Why so political?

[Epona]

I like the political debates - this place is not separate from RL really - we are all real, we all have real opinions about the world around us. It would be artificial (IMHO) to try to leave that behind when we come here.

However, I do think that the person who posted that particular diatribe was way way out of line. I haven't been in that particular thread, but I hope he was told to cool it. I won't resort to flaming him, although I feel as though I want to! He does not show much self control and that is not called for, no matter how much you disagree with the debate - there are more intelligent and effective ways to disagree.

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Time is an illusion. Lunchtime doubly so.

Epona of The Laughing Hyenas
Proud winner of the 'Most Useless Post 250 Has Ever Seen' Award 2001. "I'd just like to thank my friends and family, without whom none of this would have been possible..."

[Wulfere]

Liliara...
This is a great place, no doubt about it.
I will also say that generally my policy is to stay away from the political threads. I should have stayed away from that last one. But, curiosity wrestled my better judgement into submission. I have not been back to that thread since my last post there. Political discussions make for hurt feelings and often high blood pressure. I don't see the need to participate generally. I will not go back to that thread either, I said my piece and that's it. I will apologize if I have offended anyone with my rant. Though what I said as I recall had no cursing. I hope you stay and...
PS....Love the Boris Sig
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Memnoch...
sometimes the contents of the threads are hard to determine. The Title for some threads are sometimes misleading. That was not the case this time. Perhaps asking folks to add Political: or Politics: to the begining of the thread could help? Just a suggestion.



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The line between good and evil is razor sharp. Be careful of misteps,
lest you find yourself spitted upon your own blade.

[This message has been edited by Wulfere (edited 09-07-2001).]

[Cloudbringer]

Originally posted by Liliara: When I first came to this board, the topics were casual, not political. Now I know that I have responded on some of these threads, but only to stand up for what I believe in. I have become quite disheartened with this chain of events. I thought this was a place to get away from the controversy of this world, but alas, I was wrong. I am extremely disappointed and I wonder, is this a common thing? If so, I would like to know, since I thought at first that this was an escape where people of different cultures could unite without the pressures of the outside world.

Liliara,

IW is a place where ALL these things occur and in cycles. We don't just discuss the weather, no, but then we aren't always discussing nuclear disarmanent either.

What you WILL find is that if a serious discussion takes place it is done with respect for each other and if anyone goes over that line, they are reminded that we DO respect one another's right to have opinions and express them. NO, we don't always agree with each other but THAT is the beauty of Ironworks. We CAN have disagreements in a civil manner.

Discussions of serious topics political or othewise do happen and are a natural thing in any group of people. I myself, tend not to get heavily involved in most of them, but there are some that I feel passionately about and will take part in or where I just have a few cents worth of opinion to add to the mix.

No, Ironworks is not a haven from any serious thought, just a haven from ridicule and flames and trolls. I'm sorry you were adversely affected by seeing the new topics come up, Liliara! Maybe if they bother you, it would be best to read the many other fun and light things we have around.

Cloudy



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Raindancer of the Laughing Hyenas Clan
Storm-Queen
Raven's Cloud
StormCloud of the Black Knight: Heart Mind Soul Forever
"To sleep, perchance to dream..."

[Kaz]

I agree with Cloudy, and I would also like to add that in the forums, you meet completely different people than you meet in RL who have completely different opinions and views than anyone you know (this may not be true for everybody, but it is for me). I enjoy the chance to discuss the latest political fiasco here because in RL things tend to become a bit one-sided, in school we sometimes have to quit discussions because there is no one willing to represent the other side! LOL That is one of the great things about forums, you meet people there whom you would never have met otherwise. I hope this hasn't gotten garbled.
EDIT: The thing I mean is that the political discussions here are discussions with points of view and opinions that you will rarely together in RL. Clear?

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I am the great Kazara

[This message has been edited by Kaz (edited 09-07-2001).]

[MILAMBER]

Sorry you were upset there Liliara. I know that I have been involved in a few of the threads that you are referring to and I hope I didn't offend you or anybody else. For me, it's not so much that I enjoy politics, It's that I have a hard time not jumping in a debate when I hear something I disagree with. Sometimes people get out of line, but for the most part, people are careful to back up and remember where they are before things get too serious.

Please don't be disheartened by this.

