MODs...why are posts locked if they get "political?"

[AKcharger]

It was with great sadness I watched the Global Warming (GW) thread pass into oblivion today because it became "political". Well, my question is what's wrong with a political thread *every now and then? It's just fun way to vent and rant among friends. The GW thread had 1762 hits in 3 weeks and the Rosie thread had 719 hits in just 5 days...these were popular threads and we were having fun! Now if a topic is just plain raunchy or a GROUP of people are nasty, by all means lock it, but as long as we're all civil I don't see a problem. Yes, it's the same stuff over and over but we see the same in other topics such as "what's this car worth" or "HLPAG ripped me off."  No one is under the illusion they'll change someone else's mind it's just fun to intellectually joust with an opposing viewpoint.

In conclusion I'm very appreciative to Troy and the MODs for the site and their time, we're all guests here.




* Election seasons excluded

[Troy]

It's been a policy since the last election (for obvious reasons). It is blatantly obvious that most people cannot act civil in any topics dealing with politics or religion (and sometimes even cars). Unfortunately, the mods are not able to follow every post 24 hours a day so even if we let something slide for a while there are breaking points after which things can get out of hand real quick. If we aren't around when it goes over the edge it becomes a much bigger mess to clean up. I get more PMs and emails over people tearing into others over non-car topics than anything else. You'd be surprised at how the littlest things (in one person's opinion) can cause others to leave a site. We have enough problems keeping the peace without a bunch of Off Topic arguments spoiling all the good that comes from the rest of the site.

For comparison, I have been doing some research on various forums and online communities. Many automobile related message boards strictly prohibit *any* topics that aren't specific to their site. Some go as far as banning members for a week for the first offense. Others only allow certain topics if you're a paying member and are "approved" (these also hide the particular boards from search engines). I know exactly why they do it but I really don't think it's necessary to go overboard. I'd hope that we can strike a balance that most people are comfortable with. However, I don't like losing even a single member for any reason - especially because of something insignificant that has no bearing on why we are all here in the first place. Unfortunately, I know it has happened. If disallowing certain topics will solve that problem then I'm willing to go that route.

Troy

[Neal_J]

Seems to me there are plenty of political boards available if that's your interest. 

Let's talk cars, predominately, here.

Neal

[Khyron]

I hope my Chicken Little post didn't send it over the top 

[bull]

Any bets on whether a thread about political threads gets locked?

[chargerboy69]

I know over at Moparts if a thread is political it does not just get locked, it gets deleted entirely. I would know from experience. One of my post lasted about 2 or 3 minutes before it was deleted. Personally,  I love to talk politics, anyone up for a conversation.   

[pettyfan43]

I hope my posts aren't the reason for anyone leaving or the threads getting locked.

I am just very passionate about this country (the greatest in the world!) and when I see things that are damaging to this country I can get very passionate about that as well.

I am sorry if I have offended anyone or caused any strife here.

I just see people that are destructive to the American way of life and in my mind it is just wrong.

[Just 6T9 CHGR]

Troy said it best......

[AKcharger]

I see where you're comin' from and it's  no big deal I was just hoping to see the Global warming thread go to 7 pages...that would be my personal best.   

...Let's talk cars, predominately, here.
Neal

That's why they call this area off-topic discussions 

[bull]

Come on. Can't we all just get along?

[kab69440]

 

[71ChallengeHer]

Come on. Can't we all just get along?

[Big Lebowski]

  Ok me bad. I remember wrecking the political threads at the old Charger site. But I'm content in knowing that I'm always right and I always win the arguments, while Kunkel's always wrong.

[Mefirst]

Any bets on whether a thread about political threads gets locked?

[Chargen69]

I thought threads about locked threads got locked.







if So...

in before the 

[Charger_Fan]

I thought threads about locked threads got locked.







if So...

in before the 

Ooooh! Me too! 

hehe


One thought I had...what if there was a separate section that remained invisible to the rest of the board, that was only available to be seen by members who "sign an agreement" & receive a password to enter that section? Sorta similar to how the contributor's section was on the old board.
Included in the agreement, there could be a "don't come crying to the Mods if you get your feelers hurt" clause, to keep the snivveling down by enabling the Mods to slap them with an "I told ya so"!   If someone snivvles more than once, they get their password yanked, because they obviously can't handle the heat.

That way, the majority of newbies won't stumble into a fire pit accidentally & get their feelers hurt.   I've seen that done on a couple boards somewhere, with a big "thin skin" disclaimer before entering. I didn't sign up to find out how big of a fire pit it was either, though.
Maybe it could also be limited to members who have had over 100 posts...or 200? Just so they have a chance to get aquainted before wandering into the fire pit.

Anyhoo, just throwin' out an idea...in befo' da lock!

