Password Protected Board for Politics

[Ray]

I would post the password in the technical info and tips board and you could go in there and get your politics on.

Other users who are not interested might be able to see the board exists but would not be able to go in there unless they explicitly went and entered the password.

I actually have not tested this process yet but there is a strong possibility it could be working. No promises.

[saylean]

Na, if you dont want to get into politics...just dont open it, IMHO.

I get into it sometimes, but dont take it all too serious on here...I'll die of a heart attack soon enough. 

[agchawk]

Ray, I haven't been on the site for all that long but thought I would chime in.

I don't see where it's needed. I go to this site to get away from that sort of stuff. I think if folks want to chat about politics then so be it. However, I am not sure that a seperate board is needed.

We are all adults (well, most of us anyway) and we can make our own decision as to whether or not to participate in politically orientated threads.

Besides, if you are into the great outdoors whether it be hunting, fishing, hiking, photography, etc then you are good by me. I could care less what your political views are.

[DeKuma]

Not needed.  Istayed out of the political fray, even though I read it all, I chose to.  When I did not feel like it, I skipped it for days on end. 
Things are fine the way they are Ray!

[Ray]

Thanks for the thoughts. I'll leave the poll up. There have been some requests for a quarantine of these sort of topics and this was one of the ideas proposed. It doesn't necessarily mean I agree with it but I do think it is an idea worth considering.

[Wea300mag]

I agree it is not needed, we probably won't see this amount of political talk for 4 more years. Also, there were two or three members who went out of their way to stir the pot. 

[Gobble]

I don't think its needed, if you don't want to see it don't go there I guess

[nw_bowhunter]

Not needed...

[Geno]

I see no need for a password but maybe a forum section strictly for politics. Possibly any postings in this section have the subject title highlighted a different color. Sometimes people post a subject title that is misleading, and you find yourself reading discussion that at times is very opinionated and heated. One might say
"Just don't read it",  but inevitably I end up gawking at the train wreck. I think if I saw the highlighted subject title I would be less inclined to go there.

[rasbo]

I say leave it alone,if ya dont like it turn the channel,I agree that degrading and nasty remarks that are not in fun can be a problem.I get pissed once in a while but I limp away then come back.

[EMPyre]

Why?  Seems to be that you either want to get in there or you don't.  Leave it open and the decision left up to those who are interested.

Besides, do you really want to be King, and have to decide who gets access to discussions?  Seems like it would limit debate, and may paint the moderator in a bad light if certain people were excluded because of their views. 

Variety is the spice of life, it seasons the stew in our melting pot quite well.  Don't dilute the mixture with a filter on the spice mill.

[Skyvalhunter]

So you are talking for just Politics? As we have various other topics besides hunting, like fishing, hiking, tips, etc. Hey its easy to see some people are more passionate about their politics, and some carried away but that happens with many things

[Ray]

Why?  Seems to be that you either want to get in there or you don't.  Leave it open and the decision left up to those who are interested.

Besides, do you really want to be King, and have to decide who gets access to discussions?  Seems like it would limit debate, and may paint the moderator in a bad light if certain people were excluded because of their views. 

Variety is the spice of life, it seasons the stew in our melting pot quite well.  Don't dilute the mixture with a filter on the spice mill.

Empyre it has nothing to do with being a King for myself or any moderators here. In fact I don't support the idea. How would a moderator be viewed in a bad light if we had a special board for politics? Please explain? It really does not add up one bit.

The concept is that those who want to see and engage in the political subjects can do so. Then those that do not want to see it and consider those subjects a waste of space on the board will not see it unless they go in there intentionally. As I stated before.... the password would not be hidden from anyone. It would be freely available in the technical info and tips board. But the user would have to explicitly say "I want to go read political debates today" by supplying this password. Therefore if the user didn't like a topic or topics in that board there would be very little to blame except themselves.

[EMPyre]

Ok, Ray.  I wasn't clear on the logistics of how the p/w would be dissemniated that's all.  Not trying to stir any pots, or tick anyone off.  Love what you and the mods do here.  My point was more IF you had some means of regulating access to the p/w that might seem un fair.

Regardless, I think the p/w is just another layer that is in general uneccessary.  The fact is people already have freewill on this issue, a p/w doesn't really help or hurt the cause either way.  If it realy accomplishes nothing, why bother? 

Sometimes I read those posts, sometimes I don't.  I tend mostly not to, not because I'm disinterested and not because I disagree or argee with any of them.  Mostly I just find very little of value in anonymous political internet discourse.  I know I'm not going to change anyones mind, and don't particularly want someone trying to change mine.  If or when I do, I seek out that information or points of view on my own and choose to view it.  But I have never been turned off seeing a forum heading of 'Politics' or a thread in the Recent bar with a political stance.  I just generally skip it.

I doubt I would honestly ever bother to put a password in to access thsoe discussions.  I do however open one just because it looks interesting, sort of a politcal opinion impulse buy.

[Ray]

Well I do agree with everything you said with one exception.

If it realy accomplishes nothing, why bother?

What it accomplishes is a more "on the topic" and less disruptive bulletin board if we moved some of the topics in there. I have already stated that some people here have expressed their thoughts of moving this into seperate space because they are genuinely disinterested. There have been similar sort of requests about photos in the photo albums. Some people believe that there should be nothing but hunting and fishing pictures. That's something else altogether though...

My thoughts are that this time will pass soon enough.