pan6467

I put this in General because I feel more people will respond and their voices can truly be heard.

Very simple:

If you left the Politics board, why and what will it take to get you posting there again?

If you have ever thought about posting there but haven't, why not and what would get you to post there?

What changes can be made to breathe life into it again?

Change can only happen if voices are heard and listened to.

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I just love people who use the excuse "I use/do this because I LOVE the feeling/joy/happiness it brings me" and expect you to be ok with that as you watch them destroy their life blindly following. My response is, "I like to put forks in an eletrical socket, just LOVE that feeling, can't ever get enough of it, so will you let me put this copper fork in that electric socket?"

eribrav

I'll occasionally find a thread that looks interesting and start reading.
Might even consider posting.
Most threads then go on to become long drawn out slugfests, complete with multi-page documentation and citations. That's the turn off.
Why?
Realistically, I come to TFP for relaxing browsing, mostly in the evening after work. I'm not interested in composing a term paper, or having to answer in an ongoing fashion over several days.

jewels

Ditto. It's often fun to watch the debates and actually learn from some of the savvier folks, but it's often sickening to watch the fights.

The only change I can see helping at all is limiting quote sizes. I think pages of dissertations may scare away potential posters who feel they'd have to devote a week of reading just to respond, followed by a week of fact gathering to hold up their position.

If this board is what I think y'all mean it to be, you must allow true free speech. I haven't been here but a couple of months, but I've noticed that these Board flare-ups seem to be cyclical. IMO FWIW - Admin should let it run its course, keeping a close eye for "trolling" behavior.

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We are always more anxious to be distinguished for a talent which we do not possess, than to be praised for the fifteen which we do possess.
Mark Twain

Push-Pull

Eribrav pretty much has it. I have limited surfing time, and I'd rather spend it on several smaller, lighter topics, not some drawn-out soap opera.

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"No laws, no matter how rigidly enforced, can protect a person from their own stupidity." -Me-

"Some people are like Slinkies..... They are not really good for anything, but they still bring a smile to your face when you push them down a flight of stairs." -Unknown-

DAMMIT! -Jack Bauer-

Seaver

Not posting 10 articles in quote format which have nothing to do with the discussion other than knowing no one will read it and it'll effectively kill the counter-argument because people assume they must all be relevant and cohesive.

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"Smite the rocks with the rod of knowledge, and fountains of unstinted wealth will gush forth." - Ashbel Smith as he laid the first cornerstone of the University of Texas

noodle

And using really big fonts in the middle for some kind of emphasis in the hopes that as people scroll, they'll stop there.
I'm glad that there is a forum for people who enjoy this so that they're not doing so elsewhere on the board. It's all good.

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filtherton

Tits?

host

I already "know what I know", and I know how "I feel" about most issues.

I want less information....no posts longer than one paragraph should be permitted. There are already more than enough anti war threads, so, no more of those.

I don't have time to post "term paper" length, treatises on a thread devoted to politics, and I don't want to have to click links to third party sites in order to read what some other poster decides is relevant to his argument.

Since I prefer to keep it "short and sweet", it would be great if I could influence policy to limit/alter how and what others are permitted to post on the politics thread, too!

I want to read and post at a politics thread that is a spitting image of the general discussion thread.

Later today, I'm planning to start a "Let's Wish a Happy New Year to The Troops" thread over at politics, and here, too!

pig

More time to post. I haven't been active most on the boards in general, and politics is just another board. Particular poster's (host) styles don't deter me, nor does the back and forth style of the posting. I just haven't had time to get involved in the discussions. I expect it will heat up shortly as the elections get nearer and everyone wants to chime in on who they support, who they detest, and why everyone else should support candidate x. It's just a lull in politics posting...and as someone above mentioned, it is largely cyclical. We seem to go through this every year.

I think we're almost due for a "What's wrong with TFP" thread, no? Let's skip to the heart of it and have a "Should we keep the porn or not" thread...I think there's one of those active around here somewhere...

