As a long(ish) time member, not a big participator, but someone who checks the "new topics" at least twice every day and an "outsider" (Non USA member of this forum), I have absolutely zero interest in...
USA internal politics...
Guns or any associations for or against guns...
Religion of any kind...
I have a keen interest in World politics including the US's participation in them, but I get my information on this from a wide selection of sources and not from any of the "special interest" forums I support (for instance, "The RVforum", the "geocaching" the "the mountain bike forum" the dodge ram forum" the "I pull the wings off flies forum"
or the like)
Why is it that members of this forum who have interests, valid interests, in these often divisive and inflammatory topics persist in continuing to start forum discussions on these topics.
Do they not know that by even starting a topic that broadly skirts the periphery of any one of these subjects is surely going get the attention of the more stubbornly opinionated and the topic will surely end up denigrating into a flame war and thus be locked. Or is this the actual purpose of starting the topic, just to inflame.
This forum as has been stated many many times aspires to be ( and truly is) "Is the friendliest place on the web for anyone with an RV or an interest in RVing".
"We are the oldest online RV community.
Our forum members hail from around the globe. They come together in the RV Forum to share common interests and to share their combined knowledge and experience to help anyone with a question about any aspect of RVing."
Our moderators here have set very specific rules that we all agreed to at signup and they do a very good job of moderating them, often in my opinion far too leniently, but there we go, inserting opinions again.
I'd personally like to see a total lockdown of these subjects even if the initial subject seems relatively harmless, but again, my opinion.
Would it be possible to have a non- binding referendum vote on the subject of whether to maintain the status quo, open up the doors or totally ban these subjects to give Tom and the moderators a sense of the feelings of the majority of the members.
I'm sure I'll come back and clean this up on edit once I have re-read it a few times
Thanks for taking the time and giving me the freedom to rant.
Cheers,
Geoff