We need a new category: Politics

[Sal]

In the past few days, forum members voted for a "weather" category and our webmaster went along and gave us one. Delightful.

It seems to me we also need a "politics" category, so the liberals, conservatives, libertarians, right-wingers, left-wingers and goalies can all bash each other (and wish each other greetings of the season) within the confines of a forum where, those interested, can watch the carnage and join in, if the urge to, arises.

I read the forums on a regular basis. I look forward to seeing newsy threads, informational threads, startling threads and "good neighbor" threads. I DO NOT enjoy it when a seemingly innocuous thread turns into an excuse to attack someone for real, implied or imagined political leanings.

What say you?

[Skip]

My vote would be no.

Remember, the proprietor, owner, webmaster, moderator, referee, fund raiser and chief cook & bottle washer is all accomplished by one generous & talented individual....Don!

I think the weather thread was pertinent as there is great interest in the uniqueness of that same subject as it directly relates to the Lake, and we are fortunate to have a number of members with interest & expertise in that particular subject. And except for a possible side diversion into the politics of global warning, Don probably has to worry very little about monitoring that new forum.

Outside of that politics can invariably rear its head in to any forum related to the Lake. I see no issue with a proper discussion of the political aspect of a particular thread as long as that discussion relates to the Lake and doesn't violate this site's policies.

I would hate to see a flood of new forums trying to cover each and every individual whim & fancy of a particular member or group of members, as I realize the additional workload it puts on our gracious host.

As has been suggested numerous times before, if particular posters view's aggravate then utilize the ignore function. Or just skip over those particular posts that annoy you.

I know and can personally attest to the fact that Don has a keen eye for malfeasance and will moderate quickly and efficiently when the need arises. I believe that in this case it is best to leave that particular mission to him and not burden everyone with another forum.

By the way,

Merry Christmas! :)

Skip

[ITD]

I think a politics category would be a big mistake. I also agree about the latest trend of turning seemingly innocuous threads into political discussions, it should stop. My feeling is that local politics, that which covers local politicians, local taxes and such should be fair game as long as it doesn't show up in a thread about a new gas station. Speaking of which, it seems that the political content in that particular thread went on for a week or two without any commotion. As soon as an opposing viewpoint is posted the "oh why are we arguing crowd" comes out in force. I always find that interesting. It's like post whatever you want as long as I agree with it even though it bothers someone else, post something I don't like then we better stop posting political content.

As far as bashing goes, I really don't see it. It occasionally happens, but the webmaster is very quick to keep everyone in line and it disappears quickly. Healthy debate is good, I know I learn things from it and I learned a long time ago that shying away from it just makes things worse.


Anyway, a political category, I think, would be a nightmare. Preventing threadjacking of innocent threads with political rantings I think would be a good thing.

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year :)

[GWC...]

The subject was raised in the past and razed by the webmaster.

There is another website in the region (http://wolfeboro.com/index.php?name=PNphpBB2&file=index) that had such a topic.

If you clicked the hyper link, you know why a category for Politics does not exists here, either.

[Rose]

What I'd like to see is some of the inappropriate and/or mean-spirited comments to end. Some of the comments in the Mount Washington lawsuit thread are...I don't know, I can't find a word to describe them. The woman is a young widow. You have no idea what she's going through. Perhaps she's being poorly advised. Perhaps she's going through the angry phase of grief, and this is her reaction. None of us know, so why don't we limit judgmental comments to private correspondence instead of a public forum?

I also think the personal attacks on candidates should be discouraged, particularly when they have no bearing on the individual's ability to govern or legislate. The comment that irritated me the most called Hilary Clinton "her thighness." Comments about her politics are fine, but comments about a physical attribute are just inappropriate. I don't see comments about Rudy Giuliani being bald, or Barack Obama being too skinny, so let's leave Hilary's thighs out of it.

If you wouldn't make a comment about someone to their face, you probably shouldn't make it in a public forum.

[Hermit Cover]

Isn't it? It's conservative some days and liberal on others....and can be very independent...especially on weekends.....me....I'm gonna vote for .........a safe Holiday Season!

