Ok ok :o this is more a whinge than a request.

I wish there was a way that political/religious discussion threads could be filtered from my Lounge posts. I know I know, I should just ignore them, but they're becoming so frequent, with about every couple of posts these days about politics, war in iraq, blah blah blah.

I know this is the lounge, but it's not a place for all this fighting and bickering :rolleyes: over politics and religion. The lounge is supposed to be a place where you can come in and kick off your shoes and just chill. :cool:

Maybe another forum is made specifically for that - "Politics and Religion" ?

It's either that or ban political and religious threads all together.

Just my whinge for the day. :)

I totally agree with Aussie Bob. Those threads always seem to turn into a debate/fight.


~Evil Kalina

i agree also. i like reading those threads, but most of the posters have a hard time remembering that its only a conversation and everyone is allowed to have their own views and opinions whether you agree with them or not.

I like the idea as well. *signs in support*

Some of you may be suprised but I agree.

See now, I'm inclined not to agree. Imagine posting a sign in a bar that says you can't discuss politics or religion, especially if you're going to take a strong stance and engage in debate with other patrons. Why dilute the atmosphere? This portion of the board is meant for general discussion, and while WHT certainly has the right to monitor and moderate everything in its domain, the point of the lounge (I'm guessing) was to have a section that needed minimal supervision where people could just talk about whatever they wanted.

I dunno, I think it's the journalist in me that intuitively recoils when an open discussion area gets policed not just for language, but for content. Now Aussie, maybe there's a trend in your threads that's out of control, and maybe posts should be deleted because they hijack your topic, but that's another matter entirely. To have a blanket statement that says no politics or religion would be detrimental to the lounge.

"Nice weather we're having here in Ohio."
"Lucky you. It's a unseasonably chilly in Bonn."
"More humid than usual in Hong Kong today."
"Nice chatting with you."
"Yeah, you too, lol :stickout: :banana: (this thread sux)."

Well said Paul :)

Maybe the politics/religion 'etc threads should be marked as such? something along the lines of >>> :kaioken:

And every thread that falls under the :kaioken: category should have rules that are a tiny wee bit different and be a little bit more moderated.

I dont see why flames and really misbehavior on parts of some of the people who participate in those discussions should be reason enough to censor those topics.



Eugene

I just don't read them anymore :D

Give it a go, works well ;)

Well there's plenty of other things we can chat about in the lounge, other than politics and religion. If folks want to get into that, then they should go into the special soundproof room, at the other end of the bar! :D

:smash:
:kaioken:

:flamethr: :argue:

:hammer:

Disclaimer: Personal opinion, not one that represents WHT, iNet, or anyone else in anyway.

Every forum I've ever moderated has some sort of lounge which always contains inappropriate topics. (Not saying political threads are inappropriate) The key is balancing the moderation and the users. More users that do not know how to debate without just flaming each other, the more moderation needed. The more moderation needed, the quicker moderators get burnt out. The quicker moderators get burnt out, fewer moderate, the flames increase, and more rules are added to compensate. Then things calm down, the moderators come back and work harder again, and then the cycle starts over again.

So I don't know my exact point there, but really just that there is no one right solution for every community. If users can debate in a civil manner, then I fully support allowing threads that may push the normal rules. If it is all just flaming; the community would be better without it.

I'd love for this to be a place where politics, religion, beliefs, and general diversity can be discussed, but I'm really weary of it being able to be one effectively.

Originally posted by Aussie Bob
Ok ok :o this is more a whinge than a request.

I wish there was a way that political/religious discussion threads could be filtered from my Lounge posts. I know I know, I should just ignore them, but they're becoming so frequent, with about every couple of posts these days about politics, war in iraq, blah blah blah.

I know this is the lounge, but it's not a place for all this fighting and bickering :rolleyes: over politics and religion. The lounge is supposed to be a place where you can come in and kick off your shoes and just chill. :cool:

Maybe another forum is made specifically for that - "Politics and Religion" ?

It's either that or ban political and religious threads all together.

Just my whinge for the day. :)



I'm with you Bob. If they disallow political and religeous threads at WHT people will have to go somewhere else to discuss.

I wonder where they could go?

I say split 'em off and move them to the lounge!

http://www.webhostingtalk.com/showthread.php?s=&threadid=315095

I have a good idea that may help. How about giving users the ability to hide the posts of certain users IN CERTAIN FORUMS, but not necessarily the entire message board.

There are a certain few (small number really) people who do contribute to the forums outside the lounge, yet have completely offensive political views that they spout incessantly in the lounge. If we had the ability to filter their posts just in the lounge, then we would be able to ignore their politics, while not depriving us of their contribution to the rest of the community.

