Goodbye Perhaps?

[Spice]

This forum is largely liberal and most of the people saying they don't want to discuss politics are conservatives. From the poll it seems those who want to discuss it are liberals. Logically that means such a forum would only be used by the liberals who say they want it.

Not seeing a problem with that?

Confusing!!! LOL

 

[Vinayaka]

I can't find the statistics now but back when it was actually possible to find something by googling it it always showed that more than 50% of the membership of RF lived in the US.

It's most likely still that way.

I think it's inevitable that a website compromised mostly of Americans is going seem focused primarily on things going on in the US.

For sure. And in real life I'm totally used to it, being Canadian. We're in your shadow on a lot of things. Personally, I do like a more worldly view, but is what it is. Anyone is free to leave these forums.

 

[Sgt. Pepper]

Add an Opt-out feature
Or eliminate the American Politics firum.

I support an opt-out feature, but I strongly oppose eliminating the American Politics forum. Personally, I don't think it's a practical solution, not to mention that I firmly dislike the idea of censoring others from participating in political debate threads because I generally dislike them. I think that people should be able to decide for themselves whether or not to participate in political debates or other hot-button debate threads. To each their own. The way I see it, no one is being forced to participate in political debates that are focused on American politics. It's a personal choice to participate, not a forum mandate.

 

[Vinayaka]

So what do you want? All Americans to go elsewhere? Or have some kind of participation limit?

Imagine you opened a shop to sell only hats. You find you don't have many customers. You can either find out what people want and expand your offerings, or put up with a lower income. What you don't do is open a shop that offers all kinds of clothing and then when most of your customers buy shoes, put up a sign saying "shoes are bad", or even shut that line down.

No, not at all. It was a mere observation.

 

[Rival]

@Spice @Alien826 @VoidCat @Vinayaka

I just want to stress that nothing is in stone yet. We are just brainstorming how to deal with an issue the membership have told us they are having. Well over half who voted on my poll want to see fewer political threads, especially Trump/Biden, and in the interest of listening to our userbase we are trying to hammer out a solution.

Our main issue is how not to leave anyone feeling left out, censored, unheard and so on, while reducing the political threads for those who are driven away by them. It's not that we are trying to leave anyone out, but we need to listen to what those who are upset are saying about why they are feeling so.

Given what I've said previously about revenue, the political forums aren't going anywhere, we're still allowing political discussion.

We just want to figure a way to make it feel less toxic.

 

[Jayhawker Soule]

Well over half who voted on my poll want to see fewer political threads, especially Trump/Biden, and in the interest of listening to our userbase we are trying to hammer out a solution.

That truly worries me. I had more respect for RF.

 

[Twilight Hue]

I too don't appreciate all the Trump/Biden threads

But nobody is forcing me to click on them

They are easy to ignore

Sometimes they are not so easy to ignore.

There are so many now it's likely irritating for some just to see them made and topic spammed by the exact same people over and over, and , over and over and over and over, and over and over.......

If I say over and over one more time.......;0]

 

[Rival]

That truly worries me. I had more respect for RF.

What about it is worrying you?

 

[Quagmire]

That truly worries me. I had more respect for RF.

The Poll has only been up for about 12 hours so we'll see how things go. And like you I wonder if the results might be different if it were worded differently.

I think even some of the people who wish there were fewer political threads might object to the way that we go about making that happen (not that anything's decided yet).

 

[Twilight Hue]

I support an opt-out feature, but I strongly oppose eliminating the American Politics forum. Personally, I don't think it's a practical solution, not to mention that I firmly dislike the idea of censoring others from participating in political debate threads because I generally dislike them. I think that people should be able to decide for themselves whether or not to participate in political debates or other hot-button debate threads. To each their own. The way I see it, no one is being forced to participate in political debates that are focused on American politics. It's a personal choice to participate, not a forum mandate.

I think the heart of the problem isn't the topic of debate it's more likely the personal insults and demeaning each other that might be what's upsetting so many people.

I personally don't mind being a participant in a debating slugfest, I'm sure people find that stuff entertaining, but I do see and acknowledge where people would want to see something more intellectual as opposed to emotional exchanges focused on attacking other people more than just talking about the topic itself.

 

[Quagmire]

What about it is worrying you?

Just speaking for myself, I've always respected and appreciated how well informed and knowledgeable a lot of our members are when it comes to current events.

I think it's great to have so many people in the same place this concerned about what's going on in the world and who have the tools and willingness to devote the time and energy to try and make sense out of it all.

 

[sun rise]

I can easily surf past discussions I'm not interested in.

I do the same for religious topics as well as politics and in fact other things as well.

Why would you come to 'Religious Forums' for politics?

I'm not being funny but this is kind of the problem here.

IMO there is a mash-up of both that I find underexplored. One example "Why do evangelical Christians support Trump?" "Does religion predict political bias?" And others.

See this thread, might help POLL: Trump/Biden/Etc.

I choose not to subscribe to getting notifications of each new thread. The current software sucks when it comes to presenting a list of "new threads today" that I can skim. So this is the first I knew about it and I'll bet I'm not alone. In fact the thread title sounded to me like we're being asked to choose between them so most likely I would have skipped it before I understood that it was a vote between them.

 

[Augustus]

What about it is worrying you?

I for one would be beside myself with grief at missing out on the erudition and nuanced philosophical insight that each and every one of the 9.76 million threads on US party politics has provided over the past decade or so.

"Haha TDS TDS!!! AOC is Pol Pot!!!"

"You are stupid and only watch stupid Fox News because you are stupid and not smart like we are. If you were a smart, critical and independent thinker you would think exactly the same as us."

