Concerning the Politics subforum.

[BloodEclipse]

Well you post a poll and then close it before most of us can comment.

Techres stated that we have seen a drop off in this sub-forum, though it is one of the largest on INGO.
What I don't think was considered is the fact that during the election many more people were willing to participate. Some were learning about politics for the first time.
Since then many things have happened and many of us stay interested and vigilant. Others are becoming less interested and falling back into the flock.
I am curious, how many people read this section and get the news, but don't post? Are the number of views down?
Being I am one of those who is very active in this area I feel like I'm being told to shut up.
If less people are posting then how is it so hard to wade through the smaller amount of posts to find what you are looking for?
Don't like a thread name don't click on it.

This action by the mods seems like problems I encounter at work. I can have a robot that has processed over 400K parts suddenly have a problem with a few parts.
Management wants to Reprogram the robot. Even though the problem is with the parts. When we get back to good parts everything is all screwed up.
You are getting complaints from some and you want to Reprogram a site. I'm afraid that will just lead to many more problems.

Those who do frequent this section, I hold with great regard. While I may not always agree with their ideas, good conversation is almost always assured. The character is well above the average public.

I suggest you rethink any hasty moves.
I'm not sure what lead to the banning of haldir but if it was simply the posts he made in this thread I would say the ban was a mistake.

 

[RelicHound]

I both enjoy and apprciate your{and others who post in this section} daily post...it keeps me from having to wade through multiple sites to get the news. I can log into INGO and get it all in one shot. I rarely reply to any of them but I do read them.

 

[mk2ja]

You talking about this thread/poll?
https://www.indianagunowners.com/fo...mendment/70217-politics_forum_suggestion.html

I, too, noticed that and wondered why it had been closed so quickly. At the time, I saw Lars' first post was 7 hours old, but the thread was already closed before I got a chance to add my . Now that I'm going back and looking through that thread, though... it kinda seems like it was away from the poll to which I had hoped to respond, so I guess that makes sense it was locked.

 

[BloodEclipse]

You talking about this thread/poll?
https://www.indianagunowners.com/fo...mendment/70217-politics_forum_suggestion.html

I, too, noticed that and wondered why it had been closed so quickly. At the time, I saw Lars' first post was 7 hours old, but the thread was already closed before I got a chance to add my . Now that I'm going back and looking through that thread, though... it kinda seems like it was away from the poll to which I had hoped to respond, so I guess that makes sense it was locked.

Yep thats the one.

 

[Blue Tile Spook]

I read the politics section every day. I don't read every thread, but the majority of them I do. I do not get the majority of my national news from the Politics forum but I do get more Indiana related news here than anywhere else that I read.

I am going to have to finish the rest of what I want to write sometime later. I have written three or four drafts so far and none of them convey what I really want to say, the posts coming off way to harsh sounding for the way that I want them to sound.

Overall, I would like to keep the politics forum. I read it, I use it, I enjoy it.

 

[lashicoN]

Yeah, I was reading the comments yesterday, logged in this morning, read the rest of the comments and went to post, but it was closed down. I was a bit disappointed, so thanks for addressing here, because I didn't want to start a thread talking about it, but since one is already created, I'll post how I feel about it.

Since the moderators are clearly expressing a change needs to be made, I believe that perhaps the Politics section could be self-sustaining as well as a separate section for Second Amendment discussion and laws concerning firearms. As I've said before, the Politics, Laws, and 2A section is my favorite section on this forum. But I would actually like to see a split. I like to read about politics, but I don't see why it is lumped in with firearm laws or the Second Amendment. I would like to read about both things, just separatly...just my opinion, if a change must be made, I hope that's what you do, not just get rid of this entire section.

 

[Pami]

I've tried really hard to stay out of this discussion, however, I think a few things need to be made clear.

First, the Politics, Laws & Second Amendment section was intended to be a place to discuss politics and laws that are specific to the Second Amendment. The first year INGO was in place, that was mostly what was in there. The presidential election occurred, so we allowed posts about the election and its participants to be made since clearly people were going to talk about it no matter what. We had thought that after all the hullabaloo the non-2A discussions would die down, but clearly that hasn't happened.

