Another option would be for members to report offensive posts /language. That would be helpful, maybe.
In I have seen posts that insult Dave as well. I just don’t need my intelligence questioned because someone disagrees with me. I may not be the sharpest tool in the shed but I spend a lot of time looking at issues and trying to figure them out. Let’s discuss pluses and minuses of issues instead of insulting each other. And yes, I think AJ should be permanently banned. Not from here but from the sports board.
I agree Stu, Dave isn't the only one. I just don't want to be the guy who has to read every post and make a decision to edit / delete. Maybe everyone and I mean everyone can make an effort to not respond negatively even if seemingly provoked and report when you think you are being disrespected
One of the reasons we created this board was to keep the politics off the other boards. I think political discussion automatically brings about more disagreements and there was an implied intention, at least with me, that it would not be as civil. I don't know where to draw the line, but like Terry I don't want to be making decisions on tis board that will automatically not be accepted by everybody. I agree with what Terry that I don't want to read every post to make a decision. One solution might be to close this forum and not have any political discussions. But it has been very active. I do understand the sentiment, but enforcement could be very difficult. I think Terry's suggestion has merit and would work if we all try. I would also encourage future feedback if there is still dissatisfaction. I know I rambled but I think you get the idea and we want this place to be one that our members enjoy. And we could also use some new members if any of you have someone that would like to participate and I can pretty well assure that the other two forums will remain very friendly places.
It's the internet. Even here where for the most part we're all friends the "anonymity factor" is still in play. A lot of things can be posted, that would never be said face to face. Let's all try to do a better job of not calling names.
Supreme Court Justice Potter Stewart famously wrote that while he could not define pornography, he knew it when he saw it. The same can probably be said of internet trolling. There comes a point where it becomes obvious that a person is on a forum not to discuss or exchange ideas but to irritate and offend those whose opinions differ from the poster. I think that is what caused Gonzo to get put into time outs in the past although his obsessions involved which college football team one cheered for vs political affiliation. Frankly, I can swim in a moderated or unmoderated forum and the ignore feature is a great tool to filter out unwanted noise. But, we have lost some good posters who grew tired of vitriolic screeds, and I do not think that the benefits provided by a forum free of any restraints outweighs the loss caused when good people leave here because they grew tired of rhetorical toxicity. Totally agree with Scott’s last post.
Shut up Faggie Aggie...no name calling going on here... I'll be the first to acknowledge that I let the Marine in me come out sometimes, and I come across as a loudmouth bully who needs to have his ass handed to him. It's happened before...here and the Corps. I'm just passionate about certain things, as those that know me can vouch for. My problem is pretty simple, I have taken an oath, over 30 times, to support and defend the constitution of the U.S. of America. Each and every time, I was reminded to fully understand what I was raising my right hand to, and swearing to GOD to honor that oath.
But then again, if you dont want anybody to get your Goat, dont tell them where's its hid! Stay Frosty now...
A really interesting post that I agree with. And as a side note Gonzo is different on Facebook. I don't deal with him much but he is different. The sentence that jumps out at me is "There comes a point where it becomes obvious that a person is on a forum not to discuss or exchange ideas but to irritate and offend" And the question becomes just how do we deal with that? I also what to say to AJ that I appreciate his comments and when he does get pointed it is frequently also with some humor. So give me some input as to how we deal with the type person referred to above? Because we do have one.
Stu it is obvious you do as you describe above and I certainly appreciate your input. In the past I have had a lot of arguments with people on this forum, about sports. Then over time I met a bunch of them and liked them. The trip to Kansas City was special for me. I also lifted away and spent most of my time elsewhere. I started posting more regularly somewhat recently and have rediscover just how much I like the people here, for the most part, and resumed my position as a Moderator. And again the question is just how do we deal with a member who is on the forum to do as Bobda describes?
Bill, My thought is that if there is a clearly. abusive post that is reported to the moderator, a warning to that poster be issued to cease doing that or face a temporary ban. If that does not stop the problem, that person should be temporarily denied posting privileges. If the person returns and still cannot refrain from abusive conduct, a longer suspension should be done. And if that does not solve the issue, a complete ban should be considered.
