The 'Problem' and 'Politics' with the Political Forum

[ND]

So, does anyone find it strange that the new 'Politics' forum is kind of buried and hidden away on the website? Should, we take this as a message?

I think there may be some forum 'politics' or something at play here and the mission is to try and shun the political posters away and put them in some kind of corner or something.

Really, politics should be front and center as it is a great way to meet new people and exchange ideas.

[Durga]

Go to your corner.

[captainmeme]

Politics threads often get pretty nasty. Some people like that kind of thing, and those people will find this subforum easily enough - but having those kind of posts 'front and center' is a great way to make everyone who doesn't like them avoid the forum entirely, and that's a substantial amount of people.

Additionally, politics threads tend to be made incredibly often, and as you could see from the old forum, take up a huge proportion of any subforum they're allowed in. Any category that spawns such a large amount of threads should really be in its own separate stream.

[jmo1121109]

This is first and foremost a diplomacy site. The forum is setup accordingly.

[President Eden]

I like the new location.
Political forum threads are a nuisance from a moderator standpoint, they don't do anything productive for the community in the vast majority of cases and I am certain the mods get inundated with autistic screeching for bans and silences over political threads on a near-daily basis.
Put it in a spot where the drama can't negatively impact site views.

[jmo1121109]

Correct PE, and in a slightly out of the way place the mods can allow this category to be a bit closer to the "wild west" of the old forum style without impacting the feel/appeal of the gaming aspect of the site. Hopefully it'll end up keeping both those interested and not interested in political discussions happy.

[CommanderByron]

Ima make this my first forum post. I’m so happy this exists. Now I can avoid politics when I want and participate when I want.

[LeonWalras]

Now we just need to filter these threads from the updates that appear on the front page! Nice work mods/devs

[orathaic]

I like the new location...they don't do anything productive for the community

I have to disagree, i seriously doubt i would still be around if not for the interesting conversations.

And you can claim i've done nothing productive for the community if you like, but
-ex-Mod, ex-TD, Variant Designer, all round nice guy™

[Octavious]

I have to disagree, i seriously doubt i would still be around if not for the interesting conversations.

And you can claim i've done nothing productive for the community if you like, but
-ex-Mod, ex-TD, Variant Designer, all round nice guy™

At the risk of agreeing with Ora, I agree with Ora. Everyone goes through periods where they get bored sick of Diplomacy and the forum was always the anchor that kept me buggering off. The only time I came close to leaving properly was when the forum was "gentrified" and intolerance trumped freedom of speech and expression.

[Jamiet99uk]

Me too.

[captainmeme]

The vitriol constantly present on the front page here due to the political forum threads was the main reason I chose to play on vDip instead of webDip when I started out. I'd never have looked at webDip again if it hadn't been for Jmo asking me to mod here, and then Eden's Mafia letting me get to know the community outside of those arguments (not that Mafia had less arguments, but it's certainly less hate-filled and fuelled :D ).

- ex-Mod, current TD, Variant Designer, all round nice guy

A separate politics forum is the best solution for both people like Ora and people like me - it's still there and easy enough to find, but it's not in the spotlight.

[leon1122]

Question: What do the red names mean?

I'm guessing they signify moderator status. If so, it's quite worrisome that orathaic has one.

[Octavious]

Red for admin, green for mod, rust for a non specific level of donation.

[TrPrado]

Question: What do the red names mean?

I'm guessing they signify moderator status. If so, it's quite worrisome that orathaic has one.

Red is for admins. While it may look red, orathaic’s name is actually the color given to bronze-level site donors.

[Ogion]

So if I donate, I can give ND a heart attack by looking like I've been made a mod?

[ND]

Scary

[Valis2501]

Everyone's equal, but those with my color of username are more equal.

[CAPT Brad]

Yawn. Meh.

[orathaic]

The vitriol constantly present on the front page here due to the political forum threads was the main reason I chose to play on vDip instead of webDip when I started out. I'd never have looked at webDip again if it hadn't been for Jmo asking me to mod here, and then Eden's Mafia letting me get to know the community outside of those arguments (not that Mafia had less arguments, but it's certainly less hate-filled and fuelled :D ).

- ex-Mod, current TD, Variant Designer, all round nice guy

A separate politics forum is the best solution for both people like Ora and people like me - it's still there and easy enough to find, but it's not in the spotlight.

See your argument suggests that the forums did more harm than good.

Which may be true. Not that it did no good, but that it also did much harm.

And i wouldn't disagree with that.