Off Topic..anything goes.

[Texas_Camper]

cali camping makes a good point. The post said that politics have no place here and sould not be allowed. But where do we draw the line?. Who decides which topic is Ok and which one is taboo? There have been posts on this forum about Al Sharpston and Jesse Jackson doing a protest march. What about that?
Some will get right up in your face and say "No way". Others will be just as frim and say "Oh yes I can".
Earlier, I made an offer to withdraw my posts if everyone else would agree to refrain from off-topic posts.
I've had no takers on that.

[cali camping]

Originally Posted by Texas_Camper

cali camping makes a good point. The post said that politics have no place here and sould not be allowed. But where do we draw the line?. Who decides which topic is Ok and which one is taboo? There have been posts on this forum about Al Sharpston and Jesse Jackson doing a protest march. What about that?
Some will get right up in your face and say "No way". Others will be just as frim and say "Oh yes I can".
Earlier, I made an offer to withdraw my posts if everyone else would agree to refrain from off-topic posts.
I've had no takers on that.

I think it's too early to expect any "takers" on your offer. I can't remember another forum posting that went as sour as this one so quicklyl...that alone should be enough of a sign. And if it's not, let the current membership decide if this particular topic is OK or taboo. They are the ones this forum serves. If, in the future, opinions change and people want to allow it, then change it again.

Post a poll and let's vote on it!

Respectfully,

Originally Posted by cali camping

Post a poll and let's vote on it!

Brilliant!! Majority vote rules!

[Texas_Camper]

That may be a good idea.
Or it may not.
If each thread is subject to a poll, then there will be no need for moderators.
Moderators aren't perfect. Well, some may be, but I'm not.
This thread has stirred lots of comments. And rightly so. Yesterday in Texas was the first day of early voting in the primaries. The turnout was 10 times, yes 10 times more than for any other election. Politics is a hot topic right now for sure.
When Chris set up this board, he forsaw the need for moderation. There were some who said, and I quote, "We don't need no stinking moderators".
So if we open that door, then we can't complain about who walks in nor what they bring with them.

[cali camping]

Just because the group as a whole may occasionally request a vote on determining content does not mean we don't need moderators.
The moderators are tasked with the mundane daily(?) task of removing obviously objectionable content etc. I for one appreciate their work, even though it goes on mostly behind the scenes and some of us may not even be aware it is occurring.

Moderators, thanks for all your hard work!

Now let's vote.

Respectfully,

Originally Posted by cali camping

The moderators are tasked with the mundane daily(?) task of removing obviously objectionable content etc. I for one appreciate their work, even though it goes on mostly behind the scenes and some of us may not even be aware it is occurring.

Moderators, thanks for all your hard work!

Ditto.

Chap

Let's vote on this so that the whole ugly polarizing issue goes away once and for all, with everyone that participates in this forum hopefully feeling that at least it was dealt with fairly...

Many thanks to the moderators for their work...

Respectfully,

[Bill]

OK, this train is coming off the track, so I guess its time to lock things down. I will confer with Chris, the forum owner, and with Leon, and figure out what we want to do. I might be shown wrong, but I think I can pretty much guarantee that two things will happen.
1. Discussions of politics and religion will be explicitly banned, as they are on every civilized forum I have ever encountered. When Chris set up this board, he trusted us to be civil and to behave well without a bunch of specific rules, and for many years his trust was met. Now it appears that it couldn't last, and things have gotten ugly and divisive.
2. The question of what is, and is not, acceptable for the forum, is not subject to a vote of the members and moderators, because the members and moderators don't own the forum. Chris owns it, and my guess is that he will set the rules as he always has. Chris is the father of several little ones, and one of his goals was to make a forum that he could show to his little ones with pride. Lately the posts have diverged from that, and he will want to get back to it.

Chris may, and probably will, make other decisions beyond the two above. We'll see what they are. It may legitimately take him a while - there are so many missing posts that he will have to review the server's backup files to find out exactly what's been going on and what the problem is. But he has never been known to fail to take a serious interest in his forum - just ask the guy formerly known as "becamping".

So for now, this thread, and the geocaching thread, are locked. I would also lock the birding thread, but it - along with the posts of several interested parties - seems to be missing. The purpose of the lockdown is to cool the flames, not to shut out opinion. In my opinion, it is still perfectly acceptable to express an opinion to Chris, or to Leon, or to me. Please send it via PM.

Bill

[Edit: At the request of one member, the geocaching thread has been reopened.]