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Should dvdtalk get rid of the Politics Forum?

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Should dvdtalk get rid of the Politics Forum?

Old 07-07-18, 09:16 PM
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Should dvdtalk get rid of the Politics Forum?

Yes:



or

No:



Should dvdtalk get rid of the Politics Forum which is taking over and polluting the site and focus it's energy instead on disc media talk and getting back to it's roots?
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Old 07-07-18, 09:30 PM
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Re: Should dvdtalk get rid of the Politics Forum?

I mostly stay out of the politics forum just because I try to avoid debating stuff like that but I don’t know if it should go away. I think it keeps some people visiting which is good for the site. People just need to learn to not make it such a toxic environment. I realize that can be hard but some posters take it too far and it spills over to other parts of the forum at times.
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Old 07-07-18, 09:33 PM
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Re: Should dvdtalk get rid of the Politics Forum?

I forget; can the forum software be set to limit/ban specific individuals from specific forums?
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Old 07-07-18, 09:47 PM
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Re: Should dvdtalk get rid of the Politics Forum?

Nah. Keep it contained.
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Old 07-07-18, 09:54 PM
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Re: Should dvdtalk get rid of the Politics Forum?

Originally Posted by Trevor
I forget; can the forum software be set to limit/ban specific individuals from specific forums?
Yes.
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Old 07-07-18, 09:56 PM
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Re: Should dvdtalk get rid of the Politics Forum?

How about an entertainment meme to describe the politics forum:



And that basically describes that forum in a nutshell. An active member of this community is banned and folks throw a party. I take a peek in there once in a while, but the attitudes from nearly everyone drive me out before I'd think about posting.

Whether it stays or goes, I don't care. But I will say if I ranked all the forums in order of worthwhile interaction, the Book Talk section would come out ahead of politics/religion.
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Old 07-07-18, 10:06 PM
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Re: Should dvdtalk get rid of the Politics Forum?

Originally Posted by gryffinmaster
Nah. Keep it contained.
I agree. It's a fairly small subset of folks that tend to gang up, talk about posters rather than posts, passive-aggressive posting, and generally stirring the pot. And it's on both sides/teams. The mods probably feel like they are moderating a kindergarten class.

Keep all that discussion in it's own corner.
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Old 07-07-18, 10:29 PM
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Re: Should dvdtalk get rid of the Politics Forum?

Should definitely stay open. Great source of information and good discussions about the current shitshow that is our government.
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Old 07-07-18, 10:56 PM
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Re: Should dvdtalk get rid of the Politics Forum?

I don't know if it can be done here, but another board I visit basically hid its Politics forum. The forum didn't go away, but only members who want to post there can see it - and they have to get moderator approval.
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Old 07-07-18, 10:57 PM
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Re: Should dvdtalk get rid of the Politics Forum?

Originally Posted by Cardsfan111
How about an entertainment meme to describe the politics forum:



And that basically describes that forum in a nutshell. An active member of this community is banned and folks throw a party.
Also this. I wonder whether the mods will be taking a look at those folks as well.
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Old 07-08-18, 12:08 AM
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Re: Should dvdtalk get rid of the Politics Forum?

Originally Posted by Cardsfan111
How about an entertainment meme to describe the politics forum:



And that basically describes that forum in a nutshell. An active member of this community is banned and folks throw a party. I take a peek in there once in a while, but the attitudes from nearly everyone drive me out before I'd think about posting.

Whether it stays or goes, I don't care. But I will say if I ranked all the forums in order of worthwhile interaction, the Book Talk section would come out ahead of politics/religion.
We’re not allowed to talk about banned members, but a sigh of relief is not the same as a party.
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Old 07-08-18, 01:00 AM
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Re: Should dvdtalk get rid of the Politics Forum?

Originally Posted by Draven
Should definitely stay open. Great source of information and good discussions about the current shitshow that is our government.
Agreed
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Old 07-08-18, 02:17 AM
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Re: Should dvdtalk get rid of the Politics Forum?

I’ll stop coming here if you get rid of it
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Old 07-08-18, 12:37 PM
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Re: Should dvdtalk get rid of the Politics Forum?

Originally Posted by Nesbit
I’ll stop coming here if you get rid of it
Lots of people stopped coming when the adult forum went away. Yet, here we are.
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Old 07-08-18, 06:31 PM
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Re: Should dvdtalk get rid of the Politics Forum?

Just by doing a quick unscientific check of how many total views there are for all threads on the first page only of each sub forum, Political Talk had about 4.5 million, putting it about a million above Otter... which is higher than all the other sub forums. Not that it means much, but it's an interesting bit of info. If views = ad views, then maybe PT is keeping this place afloat

Those who truly think the sub forum should be shut down should consider just... not... clicking on it, maybe?

