Jim Alfredson Posted March 7, 2005 Report Share Posted March 7, 2005 For my own piece of mind, I've disabled the Politics Forum. It may return, it may not. For now, I'm planning on scrapping it for the month, just to see how things go. Frankly, I can't keep up with it and there have been some very nasty discussions in there that have been spilling out into other areas of the board and I'm tired of it. If enough of you complain, I'll re-instate it early. Otherwise, for the month of March, and in observation of our 2 year forum birthday, I'm disabling it so that we might be able to get along with each other a little better. Thoughts? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bright Moments Posted March 7, 2005 Report Share Posted March 7, 2005 good move jim! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WD45 Posted March 7, 2005 Report Share Posted March 7, 2005 Cool. Have been staying away from it a bit for a while myself. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guy Berger Posted March 7, 2005 Report Share Posted March 7, 2005 Jim, I think it's a bad idea... the advantage of a politics forum is that it keeps discussions like those in one place. (At least, that's what happens on other lists and forums.) Take it away and the political discussions will pop up elsewhere with messier results. FWIW I haven't noticed the politics forum being any nastier recently. certainly it's less nasty than it was during the election. Guy Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wesbed Posted March 7, 2005 Report Share Posted March 7, 2005 Frankly, I can't keep up with it and there have been some very nasty discussions in there that have been spilling out into other areas of the board and I'm tired of it. Thoughts? My thought is: without a Politics Forum the nasty discussions that have been spilling to the other areas of the Board will now 'start' in other areas of the Board. These discussions will still occur, Politics Forum or not. I don't post much in the Politics Forum. People being people, however, I believe the Politics Forum needs to exist. At the same time, I believe the users of the Board need to police their own posts and keep the political and 'nasty' discussions within the Politics Forum. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jim Alfredson Posted March 7, 2005 Author Report Share Posted March 7, 2005 How about this? Politics Forum is not visible unless you're a member. ? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AfricaBrass Posted March 7, 2005 Report Share Posted March 7, 2005 (edited) How about this? Politics Forum is not visible unless you're a member. ? That's a very reasonable idea. Edit: There are a lot of boards that are going to where you have to be a member just to VIEW the board. I don't like that approach, so I think this is quite reasonable. Edited March 7, 2005 by AfricaBrass Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wesbed Posted March 7, 2005 Report Share Posted March 7, 2005 How about this? Politics Forum is not visible unless you're a member. I have no problem with it. This would prevent people who are just browsing the band's site from seeing the majority of the 'nasty' discussions. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
catesta Posted March 7, 2005 Report Share Posted March 7, 2005 I'm cool with it. Aside from participating in a few recent threads (that got totally out of control), I've not been spending too much time posting in there. I would like to see the forum return, but totally understand your decision to shut it down. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
catesta Posted March 7, 2005 Report Share Posted March 7, 2005 How about this? Politics Forum is not visible unless you're a member. ? I'm cool with this as well. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Randy Twizzle Posted March 7, 2005 Report Share Posted March 7, 2005 There was a politics forum here? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
maren Posted March 7, 2005 Report Share Posted March 7, 2005 How about this? Politics Forum is not visible unless you're a member. ? That seems like a very good idea. I'd rather not see it permanently disappear, but if that will ultimately be the case, there are some things already posted in there that I would like to be able to look at again before they go away forever... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wolff Posted March 7, 2005 Report Share Posted March 7, 2005 Great idea, if it does not rear it's head in other forums. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rooster_Ties Posted March 7, 2005 Report Share Posted March 7, 2005 (edited) I've got no problem with the Politics forum being invisible, unless you're a member -- in fact, that's probably a great idea, for the reasons already stated. (In fact, making the Politics forum visible if and only if users "opt in" would probably be a good idea too -- so nobody ever has to see the Politics forum unless they actively choose to.) But please, Jim, please don't make it go bye-bye for good. Way too much too stuff going on in the world, for there not to be a place to talk about it here on the board, among friends. We know that there are going to be political discussions, one way or another. So better there be a designated place for them to happen, and especially a place where people have the option of avoiding them. Please don't scrap the Politics forum for good. Thanks!!! Edited March 7, 2005 by Rooster_Ties Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
connoisseur series500 Posted March 7, 2005 Report Share Posted March 7, 2005 How about this? Politics Forum is not visible unless you're a member. ? Excellent idea! I haven't posted in the politics forum for a long time (I think!) I also usually don't have the spare time to catch up on all the stuff there as well. I agree with Wes and Guy, however. We need it as a kind of "nasty area." Keeps the more aggressive posters confined to an area. Having said that, we have to be serious about politics spilling into other threads. We gotta nip that one in the bud if it ever happens! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
