On Fri, 12 Jun 2009, Steven Krivit wrote: > >>It's time for a temporary ban on all off-topic discussions, most > >>specifically a ban on anything involving politics or religion. Those > >>who wish to discuss such things can do so: just use vortexB-L instead. > >>I've susbscribed the vortex community to vortexB. > > This will require some vigilance on all our parts. Please define > "temporary" as this will be helpful.
"Temporary" as in not permanent. How long will it take to make clear that Vortex-L is not the place for left-wing politics, right-wing politics, and anything similar? First to clear up a misconception. Last week's fight has *not* ended, and it gives every sign of re-starting. Postings on experiments and odd science don't attract conversation, since everyone is busy with threads on other topics, particularly politics. Make no mistake, most people WANT to defend their political or religious positions. Therefore many forums ban religion/politics entirely, since otherwise it quickly takes over everything. Vortex has been unusual in keeping this issue on a back burner for so many years. But our luck is running out. Politics postings become a habit, and part of the subscribership insists on always countering the "wrong" opinions posted by The Other Side. Second, subscribers have now started posting politics messages, then privately insisting that the ban doesn't apply to them. This is a common ploy, and sends me a message in foot-high flaming letters: "I REFUSE TO STOP." I've learned elsewhere that this sort of thing requires major and prompt response. If this had been just one person, and the problem appeared to be fading away, I'd let it pass. But it wasn't. I see that Vortex has acquired the religion/politics illness that affects most forums. Or call it "poor health," where natural defenses begin to fail, and opportunistic infections start appearing. We could ban politics permanently. Or temporarily limit the topics to CF and nothing else. Or as a last resort, shut down the forum for awhile. But first I'm using the trick which has worked in the past: kill it off artificially. Stamp out every last vestige, then wait awhile to make certain it's gone. If it slowly grows back much later, the forum's own "immune system" might keep it at a very low level. (((((((((((((((((( ( ( ( ( (O) ) ) ) ) ))))))))))))))))))) William J. Beaty SCIENCE HOBBYIST website billb at amasci com http://amasci.com EE/programmer/sci-exhibits amateur science, hobby projects, sci fair Seattle, WA 206-762-3818 unusual phenomena, tesla coils, weird sci
