quote:

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Daryl C. W. O'Shea wrote in a private e-mail:
I was hoping for somebody (one of the 'participants') to just freak out and kill everyone else... thus eliminating any problems.

Me thinks closing the forum for a week (get their attention), explaining that it will be re-opened in a week and will remain open only until such time that people start behaving like fucking idiots again, at which time it will be permanently closed.

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So there you have it. That's what's gonna happen. You may use this thread to whine in, but good luck winning us over. We here at Film-Tech (http://www.film-tech.com) are communist bastards.

PS - I am right. You are wrong.
 

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Posted by Adam Martin (Member # 641) on 02-23-2004, 07:51 PM:
 
There's a typo in your second paragraph which makes you wrong and me right.
 

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Posted by Joe Redifer (Member # 3) on 02-23-2004, 07:53 PM:
 
I am right after I get a chance to edit. You are wrong regardless of edits/money/luck/etc.
 

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Posted by Phil Hill (Member # 371) on 02-23-2004, 07:55 PM:
 
Close it permanently now...it's a vast wasteland.

The only purpose it seems to provide is who can post the most meaningless links without saying anything, or who can out piss-off the "other" side the most.

Lose it!

>>> Phil
 

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Posted by Manny Knowles (Member # 1171) on 02-23-2004, 08:10 PM:
 
Wow!

Sounds like major drama in there. I wouldn't know since I've probably visited less than five times.

Do what you think is best...in fulfilment of the prophecy.
 

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Posted by Mark Gulbrandsen (Member # 72) on 02-23-2004, 09:11 PM:
 
Keep it open, it COULD become very constructive but only allow one post per week per member. This might cause the member to actually think before he/she uses(or wastes)his/her posting alotment. This approach might actually cause it to become a "Gentlemans/Ladies Forum". Perhaps it should even be re-titled just that. If anybody flames out at anyone else they should be banned from these forums completely, simple as that. Also disallow anyone to post any link or article copied over from some other printed source.... Make them think !

It is everyones right to believe in what they do and express such but it is no ones right to act childish on this forum, or flame out at someone elses beliefs. I think this sort of change would make things VERY interesting.

Just my two cents worth.....

Mark
 

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Posted by Mike Blakesley (Member # 26) on 02-23-2004, 10:02 PM:
 
Replace it with a religion forum. Then you'll see some REAL hatred!

Seriously, if people can't get along in that one little forum, what hope is there for the whole world to get along? I humbly request the almighty whatever-you-guys-are, to keep it open.

By the way, Joe, you committed a mortal sin against the rules of this board by posting a private e-mail. So I hereby demand that you ban yourself.
 

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Posted by Brad Miller (Member # 2) on 02-23-2004, 10:29 PM:
 
Actually, no Daryl gave Joe permission to post that email. I was CC'd on it.
 

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Posted by William Hooper (Member # 71) on 02-24-2004, 12:35 AM:
 
I've looked in the Political Forum, nothing is being accomplished there, not even any progress, it is a waste of time.

Information has come to light that John Kerry plays bass, the Republicans do not want to disclose what instrument Bush plays.

Close the Political Forum. The only way to settle this is with a Battle Of The Bands, the winner gets Absolute Power and a $400 cash prize.
 

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Posted by Greg Anderson (Member # 235) on 02-24-2004, 01:03 AM:
 
Taking a cue from David Letterman, I'd say everyone needs to be reminded that "The Political Forum is only an exhibition, not a competition." It seems like a good place to spout off and/or learn what others are thinking. But I doubt it ever changes anyone's mind about anything. And the participants need to be a little more aware of that.
 

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Posted by Mike Blakesley (Member # 26) on 02-24-2004, 01:06 AM:
 
Brad - I was kiddin', hence the Or maybe I should have used or I just can't help my sarcastic self sometimes.
 

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Posted by Wolff King Morrow (Member # 2226) on 02-24-2004, 02:07 AM:
 
I tend to stay away from political forums due to the personal level people will take it when you try to debate their accusations. It doesn't take long for somebody to start taking shots at your intelligence just because you don't buy into conspiracy theories contrived from hatred. Nobody is going to convince anybody they are wrong, even with facts. That's just our nature.

