Politics and religion are off-limits, unless you opt in

[daffy4u]

I think this is a fair decision which might allow me to take the Lounge off ignore. My "Ignore Thread" finger was getting a callus.

[CCDMan]

Nice idea!

I have, perhaps unfortunately, sometimes felt compelled to reply in some of those threads, especially when the religious fanatics start peddling their unsupported and unscientific beliefs. Generally I prefer to avoid those topics online, however, since they tend to raise one's blood pressure and they certainly solve no problems and change no-one's mind.

This mechanism gives me an excuse to "just not go there" (literally) as some additional steps are involved.

One could call it a sort-of forum version of "count to ten before speaking"! <g>

[kindlekitten]

Originally Posted by FlorenceArt

Yes, that worries me too. It might become a ghetto where the same people end up saying the same things over and over again. Or is it that already? I'm really not sure where I stand on this whole issue.

I agree also with rhadin about "debates" not being real debates, but that is a very general issue, and they are still useful, maybe even necessary.

I think there have been, especially recently, some nice discussions which have, as mentioned prompted some to seek out new reading material. I have found that it is quite nice to be able to discuss with others that are obviously readers topics that may certainly be sensitive that we don't get to discuss every day. after all, debating religion with someone from the other side of the world is not something that most of us are able to do at the local cafe! it brings a welcome addition to my mental workouts at least! I agree, I think with any forum where open discussion is going to happen, these are two topics that will be broached. being able to do it in a sane civilized fashion is quite welcome. I think you got it right Florence, it is necessary

Originally Posted by ShortNCuddlyAm

At the moment this thread is at the top of the announcements, and it's showing on the front page, so for the time being newcomers should be able to find it if they're interested enough in political and religious debate to read the thread.

Beyond that - maybe sticky this thread?

I dunno, it probably took me about a year to find my way into announcements, I guess I thought it was more technically oriented, and never really gave it a fair shake

Originally Posted by neilmarr

***I do wonder how new people are to find it***

New people don't come here for reilious and political debate -- plenty of forums on the net dedicated to that -- but because they want to know about ereading devices, ereading and ewriting. Otherwise they'd have gone elsewhere. Neil

I have been to a lot of the "elsewhere" places. there are many that are slanted to one side or the other, whether it be politics or religion. getting differing viewpoints is difficult on those boards. then there are other boards that are pretty much "anything goes" boards and if you hold any view other than the prevailing "group think" position, you are subject to horrendous flaming. being able to discuss topics here with people who share a passion for reading, and are slightly more intelligent that perhaps many of these other boards is a welcome change of pace!

[kacir]

Great idea.
There is one little problem, however.
We know, at this moment that there is possibility to opt-in to the politics and religion serious debate.
New users, or users that do not follow Mobilerad as keenly as we do, they have no idea that there is possibility to opt in into this kind of discussion.

At minimum, you should ask new user when he registers whether [s]he wants to see this kind of discussion.
For existing users the situation is different. Perhaps you should send a private message or a visitor message to everybody informing them about change.
I would hazard a guess that most people wouldn't be interested, but still ...

[ShortNCuddlyAm]

Could it be made into a site banner announcement? I know they've been used for other things (competitions and the like). OPK - it won't solve the long term visibility of it, neccesarily, but it might help

[Leep]

I'm definitely in favor of this idea and commend the forum for coming up with such a fair solution. In the past, I have avoided Mobileread for long weeks just because of the "off topic" and arrogant and hostile tone of some posts.

Thanks for reminding us of the underlying focus that makes this forum great.

[Tom Wood]

deleted

[dsvick]

Originally Posted by HarryT

The purpose of the Lounge, as its description says, is: "lighthearted banter and discussions unrelated to ebooks" (emphasis mine). This new forum certainly won't remove the role of the Lounge as a forum for serious debate; it simply move two specific subject areas (politics and religion) into their own forum. The Lounge will remain the place to discuss other subjects unrelated to ebooks.

You're right Harry, I probably should have said "hardened debaters of these more contentious subjects"

[Bilbo1967]

So most serious discussion (outside of those two topics) will still be in the Lounge.

Would that make us denizens of the Lounge mass debaters?

[Donnageddon]

For some reason the term "hardened debaters" made me giggle. At least it is not named "Master Debaters", even if that might be more apropos.

I personally applaud this decision.

[recluse]

I think this is a wonderful idea.
Thanks to Alexander and the Mod Squad for a reasonable solution to an increasingly toxic problem. :

Jon

[SameOldStory]

One of the things that has ticked me off has not only been the antireligious messages, but the constant insertion of them in areas where they weren't called for by a few people over and over again.

Unfortunately I've taken the bait too often and therefore contributed to the overall problem.

I don't think that this will please some but I, for one, am quite happy to see it all (hopefully) moved here. Thank you very much.

[Dr. Drib]

Originally Posted by neilmarr

Thanks. This is a big enough forum to get through without being sidetracked by subjects more effectively discussed in forums specifically dedicated to them. I belong to several that I visit when time allows. But MR must maintain its specialised focus just as these other subject-dedicated sites do.

That the threads in question may be of interest to writers and readers in certain spheres may be true, but where do we stop -- do we also discuss the morality of genetic engineering, gambling, fifteenth-century Armenian architecture, hypnosis, the validity of third encounter accounts from those who claim to have been abducted by aliens, how to prepare the perfect Elizabethan banquet, camping tips, martial arts, flower-arrangement, etc, etc, etc, too?

Opt-out as default is, I think, a wise and generous decision by the team.

Best wishes. Neil

Hmmmm...the "abducted by aliens" part sounds kind of interesting. Why, just the other day, whilst busy in the outhouse....[oh, sorry. Wrong Forum.]


Don

[desertgrandma]

I thank you. I actually unsubscribed from the entire lounge and considered just 'going away' because of all the buttons these posts were pushing.

MobileRead has too much to offer to lose members because some want to express their feelings at the expense of others, over and over again.

Great solution.

[GA Russell]

I think this is a great idea. I am a member of a jazz forum (organissimo.org) which adopted this policy some years ago, and it has worked out fine.

I particularly like the ease with which one can opt in and opt out. I can see myself usually "out", but "in" when someone's Election Day draws close.