Do we want an "Anything Goes" Forum?

[Johanna]

It has been suggested that we set up a special section for people to rant and rave about any subject they choose, excluding personal attacks. Some of you want to discuss world events and controversial subjects, and this would be the place to do it. Those of you who hate those conversations could ignore the section entirely.

Please vote. Comments welcome.

Johanna

[Suze]

I'm not so sure that it is a great idea - "Politics" (or any other contriversial subject) can get pretty heated pretty fast.

and then you have name calling and bad karma running around, and then the "whispering campanes" get started.

and with as much negitivity in the world today, with jobs being lost and businesses closeing --

Do we really want all that to "stain" the world of the leather family that has been built here?

I vote no

[tashabear]

I have to disagree. They opened a forum like that on a motorcycle forum I'm on and it did nothing but good for the main pages. It's password-protected, like the adult forum is here, which means that I don't even know it's there and I got about my business in blissful ignorance.

Of course, that's predicated upon people behaving like adults, which I think can happen here, with suitable applications of modly prerogative where necessary.

I'm for it, and would prefer it be password-protected.

[Ian]

I don't think so. Not that I'm not the first to dive into off-topic posts and I can talk politics and controversy until the cows come home. I just think there are enough other outlets to divide us (unfortunately). As much as we'd like to think we accept others rights to their opinions, I think we all tend to polarize towards people sharing our opinions - often to the exclusion of those who don't.

I like LW the way it is (and if you think outherwise, I might hate you

[DCKNIVES]

I presently belong to about 10 different forums and almost all have tried this and few have succeded without heavy moderation.Most of the forums have done away with political as it causes way too many problems.Politics concerning our chosen field of leather should be welcome because it is a matter of importance to "us".There are plenty of forums for those who love to rant and I do not think this should be one of them.Dave

[UKRay]

I'm with you all the way, Tashabear.

I'm definitely not here for the in-fighting and squabbles, I just want to chew the fat, have a laugh and learn as much as I can. The password idea sounds like a good one as it would keep the controversial 'off topic' stuff right out of the way and most important of all, stop it spoiling sensible discussions about leatherwork.

Human nature being what it is, I think the real success of this proposal would rely on the moderators (bless 'em) picking up on any nonsense and shifting it off the main board; but I guess that sort of thing is one of the reasons we need them.

edit was because of my inability to spell - again!

I have to disagree. They opened a forum like that on a motorcycle forum I'm on and it did nothing but good for the main pages. It's password-protected, like the adult forum is here, which means that I don't even know it's there and I got about my business in blissful ignorance.

Of course, that's predicated upon people behaving like adults, which I think can happen here, with suitable applications of modly prerogative where necessary.

I'm for it, and would prefer it be password-protected.

Edited April 3, 2009 by UKRay

[HorsehairBraider]

Although I like to hear what other people are doing in their private life and have concern and care for people going through difficulties, I am not interested in rants etc. I come here for learning about leather work and to share what I know with others who would like to learn.

I too have been on lots of forums, and I have seen this sort of thing bring very bad feelings between people. If I had everyone over for dinner, there are some topics I would not want brought up at the table with so many diverse people... I would not want bad feelings between my guests. I respect other people's opinions and hope they respect mine - but that said, there are already tons of places to go on the internet to rant and rave about various subjects. Typically those places are moderated to prevent alternate points of view, so that participants can "let it all hang out" so to speak, and that is fine with me. They have an outlet for their feelings.

If it is decided to go with it, I like Tashabear's idea of it being by password only. I am truly not interested and would not join in. I really do come here for the love of leather, and have come to like and respect many people. I would not want to jeopardize a friendship over some of that stuff.

[tonyc1]

I reckon it's a great idea as long as it's not personal. Let's people get another person's views of many different subjects. I vote yes.

Tony.

