Shopsmith Forums

Where, in the rules for this forum, does it say anything about political commentary not being welcome here?

Where does it say that it is?

edma194 wrote: Tue Nov 02, 2021 7:43 am Where does it say that it is?

No where. But it is described as a woodworking forum which (to me) implies "not an open platform".

Technically, I don't see anything expressly prohibiting a discussion of politics, Dusty, at least so long as it doesn't involve abusive, obscene, vulgar or slanderous language and so long as the Admin doesn't decide to close it. If you click on the "Terms" hyperlink at the very bottom of every page, all I get is:


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So I guess we should stop telling new forum members not to post items for sale, since it isn't technically prohibited.

But I seem to remember we went through a nasty political phase here not too many years ago where the posts got so vitriolic that an admin locked some of them down and suspended at least one member. There's little doubt in my mind that if we start discussing politics again, we will end up in the same place.

So can you post political stuff? Yep, at least until Admin says no. Should you? Well, that's up to you. My view is that, along with religion, politics isn't something to talk about in polite company with strangers. There are so many expressly political forums (fora) on the internet why clog up this one?

algale wrote: Tue Nov 02, 2021 8:41 am My view is that, along with religion, politics isn't something to talk about in polite company with strangers. There are so many expressly political forums (fora) on the internet why clog up this one?

+10

Also thanks for using the proper Latin!

algale wrote: Tue Nov 02, 2021 8:41 am There are so many expressly political forums (fora) on the internet why clog up this one?

There seem to be fewer and fewer places one can go without having politics shoved in one's face. It's refreshing to have some little corner like this where there isn't (aren't?) politics. As a newbie I'd very much like to see it remain that way!

dusty wrote: Tue Nov 02, 2021 8:37 am No where. But it is described as a woodworking forum which (to me) implies "not an open platform".

That's how I see it. It's not that we have to stick strictly to woodworking without variance, but anything controversial outside of the field of woodworking serves no purpose here that I can see.

algale wrote: Tue Nov 02, 2021 8:41 am But I seem to remember we went through a nasty political phase here not too many years ago where the posts got so vitriolic that an admin locked some of them down and suspended at least one member. There's little doubt in my mind that if we start discussing politics again, we will end up in the same place.

I remember that. I also remember losing some members over politics. Finally, I remember Admin asking us not go political.

We're guests in someone else's home. We should abide by a simple request.

"Where does it say it is"

Rules state what are no-no s.

Permissions state what is allowed.

I favor rules. Anything else is AOK.

Add to that common respect for each other.

After our recent discussion, you all know my view.

Political vitriol was the reason I shutdown my Facebook account five years ago. I have never been sorry for that decision. If this forum went in that direction I would do the same here. But, because I get so much value from this community, I would likely miss this forum much more than Facebook.

One of the wonderful things about this forum is that nearly all comments are made with care and respect, and when any of us veer from that and someone’s feelings get hurt, I’ve seen you all work to bring back the respectful community feeling to the discussion.

Communicating successfully through text is much more difficult than face to face discussions because so much nonverbal communication is lost. Often the words we hear ourselves say in our heads as we type them onto our screens are heard differently by the reader. Because of this, even friendly discussions and debates can ruffle feathers. So, why would we want to introduce divisive conversations that add no value to the continued development of our ShopSmith and woodworking experience?

Thank you all for keeping this a friendly community.