Ok Bobda I understand that. However what about the poster who may not cross the line with abuse but what about the poster who fits the other description you pointed out above "There comes a point where it becomes obvious that a person is on a forum not to discuss or exchange ideas but to irritate and offend" This is the one I struggle with the most.
I understand. I guess my thought is that the issue should be asked to all the board’s participants - do you think X is participating on this board to primarily harass other members who disagree with him about ND football or politics or whatever. If the overwhelming majority answer yes, then the moderators should ban that person unless the moderators feel the act of banning would cause more harm to the board than removing a troll. Just my thought and acknowledge that I certainly have crossed the line at times and that others may disagree about how to deal with this issue.
Thanks Bobda, for all the input. Our hope was that by creating the Political forum we would have more friendly activity on the Back Room and Sports forums. And I think we have accomplished that. Will give all this conversation some thought.
So AJ says “it’s an ignorant unloyal American that would vote for Biden” and I, my wife and my son just did so but not supposed to have anything to say about those who support Trump. I have to ask... I would love to see your answers if asked Regarding Q Anon “Do you believe there is a Satanic Cult being run by Democrats?” Trump answered “I don’t know”. Face it..... you guys can’t deal with a differing opinion. Different opinions are just trolling.... or there to annoy etc etc etc. Why don’t you just rename this forum Conservative Political Discussion.
Yes MCG the majority of posters here have a different philosophy than you. But to say we can't handle differing opinion is just so wrong it's ridiculous. If what you do is just present a different opinion people would feel different about dealing with you. But you throw out nonsense, call Donald Trump names etc etc etc. A lot of people here including me don't like dealing with you. I will speak for myself but say to you that the reason is in your presentation. It's always on the person with a differing opinion than you who is at fault like you saying rename this forum. Interesting you mention Gonzo it gives me the opportunity to say that yes I did not like his approach but at the same time tell you than in that way you remind me of him a lot with how you conduct yourself. Just some advice, read your own posts and critique them honestly. I can tell you that I can accept people who have a different political philosophy than I have but have trouble with dealing with people who take the approach Gonzo, and yes you take. So as you can see from the above conversations there are likely to be changes in our approach and some simple advice, take a long look at yourself as to what you have brought to the table. That's about all I have to say for now it's in your ballpark to take a look at your approach.
Dave, I did say that. And in some sense I wish I would've delivered that sentence more tailored to my true beliefs. It was a blanket statement, that doesnt apply to all now that I think about it. So for the record, for any that took offense, I do truly apologize about applying group think as an absolute. I will not however give into those group think individuals that want the constitution, history, and preservation of this great country to be ended. No sir. And that's EXACTLY what you get with a vote for Biden. Again, my apologies to Tampa Bay Dave, and his family.
Let’s see. My wife and her entire family are bedrock Dems. Several of my closest friends are Bernie devotees and I spent my professional life in a profession where resolving disputes with others who hold an opinion totally opposite of mine is the essence of the profession. Yep, an inability to tolerate contrary opinions is a real astute observation.
Bottom line is that members need to police themselves with regards to how the 1) present their opinions and 2) how they respond to posts. I am just not interested in being a censor for the board. Dave needs to present his opinions in a way that isn't offensive or not present them at all, conversely all of us responding to Dave need to do the same. We need to stop playing gotcha. It would seem that unless we do that the only option is to lock the board or ban Dave so that we don't have a contrary opinion. Dave can be that contrary opinion if he moderates his own posts and we don't badger him into retaliation either...it's a two way street.
Terry it might be that a contrary opinion just can’t be tolerated here no matter how it’s presented. Seems to always provoke aggressive responses and is viewed as “trolling” unnecessary annoyances. You don’t agree with the 99% majority you’re just causing trouble. That’s ridiculous.... to borrow a term already used. A solution is to just make this a conservative opinions only board and I’m not posting.