Where went the politics section?

[DaveTN]

12 hours ago, TGO David said:

This should explain it.

 

Is there somewhere we can submit our opinions while you are deciding the fate of those discussions? I ask because it is my understanding you don’t want PM’s?

[MacGyver]

2 hours ago, DaveTN said:

Is there somewhere we can submit our opinions while you are deciding the fate of those discussions? I ask because it is my understanding you don’t want PM’s?

This thread is probably as good of a place as any to discuss. 

[gregintenn]

12 hours ago, Ronald_55 said:

Time to buy a second safe. Lol

Second safe is full! I don't know with to do with the three I bought Saturday.

I'd have bought more, but have run out of storage space. I saw a piston Ruger AR go for $300! Talk about a soft market.

 

I enjoyed the politics forum, and lament it's passing.

Edited May 24, 2017 by gregintenn

[Ronald_55]

57 minutes ago, gregintenn said:

Second safe is full! I don't know with to do with the three I bought Saturday.

I'd have bought more, but have run out of storage space. I saw a piston Ruger AR go for $300! Talk about a soft market.

 

I enjoyed the politics forum, and lament it's passing.

Sounds like you need a basement to convert into an armory.  Or just sell me the 3 so you don't have to worry. Lol

I wish I had seen that AR. Where were you shopping?

[gregintenn]

10 minutes ago, Ronald_55 said:

Sounds like you need a basement to convert into an armory.  Or just sell me the 3 so you don't have to worry. Lol

I wish I had seen that AR. Where were you shopping?

A local estate auction. I did buy an m59 Santa Fe, a sporterized Enfield, and a nice 19-3 Smith and Wesson. Also got a tool box, tools, and a 1911 frame and two slides were in the tool box.

They had a welder and lathe I was interested in, but left before they sold.

[Steelharp]

We all have different interests. Guns are what brought us together here.

On the steel guitar forum, one guy started a thread about what else do you do? After a few pages, the owner squashed it. "This is a steel guitar forum, not golf, bowling, guns, etc." However, it does get boring talking about tuning and setup issues all the time. Dead horse, ya know? Kinda like only talking to your wife about sex.

(Ok, maybe not the best example, but you get my drift...  )

I think it's good for folks, as they hang, to learn more about each other. HOWEVER, politics/religion can turn pretty nasty. Maybe the Benefactor idea is a good option.

[MP5_Rizzo]

Even though the politics section has been eliminated, political threads will continue to pop up whether it be under general discussion or any of the other possibilities.  The heart of this forum is firearms and like it or not politics will always be connected to our ownership and use of them.  I too get a little frustrated with the rants that go on in these threads and they do veer off on tangents but such is the nature of any group of people gathered and having a conversation.  Once politics or religion is mentioned, some people get quite riled and start spewing.  I am in favor of keeping a political section but make it a benefactor only option.   My other suggestion would be to make sections like members if it is even possible.  We have the ignored user option under account settings so we don't see their entries could we do this for an entire forum section?

[gregintenn]

If a person doesn't like the politics section, why couldn't said person simply stay out of it?

I'm about to run out of patience with habitually offended folks.

[Erik88]

15 minutes ago, gregintenn said:

If a person doesn't like the politics section, why couldn't said person simply stay out of it?

I'm about to run out of patience with habitually offended folks.

After thinking about it I came to the same conclusion. I ignore a large amount of topics on here that don't interest me. Somehow, life has continued for me.

Edited May 24, 2017 by Erik88

[DaveTN]

3 hours ago, MacGyver said:

This thread is probably as good of a place as any to discuss. 

Okay.

28 minutes ago, gregintenn said:

If a person doesn't like the politics section, why couldn't said person simply stay out of it?

I'm about to run out of patience with habitually offended folks.

 

13 minutes ago, Erik88 said:

After thinking about it I came to the same conclusion. I ignore a large amount of topics on here that don't interest me. Somehow, life has continued for me.

The three of us have probably never agreed on anything, and probably never will again; but we agree on this.

The “Off Topic” section is what keeps most any forum going. I think use of the forum has dropped off, but I don’t think it’s because of political discussions, but I may be wrong. I don’t have any data to back that up; just general observations. I think it’s due to the software updates. Navigation is just a PITA with the new software.

This election has split the country. I think generally the people on a gun forum are good with what’s going on, the liberals on the left; not so much. But we need to have open discussions. I don’t see why the offended parties can’t just not click on a thread instead of sending those that want to discuss politics to another forum.

But I fully understand this is not a democracy and I am only offering my opinion as a paid benefactor.