I think it's unfortunate that people think it's too "far left" or "far right" (coincidentally without providing specific examples of such), because I think it's quite obviously radically centrist in general; extreme views from any position may be challenged by other users, but the mods don't really push against verifiably false or heavily misleading information being posted. To be clear, that's not a complaint really; just different than what I've observed in some other spaces.

If I may be so bold, I think the existence of the memes and cartoons threads only serve to rile people up and bleeds into the other threads where memes and cartoons and random Twitter posts are used as rebuttals (and thinly veiled insults) to thoughtful posts. Maybe something to consider is "if you have a rebuttal, put it in your own words." That might cut down on some of the derailment that goes on.

The only exception should be the Felicia Day "confuse 'em" GIF, naturally..
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Old 07-08-18, 07:04 PM
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Re: Should dvdtalk get rid of the Politics Forum?

Originally Posted by Dan
Just by doing a quick unscientific check of how many total views there are for all threads on the first page only of each sub forum, Political Talk had about 4.5 million, putting it about a million above Otter... which is higher than all the other sub forums. Not that it means much, but it's an interesting bit of info. If views = ad views, then maybe PT is keeping this place afloat
Yeah, for a long time now it seems the Political Talk sub gets more action than all of other forums and subforums combined.

I think it's unfortunate that people think it's too "far left" or "far right" (coincidentally without providing specific examples of such), because I think it's quite obviously radically centrist in general; extreme views from any position may be challenged by other users, but the mods don't really push against verifiably false or heavily misleading information being posted. To be clear, that's not a complaint really; just different than what I've observed in some other spaces.
I think there's been a slow evolution of the forum. When the political stuff was spun out of the Other forum, I seem to recall it was around 2003 or so, the 'bias' on the forum was distinctly to the right. Quite possibly a side effect of being at the height of the post-911 Iraq war and the hyperpatriotism of that period.

But now, I think the character of the board has drifted to the left over time. Most of the posters seem to swing leftward, though there are a handful of conservative-leaning posters who aggressively post.


If I may be so bold, I think the existence of the memes and cartoons threads only serve to rile people up and bleeds into the other threads where memes and cartoons and random Twitter posts are used as rebuttals (and thinly veiled insults) to thoughtful posts. Maybe something to consider is "if you have a rebuttal, put it in your own words." That might cut down on some of the derailment that goes on.

The only exception should be the Felicia Day "confuse 'em" GIF, naturally..
Yeah, I think we'd probably be better off without the memes and cartoons, though that's the way discourse all over the 'net has drifted. I do think that things like memes, cartoons, and twitter posts often come off as pasdive-aggressive in that it's sort of "I'm only sharing this or throwing it out there," instead of actually coming right out and saying it.

And Felicia Day is just so fucking adorable...
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Old 07-08-18, 07:26 PM
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Re: Should dvdtalk get rid of the Politics Forum?



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Old 07-08-18, 07:31 PM
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Re: Should dvdtalk get rid of the Politics Forum?


Sadly, politicstalk.com is taken. But, fear not!

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Old 07-08-18, 07:57 PM
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Re: Should dvdtalk get rid of the Politics Forum?

The memes in particular are simply lowest common denominator propaganda.

They may inspire ‘thought’ but more accurately inspire knee-jerk reactions.
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Old 07-08-18, 08:40 PM
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Re: Should dvdtalk get rid of the Politics Forum?

I think a lot of what people are describing generally as toxicity has two root causes. First is bad faith posting. For example, someone posts an article or opinion with a somewhat out-there claim to support their position, it's thoroughly debunked by multiple posters and then the same person posts some similar version of it a couple weeks (or days or hours) later. Or someone refuses to acknowledge that another poster has addressed a question they posed because they don't like how it was answered. Or someone insinuates something strongly, but when they are called out on it, they throw their hands up in innocence and proclaim the person responding to them is putting words in their mouth. This general type of posting drags the forum down. I don't think there are a ton of people who do this, but all it takes are a handful to create frustration, anger and lashing out that derail productive discussion.

Then we have the fact that many on the right have aligned themselves with a human being far shittier than I ever would have believed either party would accept as a presidential nominee. This complicates discussions. It used to feel like generally, Americans agreed on some core principles, but conservatives and liberals differed significantly on how to pursue them. Factually, that's an oversimplification, but I feel like most people used to agree, at least publicly, that we should treat groups of people and individuals with dignity, that we should help the poor, protect the weak, fight discrimination, be good stewards of our natural resources, and so on and so forth. Both sides would likely claim that the other's approach was completely wrong minded, but we at least agreed on the goal. It feels like that's been lost under this president, though I'm sure some would argue we only lost the pretext.