"Haha TDS TDS! Hillary's emails Obama is literally the antichrist"

"You love Putin and want to marry Putin and have babies with Putin and be a throuple with Putin and Trump and Putin would be the daddy."

"Haha TDS TDS!!! Joe Biden is old and smells of wee and Ukraine controls the Biden crime family "

"Ha fool, you only read lying right wing media so don't know Trump is giant orange Hitler baby"

"Ha fool, you only read lying liberal media so don't know Biden is old, feeble criminal dictator"

 

[Quagmire]

I for one would be beside myself with grief at missing out on the erudition and nuanced philosophical insight that each and every one of the 9.76 million threads on US party politics has provided over the past decade or so.

"Haha TDS TDS!!! AOC is Pol Pot!!!"

"You are stupid and only watch stupid Fox News because you are stupid and not smart like we are. If you were a smart, critical and independent thinker you would think exactly the same as us."

"Haha TDS TDS! Hillary's emails Obama is literally the antichrist"

"You love Putin and want to marry Putin and have babies with Putin and be a throuple with Putin and Trump and Putin would be the daddy."

"Haha TDS TDS!!! Joe Biden is old and smells of wee and Ukraine controls the Biden crime family "

"Ha fool, you only read lying right wing media so don't know Trump is giant orange Hitler baby"

"Ha fool, you only read lying liberal media so don't know Biden is old, feeble criminal dictator"

If only our threads really were that insightful.

Edit: Wait a minute, are you saying some of that stuff isn't true?

 

[sun rise]

Obama is literally the antichrist"

That's religion with a seasoning of politics or politics with religion sauce

 

[Secret Chief]

For the last few weeks I have been getting a strong urge to say my goodbyes to the people of RF. This is not meant as disrespect to them but more out of a feeling of loss.

When I joined ten years ago, the debate was at times exhilarating. Biblical knowledge was superb. There were Buddhists and Pagans too, who really knew there stuff. The downside was a fair number who seemed to be here simply to mock
I recall when (in my opinion) the best Buddhist announced his departure, he was asked "why" and he replied, "have you looked around this place".

Well I don't expect great Buddhism, but I am sick to the back teeth of Biden and Trump. Sick sick sick.

Of course, not all members are too concerned about those gentlemen, many in fact choose to spend their time in Games pics and jokes. Well it has been said that I have a good sense of humour but **** me what is the appeal of that pile of *****.

Anyway, that is how I am feeling right now. The pro's are, and they are quite strong, that I have been a member for ten years, and I do not easily walk out on old friends.
Secondly, there are people here who I respect and like. I like to be able to drop a hint of that now and again. It must be said, that there are more sighs than smiles.

I hope for some response, I am genuinely interested.

Come on, if you left, who could you discuss bog roll with? Exactly.

 

[Alien826]

@Spice @Alien826 @VoidCat @Vinayaka

I just want to stress that nothing is in stone yet. We are just brainstorming how to deal with an issue the membership have told us they are having. Well over half who voted on my poll want to see fewer political threads, especially Trump/Biden, and in the interest of listening to our userbase we are trying to hammer out a solution.

Our main issue is how not to leave anyone feeling left out, censored, unheard and so on, while reducing the political threads for those who are driven away by them. It's not that we are trying to leave anyone out, but we need to listen to what those who are upset are saying about why they are feeling so.

Given what I've said previously about revenue, the political forums aren't going anywhere, we're still allowing political discussion.

We just want to figure a way to make it feel less toxic.

I'll just answer this and then butt out, as I've already expressed my views.

I would accept (as if I had any option!) a feature which was applied across the board to all subjects, sub-forums, whatever. It should be either "opt out (not opt in, as the general difficulty in knowing what is here, for example I'd never heard of the covid area, means you are to some extent hiding certain areas).

If that isn't clear, I mean we should be able to opt out of religion (for example) as easily as politics.

Why? Anything else suggests that the staff is picking and choosing subjects that they do or don't like or approve of. It may not be true, but you want to avoid the appearance of bias as much as actual bias, no?

"Toxicity" may be a separate subject, as it can occur anywhere. I personally don't like rudeness, on or off RF, but I feel it should be addressed on an individual basis. The rules already cover it.

 

[Rival]

I'll just answer this and then butt out, as I've already expressed my views.

I would accept (as if I had any option!) a feature which was applied across the board to all subjects, sub-forums, whatever. It should be either "opt out (not opt in, as the general difficulty in knowing what is here, for example I'd never heard of the covid area, means you are to some extent hiding certain areas).

If that isn't clear, I mean we should be able to opt out of religion (for example) as easily as politics.

Why? Anything else suggests that the staff is picking and choosing subjects that they do or don't like or approve of. It may not be true, but you want to avoid the appearance of bias as much as actual bias, no?

"Toxicity" may be a separate subject, as it can occur anywhere. I personally don't like rudeness, on or off RF, but I feel it should be addressed on an individual basis. The rules already cover it.

Wanting to ignore Religion on Religious Forums is really bizarre, though.

 

[Jayhawker Soule]

Wanting to ignore Religion on Religious Forums is really bizarre, though.

Unless, of course it isn't. If one

• sees RF as a robust source of non-religious interaction, and
• sees nothing in the religion sub-forums of interest,

it would make perfect sense.

 

[Rival]

Unless, of course it isn't. If one

• sees RF as a robust source of non-religious interaction, and
• sees nothing in the religion sub-forums of interest,

it would make perfect sense.

It doesn't make sense.

For instance, I'm also on two fora dedicated to discussing the Jack the Ripper crimes. 90% of it is devoted to JTR, as that is the aim of the forum.

There are miscellaneous subfora, and these make up 10% of the discussion.

As it should be.

This is not an 'everything' discussion board. It has a focus.