Topic: Should Politics Be Banned From GMG?

[Mirror Image]

If the moderators take this poll down, then you’ve chosen to silence what could be a potentially fundamental issue in regards to the forum’s future. Please let this poll determine whether to allow politics in this forum or ban them altogether. I realize that it’s not an easy issue to deal with and make any hard decisions about, but I feel, and I’m speaking strictly for myself, that more members here are participating or worried about the political threads than actually contributing to what I would assume we’re all here for: the discussion and sharing of music. I say enough is enough, which may not be a popular opinion, but it’s how I feel.

[T. D.]

Agreed. Of the other 2 music forums on which I spend time, one long ago banned politics (not just threads, but posts invoking the subject) after initially allowing it, and the other allows only music discussions.

[Mirror Image]

Agreed. Of the other 2 music forums on which I spend time, one long ago banned politics (not just threads, but posts invoking the subject) after initially allowing it, and the other allows only music discussions.

I do realize that in some musical discussions politics can be brought up, but it shouldn’t be one’s entire focus while they’re on GMG. Again, I’m speaking only for myself, but if I was a new member here and I see how much focus politics has been on this forum, then I would probably find another forum to join. Back when I joined GMG (10 years ago I believe), the discussion of politics was minimal and it was such an enjoyable experience, especially since I was just coming off another music forum. Now, many of the veteran members can rarely be found in the music threads (and some of them have left altogether and for good reasons).

[Gurn Blanston]

If the moderators take this poll down, then you’ve chosen to silence what could be a potentially fundamental issue in regards to the forum’s future. Please let this poll determine whether to allow politics in this forum or ban them altogether. I realize that it’s not an easy issue to deal with and make any hard decisions about, but I feel, and I’m speaking strictly for myself, that more members here are participating or worried about the political threads than actually contributing to what I would assume we’re all here for: the discussion and sharing of music. I say enough is enough, which may not be a popular opinion, but it’s how I feel.

Tell you what: PM he Admin and make an argument to him. We've already been down that road. It's his decision to make, not ours.

FWIW, we are all in favor of no politics.

Also FWIW, be careful what you wish for; posts will disappear in a hurry, no questions asked.

Gurn

[Mirror Image]

Tell you what: PM he Admin and make an argument to him. We've already been down that road. It's his decision to make, not ours.

FWIW, we are all in favor of no politics.

Also FWIW, be careful what you wish for; posts will disappear in a hurry, no questions asked.

Gurn

Here’s a question in response to this post, if all of you are in favor of no political threads, why haven’t you messaged Rob? You’re a moderator. If it’s true what you say that every moderator feels that political threads should be banned, then why haven’t you guys taken it out with him? All I can do is post a poll and get people’s opinion on the topic. Don’t turn the issue back on me and say I should PM him. I’m just a peon here, Gurn.

[Gurn Blanston]

Here’s a question in response to this post, if all of you are in favor of no political threads, why haven’t you messaged Rob? You’re a moderator. If it’s true what you say that every moderator feels that political threads should be banned, then why haven’t you guys taken it out with him? All I can do is post a poll and get people’s opinion on the topic. Don’t turn the issue back on me and say I should PM him. I’m just a peon here, Gurn.

This is an ongoing discussion for many years now. You certainly have to realize we have talked to him about this, and more than once, but he has been adamant that there should be a venue here for discussing politics, since we are all grownups and know how to avoid things we don't really like. Not a lot else we can say or do, it's his board, after all.

GB

[Mirror Image]

This is an ongoing discussion for many years now. You certainly have to realize we have talked to him about this, and more than once, but he has been adamant that there should be a venue here for discussing politics, since we are all grownups and know how to avoid things we don't really like. Not a lot else we can say or do, it's his board, after all.

GB

If this poll does, indeed, show a favoring number of people who think political threads should be banned, then wouldn’t this stand to reason that the feedback left would make him reconsider his position? I understand this is his forum and he has a right to say what stays/what goes, but if people are sick and tired of these political threads dominating what is supposed to be a music forum and these threads have caused members who were valuable contributors to leave never to return, I would think he would be concerned about that, but if he doesn’t give a damn about who stays or who goes, then maybe he needs to relinquish the rights to the forum and hand it over to someone who will actually listen to what the people are saying about it.