Many of the threads that we're seeing now are made by only a handful of people and have almost nothing to do with local politics (BTS mentioned Indiana news, for example) nor the Second Amendment.

Also, we're seeing a lot of copy & paste of articles -many without linkbacks - that specifically target a group of people that were it any other group of people we would be getting cries of racism or prejudice about on an hourly basis. Those threads are NOT getting the views or discussion that other threads are getting. Picking two at random since you all clearly know what we're talking about:

https://www.indianagunowners.com/fo...eg_ballard_takes_aim_at_second_amendment.html - This thread was posted 2 hours ago and already has 35 views.

https://www.indianagunowners.com/fo..._christians_before_the_human_rights_comm.html - This was posted 18 hours ago and has 37 views.

In case that's not enough time to compare the views -

https://www.indianagunowners.com/fo...nt/69819-what_tsa_is_really_going_to_see.html - This was posted 2 days ago and has 1296 views.

https://www.indianagunowners.com/fo...2nd_amendment/69986-shovels_at_the_ready.html - This was posted 2 days ago and has 135 views. It's not a negative thread, it's not about Islam, it's not about THIS COUNTRY. It's a great story, but how is it even remotely related to US Politics, Laws or the 2A? (Ok, so that one wasn't picked at random because it demonstrates how far off this subforum has gone.)

And, for the record, the person who opened the poll you're discussing in this thread is not the person who closed it.

 

[Joe Williams]

I'm wondering... since you've now banned a person for making a series of posts critical of Islam, do you plan to do the same to the several members who constantly attack and make bigoted posts about Christianity? Since the precedent has been set, I promise I'll be reporting every one I see. Betting it won't happen though, and all we'll get is more PC bs why it's ok to be a bigot towards one group of people, but not another.

 

[BloodEclipse]

https://www.indianagunowners.com/fo...2nd_amendment/69986-shovels_at_the_ready.html - This was posted 2 days ago and has 135 views. It's not a negative thread, it's not about Islam, it's not about THIS COUNTRY. It's a great story, but how is it even remotely related to US Politics, Laws or the 2A? (Ok, so that one wasn't picked at random because it demonstrates how far off this subforum has gone.)

This story shows what happens when we let our government take control. It shows how socialism fails the people.
It is an example of what we don't want to become.

If we limit our knowledge to what happens local, we can't learn the lessons of those who may be doing something right or those who are doing it wrong.

 

[CarmelHP]

For some unclear reason the forum must be destroyed in order to be saved.

 

[Paco Bedejo]

I'm wondering... since you've now banned a person for making a series of posts critical of Islam, do you plan to do the same to the several members who constantly attack and make bigoted posts about Christianity? Since the precedent has been set, I promise I'll be reporting every one I see. Betting it won't happen though, and all we'll get is more PC bs why it's ok to be a bigot towards one group of people, but not another.

There's a difference between:

1. Spreading falsities like "Every Arab/Islamic wants to eat my baby!" (exaggerated, of course)
2. Posting that you don't think we should have a Theocracy under Christianity.

Perhaps I've not seen the "Feed the Christians to the lions!" posts that you have. I have seen posts showing concern with a particular radicalized segment of Christianity, but I don't believe I've seen anyone trying to paint all Christians with that same brush.

 

[RelicHound]

Im still wondering why haldir was banned? and how come his status says "shooter" instead of banned? Im not trying to stir the pot but I do think we deserve to know why...maybe itll help us understand what is and what is not acceptable here.

 

[BloodEclipse]

Perhaps I've not seen the "Feed the Christians to the lions!" posts that you have. I have seen posts showing concern with a particular radicalized segment of Christianity, but I don't believe I've seen anyone trying to paint all Christians with that same brush.

