Below is the response I got from Fatwallet staff on my post at this gun topic - linky. I do find FatWallets explanation reasonable and wanted to share it with my FW brethren.
Virgil27 (Staff) said: Hello lekhak,
I removed your post in the Hungarian AK-47 because it is off-topic. We are trying to keep the focus on the deal itself and not on discussions on the necessity or lack thereof of assault weapons.
FatWallet has no position on gun control or gun ownership. We are simply letting people post what they think is a good deal on the Hot Deals forum. Clearly, more than a few people think this is a good deal, but that should not be construed as a blanket endorsement of gun deals by FatWallet nor the FatWallet community.
I understand your distaste for these kinds of deals, but if you dislike such deals, you probably should ignore them anyway. If you have any other questions, please let us know.
Richard FatWallet.com Here is my post, which was ofcourse removed for being off-topic. lekhak said: Hi Farfisa850,
Wanted to PM this to you. But decided that since you are already moderating this thread you can decide whether my post can be censored (yeah, moderated) or not. And if it is posted, other Fatwalleters can add to the discussion. If appropriate, we can have a discussion in the "Off Topic" section - or was there already a discussion, and I missed out on it?
Personally, I'm totally against any sort of assault weapons (or is it machine guns? My terminology may be wrong as I am least interested in weapons and try to stay away from any related information.) in the hands of citizens. A weapon for security, etc. is a different matter all together, and a necessity of life. Yeah, the second amendment protects the right to bear arms. But why would a citizen need a bullet spraying gun unless they want to shoot indiscriminately. (Think about it. It gets out of control even for professionals - even an extra bullet or two could kill innocent people.)
And lately FatWallet has become a forum to get better deals on weapons - more weapons for the same $$$. Can you please let us FatWalleters know FatWallets position on guns? Is Fatwallet in favor of, against or neutral on gun control in its various flavors? Or what is Fatwallets flavor of gun control?
Also, everytime I see such a topic posted, I feel a kind of a twist in my gut. So is there a way to filter out topics related to gun/rifle sales? If the topics are going to be posted anyways in the future, I would atleast prefer to not look at such topics myself.
Below is an excerpt from Wikipedia on AK-47 which gives us an insight into the proliferation of such weapons: Wiki said: In some countries, prices for AKs are very low; in Pakistan, Somalia, Rwanda, Mozambique, Congo and Ethiopia, prices are between $30–$125 per weapon, and prices have fallen in the last few decades due to mass counterfeiting. Moisés Naím observed that in a small town in Kenya in 1986, an AK-47 cost fifteen cows but that in 2005, the price was down to four cows indicating that supply was "immense".What is your take?
Personally, I would like to have the ability to filter the posts based on keywords (ex. rifle). It might be a stretch, but should atleast be considered for future versions of FatWallet.
My take: Fatwallet is a deal site, not a political site. When you talk about gun laws, rights, control, etc., you are talking about a political subject.
Much like no one wants to see your dislike of Apple in a Mac deal thread, your hatred of Sony in a Blu Ray thread, or your allergy to Apple Jacks in an Amazon grocery thread, it's a distraction from the deal discussion for those who DO want to partake.
Opinions are like assholes. Everybody has one, but generally we don't want to talk about 'em.
Recently, you told me "no". This was a traumatic experience for me, since no one has ever told me no before. My mommy never told me no, neither did my daddy. Since I am completely lacking in the maturity needed to respect simple and clear rules, I think you should just let me do whatever I want, the same way everyone else has done all my life. My mommy says I am a beautiful unique snowflake, so I see no reason why you should expect me to follow the same rules everyone else does.
MVP9596 said: Being able to filter out deals based on type is on our wish list.Thats great news. Thanks FW.
MVP9596 said: Maybe the price of cows went way up, a severe Kenyan cow shortage would surely cause the same effect LOL.
BTW, my brain just drew up a parallel: Till about 2004, a decent laptop was priced around fifteen hundred USD ($1500). In 2009, we can get one for four hundred USD ($400). Well ofcourse, the Kenyans did not have to deal with rebates or taxes on cow (barter) currency.
soundtechie said: I see no reason why you should expect me to follow the same rules everyone else does.Did you even read the OP?
You missed the whole premise of this thread. I am not whining about my post being moderated.
I knew that my post did not belong in the rifle thread and would be moderated. Still posted it to get a response from the moderators, and not to thread crap.
The first two statements in that post make it amply clear.
lekhak said: Wanted to PM this to you. But decided that since you are already moderating this thread you can decide whether my post can be censored (yeah, moderated) or not. The premise in simple terms: I got an explanation from the fatwallet staff about a certain issue (Gun control in this case). The explanation sounded reasonable to me. I shared the same with fellow FWers, and asked for their take on it.
I knew that my post did not belong in the rifle thread and would be moderated. Still posted it to get a response from the moderators, and not to thread crap.
This is a deals site, a shopping site, So You wasted moderator's time with an irrelevant post (to this site) that you knew was irrelevant. The moderators could be helping clarify actual deals and NOT your political discussion.
FW is beginning to lose its relevance to me, other deal sites don't have this kind of immaterial claptrap. I look at the top posted deals each day based on replies and I'd guess 10% are political, when it hits 20%, I will be leaving FW.
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