Message to all Mods

[sns2]

Hi guys. I have been thinking about posting this for awhile now. It is my feeling, and from my reading over the past months, many others' as well, that the general discussion forum has become a very divisive place. A place where forum members who likely shared many helpful posts with one another about all things outdoors, now simply sling mud, disparaging remarks, and veiled putdowns at one another, simply based on how a vote was cast.

I will be the first to admit that I have become frustrated at times, even to the point of calling a forum member, an asshol_, which is generally not the way I roll.

I would ask that you consider amongst yourself if politics is really an important part of Alberta Outdoorsmen? If not, it might be worth considering adding it to your list of banned topics. I highly doubt anyone will ever change the way they will vote because of any of the daily arguments that are taking place, but I am sure that people get frustrated, and check out because of the foolishness that seems to be quite rampant over the last number of months.

Just something to consider.

Thank you for the work you do.

sns2

[Hydro1]

Im split on it.
Banning politics all together probably isnt wise. Neither is letting it go on as is.
Either way, its up to the mods.
Yes, a HUGE thank you to our moderators.

Oh and ibtl.

[roper1]

Politics can have a very large effect on the way we live our lives today, TFSA or not depending on party perfect example. The threads are less divisive than lots; Suffield, FN hunting, Outfitters, Landholders, Leaseholders, etc. Leave them be & let the mods deal with those who step over the line. They have helped me a time or two...my .02

[Mackinaw]

Originally Posted by sns2

Hi guys. I have been thinking about posting this for awhile now. It is my feeling, and from my reading over the past months, many others' as well, that the general discussion forum has become a very divisive place. A place where forum members who likely shared many helpful posts with one another about all things outdoors, now simply sling mud, disparaging remarks, and veiled putdowns at one another, simply based on how a vote was cast.

I will be the first to admit that I have become frustrated at times, even to the point of calling a forum member, an asshol_, which is generally not the way I roll.

I would ask that you consider amongst yourself if politics is really an important part of Alberta Outdoorsmen? If not, it might be worth considering adding it to your list of banned topics. I highly doubt anyone will ever change the way they will vote because of any of the daily arguments that are taking place, but I am sure that people get frustrated, and check out because of the foolishness that seems to be quite rampant over the last number of months.
H
Just something to consider.

Thank you for the work you do.

sns2

Don't you think enough thing get banned if you find the political issues to abrasive for you just don't read then . We should be able to regulate what threads we get involved in with out having to have the mods ban an entire subject

Mack

[Talking moose]

Originally Posted by Hydro1

Neither is letting it go on as is.

Agree. People will say " don't like it, don't open the thread". Problem is it spills over into other threads that originally had nothing to do with politics. Then the same people take over the thread....political topics are ok, just spills over into other threads to often, where it wasn't intended.

[brslk]

Every other forum I belong to has a separate section for politics and religion.
Tends to keep the insults and arguing down. Makes for a lot less work for the mods.

[Duramaximos]

Suggestion: create a politics and religion sub - forum.
Don't make any of the posts visible on any recent posts pages. Members "enter at your own risk" to view any of the content.

Seen this done on another forum and it seems to work well.

[ForwardBias]

Let it play out. As long as it doest spill into other categories it's fine. Participation is voluntary, nobody is forcing anyone to get mixed up in it.

[Twisted Canuck]

We are all big boys and girls here. You know when a thread is going to be a regular mud slinging gong show by now. So don't go there. I really enjoy this forum, and the various members and opinions, but you will rarely find a post from me in threads that are going to detonate. Not saying never, but I don't have the energy to invest in defending all my strongly help opinions.

I'd say things get worked out as needed by the mods pretty damn good, and as individuals, exercise some judgement about what threads you want to get involved in.

[catnthehat]

Originally Posted by brslk

Every other forum I belong to has a separate section for politics and religion.
Tends to keep the insults and arguing down. Makes for a lot less work for the mods.

I remember when Rick Binns of the 24hr Campfire had to shut down the religious forum on the 24 hour campfire because the different Christian factions were ready to kill each other in the name of the Almighty!!
I was quite taken by surprise, even the issue of drinking and DANCING was argued about with much quoting of the good book!!
Cat

[silverdoctor]

Great, more votes for banning.

The issue here is only one opinion seems to matter, if you don't go with the common theme, you're labelled.

Many forums have a hidden board, unmoderated for members with certain post counts - don't complain about butt hurt if you choose to enter. I used to have one on the 3 forums I owned, cleaned up the open forums nicely.

[marxman]

do gooder

[Dr. Phil A]

You could go and spend time with your significant other... Talking about what she wants to talk about....

We would have nothing to talk about if there were no politics.

[purgatory.sv]

fire

[rugatika]

I said I was sorry.

[elkhunter11]

Politics is extremely relevant to those of us who hunt and shoot. If the wrong party is elected, many more restrictions could be placed on all firearms owners , and this could affect our opportunity to hunt with firearms.

[MountainTi]

Maybe some folks need to add Big Boy Pants to their shopping list, perhaps then they wouldn't be bothered so much my argumentative threads. It is just the interweb after all.
I actually find a lot of the fanatical political posters amusing

[3blade]

Originally Posted by elkhunter11

Politics is extremely relevant to those of us who hunt and shoot. If the wrong party is elected, many more restrictions could be placed on all firearms owners , and this could affect our opportunity to hunt with firearms.

