Accountability and the abuse of power

[ShadowHand2]

I wish to post a understanding of the inherent and utter lack of Accountability that over the course of just the last few days has shown me the lack of such concept. It has been made clear to myself with the repeated abuse of power extended my direction that the real purpose of the forums and certain persons in them have removed themselves from any accountability.

"Power tends to corrupt, and absolute power corrupts absolutely. Great men are almost always bad men"

and

"Unlimited power is apt to corrupt the minds of those who possess it"

Both of which mean nearly the same that the abuse of power or authority may be the prime source and true essence of moral EVIL. One can say Moral evil begins to show when someone refuses to accept responsibility for the welfare of those under them. More so if for those who are under their direct care. When you can decisively influence (the) reality (of others), you have power over them. When one unjustifiably uses that power to EXPLOIT or HARM those others, or through lack of action, ALLOWS exploitation or harm to occur to them.

It follows that someone who does not have any form of power cannot abuse it.

It also follows that the main (and perhaps the only) principle of human ethics and morality should be to avoid the abuse of the power. It is unethical and extremely wrong to put one's self in a position of conflict of interest. As is putting a subordinate in a position of conflict of interest demonstrates a complete ignorance of ethics. Yet if one does not put basic ethics into his/her position as a general rule of governing, you allow yourself no standard to be judged on. In other words you remove your self from reproach.

Also, it stands to reason that if those who want to stop or impede the abuse of power (or those who are charged with this duty) do not have sufficient power (even if it were only moral power), they and their efforts will only serve as a source of amusement to those who abuse it.

If said person(s) where in fact in a lower position (lower points as well), then they would be more appreciative of the concerns of others. When one is removed from and lifted above normal population with a position that promotes a culture of fear, control and exclusion, they maintain from being held to any answerability, enforcement or blameworthiness.


Culture of fear:

Such abuse of authority thrives in a culture whose people fear one another. Leaders are afraid of losing power. Subordinates know the danger of confronting those in authority. Loyalty is emphasized to distract from what is really happening. Mutual intimidation lies just under the surface of what seems safe to talk about or question.

Culture of control and exclusion:

When those with power and authority are not held to any real standard or scrutiny in a fair process with the normal checks and balances....they are allowed free reign to impose their wills in ways that are beyond their rightful sphere of influence. Such person(s) may then remove any noncompliance undesirables from the group. Not for the sake of the group, but as a means to protect their on "leadership" or power base.

By threatening exclusion for noncompliance, "leaders" can require submission in matters that are more personal and bias. Funny enough, these same "leaders" that abuse will claim their own accountability is a given from the mere fact of the position they hold with a iron fist. They will also claim they are above criticism and question, without granting the same freedom to others.

Perhaps, later in life when karma flex's its POWER...those who abuse their power and authority will know fair and balanced in life. Winning in here is not a sweet as when one loses in the real world. I will merely laugh inside of your karma to come. We take our victories even the small ones.

[Minor_Threat]

cool story bro.

[Spisey]

Karma Chameleon?

[sephiroth1084]

Karma Chameleon?

Hard to say. They come and go.

[monkeypoopie7]

[Braegan]

Well stated and with thoughts I have had myself. The ability for ones peers to give negative points to one another only breeds contempt. That should be a power reserved for the moderators themselves and NO player. It should be Turbine officials that decide what post or poster has crossed the line (otherwise as a player use the report button or pm them), giving that power to a select few will only promote more discontent.

[captain1z]

Shadow,

In the past we have had a disagreement or 2 but I say this with no Ill will in mind what so ever.

- Your post was written well enough but too philosophical for most to get the point or even attempt to read

- I hear what u are saying and I agree that your peers should not have the power to publicly diminish you in such a way that is visable every time you log on (or even when logged off for that matter)

My advice:

- If u feel the system is not working well or being abused, you really should PM a moderator and have them review the situation. Making a post and taking this stand publicly only singles you out and makes you a target for more of the same (possibly).

Turning off your rep was a good way of saying you dont believe the system is a good idea publicly but to affect a change you need to work internally, appealing to the forums wont help much at all.


My 2 cents, meant with no disrespect at all, for what its worth

[Demoyn]

- If u feel the system is not working well or being abused, you really should PM a moderator and have them review the situation. Making a post and taking this stand publicly only singles you out and makes you a target for more of the same (possibly).

Welcome to the reputation system -- where the moderators are the ones abusing the system. How is appealing to them going to help anything?

[bobbryan2]

What does it feel like to be you?

[Jonny_D]

Well stated and with thoughts I have had myself. The ability for ones peers to give negative points to one another only breeds contempt. That should be a power reserved for the moderators themselves and NO player. It should be Turbine officials that decide what post or poster has crossed the line (otherwise as a player use the report button or pm them), giving that power to a select few will only promote more discontent.

-1 rep

[Braegan]

-1 rep

/cries!


Thanks for the laugh

[mediocresurgeon]

Too long, didn't read.

Well actually, I started reading it, but was too lazy to see how it applies to DDO. Perhaps a direct, concise post is best?

[Demoyn]

That should be a power reserved for the moderators themselves and NO player. It should be Turbine officials that decide what post or poster has crossed the line (otherwise as a player use the report button or pm them), giving that power to a select few will only promote more discontent.

What are you talking about? Turbine officials ARE the problem.

[Borror0]

Suspiciously so...

