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So let's say you have a forum that completely bans all off-topic discussion. What happens when a prominent user experiences something negative? Like for exampl

So let's say you have a forum that completely bans all off-topic discussion. What happens when a prominent user experiences something negative? Like for example they die, or face harassment from people either inside or outside the community. Do you ban them for breaking the cardinal rule, or allow your forum to become political? It's not at all easy to create a forum that bans all off topic discussion. I've ran smaller forums before. If you honestly think you can do better then by all means, give it a try. You'll quickly realize that your users are human, and you'll be forced to make decisions that are intrinsically political. Thee is no such thing as a forum that can avoid political discussion. Just one that aligns with your beliefs.

Lewton 7y ago
https://www.reddit.com/r/CatsStandingUp/ https://www.reddit.com/r/CatsStandingUp/
- icebraining 7y ago
  /r/CatsStandingUp is a political affirmation against the banning of pet cats: https://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-45347136 https://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-45347136
  - Lewton 7y ago
    nope You can disagree with having cats as pets and still post pictures of cats standing up
oefrha 7y ago
I’ve been in a managing position of a small forum (around a hundred active members at a time, plus a few thousand lurking members) before. We remove off-topic content but don’t kick anyone other than spammers and outright trolls. There have been some cases of conflict; they were handled privately. Public complaints are not allowed (see “we remove off-topic content”). Members may complain to admins and admins may talk to both sides, but since we don’t kick anyone, the most dire consequences (from us) are that one or both parties get a temp ban from a day to a week if they keep posting complaints or arguing publicly. Most conflicts go away eventually; a few members may have left due to conflicts, but that’s okay, they just blend into the organic churn. > they die, or face harassment from people either inside or outside the community. I fail to see why some online admins can stop any of these.
- fzeroracer 7y ago
  Right and what you've just admitted is that said forum is indeed political. The moderation and admin style is selecting users that best fit into the forum culture. Users leave as a result of either typical churn or because they don't align well with the forum. Every single forum is going to grow a culture around it consisting of memes, ways of talking, interacting with others etc which are all very political in nature. The fact that you've seen conflicts and have had to resolve them is proof of this. It's just human nature and fits the very definition of politics.
  - oefrha 7y ago
    > selecting users that best fit into the forum culture. Yeah, we select users who can stay on topic and who can contain anger and resolve conflicts like adults (or rather, like decent human beings; we did have teenage users). Not a tough ask, and neither outrageous nor outlandish for a topical forum.
    - fzeroracer 7y ago
      Sure, but in that process you have to make decisions and weigh how to punish users. You have a set of rules and ideals users have to follow, which form the governance structure of your forum. And the definition of politics is the art or science of governing. Forums operate much like miniature societies with their own laws and best conduct. Forums might be entities targetted towards very specific subjects but that doesn't free them from being political. It just means that the forum is aligned to your specific beliefs.
      - Reelin 7y ago
        > And the definition of politics is the art or science of governing. > It just means that the forum is aligned to your specific beliefs. Those two statements are using different definitions of the word politics. Carefully enforcing a reasonably bland and objective set of rules is not political by any definition of the term in use by the people you're arguing with here. It only becomes political if the rules themselves take a stance on current social issues. Of course, using the other definition, the rules themselves are political because somebody could debate them and that would be a form of political action. So you could claim it's not politics free under that definition. But that's not what was actually being discussed here, so it isn't useful in this context.

Lewton 7y ago

https://www.reddit.com/r/CatsStandingUp/ https://www.reddit.com/r/CatsStandingUp/

icebraining 7y ago
/r/CatsStandingUp is a political affirmation against the banning of pet cats: https://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-45347136 https://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-45347136
- Lewton 7y ago
  nope You can disagree with having cats as pets and still post pictures of cats standing up

oefrha 7y ago

I’ve been in a managing position of a small forum (around a hundred active members at a time, plus a few thousand lurking members) before. We remove off-topic content but don’t kick anyone other than spammers and outright trolls. There have been some cases of conflict; they were handled privately. Public complaints are not allowed (see “we remove off-topic content”). Members may complain to admins and admins may talk to both sides, but since we don’t kick anyone, the most dire consequences (from us) are that one or both parties get a temp ban from a day to a week if they keep posting complaints or arguing publicly. Most conflicts go away eventually; a few members may have left due to conflicts, but that’s okay, they just blend into the organic churn. > they die, or face harassment from people either inside or outside the community. I fail to see why some online admins can stop any of these.

fzeroracer 7y ago
Right and what you've just admitted is that said forum is indeed political. The moderation and admin style is selecting users that best fit into the forum culture. Users leave as a result of either typical churn or because they don't align well with the forum. Every single forum is going to grow a culture around it consisting of memes, ways of talking, interacting with others etc which are all very political in nature. The fact that you've seen conflicts and have had to resolve them is proof of this. It's just human nature and fits the very definition of politics.
- oefrha 7y ago
  > selecting users that best fit into the forum culture. Yeah, we select users who can stay on topic and who can contain anger and resolve conflicts like adults (or rather, like decent human beings; we did have teenage users). Not a tough ask, and neither outrageous nor outlandish for a topical forum.
  - fzeroracer 7y ago
    Sure, but in that process you have to make decisions and weigh how to punish users. You have a set of rules and ideals users have to follow, which form the governance structure of your forum. And the definition of politics is the art or science of governing. Forums operate much like miniature societies with their own laws and best conduct. Forums might be entities targetted towards very specific subjects but that doesn't free them from being political. It just means that the forum is aligned to your specific beliefs.
    - Reelin 7y ago
      > And the definition of politics is the art or science of governing. > It just means that the forum is aligned to your specific beliefs. Those two statements are using different definitions of the word politics. Carefully enforcing a reasonably bland and objective set of rules is not political by any definition of the term in use by the people you're arguing with here. It only becomes political if the rules themselves take a stance on current social issues. Of course, using the other definition, the rules themselves are political because somebody could debate them and that would be a form of political action. So you could claim it's not politics free under that definition. But that's not what was actually being discussed here, so it isn't useful in this context.