Plus Politics

[Robert]

Soloist made a suggestion and we discussed it as Mods and want to go forward with it.

This is the suggestion and it is open to discussion over the weekend. If it looks like a positive move, we will implement it early next week.

Politics section will be opt in only. Anyone registered or newly joining will no longer have access to Politics unless they go into their User Control panel and select Plus Politics in the groups.

A step by step will be provided for any who want to opt into the Politics section if we make the move.

Feel free to share your thoughts and vote in the poll.

[GaryK]

Will the rest of the forum be more tightly moderated for political content? I've seen some Current Events threads become quite political..

[Robert]

Will the rest of the forum be more tightly moderated for political content? I've seen some Current Events threads become quite political..

Threads be moved, but a little politics discussion in current events will be inevitable. It will be up to the Mods to decide.

As always, any decision of the Mods is not allowed to be questioned. I am happy to discuss why that is such a hard line here.

[JohnH]

I think this would improve the tenor of the board. (I assume Politics post won't be visible until someone opts in, and won't be visible to people who never log in either.)

I do think a firm stance on moving political discussion to the Politics section will be necessary. There are some prolific posters (I may be one of them) who frequently post in Politics, but also try to skirt the line in Current Events or Anabaptist Theology & Practice with what are essentially political threads. I do not see a problem with stating in such a thread that it is appropriate for it to be moved to the Politics area.

There may need to be guidance about moving things into Politics. For example, a discussion that starts on a distinctly Anabaptist area of discussion but ends up just being about government policy about e.g. house lot sizes, building codes etc... that is exactly what I think should move to Politics, and folks should be aware of that.

[cooper]

I have been part of the no politics user group at various times but then leave because politics is so broad that there are times I see topics that I wish to comment on. I did vote for the proposed change because politics is getting most of the oxygen here.

[Valerie]

I have been part of the no politics user group at various times but then leave because politics is so broad that there are times I see topics that I wish to comment on. I did vote for the proposed change because politics is getting most of the oxygen here.

I voted same. When I first joined MennoDiscuss years ago I was surprised at any political discussions and it’s abundantly more now- I think this is a great idea. At the same time it did help me learn more about Anabaptists when I was a seeker going that direction back then.

[cooper]

I have been part of the no politics user group at various times but then leave because politics is so broad that there are times I see topics that I wish to comment on. I did vote for the proposed change because politics is getting most of the oxygen here.

I voted same. When I first joined MennoDiscuss years ago I was surprised at any political discussions and it’s abundantly more now- I think this is a great idea. At the same time it did help me learn more about Anabaptists when I was a seeker going that direction back then.

Yet I am struck by many people here who say they wish there was less talk about politics whose major contributions are about political topics. Not to call you out Valerie, but your profile shows over 60% of your posts are in the politics forum.

It looks like most people favor the change yet our posting habits do not reflect that.

[Valerie]

I have been part of the no politics user group at various times but then leave because politics is so broad that there are times I see topics that I wish to comment on. I did vote for the proposed change because politics is getting most of the oxygen here.

I voted same. When I first joined MennoDiscuss years ago I was surprised at any political discussions and it’s abundantly more now- I think this is a great idea. At the same time it did help me learn more about Anabaptists when I was a seeker going that direction back then.

Yet I am struck by many people here who say they wish there was less talk about politics whose major contributions are about political topics. Not to call you out Valerie, but your profile shows over 60% of your posts are in the politics forum.

It looks like most people favor the change yet our posting habits do not reflect that.

You have every right to call me out on that.
That’s why I think the change would be good, because “seekers” like I was, want to read more about what Anabaptist faith and not politics. Yet through the years political threads grew and I was not Anabaptist so jumped in too. I cannot really speak on behalf of Anabaptists but it will be nice to have that option for seekers or new members.. Many Anabaptists on here start all kinds of political topics which is what surprised me.

[Soloist]

I would be curious as to the reasons three people voted against it so far.

[JimFoxvog]

I would be curious as to the reasons three people voted against it so far.

How are we going to define "politics"?

Politics is the set of activities that are associated with making decisions in groups, or other forms of power relations among individuals, such as the distribution of status or resources.

This seems to intersect with so much of the world. Our Mennonite faith should influence how we interact with the world and so our politics. I support the current system of letting people opt out. If we were a consensus decision-making group, I would not stand in the way of the proposed change.