It's really simple, and the recent Canadian thread illustrated that. Even though I really try hard to bash both sides of the isle when I express my dislike of Government in general, my views and political leanings are pretty well known. So agree with me or not, a reader will digest that conversation in the light of his/her own political leanings. This leads to misunderstandings, that get then blown all out of proportion. For instance: In that thread, discussing monetary policy and 40 years of Federal government fiscal irresponsibility, I made the statement "Who really thinks things are going well".. A board member who I am good friends with, took that to mean I was talking about the current administration, vs the last one.. and honestly, that was the furthest thing from my mind at the time. When I read that reply post, I marveled at how I could be taken so wrong here.. but then it occurs to me that we all read and interpret information, especially words on the screen, in the light of our own experiences and leanings. It was the perfect example of why these discussions are so hard to have on the internet.. in person, you would interrupt the guy your having the discussion with, and say "wait.. no I don't mean that at all"... but you can't do that in this type of medium. And before you known it, things go all sideways... So that's why we can't do it.. it has nothing to do with not respecting other folks opinions, on any subject, including politics. Has nothing to do with singling out folks we don't like, or embarrassing anyone. The Bench is a valuable asset to the board here.. While one purpose of this deal is to talk tech and buy and sell parts, to me, a bigger thing here is the ability to develop friendships with folks who share a common interest, who we would otherwise never have a chance to be such good friends with. Sure, we see each other at events now an then, but many of us are so busy then, there is little time to just visit. JW
The thread that was locked had zero to do with politics though. We were discussing gun safety/ Then " conspiracy theories" were introduced . If no rules were broken why was it closed ? LARRY70GS said: ↑ Baseless conspiracy theories have no place on V8buick. They have a political bend to them. This thread was doing just fine until they were introduced. We need to stay away from that or this thread will not survive I think. sean Buick 76 said:How can you guys manage to claim that anything you don’t like is a “baseless conspiracy theory”? Furthermore how can you claim it has a “political bend”. Are we only allowed to follow the one narrative created by the media? We know they label anything they don’t like as a “conspiracy theory”. I’m sorry but I’m running out of conspiracy theories because they are all becoming “conspiracy facts”. Pretty sad state.
Speaking as a moderator on a car forum where all political discussions have been banned, I can say it's been a great thing. I happen to have strong political views but those are all put aside when I'm moderating a thread that has any political discussion, because the topic is immediately either deleted or totally cleansed of any political talk regardless of whether I agree with it or not. Political discussions can quickly ruin a great car site. The first thing that seems to happen when politics comes up is personal attacks between members.
I missed all the happenings as I never saw the original thread... on a positive note here, I'd never paid any attention to "The Bench" but now it's something I'll look further into... as well as other now that I have a little more time on my hands... at least for the near-term. I only surf two sites, this one, my HD V-Rod and my Triumph Rocket III... I love and appreciate them all. ...and enjoy when they 'mostly' stay on topic... mostly... Have a GREAT Night! -MIG
From my perspective all of the moderators are doing a good job. We all want to keep things moving with free expression but of course there are limits. I would say most of the stuff I delete I agree with however I always try to put my beliefs aside and do what’s best for the forum. This includes deleting my own posts when someone reports them, very rarely are my posts deleted by other mods. I’m trying hard to keep my mouth shut but it sure is tough in the current situation where our world is being turned upside down while many people beg for more communism. Like Larry I have a tough time not giving my opinion and I normally regret it afterwards. We are in unseen times, tempers are high, but we need to find a way to cooperate.
Its a sound policy Jim, people say things behind a keyboard that often are misinterpreted and sensitivity of each person varies. Different points of view are advantageous as long as they are civil. My dad said "if two people agree on everything one isn't needed". So true but Keep it discussed intelligently, but that is pollyanna in todays world so rules are necessary. If you want controversy and the opportunity to spew vitriol go to Yellowbullit and have at it.