[SimonNZ]

I predict that in the near future there will be a less pressing need to try and make sense of the political world and this question will be largely irrelevant or at any rate such threads will be much less heated and attract far fewer politics-only posters.

[Sterna]

Of course, one can decide to keep the Politics/religion discussions here.
If so, I would suggest a more strict moderating though.
Members who do not follow the rules, should get a warning. And after 3 violations, they should be banned. Including me. I violated the rules yesterday. Only 2 to go for a ban. Bad luck, Sterna. Better behave. If not: good riddance.

This also goes for those who violate the rules in the music threads, of course.

All the temporary locks on heated topics, the deletion of a few posts... it's not going to help one bit.

Only if you manage to get rid of the trolls, you can have a respectful and civilized discussion, no matter what the subject is.

I voted for a ban on politics, because I think there are plenty of opportunities to discuss politics and religion elsewhere on the internet. On this music board (and on others) it has been a proven cause for unpleasant to very unpleasant behaviour. If people, for whatever reason, are tired of talking about music and prefer other subjects to talk about, let them go elsewhere. And leave the music boards to people who want to talk about music. Because that's where they came here for.

[Sterna]

I predict that in the near future there will be a less pressing need to try and make sense of the political world and this question will be largely irrelevant or at any rate such threads will be much less heated and attract far fewer politics-only posters.

Maybe. Maybe not.
The past has proven that it's very difficult and tricky to predict the future.

[Florestan]

Reading some of the posts in this thread one would get the impression that politics has completely overtaken GMG and there's no thread or topic which has escaped its nefarious influence. Each time a new member registers s/h sees nothing but politics, while veteran members are exasperated by the proliferation of political threads in their "Show new replies to your posts" list.

The truth is actually very different: there is only one single topic dedicated to politics (and whose title is very specific about it) located in a thread specifically dedicated to discussing "anything, music excepted". It really is very easy for someone who is not interested in politics to avoid reading it.
 
Actually, the vast majority of GMGers have never posted about politics and have never complained about politics being discussed; they simply ignored it. There is only a very limited number of people who regularly post in that topic and all but one post regularly in music-related topics as well.

And if this board should be exclusively focused on music, then why not ban discussing literature, movies, food and beverages as well?

The only real problem is when things get overheated, but even this is not such a frequent ocurrence as one might think by reading some of the posts in this thread. A temporary locking is a very apt way to let things cool off naturally and even if I don't always like it I accept it as unavoidable.

I voted NO.

[Florestan]

[Rob] has been adamant that there should be a venue here for discussing politics, since we are all grownups and know how to avoid things we don't really like.

Yes.

[ritter]

Reading some of the posts in this thread one would get the impression that politics has completely overtaken GMG and there's no thread or topic which has escaped its nefarious influence. Each time a new member registers s/h sees nothing but politics, while veteran members are exasperated by the proliferation of political threads in their "Show new replies to your posts" list.

The truth is actually very different: there is only one single topic dedicated to politics (and whose title is very specific about it) located in a thread specifically dedicated to discussing "anything, music excepted". It really is very easy for someone who is not interested in politics to avoid reading it.
 
Actually, the vast majority of GMGers have never posted about politics and have never complained about politics being discussed; they simply ignored it. There is only a very limited number of people who regularly post in that topic and all but one post regularly in music-related topics as well.

And if this board should be exclusively focused on music, then why not ban discussing literature, movies, food and beverages as well?

The only real problem is when things get overheated, but even this is not such a frequent ocurrence as one might think by reading some of the posts in this thread. A temporary locking is a very apt way to let things cool off naturally and even if I don't always like it I accept it as unavoidable.

I voted NO.

