A new section of the board.....

[GoldenAge50s]

I voted for "neither"--I just don't see how it wouldn't end up spilling over to the other boards after a heated discussion. I just don't think it's a section that should be part of, or is needed, on this elite Net54 sports board.

[Leon]

Wow, you guys still have some great arguments for and against. Whomever said there would be a section for politics and religion didn't quite understand the section being debated. It will be open, not specific, and this debate concerns those 2 areas of discussion...not their own section.

Folks have said "do I really want that headache?" I guess I am jaded because I believe our membership can have discussions and debate without going at each other's throats every second. If it is a go I am still undecided on how much moderating would be done....chances are it would be less than the regular board but still looked at. Someone mentioned is membership or posts down? Quite the contrary. We had 65 new members join in November, 66 in Dec and so far in January we have had 40. We started with around 600 members after the first 3 months on the new board s/w (we couldn't count with the old board) and today we have approximately 2400 registered members. As for posts, I am not sure but I would guess they are up a little bit and the BST is up substantially. So, the board's health is fine. That is not the issue. As I said in my initial post I think it would be good for our members to be able to chat about ordinary stuff, since we are a family. And as I said, there are some times I would like to post about something that is way OT and I don't because I really shouldn't.

Whomever posted a bit of the rules earlier is correct in what our forum is about. However, I think it would be a better place with an area to chat with my friends if I want to, not pertaining to sports. The real debate is concerning politics, and to a lesser degree religion, as it probably won't be talked about much anyway. I mean really, who cares how others believe? That is their personal business and more power to everyone on that matter. I hope this gives a few more thoughts. I will say I am still almost 50/50 in my thinking of allowing the politics to be discussed. I thought it would be a bit more on the affirmative side but no, after reading everyone's thoughts, I am back to square one on the issue. Also, no, there is no burning desire to post some extraordinary circumstance. If there was I would just use my "freebie" pass for an OT and do it. This is more of a longer term solution to make the board better. That is all. Thanks to all who have voiced opinions so far. They are appreciated very much. regards

[Tsaiko]

Water Coolers Suck! See, it's already getting nasty

Reading the responses from other board members, it seems that they are the kind of people that have a good grip on their self control, so I can't see them dragging down a friendly debate. Unless a no vote is their way of saying, "No, please don't tempt my inner a$$h@le"

I voted Don't Care. I won't get involved in a heated opinion debate anyway.

As a social experiment, if this section does exist for a period of time, we might find out that people of a particular party collect specific cards more than people of another party. That would be weird, wouldn't it? You might hear angry remarks like, "You left winged T206ers are all alike...." Or not

[BleedinBlue]

Originally Posted by Tsaiko

"You left winged T206ers are all alike...." Or not

The problem with society today is those damn Right Wing Old Judge Collectors...

[ValKehl]

Leon - I voted "yes" to both before reading all the posts, because I know that I can read your liberal Republican (do I sense an oxymoron here?) views without going ballistic on you, and I'm sure you can react likewise when you read my conservative Democrat views!

But, after reading all the posts, I now think it would be best not to allow either because these two subjects are too divisive - why risk ruining the good thing that you/we have going?!

Having said this, I suggest that if you do allow both, that you establish separate sections for each in addition to the water cooler section (in which neither politics nor religion would be permitted).
Val

[ethicsprof]

as i said in my earlier post, i have been on this board for a number of years and am amazed and happy to see how much less the ad hominem has been in the last couple of years with the new forum.
the discussions and scholarship regarding the beautiful pieces of cardboard
have excelled in many ways, too, even though we have many who come on board as admitted newbies.
I like what we've become.
I remember full well over the years when discussions of religion and politics slipped in.
These tended to be the worst of times for our board with ad hominem at its height.
I say that we stay loyal to the cardboard.
And by doing so, I believe we will continue to stay loyal to each other as colleagues, friends, and family---the last word underscored ably by Leon---
without ad hominem.
My dear friend, Barry Sloate, i'm surprised that you indicate a 30 day trial, for
i've seen you deeply hurt at some comments in the area of religion over the years. I,too, was hurt by the comments. I don't want this to happen to you or anyone again.
I've said enough. I'll be on this board for ages---just like i've already been on it for ages---no matter what is decided. The one who mentioned Pandora's box earlier speaks to the heart of my own fear.
all the best,
barry

[Butch7999]

Posts 2, 4, 7, 11, 15, 16, 17, 18, 20, 21, 22, 24, 26, 28, 29, 33, 34, 43, 44, 49, 51, 56, 57, 58, 60, 64, 69, and most especially 19 and 50, speak for us. An Anything-Goes (sub)forum will instantly invite politics and religion as the main topics there. Vehement animosity on a politics/religion forum is inevitable, and the ill feelings that will generate will inevitably and unstoppably spill over onto the main boards and the relationships between members. We know from experience. We run our own little podunk forums. So we vote no, just to encourage Leon not to entertain the idea any further. That said, we hate being told how to run our forums, and this forum is Leon's, so it's entirely his call. He can, and should, do as he likes and as he thinks best.

[Robbie]

I voted "Yes" before I voted "No."

At Net54, I would keep the discussion to Ty Cobb vs. Honus Wagner rather than Creationism vs. Evolution.