****Change to Charter-Please Read****

Gloomtastic!

But didn't somebody once say 'Everything is political'?

Gongoozler

strobe wrote: »

I don't think changes are made just for a laugh or anything. I just think the majority should at the very least have their opinion heard before a decision is reached. I'm not suggesting a poll and majority rule per say, just let people have their say openly and ahead of time and allow the opinions expressed a chance to be considered.

That's my suggestion anyway, decide amongst yourselves if it has any merit.

I think the reason opinion wasn't requested is because it's something they're doing regardless of user opinion, and therefore don't give a **** if you like it or not.

Micky Dolenz

southcentralts wrote: »

Would it be possible to have one AH political catch-all thread, to mock and ridicule ( in true AH fashion ) the foibles and follies of our elected degenerates. I do not much care for political debate here, but I do source most of my political news and views from here (not the political forum but AH) at present.

I doubt that threads in the political forum would be welcoming to the AH mindset most of us (you too Micky) seem to have been blessed with since birth. And when issues arise of a political nature, we do want to comment in a place where our filtered view on it will be appreciated.

Most of the political threads are quite serious and would not be out of place over in the political forum. For more banter style posting the Café is ideal. As was said earlier, the politics mods and ourselves will work closely over the coming months to ensure the transition is seamless as possible. This isn't a case of us just dumping threads on them.

Gongoozler wrote: »

I think the reason opinion wasn't requested is because it's something they're doing regardless of user opinion, and therefore don't give a **** if you like it or not.

That's not quite the case. Our feedback threads over the years would indicate that it is a supported change. Many people were looking for AH to be less heavy. It makes perfect sense to put political threads in the politics forum.

LuckyLloyd

Poor decision.

padd b1975

Lone Stone wrote: »

I think this is a bad move for after hours ! And if you dont like the topic folks you dont have to click on it.

Not really a clever strategy from the point of view of the bean counters I would imagine..

Someone who is not a fan of politics will be less inclined to stick around the most popular forum on the site if the first page is 'top heavy' with political topics.

Less footfall inevitably leads to less clicks on advertisements.

DEFTLEFTHAND

Sorry for going off topic but regarding sports threads could we be allowed to have one AH superthread for the World Cup?

We had one for Euro 2012 and the London Olympics and both were good fun to read and contribute to.

padd b1975

DEFTLEFTHAND wrote: »

Regarding sports threads could we be allowed to have one AH superthread for the World Cup?

We had one for Euro 2012 and the London Olympics and both were good fun to read and contribute to.

The one for the Superbowl was very funny.

Micky Dolenz

DEFTLEFTHAND wrote: »

Sorry for going off topic but regarding sports threads could we be allowed to have one AH superthread for the World Cup?

We had one for Euro 2012 and the London Olympics and both were good fun to read and contribute to.

Yeah, those ones worked well. We will probably have one official thread only.

Nodin

Micky Dolenz wrote: »

................

This isnt something we decided over a short time. We looked at the forum over the last few years and felt it was something that was turning AH into something it was never meant to be. We left this thread open so people could question the change. It's new terrority for us all.

Why do you disagree with the change?

Bit fucking pointless considering its already a done deal. Broad political discussion should still be allowed.

And I'm against it even though the vast majority of those I argue with won't last pissing distance in the "Politics" forum.

P_1

Doesn't the Politics forum (inc the Cafe) have a higher expectation of posting than in AH? One concern that I'd have is more mod time being used up with people being caught up in this

Cookie_Monster

The standards of posting required on the politics foruam are, rightly, far higher than AH and the cafe is dead. Between those two a lot of semi casual, enjoyable discussion is going to be lost in this move.

evolving_doors

P_1 wrote: »

Doesn't the Politics forum (inc the Cafe) have a higher expectation of posting than in AH? One concern that I'd have is more mod time being used up with people being caught up in this

Id tend to agree, its not so much as where we're going, but who's going to be there when we arrive. It might be a case of "get back to AH ye trolls ...and take 'yor ma' with ye".

As a teaching mod im kind of glad the "Teachers and their 3 month holidays" rants are kept here. Don't get me wrong though, I like to participate here in those debates but I tend to adopt the drunken-melee-shoot from the hip style that AH entails.

Maybe the politics cafe should be moved here.

I can appreciate that something like the politics cafe needs a few regular posts to gain popularity, maybe still host the thread title here but put a redirect link to P.Cafe...once people go there and see other live/recent threads then theyll start to hang around and follow the forum. I find that the more popular a forum becomes then the more popular it becomes! Especially if people open up boards and see interesting thread titles pop up in the general ' latest posts' listing.

only other thing I can think of is that I've noticed a severe lack of swan threads in AH...just saying..

