Shoul we ban all politics from the board?

[DslBnz]

Uh-oh! Hey, moderator? I think we might accidentally turn this into ANOTHER political thread...Or is it just me?!

Sorry, ignore the above post.

[DslBnz]

I deleted it(phew).

[mikemover]

Originally Posted by PaulC

Despise the program? Don't shoot the TV. Change the channel instead.

VERY well said, bro.

Mike

[mikemover]

Originally Posted by tkamiya

I've seen thread that start innocently and end-up quite nasty. I started seeing people put disclaimers in their post so certain opinions do not get in. I recognize the right of others to speak their mind. I just wish those people recognize the right of others to not be subjected to certain opinions. If everybody observed prudence and self-control, I guess it would work... but I believe it has gone too far for that to work.

Come on, stop being so thin-skinned about this stuff.

It's ONLY a message board, people! If you start reading something you don't like, STOP READING.

It's quite simple, really.

Mike

[Old300D]

Originally Posted by moparmike

Only reading here does that. And that is why I usually avoid the OD here.

You need to get out more. IMO, Fark has more mature discussions than this place. YMMV.

I get out plenty. I may not be familiar with "Fark" - I tend to frequent forums that support my automotive addictions, and the only place I've found with more civilized discussions is "Biodiesel Now". Most places are far worse than here like "Corner Carvers", "Not Quite Reality", "High Altitude Imports", "Zcar" etc... All car enthusiast sites, obviously. Personally I think this site is great. It'd be fine by me to separate the political threads into it's own forum, most places do. IMHO, getting rid of the political discussions would really detract from the site as a whole.

[mikemover]

Originally Posted by Joe Bauers

I think this post is outrageous. This poster doesn't like KV--so he uses this thread, which is supposed to be a survey of member thoughts, as an avenue upon which to express his displeasure. He implies that there are others (unnamed, of course) who agree with his extreme descriptions of KV's spirited offerings.

I say--let the forum remain open, and tell those who want to turn it into a personal vendetta to find their entertainment elsewhere.

Joe B.

I have to agree.

I don't care for a lot of what KV says either, but I would defend his right to say it 'till the bitter end.

Some people are just too sensitive for this stuff, I guess....

Mike

[MTI]

Originally Posted by tkamiya

You know, if we keep this up, we might end up losing open forum altogether....

What do you guys think? Two rooms? or one and each side try to keep peace? Or - risk losing this forum altogether?

I guess I didn't get the memo that this was "on the plate."

[joshhol]

I'm suprised that many people in the poll want to ban politics from the board. What country is this?
Well, I agree with Bokodon and those that want to keep the OD open.

[mikemover]

Originally Posted by joshhol

I'm suprised that many people in the poll want to ban politics from the board. What country is this?

Some folks apparently just aren't mature enough to handle hearing/reading things they don't agree with.

Mike

[engatwork]

How am I going to know who to vote for if I can't read all about it here.

Where's Perot when you need him?

As far as I can tell all these parties are just alike. Like stated on another thread - it is like living in a twilight zone. I do agree with KV on the matter of whatever you have as President you need the opposite control in Congress.

[KirkVining]

Originally Posted by PaulC

Kirk - come on...

Your is possessive.

You're is a contraction of you are.

Sorry, got carried away with my yours as you're quick to point out, as I responded to Lebenz pining for the days of yore, before your correction of my yours. So their.

[KirkVining]

These heated political threads just happen to be popular. That seems to bother some people. The real fact is if one person starts a thread called "Tell us about your favorite sweater" and another person starts one called "Demoncats on Swift Boats Suck Blood from Kidnapped Republican Children" one is going to get a few comments about Grandma's knitting while the other one is going to be full of angry comments. If you don't like that, just avoid the thread.

There are plenty of intellectual discussions about politics here, a lot more than is being given credit. The content of those discussions are going to present ideas that may be very disagreeable, unpleasant or distasteful to you, but absent a threat of violence there is no earthly reason a person should be denied the right to say it. That is one of the prices we pay to live in a free society. The actual burden is on the reader to avoid the thread.

[KirkVining]

Ask him, it was his thread.


Demoncat with a fresh brew

[KirkVining]

I post on some of the strictly "political" threads. Too many Clintonoid "Vince Foster killed JFK" whack jobs on them. I know you will take this as my own partisan bias, but the amount of unsubstantiated rightwing baloney posing as fact on those forums makes them a waste of time, and they all end up as rightwing choirs because everybody else just leaves. On this forum those type of posters don't seem to last because there is simply a higher intellectual level here and people tend to either suppot what they post or expose crap for what it is, and that happens on both sides. I post here because there are people on the right worth listening to here, I wouldn't be here otherwise. Inspite of the negative rants, this place is actually an example of what an Open Forum should be.

The angry energy is coming from the issues involved more than anything else.

[GermanStar]

Originally Posted by tkamiya

Regardless, there are group of us who do not prefer the current state of this forum. As a solution, I proposed a place for those who prefer political-all-out-debates and a place for those who are not.

A separate political section isn't going to happen. Frankly, it would seem inappropriate given the mandate of this site. Providing a venue which accommodates political discussion isn't the same thing as encouraging it by altering or expanding that mandate. Given that, perhaps you should consider that bigger picture. You may not "prefer the current state of this forum", but you must also realize that that very state goes a long way toward attracting the prominent and diverse group that participates. Frankly, it's the very nature of Open Discussion that sets this site apart from several other Mercedes sites. Curtail that venue and this forum will move away from excellence and toward mediocrity.