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manixFan

Not a rocket scientist
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Rocketry is my main hobby and this is the only ‘social media’ platform I use. I don’t do Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, etc. It’s helped me keep my sanity in these somewhat insane times.

However, in several recent threads I’ve been involved in politics has reared its ugly head. I’ve made the decision I don’t really want to know, and I don’t want to care about anyone’s politics on this forum. All that should matter is your knowledge and experience, or your desire to increase your knowledge and experience. In my club we have members of all political stripes and we get along just fine. But somehow when a keyboard gets involved things seem to go off the rails in a couple of posts.

I’ve decided to steer clear of any thread, no matter how emotion or passion inducing it may be politically, for the sake of continuing my time on this forum. I don’t want to start discounting someone’s knowledge or experience just because they expressed a political opinion that I may strongly disagree with. For me, I think I’ll enjoy this forum and hobby far more if I keep politics out of it.

Just my opinion, but for your consideration.


Tony
 
I have been guilty of that. With COVID being so politically charged, it has been hard to avoid politics in the COVID forums. But I need to reign it in.
 
Yes, they like to push them off the table onto the floor and then bat the smaller pieces under the furniture . . . and then look totally innocent when you walk into the room.
It's called "Re-kitting"... and when it happens again? "Re-catting" (or "de-catting")
 
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That's it Tony, I'm putting you up for TNT President. That leaves Ray more time for food and you get all the politics you could possibly imagine...
 
The only forums I have on my main menu are The Watering Hole and Mid Power. Everything else is ignored. In order to find something interesting, I look at what other members are looking into.
 
Now wait a minute. As a member of the 101st Fighting Keyboardists, I must strenuously object to these positions! (And you have to agree with me!)
101kb.gif
What else is "teh interwebz" for but hackneyed, knee-jerk reactions, bravado shielded by anonymity, and extreme talking point responses with a completely binary outlook - the slightest difference from my (100% correct) point of view makes the respondent black at heart and a worthless cur! No, sir, no nuance here! Don't dare try to see things from other's perspectives or understand where they are coming from.

And don't forget where the word "politics" comes from - There is the Greek root "poli" - i.e. "many" and "tics" - ugly, blood-sucking parasites. Such discussions are sure to get your blood stirring and generate a high level of visceral responses and healthy anger, along with unparalleled self-righteousness! It's a win-win!
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Ok, all kidding aside, I walk very softly (I hope) when I feel compelled to add something to such threads. As noted, such is far from the primary subject of this forum. It's to easy to misinterpret text even with the emoticons and other emphasis tools. Many times, though, here, I have seen cooler heads prevail and a reasonable discussion take place. This is what I would hope from a group of overgrown kids playing with rockets, ahem, I mean, intelligent, technically oriented adults with a willingness to listen to and learn from others. But I can sure understand anyone who wishes to steer clear of such things.
 
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The ignore feature is one of the best things of the forum. I have ignored threads, sub-forums and people. I see very little politics any more and what I do see can either be brushed off as a outlier or ignored so that it never is seen again
Yup! Ignored the whole Covid board and my visits here are much more rocketry focused again. Great feature!
 
Having (or not) those worries is not the point in this case. I have been living for quite some time in a fairly constant state of politics-induced stress and worry. The idea is to try to keep this forum as an escape from all that, so we can enjoy the hobby without undue intrusion of the real world (except where it directly affects the hobby, I suppose).

This is not the only possible policy that one could choose, but it's the choice this forum has made and I for one am all for it. I make *extremely* liberal use of the ignore features, and will probably ignore this thread pretty soon.
 
Discussing politics in a civil manner can enlighten people, even if it is only on viewpoints you don't happen to agree with. Uncivilised discussions should not be tolerated.
I absolutely agree with this, but I would add that when we do discuss politics we shouldn’t derail a non political thread to do so. Many people want a respite from politics. Our hobbies should be a safe place.
 
I absolutely agree with this, but I would add that when we do discuss politics we shouldn’t derail a non political thread to do so. Many people want a respite from politics. Our hobbies should be a safe place.
If I gave OTP one thumbs up, I'd give your post TWO thumbs up. There are times and places... and plenty of places on the internet to express oneself on the topic on ones' choice.
 
I absolutely agree with this, but I would add that when we do discuss politics we shouldn’t derail a non political thread to do so. Many people want a respite from politics. Our hobbies should be a safe place.
Agreed. Thread drift happens enough without adding politics to the mix.
 
I recently called out someone for interjecting politics in a thread and my post got deleted.
:questions:
As someone who has been a moderator of one thing or another for the last sixteen or more years I can understand why that might happen (although I’m not familiar with the incident you’re referring to).
It really isn’t helpful to “call out someone”. That usually just escalates a situation and does nothing to fix the problem. The moderators don’t know about it and the person you’re calling out is unlikely to react according to your wishes.
Instead, report the post. That doesn’t antagonize the previous poster and does get the person responsible for upholding the rules involved.
Once the moderator has become involved your post calling someone else out is a lingering contribution to any disagreements l, even if you’re 100% right.
So, frequently a moderator will just nuke both the original post that violates the rules as well as any that call it out.
 
Must be nice to live without those worries.
Sure is - I’ve been “news”-free for over 10 years. And my lack of interest has had zero effect on the outcome of…anything. It does occasionally leave me a bit bemused at the topics folks are discussing but, within a minute or two from the context, I can usually suss out the gist of it. Because as much as every generation of human beans likes to think that their experiences and problems are unique to history they ain’t. Same as it ever was as the song says…
 
As someone who has been a moderator of one thing or another for the last sixteen or more years I can understand why that might happen (although I’m not familiar with the incident you’re referring to).
It really isn’t helpful to “call out someone”. That usually just escalates a situation and does nothing to fix the problem. The moderators don’t know about it and the person you’re calling out is unlikely to react according to your wishes.
Instead, report the post. That doesn’t antagonize the previous poster and does get the person responsible for upholding the rules involved.
Once the moderator has become involved your post calling someone else out is a lingering contribution to any disagreements l, even if you’re 100% right.
So, frequently a moderator will just nuke both the original post that violates the rules as well as any that call it out.
1. The post was reported.
2. It was politically critical of someone who had just passed away two days earlier. A clear violation of forum rules.
3. I said please leave politics out of this.
4. My post was deleted, his is still up.

No further comments for fear of having this one deleted as well.
You decide.
 
Sure is - I’ve been “news”-free for over 10 years. And my lack of interest has had zero effect on the outcome of…anything. It does occasionally leave me a bit bemused at the topics folks are discussing but, within a minute or two from the context, I can usually suss out the gist of it. Because as much as every generation of human beans likes to think that their experiences and problems are unique to history they ain’t. Same as it ever was as the song says…

I find it to be much better for my mental health to not be aware of what is going on the news. 99.99% of the time, I can't affect or change it, and it just raises my blood pressure to no use. Its also depressing to see all the bad news all the time.
 
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