When it comes to the political posts, really, it's a handful of users that cause the problem. I ignore most of them, but there are a couple that do actually make useful contributions outside the lounge as well. I've restrained myself from ignoring them, but their rhetoric is becoming more and more offensive to me and I'd like to ban it.

It would be nice to also have the option to make that banning info public to all (or at least post the top 5 users that are ignored by the most people). That way, it's not just about pretending they don't exist, but also making a small statement at the same time.

Just food for thought... :)

I remember another recent thread about politics/religion and a suggestion to split them off in a special sub-forum. Maybe a seperate forum can be set up, but hidden from view unless a member has certain amount of posts and requests to join it.

:erm: Or at least show you privately the number of members who have you set to ignore...

I think the Lounge is big enough to split up into a few sub-forums.

But, then it wouldn't be the Lounge. :(

Originally posted by SoftWareRevue
I think the Lounge is big enough to split up into a few sub-forums.

But, then it wouldn't be the Lounge. :( 'The Sofa,' 'The Chair'.. :\

Sounds like Friends.... Then we could get new mods like Joey, Ross, Monica, Rachael, etc... :rofl:

I also like the "DonutHost" in Dan's sig... :D

Originally posted by DanX
'The Sofa,' 'The Chair'.. :\

Im with Aussie Bob.

Originally posted by blue27
I'm with you Bob. If they disallow political and religeous threads at WHT people will have to go somewhere else to discuss.

I wonder where they could go?
Yeah, I wonder where? :D

The mods would never disallow them. I think opening up a sub-forum off the lounge titled "Politics and Religion discussion", is possibly what they'll do.

I'm all for such discussion, just not in my lounge! :D

Happy moderating if WHT bans Politics and Religion discussion.

Originally posted by FTPguy
Happy moderating if WHT bans Politics and Religion discussion.
I'm not saying ban all that discussion. I'm just saying these folks might want to have their own special room for that. :)

Originally posted by Aussie Bob
I'm just saying these folks might want to have their own special room for that. :)
Perhaps with a deadbolt that can only be unlocked from the outside. :)

Seriously though, these type of threads/posts bother me too. I try to do my part in keeping them on topic, and am usually successful, but at times get responses like "If you don't like them - don't read them". The problem with that is, you can't always just avoid them. Sometimes they are in your face.

It's a complicated issue for sure, and I agree with Daveman about there not being a solution that fits all.

Originally posted by Gen-T
. . . It's a complicated issue for sure, and I agree with Daveman about there not being a solution that fits all.
We're not looking for a "solution that fits all". We're looking for a solution that fits Aussie Bob, damnit!!!!












































Muhahahahahahahahahahah

:evilb:

Hmm, anyone seen a vB mod for categorizing new threads?

Like how you click "New Topic" and you have a drop-down list of things like "General" or "Politics" or "Religion... etc.

Of course, from that point on, the smartest thing for the mod to do would be to allow users to filter the categories.

Alpha, my thoughts exactly.

A thread gets posted in the lounge.
The thread is a :kaioken: thread.
A user see's the thread, marks it as such.
Other users like bobo here have :kaioken: threads set to "off" dont see it.

:P

yeah lets start a forum for politics only...that might keep the discussions a little more on track..

politicsonly.net is available if you want to make one ;)

politics/religious threads should be in a sub forum I think. I mean they do get right in your face at times when someone posts. I think it would be a good idea. Though what ever the Mods decide I will go with it.

I agree, there seems to be alot of bush bashing threads in particular. I am a republican, and I know all the gossip about kerry, but I also know there are democrats on this board to. I respect there opinion, it is there right and thats what makes the USA great. If someone were to post a thread that wasnt biased or targetted every hour or so it wouldnt be so bad, but then again then it wouldnt be politics either ;)
As a few people in this thread pointed out there is hardly ever any intelligent debates. Its always some joker linking to a conspiracy site, or some kind of propeganda which inevitably results in flaming on both ends. I have said it before and ill say it again, if anyone wants to maturley debate the election, 911, or michael moore, then my pm box is always open. I wont however bellite anyone based on there beliefs, nor will I watch it happen.

It would in my opinion be to the detriment of The Lounge if News/Political/Religious based threads were marginalised.

This is not about a particular subject, it is about the behaviour of certain individuals.

A slightly more drastic proposal was made on a this same subject at the beginning of this year, there was a fair bit of support for the move but the opposition won out in the end. :) Now, granted it was really just a bit of research by SWR, people nonetheless took it quite seriously i belive.