[SAMIAM]

Nothing I love more than to banter about politics.........but not on this forum.Things often turn ugly and the Winni forum is more about local chat and helping each other.Theres lot and lots of political chats out there.....I vote "no".

[JDeere]

Seems to me that we already have a political forum and that it falls under all of the existing forums. Seems every forum turns into some sort of political pontification about property tax, “view tax", NH advantage etc. If we had a political forum that ALL political comments would be held to then maybe we could read through a thread without it turning into a political diatribe. It would be easier for me to just avoid that forum than it would be to ignore the numerous posts on the subject

[upthesaukee]

I vote nay...too many negative comments already in the threads that become "political", no need to further burden our webmaster with more work moderating a series of threads that can become not only heated, but overheated.

Other forums have these types of forums... I would prefer to see this forum and its various threads be as close to "G" rated as possible.

And if you don't think that our moderator has enough to do, just take the time when you sign into the forums, to go to the bottom of the forum page which shows who is on line, and look at the screen name of the "newest" member. In most cases, it is a name that is composed of all letters, similar to the spam we all love in our mailboxes, and something that our webmaster must delete. No need to add to his work. Just my humble opinion.

[jrc]

I vote against a political category. It's too easy to get out of hand. We've had some ruckus in some local politics and that's OK once in a while. I've said some poorly chosen words in those threads and so have others, but Don has always kept the lid on.

A general political topic will quickly turn into my party and candidates are like Jefferson and Lincoln, and your's are like Hitler and Stalin.

All the fighting and name calling will make it uncomfortable to deal with posters on all the other topics.

[Grant]

Past experience shows that such discussions inevitably spiral downward into ugly, pointless flame wars. Although I consider myself a political junkie, and enjoy a spirited debate on just about any issue, it seems that such a section would be an ugly wart on what is otherwise a useful, friendly forum. JMHO.

That being said, there are plenty of politically-relevant thread topics that are germane to the region. Consider the prospect of a President Romney and the impact of a potential "summer White House" in Wolfeboro. Someone brought this up during a Romney town meeting recently, and the candidate gave a very Hillary-esque "non-answer." It's a major issue worthy of discussion, as there's no clear GOP front-runner right now. Think Kennebunkport. Think Katie Couric reporting from the town docks. Think satellite trucks and boats loaded with Secret Service. Think New York-style traffic. Think presidential motorcades shutting down the area.

Just think.

[GWC...]

Consider the prospect of a President Romney and the impact of a potential "summer White House" in Wolfeboro.
Just think.
NH being a tourist state, FLL would love all the influx of other peoples' money into the NH economy.

[KBoater]

I vote no for a political tread. Also I would ask the tread hijacker to stop ruining treads.

<O:pHijacked in response to Grant :eek:</O:p
<O:p
I vote against a Summer White House in Wolfeboro. When Sarkozy visited they only shut off a cove. Think about that cove being Bay</ST1:p because of the geography of Romney’s house. I have to admit that when Romney is in town he is very low key and does not impact the town. Other candidates was the ones that caused the traffic jams last summer.

[kjbathe]

No, we really don't... :)

As much as I love this political season, we can all get our fill of politics elsewhere.

Merry Christmas!

PS - Mike Huckabee

[camp guy]

I agree with the "NO" side of the equation. For one reason, we are spread all over the country, and, even though national politics is also spread all over the country, people have different viewpoints sometimes based on where they live. My main point for saying "NO" is that this Forum almost always enjoys a friendly atmosphere with differences of opinion generally limited to such earth-shaking topics as restaurants and boat styles which really do no harm.

A slip of the tongue in a political discussion can really cause a problem we do not need.

Let's keep the Forum in keeping with Winnipesaukee: Smile of the Great Spirit.

PS: However, don't forget to vote.

[Weirs guy]

Getting a bunch of yankees together in one place and expecting no one to talk about politics is kinda like getting a bunch of yankees together in one place and expecting no one to talk about politics, not gonna happen.

