What the heck is going on
 

Is it just me or ????? but there seems to be an unusual amount of threads on war and peoples opinion on it. When a thread gets closed then another one to push a person's opinion gets opened. I think we all get that people have different opinions. Point taken.
But people this is a aquatic related board!!!!! I know they are in the lounge section but come on - IMO this is an area to post fun or interesting stuff. Not try to stuff your personal opinion on a controversial subject down other people's throat.
Personally I am just a bit sick of it. I am sure that there are many related boards out there where these kind of postings are appropriate but again, IMO, this is not the place.

I haven't been paying attention to them. I know myself, and I might get a little testy, were I to wander over into those threads :wink:

Yeah I think I'm going to have to keep a closer eye on them. People can discuss that stuff on a board thats related to it.

If i had a glass eye, id put a clownfish in it.

Smile Ruth !

lol. There's a strange visual. Err...no pun intended.

Have to agree Ruth. Thats close to what I said in the last thread I closed for the same reason. Guess people who post these on reefing boards, think everyone,s interested in their opinions.

As mentioned there are great boards for it, where you had better be good at debating to hold your own. Even RC has an affiliated political or religious debating board or try your luck at the sump on Reefs Org. :smile:

I don't see what the big deal is, it's pretty easy to ignore threads if you are offended or not interested. I think threads in the lounge should have a wide latitude for open, civil debate. It is interesting that many of the heated threads that some call for a lock are also the most viewed threads. When boards start to get trigger happy on locking threads the whole tone of the board changes. Fewer threads get started, fewer posters with anything meaningful to say participate, an overall "my way or the highway" attitude emerges. You'll be left with a small online clique who'll treat the board as their personal chat site. I've seen it happen on another board I use to frequent. Notice more eastern members checking out Canreef lately? I always find it amusing when people want to be protected from reading, looking, buying, clicking/scrolling through something they feel is inappropriate in some way. As if they are being forced to engage the material. Maybe Canreef needs a lounge sub forum where heated topics can be moved with a "do not enter if easily offended" warning.

I see the validity of both points of view. On one hand, the Lounge forum is for "anything off topic". On the other hand, it also instructs that these subjects shouldn't include things like religion and politics.

Is war an issue of politics? Depends who you ask.

I think that some could have been offended by some of the jokes in the "Bored" thread....so....hmmm. Good thing I'm not a mod and responsible for such decisions :wink:

So why not use the boards that are dedicated to that purpose. Why must Titus provide a platform for it on his aquarium board?

I 100% disagree. Very few boards allow political debate. I mentioned one above and I am a member of another that does but I also belong to another dozen that dont. If anything I find it drives away aquarists that wish to post on aquarium related topics.

How do you figure moderating heated political or religious discussions drives away members interested in aquarium related topics?

The largest and most popular reefing boards, have a restriction the same as us. Some boards that allow it, have pages of heated threads in their lounge everyday but less than 1/2 a page of aquarium related threads. I dont see where their large lounge membership does anything for the reef portion. If anything, as I mentioned before, it distracts from it.

I suppose if the boards owner wished a forum for just that, it could be done. Some boards have done that, where a separate registration is required. But then again, that shows how it needs removal from boards like this. I guess the big question is,
* Why does a board thats purpose is to discuss aquarium related topics, require a political discussion forum?

* Why do those that wish to do so, not use the boards designed for such a purpose?

Of course, except for this boards policy, most of this is my opinion on things.

In answer to your question regarding the amount of views, perhaps they are like me. I read to such forums, almost daily. However I seldom post, as I cannot hold my own with many of them and besides, arguing with someone online, is like banging your head on the wall.

But if I wish to read or I guess participate in those discussions, I go where they are. It has nothing to do, what so ever, with my posting on this board or any other board I post on reef related topics.

Part of the trouble as I see it, is politics and religion are two topics that get really personal really fast. Then you get bad feelings spilling over into the regular topics, it becomes a viscious circle.

I've seen some DSB vs. BB debates that could rival political and religious debate :razz:

Thank you Ruth I was myself trying to find a "correct" way of bringing this topic up. I joined this group to talk about my hobby and its related discussions. I find myself misled into threads thinking it to be aqua related only to be "preached to or rallied behind a non-aquadic cause". This "what the heck" thread is one step to getting us back on topic. Thanks
Kevin

reply
 

Don't you know, DSB and BB are rival religions. :mrgreen:

Now thats a fact. But they almost always end up in being closed and someone getting banned. Or in a certain case, many of the "pro,s" leaving completely and long time members or staff leaving.