Therein lies the problem...it is relevant, just like several other banned topics...but it derails the OP too many times. ex. A thread about tag allotment degenerates into left vs right nonsense. I think politics need to be banned from all but the general section, and the usual characters given a warning like what happened with pic threads. We can discuss ESRD in hunting without going into politics.

Another huge thank you to the mods. this really is the best outdoors forum going.

[lannie]

If anyone has a problem discussing something they should not discuss it. Getting someone else to do something to solve your problems is wrong.
Expanding the forum more is not cleaning it up its just rearranging the dirt.

[alacringa]

nvm.

[Redfrog]

Don't like politics....don't get involved.
Don't support hand guns....don't buy one.
Don't like drugs.... don't use them.

Why is the way of the left to ban stuff they do not like. No one says you have to get involved.

Is anyone here an adult, able to make adult choices?

Just because a lot of people agree with you, does not make you right. If someone had refused to drink the koolaid at Jonestown, they would still be here, but everyone was doing it, so it must be right.

[raab]

I don't mind the back and forth banter which is good fun. What I do mind is the personal shots. You want to argue about a political ideology or policy fine, but don't call me lazy, dumb, or any other remark you can come up with to insult my intelligence or integrity.

[KGB]

Don't like it - don't read it, simple. What's good about the odour - if you don't like the smell - move away!!
We have enough things that are censored in our real lifes outside this forum, like political correctness. This forum is for people to speak their mind. To share their views. When the topic gets hot - some of us are loosing their cool. And that is not cool! We should always respect each other but we should be allowed to express our opinions.

[raab]

Originally Posted by SBE2

If somebody works hard and gets ahead to have a secure financial future for themselves, they should be obligated to pay for you as well then? A lot of people that BS handouts like this are supposedly helping are 100% accountable for getting themselves in this position, but those who work hard and think ahead should bail them out? What a brutally useless way of thinking. You sound like you are part of the problem. It's probably never been easier in this province over that last 10 yrs to make 100K annually, and you don't need much if any education to do it. But you need to be willing to work and maybe alter your life plans or lifestyle to ensure you aren't a burden to society in the future. But I guess it's easier to just pump out kids you can't afford, grab a pack of smokes from the 7/11, and watch everybody else work to pay for you. Brutal

Posts like this are what gets my blood boiling. I won't sink to his level and call him a name. I'll just use his post as a reminder of what not to say in a respectful debate.

[Vengeance78]

Hi all,

I'm fairly new here, but it seems from a couple of the general discussion threads I've perused (and posted on one) that like every other forum I've joined, the issue tends to be adults debating as if they were children.

Perhaps adding a sticky or something with guidelines on how to have a debate like a civilized, educated (or at least thoughtful) adult could be of benefit as a refresher.

Generally, what I've seen is that when someone disagrees with a point being raised it seems that the defending position, (or vice versa for that matter) instead of weighing the point on its own merit and acceding to it or refuting it, often denigrates the other person in the oh so common ad hominem attack.

Perhaps it's just needed to remind people (I know I'm being unrealistically optimistic here) that a topic is being debated and calling the other person, for example, an a**h*** doesn't nothing to add to the topic under debate.

A quick google brought up the following (I haven't read them):

Basic Instructions on How to Argue: http://basicinstructions.net/basic-i...ble-adult.html

Learning How to Argue Maturely: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/amy-ch..._b_796300.html

Civilized Discussion Guidelines: http://c2.com/cgi/wiki?CivilizedDiscussionGuidelines


Just a thought...

[lannie]

It should never get your blood boiling. Ignoring it is so easy.

[silverdoctor]

Originally Posted by Vengeance78

Hi all,

I'm fairly new here, but it seems from a couple of the general discussion threads I've perused (and posted on one) that like every other forum I've joined, the issue tends to be adults debating as if they were children.

Perhaps adding a sticky or something with guidelines on how to have a debate like a civilized, educated (or at least thoughtful) adult could be of benefit as a refresher.

Generally, what I've seen is that when someone disagrees with a point being raised it seems that the defending position, (or vice versa for that matter) instead of weighing the point on its own merit and acceding to it or refuting it, often denigrates the other person in the oh so common ad hominem attack.

Perhaps it's just needed to remind people (I know I'm being unrealistically optimistic here) that a topic is being debated and calling the other person, for example, an a**h*** doesn't nothing to add to the topic under debate.

A quick google brought up the following (I haven't read them):

Basic Instructions on How to Argue: http://basicinstructions.net/basic-i...ble-adult.html

Learning How to Argue Maturely: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/amy-ch..._b_796300.html

Civilized Discussion Guidelines: http://c2.com/cgi/wiki?CivilizedDiscussionGuidelines


Just a thought...

Don't need all that, just need an editable form like this one... Fill it out boys, i'm sure the mods would love to read them.

[bigjohncdn]

Originally Posted by elkhunter11

Politics is extremely relevant to those of us who hunt and shoot. If the wrong party is elected, many more restrictions could be placed on all firearms owners , and this could affect our opportunity to hunt with firearms.

Agreed, it is a very important topic in our lifestyle.

[raab]

Originally Posted by lannie

It should never get your blood boiling. Ignoring it is so easy.

When someone attacks your lively hood I think thats as low as a person can go. To say I go to Seven 11 and grab smokes all day because I want a child care benefit that helps Canadian Children is immature and downright pathetic.

[ETOWNCANUCK]

Still a great way to kill time regardless of what the topics are discussed