Bluemoon Posted March 18, 2009 Share Posted March 18, 2009 We have had a few discussions about whether the forum is better or worse now. What do you guys think? And why do you think it is better or worse? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AXE® Posted March 18, 2009 Share Posted March 18, 2009 It needs a colon cleanse... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Riffster Posted March 18, 2009 Share Posted March 18, 2009 The political and religious threads are numerous and out of control. A lot of us know that. Some of these threads get people going in a bad direction and some threads have ended in racial and religious inflammatory remarks. I personally used to come in here to get away from the news but this place is worse than that nowadays. There are political forums on the web where people can discuss this kind of stuff but somehow a guitar forum seems to be preferred place for political talkers. My guess is that they come in here because in political forums are full of people like them and they don't quite like that. Ironic isn't it? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wicked1 Posted March 18, 2009 Share Posted March 18, 2009 It needs a colon cleanse... Colon detox is all hype! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AXE® Posted March 18, 2009 Share Posted March 18, 2009 Crap is still crap... No matter where it is ... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bluemoon Posted March 18, 2009 Author Share Posted March 18, 2009 The political and religious threads are numerous and out of control. A lot of us know that. Some of these threads get people going in a bad direction and some threads have ended in racial and religious inflammatory remarks. I personally used to come in here to get away from the news but this place is worse than that nowadays. There are political forums on the web where people can discuss this kind of stuff but somehow a guitar forum seems to be preferred place for political talkers. My guess is that they come in here because in political forums are full of people like them and they don't quite like that. Ironic isn't it? So what is the solution? Ignore the political posts? I think that is my game plan moving forward. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AXE® Posted March 18, 2009 Share Posted March 18, 2009 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Riffster Posted March 18, 2009 Share Posted March 18, 2009 So what is the solution? Ignore the political posts? I think that is my game plan moving forward. I try, it is hard because the bait is there in large amounts. But it must be done. Look at harmonichaos thread, didn't think he was going to make those kind of posts and the thread is at 5 pages. My problem with the political threads is that I think they eat away at other possible posts. So just ignoring does not fix the problem completely. I also wonder how this affects the participation of our UK friends in here, are they all interested in American politics? AXE: that's a great pic. I feel somehow safer... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
callen3615 Posted March 18, 2009 Share Posted March 18, 2009 I just hate the dam forum. Not the people on it, or the posts. But the forum itself. It takes me like 4 tries to even post anything, 90% of the time the server times out. WTF Gibson. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
djroge1 Posted March 18, 2009 Share Posted March 18, 2009 I think there are too many political threads and there has been a lot of political view bashing, religious view bashing, and racism that all is uncalled for. I started coming here to NOT talk about those things because I have to work with some of those topics in my job. The best thing to do is to avoid the thread, but I have to admit I find some entertaining and laughable at times - like when ksg started quoting/changing what homz said, some of that was funny. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HeadCase Posted March 18, 2009 Share Posted March 18, 2009 Kill the lounge. It has become a myspace / facebook embarrassment. If it isn't about guitars, take it somewhere else. The rest of the Forum... +1. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FennRx Posted March 18, 2009 Share Posted March 18, 2009 having been here in the pre-lounge days, this forum has gotten better...at least for me. the LP forum (where i normally would be) is filled with a) spammers for cell phones, etc "is this fake?" threads c) "what guitar should i buy?" threads d) other assorted stupid threads most of what can be said has been said...ad nauseum. and to be honest, there are other Les Paul forums that are a lot more informative than this one. that's not a knock at anyone, it's just that the REALLY, hardcore, OCD LP nuts are not here. as for the lounge, by the nature of what the lounge is, any reasonable person would predict that current events would quickly be discussed and snowball. i personally enjoy the debate somewhat. i dont always agree with KSG or Neo, but i have to hand it to them for generally presenting arguments and backing them up. if nothing else, they make me think a little bit. my problem is with when the debate turns into an attack- this occurs when 1 or both sides make wild *** claims and offer no data/evidence and instead resort to namecalling. sure there are forums for this stuff, but if its allowed and i already know the guys here, why sign up somehwere else? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
