Religion, politics, and other sensitive topics, in the context of free speech on AstroBin

Wow, a tough one. As you said, they are not offensive or anything, so for that reason I'd say why not post it….

BUT, you also said that you try to keep Astrobin free from politics and religion and this is something I personally highly apprechiate, so from that point of view you should not allow that post to get visible as it will worst case open up discussions in the form of: "Why did you approve this post and not mine…. "

So in the end I voted with 'no'

Michael

It would  be opening the door. Once one such topic is approved you will get a host of requests that push the boundaries a bit further than the previous one and you can expect comments along the lines of  "You approved requests A, B, C,… Why are you discriminating against my request?"

Oh boy - this is a tough one.

I firmly believe that everyone has a right to freedom of thought, and a right to express their faith, as long as the forum is appropriate and no-one is offended or marginalised.

I confess to sometimes being overwhelmed by the beauty of the night sky myself, and wonder how it all began, and how different cultures have integrated their observations with their culture and beliefs.

In thinking about this question, my first instinct was to visit their website.
The images are very nice, and 90% of the content is technical, with a focus on the technical aspects of astrophotography, and astrophotography as art.
Each image comes with a brief quote from the Bible, which is gentle and relevant.
I'd be perfectly OK if those quotes were contained in descriptions for images posted on Astrobin, and I seriously doubt whether anyone would be offended by them. I also make the point that they are promoting their belief in a divine purpose, as opposed to a particular faith or religion.

My second instinct was to visit Astrobin's home page to find an articulation of its core objective - where is says :-
Welcome to Astrobin
Home of Astrophotography
Astrobin is an image hosting platform and social network for astrophotographers.

There is no doubt that the Lnth website is also an image hosting platform, and that they are also trying to create a social network, based on sharing their faith - and that is perfectly OK.

But I think a line needs to be drawn in cases where an individual or organisation attempts to leverage Astrobin's network for another purpose, or for a purpose that is tangential to Astrobin's core objective of sharing images and technical information. Examples of such a tangential purpose might include promoting your child's school, advertising a local fundraising event, or promoting your church or your faith - or anything not directly related to astrophotography.

There is also the risk that accepting this for one will open the floodgates for many.

So - I think I would limit any attempt to direct Astrobin users to other sites that include a tangential purpose - no matter how benign or inoffensive.

I don't care what religion someone follows, but one of the great things about astrobin is that I don't have to deal with politics or these types of discussions when I'm zoning with my astrophotography.  IMO it should be limited to the science.  There are plenty of other places people can share their political and religious views, but not a lot that prune it out.

Plus, those with religious views can also appreciate astrobin as not showering them with other faiths.  A quiet room is sometimes most inspiring.

Very tough subject, and I believe allowing this type of post will open a can of worms that will be very hard to contain.

I came to Astrobin because I was starting to learn about astrophotography, I found it to be a wonderful source of information and a beautiful place to peruse the work of others.  Over time I have come to appreciate the focus of this site and I appreciate that it is not cluttered with topics not related, with people making arguments for something other than what I came for.  Life used to be a lot simpler and while I appreciate the diversity of what exists in social media my  comment would be that this is social media for folks interested in the stars, in astrophotography, and the science of astronomy.  We do not need other additives, if anything, I wish there was more science.  But one can search that out if one chooses, the other constructs do not need to be part of this site.

My vote is a hard no, and I would add, that I would not pay for this site if it became a cluttered room of other subjects, whatever they may be.

Im not a very religious person, but that doesn't mean I don't at least respect those of faith…. I'm indifferent when it comes to limiting those kinds of posts.  On the other hand, politics really have no place here IMO. 

This case however is different to me.   They are using your outlet to outwardly promote their outlet.  That is where I would draw the line.  It feels like free advertising on your dime.   I would not allow it.  From that perspective, you're not being insensitive or otherwise by rejecting it.

Thank you all for validating my own feelings. The post has been deleted and the user informed about the decision and the reasons behind it.

I was late arriving to this conversation but I agree with your decision. As a rule, I abhor censorship but Astrobin clearly states the terms of use when signing up. This community is made up of people from every imaginable culture so keeping religion, politics, sexuality and gender topics off limits only makes sense in todays highly polarized environment.

There's more than enough drama on Astrobin with certain astrophotography related topics (i.e. is BlurXterminator cheating). I've largely stepped away from most social media sites because of how people behave. Astrobin is an exception and I fully support your efforts preserve the civility of this community.

Please keep evangelism out of this arena.  Private belief and faith are one thing, but when it shifts to evangelism and trying to sell others on faith, it crosses a line.

No religion. One bad apple will spoil the barrel, as my grandmother used to say.