One issue with the "just ignore it" advice is that threads can turn political even when they aren't and even against the wishes of the original poster. Pucho posted a thread wishing safety for forum members in Ukraine and it took less than a single page of posts for it to turn into a discussion of U.S. domestic political policy only tangentially related to the war. I avoid political discussion as much as possible online (I think that any discussion that potentially cuts to a person's core identity should be had in person, face to face, in a safe environment for both people) and threads like that feel like getting suckered.
I have even gone as far as starting parallel threads to move the purely political blather into "politics" threads to try to avoid corrupting threads with useful information. Some topics make it hard to avoid politics (like ukraine) but modern politics has corrupted almost every aspect of our lives .
I remain an optimist and think I perceive less politics injected into sports events, but that may be the result of overt politics chasing off viewers, and hurting profits.
Peoples' definitions of what it means for something to be political are also often different. That's one problem with a blanket ban. Another is that there are political discussions that are very civil, though those are usually very low stakes so people can control themselves. I wouldn't want the brewery to go away entirely, you've all had plenty of cool discussions, like music threads and threads about coffee and stuff. They're harmless escapism threads and they're awesome.
Indeed politics has crept into everything. The brewery is not supposed to be serious but some people can't turn down the volume.
Mind you I mostly find it annoying but I do think that the discussion is actually bad for the forum. There are members who have absolutely left because of discussions in the brewery, and I can't tell you what it adds here to have these sorts of discussions.
It certainly doesn't add much of substance. I miss the good old days when I could ignore politics and only voted once every four years if that. Lately politics is front of mind 24x7. I try to watch business news that has progressively evolved into at least 50% political discussion.
Seeing the way people talk to each other in the political threads, even when they somehow manage to skirt rule 4 (usually by talking about people in general who just happen to include the member they're arguing with, like lambasting a whole state's/country's worth of fellow humans), makes me less likely to visit, and perhaps more imporantly, less like to post in this place or recommend the forum to other people, though I still read plenty of the threads in microphones and preamps areas and visit the black market weekly (though it's been a long time since I bought anything or posted a new project here).
agreed 1000%, if I was in charge rule #4 protections would extend to celebrities and even politicians. In my judgement tolerating crude and insulting language toward non-forum members, normalizes this bad behavior toward fellow members. On other forums that are less civil than here, I routinely get insulted aggressively. From my decades working in the musical equipment and sound reinforcement industry I made many friends who are liberal/progressives (pretty common in music biz). Usually it is the friends of my friends (cough) who spew out the most venomous insults. It's easier to insult people you don't know, one factor that drives incivility on the internets.
I also don't personally want something tickling the back of my brain, subconsciously, about someone's electronics advice because I happen to know their politics and disagree with them in an unrelated context. You may think this doesn't happen to you, but you're very likely wrong, because your brain will betray you.
This has always been a risk for talent to reveal too much of their personal thoughts to their customers. I routinely encounter cognitive dissonance when I like a movie character played by an actor who is a flaming _____ in real life. Sometimes the movie is good enough to overcome the negative baggage. Joni Mitchel and what's his name trying to cancel Joe Rogan did not win them any fans, and wasn't successful. Elon Musk buying Twitter is being characterized as a threat to democracy,
ironic that he is a champion for free speech.
Before my knee went arthritic I used to play basketball at a local gym. The young men would routinely dismiss my political opinions, but would hang on my every word about investments/stocks. I saved several people from the housing bubble but even some close friends didn't listen to me and suffered when the music stopped (credit collapse 2007-2008).
The thing I like about electronics is that electrons don't respond to political spin... the laws of physics can't be changed by activist judges.
This thread demonstrates the uniqueness of this forum, while not a simple democracy we try to be responsive to members needs (the number of new members signing up every day suggests we must be doing something right. Just look at all the red new member names on the online list at the bottom of the page.
The skinny rules list make some extra work for the moderators litigating complaints that fall between the cracks. I can't imagine major rules changes but some people obviously do.
JR
[edit- some will view my comments as political, sorry hard to ignore /edit]
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I just stay the hell away from drunken philosophers in general.