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You don't love me, you just love my piggy style

filtherton

Maybe if host interspersed his quotes with pictures of titties and hey nonny-nonnies?

n0nsensical

I'll consider myself a nonparticipant in Politics because though I post there once in a while it's nothing substantial and I usually regret it.

To answer the question in short, nothing. Politics is the worst possible thing to talk about, unless you consider abortion to be a separate topic in which case it's the second worst. Any political discussion inevitably boils down to ideology. There is no point discussing ideology. It's a matter of belief not reason. And nothing irritates me more than ideology presented as fact. Conservatives are probably irritated by my ideology too, but at least I'm not arrogant enough to assume it's the One True Way all the time. The saddest thing about host's posts is that they're totally lost on the people who could use them most.

of course, this is all imho

Let me add, I do enjoy reading Politics. Its very informative, and sometimes entertaining. But the discussion/debate part, not really for me. I don't seriously believe I'm going to influence anyone's opinion, nor am I even sure it's good if I do or that if I did it would make any difference. That's what separates me from the politicians. Would that I could offer constructive input but I usually feel like I'm not contributing much.

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"Prohibition will work great injury to the cause of temperance. It is a species of intemperance within itself, for it goes beyond the bounds of reason in that it attempts to control a man's appetite by legislation, and makes a crime out of things that are not crimes. A Prohibition law strikes a blow at the very principles upon which our government was founded." --Abraham Lincoln

host

n0nsensical.....shhhh!!! Is nothing sacred? My motivation is all I've got left.....

....well, that and my fascination.....

filtherton, "hey nonny nonnies" ain't in wiki..... you got a link?

n0nsensical

You perform a good service

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"Prohibition will work great injury to the cause of temperance. It is a species of intemperance within itself, for it goes beyond the bounds of reason in that it attempts to control a man's appetite by legislation, and makes a crime out of things that are not crimes. A Prohibition law strikes a blow at the very principles upon which our government was founded." --Abraham Lincoln

filtherton

host, it's more commonly known as the vajayjay, if you knowwhatimsayin.

Seaver

No host, once again you're not understanding the point.

I love reading Roachboy's, Pan's, etc. well thought out and argued posts. It spurs conversation and thought which is what we used to have there. What I don't like is the copy/paste shotgun method which only spurs us to hit the back button.

I can go to every conservative blog out there and link their whole page, but I don't do it because it does not foster a decent discussion and gets us no where.

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"Smite the rocks with the rod of knowledge, and fountains of unstinted wealth will gush forth." - Ashbel Smith as he laid the first cornerstone of the University of Texas

JumpinJesus

The reason these discussions take place in politics is so we don't drag this immature bickering into General Discussion.

Someone give us a number of posts before we lock this.

It's already turning into a pissing contest.

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"I can normally tell how intelligent a man is by how stupid he thinks I am" - Cormac McCarthy, All The Pretty Horses

LoganSnake

I've posted one thread in there (that got closed right away) and one post last night since November 2004 and don't plan on participating again. Why? I'm apathetic and there are few things more boring than politics or reading people argue about them. My board participation stops at reading topic names and seeing how many page long quotes I'll find there.

P.S.

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Maturity is knowing you were an idiot in the past. Wisdom is knowing that you'll be an idiot in the future. Common sense is knowing that you should try not to be an idiot now. - J. Jacques

RangerJoe

I've nosed around in politics before, but I would probably never post. I don't follow politics very well and therefore am not very educated on them. If I was to post, I would probably be bashed consistently. I'd rather save everyone the trouble. =P

Psycho Dad

Eribrav's thoughts mirror mine. I find some of the discussion in Tilted Politics interesting, but I'm amazed at the energy some people seemingly spend on it.

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Don't always trust the opinions of experts.

World's King

I'd post in there if it wasn't full of wannabe know-it-alls.


Sorry everyone but you all can be pretty obnoxious.

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heavy is the head that wears the crown

JumpinJesus

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"I can normally tell how intelligent a man is by how stupid he thinks I am" - Cormac McCarthy, All The Pretty Horses