[rawhide1]

Johanna

I think it would be a good section. After all it would give people a place to go and talk about stuff that aint leather related. Even if it was to vent. I think it should also be set up like the adult section. But like any thread on here if ya dont like it dont read it. I enjoy this site more than anyone will ever know due to it being about leather. But I do get quite a laugh out of some of the non leather related topics. I think were all adults and should be able to post our opinions and thoughts without being shut down. With that being said Johanna you brought this site to life so I'm good with whatever ya decide.

[rdb]

Please, Please, Please, Please, make it go away........If I want "Red State", or Faux News, I know how to use the url bar!

[Hilly]

I like the idea of having a seperate section for rants. I too, like the idea of it being password protected, and with the exception of personal attacks on fellow leatherworkers, anything goes. Most of us are adult enough to "change the channel" when we hear things we don't want to listen to.

[Washroad]

I think everything is "political." Not everything is controversial. Not everything causes great disruption.

An "Anything Goes" forum might be OK, password protected and only people with 100oz skin should be allowed in. Send Johanna proof when applying.

[Tkleather1]

I say why the heck not. It will let people breath a little when they get all worked up. We all need to vent and some of us spen alot of time here and respect alot of the people here and their opinions so I think that this would be a good spot for it.

[ClayB]

I really hope you don't decide to do that. I feel like Leatherworker.net should remain focused on leather. There have to be other places on the internet people can go and discuss things like politics that can get people riled up really quickly. I dont see where having a place on this site for such conversations contributes to our goal in any way.

[tashabear]

I really hope you don't decide to do that. I feel like Leatherworker.net should remain focused on leather. There have to be other places on the internet people can go and discuss things like politics that can get people riled up really quickly. I dont see where having a place on this site for such conversations contributes to our goal in any way.

But they're doing it already. Look at the pig pile on that poor kid Noah, or all the political spewing around election time. Since people are going to do it anyway unless there's serious use of the modly hammer, give them a place to do it where the rest of us don't have to look at it.

[outcast]

Don't need it. Enough ppl hate me already.

[ClayB]

I know they are, and it's really sad. This is just my opinion, but if you allow that kind of stuff anywhere on our forum, that attitude is going to carry over. If that happens, then we lose all that we have worked so hard to create. Maybe we already are losing it. I'm glad it's not my decision to make. Someone asked for our opinions, that's mine.

[Tkleather1]

I really hope you don't decide to do that. I feel like Leatherworker.net should remain focused on leather. There have to be other places on the internet people can go and discuss things like politics that can get people riled up really quickly. I dont see where having a place on this site for such conversations contributes to our goal in any way.

in my opinion though if I want to hear another cowboys opinion on something I personally wouldnt know where to go other than here. And I am not trying to "attack" you in any way I need to make that clear.

[tashabear]

I know they are, and it's really sad. This is just my opinion, but if you allow that kind of stuff anywhere on our forum, that attitude is going to carry over. If that happens, then we lose all that we have worked so hard to create. Maybe we already are losing it. I'm glad it's not my decision to make. Someone asked for our opinions, that's mine.

That's why I asked Joanna if she could institute a locked section. I don't want to silence people, but I don't want to click on a thread thinking it might be relevant to my interests, only to find that it's really... not. I'm a lot more liberal than most of the folks here, and some of the directions the conversations take make me wicked uncomfortable. And yet I still respect their right to have and air their opinions. I just don't want to look at it or be surprised by it.

If you want to eliminate the rancor, the only answer is to eliminate the Off-Topic section and be ruthless about policing the rest of the board. I think that will do more to damage Leatherworker.net than anything else, not to mention creating a LOT of work.

It looks like I'm trying to persuade you to my way of thinking, and in a way I am, but I'm mostly responding to you in hopes that someone else might read this and possibly change their way of thinking. Even if we don't get a password-protected anything-goes area, maybe at least they'll think twice before slinging mud in public.

[MarkB]

in my opinion though if I want to hear another cowboys opinion on something I personally wouldnt know where to go other than here. And I am not trying to "attack" you in any way I need to make that clear.

Tkleather1

You can go to buckaroo Guide to get your cowboys opinion on something. This is a leather workers form. I think this may be bad for the form.

