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Politics Forum....?

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EviLore said:
It was a source of major friction and drama within the community. It was attracting the wrong type of people to GAF, and pushing away the right type of people. It was a nightmare to moderate. It was frequently an embarrassment to be associated with.

It's gone.
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Why now, though? Like it seems to have died down and balanced out a bit in the last few months.
 
SF Kosmo said:
Why now, though? Like it seems to have died down and balanced out a bit in the last few months.
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I mean on one hand compared to the old section yes it has died down, but realistically compared to the rest of the forum the politics section was still a unruly mess. And like I already said I was front and center part of that mess. I shouted just as loudly for my side as anyone else did for theirs and look where it got me. Nowhere.



Don't get me wrong I am sad to see it go, but I think the community as a whole will be better off if the majority of the discussion that is happening is not politically related. EviLore EviLore made a hard call here and I have to respect it. The site may not pull in as many people or as many posts in the short term, but I think the good that it will do to the psyche of the community as a whole is damn near priceless.



Now the most extreme bit of division that the site will have to worry about is Sony versus Xbox and not Democrat versus Republican. And that does not even address all of the foreign members of neogaf that do not even have a horse in the race but could be caught up in the medical political shitshow anyway. They have no part in the fight, but the fight could disrupt their own form going experience.
 
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Nobody_Important said:
They did? Man that's gay.



Wait...🤔
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I don't want to delve too much into this and run afoul of the new rules... but imagine for a second you were living in a country where LGBT rights were totally suppressed and so you didn't know any people like that.. but one day, you found ResetEra..

Transgender people have had to face a very difficult life and one major way they have historically been able to cope with it is by using humor. Some of the funniest people I've ever met have been trans. What impression of transgender people would you get from reading Era? You have a handful of crazy people trying to dictate to everyone else what LGBT rights are.. and it cannot be challenged.

If I were someone who had not met a transgender person and I got all my information about it from Era, I would do whatever possible to avoid that person for fear that anything I might say would offend them and immediately cause them to go to pieces. These are already people who have been shunned, to some degree.. and the end result could very well be more isolation.

Not exactly the message I'd like to send out.
 
Nobody_Important said:
Now the most extreme bit of division that the site will have to worry about is Sony versus Xbox and not Democrat versus Republican.
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To be fair, some of the Sony vs. Xbox discussions I've seen on this site have been a hell of a lot more virulent and overall destructive to the site than anything that we discussed in the Politics sub-forum.

Plus, I think those of us who participated in Politics did a pretty good job of keeping it contained and not letting it leak out to other discussions.
 
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Ferdinandthecowfish said:
To be fair, some of the Sony vs. Xbox discussions I've seen on this site have been a hell of a lot more virulent than anything that we discussed in the Politics sub-forum.
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That's because gaming is serious fucking business. The petty politics of america pales in comparison to the bloodsport that is the console wars.
 
I understand the decision from a business point of view, but it's a shame when taken in context to political discussion in general.

So many people I know only get the political news and discussion from an echo chamber on one side or the other. I rarely posted on the Politics forum and only checked out the forum on occasion when I wanted to learn more about certain key issues, but I've told a few people I know (who were displeased with their political news sources) that the NeoGaf politics board is cool because they let both sides talk freely. It was great way to see both sides of the argument without having to walk on egg-shells or wade through complete shit like on 4chan. And if I or someone else says something that is kind of out there, then instead of being banned, you would instead meet the responses of other users. Speech vs speech.

But again, I understand the decision. It made sense to let everyone talk more freely to build the site back up, and now that it's gotten bigger, things need to be cleaner and more presentable.
 
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I did like the politics forum but seeing racist posts in there get likes just made me feel uncomfortable. I ignored them (I haven't reported anyone in over a year) if I didn't have the energy to challenge them. It was disheartening seeing people speak in a way that was hateful towards people like me. Especially posters I had previously respected.

That said... I support EviLore EviLore 's decision. It kept attracting the wrong people here. Like that dude talking about N-Words.
 
Pallas said:
I'm hesitant to compare poligaf to a particular toxic board, but you could see some similarities with our political subforum with /Pol/ over at 4chan. /pol/ is a bit of a extreme comparison but maybe EviLore EviLore saw it becoming like that, and probably would have already without our mods but they can only do so much, you know?
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Surely there is a middle ground between left-wing echo chambers with strict moderation and the wasteland that is /pol/. It's getting harder and harder to find that these days.
 