Black Swan

P_1 wrote: »

Doesn't the Politics forum (inc the Cafe) have a higher expectation of posting than in AH? One concern that I'd have is more mod time being used up with people being caught up in this

Armelodie wrote: »

Id tend to agree, its not so much as where we're going, but who's going to be there when we arrive. It might be a case of "get back to AH ye trolls ...and take 'yor ma' with ye".

All members (and AH transferred threads) are welcome to post their politically related discussions in Politics Café. The Café is a greatly relaxed alternative to the serious posting standards found in the other 7 Politics forum/subforums. Except for the focus on political topics, if you are accustomed to posting in AH, you probably will not find much difference.

Please know that there is now a Feedback thread stickied in Politics Café. You are welcome to post comments in that thread to help shape Politics Café to the needs of our community of posters.

Armelodie wrote: »

only other thing I can think of is that I've noticed a severe lack of swan threads in AH...just saying..

If you are referring to Black Swan (although I may not have posted as frequently as I used to), my total AH posts are 3,567 which surpasses your total boards.ie post count of 2,275 shown below your avatar.

kneemos

The Politics Forum seems to like going on about it's high standard of posting but as far as I can see it's a case of the Emperor's new clothes,ie AH worded differently.
Failing to see any high level of insight or knowledge.

evolving_doors

Black Swan wrote: »

If you are referring to Black Swan (although I may not have posted as frequently as I used to), my total AH posts are 3,567 which surpasses your total boards.ie post count of 2,275 shown below your avatar.

Ohhhhh I've been served..
Its not quantity BS its quality... :}

Anyhow ya I'll take a look in the PC alright ..

Politics is ubiquitous though... The tuam baby grave thread in AH could easily slot into politics...or religion...atheism fora. I think most of the Politics threads here end up in general social commentary anyhow, where as in politics..its more of a historical/election side of things.

In saying all that I'd be interested to give it a try either way.

Black Swan

Armelodie wrote: »

Anyhow ya I'll take a look in the PC alright ..

In saying all that I'd be interested to give it a try either way.

Know that you are most welcome to start OPs and post in our Politics Café. Try it, you'll like it.

K-9

Nodin wrote: »

Bit fucking pointless considering its already a done deal. Broad political discussion should still be allowed.

And I'm against it even though the vast majority of those I argue with won't last pissing distance in the "Politics" forum.

There's a big crossover element between Politics and AH. You and many others don't really care where a thread is, subject matter is far more important than where a topic comes up.

Armelodie wrote: »

Id tend to agree, its not so much as where we're going, but who's going to be there when we arrive. It might be a case of "get back to AH ye trolls ...and take 'yor ma' with ye".

As a teaching mod im kind of glad the "Teachers and their 3 month holidays" rants are kept here. Don't get me wrong though, I like to participate here in those debates but I tend to adopt the drunken-melee-shoot from the hip style that AH entails.

Maybe the politics cafe should be moved here.

I can appreciate that something like the politics cafe needs a few regular posts to gain popularity, maybe still host the thread title here but put a redirect link to P.Cafe...once people go there and see other live/recent threads then theyll start to hang around and follow the forum. I find that the more popular a forum becomes then the more popular it becomes! Especially if people open up boards and see interesting thread titles pop up in the general ' latest posts' listing.

only other thing I can think of is that I've noticed a severe lack of swan threads in AH...just saying..

Footfall is important and the Cafe can't compete with AH in that regard, but AH isn't supposed to be a place to post just to reach a wider audience. Again it comes back to the topic, if its important enough to posters they'll post anyway.

The Cafe was set up for lighter topics, humour threads, that type of thing in response to user requests, but due to AH hoovering up those threads it never stood a chance.

kneemos wrote: »

The Politics Forum seems to like going on about it's high standard of posting but as far as I can see it's a case of the Emperor's new clothes,ie AH worded differently.
Failing to see any high level of insight or knowledge.

That's something that happened over a few years. I'd find little difference between the higher quality AH threads and most Politics ones.

Everybody is welcome to post and as mods we're aware there will be teething problems as people find their feet. Once more and more posters start using it the forum will develop its own style and feel.

crockholm

K-9 wrote: »

There's a big crossover element between Politics and AH. You and many others don't really care where a thread is, subject matter is far more important than where a topic comes up.



Footfall is important and the Cafe can't compete with AH in that regard, but AH isn't supposed to be a place to post just to reach a wider audience. Again it comes back to the topic, if its important enough to posters they'll post anyway.

The Cafe was set up for lighter topics, humour threads, that type of thing in response to user requests, but due to AH hoovering up those threads it never stood a chance.



That's something that happened over a few years. I'd find little difference between the higher quality AH threads and most Politics ones.

