Should Scott Walker Become creditable & give up his & the legislatures pensions?

[fjasper]

Originally Posted by MetroMPG

"Best", like politics, is a matter of opinion.

EM's been growing pretty steadily for 3+ years with minimal political blather. If limiting political discussion has crimped the growth rate, I'm 100% fine with that.

+1

There are lots of places for partisan, "everyone who disagrees with me is bad, wrong, stupid, evil, worthless, ignorant, naive, paranoid...blah, blah blah" discussions.

I get caught up in this sort of thing once in a while, and I don't think I have ever gotten any useful information out of it. I appreciate it when a forum tries to keep the political white noise to a minimum, even if it means that when I get up on my high horse and start issuing fatwas, my post gets pulled and/or I get a reminder to "keep it clean." It can come from a mod or from some members, either way works.

People act weird when they are sure there can't be any repercussions (plenty of research to back this up), which drives a lot of the vitriol on internet forums, so it makes sense to lay down some rules and guidelines to keep it civil, and to keep members who have valuable stuff to contribute, but don't have any patience for the yelling-match format, from being driven off by the more "boisterous" members.

Preventing, managing and resolving schisms is absolutely a valid, even critical, matter for forum managers. I've been through enough forum breakups to know that they suck.

Keep up the good work, Darin.

[Arragonis]

Could I suggest a new forum under Lounge - Fights Only - and have mods move this kind of thing there ?

Don't kill it, contain it.

[dcb]

lol, killing it IS containing it. Nobody is getting paid to wade through all this crap to see what is worthy of keeping and what isnt. There's plenty of other places for "fights", lets try to have some standards.

[cfg83]

Arragonis -

Originally Posted by Arragonis

Could I suggest a new forum under Lounge - Fights Only - and have mods move this kind of thing there ?

Don't kill it, contain it.

I think that's called a PM, aka take it offline. Alternatively I would guess that there are plenty of political forums that you could take it to. Kind of like "Let's take it outside (to forum X)" at a bar.

There's nothing wrong with a principled debate. The problem is that people end up getting angry and abusive.

CarloSW2

[jamesqf]

Originally Posted by cfg83

I think that's called a PM, aka take it offline.

But then the rest of us don't get to watch :-(

[Frank Lee]

Eh- I know I participated in this thread, but here at EM I could take it or leave it (the purely political stuff). I have other outlets for that. For here, there are some subjects that are not purely political in nature but have heavy political components (I've brought several here, for example motorcycle helmets...) and for sure those should be allowed and moderated if need be.

[bestclimb]

Originally Posted by Arragonis

Could I suggest a new forum under Lounge - Fights Only - and have mods move this kind of thing there ?

Don't kill it, contain it.

I have seen other boards use this system. less than 5% of threads take 95% of mod's time even once in the cage. I would hate to see EM go more political, even if it is caged.

[Joenavy85]

i'll just point out that the forum specifically says "ONLY topics related to efficiency" and i think that's how it should be since that's what this site is about. i have my views about this topic, but i save it for places that are for it, not for a place where i can find all the information i'll ever need (from people who know more about it than me) in order to get to a 25 MPG average in my Jeep. Just my 2 cents.

[Thymeclock]

Originally Posted by Joenavy85

i'll just point out that the forum specifically says "ONLY topics related to efficiency" and i think that's how it should be since that's what this site is about. i have my views about this topic, but i save it for places that are for it, not for a place where i can find all the information i'll ever need (from people who know more about it than me) in order to get to a 25 MPG average in my Jeep. Just my 2 cents.

Ah, but the forum initially allowed this thread (and many others like it with political overtones) to be aired here.

Once the thread unfolds and the opinions voiced are not all of a certain partisan viewpoint, now out comes a hue and cry calling for silencing the discussion (AKA blitzes & crackdowns).

When it comes to imploring the moderators of any list to act as speech and thought police, it has a chilling effect upon any forum or community.

Be careful of what you wish for, as you may get it. The heavy hand of authority is a burden to all who are subjected to it.

[SentraSE-R]

This thread unraveled long ago. I enjoy discussing topics with people who are logical, but there is a faction here that ignores logic and participates with religious fervor. They're willing to discard the Constitution for citizens that they label leftist and imported, and when presented with facts that prove them wrong, they ignore the facts. Therefore, I agree these political discussions are fruitless.

It's impossible to argue against FAITH with mere facts. The true believer merely has to say "I don't believe the facts," and he wins in his mind.