+1 to the above. And, if a member takes offense or whatever due to posts in the Politics thread, he can perfectly choose simply to ignore it. I for one (even if I rarely post in that thread) do see value in learning about the opinions of posters--both American and foreign--accross the political spectrum, sometimes very substantiated ones, on other occasions outlandish and bizarre. And, of course, there's the odd member who rarely if ever posts in any thread but the Politics one, and can be seen as a troll; but that seems unavoidable in an open forum like ours, and can be dealt with (actually, IIRC, has been dealt with) on an individual basis if required, and wouldn't IMHO justify eliminating the discussion altogether.

[Iota]

I voted no. I would find the forum a poorer one without the politic threads, which are sometimes are very informative and interesting, there are a few keen political minds on here (amongst which mine certainly doesn't feature). For me the political element is a distinctive feature of GMG. The playground stuff is regrettable at times I agree. Perhaps the political threads could be hived off somewhere so they don't appear in the new posts lists?

[Sterna]

I voted no. I would find the forum a poorer one without the politic threads, which are sometimes are very informative and interesting, there are a few keen political minds on here (amongst which mine certainly doesn't feature). For me the political element is a distinctive feature of GMG. The playground stuff is regrettable at times I agree. Perhaps the political threads could be hived off somewhere so they don't appear in the new posts lists?

I have been told that the latter solution is used at the Talk Classical board.
Maybe that will work for the more sensitive souls among us (like me), who get depressed and need a large quantity of sedatives after logging in and being confronted with the huge amount of new USA Politics balderdash.

I'm still happy though that I voted YES.

[Florestan]

Looks like for some people discussing politics is like watching porn: so embarassing an activity that it must be hidden from others. 

You don't like politics? Don't go to that topic. It's really as simple as that.

[Iota]

I have been told that the latter solution is used at the Talk Classical board.
Maybe that will work for the more sensitive souls among us (like me), who get depressed and need a large quantity of sedatives after logging in and being confronted with the huge amount of new USA Politics balderdash.

Yes, I do understand. Even though I occasionally partake in and enjoy them, it's also a bit boring to see a whole slew of word games taking up new posts lists, and wouldn't mind if they were put somewhere separate, where one could actively seek them out if one chose. Of course I have no idea if this is technically possible though.

[Mirror Image]

Of course, one can decide to keep the Politics/religion discussions here.
If so, I would suggest a more strict moderating though.
Members who do not follow the rules, should get a warning. And after 3 violations, they should be banned. Including me. I violated the rules yesterday. Only 2 to go for a ban. Bad luck, Sterna. Better behave. If not: good riddance.

This also goes for those who violate the rules in the music threads, of course.

All the temporary locks on heated topics, the deletion of a few posts... it's not going to help one bit.

Only if you manage to get rid of the trolls, you can have a respectful and civilized discussion, no matter what the subject is.

I voted for a ban on politics, because I think there are plenty of opportunities to discuss politics and religion elsewhere on the internet. On this music board (and on others) it has been a proven cause for unpleasant to very unpleasant behaviour. If people, for whatever reason, are tired of talking about music and prefer other subjects to talk about, let them go elsewhere. And leave the music boards to people who want to talk about music. Because that's where they came here for.

But the fact that you would have to resort to school yard antics only reinforces my point. Also, banning members who violate forum rules when they step out of line seems like a bridge too far to me, especially when this kind of behavior, which is all over the political threads could have easily been avoided had there been a ban on politics from start. Unfortunately, I’ve seen it far too many times that civil discussions cannot actually happen for long periods of time in the political threads.

[Sterna]

Yes, I do understand. Even though I occasionally partake in and enjoy them, it's also a bit boring to see a whole slew of word games taking up new posts lists, and wouldn't mind if they were put somewhere separate, where one could actively seek them out if one chose. Of course I have no idea if this is technically possible though.

It depends on the software, I guess.

[greg]

Unfortunately, I’ve seen it far too many times that civil discussions cannot actually happen for long periods of time in the political threads.

Yeah, the problem is that some people have their self-identity wrapped up in politics, so attacking their beliefs is like attacking them personally, so they feel justified in attacking back personally. Political threads could avoid getting toxic if you just happened to have a bunch of people who have an interest in politics but no attachment to it.