Everybody is welcome to post and as mods we're aware there will be teething problems as people find their feet. Once more and more posters start using it the forum will develop its own style and feel.

I Think I get where Nodin is coming from,and I agree with him.When you say that it will be relaxed,does that mean that if I am now asked to back something up with a link,I now have to,or else leave the discussion?

As far as I remembered,that wasn't the case in AH.

My problem is that my computer ability has stopped evolving at the cro-magnon stage and I have to stare at a keyboard to find the keys with my big clunky fingers that were designed more for beating raw materials with a hammer.

I don't know how to link stuff.

Am I now goosed?

Black Swan

crockholm wrote: »

When you say that it will be relaxed,does that mean that if I am now asked to back something up with a link,I now have to,or else leave the discussion?

You do not have to back things up in the Politics Café. You can just express your opinion. From the Politics Café Charter:

Black Swan wrote: »

Discussions that emphasize serious and rigourous content, sometimes with citations and links for support, should be conducted in one of the other Politics forums.

Unlike the 7 other Politics forums, in the Politics Café you can have smiley face only posts , or picture-only posts, vid-only posts, cartoons, one word posts, banter with friends, toss in plenty of humour, and wander off-topic just like you might do with friends while chatting in a Café.

There is no special list of inappropriate words in Politics Café as found in the other 7 Politics forums. And you might note that the Politics Café charter is the shortest found in the Politics forums, which should tell you something.

Politics Café is an experiment (see Charter). If you want to help shape it, by all means post in the Politics Café stickied FEEDBACK THREAD.

You are welcome to join us crockholm for a chat in the Politics Café.

Nodin

K-9 wrote: »

There's a big crossover element between Politics and AH. You and many others don't really care where a thread is, subject matter is far more important than where a topic comes up.

............

I'm not the one that will suffer. Not everyone will last in politics, as well you know. Some will be no loss admittedly, but still.

hatrickpatrick

Micky Dolenz wrote: »

90% of the threads are clearly about politics, so are clear cut. Of course there are the grey areas. We will have to take those on a case by case basis. As I said earlier if anyone one is unsure, ask and we will figure something out.



This isnt something we decided over a short time. We looked at the forum over the last few years and felt it was something that was turning AH into something it was never meant to be. We left this thread open so people could question the change. It's new terrority for us all.

Why do you disagree with the change?

The bolded part is why, for me. What exactly is AH "intended" to be? Shouldn't that be defined by how people use it? It's unlike other forums in that it doesn't have a defined topic, so shouldn't it primarily be up to its users to shape what it becomes rather than having ever more restrictions imposed on it by mods?
What exactly will be allowed once this is all over? AH has been getting gradually more restrictive over the last number of years and is no longer the fun, relaxed place it once was. I won't name any names, but as an avid user of both Politics and AH, I'd actually say that mods on AH are now more uptight than Politics mods. This isn't how AH once was and in my view, that goes more against what this forum is meant to be than any trend with regard to what people are posting in it.

To put it another way, how are you defining political threads as some kind of "problem"? Are they being consistently marked for moderation? If the user base doesn't have any problem with it, then how exactly is it a problem?

To give you an analogy, most forums on Boards are like gates communities, while AH has always been more like a town square. Do we really want to turn it into the kind of town square where hardly anyone is allowed to do anything?

Legs.Eleven

I think you're going to have a difficult time deciding what falls under "political".

Fred Swanson

This post has been deleted.

forgotten password

tldr;

forgotten password

Chucken wrote: »

Nobody visits The Cuckoos Nest

We can be zany and hilarious too.

ya bring back the count to a million thread , we were on 200 and something thousand

Nodin

Fred Swanson wrote: »

This post has been deleted.

Really? I only recall one thread that was started with a "pro" Sinn Fein OP recently.

Nor were you forced to read or participate in any of them.

Peregrine

Legs.Eleven wrote: »

I think you're going to have a difficult time deciding what falls under "political".

Same. The way I see it, most social issues that gets discussed in AH are very much intertwined with politics and often turns into a political debate.

Lone Stone

By the same train of thought, you should move lets all laugh at people with depression thread to personal issues or the long term health forum. Along with a million other topics that are going to pop up most likely.

hatrickpatrick

Lone Stone wrote: »

By the same train of thought, you should move lets all laugh at people with depression thread to personal issues or the long term health forum. Along with a million other topics that are going to pop up most likely.

Underlining a thread title when it's not actually a link?
Some men... Just want to watch the world burn.

Neyite

Lone Stone wrote: »

By the same train of thought, you should move lets all laugh at people with depression thread to personal issues or the long term health forum. Along with a million other topics that are going to pop up most likely.

Personal Issues is not a discussion forum so it would probably better suited to LTI perhaps?