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What to do with the Politics?
Posted: Wed Feb 24, 2010 7:34 pm
by jarkko
I think it's time to discuss the future of our "Politics" section. There are only a couple of members who are posting there, most of them about Israel, or US politics.
The number of views these messages generate is very limited, although the threads get excessive visibility in the "View new posts" option which is used by most of our members.
I don't want to close the section totally, but we could introduce some other methods. What about merging all new Israel-threads to just one, and all messages about US politics also to one.
Comments and suggestions are welcome!
Re: What to do with the Politics?
Posted: Wed Feb 24, 2010 7:40 pm
by GinaDCG
Thanks for noticing the disparate attention these threads receive. For my part (and I humbly acknowledge I have not been a member for very long) I bow to whatever you think best.
Re: What to do with the Politics?
Posted: Wed Feb 24, 2010 9:30 pm
by Mabeanie1
How about simply ring-fencing the Politics section by taking posts to it out of the list of new posts (assuming it's technically possible to do it)? Those that are interested can go straight to the Politics section to see what is going on there; those that want to stay well out of it need not be troubled by any of it.
Wendy
Re: What to do with the Politics?
Posted: Wed Feb 24, 2010 9:44 pm
by Antoine
Simple and short : Remove it.
This is a Leonard Cohen forum, no place for politics.
Antoine
Re: What to do with the Politics?
Posted: Wed Feb 24, 2010 9:56 pm
by Mabeanie1
Antoine wrote:Simple and short : Remove it.
This is a Leonard Cohen forum, no place for politics.
Antoine
I was going to post something similar Antoine. However, then I remembered what happened before we had the Politics section. People simply posted their opinions on political subjects in the Leonard related threads. Personally I would rather have a separate section that the rest of us can ignore.
Wendy
Re: What to do with the Politics?
Posted: Thu Feb 25, 2010 12:33 am
by brightnow
I would prefer to see the Politics section go away, and the "no politics" rule upheld.
There are so many forums and sites where people can talk about politics, why do it here?
Re: What to do with the Politics?
Posted: Thu Feb 25, 2010 1:12 am
by MaryB
Mabeanie1 wrote:I remembered what happened before we had the Politics section. People simply posted their opinions on political subjects in the Leonard related threads. Personally I would rather have a separate section that the rest of us can ignore.
Wendy
So true. To this day the moderators are still moving comments to the politics section. At least we have a section for them to be moved to - still visible to those that want to see them and no uproar by posters if their comments had to be deleted for not having relevance to the topic, which would be the case if the Politics section was eliminated.
Kindest regards,
Mary
Re: What to do with the Politics?
Posted: Thu Feb 25, 2010 1:23 am
by Tony
Personally I would abolish the section but it does seem to be of some benefit to a small number of members. A difficulty is when the subject is introduced in the guise of a Trojan horse into other areas of the forum. I would suggest a hard line by the moderators should be taken when this happens. Such posts could be swifly despatched into the relevant section where those very few people who look at them, and the fewer still who regularly post, could exchange their opinions with like minded souls (assuming souls and politics are not mutually exclusive).
Re: What to do with the Politics?
Posted: Thu Feb 25, 2010 1:47 am
by mutti
Jarkko I agree with Wendy and Mary. I like your original idea as then those of us who do not want to read them can just ignore it...or take a peek if it is something of interest. I personally love this forum for its diversity but do not read the political threads.
Thanks
Leslie
Re: What to do with the Politics?
Posted: Thu Feb 25, 2010 2:31 am
by Vicomte
To be honest, I did wonder how a politics thread ever came in to being on a Leonard Cohen Forum ?
Jarkko must have felt it necessary, so........
Re: What to do with the Politics?
Posted: Thu Feb 25, 2010 3:01 am
by jglBB
As I have already written earlier, Politics = Garbage.
It should not be allowed here.
Do whatever you want with it. I just don't want to see it. Never.
Re: What to do with the Politics?
Posted: Thu Feb 25, 2010 3:25 am
by GinaDCG
Mabeanie1 wrote:How about simply ring-fencing the Politics section by taking posts to it out of the list of new posts (assuming it's technically possible to do it)? Those that are interested can go straight to the Politics section to see what is going on there; those that want to stay well out of it need not be troubled by any of it.
