CA, which I would never agree to do without a sizable attached paycheck, and building a barrier that keeps the trolls out.