To: Moderator-re: deleted "campaign fatigue" post

[BLACK BART]

I didn't see that I mentioned any partisan politics in that post.  It was about humor (but I suppose that's subjective). Can you tell me what was objectionable about it?

[jklcpa]

I sent you a PM of explanation earlier at the time of deletion which can be found by clicking on the envelope in the upper right of your screen.

[jklcpa]

Sorry, while any post may seem innocuous to start out, you and I can't know how another member may view it or respond to it, or just how quickly a post can be taken off topic onto another tangent.  We allowed politics for a long time because only a handful of people posted in that vein, but as the membership grew, and possibly as the country and our membership became more divided and outspoken, we started to have some animosity when opposing views were posted in reply. We tried a separate politics forum for about a year and a half and some of the members here could not handle it or maintain a respectful tone, and some of the ill will also was carried over into the main forum. It also caused some hard feelings that caused members to leave, at least one person was banned, and we still have some animosity that lingers on.

Eric, KC and I had numerous discussions on the best way to handle it, and for the good of the forum it was decided to have no politics whatsoever. That includes cartoons and those supposed humorous posts.

[Jack from Ohio]

4 hours ago, BLACK BART said:

I didn't see that I mentioned any partisan politics in that post.  It was about humor (but I suppose that's subjective). Can you tell me what was objectionable about it?

I have had several posts deleted.  If you stay around this site, you will need to get used to it.  

It is the nature of this site and the moderators.

[JohnH]

Bart:  I enjoyed the political give-and-take in the early days, and I enthusiastically participated in it.  I think I even had a few posts deleted or was strongly encouraged to alter some things I said.  

For those of us who have pretty thick skins, not much bothered us.  But it was obvious that some posters took things to heart and had very emotional, visceral reactions  (even to what I considered some fairly humorous or innocuous stuff at times).  

Since the main purpose of this forum is sharing professional guidance & experience, it was a wise decision of the moderators to adopt the current policy. 

[Elrod]

Me Too.... I have been deleted also. ....    Posts that is.

[jklcpa]

Eric, KC and I had many discussions over that year and a half period, and all three of us agreed to put a ban on politics for the good of the forum. The description of General Chat is clear and does indicate that the forum will not include politics, and most everyone has been understanding of this and sticks with accounting, tax, and software subjects as is our focus.  For newer members that weren't here a couple of years ago and as a reminder to those that were here, remember that we did try a separate forum, tried asking posters to be respectful, tried reasoning, tried warning points, tried time outs as a cooling off period, and no one liked any of those solutions and they weren't working either.

When the occasional political posts do occur, there isn't any way left to deal with this other than to hide or delete them and let the poster know, and that is how Eric suggested it be handled. I'm following his decision on that across the board with ALL political posts so that it isn't personal or at all biased against one side or the other, and so that there is no judgement call about whether something is so mild that it won't be offensive or not.  Since I am the moderator that happens to be on here most of the time, I am the one that is either hiding those posts or editing those words out of a post by using a very light font so that the post is preserved with the offending part not visible to the membership.

Again, what seems innocuous to start with can quickly escalate into something else. All it takes is for a followup post to include some reference to their candidate, party affiliation or platform, or something against the other side, and we'd be off and running. At this point in time, we aren't going back to hosting political discussions.

 

[BHoffman]

There are about a million online ways to express political opinions, enjoy political humor, argue political ideology, etc.  I'm fine with this one site being "clean" of politics.

Politics, religion, and football are pretty sensitive topics IMHO and best left to forums dedicated to those issues.

 

[taxxcpa]

Yahoo and Newsmax are good sites for political discussions.  Viewers can comment--agreeing or disagreeing with the articles

[BLACK BART]

21 hours ago, jklcpa said:

I sent you a PM of explanation earlier at the time of deletion which can be found by clicking on the envelope in the upper right of your screen.

Okay.  I understand.  Thank you.

[RitaB]

18 hours ago, BHoffman said:

There are about a million online ways to express political opinions, enjoy political humor, argue political ideology, etc.  I'm fine with this one site being "clean" of politics.

Politics, religion, and football are pretty sensitive topics IMHO and best left to forums dedicated to those issues.

 

But those forums make me cry. 

[BHoffman]

Yes.  Any praise of the Seahawks and I wing my iPad across the room like a frisbee.  I must avoid those sites.  The warranty has expired.