My concerns for James

[ChuckSteak]

Even in the Sons of Apollo thread, bosk himself has said that criticisms of what Derek and Mike have said are fair game (within reason, obviously insults and attacks are NOT allowed), because they themselves have been making comments and jabs, and like anything else, it's fair game for discussion. But that thread wasn't even created with the intention of that being the topic of conversation, it is something that blossomed naturally from Derek and MP's comments and actions. Nobody made an account and made a beeline for that thread to dump on those two guys - but a couple people seemed to make accounts and beeline for that thread with the intention of slamming DT and James, hence users' suspicions about their identities. We can all get along, there is no 'strong bias' here, I think context is very important and is key to this conversation we're having right now.

Not too long ago in some topic which I don't remember some people made some negative comments about Labrie. It was nothing serious, nothing offensive, but it was off-topic. And guess what? The posts got deleted instantly. Do you see any posts getting deleted when people criticize or say negative things about MP or DS, even if it is like EVERYWHERE and often off-topic? I don't. And that's bias. That is choosing a side and treating those on the other side differently. I bet you anything if the comments about Labrie were off-topic but positive, no posts would get deleted.

Do I think it is cool what DS and MP say on social media? No. But that doesn't mean you get the extra right to say more negative stuff or almost insults towards them. If you can't do that with the other members, then you can't do that to them either. Either rules apply or they don't apply at all. If you want a middle ground, then the moderators should add exceptions to the rule.

By the  way ChuckSteak, I've been meaning to ask...is that Adebisi in your avatar? That's damn creepy Great show though!

Sure it is! Simon Adebisi, bitches!

You might want to invest in glasses because it’s James looks incredibly overweight to you, you are either blind or just stupid.

Hmm.. and calling someone blind and stupid by thinking Labrie is overweight is not an insult?

Being fat or overweight isn't an opinion, it's fact, and since the fact is he's certainly not "incredibly overweight" and that you're trying to justify it as your opinion makes me question (again) why you're even here.

No, being fat is subjective, just like beauty is. Anyway, I don't think anybody here knows Labrie's weight and height to be able to say objectively if he is overweight or not.

[The Walrus]

Then report a post if you think it's a violation instead of waiting for the mods to see every little post. Bosk has written several times about how criticism is fair within reason; if MP or DS say something that is, well, 'controversial,' it's fair game to criticize it. There's also a difference between saying "that's a dumb thing to say" and "DS is an idiot" for example.

Being fat isn't subjective, either. You either are or not, it's not in the eye of the beholder, this isn't Shallow Hal, if you're 300 pounds, you're just fat. JLB is not fat. 

[DT2003]

You might want to invest in glasses because it’s James looks incredibly overweight to you, you are either blind or just stupid.

Hmm.. and calling someone blind and stupid by thinking Labrie is overweight is not an insult?

He didn’t call him overweight he called him incredibly overweight. There’s a huge difference there. Yes none of us know how much James weighs and sure it’s possible he’s overweight, but he is far from incredibly overweight. Yes I shouldn’t have wrote what I wrote, but this guy made his thoughts on James clear and his post was nothing but an insult to James as it was far from true. 

[Peter Mc]

Regarding the original post I will say that I saw James in Manchester UK on the I&WAB tour and not only did he sound great, it was also the most engaging and funny I have ever seen him as a frontman.  Couldn't really care less what he sounds like on someone's mobile phone video, in person he sounded awesome as did the whole band (especially JP who was just out of this world).

I've not seen DT 22 times but have seen them on every tour from FII onwards, sometimes twice and can't remember ever not enjoying his performance, maybe I've just been lucky or maybe others are looking on youtube and not going to the shows.  I'm not going to say he's the greatest showman in the history of rock, he isn't and neither is anyone else in the band, but he sings the songs well in person and that's all I need him to do.

[Sycsa]

No, being fat is subjective

It's not. It can medically be determined if someone is overweight or obese. This has become a politicized issue for some reason, and it's ridiculous.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PBqg_69tgpE - it's funny how the counterpoint to "skinny" is made out to be "curvy" and "big breasted." Those women are fat, and throwing euphemisms at it won't make it go away. It's still not as silly as calling JLB "extremely overweight" though.

[DT2003]

He definitely has made an effort to up his game as a frontman. He definitely has some awkward moments on stage, but he is much better than he used to be IMO.

[bosk1]

You might want to invest in glasses because it’s James looks incredibly overweight to you, you are either blind or just stupid.

Hmm.. and calling someone blind and stupid by thinking Labrie is overweight is not an insult?

Yeah, it is, just as much as what Nick warned about.  This thread is being locked due to insults thrown at James, and the escalation of insults and off topic discussion aimed at one another.  As far as formal warnings go:

-Loki:  For insults toward a bandmember.

-DT2003:  For insults at another poster.

-Chuck:  For being at the forefront of taking this WAY off topic by trying to turn it into "the mods are so unfair!" discussion.  The rules are pretty clear that if you have an issue with a moderation decision, you can discuss it via PM rather than derailing a thread.  And your accusation of bias is incredibly off base.  That said, if you willfully choose to see bias where there is none and you think the place isn't modded to your liking, you know where the door is.