maren Posted March 7, 2005 Report Share Posted March 7, 2005 (edited) I'd just like to speak up for the Politics Forum and say that FOR THE MOST PART, I don't recall any hostility there spilling over into any other forums. In fact, this recent episode is the only time I can recall it happening. And IMHO, it has happened because someone started a thread ABOUT antisemitism in which he never acknowledged that antisemitism exists and could still be considered a problem in people's lives -- no, not a bigger problem than other problems in the world or the only problem that matters, but still a fact to be weighed along with all other facts. That's the ONLY one I've ever seen really spin out like this. If I recall correctly, the conflict between GregM and Dan Gould was personal nastiness, not political... The conflict about what someone said about what someone else said about what Pat Metheny said was not political... The various conflicts about whether it is appropriate to "speak ill of the dead" (or of the ill, for that matter!) will, I'm just guessing, continue... That's been going on in the world forever, and not just on this board. I just don't see the Politics forum as being the font of all that's nasty! But it makes complete sense to block it from non-members, because otherwise it could become quite a troll magnet... Edited March 7, 2005 by maren Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Soul Stream Posted March 7, 2005 Report Share Posted March 7, 2005 (edited) Just a reminder.... If memory serves, it was the Politics that really brought down the old BNBB. Of course, I have the politics section deleted on my screen and always have, so no idea what's going on in there. However, just reading that Jim had to disable it makes me think it's the same ol' same ol'. Edited March 7, 2005 by Soul Stream Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GA Russell Posted March 7, 2005 Report Share Posted March 7, 2005 I chose to have the Politics Forum invisible to me when I had the chance. I'm glad I did, because now I can view the New Posts without seeing politics. It would be fine with me if all discussion of sex, religion and politics were banned. I don't come here to be part of an argument, and any people who might can be shown the door as far as I'm concerned. It has been my observation at AAJ that the typical poster of political threads has close to nothing to contribute regarding jazz. As I recall, there were a number of posters here too that fit that description before I opted out of seeing the Forum. I don't see any need for b-3er to be the den mother of people who apparently aren't much interested in jazz. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
maren Posted March 7, 2005 Report Share Posted March 7, 2005 Just a reminder.... If memory serves, it was the Politics that really brought down the old BNBB. Must have been, cuz I'm sure it had nothing to do with exchanging CD's, or people's opinions of one lovely young songstress, or their hostility toward her new fans, or certain adult content on a site that was drawing lots of new pre-teen fans... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Aggie87 Posted March 7, 2005 Report Share Posted March 7, 2005 Can you set up the software so that people can only post in the Politics Forum IF more than 50% of their posts are in the OTHER forums? That way we wouldn't have people who just frequent this board to harangue/harass/stir up things there, who otherwise have no interest or input into the other, more important (IMO) forums. Just a thought. I'm guessing it can't be done, but it would be nice! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jim Alfredson Posted March 7, 2005 Author Report Share Posted March 7, 2005 Can you set up the software so that people can only post in the Politics Forum IF more than 50% of their posts are in the OTHER forums? That way we wouldn't have people who just frequent this board to harangue/harass/stir up things there, who otherwise have no interest or input into the other, more important (IMO) forums. Just a thought. I'm guessing it can't be done, but it would be nice! The software has no easy way of doing this. I'm sure someone who knows php and this software could program it, but it's beyond my expertise. I have re-instated the political forum, viewable by members only. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rooster_Ties Posted March 7, 2005 Report Share Posted March 7, 2005 It would be fine with me if all discussion of sex, religion and politics were banned. I don't come here to be part of an argument, and any people who might can be shown the door as far as I'm concerned. The only way to discuss sex, religion, or politics is to argue??? The only way??? Maybe on some boards, but not this one. This is not your typical board. I'm not saying everyone and everything is all "sunshine and bunnies" in the Politics forum -- but there are some significant, and often very substantive discussions that go on there. I've learned plenty of stuff in the Politics forum, and I suspect I'm not the only one. Imagine your favorite bar, your favorite hang-out, the place where "everybody knows your name". Can you imagine banning the discussion of sex, religion, and politics there?? You can talk about anything you want, but don't talk about Politics. And don't talk about religion. (Sex, well, that's a different case -- and I won't make that argument here.) Frankly, that's not the kind of bar (or board) that I want as much to be part of. No, I'm not threatening to leave if the Politics forum goes away. But seriously, this board will be a lesser place if it is removed permanently. Another way to think of it: why punish everyone, for the bad actions of a few??? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rooster_Ties Posted March 7, 2005 Report Share Posted March 7, 2005 (edited) I have re-instated the political forum, viewable by members only. Thanks, thanks, thanks!!!!! Edit: Seriously, thanks Jim. MUCH appreciated. Edited March 7, 2005 by Rooster_Ties Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Spontooneous Posted March 7, 2005 Report Share Posted March 7, 2005 So that pie vs. cake thread really got out of hand, eh? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rooster_Ties Posted March 7, 2005 Report Share Posted March 7, 2005 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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