Question for the Moderators re Weapons

[Downunder Kilt]

A question to the Moderators

A recent thread was moderated. A photo showed two gentlemen attired in hunting gear and the theme of the thread was hunting attire. One of the two gentlemen in the photo was carrying a firearm which I considered to be incidental to the theme of the thread. The firearm was not the theme of the thread and had not been mentioned by any of the posters

I realise that rule 11 states inter alia
We must insist that there will be no discussion, posting or photos of, weapons not traditionally or historically associated with the Kilt or Scottish Regiments.

I have seen in numerous threads on this forum where swords and firearms are being worn/carried by persons in such situations such as colour parties or US military events which have no historical or traditional association with the kilt or Scottish regiments.

Personally I don’t like seeing photos of modern firearms being posted in threads where the purpose of the post is to bring attention to the firearm, however if the weapon is incidental to the topic and not the focus of the topic, then would it be unreasonable to let the photo stand?

I could imagine an avalanche of reports now being made if a photo of a colour party was posted showing members wearing, say, US military swords and the support parade carrying firearms of US military issue. Or if a proud relative posted a photo of his or her offspring graduating out of military college wearing a sword.

Where is the line to be drawn?

As an example, this photo of Her Majesty the Queen, reviewing a RAN detatchment upon her arrival in Australia



I have the greatest respect for all the moderators and I do not envy their job.
I do however find myself in this conumdrum and seek their guidance

[Steve Ashton]

Rather than have the Moderators be dragged into a discussion for which they are only following our rules perhaps it is best if I answer this question directly.

From the horses mouth so to speak.

You have already answered your own question sir.

"We must insist that there will be no discussion, posting or photos of, weapons not traditionally or historically associated with the Kilt or Scottish Regiments."

Why, you ask, is there such a rule? Well, a little history lesson.
In the early days of X Marks we had a few members who delighted is posting photos of their gun collections. One member posted two photos to the forum. The first was himself in his kilt standing before a card table. The second was the same person, the same kilt, the same card table, but now there were 15 weapons on the table. The poster was showing off just how many weapons he could conceal under his kilt. In clear rebellion of his States concealed weapons law.

In another case a member who was an avid hunter would post on average, once a month, a photo of himself with his new trophy. No kilt, no mention of a kilt. Just here is the bear I shot, or here is the Elk I shot. One photo showed him proudly showing off the bullit hole, messily through the skull of a Moose, that his new rifle could produce.

In each of these cases and in numerous others, every time modern weapons are brought up, each time hunting photos are posted, in fact each time the subject of weapons is even broached some of our members veer off onto the age old arguments over gun control and hunters rights.

Very soon the entire forum is hearing nothing about kilts. All the talk is from the two sides of the gun and hunting questions going at each other.

Hank, our original owner, instituted the no weapons rule.
One of our guiding principals states:

"We understand that as a kilt specific forum our chosen subject of discussion is not the complete spectrum of life." Over the years we have found certain subjects always seem to result in discord. Therefore, we respectfully ask our members to remember that this is a kilt forum and leave to their Politics, Religion and Weapons at the door.

Rule # 11 simply clarifies the weapons portion of the guiding principal, just as rule # 5 clarifies the politics and religion portion.

The photo in question showed two men engaged in modern hunting. They held evidence of their sucessfull day and also a modern civilian weapon. There were no kilts in the picture and the OP clearly stated that the photo was an example of how today's hunters dressed.

His question was about a possible other outfit and the other outfit's suitability for adaption to include a kilt.

As the photo did not show and was not about kilts or "weapons traditionally or historically associated with the Kilt or Scottish Regiments." the question was placed to the OP by the Moderators, ie - Do you have another photo, without the weapon and the dead birds that would be as suitable to setting up your question?

The OP agreed and is providing an alternate photo. The Moderators have agreed that the new photo is perfectly acceptable and I expect the thread to be re-instated very soon if it has not already been done.

So, no harm, no foul. A photo has been replaced. The OP is happy. The Moderators are happy. Everyone should be happy.

We on X Marks are not an anti-gun forum. We are not a pro-gun forum. We are not a pro or anti hunting forum. We are simply a kilt forum. We have reached our current status as the world's largest and most active on-line community by keeping our focus on the issue which brings our members to this forum. The Kilt.

As you already knew the answer to your own question and have even given an example of a photo that is not about the kilt, historicaly kilt associated weapons, or weapons of the Scottish Regiments, I can only assume that your post was an attempt to continue or escalate an issue that has already been amicably resolved. Therfore I am going to close this thread.