Thread :: http://www.webhostingtalk.com/showthread.php?s=&threadid=221384&highlight=Politics+Religion+Sex

I also bring to you attention the description for The Lounge...

"Forum for general conversation, share interests, have a laugh or discuss anything not related to above or below forums."

I don't belive that slicing The Lounge up into different segments would allow it to.."be all it can be" as they say, the whole melting pot character should not be taken away or pushed into a dark corner.

I would also contest the point that "constructive debate" does not occur her in The Lounge or not often, i think what you will find has brought this to the fore in recent times especially, is an increase in the amount of, in many cases quite either quite provocative or knowingly destructive threadjacking; after which some others jsut can't help to get stuck in, in response.

In the last week or two, this ha nearly in all cases involved in some way John Kerry or George Bush or the November elections in the US and related issues. Many virtual identical threads are started by some or ones which clearly carry a high risk of trouble.

My Conclusions >>

There needs to be increased self responsiblity on the part of the thread starters, not only to keep the thread on topic but also if it strays off topic to at least try and keep things constructive and pleasant if a little heated.

Threadjacking and or blatent provocative/destructive behaviour should be punished in some way, a suspension of some kind seems the most appropriate measure if warnings fail.

These subjects have as much a right to be discussed in The Lounge as one on Internet Explorer problems, the volatile element [suspect WHTer] on the other hand maybe does not belong in The Lounge. Now that! is what needs to be dealt with my fellow WHTers. ;)

Thank You

Critic, :ukflag:

I've been an advocate of a politics / religion debate forum since a few weeks before my last ban a few months ago.

Originally posted by Aussie Bob
Ok ok :o this is more a whinge than a request.

I wish there was a way that political/religious discussion threads could be filtered from my Lounge posts. I know I know, I should just ignore them, but they're becoming so frequent, with about every couple of posts these days about politics, war in iraq, blah blah blah.

I know this is the lounge, but it's not a place for all this fighting and bickering :rolleyes: over politics and religion. The lounge is supposed to be a place where you can come in and kick off your shoes and just chill. :cool:

Maybe another forum is made specifically for that - "Politics and Religion" ?

It's either that or ban political and religious threads all together.

Just my whinge for the day. :)

you will note that we managed to have a reasonably intelligent thread about the middle east; if not entirely decent, some good points were made (i tried =). filtering away stuff *you* don't want to see sounds a bit, erm, wrong (this side of the big pond at least).

paul

Originally posted by emzec
I agree, there seems to be alot of bush bashing threads in particular. I am a republican, and I know all the gossip about kerry, but I also know there are democrats on this board to. I respect there opinion, it is there right and thats what makes the USA great. If someone were to post a thread that wasnt biased or targetted every hour or so it wouldnt be so bad, but then again then it wouldnt be politics either ;)
As a few people in this thread pointed out there is hardly ever any intelligent debates. Its always some joker linking to a conspiracy site, or some kind of propeganda which inevitably results in flaming on both ends. I have said it before and ill say it again, if anyone wants to maturley debate the election, 911, or michael moore, then my pm box is always open. I wont however bellite anyone based on there beliefs, nor will I watch it happen.

a supporter of the current administration who denounces "bias" and propaganda is, imo, quite ironic. have you, for a moment, considered the possibility that middle of the road folk are just sick and tired of fundies and kooks wrapping themselves in our flag? i would also like to point out that literacy is a prerequisite for maturity and intelligence.

paul

a supporter of the current administration who denounces "bias" and propaganda is, imo, quite ironic. have you, for a moment, considered the possibility that middle of the road folk are just sick and tired of fundies and kooks wrapping themselves in our flag? i would also like to point out that literacy is a prerequisite for maturity and intelligence.
What the hell are you doing!? You're creating another debate thread out of this thread!


MELLOW OUT PEOPLE!

Originally posted by rusko
you will note that we managed to have a reasonably intelligent thread about the middle east; if not entirely decent, some good points were made (i tried =). filtering away stuff *you* don't want to see sounds a bit, erm, wrong (this side of the big pond at least).
I'm all for good old fashioned political debates etc. I was just suggesting that there's enough of these that they could justify a sub-forum, off the lounge. "Politics and Religious discussion" etc.

The mods could even go so far as to block that forum catagory from folks who have not asked to have it enabled. That might be a tad extreme, imo, but a separate forum for these types of discussions would not hurt anyone. If anything, it can only improve the lounge. :cool:

:peace:

a lounge is a lounge which stops being a lounge if the topics start being dictated / censored , mark them differently and then pass it by if you don't want to read them , we are approx 50 days from a major US election politics and the war are bound to be a topic in a lounge.