Off Topic Not talking about politics - I don't think it has worked

Politics has been off the agenda here for around four months, but this policy has failed in my view.

Maybe this is because different members have different ideas about what is 'political' and what isn't.
But that's splitting hairs in my opinion.

Anything controversial that isn't about CAFC or football is politics.

If political posts are going to continue to be made, then I believe the "no politics" guidance needs to be binned.
Members should feel free to disagree with points of view without worrying about being gagged by a 'no politics' rule that isn't watertight - so isn't working.

I strongly believe we should drop the 'no politics' notion.
And do our best to debate and disagree without getting personal.

Your thoughts?

 

I am happy to discuss anything as long as it doesn’t cross a line. But you said on another thread Lardy that you were being pushed into a corner with the views of certain posters. So which is it. ? I will go with the majority.

 

Maybe there needs to be a return of the Politics Thread. That would give those who need to do so the opportunity to air their views, and the rest the opportunity to ignore them.

 

I felt I was being pushed into the corner of either

A) disagreeing - so opening a political debate, which we are currently supposed not to be doing, or
B) moderating what I might consider to be racist content in the future, but without giving members the opportunity to dispute that action,
again because of the 'no politics' rule.

Neither option is acceptable in my view with the way things stand.
So we either allow open discussion of controversial subjects, or we have a draconian 'delete all potential politics' policy.
Unless someone has a viable third option...

What cannot continue in my view is the drip-feeding of political subjects into threads, with no allowed means of countering them.
I'm OK with a 'politics' thread as FHB suggests.
What goes in there should stay in there (sentiment-wise).
Posts from other threads may have to be moved there too, which some members may not like.

But there is no perfect solution to this question.
Which is why I thought we should talk about it.

 

Personally I've got no wish to read the political views of other Charlton fans, and no wish to express mine on a football forum. Politics in this country is in a dreadful state, and it seems practically impossible to have an honest conversation anyway.

 

It’s got far worse since 4 July when the most dishonest manifesto in history , written by liars & packed with lies , duped many well meaning people.

I agree though - no politics.

 

I sympathise with FHB's desire not to have to read the political views of other Charlton fans.
But currently he has little choice, as those views are popping up everywhere.
I'm not interested in playing whack-a-mole, or simply ignoring them.

So I'd be happy with a 'Politics' thread where views can be debated, but members who aren't interested can leave well alone.
Politics should not be snuck onto non-political threads.
That denies members a choice in reading them, and causes avoidable ripples in the water.

If we want no politics it has to mean no politics.
Which will involve post deletions - that will lead to arguments in itself, and accusations of heavy handed moderating.
Better to have a thread for the purpose in my view. With a couple of clear ground rules.

 

Even though you have supposedly handed over the reins to me you seem to be the one making the decisions. So I think it is time to step away.

 

I've offered my opinion on the current state of affairs and asked members for their views.

Do you think I'm wrong in saying political posts are appearing in threads again?
If so, we have quite different views on what constitutes a political post.

If in your view the way things are right now is OK, then I'll feel free from now on to respond to what I see as political posts as and when I see them.
And I will not expect to be told "no politics".

 

As a matter of interest, does any poster actually have any interest in reading Political opinions on ere? Is anyone influenced by what they read?

 

Definitely not
You hit the nail on the head earlier when you said it was the International break.

To misquote Barry White (and later Mick Hucknall), "It's only Royston, doing his thing baby..."

He got bored over the dreary weekend and playfully threw in a couple of lines about subjects he knew I would have a nibble at.
@Charles No Likes Hawtrey occasionally likes to play Eric Morecambe to my Ernie Wise and yank my chain a bit.

Of course I fall for it every time and get all stiff-necked.
But in the past I've taken it all far too seriously.
Even this afternoon when I was getting stressed at work I started this whole thread, when I probably should have taken a deep breath and had a cup of tea instead
He's very good at winding me up.

Sorry @Dick Plumb1
I have no defence, aside from a difficult day at the grindstone.
The secret of good political posting is to keep it fun.

 

Sounds familiar... oh yes, the Brexit Referendum

 

On the positive side, while we have been bickering amongst ourselves, ITTV has only had 4 posts all day

 

All frightened off by Williamson being back on the scene.