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Scientology Ads
Topic Started: Aug 19 2010, 08:35 PM (1,173 Views)
FOS
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Is it really appropriate to have ads promoting a cult* on a network such as ZB? I appreciate that ZB can't realistically have control over every ad that may appear. But we don't get ads for 'legal' highs, alcohol, porn or weapons, and I consider this ad every bit as unsuitable. At the very least, this isn't something that should be pushed on 'kids' - yet I've just seen it for the first time on our forum at the foot of a thread about exams/results.

*Personal opinion, although a quick search before posting would suggest I'm not alone in considering it such.
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Trinity76-ZNS
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Zetaboard seriously needs to free itself of Google ads altogether. That company is nothing more than a volatile cancer eating away at the Internet.
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Brandon
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I will look into this.
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FOS
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Thanks, Brandon.
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vix
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Keeper of the Katamari
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The "young girls taking pics of themselves in mirrors" ads bug me as well. Just seems so inappropriate. I think I've seen a scientology ad on my forum once or twice.
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Brian
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Go Irish!

If you have an issue with a particular ad, the best way to handle it is through an Admin CP support ticket. :)
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Moonface
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ziegler
Aug 20 2010, 12:20 AM
Zetaboard seriously needs to free itself of Google ads altogether. That company is nothing more than a volatile cancer eating away at the Internet.
Google Ads are what make this a free service I believe.
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Tom Gale
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FOS
Aug 19 2010, 08:35 PM
Is it really appropriate to have ads promoting a cult* on a network such as ZB? I appreciate that ZB can't realistically have control over every ad that may appear. But we don't get ads for 'legal' highs, alcohol, porn or weapons, and I consider this ad every bit as unsuitable. At the very least, this isn't something that should be pushed on 'kids' - yet I've just seen it for the first time on our forum at the foot of a thread about exams/results.

*Personal opinion, although a quick search before posting would suggest I'm not alone in considering it such.
Are you in the US?

It claims freedom of religion, which would be freedom to advertise it. Course, you can ignore it like you do any other ad.

But you characterization of it as a cult shows the US really doesn't have freedom of religion. What it has is government sponsored mono-deism.

Myself, I'd like to see some atheist ads.
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Fernicia
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Banned 4 lyf
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Tom Gale
Aug 29 2010, 12:14 AM
Are you in the US?

It claims freedom of religion, which would be freedom to advertise it. Course, you can ignore it like you do any other ad.
No one is saying it's illegal. But Zetaboards is meant to be suitable for users as young as 13, so certain content in their advertisements should be avoided, such as pornography. The OP is simply saying that advertising this cult could be unsuitable for a large amount of Zetaboards users. Remember this is also an international service, so the laws of the US only apply if Brandon wants them to (But this is irrelevant).

Quote:
 
But you characterization of it as a cult shows the US really doesn't have freedom of religion. What it has is government sponsored mono-deism.

Myself, I'd like to see some atheist ads.

This is an interesting hypothesis. One I'd wholeheartedly disagree with. But why don't you start a topic in the Community Chat forum so it can be discussed in detail?
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Tom Gale
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Fernicia
Aug 29 2010, 09:12 AM
Tom Gale
Aug 29 2010, 12:14 AM
Are you in the US?

It claims freedom of religion, which would be freedom to advertise it. Course, you can ignore it like you do any other ad.
No one is saying it's illegal. But Zetaboards is meant to be suitable for users as young as 13, so certain content in their advertisements should be avoided, such as pornography. The OP is simply saying that advertising this cult could be unsuitable for a large amount of Zetaboards users. Remember this is also an international service, so the laws of the US only apply if Brandon wants them to (But this is irrelevant).
Scientology is approved as a religion by the US government (it has IRS religious tax exempt status). Saying its bad for children opens any religion to subjective judgments of value and possible exclusion attempts.

Interestingly, the doctrine and/or source material of some popular religions does not comply with Zetaboards rules against racist, defamatory, or obscene material. Scientology probably has less of a problem with these issues than some other religions do.

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FOS
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Whether this issue is resolved, or even considered an issue at all, is entirely Brandon's concern. So please, let's allow him to address it in the manner he deems appropriate. And I'm sure he knows how to find the Wikipedia page concerned of his own accord, too.

Tom Gale
Aug 29 2010, 12:14 AM
Are you in the US?

It claims freedom of religion, which would be freedom to advertise it. Course, you can ignore it like you do any other ad.

But you characterization of it as a cult shows the US really doesn't have freedom of religion. What it has is government sponsored mono-deism.
No, I'm in the UK (where it isn't recognised as a religion).

Pornography is advertised too, but not (for obvious reasons, as Fernicia stated above) on ZB. Of course I can ignore it, but as Admin I have a duty of care to do whatever I feasibly can to safeguard our members. Typically they'd see ads for fashion, cosmetics, mobile phones and assorted pop stars - in the main, things they have prior knowledge of and can therefore make an informed decision about. But at the very least, a new 'religion' is not something the younger ones should be exposed to without parental guidance.

Besides the fact that I'm not American and could hardly be considered representative of an entire nation's collective consciousness in any case, I did make it clear from the outset that referring to it as a 'cult' was personal opinion.
Edited by FOS, Aug 29 2010, 01:16 PM.
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Clay
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Accepting chocolate bribes since 1992.
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Moderator Commentary


This topic is not to discuss your opinion on different religions, if you wish to do that, you are free to open a new topic in the Community Chat forum.

Thanks

Clay :)
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Keggr8
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You can influence the type of ads that appear on your site by changing the tags

Don't put anything silly in your tags, anything unrelated, or anything that might attract ads like those. Try and use tags that sound more professional.

Anyways, scientology ads themselves shouldn't be your concern, but religious ones in general. So don't put "religion" tags, and you'll probably only see religion based ads in topics about religion or with people shouting "OH GOD OH GOD OH GOD OH GOD".
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FOS
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Keggr8
Sep 5 2010, 05:58 PM
Anyways, scientology ads themselves shouldn't be your concern, but religious ones in general.

So don't put "religion" tags, and you'll probably only see religion based ads in topics about religion or with people shouting "OH GOD OH GOD OH GOD OH GOD".
'See post #12' should be sufficient, but telling people what their concerns should and shouldn't be is frankly ludicrous.

It appears all around the forum, including at the top of the index and even in PMs. It seems extremely probable that it's triggered by far more than just mentions of god/religion.
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