Discussion of Betting in the Politics Forum

Brussels Sprout

Hi,

First off I have not received any infraction. Looking at the other threads in this forum that seems to be the common theme here. I do though have a difference in opinion with a mod and this seems like the only avenue that I have to get a 3rd party opinion since we have already discussed the matter via PM in the past.

In August I started this thread in the politics forum. Within a few hours the mod 'ancapailldorcha' moved it to the Gambling forum. I was a bit surprised by this. I had read the forum charter and couldn't see any specifically banning the discussion of gambling so I PM'd him asking them about their decision. They sent me the following reply which I accepted (while not agreeing with their line of thinking):

<snip>



Fast forward to 2 days ago when myself and several other posters were discussing current odds and betting on the US Presidential election on the thread on that topic in the Politics forum. The same mod told us to stop the discussion and deleted posts. I queried that decision :

With all due respect can I ask what the issue is with discussing betting on the election?

The bets themselves reflect public sentiment which is of itself of interest to people discussing every other single aspect of this election.

The soccer and MMA forums are full of betting chat - it's just part and parcel of watching those activities and frankly the US election is as much entertainment as any sport - it has already become the largest event in history in terms of money wagered.

Betting is a legal activity in this country (it's not like people are asking for IPTV streams for example) and I can't see anything in the forum charter against it.

but I got shot down for querying a modding decision by another mod. Fair enough.


So look the crux of the argument is that I think betting markets and odds should definitely be allowed in the politics forum and the US election thread in particular. Yes, gambling can be a scourge and a vice and god knows it has ruined many lives. However, we're all adults here and I don't think there's anything in particular about politics as a lofty or noble pursuit that lifts it above the realm of gambling and betting. Every single bookmaker has a dedicated politics section and almost every single political podcast or journalist will mention odds from time to time.

The Gambling forum itself is dead. I try my best to breathe some life into it and post frequently on the US Elections thread there but there are only about 5 regular posters in there. Just so compare:

Politics Forum US Election thread - 8,902 posts
Gambling Forum US Election thread - 258 posts


I just want to point out as well that I have nothing against the mod in question. It's a thankless job and no doubt he/she made this decision not out of spite or ill will but using their best judgement and experience and their own personal preferences on what discussion of politics should entail.

I'll abide by any decision made here.

Thanks for reading.

Spear

DRP is only for forums bans and infractions, so this belongs in Helpdesk.

Beasty

Please note that PM's cannot be posted without the permission of the sender (other than in the Dispute Resolution process)

Beasty

OP, the Politics forum is for serious discussion of political topics. I do not think that discussion of gambling/odds falls into that remit, and hence I can see where the mods were coming from here

Clearly we do have a dedicated Gambling forum, which seems the most obvious location for such discussion.

An alternative is the Current Affairs forum, which facilitates less serious discussion. However we already have a number of US election threads and I would not want the forum to be dominated by discussion of the US election, with different threads covering similar/the same issues

TomOnBoard

Beasty wrote: »

OP, the Politics forum is for serious discussion of political topics. I do not think that discussion of gambling/odds falls into that remit, and hence I can see where the mods were coming from here

Clearly we do have a dedicated Gambling forum, which seems the most obvious location for such discussion.

An alternative is the Current Affairs forum, which facilitates less serious discussion. However we already have a number of US election threads and I would not want the forum to be dominated by discussion of the US election, with different threads covering similar/the same issues

A key point here is that ANY dicussion of possible future outcomes in relation to ANYTHING of a political nature expresses those possible outcomes using odds, probability and predictions expressed a either proportions (eg 7/2) or probability out of 100%.

EVERY poll returned on favourability ratings of a particular person's performance is expressed in terms such as 52%: 43%.... a candidate's chances (eg Trump winning the Electoral College) is expressed as eg 22%.. Surely such measurements are appropriate in a politics discussion?

Beasty

TomOnBoard wrote: »

A key point here is that ANY dicussion of possible future outcomes in relation to ANYTHING of a political nature expresses those possible outcomes using odds, probability and predictions expressed a either proportions (eg 7/2) or probability out of 100%.

EVERY poll returned on favourability ratings of a particular person's performance is expressed in terms such as 52%: 43%.... a candidate's chances (eg Trump winning the Electoral College) is expressed as eg 22%.. Surely such measurements are appropriate in a politics discussion?

The thread was titled

"Political Gambling thread"

That is a discussion which is not actually linked to the "politics" involved - it's about "chance"

Brussels Sprout

I fundamentally disagree that gambling, implied probabilities and the predictions of the future that they entail are not a serious topic. However, I accept that this is probably a subjective matter and clearly at least two people think differently about the matter. As I stated above, the Gambling forum isn't an adequate alternative given its traffic issues but I'll respect your decision and keep my betting related posts to that forum.

Thanks for the review.

Brussels Sprout

Beasty wrote: »

That is a discussion which is not actually linked to the "politics" involved - it's about "chance"

I only saw this post come in after I sent my other post.

I have to disagree that this would not be linked to politics. The predictions of political races are what underpin the wagering.

Pure chance is something else entirely - playing roulette for example. Something where no insights, knowledge, experience (or even inside information) can help you to gain an edge.