Ferdinandthecowfish said:
Plus, I think those of us who participated in Politics did a pretty good job of keeping it contained and not letting it leak out to other discussions.
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All joking aside this was one of the main reasons why I avoided other sections. I am by nature a very emotional and political person. I knew if I posted in other areas I would eventually get dragged into a political fight in a non-political thread. I would of course have eaten a ban for the derail.


Now that the politics section is gone I am gonna be forced to challenge myself to not be so easily manipulated or taken in. And in the long run I think that will be good for me.
 
SF Kosmo said:
Why now, though? Like it seems to have died down and balanced out a bit in the last few months.
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although i dont always agree with you and nobody_important, i do appreciate you two (and others) bringing some balance, sound arguments and integrity to the politics side. unfortunately, it wasnt enough.
Fugitive Sex said:
This place doesn't really get that much video game discussion anymore, so we'll see how it all pans out.
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uh what? gaming side is moving faster than it has since 2017. there is plenty of games discussion here, and im sure there will be more now.

at any rate, the embarrassing shit on politics side was driving people away and probably warding off any potential new members that could contribute positively to the community. this is a good move through and through and will only help to improve the site as a whole.
 
Spokker said:
Surely there is a middle ground between left-wing echo chambers with strict moderation and the wasteland that is /pol/. It's getting harder and harder to find that these days.
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Oh the politics forum was nothing like /pol/. If the people in charge didn't want to deal with moderating the challenging kinds of discussions we were having, that's their prerogative. But let's not pretend it was a cesspool of absolute degeneracy like /pol/.

Political discussions are going to be especially heated by their nature and also because of the times we live in. This is, after all, a video games forum. If they decide to limit some of the off topic stuff for whatever reason, that's the way it is. I don't have to like it or agree with it. That's life.
 
Kev Kev said:
at any rate, the embarrassing shit on politics side was driving people away and probably warding off any potential new members that could contribute positively to the community.
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Frankly, anyone who is going to be embarrassed or shocked by open and honest political discussion that allows for conservatives and liberals to share their views equally, probably shouldn't be a member of this forum to begin with.


DeepBreath87 said:
Oh the politics forum was nothing like /pol/.
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Let's be honest, the people comparing Politics to /pol/ probably think anything even slightly "right" has no place on any internet forum.
 
To be honest It's I'm pretty bummed seeing it go but can understand , never took anything posted in thar section personally and sucks to see a whole section nuked.
Oh well
 
EviLore said:
Today is better than tomorrow, and yesterday is already in stone.
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So this is a forum which I am not allowed to talk about certain topics? Also people can get banned for giving reactions/likes to a post(which they might not even read fully)?? I think you need to calm down man.

Getting rid of a subforum accomplishes nothing especially when you set it up to filter out the political comments to begin with. Now political comments will just leak into gaming and then you will be banning a lot of valuable members the same way you were doing the last few months.

It's also hypocritical to say that this is a gaming forum and nothing else should be allowed. I mean look at your off topic forum where it's dominated by T&A threads. This is not pornhub lol.

If anything, I think you are getting too political for your own good. Just my opinion. Alright take care.
 
Nobody_Important said:
That's because gaming is serious fucking business. The petty politics of america pales in comparison to the bloodsport that is the console wars.
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You know, and I'm sure this isn't an original thought by any measure, but it would be kinda funny if the two main political parties were Playstation and XBox, with Nintendo being the Green party.
 
Gamers talking about politics has always been shit as long as I can remember. Let's see if we can keep GAF a Politics Free zone now, I know there will be people trying to drag their political shit into gaming because their entire miserable lives are framed around their political views and they can't separate politics from anything.
 
I'm disappointed but this is not my site so that's the way she goes. If this thread is the swansong let me shoutout to Nobody_Important for eating a giant amount of shit on that forum but still coming back and trying to keep the rest of us hooligans honest. Mad respect brother!

It is a shame though. The politics forum was the one thing unique about this site.
 
Well, shit lol. Now I'll never know what's going on in the news. Oh well, I do spend a good amount of time on the gaming side but turned away from it a bit due to the constant console warring. It basically litters every thread.
 
Hari Seldon said:
I'm disappointed but this is not my site so that's the way she goes. If this thread is the swansong let me shoutout to Nobody_Important for eating a giant amount of shit on that forum but still coming back and trying to keep the rest of us hooligans honest. Mad respect brother!

It is a shame though. The politics forum was the one thing unique about this site.
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Right back at you man. It wouldn't have been half as fun if I hadn't received pushback.

