- Reaction score
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- 1,210
Folks,
BLUF/TL;DR: All old threads are locked. Rules of conduct will be strictly enforced. Repeat offenders of any stripe will be barred from the Political forums.
You may notice that all existing threads in the Canadian Politics and Global Politics boards are now locked. After review with the Staff, it has become clear that these boards the by far, the largest source of conflict and poor user interactions of the entire site.
Given that we are by nature not a political site, the argument has been made to shutter the politics boards altogether, and this approach certainly has merit. We believe however that the right approach is to encourage open, positive discourse rather than closing shop on a busy and lively section of the site. By locking the old threads, the intent is to "leave behind" the old tone of political discussion and move forward with a new one.
A while ago, as part of the effort to improve the tone and content of posting, the Staff moved any political threads into their own sub board. We also attempted to crack down on the ad hominem attacks on individuals that are either forum members, or political leaders. Although we have achieved some measure of success, there are still folks who insist on emotional name calling or trolling instead of rational, adult arguments. This causes significant workload for the Staff, and often drags them into a debate where they are accused of taking one side (and then a short while later, the other). It also degrades the credibility of the site, and has the potential to open it (and me personally) to legal action.
Therefore, effectively immediately, there will be the following changes:
[list type=decimal]
[*]Adjectives used to describe a political leader/figure in an attempt to attack their stance/attitudes/actions will not be tolerated (examples below).
[*]Infractions will trigger a warning, with a "3 Strikes" rule. Once you have accumulated 3 warnings, you will be added to the "Apolitical" group, meaning you can see, but not interact with posts in the political sub boards. Apolitically tagged accounts are not visibly flagged in any way - this is not a public admonishment, but a minor and temporary corrective action. After a cooling off period, users may request that the restriction be lifted. The intent is not to curb participation, but to encourage respectful participation. Subsequent breaches in the political threads (no more 3 strikes) will see longer terms imposed, or the "classic" warning system used as required.
[*]Personal attacks and any other breaches of the site's guidelines will still be handled via the regular warning system.
[*]A member who wishes to self police may request to put themselves on the Apolitical group at any time, and request to be removed on their own. We will not be making daily changes to your status so folks can "post and run", but understand folks might want assistance with their self control.[/list]
Examples of unacceptable posts:
Examples of acceptable posts:
This list is, obviously, not exhaustive, and I ask the you use common sense in cooperating with the spirit of this approach.
I am certain some folks will have issue with this, and see it as stifling discussion, or silencing/preferring one side. I can assure you it is neither of those, but it is an attempt to further clean up the reputation of the site and raise the bar for discussion. Yes, this is a fairly heavy-handed action, but with the increasingly worrisome tone of discussion here, we believe it is appropriate in order to get things back on track.
There are plenty of other sites where the most inventive personal attack wins the argument.
I ask, in all sincerity, to please respect and abide by these rules. Yes, there is wiggle room, and yes, if you want to skirt the line, you certainly can. But know that in doing so, you are actively working against the effort to improve the quality of debate. This is a site based completely around the community we have built here, and your individual participation helps define the tone and direction as we move forward. I truly appreciate the cooperation and guidance given by Staff and members alike so far, and look forward to seeing it continue, as we strengthen the site through open, mature dialogue.
As always, if you have any concerns feel free to post them here, PM me or any of the Army.ca Staff.
Cheers
Mike
BLUF/TL;DR: All old threads are locked. Rules of conduct will be strictly enforced. Repeat offenders of any stripe will be barred from the Political forums.
You may notice that all existing threads in the Canadian Politics and Global Politics boards are now locked. After review with the Staff, it has become clear that these boards the by far, the largest source of conflict and poor user interactions of the entire site.
Given that we are by nature not a political site, the argument has been made to shutter the politics boards altogether, and this approach certainly has merit. We believe however that the right approach is to encourage open, positive discourse rather than closing shop on a busy and lively section of the site. By locking the old threads, the intent is to "leave behind" the old tone of political discussion and move forward with a new one.
A while ago, as part of the effort to improve the tone and content of posting, the Staff moved any political threads into their own sub board. We also attempted to crack down on the ad hominem attacks on individuals that are either forum members, or political leaders. Although we have achieved some measure of success, there are still folks who insist on emotional name calling or trolling instead of rational, adult arguments. This causes significant workload for the Staff, and often drags them into a debate where they are accused of taking one side (and then a short while later, the other). It also degrades the credibility of the site, and has the potential to open it (and me personally) to legal action.
Therefore, effectively immediately, there will be the following changes:
[list type=decimal]
[*]Adjectives used to describe a political leader/figure in an attempt to attack their stance/attitudes/actions will not be tolerated (examples below).
[*]Infractions will trigger a warning, with a "3 Strikes" rule. Once you have accumulated 3 warnings, you will be added to the "Apolitical" group, meaning you can see, but not interact with posts in the political sub boards. Apolitically tagged accounts are not visibly flagged in any way - this is not a public admonishment, but a minor and temporary corrective action. After a cooling off period, users may request that the restriction be lifted. The intent is not to curb participation, but to encourage respectful participation. Subsequent breaches in the political threads (no more 3 strikes) will see longer terms imposed, or the "classic" warning system used as required.
[*]Personal attacks and any other breaches of the site's guidelines will still be handled via the regular warning system.
[*]A member who wishes to self police may request to put themselves on the Apolitical group at any time, and request to be removed on their own. We will not be making daily changes to your status so folks can "post and run", but understand folks might want assistance with their self control.[/list]
Examples of unacceptable posts:
- Justin Trudeau and his bunch of clowns...
- Arsehole Donald Trump....
- Kathleen Wynne is an evil witch....
Examples of acceptable posts:
- Justin Trudeau's reluctance to appoint Senators has created a circus in the upper house.
- Donald Trump's latest tweet is absolutely unacceptable because....
- Kathleen Wynne's doing a great job.
This list is, obviously, not exhaustive, and I ask the you use common sense in cooperating with the spirit of this approach.
I am certain some folks will have issue with this, and see it as stifling discussion, or silencing/preferring one side. I can assure you it is neither of those, but it is an attempt to further clean up the reputation of the site and raise the bar for discussion. Yes, this is a fairly heavy-handed action, but with the increasingly worrisome tone of discussion here, we believe it is appropriate in order to get things back on track.
There are plenty of other sites where the most inventive personal attack wins the argument.
I ask, in all sincerity, to please respect and abide by these rules. Yes, there is wiggle room, and yes, if you want to skirt the line, you certainly can. But know that in doing so, you are actively working against the effort to improve the quality of debate. This is a site based completely around the community we have built here, and your individual participation helps define the tone and direction as we move forward. I truly appreciate the cooperation and guidance given by Staff and members alike so far, and look forward to seeing it continue, as we strengthen the site through open, mature dialogue.
As always, if you have any concerns feel free to post them here, PM me or any of the Army.ca Staff.
Cheers
Mike
