And we're back to politics again, which upsets a lot of users who come here for radio and TV-related discussions. I've reserved a topic thread just for this. Can we put this kind of stuff there in future?

Thanks.

paterson1 wrote:

RadioActive wrote:

And we're back to politics again, which upsets a lot of users who come here for radio and TV-related discussions. I've reserved a topic thread just for this. Can we put this kind of stuff there in future?

Thanks.

It seems to upset a few and if some political themes are of no interest to them, don't read it.

But unfortunately, that's not what happens. They DO read it, and then I get inundated with DMs complaining about the content. Not from Trump lovers, but from people who come here to escape all of that political intrigue. They threaten to leave, and no Admin. wants to lose users, especially when I value each and every one of them.

Then there are the inevitable extreme left vs. extreme right people, who despise each other without even knowing who they are. It just engenders hatred, vitriol and does the site no good.

paterson1 wrote:

we are saying that ALL and any political comments, which there aren't that many, are supposed to be on the same stale long thread? Even if they have nothing to do with the original topic?   I actually don't like threads that have many pages, since if you read the posts, many get off topic and don't have much to do with the original post.

No, what I'm saying and have been for a long time is that there ARE already too many. They're like COVID - it infects the entire board before you even realize you've caught anything. And by then, it's too late to keep from getting sick. It is truly no win. So I have to try to act as the vaccine. Which, as we know, isn't always completely effective. 

It's like the lyrics to the Phil Ochs song called 'The Flower Lady.'
"So they argue through the night,
Black is black,
White is white.
Walk away both knowing they are right."

There is no winning in this. Especially as the moderator. 

Don't get me wrong - I'm as fascinated by politics as anyone, especially with the Orange Ogre threatening the very democracy of the world. But unless it's about him cutting funding for PBS and NPR or Mark Carney allocating millions for the CBC - which are political, yet affect broadcasting - what does that have to do with radio or TV in Southern Ontario and Western New York? 

The answer is obvious and you know it. 

paterson1 wrote:

I can see not wanting SOWNY being taken over by politics. There doesn't seem to be much evidence that it will be.  Most posters with the exception of one or two who try to drag politics into subjects are well behaved. 

I will give you that most are well behaved and some of their opinions are very interesting. But just like I would not open the editorial pages of the Toronto Star and expect to see a cake recipe, or have Popular Mechanics do an article on sewing, most of the time this doesn't belong here. 

There are tons of newspapers where you can write comments, Redit threads, even [shudder] Twitter aka X. They will welcome all comments. I try to keep them to a minimum. I hate censorship and I don't like cutting people off. But consider the point of this forum. 

It's not to argue about Trump or Carney or any of them. I don't think I'm asking too much to keep this place to what it was originally created to be - a site to discuss radio and TV and broadcasting in general. It's a losing battle, but I have to keep trying. Maybe a completely separate political section where you can write whatever you want is the answer. Although I will still get endless complaints, so that may not work, either. 

I will consider it if enough people think it's a good idea. But as it is, I have enough to moderate. 

For now, I'm closing this one off. We'll see how it goes after that.