Which I guess is part of the reason many boards just keep it from even starting up and by that I mean also the political/relgious debates, which as Slick Fork said get personal real fast.

There is irony attached to this thread, isn't there?

Personally, I don't find a discussion thread about "threads on war and politics" constructive because you get people that justify their actions and the fire is just fueled.

It's not worth repeating something that's being repeated constantly as of late.

I really like how Ruth put it though; I'm sick of all the political issues (here) as well, but I understand where they're coming from.

Why not use another board?.......for the same reason that when someone starts a thread on cars,jokes,computers,etc they don't just post on specific boards. For whatever reason a member finds something "non-fish" related interesting and wants to share it in the lounge with other people they have a common interest (reefing) with. As far as Titus paying the freight, I guess he does it for the same reason he allows a 40 pg. thread to go on day after day to simply allow post counts to accumulate(Worthless Thread). I don't get it, but many members seem to enjoy it. To each their own.
I don't believe anywhere in my post I said "Allow out right political/religious debate"...I understand the lounge rules don't allow it, so be it. What I actually said was, "the lounge should allow a wide latitude before a thread is locked". Which to this point I believe it does. The problem is when a thread is deemed political by some. Just about any topic from global warming to the Olympics can turn political. Don't get me wrong, this board doesn't close threads too often, all I'm saying is let's keep it that way. If you don't have an interest in a thread don't waste your time reading it, rather than asking for it to be closed.

I never said "moderating political heated debate" drives members away. To be clear I said, being "trigger happy locking threads" thereby becoming too narrow in what is allowed drives members away. The boards are only as interesting as the threads. The board I was referring to has extremely knowledgeable members but they seldom post there anymore. It has become little more than a collection of classifieds, sponsor forums and fewer and fewer daily post. something I don't want to see happen here.
I didn't think my post was critical of Canreef or any mods at all, If anything I was showing my support for the way it is done here with the limited use of locked threads and was only questioning the call to lock/ban threads before they even begin. Something that isn't normally done here. No need to fix something that is not broken. This board routinely has interesting in depth discussions with opposing views that remain civil, For me that makes an interesting board. Obviously the primary reason we are all here is a common interest in reefing but if the lounge discussion occasionally makes a "left" or "right" turn off the beaten path while remaining cordial some people find that entertaining and a reason to visit.

I don't know where the heck you come up with these but they always make me smile :biggrin: Marc

Ok so maybe I had only drank half of my first cup of java when I posted this morning and came off a little cranky. I really enjoy this board and have learned a lot and hopefully been able to share just a little bit. I usually read all of the posts as part of my morning "time to wakee wakee Ruth" ritual. I enjoy the knowledge, pictures etc. etc. as well as the interesting - off topic - and often fun and/or silly topics in the lounge.
I respect and enjoy healthy debates on a variety of subjects, particularly those that I am passionate about..........but ........I don't come on this board to discuss or debate cutting horses, my work, my political opinions or just my plain old opinions on a variety of issues (even though I am positive that my opinion is the RIGHT one). I come on here to discuss, learn and even debate about another of my passions and that is keeping reef tanks and personally I find that it is those "other" threads that are going to drive me away. This is just my view of the world and I understand that not everyone agrees.:biggrin:

The point here is some topics are more personal than others. Why are some people outspoken in regards to what a retard Harper is but at the same time won't harp about how they hate homosexuals and their carnal pleasures?

That's why.

Yeah, any thread can turn "political". We can start a thread about doody and turn it into whatever we want, but topics like war and religion ALWAYS - and always WILL - wear out their welcome because everyone likes to give their "humble 2 cents".

PS: What bothers me is that some people try to downplay their opinion even though they feel 110% about it.

Cutting horses, you're into cutting horses... Well let me tell you what I think about cutting horses. Just kidding. I always like reading post from fellow "out in the boonies" reefers. Good stuff

Oh the hook is baited ............... and............she bites:mrgreen: :mrgreen: Yes I am and in fact am heading off to Montana again in 3 weeks for a few shows and can hardly wait!

Good Luck

we all have our opinions on politics, religion, and reefkeeping,,,when i come to canreef i'm here to hear & share opinions about REEFKEEPING!

IMO, best place for those "discussions" to have any chance....any chance of doing any good is in front of the Parliament Buildings. Just need more than one person. Alot more. Helps if it's not raining, too. JMO.

Cheers,

Oh boy, I couldn’t have said better my self, thank you hawk !
Just FYI not sure about others but I just got a “friendly” PM from one of the moderators just proving your point.
I guess they can lock me out or even kick out of forum, well so be it..
That what is freedom of speech is all about agree or not it is out there.
If you put your head in the sand the problem will not go away, that is why we talk about it.

