Curious about the No-Politics Rule

[RMS Oceanic]

I hope I'm not getting ideas above my station, but I was just wondering why discussions about real life Politics/Religions are banned on these boards? I like to follow current events and would enjoy the occasional discussion about, say, a certain election race. I'm not trying to flaunt the rules, I'm just trying to understand the reasoning behind it. I have other boards I can go to for debate, so it's not a big deal.

[Hazkali]

I think its there because such discussions, whilst starting out OK, can quickly descend into a flaming, trolling pit of fail- just look at any religiously-oriented message board. Much nicer if we keep this out of the Playground.

[Charity]

People can barely remain civil discussing 4th edition, politics is a very contentious issue, it is never going to be ok to discuss it on this site, Rich doesn't want it here. There are plenty of other sites where you can I advise you get your current affairs hit elsewhere.

oh and ^ click the sig, gowon gowon.

[NerfTW]

Because this isn't a politics board.

It's a forum for Giant in the Playground games and other games and media. If you want to discuss politics, find a political board.

[WampaX]

People can barely remain civil discussing 4th edition, politics is a very contentious issue, it is never going to be ok to discuss it on this site, Rich doesn't want it here. There are plenty of other sites where you can I advise you get your current affairs hit elsewhere.

Rich has a very clear view of what he wants to NOT be discussed on these boards.

Also, we generate enough heat from the Comics and Gaming sections. Opening the furnaces of hot topics and the nuclear fires that would belch forth would turn the Playground into something akin to Apokolips.

Rich doesn't want to be Darkseid
I don't want to be Desaad
Gorby doesn't want to be Kalibak
Lilly doesn't want to be Granny Goodness
Baron doesn't want to be Virman Vundabar
Roland doesn't want to be Devilance
Alarra doesn't want to be Amazing Grace
Rawhide doesn't want to be Kanto
Greywatcher doesn't want to be Glorious Godfrey
and Rawbear surely doesn't want to be a horde of Parademons.

[DanielX]

As someone who is new here, I think I understand the reasoning, and somewhat approve (there is the problem that politics is a universal constant and hard to not inject into some things, including fantasy worlds).

I can argue politics until I'm blue in the face (and do, on other forums). But there are thousands of boards where you can do that, catering to all sides of the spectrum from anarcho-capitalism to communism. Turning this board into another one would not only lose some uniqueness, but also produce a LOT of anger. Hell, I can recommend to you a good US-centered political board, where the mods monitor things enough to keep people from using death threats or doing anything else illegal, but are loose enough to let people really express unpopular beliefs and get into fights about it. But there's only one board for people who like :vaarsuvius: or :xykon:, and that's here. And if that changes or disappears.... :smallfrown:

Some issues also divide people from different nations that wouldn't otherwise be divided. Foreign policy does this especially well. Imagine how an Israeli and an Arab would act when an Israel vs. Palestine thread comes up... or bring up the Armenian Genocide when there's an Armenian and a Turk, or the Iraq War between a conservative American or a Kurd and an Arab, etc. Cultural differences cause enough problems without bringing politics in, even when just talking, using words in different dialects in the same language! Compare American vs. British usage of "***", or American vs. Commonwealth usage of "spunk". Or the use of "ginger" as a perjorative for redhead in Britain. Or the issue of what jelly is, or chips, or biscuits, or how to spell/say 'alumin(i)um' :smalltongue: .... (really, I'd much rather debate THIS stuff here than politics. Politics is done to death and usually divides people, while language differences are *usually* funny).

Some nations also have problems with sites that portray "politically sensitive" things. This typically is a problem with states such as China, Saudi Arabia, etc. but you can find trouble in Western nations as well, depending on what exactly is being talked about and how 'on the radar' the site is. Nobody wants the server to be shut down because some poster does something illegal, or the Vzrglstani government decides it doesn't like the site, blocks it from their services, 'accidentally' telling other servers to block it as well (I think this happened to Youtube recently).