harmonicchaos Posted March 18, 2009 Share Posted March 18, 2009 I love it. Not really anything I'd change. The political etc. threads can be tiresome but I just don't post/read when i don't feel like it. I like having em around sometimes even. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ksdaddy Posted March 18, 2009 Share Posted March 18, 2009 I just question the motivation behind people constantly bringing up controvertial topics. What is to be gained other than to get people riled up? People have a natural tendency to take up a contrary position, it's something to do with the ego... I'm not a p-sycho-animalist but I know just enough about human nature to know that many people have such self esteem issues that they either need validation from people who agree with them or the only way they can feel better about themselves is to step on other people's heads. In either case, they are the ones with the problems and we feed it by responding to bait. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Riffster Posted March 18, 2009 Share Posted March 18, 2009 I totally agree with ksdaddy. Politics in this forum simply suck. I would not mind as much if there was an objective take on facts, but there isn't. It is the same stuff that is on the news but digested into poop by some of the members here and then it is chilled and served as chocolate ice cream thinking we will not know the difference. It all extremist right-wingers, extremist left-wingers blaming each other for the mess we are in. Sure we can simply aviod not clicking on a subject, we all used to do that if we did not want to listen to what NeoConMan had to say but as the original Political-talker on the Gibson Forums I never thought he over posted. Now there are more political threads somedays than anything guitar or gear related. My suggestion to those who say don't click on the subject you do not want to participate in is: Why don't you go somewhere else to make your political posts? why here? do you know that we had to practically beg Gibson for for months for a loungue where we could talk about other gear and other brands? and "ocassional" non-gear related topic? I think we should boycott threads and members that insist this loungue is for talking politics, race and religion. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bluemoon Posted March 18, 2009 Author Share Posted March 18, 2009 I just question the motivation behind people constantly bringing up controvertial topics. What is to be gained other than to get people riled up? People have a natural tendency to take up a contrary position' date=' it's something to do with the ego... I'm not a p-sycho-animalist but I know just enough about human nature to know that many people have such self esteem issues that they either need validation from people who agree with them or the only way they can feel better about themselves is to step on other people's heads. In either case, they are the ones with the problems and we feed it by responding to bait.[/quote'] Well said. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bluemoon Posted March 18, 2009 Author Share Posted March 18, 2009 Sure we can simply aviod not clicking on a subject' date=' we all used to do that if we did not want to listen to what NeoConMan had to say but as the original Political-talker on the Gibson Forums I never thought he over posted. Now there are more political threads somedays than anything guitar or gear related. [/quote'] The difference is that NEO rarely if ever starts a political post. He will weigh in but he doesn't bait people into a fight. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
elantric Posted March 18, 2009 Share Posted March 18, 2009 So what is the solution? Ignore the political posts! I think that is my game plan moving forward. +1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AXE® Posted March 18, 2009 Share Posted March 18, 2009 My political and religious views are just that... Mine.... and like my underwear drawer, not for public viewing... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Californiaman Posted March 18, 2009 Share Posted March 18, 2009 I love every aspect of "The Lounge". Well almost all of it. Remember CAPSLOCK? How about some racist, KKK, hate mongering? Buddy Light, anyone? Everything else is cool. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Thundergod Posted March 18, 2009 Share Posted March 18, 2009 I think the forum is better now (specially because we have a lounge, and because the spanish forum is a little more alive than before). I think the only thing we can do about political and religious threads is just ignore them and everytime one of those appear, just bump 10 other older guitar/gear related treads. You know, if "catholics vs everyone else" apears first in the thread list, just go and post in any of the picture threads, polls, technical threads and such... you will bump them so that new members can see them when they come in and you will take those political threads down. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RichCI Posted March 18, 2009 Share Posted March 18, 2009 Why don't you go somewhere else to make your political posts? why here? Big fish in a small pond who would be consumed by sharks in the ocean. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Taylor Player Posted March 18, 2009 Share Posted March 18, 2009 I like the forum... It is different than the Acoustic Guitar Forum I also hang out in because you can bring up politics and religion in the regular section of the lounge. Over there, you have to become a charter member (which I am) to be able to post or reply to those kinds of threads. Without a charter membership ($15.00) you don't ever even see the "Dock" section where those threads can be viewed. I personally don't usually respond to any of those since I am more interested in chatting about acoustic guitars so I am never bothered by them. Bottom line is, even over there there is a "BE NICE" rule. Ignore that rule and your post is deleted and you can be bumped from the forum. The moderators are very active and I think it helps keep that a great forum. Here, we have more of the inmates running the asylum kind of thing going, but the section I hang out in most, the Acoustic section is full of great people who pretty much almost always stay by a "BE Nice" rule. Maybe us acoustic guys are just a little nicer or more mature sometimes than some who post in the lounge or LP forum. I tend to think I am good at self-moderating and I wish sometimes that more people would do that, but it's not up to me to tell them what to say or do. If I think a thread is going the wrong direction, I may read it (everyone loves to see a train wreak) but I rarely respond to those type of threads. Same way I watch TV.... If I don't like it, I don't watch it and change the channel. I personally think the Lounge is a great idea and can be fun. It just needs a bit more moderation than the Acoustic section at times. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KSG_Standard Posted March 18, 2009 Share Posted March 18, 2009 In the past 12 days in the lounge there have been 168 threads started. Of those threads, 20 of them have had political connotation, or the possibility of political connotation, or have been/may have been used to bait forum members. These posts are listed below. Many of these threads have the highest post counts, so they must be interesting to at least some folks. Many/most of these threads could have been or should have been used to foster open discussion. Some of these threads have gotten out of hand, some did not. There are many different views expressed by us in the forum, we are a microcosm of society as a whole. It seems to me that the arguments start when folks post outrageous statements, attacks against certain groups, or when folks post definitive statements with no supporting documentation. It seems to me that making a negative statement about a person, group or idea, with no logic or documentation to support the statement is the same as saying that you have some piece of gear without posting a picture to prove it. An argument without any logic or evidence behind it is a unicorn. Personally, I like to argue (if you don't know what argue means, look up the definition), not necessarily argue as in a shouting match, but to examine the pros and cons of something, to persuade by giving reasons. I get pissed during some of our discussions and I shouldn't. I should ignore some of the baiting and I shouldn't bait others. Bluemoon pointed out to me that I make blanket statements and that I paint things with a broad brush. Since then, I've tried to change the way that I talk about things. I haven't been successful every time, but I think that generalizing and stereotyping are things that we are all guilty of sometimes. The world is in turmoil right now, and it only makes sense to me that some of that turmoil should spill over into the forum, as we all work through what's going on in our lives. We should be able to argue without being argumentative. For a group of folks as old and road worn as we are we sometimes seem to be a thin skinned bunch of people. I haven't started very many political threads, only one in 12 days regarding the stimulus, less than 5 since since I joined the forum in November 2008. But I like talking about politics and world events, so I'm drawn to those threads that do offer the chance to discuss those things. I have strong opinions on some subjects and I'm not afraid or embarassed to share them. How many times can you talk about strings, pickups, guitar finishes, slashtone, etc.? The lounge is supposed to be for subjects other that guitars. If you don't like the "controversial" threads, why not just ignore them? What would you suggest that we talk about in the lounge? 1)I didn't think I was going to be making any of these threads...harmonicchaos 2)Hoyt, this is for you :- FennRx 3)Compassionate Conservatism, my A$$ Homz 4)Public Schools? AXE® 5)Obama's Ban List daerious 6)More mis-managed money guitarest 7)AIG Bailout and Bonuses Californiaman 8)Sheriff Joe Arpaio Under Investigation by Justice Dept. Californiaman 9)The Stimulus... KSG_Standard 10)Should the U.S. Government Militarize the Southern Border? Californiaman 11)Wow major shake up in Obama appointees guitarest 12)Law of the Sea Treaty Will Erode U.S. Sovereignty "Very Socialst" Californiaman 13)School shooting in germany/Alabama shooting Bluemoon 14)Hunting down illegal immigrants Bluemoon 15)Some one tell me what it means to be conservative. Basshole 16)C. Rice or H. Clinton Bluemoon 17)California Woes. Californiaman 18)Fight Club in Corpus Christi, TX Homz 19)Sheriff Joe Arpaio guitarest 20)Should The U.S. normalize relations with Cuba? Homz Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rocky4 Posted March 18, 2009 Share Posted March 18, 2009 I'm new here so I don't know what it was like a while back but.... 1 I like the polls 2 The what's your favorite ........ posts are cool until it becomes a slamfest and the name calling starts 3 the name calling is inexcusable even if it is in fun 4 Are there actually moderators and what do they do? 5 Some people have a knack of turning posts into excuses to post photos of there gear. 6 I think smithy78 is a plant from zzounds 7 The political posts should have there own category. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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