With Trump, I couldn't even articulate what goals he believes in. Maybe, 'I'm the best, the people who love me are great and fuck anyone who isn't in complete lockstep with us.' The man's a facile fascist and petty narcissist. It feels like he's the worst possible leader we were capable of producing, though his ascendance may lead to worse in the future. It consistently astounds me how many Republicans have thrown in with him. It speaks tremendously poorly of them and I think the party deserves to be consistently called out for it. Were the left to have given rise to a similar leader on that side of the aisle, I would argue the same of Democrats who supported that hypothetical would-be tyrant.

From a moderation perspective, I think it's a mistake for the forum to start going down the path of equating conservatives with Trump supporters. Granted, among those who are in the public eye, there's currently a lot of overlap in that Venn diagram. Still, to me, it's very different to say 'conservatives are xyz' and 'Trump supporters are xyz.' I can have a reasoned debate with a conservative and completely respect their opinions and positions. With Trump supporters, I can maintain a civil tone, but it's impossible for me to respect their position because they've aligned with a leader and approach that are antithetical to my view of America.

I believe the forum can move away from bad faith posting. I think the moderators are already taking steps to address that. I don't know what we do about the gap created by the rise of Trump. I don't believe it's a gap of conservatism vs liberalism, though it manifests that way at times since he's the current mouthpiece of the Republican party.

Anyway, just my likely overlong thoughts on the matter. To answer the question in the OP, hell no we shouldn't close the Politics forum. I'm not one of the most frequent posters these days, but I still value the forum and make quick visits when I have the time. I started adulthood about as far right as anyone we currently have as members. Having those views challenged here and being exposed to a diversity of views and people both here and in real life have played a vital role in examining my beliefs and changing a great many of them over the past two decades.
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Old 07-08-18, 09:05 PM
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Re: Should dvdtalk get rid of the Politics Forum?

People often say that social media and online discussions never change anyone’s mind, but I’m proof that forums can help people change. Ten years ago I was a birther. Very ashamed of my racist assholery. But thanks to online discussions, mostly here, I’ve mellowed. While still a Republican and conservative Christian, I’d like to think that I’m a better person now, able to see multiple sides of most issues.
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Old 07-08-18, 09:12 PM
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Re: Should dvdtalk get rid of the Politics Forum?

Originally Posted by maxfisher
I think a lot of what people are describing generally as toxicity has two root causes. First is bad faith posting. For example, someone posts an article or opinion with a somewhat out-there claim to support their position, it's thoroughly debunked by multiple posters and then the same person posts some similar version of it a couple weeks (or days or hours) later. Or someone refuses to acknowledge that another poster has addressed a question they posed because they don't like how it was answered. Or someone insinuates something strongly, but when they are called out on it, they throw their hands up in innocence and proclaim the person responding to them is putting words in their mouth. This general type of posting drags the forum down. I don't think there are a ton of people who do this, but all it takes are a handful to create frustration, anger and lashing out that derail productive discussion.
This is about as insightful as it gets. Of course the problem is that most people who do these things (I've been guilty of some of them) don't recognize or won't admit it when they do these things.
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Old 07-09-18, 05:45 AM
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Re: Should dvdtalk get rid of the Politics Forum?

Originally Posted by Kurtie Dee
The memes in particular are simply lowest common denominator propaganda.

They may inspire ‘thought’ but more accurately inspire knee-jerk reactions.
My knee-jerk reaction is a good laugh. Best part of the Politics forum.
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Old 07-09-18, 07:58 AM
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Re: Should dvdtalk get rid of the Politics Forum?

Originally Posted by gryffinmaster
Nah. Keep it contained.

The problem is it doesn't stay contained to that forum. Maybe that is where the moderating needs to be. Make sure that the inflammatory political comments are contained to the political forum. It is beyond nauseating to have to read that crap in so many threads, and then of course they get responses and shit hits the fan. There are several threads in this forum just like that.
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Old 07-09-18, 08:25 AM
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Re: Should dvdtalk get rid of the Politics Forum?

Originally Posted by d2cheer
The problem is it doesn't stay contained to that forum. Maybe that is where the moderating needs to be. Make sure that the inflammatory political comments are contained to the political forum. It is beyond nauseating to have to read that crap in so many threads, and then of course they get responses and shit hits the fan. There are several threads in this forum just like that.
It's been cute how you're you're pretending that everybody else is the problem when it comes to how things go too far.

https://forum.dvdtalk.com/13077780-post12011.html
Usually stay out of here BUT you asked for it so here you go....

Liberals are this countries enemy, demons sent from the depths...

Eventually you have to see what the democratic party is, you cannot not see that they are as anti America as any political organization this country has ever seen.
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