Suggestion Should we have a politics subforum?

[H2Andy]

many users (myself included) would like to discuss politics on our favorite board (i.e. ScubaBoard)

management feels, with reason, that politics may be too divisive and cause more grief than it is worth.

let's compromise. i propose the following:

1. a probationary Politics Subforum will be created. At any time management feels the forum is "more trouble than it's worth" it has the right to close it.

2. membership will be a privilege. you will opt in, and if you abuse the privilege, you will lose the ability to post. this way, we will weed out bad posters until only civil discourse remains.

3. TOS will be enforced by Mods as elsewhere on the board, with the exception that politics will be allowed. any personal attack, mean language, or any other violation of the TOS will result in your loss of posting privileges. at management discretion, your loss of posting privileges will be temporary or permanent. i suggest three temporary loss of posting privileges for the first three infractions. on the fourth infraction, you will lose your right to post on the forum.

4. the members themselves must police the forum to keep management's work load to a minimum. the members must stop those who break TOS and must refrain from responding in kind. it's our job to keep the forum open and earn management's trust.

what do you all think?

 

[Wayward Son]

Not true Stu. Remember how we fought on D2D? And now, on this board, we still hate each other.

I don't hate you. We simply have differing views on some things.

 

[Cacia]

okay...a better question.

Don't you like people better after you survive a good flogging?

I fought Kim for a week straight once. I have a special bond with Kim. So...doesn't that teach people tolerance? You make friends on some other grounds and then they are no longer just the "whale enemy". And in case nobody noticed, he is a cult hero in the Pilapeens. cause he hangs in...

More people should try working through things. Of course it is difficult, but as long as you don't jump ship, you start to see things from another side, but first you have to punch a little.

 

[Kim]

I fought Kim for a week straight once. I have a special bond with Kim.

Good grief......I hope you don't tell JB stuff like that......

You know I moved to Argentina...right??? right???? :11:

 

[Al Mialkovsky]

okay...a better question.

Don't you like people better after you survive a good flogging?

.

I try to hate them forever myself.

 

[Wildcard]

Good grief......I hope you don't tell JB stuff like that......

You know I moved to Argentina...right??? right???? :11:

What did you do to get kicked out of Japan?????:11:
PS, I wouldn't share your location with JB, hell, he knows me and Im not sure Im safe.

 

[El Orans]

well, i went to a Pussycat Dolls concert last week and ... well...

 

[JessH]

How about we have a Politics/Religion subsection that is an unmoderated, view at your own risk, adults only kind of thing? Surely it would get a little out of hand, but it would keep that sort of thing in one place where you know what you are getting into when you go there. It can even be an opt in kind of thing.

And about that whole keeping things workplace friendly thing.... Well I work in film. Usually as a grip or an electrician. All I really have to say is that if the forums were anything like my workplace you would be censoring them left and right Grips and teamsters make sailors look like school girls.

~Jess

 

[Kim]

......that is an unmoderated, view at your own risk, adults only kind of thing?

We have...it's called rec.scuba. We don't normally advertise it though...

Up here.....well, it's for people who came here because of what it already is.

Sure - there's nothing wrong with suggesting changes, but if there was any point to this poll it at least demonstrates that more people think it's a bad idea than a good one. Hey......what do we do? Listen to the majority or go along with the minority and possibly piss the rest off?

You know....

There's a lot of truth in that old axiom:
"Ya can please some of the people all of the time, and all of the people some of the time.....but ya can't please all of the people all of the time"

Life's about compromises and while I don't always personally agree with the decisions made around here, I do respect majority wishes. For the most part I'm sure that in the end the owner believes he's giving everyone what they actually want as far as he can. If he didn't, everyone would leave and there wouldn't be much left. It's not like anyone signed a contract requiring them to be here. If there's something better to be found elsewhere there's nothing to stop anyone leaving - even me!

Anyway...Marvel already told ya....the thrust of this thread will be under discussion when the Board has time to think about it. That's a hell of a lot better deal than I got when I asked them to discuss my pay grade!!!!! :11:

 

[MXGratefulDiver]

would the No people care to say why you care?

It would be self imposed segregation.

You would not have to deal with ANY politics.

Sure ... because ...

(a) It won't stay segregated. Controversial subjects already tend to spread themselves around the board. Example ... you see conversations about DIR and solo diving in threads that are not in those forums. They tend to get a little insulting at times. Then the moderators have to step in.

(b) There WILL be those who get kicked out of the forum for misbehaving ... and when they do, you can expect to see them in W&C or some other public forum complaining about how unfairly they were treated, or how only the "other side" is allowed to express themselves (we're already seeing it).

(c) It only encourages divisiveness ... we've already seen, in the threads that were removed recently, that many of those who want this forum have no interest in real debate ... they just want a place where they can go demean those who disagree with them. Most "political" discussions get too hung up on labels and slogans ... the issues driving them get obscured behind incendiary language.

(d) Because of the way decisions get made by SB staff ... and the nature of interpretation that goes on when enforcing policy ... moderation of the forum would be most charitably described as "inconsistent". That would be another major cause of bickering and complaints that would be guaranteed to find its way out to where it would be viewed by a wider audience.

As someone who was responsible for enforcing behavior on this board for a bit more than two years, I've had the opportunity to see how controversial issues have a tendency to spread themselves around the board ... and how they affect the dynamic of interaction between its members. Draw a behavioral "line in the sand" and there will be a certain number of members who will instantly start pushing to see how far they can push that line before a moderator has to step in.

Why ask for trouble? A political forum will only be an invitation to an argument party.

Besides, we've already got plenty of social forums on the board. If you can't make friendly on the ones that are already provided, then maybe it's just because you're just not a friendly person.

... Bob (Grateful Diver)

 

[MXGratefulDiver]

Then we could have a place to discuss why the democrats in the last election tied the "close" results up for weeks with lawsuits but the republicans this time bow out gracefuly with much closer results. Wouldn't that be nice if we could talk about things like that?

LOL - a perfect example of what I'm talking about.

... Bob (Grateful Diver)