You have missed some posts then. Religion has been discussed in many threads and we have had those who have a very negative view of Christianity. Many threads were hostile, but there was still a back and forth that was productive. Being Agnostic myself I enjoy good religious debate. I don't expect people to enter into a discussion and pretend to be someone else. Tell me how you really feel. If that upsets you, grow some skin.

 

[techres]

[Material edited out that explained the ban since it was pointed out that it was not in keeping with INGO policy. Material now removed.]

 

[BloodEclipse]

[Material edited out that explained the ban since it was pointed out that it was not in keeping with INGO policy. Material now removed.]

I'm guessing he was warned that what he was doing was not acceptable and he ignored that?

 

[shibumiseeker]

I'm guessing he was warned that what he was doing was not acceptable and he ignored that?

I'm curious about that too. I know the TOS says that a person can be banned without warning, but I would hope that the site is less harsh than that.

 

[Joe Williams]

[Material edited out that explained the ban since it was pointed out that it was not in keeping with INGO policy. Material now removed.]

What you say seems to conflict with his presence and posts in the following threads, though, all about other subjects, not obsessively posting only cut and pastes on one subject as you claim. I was going to go back a week, but got tired of pasting the links, so I only went back five days. Further, I'm concerned that you have labled him a racist as part of the reason for your ban, but you have not banned people who have repeatedly said far more vile things about other religions. Is it OK to spout language that would make a Klukker blush about Christianity, while other groups are protected? Just trying to get a feel for the New Order.

https://www.indianagunowners.com/fo...lobal_warming_proponent_predicts_ice_age.html

https://www.indianagunowners.com/fo...endment/69719-anti-law_enforcement_posts.html

https://www.indianagunowners.com/fo..._to_enforce_intellectual_property_rights.html

https://www.indianagunowners.com/fo...n_i_carry_in_a_bar_--_a_related_question.html

https://www.indianagunowners.com/fo...t_vol_when_was_the_last_time_you_checked.html

https://www.indianagunowners.com/forums/break_room/52822-confederate_flag.html

https://www.indianagunowners.com/fo...69617-officer_and_k9_killed_in_mishawaka.html

https://www.indianagunowners.com/forums/break_room/69215-what_s_up_with_the_rebel_flags.html

https://www.indianagunowners.com/fo...what_are_you_a_fanboy_of_related_to_guns.html

https://www.indianagunowners.com/forums/general_firearms_discussion/69500-good_answer.html

https://www.indianagunowners.com/forums/break_room/69428-help_ban_fox_hunting.html

https://www.indianagunowners.com/forums/break_room/69292-against_the_law_to_not_shovel_snow.html

https://www.indianagunowners.com/forums/the_cutting_edge/69172-opinion_on_gerber_knives_please.html

https://www.indianagunowners.com/fo...9220-newbie_from_middlebury_say_whats_up.html

https://www.indianagunowners.com/fo...g_after_declaring_war_on_motorcycle_gang.html

 

[shooter521]

I'm curious about that too. I know the TOS says that a person can be banned without warning, but I would hope that the site is less harsh than that.

The problem is that disciplinary actions, PMs and Mod-level discussions are not public. In other words, something that might appear to the membership to have occurred "without warning," was most probably a long time in coming, and subject to much debate and discussion on the part of the Mods and Admin beforehand.

Arbitrary and capricious is not how we roll.

 

[jpo117]

In regard to the poll in the original thread, the stated problem was that many posts were simply material copied wholesale from other sites, without any attempt at a discussion in the post. I can't speak for every forum in the world, but of the few that I frequent regularly, none of them allow that behavior. They do, however, allow users to post a relevant excerpt or even the whole article if it's not too huge, with a link back to the original content, as long as the poster makes some attempt at a discussion within the same post. So the mods' concerns with the forum becoming a spam-filled "news"feed are reasonably mainstream and their suggestions for allowing open discussion while controlling spam seem to make perfect sense, in my opinion.

I don't know how requiring someone to comment on an article that they post is the same as silencing dissenting opinion--seems to be the exact opposite to me--but if that's the way people feel I don't really care enough to argue about it.

 

[cce1302]

There was a poll?