Politics forum is closed

chris snell

Administrator
Staff member
Aug 15, 2005
3,020
152
The Politics forum is closed indefinitely.

I don't want DiscoWeb to turn into yet another shitty social media hellhole, so I'm closing it down. Maybe it will reopen, but probably not.

If anybody attempts to re-start their argument in General, you will get a permanent ban.

It's a shame, really. NAS-ROW has a COVID-19 thread that's been civil and cordial and will probably be a nice place to shoot the shit with our friends as we get through this. I'm disappointed that DWeb couldn't do the same.

I've been way too fucking nice with some of you. Ho and Axel would have never put up with it and I'm not going to, either.

Rules going forward:

- No politics whatsoever
- No fearmongering
- No fake news or unsubstantiated rumors
 

DiscoHasBeen

Well-known member
Aug 7, 2016
1,171
262
Indy
I don't want DiscoWeb to turn into yet another shitty social media hellhole, so I'm closing it down. Maybe it will reopen, but probably not.

It's a shame, really. NAS-ROW has a COVID-19 thread that's been civil and cordial and will probably be a nice place to shoot the shit with our friends as we get through this. I'm disappointed that DWeb couldn't do the same.

I've been way too fucking nice with some of you. Ho and Axel would have never put up with it and I'm not going to, either.

I'm not sure how long you've been here. I posted here from about '02-05/6. I have no idea what the "tone" of the site has been since then, but I found the "coronavirus" thread to be vintage Discoweb. And most of the posters in that thread I remember from that era. Civil and cordial were never phrases I'd expect to be used to describe Discoweb, for the most part.

That the coronavirus thread went off the rails was a given. That said I found the NAS thread to be rather vanilla and bland, like most forums have become nowadays. That's one of the things that brought me back to Discoweb and I would hope you would try to strike a balance. Just my .02
 

chris snell

Administrator
Staff member
Aug 15, 2005
3,020
152
There's no balance to be struck. This conversation is way too charged to be balanced and cordial. I'd rather let shithole platforms like Facebook and Twitter have it.
 
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DiscoHasBeen

Well-known member
Aug 7, 2016
1,171
262
Indy
There's no balance to be struck. This conversation is way too charged to be balanced and cordial. I'd rather let shithole platforms like Facebook and Twitter have it.

The McLoughlin Group, where friends disagree agreeably, most of the time.

I thought you stepped in and dealt with shit. Don't see the big deal.
 

brian4d

Well-known member
Dec 3, 2007
6,499
67
High Point, NC
There's no balance to be struck. This conversation is way too charged to be balanced and cordial. I'd rather let shithole platforms like Facebook and Twitter have it.
Serious question, has discoweb ever been friendly, balanced or cordial? If that’s the direction I completely understand your decision.
 
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chris snell

Administrator
Staff member
Aug 15, 2005
3,020
152
Serious question, has discoweb ever been friendly, balanced or cordial? If that’s the direction I completely understand your decision.

Maybe, maybe not. There's a difference, though. Laughing at Netjaws isn't the same as fighting over COVID-19 response and Trump. That stuff is a big downer and I don't want a bunch of that shit indexed on the search engines to this site. Trying to keep this place high quality.
 
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kennith

Well-known member
Apr 22, 2004
10,891
172
North Carolina
Maybe, maybe not. There's a difference, though. Laughing at Netjaws isn't the same as fighting over COVID-19 response and Trump. That stuff is a big downer and I don't want a bunch of that shit indexed on the search engines to this site. Trying to keep this place high quality.

The only problem is that's the show. That's what people want to talk about and read today.

It sucks, but that's the most action Discoweb has seen in quite some time, and there were some incredibly good posts buried in all that.

When all you have is a fight, the question has to become why isn't anyone doing anything else?

Cheers,

Kennith
 

seventyfive

Well-known member
Jan 3, 2010
4,280
100
over there
Serious question, has discoweb ever been friendly, balanced or cordial? If that’s the direction I completely understand your decision.
Like Chris typed, it’s one thing to argue over retaining springs, studs or bolts, spitting or swallowing, BUT last thing this needs is people finding this place due to SEO, and flood it.
This place was about ball busting and finding out how to fix and/or modify trucks.

granted it was 10 years ago, but the push rod trucks were getting picked up and modified so younger people were coming here for help. The ball busting was very entertaining so they participated.
now the new trucks aren’t as shade tree mechanic friendly, the push rod trucks are antiques, and it’s no longer ball busting. Politics and religion should stay away.
 

kennith

Well-known member
Apr 22, 2004
10,891
172
North Carolina
Like Chris typed, it’s one thing to argue over retaining springs, studs or bolts, spitting or swallowing, BUT last thing this needs is people finding this place due to SEO, and flood it.
This place was about ball busting and finding out how to fix and/or modify trucks.

granted it was 10 years ago, but the push rod trucks were getting picked up and modified so younger people were coming here for help. The ball busting was very entertaining so they participated.
now the new trucks aren’t as shade tree mechanic friendly, the push rod trucks are antiques, and it’s no longer ball busting. Politics and religion should stay away.

