The Politics thread

Post by **Shamis** » Wed Mar 19, 2008 3:28 pm

Wes wrote:
Crankmas wrote:this aggression will not stand
Sure it will. It works just fine for the photo thread, the link thread, the what are you drinking thread, etc. Oh, you all will whine and complain about censorship and all that for a couple days, but it will work out.

It only works for those threads because each post typically stands on its own. Somebody posts a random photo, or somebody posts a random song, drink or whatever. Its not like people are actually trying to have a conversation or a debate on anything.

I'm just curious as to how you, the site, or the community benefit from this change in any way? Is this an effort to generate more climbing related threads? Is the purpose of the forum to talk about climbing, or just for climbers to talk? Does it make you feel powerful to restrict posting on subjects that you personally find boring or offensive?

I've still never been able to figure out the mind of an overzealous moderator. I run a site with a lot more users, and overmoderation is a complete waste of time, and also tends to cause people to just stop posting at all. I only moderate when somebody posts something illegal, or something that could get others fired from work.

Also, when people want to search for things, its a huge pain the ass to dig through 1 huge thread vs searching many different threads where the title actually indicates what the thread was about.

Post by **L Day** » Wed Mar 19, 2008 3:36 pm

What? These discussions weren't full of enough Rage? We could try to ramp it up a bit, if that would help meet the standards of the SUCK forum.

Post by **pigsteak** » Wed Mar 19, 2008 3:38 pm

maybe just have two threads....."neo cons" vs. "wackos"

Day and piggie will blather to themselves and die....

And Tomdarch and Alanevil will bludgeon each other to death.

problem solved.

Post by **L Day** » Wed Mar 19, 2008 3:45 pm

First time I've been banned from anything. But that's what this is. I'm cool with that. This is Ray's site after all, and he can run it however he wants. I just think that, of all the really grotesque stuff that shows up on this website, that it would be (often honest) political discussions that would push administrators over the edge. Somebody important must have had their feelings hurt. This has nothing to do with "organization", for one continuous political thread would be absolutely unmanageable.

Post by **pigsteak** » Wed Mar 19, 2008 3:50 pm

commies enjoy restricted freedom..it makes em feel safe.

Post by **krampus** » Wed Mar 19, 2008 3:55 pm

restricted freedom is good for you, it keeps you from being pestered by those pesky realities that happen on the other side of the tracks.

Post by **lordjim_2001** » Wed Mar 19, 2008 4:07 pm

I like this, it gives me one thread to ignore instead of lots.

Post by **Josephine** » Wed Mar 19, 2008 4:31 pm

Shamis wrote: It only works for those threads because each post typically stands on its own. Somebody posts a random photo, or somebody posts a random song, drink or whatever. Its not like people are actually trying to have a conversation or a debate on anything.
...

Also, when people want to search for things, its a huge pain the ass to dig through 1 huge thread vs searching many different threads where the title actually indicates what the thread was about.

i agree with both points.

Post by **L Day** » Wed Mar 19, 2008 4:42 pm

Wes, what's this all about, if that isn't too much to ask? It's clear this is three quarters of the way to NO POLITICS!, but why?

Post by **tomdarch** » Wed Mar 19, 2008 5:39 pm

Yet again, Wes has found ways to make Larry and I agree about something.

Personally, I can say that my feelings have not been hurt by anyone here - not going to throw punches in meat space, not about to yell or scream. (Actually, I'd love to spend a day climbing and bitching with just about any of the politicos here!) I hope that everyone else here feels about the same.

While I am curious about the underlying thinking, I am genuinely concerned that this is a setup for unnecessary conflict (ironically!) There are a whole set of serious climbing topics that would be hard to discuss without dealing with their political and even partisan aspects. Access is the most important. Whether you're talking about conflicts with extractive industries or land managers making claims of cultural heritage or environmental issues to implement closures, there are unavoidable political aspects. On top of that, there are countless tangential issues such as the cost/use of gas to get to the rocks that obviously have political dimensions.

I know that there are lots of people who dislike having to come face to face with politics, but given that most of us are US citizens, we have a responsibility to both inform ourselves about issues and candidates' positions, and yes, to discuss issues with our fellow citizens.

Without knowing more about the mods' thinking on this, I'd have to say that a whole Politics forum seems like a bit much. It seems reasonably workable to ask that we keep direct, specific political threads to the Suck forum, and just deal with the reality that politics is simply going to come up when discussing lots of other things. If a thread is totally off-topic and onto politics, then dump it into the Hijacked forum like any other derailed thread.

So, back to the question: Why the heavy handed approach?