At the dinner table

Yes we could. Good idea.

I'll second the "post election" idea. And also strongly go with the politics of the country where you vote. Although, I'm certainly in favor of questions and answers in that area, much as you've noted with the "religion and Rahul" example. I can't believe how many times in the last month Cat has tried to steer a discussion into politics. Even Arjen's "I'm in the studio now" thread.

Maybe, and this is just coming to me as I write it so bear with me, stressing the educational and cultural aspects that Guitar Noise already deals with (and deals with relatively well) might be a good way to focus the conversations.

And it's also now occuring to me why these sort of things usually don't work out. People generally use these as soapboxes and not as discussions. They have opinions and probably don't even bother reading ones that they don't agree with. Again, maybe stressing communication, discussion, education and culture might make it work.

It's really all up to the posters, isn't it?

Peace

I'll second the "post election" idea.
If we go "pre election" we can take it down quicker :lol:

That was weird. When I submitted the poll it came back all as "yes". Even said 100%. Then a review and it is all different and split across all 3 answers. I thought that was odd since some people were clearly saying maybe and no.

We got a great deal on a used electronic voting machine from Florida.

Hmmmmmmmmm

I keep thinking back to when Wholenote.com turned into a Europe -v- the US row about the 2nd world war, which is why I gave up going there.

I'm a "No"

Nils, I didn't even see the poll until you mentioned it. So I put my vote in after the fact. I think Dan and I are currently "no." Even though I lived most of my life in Chicago, I managed to only vote once! :wink:

Peace

Frankly, I think what he have works. (If it ain't broke, don't fix it?)

I think Opinions and Polls lets people post pretty broadly and still allows us time to intervene when things go south.

I think I'm content with things the way they are, but then I'm getting old and cranky.

Tim

I voted "Maybe". I am definitely straddling the fence on this one. I can see how, in a Utopian world, it could be a good thing for those members who keep asking for it. I can also see how, in the real world, it could fall to pieces in a heartbeat. As I said before, I'll go along with the majority.

I'm a definite, firm "Maybe."

I kinda like the way the "Humor & Off Topic" forum is run at http://castboolits.gunloads.com/

The forum heading says:
This Section is open to Humor, Political & Religious Discussions . YOU MAY BE OFFENDED HERE. THE ONLY MODERATION WILL BE DUE TO YOUR CONDUCT AS UNBECOMING AND MODERATORS WILL STEP IN ONLY AS A LAST RESORT. THIS FORUM DOES NOT EXIST MERELY TO ATTACK AND OFFEND, BUT CERTAIN TOPICS MAY BE OFFENSIVE TO YOU. CB IS NOT RESPONSIBLE FOR YOUR FEELINGS. BY ENTERING YOU ACCEPT THOSE FACTS. ** NO PORN ALLOWED.** What happens in off-topic, stays in off-topic !

Of course, CB has a mostly older, almost entirely male, membership. And hard feelings do frequently erupt, but usually get worked out OK. The politics do get nasty.

Couple of people have mentioned it already, but I think it's worth repeating - IF this does happen, then users should be made aware that what's said in there stays in there. It'll be a place to vent, a place to rant, a place to let off steam - a place to rail at life's little injustices.

I still think a dedicated GN chat site at someplace like Stickam would be a better idea - people can let off steam as much as they want off-site then. Hilch's (Zingingstrings) site has one - and it's worked pretty well for them. I've dropped in from time to time, so has Twisted Lefty - and it's just been a bunch of people who are all into guitars having a chat about music first, then whatever else takes your fancy. There's very little bad language, there's no flaming - just a bunch of people with the same main interest branching out a little and getting to know each other.

The great thing about this would be, if you get a few people together who want to talk about death metal, or rap, or whatever, they can always open ANOTHER separate chat room...it's pretty simple, very user friendly. Yes it's open to abuse - but it's offsite, and wouldn't reflect on GN.

Seriously, don't just take my word for it - have a chat with BarnabusRox (he'll always be Trev or Hilch to me!) and ask his opinion. It could also be used for live jams, I think - mics and webcams are used there. There are more possibilities than an open forum, I think. Worth consideration?

:D :D :D

Vic

A concern of mine with the humor topic and self-moderation is our promise to be a family-friendly site. I do like that very much about this site. That could be lost quickly in self-moderated areas or in a humor section where we'd have to post an advisory about possible offense.

For me, it seems contrary to the spirit of the boards, but maybe I'm just resisting evolution.

I'm a definite, firm "Maybe."

I kinda like the way the "Humor & Off Topic" forum is run at http://castboolits.gunloads.com/

The forum heading says:
This Section is open to Humor, Political & Religious Discussions . YOU MAY BE OFFENDED HERE. THE ONLY MODERATION WILL BE DUE TO YOUR CONDUCT AS UNBECOMING AND MODERATORS WILL STEP IN ONLY AS A LAST RESORT. THIS FORUM DOES NOT EXIST MERELY TO ATTACK AND OFFEND, BUT CERTAIN TOPICS MAY BE OFFENSIVE TO YOU. CB IS NOT RESPONSIBLE FOR YOUR FEELINGS. BY ENTERING YOU ACCEPT THOSE FACTS. ** NO PORN ALLOWED.** What happens in off-topic, stays in off-topic !

Of course, CB has a mostly older, almost entirely male, membership. And hard feelings do frequently erupt, but usually get worked out OK. The politics do get nasty.

My recommendation is to steer people over there, or to The Daily Column (US) or TotalFormat (UK). New members won't find us because of an open forum, and existing members won't leave - they just want GN to fulfill their every need.

A concern of mine with the humor topic and self-moderation is our promise to be a family-friendly site. I do like that very much about this site. That could be lost quickly in self-moderated areas or in a humor section where we'd have to post an advisory about possible offense.

For me, it seems contrary to the spirit of the boards, but maybe I'm just resisting evolution.

I can understand those concerns, and share them - I wouldn't want my grandkids reading over my shoulder and seeing something I wouldn't say to them. There are people on here - well-thought of popular members - who do try to beat the built-in censor, however, and sometimes get away with it to a certain extent - whether that's down to a mischievous nature or not is debatable. As always, it depends on context....

The spirit of the boards? Well, it's always been pretty friendly - and most of the members would like, I think, to keep it that way. Would that GN spirit be lost in an open forum? Hmmmmm.....I really don't know. I can't see friendships being lost over disagreements over non-guitar related subjects - hell, the most lively, animated discussions are usually about Les Paul V Strat, or maple V rosewood, or feeling V shredding.

Truly, the only thing that worries me is the old Religion/Politics debate - wars have been started over those very topics. Whilst I might be interested in hearing how the US electoral process works, or reading a thread about who's voting for who and why, I'd hate to get caught up in the middle of an argument between Republicans and Democrats - similarly, I wouldn't like a US member to get involved in an argument between a Labour voter and a Conservative voter. I like to read about different religions - but I think I'd be too scared to ask many questions about another person's religion for fear of putting my foot in my mouth, and appearing either ignorant or offensive. I just think the subjects are way too open to argument, even more open to abuse and opening them for discussion, on a guitar forum, would be like opening a box of roman candles in a match testing factory - they'd go through the roof in a matter of seconds. That's just, as always, my opinion....

:D :D :D

Vic

You convinced me, no politics or religion. The reason being:

1. no good has ever come of a post regarding either
2. They are way too personal.
3. No one is going to change their minds based on a politics or religion post on a guitar forum
4. Like David said this isn't a soapbox, but a discussion.
5. Both are polarizing and divisive.

Is it possible to set it up so we can only post once every 24 hours? That will make for slow well-thought arguments.