Yes, but I ask again: What will people talk about? Not much, it seems.

People who drive old Land Rovers generally seem to be either socially outdated or on the bleeding edge of social relevance. One way or another they're opinionated and interested in what's going on. Doesn't matter whether that's a good or a bad thing.

The question is: How do you get them talking about other stuff again?

A tech-only forum for obscure vehicle interests with no familiarity tends to wither away to activity levels of an old dial-up BBS unless you can maintain one hell of a circle-jerk; but then the information becomes suspect.

I don't care one way or another about a politics forum, but it's not as if it can't be hidden. I was surprised a while back to find it was indeed indexed.

Cheers,

Kennith
 

Friday Night Disco

Well-known member
Jan 14, 2018
60
7
Fall City
I am here to read about Land Rovers and buy parts from Will T, I am not hear to read peoples opinions on political issues.

While some of the political treads were fun to watch, I even commented once or twice, I am a part of this site to read and learn about Land Rovers.

If you look at the LandRoverForum.com you will see a ton of daily traffic on Land Rovers and maybe a political thread every couple of months will pop up.

My assumption on why there is so much traffic there is you do not have to wait (2) weeks to be able to post. I also find that most of their post are very civil. The ones that are not, quickly cycle out as no one takes their bait.

My question is why come here for pollical discussions when there are so many other forums out there for this topic.
 
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kennith

Well-known member
Apr 22, 2004
10,891
172
North Carolina
I am here to read about Land Rovers and buy parts from Will T, I am not hear to read peoples opinions on political issues.

While some of the political treads were fun to watch, I even commented once or twice, I am a part of this site to read and learn about Land Rovers.

If you look at the LandRoverForum.com you will see a ton of daily traffic on Land Rovers and maybe a political thread every couple of months will pop up.

My assumption on why there is so much traffic there is you do not have to wait (2) weeks to be able to post. I also find that most of their post are very civil. The ones that are not, quickly cycle out as no one takes their bait.

My question is why come here for pollical discussions when there are so many other forums out there for this topic.

Really? People want to discuss things among those with whom they are familiar; or at least with others who share similar interests.

Many don't visit sites like various "chans" or Reddit. There's no satisfaction in a comment section, and quite a few forums where it seems that stuff is allowed are censored to the point of picking and choosing an official board position. Not everyone has a full-on digital life, or even wants to engage one.

Discoweb has historically been overshadowed by the other Rover forums, and indexing seemed a bit laggy. Posting here didn't place you at the top of search results. It was, as a result, a safer place to express your opinion without professional or social backlash. It's not a social media site with idiot-proof tracking and associations with your other activities.

Those are the reasons many people want to explore the current political climate here; the same reasons people have always brought current events into interest groups. This is nothing new at all.

Section that off, and you create a battleground. If that's the choice, fine. Dial back indexing or get some people moderating.

Letting things ride the lightning until they peter out and then closing it all up, banning, and making it go away is asking for trouble in the first place. You can't have your cake and eat it too. You just end up with no cake.

There's no way around having a few mods in trying times if you want people to actually be able to have any discussion at all.

Cheers,

Kennith
 
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chris snell

Administrator
Staff member
Aug 15, 2005
3,020
152
The way I see it, the news and social media are absolutely chock-full of woe right now. You don’t have to go far to hear about it. I’ve stopped reading the news and blocked Twitter but it still gets in. The world doesn’t need more outlets to add anxiety and sadness right now; the world needs happy places where we can reconnect with friends and put our hands to work on real things. DiscoWeb should be one of those places.

Yes, it’s different from the anything-goes philosophy of years past but things need to change—for a little while, at least—and I hope that everyone will go along with it And stick around. This isn’t heavy moderation. I haven’t banned anybody. I’m just asking to keep it light and stay away from the dread and woe.

Thanks.