It was a two way street of shit shows and respect.
 
Nobody_Important said:
They did? Man that's gay.



Wait...🤔
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You Got Me GIF by HULU
 
EviLore said:
It was a source of major friction and drama within the community. It was attracting the wrong type of people to GAF, and pushing away the right type of people. It was a nightmare to moderate. It was frequently an embarrassment to be associated with.

It's gone.
Click to expand...
Thank you. Discussing politics on the internet might be one of least productive things humans have ever attempted.
 
As someone who's been lurking here for years, I think this is for the best for the forum. Having a politics section just invites more toxic people to join and shit up the place.

Nobody_Important said:
All joking aside this was one of the main reasons why I avoided other sections. I am by nature a very emotional and political person. I knew if I posted in other areas I would eventually get dragged into a political fight in a non-political thread. I would of course have eaten a ban for the derail.


Now that the politics section is gone I am gonna be forced to challenge myself to not be so easily manipulated or taken in. And in the long run I think that will be good for me.
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Good luck mate. With political discussions now been banned it should just allow you to just enjoy the rest of the forum without getting dragged into political stuff.
 
Ixion said:
I understand the decision from a business point of view, but it's a shame when taken in context to political discussion in general.

So many people I know only get the political news and discussion from an echo chamber on one side or the other. I rarely posted on the Politics forum and only checked out the forum on occasion when I wanted to learn more about certain key issues, but I've told a few people I know (who were displeased with their political news sources) that the NeoGaf politics board is cool because they let both sides talk freely. It was great way to see both sides of the argument without having to walk on egg-shells or wade through complete shit like on 4chan. And if I or someone else says something that is kind of out there, then instead of being banned, you would instead meet the responses of other users. Speech vs speech.

But again, I understand the decision. It made sense to let everyone talk more freely to build the site back up, and now that it's gotten bigger, things need to be cleaner and more presentable.
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The problem was that it was one big group ganging up on a few people while going further and further in one direction and conspiracy. The mods tried to curb it by banning conspiracy theories but the same people still remained and dug their heels in deeper while misrepresenting and mocking any dissent.
 
I liked the politics forum. Far more balanced than almost any other place I know of. In fact, probably the only 'sane' place where at least some right side of voices were allowed. Sad to see it go. I think I spent like 80% of my time there. Nice source of unbiased news too.

I understand from a survival of the site point of view. Mustve attracted some attention from internet overlords. But on the other hand there isnt all that much discussion on this site and removing 1/3rd would affect traffic greatly negatively.

I suppose all the pros and cons wouldve been thought off. Does save me some time though. Spent a lot of time there :p

Athena~ said:
So this is a forum which I am not allowed to talk about certain topics? Also people can get banned for giving reactions/likes to a post(which they might not even read fully)?? I think you need to calm down man.

Getting rid of a subforum accomplishes nothing especially when you set it up to filter out the political comments to begin with. Now political comments will just leak into gaming and then you will be banning a lot of valuable members the same way you were doing the last few months.

It's also hypocritical to say that this is a gaming forum and nothing else should be allowed. I mean look at your off topic forum where it's dominated by T&A threads. This is not pornhub lol.

If anything, I think you are getting too political for your own good. Just my opinion. Alright take care.
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That ban for this post is harsh man. Its OK to allow opinions, as long as he didnt post political stuff anywhere else, as required by the new rules.
 
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I'm sure it could have been moderated better to cut out conspiracy theories but it was a nice outlet from legitimately every forum being a leftist circle jerk.

Oh well we've been through many changes on GAF and will continue on
 
Hari Seldon said:
I'm disappointed but this is not my site so that's the way she goes. If this thread is the swansong let me shoutout to Nobody_Important for eating a giant amount of shit on that forum but still coming back and trying to keep the rest of us hooligans honest. Mad respect brother!
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I noticed this in my short time there and agree. I probably disagree with 90% of what Nobody_Important believes, but I know that feeling of being the odd man out who goes against the majority opinion. I'm not too fond of echo chambers so I value guys like this who are willing to speak their mind even if it's not popular.
 
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ResurrectedContrarian said:
"No politics at all" is still miles ahead of what you get on other gaming forums...

yGcTDw.jpg


...and yes, that's a random Nintendo thread which somehow felt it necessary to open with a paragraph about trans politics
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Wow, this is not even a photoshop, it's real... Imagine you go on a "gaming forum" to talk about some games and even in the gaming section you can't even have a thread about nintendo games without the site trying to shove certain political agendas down your throat.
 
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