Disturbing

I realize you are not "picking" a fight, Ilikeflags. I don't 'rate' people who murder other people, in or for the government of any country. I feel they are all hated by somebody. I feel stupid, always. I'm all for empathy, for people in the Eastern bloc, who may have memories of Stalin's reign. I'm for empathy in the Middle East, who have dealt with the reign of the U.S., Isreali, British, etc., etc., governments now. Real freedom is when you know, not when your blinded by those who assume to know better. I'm not going to apologize for typing, or grammatical errors in a forum, that would be an endless endeavor. But, I feel that those who point them out are clowns, but not you, Ilikeflags.

then you're missing the entire point.  which is not surprising.  dude feels threatened by an image of stalin.  in his passion, he starts a thread calling this image to the attention of the owners of this site who have made it clear they don't want controversy or threats or religious zealots running wild on their site.  for some here, this turns into a joke and a punchline.  my pointing that out doesn't make me a troll.  we don't agree here.  that's fine.  i think that people who show ignorance to other's real feelings, especially when related to a monster like stalin, are being stupid--not evil, just stupid.  if you're ok being ignorant to other's feelings, then by all means, laugh away.  just know where i stand.

and from here, you're welcome to think of some other fun and silly thing to say to divert yourself from the real issue at hand.  this seems to be working so well for you.

Another angle to consider is that this "stalin" person was wanting to intimidate opponents, not to glorify Iosef. This must be considered, just as we consider that this fellow is not glorifying the semi-legality of violence he enjoyed in the army, but rather is proud of being part of his nation's continued independence, which Estonians are particularly proud of.

Ok, now, back to the jokes...

You are missing my point. You are trolling in this guy's thread which is just as ignorant to his feelings.

all your points are valid. my main concern is, this image obviously hits home for the OP.  is he wrong in his feelings?  no way.  is his desire to have all imgaes of josef stalin removed from chess.com a little out there?  maybe, but maybe not.  but for the idea to be instanly considered a joke by several members of this site is really telling.  i'm not calling for an official list of historic monsters, i'm just pointing out that instantly writing his ideas off cuz they don't gel for everyone, is really stupid.  did you guys read that?  it seems like i called you stupid again.

right on cue! (or is it queue?)

I do believe, calling everyone "stupid", is becoming your most endearing quality, Ilikeflags. My apologies to your family. And because of my sensitivity to them, I will never use you as my avatar.

If I'm a weenie for being offended by the glorification of genocial maniacs, then call me Mr. Frankfurter. I don't see, in my tube steak reality, how having images of Hitler or Stalin can be a good thing for the long term health of a website. With regard to living in a "mall vaccuum," do you think this boneload who has a Stalin avatar is sophisticated or edgy? He's the worst kind of troll.

my family forgives you.  and if you have honestly read that i'm calling everyone stupid, this makes more sense than it did before.  let me guess, you could care less.  you really COULD!

So you pretty much can't have any U.S. president, British PM, Israeli president, etc., as an avatar? Chess.com needs more help!

tonydal, i'm not sure i'm right about anything here but that this guy's connection to what he posted is real and that he deserves some credit for that.  he's not trolling in his mind.  he's really disturbed by the fact that this site allows imgaes of someone who he KNOWS to be a monster.  that's worth at least a our confirmation.  at least.  even though the feelings or knowlegde about stalin may not be universal.

and i am not opposed to silliness at all.  i'm opposed to making this guy look/feel like a dick or a retard for sharing his true feelings about something that most of us don't have a real connection too, but that he does.

Could we just leave it at that? Here's a nice little game supposedly played  by Joseph in 1926:

trysts if that's all this is about for you then so be it.  this is not about who we can or cannot have as avatars--for me.

Not really. He was executed less than two months later.

Hold your knights. They weren't all german.

You're supposed to go for the draw, a la communism: 1/2 1/2.

Pretty vague there, I(really)likeflags. I can't understand what the hell you're talking about. I simply don't like censorship and oppression. It is impossible to remain a neutral website, and start giving into the demands of people's sensitivity about issues that have nothing to do with chess. Do you really think the OP has an argument? It was not thought out at all. OP just said, 'I don't like this do something about it'. I would think Chess.com thought about it and said: "Pandora's box!" Minimalism on censorship is best. Avatars disappearing altogether? It may occur. People understanding that 'freedom' is not all about their freedom, but other's as well, with the bridge being empathy, seems the most mature and thoughtful way to get along.

i do.  but i'm not calling for banning images on avatars over one post.  i just think it's worth looking at without attacking the guy.  others don't agree.  that's what it is.  the OP is an estonian guy who feels threatened by images of stalin.  that seems so completely cut and dry to me.  obviously we all don't know the same things about what happened in estonia when stalin was running eastern europe.  i just emapthiz(s)e with the guy a bit.  that's all.  apparently that's not the most popular line of thinking here.

In place of the kings you must use special Dictators of the Proletariat (which is hell to write in algebraic notation btw)

Calling people "stupid" and telling people to help you gang up on some guy having fun in the forums, means that you do the same thing many of us do. 'Selective empathy'. So you're not such a promoter of the idea.

BTW, Tonydal brought up the McCarthy era, and that was brilliant.