That just my cowboy opinion.

Mark

[Jordan]

Whatever you decide J. I suggest a spot like the adult section with the understanding that if it gets out of control/wicked bad it will be stopped and rules of engagement will be adopted for the entire forum such as no politics, religion or ? etc. (I would not want to be the one to make the decision as to what is appropriate topic matter). I think most here are responsible adult types and I have a lot of respect for everyone here. While this is a/the Leatherworker.net site we are all humans and occasionally need to vent so I see no harm in giving a restricted topic a try. We have a poster on our wall Titled "All you really need to know to get along with others is what you learned in Kindergarten. I especially liked the one about taking an afternoon nap everyday!

[jbird]

I hope this dosnt happen it will make enemys and do no good IMHOP.

Josh

[Tkleather1]

Tkleather1

You can go to buckaroo Guide to get your cowboys opinion on something. This is a leather workers form. I think this may be bad for the form.

That just my cowboy opinion.

Mark

Hey thanks I didnt know about that one. I will have to check it out.

[CitizenKate]

Well, here are some of my random thoughts... I apologize for the length of this post.

Thought 1: This site cannot be everything to everyone. The wider the scope of topics we try to accommodate, the more the quality and depth of content will suffer.

Up until now, we've pretty much allowed any topic to be discussed in the "off-topic" forum, and it's worked okay, but more and more people are finding stuff in there they don't want to see, mixed in with the stuff they do want to see, with no way to distinguish them until they've already wasted time reading it.

So we have two choices. We can create a separate forum to help people more easily distinguish between groups of topics. Or we can decide not to include the topic any longer. Since our primary dedication here is to share and learn about working with leather, it's my opinion that anything outside of that should be considered more strongly for omission.

Thought 2: I understand that some people need a place to vent their frustration with the government, politicians, various groups, or just love to chew the fat on political topics. There are other people who just want a place to preach politics. Nothing at all wrong with any of that. If I want to participate in a political forum (with all the rants, preaching, debating, and accusations you can stand), there are way better places on the Internet to do that. Is that really what we want people to start coming here for?

Thought 3: A few people here have said they would be in favor of having a section where anyone can literally discuss anything "... as long as it doesn't get personal," and "... as long as you go in there with a thick hide."

When you have a membership as diverse as this one, and you post a rant about some group, any group (gender, nationality, race, religion, profession, age group, sexual orientation, you name it), chances are very good that we will have members who are in that group.

The vast majority of us who visit this forum have matured to the point where we don't allow what someone says about us or some group we belong to affect us. We have seen in the last few days that not every single person visiting here has reached that level of maturity. The fact of the matter is, these topics do become personal, very quickly. There are also a few people whose idea of a "thick hide" is being able to deliver the most venom. My concern is that an "anything goes" topic may end up becoming a magnet for people who are just looking for a place to play out some unhealthy aggression.

Thought 4: We have allowed some very controversial discussions to continue completely un-moderated because the individuals focused on facts, ideas, and particulars of the issue, rather than on personalities or motives, or resorted to name-calling or personal insults. This is one place where this is allowed to go on almost daily, regardless of the personal views of any of the staff, because controversy does have value to the membership at large, and it is highly relevant.

Meanwhile, there is teaching going on, new demos being posted, questions being answered, ideas being shared...

I personally would much rather focus on all of this.

That being said, Johanna, I'll support whatever you decide. But if we do this, I too would like it to be set up like the adult section.

Kate

[analogphotographer]

I am new here and i do not think it is needed.People will still get mad and all upset for some stupid reason.Then mods will start to issue warnings,time outs or outright bans.

It works on some boards but here i think it would cause trolling.If you are on other boards you know what that is,if not it is when some one post just to get a rise out of people and cause problems.This is a leather board and politics do not belong here.I believe it would make this place less attractive to the new people.There are plenty of boards were people can get bent out of shape.

My vote(not that you are asking) would be for a home town forum of all the different states.This way people of certain areas would know what is going on around them and also get local help if needed.Sorry for the off topic suggestion.