why is it that each time there is an interesting and informative discussion about a real topic it gets locked? . why can one person say something and that ends it ? why not contact that person ? why punish everyone? this is ridiculous ,someone needs to grow a pair .
It’s for the best. This forum exists as a place to discuss wood heat, power equipment, DIY projects etc. On these things we can all more or less agree on. Once you throw politics into the mix, all bets are off. The good thing is there’s no shortage of other places online where we can berate each other and argue which set of masters is less evil than the other
It would seem like discussions about Wood could be in the Woodshed threads, Chainsaws and Power Equipment in Tool shed threads, etc, etc. Which would leave Everything Else Off Topic for just that. Nobody is forced to participate in discussions they don't like, understand, or agree with.
You want to argue on this forum? Start a thread on Huskie vs Stihl. There's another forum on wood that allows political discussions. I stopped going on that one because of it
It may be living on the edge but it's still open. There's no ideological battle going on there, just a bunch of pictures you don't want to see while you're eating.
I'm going to continue enjoying the strange debauchery while it's still available. Eventually the day will come when any slightly offensive/distasteful material will be banned from the entire internet, with offenders given actual monetary fines for distribution. So, yeah enjoy it while the good times last
Unfortunately it's an extremely divisive topic. Sometimes it's better just to avoid it altogether and avoid the train wreck that all too often ensues with politics and issues leveraged by current opposing ideologies. Passion for one's beliefs and belief systems is commendable but can sour a community's usual camaraderie and tolerance.
Fwiw fellas I did not know the thread was locked until just now when I got online. I had thrown out a hint because I did not want it to go bad. But these sort of topics tend to go that way... Enough said there. Perhaps some folks don't know some of the background of this forum and I won't go into details except to say that a whole lot of folks on this forum started on a different forum that really went south. In fact, there were many given the boot from that place and this is when Scotty Overkill decided to start this forum. Naturally one hard and fast rule was to avoid political discussions because that was the worst thing about the other place. I'm glad this has been done. Please also do not forget that for those who wish to discuss politics or any other subject you still can. It is called Private Conversation or PM. When you choose this, remember not even the moderators can see what is discussed unless they are invited into the conversation so start one if you wish and have at it. It is totally up to the participants to keep it civil and peaceful and if not they can choose to drop out of that conversation. So you can see you do have much freedom on this forum. As for the public part, also remember this is still a family type of forum and that is why some things are not allowed. Thank you all.
It seems to me that a few topics are better off not even bringing up unless you want to start an argument loose friends and maybe even family. I know of many that have had this happen over some of the things that started off as a discussion and then turned ugly. I rarely if ever don't get into it with others about : Politics Religion and beliefs Money and finances & my sex life. The last two I don't have any of so there is nothing to discuss there.
Thanks for giving us “newbies” a little backstory on why this site exists and why things are how they are. I don’t use any other firewood forums and have no intention on starting now. I know WeldrDave started the thread with good intentions, even giving it (VIEWPOINT) in the title because that’s what any real discussion entails; the exchange of ideas and points of view from different individuals. It’s unfortunate that things being as polarized as they are, the most effective way to keep the peace is to limit what can be discussed. I kind of had an inkling I wasn’t being too smart when I hit that “show ignored content” button and then it went downhill fast. Lesson learned on my part. I apologize for my own contribution to that now-locked thread, although I still stand by what I said.