Hyperbole much? 8/25 meh There are only a select few things that people who argue gravitate to. Islam at the moment is one of them. Maybe if they weren't killing people everyday because of their religious beliefs it wouldn't be a deal.
There used to be a lot of discussion here about politics, but I see very little of substance now when it comes to that topic. Probably because I don't post in threads started by members I have on ignore, which certainly includes the D&D troll, basso (and to be clear, I always read basso's posts in other forums, because he does an excellent job everywhere in ClutchFans except D&D). I rarely start threads myself, but if members want to discuss politics and not simply spend time in basso's threads complaining about basso and his ilk, they might consider starting threads about the topics basso himself started a thread about. We're having an election any day now, and when I look at this forum, you would never know it. There are 3 threads directly related to the election, and 22 that are about a raft of various topics. This isn't the D&D I've grow accustomed to over the years. It's a satire of "debate and discussion," in my humble opinion, certainly when it comes to the American election cycle. *edited for clarity
Funny because Glynch is the only person who trolls enough on this forum for me to put on my ignore list. My ignore list consists of only Glynch, and there are a lot of trolls on this site, so that should tell you something.
I've been lurking forever and posting only recently, but I think you are completely right. The lack of debate and discussion just a reflection of America as a whole. We have highly partisan media establishments that creates, caters to, and confirms the specific world views of their readers. In the shrinking media world where profits are harder to come by, there is an economic incentive to create polarized news for polarized readers. Its a race to the bottom that has spilled over into the D&D. We have had many posters over the years that have gone on posting sprees where literally every single news article possibly related to some issue that matters to them is posted as a separate thread. Trader Jorge did it for awhile, Basso did it for awhile, and ATW has been doing it. I'm sure their are others. I think ATW deserves high marks for tenacity for keeping it up so long, but I think that given the push back that he consistently gets from other members for starting so many threads that it has sort of become part of his identity and a mark of pride that he would never leave behind. It was in the past, but maybe that time has come and gone. The only way to test your hypothesis would be to either have people self police and post threads that relate to a theme into one mega-thread or have a mod deleting threads. I don't see either of those things happening here, but speaking as someone who used to do a lot more reading and learning on this forum, I can say that the flood of threads makes me hesitant to put effort into putting the effort into starting a new thread that might be about a less incendiary issue because I know that it will be knocked off the front page and forgotten in an instant.
Is there anymore to be said beyond those three threads? We know that the GOP is slated to for gaining seats in the next election and possibly win a majority. I can understand the enthusiasm behind those topics isn't as high given the early feedback of a GOP victory. I do miss people posting articles with researched analysis, but I'm not sure if that falls under the debate & discussion bit.
Yeah, because 9/10 and 8/25 is exactly the same thing. Maybe in your bizarro world. 8/25 is actually not that much more compared to how much space it would take on the front pages of international newspapers and to how much airtime it would get on international cable news stations.
Over here on the front page it was talking about a member of ISIS who ran away from Australia to join them saying "ROT IN HELL"
I'll be in New York next week. Should I discipline New Yorker for this? Anyone willing to do pay-per-view?
I doubt he even lives in New York. My guess is that he lives in his parents basement in Philly where he is a part time mall cop.
I would be happy to meet you at a bar and have a civil conversation with you. I really am not interested in drama and if such a meeting would help end this stupidity I'm happy to make the time to do it.
I think we're looking back with rose-colored glasses a bit. Reading this forum during the Iraq invasion was one of the major contributions to me becoming politically aware. However, "discussion" in this forum at that time was really poisonous. Emotions always ran high and personal attacks were commonplace. The Iraq war, the presidential elections in 04, 08 and 12, this place was always a mess. But you'd occasionally get some gems here and there, posters who took time to elaborate positions I'd never heard before and back them up with sources and data. I suppose the quality was a little higher ten years ago- the mods would drop in more often, more people were participating in threads, and there was more of a left-right balance here. After Iraq became an obvious boondoggle and especially after the democratic wave election in 08, a lot of conservatives dropped out of here. With a lower population overall, the few conservatives who have stuck it out have turned to trolling the lefties, who are always eager to take the bait. But even with these degradations in quality, I'll never forget how it was a nonstop ragefest in here, even 10-12 years ago. ATW, have some humility and combine your multitude of similar posts in one thread. Like the trade ideas thread in the GARM. Each single new individual story on the evils of Islam do not deserve an individual thread; they are similar enough to keep in one thread. Constantly making new threads on the same topic is crossing over into spamming/trolling.
Disagree. Trade ideas are hypotheticals - these are actual news stories. Just because you have no interest in religious fanaticism pushing the world into a downward spiral, which is the topic of the moment, doesn't mean it needs to be swept under the rug. Feel free to contribute to other threads, but th is is a real issue and each unique thread brings to light new ways to tackle th e issue. The issue. The issues. That is why we debate, to make a change. Not remain passive with no plan.
Threads without interest fall off the page. If people were not interested in these threads, they would not get bumped.