Maybe more than you think.

From the OP:

Culture of fear:

Such abuse of authority thrives in a culture whose people fear one another. Leaders are afraid of losing power. Subordinates know the danger of confronting those in authority. Loyalty is emphasized to distract from what is really happening. Mutual intimidation lies just under the surface of what seems safe to talk about or question.

Culture of control and exclusion:

When those with power and authority are not held to any real standard or scrutiny in a fair process with the normal checks and balances....they are allowed free reign to impose their wills in ways that are beyond their rightful sphere of influence. Such person(s) may then remove any noncompliance undesirables from the group. Not for the sake of the group, but as a means to protect their on "leadership" or power base.

By threatening exclusion for noncompliance, "leaders" can require submission in matters that are more personal and bias. Funny enough, these same "leaders" that abuse will claim their own accountability is a given from the mere fact of the position they hold with a iron fist. They will also claim they are above criticism and question, without granting the same freedom to others.

From here:

A culture of fear.

Such abuse of authority thrives in a culture whose people fear one another. Leaders are afraid of losing power. Subordinates know the danger of confronting those in authority. Loyalty is emphasized to distract from what is really happening. Mutual intimidation lies just under the surface of what seems safe to talk about or question.

A culture of control and exclusion.
When spiritual overseers are not held accountable to fair process and well-defined checks and balances, they can impose their will in ways that go beyond their rightful sphere of control. Such leaders may remove a noncompliant person from the group, not for the sake of the organization but as a means to protect their own leadership. By threatening exclusion for noncompliance, leaders can require submission in matters that are more personal than public, more cultural than biblical, and more arbitrary than fairly reasoned. Ironically, abusive leaders often suggest that their own accountability to God places them above criticism and question, without granting the same freedom to others.

[Borror0]

Maybe more than you think.

He stole a few more lines this article.

From the OP:

[...] abuse of power or authority may be the prime source and true essence of moral EVIL. One can say Moral evil begins to show when someone refuses to accept responsibility for the welfare of those under them. More so if for those who are under their direct care. When you can decisively influence (the) reality (of others), you have power over them.

From the article:

Abuse of power or authority may be the prime source and true essence of moral EVIL - Evil is the ABUSE of power. Moral EVIL begins to exist when someone refuses to accept responsibility for the welfare of others, especially those naturally under his or her direct care. It can be said that someone has POWER, if that someone can decisively influence (the) reality (of others).

From the OP:

When one unjustifiably uses that power to EXPLOIT or HARM those others, or through lack of action, ALLOWS exploitation or harm to occur to them.

It follows that someone who does not have any form of power cannot abuse it.

It also follows that the main (and perhaps the only) principle of human ethics and morality should be to avoid the abuse of the power.

From the article:

[...] unjustifiably uses that power to EXPLOIT or HARM those others, or through lack of action, ALLOWS exploitation or harm to occur to them.

It follows that someone who does not have (a particular form of) power cannot abuse it.

It also follows that the main (and perhaps the only) principle of human ethics and morality should be to avoid the abuse of power.

From the OP:

It is unethical and extremely wrong to put one's self in a position of conflict of interest. As is putting a subordinate in a position of conflict of interest demonstrates a complete ignorance of ethics. Yet if one does not put basic ethics into his/her position as a general rule of governing, you allow yourself no standard to be judged on. In other words you remove your self from reproach.

Also, it stands to reason that if those who want to stop or impede the abuse of power (or those who are charged with this duty) do not have sufficient power (even if it were only moral power), they and their efforts will only serve as a source of amusement to those who abuse it.

From the article:

From this it follows that it is extremely unethical to put oneself (or to stay) in a position of conflict of interest, i.e., where one's benefit or profit depends on harming or exploiting others. And of course, it also follows that putting a subordinate in a position of conflict of interest demonstrates a complete ignorance of ethics.

Additionally, it follows that if those who want to stop or impede the abuse of power (or those who are charged with this duty) do not have sufficient power (even if it were only moral power), they and their efforts will only serve as a source of amusement to those who abuse it.

[sephiroth1084]

He stole a few more lines this article.

From the OP:

From the article:

From the OP:


From the article:

From the OP:

From the article:

Borr...what exactly do you do for a living?

I'm thinking professional blogger/forum poster, high school teacher/college professor, or literary assassin/CIA agent/PI. The worst part is that I'm not really sure which of those scares me the most...

[Aranticus]

Borr...what exactly do you do for a living?

I'm thinking professional blogger/forum poster, high school teacher/college professor, or literary assassin/CIA agent/PI. The worst part is that I'm not really sure which of those scares me the most...

there are programs that detects plagarism

[sephiroth1084]

there are programs that detects plagarism

I'm aware of them, Aranticus, but did you bother to fire one up? Did I? I only read half the OP before deciding that I didn't need to waste time reading someone else's work before posting my own gibberish, but I didn't go hunting. And even if I had, I probably would have just posted the link. Borr posted it. And then it gnawed at his very marrow, until, five minutes later, he felt the need to break it down for us.

Are you claiming that that is not above and beyond the call of duty (4) or worthy of awe? And some poking of fun?

[Aranticus]

no wonder it make sense

[Strakeln]

Maybe more than you think.

From the OP:


From here:

BWAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAH!

I was wondering if Shadow had started taking some writing classes or something.

Negative rep for plagiarism, Shadow! lol