Now, from moderators point of view ; why would some one create an aquarium related forum and then it turns in to a hot debate that is totally out of aquarium topic?
I understand this can be frustrating. However if there is a Lounge there will be off topic discussions.

hawk, you have a good point, but isn't joining a forum a PRECURSOR to having a choice whether or not to read political threads, even if they are allowed? The first set of agreement when you join the site would be the most important. Not after you join and then making a stink about how you should get to say and read whatever you want.

When you join an online community, there's a set of rules (whether be it types of discussions or exclusive status) that you need to adhere to. I need to conduct myself in an orderly manner and not use profane language because this is a family site, as I've been told before. I try to respect that decision if I want to stay here and I like it enough to do as I'm told.

I like your liberal and open-minded view that attemps to foster a community where anything could be said anywhere within mature boundaries. The important thing you need to understand is that people don't want to talk about it because it often times brings about animosity amongst people.

Why? No one's intrinsic values are going to be changed by your 2 paragraph blog about why God exists or why gay people shouldn't be married.

I admire your insight towards moderator attitudes in certain cases.

I've been there before - AlbertaAquatica banned me because supposedly saying 'bastards' in an obviously non-threatening way was enough to trigger a mod power trip. It was pathetic of them to do that, but them's the rules.

I never looked back.

If you're going to take one thing from what I just wrote (and I hope you do) - it's that it's not just about you; it's about what OTHER people want to see too.

[quote=Doug;256158]
However I seldom post, as I cannot hold my own with many of them and besides, arguing with someone online, is like banging your head on the wall.

QUOTE]

Arguing, trying to change opinion of others is definitely counter productive, nevertheless, some times it is interesting to post a hot topic just to see what kind of opinion majority of people have, that is why I post my “hot” posts…

Also I am sure being informed is well worth it even if we don’t like the news.

Can we just say, "Everyone, please read the forum rules again" and be done with it?!

May the force be with you, Drew.

I don't know that this board is the place for some of the items mentioned but I generally don't notice that stuff going on. If I want to see reef stuff I don't go to the lounge to find it and rarely spend time there at all. I prefer to spend my time on other threads that help me advance in the hobby. The whole lounge forum could disappear and I likely wouldn't notice it gone for months. So I guess what I'm saying is that what happens there doesn't seem to affect me:wink:

Hawk, I never took it as being critical of Canreef, just as my post was more in general of most boards I am on.

Please also remember, I,m stating what the rules and opinions are on most aquarium boards.

Yes Anderson, I like being informed. Thats why I read those theads, on boards where they are allowed.

Let me be clear again. Despite calls for free speach or whatever, I have yet to see an aquarium board, where allowing those topics to turn into heated exchanges, {which they most always do}, contributes anything to the board itself. In fact its the exact opposite.

I would assume thats the reason most boards dont allow it. If there was no problems would they not let it go?

I don't know the answer. On the one hand people should be able to say what they want within the bounds of decency and good taste. On the other hand the aquarium board is supposed to be about aquarium topics.

I might find someone on these boards who is a talented aquarist and has lots of information to offer. However if he finds out that I am anti-drug, anti pit-bull and Rottweiller (to give an example), pro-family, pro-tolerating gays, anti tolerating Islamist terrorists, pro-racial profiling of Islamist terrorists, pro-grizzly hunting, anti-union, and anti-big government, then we might have a problem dealing with each other.

So in the interests of getting along I will keep as quiet as I can about my political and social views on this forum. The few times I have opened my mouth about these things I have offended someone I am sure.

Some people get offended if you have a tang in a 90 gal so you'll never please everybody.:wink: I've said this before but one problem with the written word is it's often hard to tell what tone is really meant when reading it,(even with the emotion icons) so some folks may get offended.

I couldn't have said this better myself......


If you only want to know about aquarium/fish related stuff............STAY OUT OF THE LOUNGE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

there is no such thing as free speech on a private message board :)

Cheers,
Vic[veng68]

Fine, I will do that.

Oh, sorry, forgot as a staff member I have to go read all the crap to see if its following board rules. :smile:

I could pick a fight if I wanted here. LOL. And that's the point, isn't it? "Tolerating gays? So they need to be tolerated? How nice!"

Which illustrates a point...like Snappy said. The written word is subject to interpretation (authorial intent vs. reader response). What you mean, what you say and what I interpret are all very different things.

OK tolerating isn't the right word, I guess accepting them or treating them equally is what I meant.