[mikegideon]

23 minutes ago, DaveTN said:

 

The “Off Topic” section is what keeps most any forum going. I think use of the forum has dropped off, but I don’t think it’s because of political discussions, but I may be wrong. I don’t have any data to back that up; just general observations. I think it’s due to the software updates. Navigation is just a PITA with the new software.

You ever used Windows 8?   It's not the software.

I think traffic is down because gun owners aren't under attack by a CREDIBLE foe. Obama sold over 100 million guns. We joke about him being the greatest gun salesman of all time, but he really was. People were convinced for almost 8 years that they could lose their guns. By the end, most knew that even Obama couldn't destroy they second amendment.  Now, there is NO panic. We are left with some folks that just love guns, and a few that probably don't.

 

[MacGyver]

Interestingly, the anti-Trump voices were not the ones complaining.  Rather, the people who took vocal offense were actually the reverse. 

When you look at the data, a lot of our moderates simply logged out.  Anecdotally, politics wasn't what interested them in the community - and as it took over the 'Unread Content' section - they just left.  

You might think that a gun forum would skew to the right - and you're mostly correct.  But, it's not nearly the percentage of our population that you might think - nor does it skew as far to the right as you might think.  In a community as large as ours, we resemble the population at large more closely than you might think.

I think that's what caused us to press the pause button for a bit.

It begs the question - what do you do when small segment of your population is poisoning the community at large?  

I have avoided booting a couple of folks that I probably shouldn't have.  They bring nothing of value to our community and suck the air out of otherwise good dialog. 

Y'all certainly know that I like talking about big topics.  But we've got to figure out a way to do it that makes sense and doesn't hurt the community at large.  

Feel free to discuss. 

[MacGyver]

3 minutes ago, mikegideon said:

You ever used Windows 8?   It's not the software.

I think traffic is down because gun owners aren't under attack by a CREDIBLE foe. Obama sold over 100 million guns. We joke about him being the greatest gun salesman of all time, but he really was. People were convinced for almost 8 years that they could lose their guns. By the end, most knew that even Obama couldn't destroy they second amendment.  Now, there is NO panic. We are left with some folks that just love guns, and a few that probably don't.

 

Obama's exit probably really does have something to do with it.  Once people realized he wasn't going to be able to be the boogeyman they expected - well...I'm not sure the industry at large knows what to do.  

[mikegideon]

5 minutes ago, MacGyver said:

Obama's exit probably really does have something to do with it.  Once people realized he wasn't going to be able to be the boogeyman they expected - well...I'm not sure the industry at large knows what to do.  

If the congress had been more like him, he would have done LOTS more damage. 

Oops! Was that political? I'll be damned  

Edited May 24, 2017 by mikegideon

[gregintenn]

44 minutes ago, DaveTN said:

Okay.

 

The three of us have probably never agreed on anything, and probably never will again; but we agree on this.

The “Off Topic” section is what keeps most any forum going. I think use of the forum has dropped off, but I don’t think it’s because of political discussions, but I may be wrong. I don’t have any data to back that up; just general observations. I think it’s due to the software updates. Navigation is just a PITA with the new software.

This election has split the country. I think generally the people on a gun forum are good with what’s going on, the liberals on the left; not so much. But we need to have open discussions. I don’t see why the offended parties can’t just not click on a thread instead of sending those that want to discuss politics to another forum.

But I fully understand this is not a democracy and I am only offering my opinion as a paid benefactor.

We agree on more than you think. If I didn't like you and respect your opinion, I'd simply ignore you rather than engage you in a discussion.

The same goes for Erik, and pretty much every other member here.

[Raoul]

Seems to me that it's hard to have a gun forum without some political discussion. Like it or not firearms and 2A rights are a political issue thanks to the demagoguery of the Democrats.

I say make it a benefactor item.

[MacGyver]

That's something I really respect about you, Greg.  

And, maybe truthfully one of the things we need to get comfortable with is a much smaller community - closer to maybe 2009 numbers than 2017 numbers.  

We've got a lot of people who bring different life experiences to the table.  Respect for those experiences is important.  

Using the two of us is an example - we may see Trump differently. But, that doesn't matter. That small difference of opinion is tempered by the huge number of things that I've got a great deal of respect for you for (work ethic, community involvement, the financial choices you and your wife have made, the kids you guys have raised, etc.)

Community is hard.  But it's worth it.  That's what we're trying to figure out.

 

[kieefer]

I guess its safe to delete all those funny political pictures, had a good run. That thread started when politics got too heated for the masses the last time.   If the mud slinging starts again these will be out of date anyway. 

I'll be in the background reading other fine posts. 

Guess I'll look for another avatar too. 

 

 

[Chucktshoes]

I remember last time politics got too heated around these parts it was hidden from new content as the "Hive of scum and villainy" or something like that. That might not be a terrible option again to keep it from taking over the new content feed. 