Do we need a new category, maybe? Another forum I frequent has a category where the one individual who always seems to be arguing with the rest of the class can run roughshod over everything, and you enter at your own risk. It seems to have eliminated most of the issues in the other threads, but mind you that site was much, much worse then Don allows us to get. Just food for thought.

[Argie's Wife]

Just as I wouldn't be fond of a "religion" forum, I think political views should be kept to one's self. If your points of view interest me, then maybe I'll ask you about it via a PM, but would rather not get into debates, see "recruitments" taking place, or other similar things. I think it would do more damage than good to this board, which I'm very fond of.

It would also make a lot of work for the moderators - and they probably have enough to keep them busy.

So, no. I'd rather not see this board go down that street.

(But a forum on local recipes would be wonderful!) :D

[webmaster]

From the posting guidelines (in the FAQ):
Remember that you're on the Winnipesaukee Forum & PhotoPost

Only post messages, pictures and comments that are directly related to Lakes Region topics and activities. No sports, religion, politics or chit-chat please.The key words are "directly related to Lakes Region topics and activities". While local Lakes Region politics are fair game, national politics are not except in very rare cases where it is directly linked to Lakes Region topics. For example, the impact a summer White House (Romney) could have on the Lake.

Although this forum was created for Lakes Region topics only I have asked several times (http://www.winnipesaukee.com/forums/showthread.php?t=1118) over the years if you would like a "lounge" area to discuss other topics. The answer has always been a resounding NO and I agree. There are thousands of sites on the Internet to discuss politics or any other imaginable subject. The reason I enjoy reading this forum is that it is completely dedicated to the lake. Unless the members have a big change of heart I think we'll keep it that way.

Don

[Hermit Cover]

gets my vote on this one....wise beyond his years....would make a good mayor, governor, senator, Pres......:)

[SIKSUKR]

I would agree with Don on however he wants to run his website.After all it is HIS.I think he has done a fantastic job in giving us members what we want.He is beyond fair in how he treats us members who might stray from his vision of what is acceptable.Whatever Don wants he can have.Ya I know it sounds like I'm really sucking up here but it's hard to argue with how this forum has been run.

[idigtractors]

I agree with Don whole heartily. In fact there is more than enough politics in some of the threads now on the forum as it seems to get in there some way. :)

[hazelnut]

If that is possible? Wow I feel like a waffling politician here with this one but... My .02 cents for what is worth. I agree that politics in general have no place on the forum. However consider it a classification system here. I mean all the sub-categories are just that... They just classify the discussions. So if one particular thread involves taxes and HB's and calling your local pol to vote one way or another on an issue important to the lakes region, well I say heck yeah it deserves its own category.
Not to say that GWB or Hillary or Obama should enter into the discussion here. I'm just saying that YES some of these threads contain locally charged political discussion. Does that not deserve its own category? This needs a hard second look here. Flip back through the forum discussions and I see several discussions regarding taxes and House Bills that could and should be classified under Politics or perhaps another aptly named category.

Just a thought.

[Alton Bay]

http://www.nhinsider.com/

If you feel like posting political chat, this site is about the most active.

Loving this snow!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[Alton Bay]

Forgot to mention to go to the Discussion Board under the Commentary category. You'll see there is a Lakes Region section for chat.

[ITD]

Forgot to mention to go to the Discussion Board under the Commentary category. You'll see there is a Lakes Region section for chat.


Looks like someone didn't want their posts seen and erased them all at the Lakes region over there, I wonder if it was someone who posts here and didn't want to be figured out???????

[tis]

No, ITD. I know who that poster is and he/she isn't on here and did not remove them for that reason.

[JG1222]

Plainly and simply - my vote would be "No". Let's not mess with a good thing here.

[John A. Birdsall]

My forum friends, if we got into a political thread, then the word friend may not exist. it would be a very TAXING situatution and would not lead anywhere. If we got into Politics then we would want a religious thread and then where would we all go. We all have different thoughts and beliefs in both areas, and we all are TAXED to the max. so no need to tax our friendships on this site.

Now about the lake..........................