Overall, debating politics can get REALLY hairy REALLY fast... so its probably for the best that its not allowed here....

[Serpentine]

Imagine how an Israeli and an Arab would act when an Israel vs. Palestine thread comes up...Is it wrong that this idea makes me giggle inside?
"The Israelites will use their Jewish Guilt weapon*, and the Palestines will all give up!"
"No no, the Palestinians were there first, so they'd take all the secret passages and get 'em from the inside."
"Superman will be on Israel's side."
"...

...kryptonite?"

*It was in Hebrew Hammer, which makes it okay >.>

[Gorbash Kazdar]

Rich has a very clear view of what he wants to NOT be discussed on these boards.

Also, we generate enough heat from the Comics and Gaming sections. Opening the furnaces of hot topics and the nuclear fires that would belch forth would turn the Playground into something akin to Apokolips.

Rich doesn't want to be Darkseid
I don't want to be Desaad
Gorby doesn't want to be Kalibak
Lilly doesn't want to be Granny Goodness
Baron doesn't want to be Virman Vundabar
Roland doesn't want to be Devilance
Alarra doesn't want to be Amazing Grace
Rawhide doesn't want to be Kanto
Greywatcher doesn't want to be Glorious Godfrey
and Rawbear surely doesn't want to be a horde of Parademons.
Hm... the Beta-Club would come in handy when modding...

[DanielX]

Is it wrong that this idea makes me giggle inside?
"The Israelites will use their Jewish Guilt weapon*, and the Palestines will all give up!"
"No no, the Palestinians were there first, so they'd take all the secret passages and get 'em from the inside."
"Superman will be on Israel's side."
"...

...kryptonite?"

*It was in Hebrew Hammer, which makes it okay >.>

Eh, it is kind of funny. But my dad's family is Israeli... that makes things a little personal there. Especially given that events over there affect my own relatives (I'm in the US, if it isn't obvious).

OTOH, I do agree on the power of Jewish Guilt, though its my father, and not my grandmothers, who tend to use it...

[skywalker]

Is it wrong that this idea makes me giggle inside?
"The Israelites will use their Jewish Guilt weapon*, and the Palestines will all give up!"
"No no, the Palestinians were there first, so they'd take all the secret passages and get 'em from the inside."
"Superman will be on Israel's side."
"...

...kryptonite?"

*It was in Hebrew Hammer, which makes it okay >.>

Is this an attempt to portray what the thread would look like?

I think it's the fairly standard "dinner conversation" prohibition. I'd like to point out that the playground is one the most outwardly civil boards I've ever been on.

I paid pretty big attention to the GLBT thread for a while, and while I thought it trended(or trends) a little close to politics(and religion) at times, I found it absolutely impressive that nobody ever went in there and trashed the thread, even once. No new accounts were created just to insult everyone, or anything. I find that remarkable, and I attribute this and other politeness partially to the "dinner table" rule.

Personally, I love this rule, partially because I know I can log onto this forum right before bedtime, and not worry about getting worked up in any sort of fiery debate.

[Icewalker]

I paid pretty big attention to the GLBT thread for a while, and while I thought it trended(or trends) a little close to politics(and religion) at times, I found it absolutely impressive that nobody ever went in there and trashed the thread, even once. No new accounts were created just to insult everyone, or anything. I find that remarkable, and I attribute this and other politeness partially to the "dinner table" rule.

That's because this forum is awesome. The people are nice. I've looked at other forums...:smalleek: not happy.

[Serpentine]

Is this an attempt to portray what the thread would look like?Obviously a poor one :smallfrown:

[Lord Herman]

I think the no-politics, no-religion rule is great. It's one of the things that have made this forum the friendly place it is.

[Ceska]

Is it wrong that this idea makes me giggle inside?
I'd say yes, simply because I have seen such flame wars. Trust me, it's not funny at all when it happens. I think I could find flame wars funny if they weren't just so boring, they're always the same, ending in the same stupid insults.