[Just 6T9 CHGR]

Ooooh! Me too! 

hehe


One thought I had...what if there was a separate section that remained invisible to the rest of the board, that was only available to be seen by members who "sign an agreement" & receive a password to enter that section? Sorta similar to how the contributor's section was on the old board.
Included in the agreement, there could be a "don't come crying to the Mods if you get your feelers hurt" clause, to keep the snivveling down by enabling the Mods to slap them with an "I told ya so"!   If someone snivvles more than once, they get their password yanked, because they obviously can't handle the heat.

That way, the majority of newbies won't stumble into a fire pit accidentally & get their feelers hurt.   I've seen that done on a couple boards somewhere, with a big "thin skin" disclaimer before entering. I didn't sign up to find out how big of a fire pit it was either, though.
Maybe it could also be limited to members who have had over 100 posts...or 200? Just so they have a chance to get aquainted before wandering into the fire pit.

Anyhoo, just throwin' out an idea...in befo' da lock!

Oooh great idea!  I nominate you as the mod for that section

[Charger_Fan]

One thought I had...

Oooh great idea!  I nominate you as the mod for that section

Orly?
  v
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[PocketThunder]

Oooh great idea!  I nominate you as the mod for that section

[Charger_Fan]

Ok, so the idea sounded better when I discussed it amongst the voices in my head. 

                     


*EDIT* Speaking of people running off, get a load of this guy; http://www.dodgecharger.com/forum/index.php/topic,25643.0.html
We didn't even need to get political on him either. My advise would have been to wear shades.

[red72chrgr]

Ok, so the idea sounded better when I discussed it amongst the voices in my head. 

                     


*EDIT* Speaking of people running off, get a load of this guy; http://www.dodgecharger.com/forum/index.php/topic,25643.0.html
We didn't even need to get political on him either. My advise would have been to wear shades.

We were all speechless over his choice of interior colors and style(?). Can't give advice when you're laughing so hard.

[Afflyer]

Well, I thought long and hard about how to initiate that Rosie thread.  At the very least, I initially said that I thought it wouldn't be too long before the thread got locked and then I got on with what I honestly felt truely compelled to say.  Now I knew that eventually it would go off on a tangent and begin to swing in some political discussion, but honestly- I did not intend for it to go there.  It wasn't a Liberal or Republican story.  Much like Bill O'Reilly says lately, it's become an issue of hating your country and doing a lot of harm by what she promulgates each morning.  That's all, and that was my original argument. 

I tried to keep the focus on her and not on any one political party- honest.

Ya'll know I'm a passionate and ardent supporter of my profession and I love what I do and the country that provides me the opportunity to serve and protect it.  I was just sorry to see the topic shut down, because I think it fostered very good discussion about the responsiblity that comes with speaking your mind- or in Rosie's case, the lack of it.

Alas, I can understand Troy and Chris' point of responsibility to this site and it's oversight.  But do you guys truely think that we here on this awesome website loose more people due to some of these topics such as political science and the arguement over global warming, than we gain members?

I'm an optimist, and I think we gain more than we loose, but that's just my thoughts- hell- you guys in charge have all the stats, don't you?

Bradley 

[Troy]

Alas, I can understand Troy and Chris' point of responsibility to this site and it's oversight.  But do you guys truely think that we here on this awesome website loose more people due to some of these topics such as political science and the arguement over global warming, than we gain members?

Bradley 

Yes, it's true we gain more members than we lose - but you can't prove we're gaining members due to our Off Topic section while I *can* prove that we lose members because of it. Hopefully we're gaining members because of a common interest in the cars. Of the emails and PMs that I get from disgruntled members (if they even bother to let me know), almost all have some sort of problem with the "attitudes" displayed by other members - primarily in OT. The Classifieds used to be a problem but they've been smooth sailing ever since I blocked all replies to for sale ads. Of course I'm sure I ticked off several people by doing that but I don't get nearly the amount of fan mail as I did before. I can't honestly think of anyone ever quitting the site due to the jokes or help sections. The most common complaint is how others are treated. I'm sure we lose our fair share of "new Charger" owners as well thanks to the pleasant welcome they are usually treated to.

I take this very seriously and yes, I do have the stats.

Troy

[RT DAVE]

I think most of the new chargers owners are at LX forums or other lx only websites.  That's where I hang out when I wanna talk about the Magnum.   I wouldn't even consider posting here had I bought a new "charger".   

[Big Lebowski]

I think most of the new chargers owners are at LX forums or other lx only websites.  That's where I hang out when I wanna talk about the Magnum.   I wouldn't even consider posting here had I bought a new "charger".   

  Oh no, now we're gonna have to burn you at the stake.  Just kidding, but really, this was a classic Charger site before the new Charger came along. So some of us die hard 2 door guys can't handle the sight of nothing but 4 doors everwhere. The Corvette & the Mustang are the only remaining 2 door holdouts.