As chapter leader, I need some guidance from the members on how political should we be in our forums.

Before, we have stated that our forum is how we define it. Some areas we agreed were ok to post about is non-Ford things, family stuff, community stuff, chit chat, of course Ford Truck stuff, and a few other things. We have not addressed too much the rules for talking about the two big controversial subjects, Niners or Raiders... oops I mean politics and religion.

I checked the Chapter Leaders forum for guidance. The consensus there is that it is ok to post political threads as long as the topic is a local chapter level. An example would be the thread ***** created earlier this year concerning smog legislation for vehicles older than 1976 since it would affect our chapter members.

Before I give my two cents I want to hear what other have to say.

My questions are:

Should we allow or limit political/religious discussions?

To what level should we allow or limit these discussions?

Why do you feel we should allow or limit these discussions to the level you indicated?


Please respond to this post if you feel strongly or not about the subject.

 

I don't mind political/religious/controversial discussions as long as they do not become hostile. I'm pretty much agreeable with any opinion as long as it's not mandatory. Bring it on and share your thoughts. It helps me know who you are, and I'll give you a glimpse of who I am.

Get too serious, and I'll object. An expression of your opinion is fine by me.

chet

 

Karl i started that thread and now i'm wishing i didn't it has gotten out of hand a lil bit it has been running for almost two weeks now and growing everyday i guess it's a good thread but now i know why lions eat there young lol

 

I wouldn't limit the topics - an active forum is much better. We do have the guideline that we wanted our members to be able to read the forum and have their daughter walk up and read it over their shoulders - without any embarrassment.

I would make sure people respected each other, and placed no labels or called anyone else a name.

I would also watch out for trolls who are so locked into a subject they want to bring it in from another forum and create an argument, or from anyone who seems to want to argue just for arguments sake. You can generally tell them by their high post counts and the fact they do not live in our area.

 

Earl, you don't own that thread - all you can be is to be responsible for what you post - you can't control what others post.

If no one wanted to continue the discussion, they would stop posting. Threads die on their own - when the members get tired of the subject.

If you get tired of the subject, stop reading and posting. Just feel sorry for the monitors - they have to read every post!

 

I'm with the A (above) crowd

Besides, it's Dan's job to lock or delete a post if it falls out of bounds...i/e racial slurs, or flame wars.

 

Should we allow or limit political/religious discussions? Sure, as long as there is no name calling and we respect each others opinions.

To what level should we allow or limit these discussions? As long as everyone is getting along and the thread is constructive. Once it takes the turn to be distructive or hurtful then we need to lock the thread imo. I'm not talking about the jabs we give each other. But, if someone objects to a jab and just wants it to stop they can hit the triangle. No one should get mad and there would be an understanding it went too far that time. That's OK imo because the best friend generally tease the most. I figure I don't have friends here because I don't get teased too much. But, then again most of you know that if you teased me I'd break out the UZI . j/k...

Why do you feel we should allow or limit these discussions to the level you indicated? Because, were the type of guys that are a little rough around the edges and are real men. Real men can take a joke or two.

 

Yeah, then it would be Dan's fault anyways.


Oh, gee I hope I don't get banned now.

 

Here are my $.02. I don't want us to limit content too much. I agree with Clint (WillyB) we want to keep it clean enough to pass the daughter test. I don't want it to turn into some of the long crazy rants that dominate the Club Members forum. I also want to ensure that there is a diverse range of threads, not just political or religious.

 

I agree with the general consensus here. I don't mind any discussion as long as people respect each other and don't turn it into a flame war. I doubt any of our members would do that, but a lot of people who are not members post here also. I agree too with the daughter looking over the shoulder rule. If you keep it clean enough that anyone's daughter can read it without any problems, then it is good to go.

 

I'll add my .02

I'm a mod over on another forum, and no matter how civil a political thread starts, it always ends up in the dirt. I say stay away from that and religion.

Sure we are all adults, but there is always someone who can provoke a keyboard commando in another.

 

"Keyboard commando"

 

I like to know others' opinions and reasoning. As Tsun Su said, "Know thy enemy as you know yourself." I value all opinions as long as they are logical. Jag

 

I think it is the age - most other forums are young people still in collage or at least that age. It takes a few years to learn that you can be wrong, and change is part of life.

We are an older group, and most of us know one another. We also know we can be wrong! (our wives teach us that!)

 

Here, here! My plug nickel worth o' opinion follows the general consensus...I'm a little guilty of getting political I suppose (target rich environment and all). However, all relationships (not just the human types) are political and must be navigated on that basis.

Threads of all types have the potential of devolving into nitpicking, nastiness and so on. Esp. that ongoing discussion of mod vs. stock...that seems to go on ad infinitum and the controls this site (overall) has in place seem to be sufficient in terms of moderating/controlling loose cannons.

Maturity level is the big factor here....And having some thick skin is helpful too.. I get the impression I'm among the youngest here...and being 'just a kid' means your elders are gonna 'set you straight' from time to time...I expect it ..and welcome it.

Earl you should not apologize for that thread..that's my opinion. It's an excellent topic...and being so lends itself to wide varieties of opinion from all angles. It seemed to me the group of responders 'self-regulated' extremely well (so far) and you're to be congratulated for having the intestinal fortitude to lay spark to some pretty dry tender.

I hope future, so-called "controversial" threads continue to follow similar arcs of existence...

Well, I'm a off the hoss now.. All the best, all the way....

TH1567
Burgers and fries...and cherry pies...life was simple that way back then....Charlie Pride....