That's because this forum is awesome. The people are nice. I've looked at other forums...:smalleek: not happy.
I... disagree. I think it's not that the people are inherently more polite in this forum, but rather that they behave.

Personally, I'm all fine with this rule, simply because political discussion can be oh so boring and make you dislike half the posters. Same for religious debates, if you really want one, go somewhere else.
In the end I think it helps the community that this rule exists, without it the forum wouldn't seem any nicer than some others, I think (keep in mind that in the almost three years I have been on various forums regularly I stayed away from the overly flaming ones anyway).

@v: Okay, you made me chuckle there. Mainly because I'm thinking of a Hitler vs. Stalin thread, with each party wanting to show who's the better evil overlord.
And Stalin vs. Trotsky would be awesome just for the amount of books I've read on it. Trotsky was funny, not my ideology, far from my personal believes, but he knew how to trash Stalinism. :smallbiggrin:

[Serpentine]

I'd say yes, simply because I have seen such flame wars. Trust me, it's not funny at all when it happens. I think I could find flame wars funny if they weren't just so boring, they're always the same, ending in the same stupid insults.It's more the idea of one of those inane Vs threads, the sort that brings in all sort of dubiously related "evidence", being used for real-world people/organisations/whatever.
Hitler vs. Shirley Temple! =O

[NerfTW]

It's not really that the people here are more well behaved, it's that the mods are doing thier jobs, so there's a higher percentage.

People complain about strict rules, but don't realize that the rules are what's keeping the more disruptive members out. Look at the GameFAQs message boards for the ultimate in unmoderated mayhem.


I like the "Dinner table rule" explanation. This isn't a bunch of friends sitting in the living room drinking and shooting the breeze. This is a company board, and the equivalent of being in a restaurant. You can say whatever you want, but don't be surprised when the owners ask you to leave.

[Nightgaunt]

You can say whatever you want, but don't be surprised when the owners ask you to leave.

That one line could be the entire FAQ.

[Behold_the_Void]

Being a moderator on a Final Fantasy-based board, I can see and support this decision. We had a Politics/World Events board awhile back and it was a cesspool of flaming and general bad feelings. We were assigning bans specifically from that forum entirely too often, and eventually we just flung it into the sun. We still allow religion and to a lesser degree political discussion, but it's generally a hassle to have to watch the threads for the inevitable bitterness and bickering.

[thorgrim29]

Religion and politics I can understand (would be funny to whip up a proper debate on the future of Québec as a part of Canada though, hav'nt had one in years, and doing it in english would be surreal). I'ts much too hot. I'd like a philosophy debate section though, they tend to be interresting and well behaved, ike the ternal debate between me, (a capitalist economically, and a mix of nihilism, existentialism and utilitarism philosophically) and one of my pals who's a pretty extreme Marxist-Maoist with a strong utopian and Rousseau-like undertone. Its fun as hell.

[Jammeez]

A friend of mine put it this way: I come here to escape the real world. Discussing [banned topics] would only invade my oasis.

[Surfing HalfOrc]

Look at it this way. The Giant made a very minor joke/pun about Fox News (http://www.giantitp.com/comics/oots0539.html), and several people got a bit testy afterwards...

I used to spend way too much time on the Yahoo News Message boards, before they deleted them, and the Dark Side of flamage is very enticing. I both miss them, and am glad they are gone...

This is an oasis from the "Real World," and I for one want it to stay that way.

[Dallas-Dakota]

This is an oasis from the "Real World," and I for one want it to stay that way.
This is my second life, the life I live. The life I have pleasure of living.

Go away! We don´t wants you RL!

[Lord_Asmodeus]

I'd say yes, simply because I have seen such flame wars. Trust me, it's not funny at all when it happens. I think I could find flame wars funny if they weren't just so boring, they're always the same, ending in the same stupid insults.

This is, frankly, untrue. For one, its freaking hilarious, and for another while yes, its true, real-life issue discussions are far more likely to become heated debates, but they do not all happen like this, and a good portion of them have actual good debates before they either peter out or go horribly awry.