4 ms·

I run a small politics forum. I was able to get down to one rule that seems to work. No ad hominem or insults of any groups, people, or policies. People can ta

I run a small politics forum. I was able to get down to one rule that seems to work. No ad hominem or insults of any groups, people, or policies. People can talk about why they like things or why things will or wont work. People continually try to work around them and sometimes there are comments that are borderline. Most people are very respectful and libs and conservatives can debate. An example of trying to bypass is someone calling trump a Nazi. this is obviously meant as an insult. The person claimed it was a statement of fact. Trump has never identified as a nazi and therefore it isnt a statement of fact but is simply an opinion meant as an insult. Once the insults were removed the group functioned well.

bluefirebrand 5y ago
There's a pretty big difference between running a political discussion forum and having those same political discussions at work, though. On a political forum, people's main relationship is coming together to talk politics. They sought that out. At work people's main relationship is to work together. Talking politics becomes messy because it becomes a secondary relationship that can affect the key one, the work one. It also runs into the messy part of some people at a workplace have authority over others at the workplace. People get really funny about authority sometimes.
- aeturnum 5y ago
  People have lives outside of work that sometimes intrude into work. Part of running a workplace is making the appropriate amount of space for those intrusions. How "political" your life is comes mostly from factors that you can't control: your race or ethnicity, your religious beliefs, your citizenship, your sexuality or gender. Saying "we don't talk politics" has massively different implications for different people. I get that workplaces can become distracted. I think we've all experienced it. I just think that banning "politics" is no replacement for engaged leadership and discernment while navigating a company through the world.
blarg1 5y ago
> Most people are very respectful and libs and conservatives can debate. Can you work on curing cancer next?
Rapzid 5y ago
You'd need to add "no spurious HR complaints against people who disagree with you" apparently.
opheliate 5y ago
I’m glad to hear that your forum is functioning well. That being said, your description of your policy on ad-hom./insults seems overly reductive to me. If I said Trump (or some other political figure, I’m just following from your example) was a fascist, rather than a Nazi, then undoubtedly that would also be viewed as an insult by many. But it’s a position that I could try to defend by looking at the characteristics of fascist groups, and showing how they could also apply to Trump. Trump would undoubtedly never self-identify as a fascist, but if he fit all the conditions to be a fascist, then it seems naïve to say “Trump is a fascist” could not be a statement of fact just because he disagreed with the label.

bluefirebrand 5y ago

There's a pretty big difference between running a political discussion forum and having those same political discussions at work, though. On a political forum, people's main relationship is coming together to talk politics. They sought that out. At work people's main relationship is to work together. Talking politics becomes messy because it becomes a secondary relationship that can affect the key one, the work one. It also runs into the messy part of some people at a workplace have authority over others at the workplace. People get really funny about authority sometimes.

aeturnum 5y ago
People have lives outside of work that sometimes intrude into work. Part of running a workplace is making the appropriate amount of space for those intrusions. How "political" your life is comes mostly from factors that you can't control: your race or ethnicity, your religious beliefs, your citizenship, your sexuality or gender. Saying "we don't talk politics" has massively different implications for different people. I get that workplaces can become distracted. I think we've all experienced it. I just think that banning "politics" is no replacement for engaged leadership and discernment while navigating a company through the world.

blarg1 5y ago

> Most people are very respectful and libs and conservatives can debate. Can you work on curing cancer next?

Rapzid 5y ago

You'd need to add "no spurious HR complaints against people who disagree with you" apparently.

opheliate 5y ago

I’m glad to hear that your forum is functioning well. That being said, your description of your policy on ad-hom./insults seems overly reductive to me. If I said Trump (or some other political figure, I’m just following from your example) was a fascist, rather than a Nazi, then undoubtedly that would also be viewed as an insult by many. But it’s a position that I could try to defend by looking at the characteristics of fascist groups, and showing how they could also apply to Trump. Trump would undoubtedly never self-identify as a fascist, but if he fit all the conditions to be a fascist, then it seems naïve to say “Trump is a fascist” could not be a statement of fact just because he disagreed with the label.