This form of long distance communication has a serious draw back, the same as texting........you loose all of the interpersonal communications. You can't hear tones of voice, facial expressions and other non verbal. So we the reader are left to fill in those blanks, and sometimes because of our personal filters in life, we fill them in wrong. We have all had and or taken a text out of context......they are like slices of bread.....they have 2 very different sides, if 2 pple described each of the side they were looking at, they would very different.....sometimes drastically, but they are each describing the same slice if bread. This is why that form of communication is hard. On the other hand it has the benefit of allowing the sender and recipient to reply in their own convenience, forms that are ther same way, and they reach a wide number of ppl who all have experience and information. So you get to hear from others who have been there done that, or get a great idea you never thought about......because of others life filters.....the same filter can be a positive and negative. Sometines when dancing we step on each other's shoes, say your sorry, try to see the other side, don't take personally and move forward........but if your a repeat and frequent shoe stepper........then there becomes an issue. I've had stuff I've posted get plucked......I thought about and seen how it could had been seen that way, sometimes I got chance to explain sometimes I haven't. I've had my threads closed down because it got off track, but the subject was close the lines. I would bet if someone felt they were being unjustified, the ppl that run this forum would gladly sit down and have a phone call to discuss. We all have to do what we feel is right, but we are all grown adults here I believe. We should be opened minded enough to be able to discuss things civilly, we all have that right and ability.........now its been proven time and time again this is not the case in life.......and that is the exact reason the subject gets cut off before it gets too far gone, its the same reason why some threads live a touch longer......its not fully always the subject, but the ppl involved handle themselves with it......because there have been some threads that were border or line crossing, that there was wonderful and well and polite discussion and lived till someone busted in with hammer. I personally love to hear about the thought and point of view from an different opion or thought process than my own.......it helps me grow and learn how to treat others, the world isn't as narrow as I see it, and often times I grow and understand more about ppl from it, but it can only from respectful communication. I think the mods do a great job on this stuff, it can't be easy, one suggestion might be for ppl with very opposed views would be for them to discuss their different views privately together, so maybe to ruin it for all...........but again its been proven time and time no matter where in the world we go, there are ppl that live to do nothing but stir the pot
I thought it was about gas prices up there. Never opened it again after I read the first postings. Must have missed something.
Your right Ben.. I have pointed political discussions with many members via PM all the time... and for the most part, they are constructive. At best, we "agree to disagree".. which is fine. Never am I trying to persuade them to believe what I do, I am actually curious how they have come to believe what they do. That's often interesting.. Just doing that in the public forum is the issue.. not all us can be civil, as the lst reply in this thread shows. JW
I agree - mods are doing a great job. I am amazed how much time these people spend in an unpaid position, all for the greater good.
I come here to get AWAY from politics and all the other BS of the world we live in and talk about something enjoyable, like cars. One of the other forums I visit has an adult-only area where politics and other topics can be debated freely. It requires permission for entry and is not available otherwise.
I have even reported myself because I didn't know how to delete my own thread or comment. I also had another thread locked that was talking about the weather The timing itself was TOTALLY the cause, Looking back at it, I now see where it seems most of the commenters were implying, even with pictures of the weather conditions. I had to report myself for inappropriate comments (politically based on a singer having purchased a Buick) . I really intended my comment in jest, as I had quoted the line from another singer. I regretted that almost as soon as I read it when somebody else was fired up by MY comment. So I understand how it could easily get out of hand. So I reported myself... And I agree 100% with Jim.
Skipped most of the other comments and the drama of some other threads I know little about. Ignorance of communication medium is the problem observed time and time again. It's not a surprise to some like myself. Written text is a form of secondary communication. Depending on the forum, there are rules to abide by in addition to understanding secondary communication. Everyone needs to learn this and properly adjust their written text, interpretations and assumptions. Sadly most are completely ignorant on this fact and I see it more and more often. I have thought may times about posting a thread about netiquette. I have had explain this on other forums I moderate.
It’s got to be impossible to accommodate all views and personalities, especially on the internet. Jim has more patience with this than I ever could. Kudos! One thing that may help is for the mods not to get involved too deep in the subject matter, and a thread-lockdown w/o explanation or knowing who did it is fine by me. When things go sideways, I prefer a lockdown vs thread removal. We ALL know the reason why. Not removing/censoring all but the really bad stuff is about as fair as you can hope for.
I can't watch the NFL anymore either..... Used to escape "reality" by watching sports. Well they jacked that up.....guess that's why when my TV took a crap I didn't buy a new one. John Stevens on the other hand can't live without Oprah don't worry guys he'll laugh....... As Wild Bill would say "Peace"
Yep when I got rid of cable and used a antenna didn't have to worry about watching TV If yo go to W.Va like I did over the weekend you get no phone and no TV don't hear don't know. lol
I appreciate the mods efforts. I have to say some threads in the bench forum seem provocative or trolling from the get go. If I don't like to see it, I just ignore the poster. I am here to talk and to read/ learn about cars....especially Buick cars