[kieefer]

57 minutes ago, Chucktshoes said:

I remember last time politics got too heated around these parts it was hidden from new content as the "Hive of scum and villainy" or something like that. That might not be a terrible option again to keep it from taking over the new content feed. 

Ever deleted photos for an hour? There's something that could be fixed. 

I remember too Chuck, and I made a comment at the start of political funnys that if we didn't play nice this thread would be deleted too,.... here we are again.

Adults can't act like adults when politics are involved, pretty obvious considering the clowns running this country.

[Garufa]

I do hope the political section is brought back as I'm sure it will be for several reasons:

1) Healthy debate regarding how the country is run benefits everyone involved.  That's not just on the national level but local as well.

2) I often find it very educational as things may be pointed out that I, or others may never have considered.

3) This is a forum localized to the state of Tennessee so we all share common interests and a greater sense of community than other national forums.

4) Old men are going to sit around and bitch about politics.  It's a simple fact of life.  I think the Internet Is the modern day corner barbershop. 

5) Some of our members are news/political junkies.  We all may be able to learn from what they find that we don't have the time for.

Not sure what else there is to add that hasn't already been said or considered by management and everyone else involved.

Finally, as this has happened before, it really should come as no surprise to us regulars that have been here for years.  That's a testament to the comraderie this forum has developed.

I think we overwhelmingly were against Obama, but lately there has been what resembles a Trump obsession if not outright worship that bewoe those who don't tow the line.  We've gone from one extreme to another.  That is just not right.

I was raised to respect others opinions and live my life that way.  I enjoy hearing and listening to other opinions as it can be enlightening and imho is necessary for any kind of civilized society....but will also reserve the right to retort when the rhetoric gets a little too deep.  That's applies to being face to face with someone or tapping away on the internet.

That's just who I am.  Take it for what you all will, I've got a pretty thick skin.  Seems like there are many that need to grow one and not get so bent out of shape when others have a different opinion.

[btq96r]

5 hours ago, DaveTN said:

The three of us have probably never agreed on anything, and probably never will again; but we agree on this.

I'll add another harbinger of doom by signing onto this sentiment.  The lot of us would probably argue about what to get on a free pizza we'd be splitting if the chance came about, but we agree on this.

 

4 hours ago, MacGyver said:

Y'all certainly know that I like talking about big topics.  But we've got to figure out a way to do it that makes sense and doesn't hurt the community at large.  

It might have to be a phase in type of deal, but I think these steps could be a good start to keep it from becoming akin to Reddit...

1)  Establish politics as a benefactor only sub-forum.

2)  Moderators given power to keep debates on topic (fully admitting I'm as bad at this as anyone else) and lock a thread if it gets too heated for a cooling down period.  Eg: if the topic is a random aspect about healthcare, Hillary's emails aren't being discussed as an aside.

3)  Find a way to remove any politics from popping up in the dashboards or areas that let people know about new content.

4)  Refine as needed, and don't be afraid to give vacations to those who blow off the rules after a warning or two and bans for when that isn't enough.

I'm sure others might have more/better ideas.

[Chucktshoes]

35 minutes ago, btq96r said:

I'll add another harbinger of doom by signing onto this sentiment.  The lot of us would probably argue about what to get on a free pizza we'd be splitting if the chance came about, but we agree on this.

 

It might have to be a phase in type of deal, but I think these steps could be a good start to keep it from becoming akin to Reddit...

1)  Establish politics as a benefactor only sub-forum.

2)  Moderators given power to keep debates on topic (fully admitting I'm as bad at this as anyone else) and lock a thread if it gets too heated for a cooling down period.  Eg: if the topic is a random aspect about healthcare, Hillary's emails aren't being discussed as an aside.

3)  Find a way to remove any politics from popping up in the dashboards or areas that let people know about new content.

4)  Refine as needed, and don't be afraid to give vacations to those who blow off the rules after a warning or two and bans for when that isn't enough.

I'm sure others might have more/better ideas.

These are good ideas. In addition, I think the section might need an additional moderator or two if it is brought back. I would say some high volume users who are on a lot as it would take heavy oversight. Maybe a couple of folks who are of opposing political ideologies so that they can work as a team to help provide balance and prevent the appearance of bias. 

 

Just typing that out really makes me feel for y'all as it sounds like more work than it is worth.

[Raoul]

This is all getting to be too cumbersome. Are we all really such a bunch of nancies that we can't take a little political dispute?

Maybe I need a vacation.

[Garufa]

23 minutes ago, Raoul said:

Are we all really such a bunch of nancies that we can't take a little political dispute?

Sure does seem that way sometimes.  Highly disappointing for a bunch of grown men.