Ban religion threads

[chic]

Too many members are trying to ban certain topics. All you're doing is fomenting controversy.

That's the job of the forum administrator and the moderators. Reply With Quote

If you don't like a thread or a topic, then STAY OUT OF IT !

Nobody's twisting your arm to post on it.

I agree with this. It's really sad not to be able to have a philosophical discussion on so many pertinent subjects. People don't have to read or reply to what they find offensive. Just ignore it.

 

[Sassycakes]

I guess I don't understand why topics are being banned. Surely, at our age, we should be considered adults by now. It would seem obvious to me that if you don't want to discuss politics, then don't go to the section for politics. The same would hold true for discussions of religion.

But with broad topics being banned, where do you draw the line? There are many things that could fall under the broad topic of "politics" that directly impact seniors, such as health care legislations, threats to medicare and social security, taxes, etc.

With religion, I'm sure that there are various lifestyle changes that relate to the topic, even in the selection of a senior housing complex.

I think we are adults and can be trusted to choose which topics and subjects we wish to discuss. Just my opinion.

We are all adults and should be able to discuss any issue like an adult. If I don't like a topic I simply do not reply to it.

 

[Butterfly]

I strongly agree, and I don't like the ban on politics. There are political undertones to just about everything happening in our world today.

Take away any reference to politics and we can't comment on the mess in Puerto Rico, the NFL flap, tax reform, health care reform, immigration, North Korea, gun regulation, crime, police shootings, racism, and a whole host of other things that are important to most of us, if not all. So, we were relegated to posting about our gardens, our pets, food, etc. -- all nice topics, but they don't help us to stay connected and involved in the fast changing world around us.

I, for one, don't see what is so bad about bickering, as long as it doesn't descend to name calling and/or that anyone disagreeing with the poster is an idiot.

Same goes for religion. If you don't want to see it, don't click on it.

Just my personal opinion.

 

[Big Horn]

survivalistboards.com, a huge survivalist forum, has all of the usual rules about being nasty about specific groups or posting pornography etc., but they have one rather interesting and very specific rule: any discussion of abortion is forbidden. Even using the word is an offense that merits a ban. They apparently believe that it's the most divisive and disruptive topic.

I have no opinion on their decision; I'm merely mentioning it.

Darknet (onion) websites that have fora ban child pornography and animal torture discussion. There are obviously websites that feature it, but even a forum that allows discussion of illegal drug commerce and other illegal activities has limits.

 

[Warrigal]

I was invited to join an anything goes forum by a forum friend who said I would be free to have intelligent people to talk to on serious subjects. I knew that they were mostly atheists with an anarchistic disposition but I thought I might be able to find some things to talk about.

I tried but they were the most nihilistic bunch of people that you would never want to meet. And sick! I mean nauseatingly sick.
One poster in particular used the forum to explore his sick fantasies that made my stomach churn.

I pm'd the moderator and asked to leave the forum with my name removed from the list of members. After three attempts in private with no effect I posted on the open forum demanding that my name be removed.

He was absolutely perplexed. What had they done that so offended me?
I didn't provide an answer. I just left them wondering.

I too feel constrained about starting new posts on Senior Forums because the things that are current news in US are all inextricably linked with the doings, sayings and tweets of the President but I would rather be on a well moderated forum than that cess pool referred to above.

 

[Matrix]

Take away any reference to politics and we can't comment on the mess in Puerto Rico, the NFL flap, tax reform, health care reform, immigration, North Korea, gun regulation, crime, police shootings, racism, and a whole host of other things that are important to most of us, if not all. So, we were relegated to posting about our gardens, our pets, food, etc. -- all nice topics, but they don't help us to stay connected and involved in the fast changing world around us.

My understanding of politics is taking sides, attacking Republicans or Democrats, which ultimately leads to personal attacks and hard feelings. Political debate is not about addressing the issues, fixing the problems, what's right or wrong, it's all about beating the other side and repeating "I'm right, you are wrong!" "I'm smart, you are stupid!" "I'm fair, you are a racist!"

How many threads in "Politics" were posted with the sole purpose to bash a person or group?

We did ban politics, but we didn't ban the broad topics. Or, I would rather say "we banned political way of discussions." Because most topics can still be discussed, just not like the way it's discussed in "Politics".

Leaving politics out of a discussion would only produce a much better result, IMHO.

We have "Health Insurance" for any health care related topics, why not health care reform?

We have "Financial" for tax cut.

And we have "Current News" for pretty much everything.

If you really want to discuss a specific issue, and honestly have no intention to bash anyone or any groups, not trying to prove anyone is wrong, you can discuss it without involving politics.

Of course, some topics such as NFL kneeling are political in nature and should never be posted.

 

[Lara]

Excellent clarification, Matrix. Thank you.

 

[Sunny]

I see your point, Matrix, but it does seem a bit like throwing out the baby with the bath water. If someone is being abusive or offensive and persists in spite of being warned, why not just ban that person from the board?

Personally, I enjoy exchanging views on all sorts of topics, some of them probably controversial, and I respect all points of view; after all, I don't know everything. Removing a lively source of discussion from all of us is really
just punishing everybody for the actions of a few.

I'm a long-time user of computer forums. I still have fond memories of *Prodigy, which broke a lot of hearts when it closed. Some of these boards are pretty good, some are awful. But we are big boys and girls, and can always
just avoid going to discussions that we find upsetting. I've found this bb to be one of the best, and I particularly like making friends all over the world, something I have not seen that much of before.

Personally, I think that anyone who is being a pain in the patootie should just be thrown out, especially if a lot of other people are complaining about them. But the topics should stay.

 

[Matrix]

If someone is being abusive or offensive and persists in spite of being warned, why not just ban that person from the board?

We would have to ban many members, which is not a good solution for a community either.

To keep SF friendly, we either ban politics or ban members, we choose to ban politics.

As I said in my last post, you can still discuss most topics in a non-political way.

For those who enjoy political debating, I believe using SF as a friendly senior forum and discussing politics in a political forum is a better solution, why do we have to talk about politics to upset fellow seniors?

A rude and divisive forum is not my vision when I started this forum. At the end of the day, a lonely senior always has a friendly place to go, that's all it matters.

 

[Lara]

I see your point, Matrix, but...If someone is being abusive or offensive and persists in spite of being warned, why not just ban that person from the board?

Because it was much bigger than just "someONE" and very taxing for Admin to keep up with "hand-slapping" and investigating posts being reported and responding to complaints from members, I'm guessing.

It was often a clique appearing to bully a single member. It was repeated identical posts almost to the point of "flooding" threads. And it was people who had been banned but returned with a new identity. Way too much to expect Matrix to manage. Either Matrix and/or SeaBreeze were present 24/7 I noticed, and they did their best but there were other things to manage for the SF forums and not fair for the political thread to dominate with all the babysitting it needed. It was the overall political landscape's fault and the members themselves.