been away for a week, what happened to the political board?

[michaelmars]

I know It got out of hand many many times but I did learn a lot by reading the posts!

[Jack from Ohio]

Must be a matter of national security.

 

Or of shredded tissue paper feelings....

[michaelmars]

perhaps it was located on lois lerners computer

[kcjenkins]

I know It got out of hand many many times but I did learn a lot by reading the posts!

Thanks, I'm glad you saw it that way, that was how I saw it when we started it.  But several people saw it as very divisive, and more importantly, it had tapered off a lot, but did seem to bring out the worst in a few members.  We just decided that with few participating, and yet a couple of members still getting 'warnings' there due to the nastiness of their posts, closing it was for the best. 

I liked the idea of discussing ideas with the members here, as I respect most here for their knowledge and intelligence.  But I don't want the anger that political debate stirs in some to poison the tone of the whole board.  I was surprised how vicious a few got there.  So better to end it, I think. It was actually my suggestion, in fact, but Eric and Judy both agreed.

[jklcpa]

Yes, what KC said.  KC, Eric and I had been discussing its ending off and on since last fall, and in April we all agreed again that it was best for the group as a whole to put it to rest. So that the forum wasn't disrupted by any changes during the busy season, Eric thought it best to end it during the slower months of summer, around the time that he does some overhaul work to the forum. 

[JohnH]

_{Especially with this being an election year, the conversation was destined to become ever more polarizing.}

_{(and I say that as one of the likely polarizing culprits)}

 

_{Besides, many of us still have lots of tax work yet to do and now there's one less distraction out there.}

[taxxcpa]

Posting political comments is a way to let off steam, but I don't think anyone ever reads a political posting and says, "After reading that message, I am going to switch from being a Democrat to being a Republican"  or vice versa.

[JohnH]

Ive noticed that the discussion ABOUT the political forum is a lot more civil than the discussion ON the political forum.

Guess that confirms the wisdom of KC, Judy, and Eric's decision. :)

[Eric]

I've been away on vacation for a while, in a place with no cell phone service or internet connection.  Just a lake, kayaks, hammocks, and books. It's been a nice break.

 

KC and Judy and I had discussed closing down the politics forum some time ago.  Now it's gone (I'll delete the forum itself soon) but I'd like to replace it with something else eventually.

 

I thought it'd be more beneficial for this community to have a place to discuss more no-tax topics.  Right now, I think General Chat has a comfortable balance of Tax and Non-Tax related posts... but that balance is what keeps me from posting much, since I don't have anything tax related to contribute.  My feeling is that I would share more NT stuff if there were a dedicated forum for it and I think other people might too.

 

I'd like to shoot for an Off Topic forum that focuses on more personal/friendly threads.  Talk about your kids/grandkids.  Post photos.  Post articles / videos about subjects that you find interesting.  A recent example I really enjoyed was Catherine's post about Fibonacci numbers / the golden ratio.

 

There are plenty of places to argue about politics.  We have a good community here and I would personally prefer to grow this community in a more positive way.  I'm really hoping that our members have more varied interests than just politics, and I'm hoping that people will share those interests here so that everyone can get to know each other beyond their political views.

 

I don't have a timeline for these changes.  There is a very big forum upgrade on the way--I've been doing beta testing on and off for the past few months, reporting bugs, and testing fixes.  The changes will be significant, and so I'd like to lump that upgrade with the forum changes and do it all at once.  There is no timeline for the release of the new version, but it's looking pretty polished at this point and I can't imagine that it'd be more than a few months away.

 

Questions? Comments? Suggestions?

[jklcpa]

Eric, thank you, it all sounds good to me. My only thought is that those that don't really care about the politics forum's demise might not click on this thread unless you change its title, or start a new thread announcing your plans and ask for comments and suggestions.

[Eric]

I'll close this and create a new thread.

 

New thread is here:

'?do=embed' frameborder='0' data-embedContent>>