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"The object of war is not to die for your country but to make the other bastard die for his."
-General George Patton (1885-1945)

Member of CLAN HADB

[MILAMBER]

Originally posted by Kaz: I agree with Cloudy, and I would also like to add that in the forums, you meet completely different people than you meet in RL who have completely different opinions and views than anyone you know (this may not be true for everybody, but it is for me). I enjoy the chance to discuss the latest political fiasco here because in RL things tend to become a bit one-sided, in school we sometimes have to quit discussions because there is no one willing to represent the other side! LOL That is one of the great things about forums, you meet people there whom you would never have met otherwise. I hope this hasn't gotten garbled. EDIT: The thing I mean is that the political discussions here are discussions with points of view and opinions that you will rarely together in RL. Clear?

Kaz, from what I've noticed, you speak your mind very well, yet you are always saying you are garbeling the message. Don't worry about it, I think you do better then alot of us!



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"The object of war is not to die for your country but to make the other bastard die for his."
-General George Patton (1885-1945)

Member of CLAN HADB

While I know that posting on hot political topics is never really going to change anyones belief system, I think it is important to occsaionally have input from people who have differing viewpoints. If you never actually hear the other side of an issue, you can never really understand the reality of the thing, wethere you agree with the opposition or not.


The thing that really amazes me..well actually there are several, is that some times I can hear a "kid" who is only 15 actually have a fair grasp of things that I would have thought beyond his/her ability to understand. On the other hand, I frequently see people who are rather young, who have no real world experience, who have never been more than 5 miles away from mom and dad, thinking that they in their infinite wisdom can better manage the world than people who have dedicated decades of time and energy and who have learned from centuries of trial and error in our histories. Things are the way they are because they work...in general, there is room for improvement but as you get older you learn that human beings ...being what they are...are not destined for some theoretical idealogical utopia. We just arent built that way...Maybe with some genetic tinkering we will improve but as it stands RIGHT now we have what we have earned and what we deserve as a species. Things usually improve in increments, slowly and surely because there are good people trying, what does NOT happen is "snap your fingers and over night the world suddenly changes".

So a raucus discourse is good for the soul and also serves a useful purpose...if people remain civil about it.

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Disintigration is easy, If you really want to impress me, ReIntegrate it.

[Cloudbringer]

Originally posted by Memnoch: Liliara, I guess this place is like a huge club - some people like dancing on the dance floor, some like drinking at the bar, some like casual chatting, and some like to sit in the extreme corners and debate passionately about issues. One person's wine is another's poison. Some (controversial) thread topics may prove upsetting, but they are entitled to be posted as long as they do not breach forum guidelines, talk about illegal activities or involve flaming. There are many other posts which are more conversational, escapist type posts (look for anything initiated by Cloudbringer). I guess my best suggestion would be to avoid the threads that might upset you. Just skip over them. I will be bringing up the possibility of having a "serious discussions" forum with Ziroc in the future - when the time is right for him.

Liliara, he's got the whole thing right,here. that is how it works!

Memsypie!

Oh and the idea of a serious discussions forum has been run past Z. He's still thinking about his upgrade in general.

CloudPoster
controversial escapist(?!)

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Raindancer of the Laughing Hyenas Clan
Storm-Queen
Raven's Cloud
StormCloud of the Black Knight: Heart Mind Soul Forever
"To sleep, perchance to dream..."

[This message has been edited by Cloudbringer (edited 09-07-2001).]

[Memnoch]

Originally posted by Fljotsdale: Gosh! That Rahnid guy sounds like a real {edited}! P'raps he should have thought before he posted, or edited it afterwards! I sometimes say things in post that are a little too strong, but when I see it on the page after posting, I go in fast and edit! Rahnid could have made exactly the same points without the abuse. Not difficult. If he is a soldier, I really think he should have more self-control.

F, please, I didn't mean for this to turn into a thread bashing Rahnid, ok? He's new and might not have been clear about our posting guidelines. We don't flame ANY member here, regardless of what they may have done. Leave that to me, Ziroc, Saz and Ertai.

Edit: Doesn't mean that we as mods are allowed to flame either, by the way. I reread my post and realized that it sounded a bit funny.

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[This message has been edited by Memnoch (edited 09-08-2001).]

[Memnoch]

Originally posted by MagiK: So a raucus discourse is good for the soul and also serves a useful purpose...if people remain civil about it.

Took the words right out of my mouth.

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