Time for a change of direction

Topic

Too much political ranting is going on in this forum and in others.

I have no issue with posts concerning Windows issues, vendors, customer service and so forth.  Want to voice displeasure or complain about something?  Have at it!

But the old advice about not discussing politics or religion at the dinner table should be applied here.

In the past I said that I had not found a reason to mute any AW member.  But the constant politically motivated posts that are unrelated to technology or have a tangential fringe relationship are driving me to distraction.

I had hoped to never need the mute button, but I’m reconsidering that.

I strongly suggest that politics has no place in these forums (even here in rants)  and that such posts should be prohibited.

Lets all return to the common technology interests that we can share and discuss without having to navigate the divisive political vitriol that is so prevalent these days.

End of my rant.

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ctRanger, Myst, TechTango, satrow, Charlie, PL1, bbearren, RetiredGeek, coastline, Donny H

Replies

I agree that discussions (both online and in-person) should always be respectful.

Having said that, technology today is constantly and heavily impacted by numerous political forces. Ignoring politics is ignoring technology.

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wavy, Andy M, young058, SueW, NaNoNyMouse

There are plenty of other ways and places in which people can express their political views.

Call or write Representatives/Senators in both houses of Congress.  Write an editorial for a newspaper.  Get a guest spot as a political commentator on a news network (MSNBC, CNN, Fox, etc.).  And so on and so forth.

No one is saying that we should ignore politics.

I just think we don’t need to be bombarded with it here at AW.

 

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Myst, satrow, PL1, bbearren

Thank you for your post @EricB. I had recently muted the Rant forum because of the politics, but forgot to login. I also, thought I would never have to use the mute.

3 users thanked author for this post.

satrow, bbearren, EricB

I tend to keep a light touch on the rant forum and stronger elsewhere.  It’s not easy having zero politics when you are referring to technology these days.

What I would urge all of us to do is to keep in the middleish and keep asking questions that we should be asking about technology.

As others have pointed out we have mute forum and mute users should you need it.

Susan Bradley Patch Lady/Prudent patcher

7 users thanked author for this post.

wavy, ctRanger, SueW, Elly, satrow, opti1, NaNoNyMouse

Mostly agree – with a but. To start with the bottom line; I like to know who I’m dealing with.

We live in extraordinary times at the moment. The behaviour of the American government rubs off on all Americans. And just about anyone around the world is affected by this government.

Most people outside the US don’t know how the political system in the US works. They see Trump as president and so a majority of Americans must have voted for him. Add to that; we don’t see much US citizens protest against their president. Ergo: all Americans have gone crazy.

In the case of Trump, there are two kinds of people; you either like or hate the guy. There’s no middle-of-the-road. As a European, I started looking at Americans with different eyes as well, even though I know it wasn’t a majority voting for him. But still – are you friend or foe?

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Andy M

Simon_Weel wrote:

Ergo: all Americans have gone crazy.

And AW had hoped to maintain civility here.  Oh, well….

Simon_Weel wrote:

As a European, I started looking at Americans with different eyes as well, even though I know it wasn’t a majority voting for him.

Wrong.  The fact is that the President of the United States was elected after receiving a majority of the popular vote as well as votes in the electoral college that exceeded the required number.

Folks we are not doing this. I am closing the thread.

Susan Bradley Patch Lady/Prudent patcher

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SueW, bbearren, n0ads, EricB, Cybertooth, RetiredGeek, PKCano, satrow