Wendy
Ditto. If possible, I vote for this approach. One problem is with the semi (or NOT semi) professional Trolls -- they submit political topics and get paid for the # of views. I do not wish to accuse any Forum member of being trolls, but it would be naive for any of us to believe that this forum is exempt from this common, professional troll problem. So, ring-fencing as mentioned above would preserve members right to talk about political subjects of interest but would insulate the Forum as a whole from being exploited by the trolls.
I have noted that a few topics are visited by only 2 members in what seems more like a public exchange of private messages.
Re: What to do with the Politics?
Posted: Thu Feb 25, 2010 12:44 pm
by Alsiony
GinaDCG wrote:Mabeanie1 wrote:How about simply ring-fencing the Politics section by taking posts to it out of the list of new posts (assuming it's technically possible to do it)? Those that are interested can go straight to the Politics section to see what is going on there; those that want to stay well out of it need not be troubled by any of it.
Wendy
Ditto. If possible, I vote for this approach. One problem is with the semi (or NOT semi) professional Trolls -- they submit political topics and get paid for the # of views. I do not wish to accuse any Forum member of being trolls, but it would be naive for any of us to believe that this forum is exempt from this common, professional troll problem. So, ring-fencing as mentioned above would preserve members right to talk about political subjects of interest but would insulate the Forum as a whole from being exploited by the trolls.
I have noted that a few topics are visited by only 2 members in what seems more like a public exchange of private messages.
I thoroughly agree with what Mabeanie1 and Gina have said. I think that if the politics section were completely removed then even more non- political threads would be 'hijacked' so to speak, which already happens enough does it not?.
A politics section is needed it seems, but a little more seperation from 'new posts' may well be in order.
A
x
Re: What to do with the Politics?
Posted: Thu Feb 25, 2010 1:03 pm
by Vicomtesse
I agree with your suggestion Jarkko,
I also like the diversity of this site and it would be a shame to censor any of it. I know a lot have commented about not wanting politics on this site but isn't that what's happening here; we are all discussing politics in a 'Democratic' way; all giving our opinions! No matter what we do in our lives; politics is involved!
Leonard is quite 'political' in some of his songs. 'Everybody Knows' is quite hard hitting with lines like; The poor stay poor, The rich get rich': and Tower of song; 'The rich have their channels in the bedrooms of the poor' etc. and 'The Future' and 'Democracy', are full of 'Political' issues being questioned in these songs.
He is not outrightly protesting like Bob Dylan in his youth but in a way that makes one think.
So yes, keep the 'Politics' for those who want it but keep it separate in some way.
Vicomtesse
Re: What to do with the Politics?
Posted: Thu Feb 25, 2010 11:04 pm
by Squidgy
I'm always somewhat bemused when people ask what could politics
possibly have to do with the fellow who wrote "The Future" "The Captain" and "Democracy" and who recorded "The Partisan" Just to name a few. Notwithstanding his own family heritage, his background, travels, various positions vis-a-vis Cuba, Greece... But hey, that's nothing. Just dare to mention any of the Biblical imagery or---gasp!---numerous borrowings from, or references to, christianity or catholicism in Leonard's song lyrics and the flame wars will rage for
weeks.(And oh yeah, there was that novel, too, which mentioned the Blessed Kateri, what was
that all about? )
Yeah, I say the politics should remain in a specific section where the disinterested can ignore the subject, but to suggest excluding the subject altogether is just idiotic. That's tantamount to hurling the c-word (censorship!) at Leonard's entire body of work, essentially proscribing any real or deep discussion at all about Leonard. Because, as we lefties-who-eventually-grew-up learned a long time ago, the personal (creativity, lifestyle, and underlying belief systems which are the motivating impetus driving everything we do)
is political. And "the personal" (as in sexual) is very much an underlying theme, as well as unifying thread, in Leonard's lyrics, his life and work, and moreover, of us, all of us here, and it's why this farking Forum exists (Thank you Jarkko, for keeping us from bludgeoning each other! But, ahhhh, I do
so miss the Newsgroup from time to time, where there
were no rules, and the
only c-word that was a dirty word
was "censorship." Even though I got my ass kicked on a fairly regular basis.)
One of my all time favorite moments on the newsgroup was when a guy wondered, quite seriously, what connection Leonard had to Minnesota (a state in the U.S.) because the lyric in "The Future" referred to "St. Paul" (the name of a city in Minnesota.)
Maybe there should be other separate sections for sex and religion. And sexual politics. And religious politics...