If people want that kind of environment, take it to the Hannity forums. Dems and Pubs go to town with debates 24/7 on there. You'll find plenty to "discuss" if that kind of thing floats your boat.
 

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Posted by Chris Hipp (Member # 1788) on 02-24-2004, 04:04 AM:
 
I would tend to agree that it is pointless, but politics are an interest to some people more than others here. I like Marks idea but I think one post per week is a little extreme. The 25% rule doesnt work very well for people with 1000 posts. Would it be possible to make it 25% of you posts in the last X amount of time?

Personally, get rid of it, I rarely go into any forum that I have to scroll to get into.
 

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Posted by Mitchell Dvoskin (Member # 751) on 02-24-2004, 07:23 AM:
 
I think everyone has forgotten why the political forum was created in the first place, and that was to get all political comments out of the other forums.

My feeling is that the moderators have created their own mess by not enforcing existing Film-Tech rules. If someone posts an inappropriate personal attack against another member, their post should be deleted and they should temporarily be suspended. Other than that, my feeling is to leave well enough alone. Speaking as a conservative, I enjoy reading what the "left" is thinking, no matter how wrong or ill informed it is.

/Mitchell
 

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Posted by Warren Smyth (Member # 1838) on 02-24-2004, 09:48 AM:
 
Please keep the political forum going. There's nothing more scary to people outside the USA than the thought that the most powerful country in the world, with the greatest number of weapons of mass destruction, may invade another without any debate from it's population. Your political forum clearly shows us that this is not the case. What ever your opinion, for or against, please keep debating the merit of your government's policies. It's the basis of a healthy democracy and is re-assuring to many of us outside the USA.

Sure, people will get a bit stroppy at times and attack the messenger instead of debating the issues. They simply erode their own credibility and sometimes their case. Hopefully when they read their own comments later, they will recognize this and moderate their criticism.

When a population is at war however, and relatives as well as sons and daughters of friends are serving overseas, feelings are bound run very high. There is clearly a lot of stress and hurt . One can't help but feel for those facing terrible losses.

As more facts emerge, I think it's going to be even more difficult for some to show tolerance towards others who have an opposing point of view. From what I have read on the forum, politics and foreign policy tend to be seen by some, in black and white terms and this can polarize people. The world, I would repectfully suggest, is just a bit more complex than that.

We can only sincerely hope that the occupation comes to an end soon, so that young people can return home with Americans feeling less threatened.
 

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Posted by Scott Norwood (Member # 30) on 02-24-2004, 10:11 AM:
 
The issue wasn't one of trying to silence debate. The concern about the political forum is that a) it lead to personal attacks on other members and b) there are plenty of other (more appropriate) places to discuss politics. Since political discussion isn't the primary purpose of Film-Tech (http://www.film-tech.com/), the concern about personal attacks (and the time and effort required to moderate that forum effectively) was the main issue.
 

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Posted by Ian Price (Member # 14) on 02-24-2004, 01:40 PM:
 
Joe,

That was the single greatest post ever written!


 

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Posted by Manny Knowles (Member # 1171) on 02-24-2004, 02:28 PM:
 
Ian,

That was the most politically-transparent post ever written!


 

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Posted by Ian Price (Member # 14) on 02-24-2004, 02:31 PM:
 
See?
 

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Posted by Mitchell Dvoskin (Member # 751) on 02-24-2004, 02:38 PM:
 
The Political Forum is way too Awesome.

Isn't that a "teaser" subject?

/Mitchell
 

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Posted by Leo Enticknap (Member # 534) on 02-24-2004, 03:03 PM:
 

quote:

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'Let's face it, if I really knew anything about politics, then I'd be talking to you in a different capacity.' - Michael Dukakis, in reply to having been asked who he thought would win the Democrat nomination, interviewed on BBC radio last week.

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quote:

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Isn't that a "teaser" subject?

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You're dang right it is, plus he's got "Awesome" capitalized. If that isn't another argument for a ban, I don't know what is.
 

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Posted by Brad Miller (Member # 2) on 02-24-2004, 06:32 PM:
 
Ok then that's it. Joe Redifer, you are hereby BANNED! You will never post here again, until you do.
 

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Posted by Daryl C. W. O'Shea (Member # 1303) on 02-24-2004, 06:42 PM:
 

quote:

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My feeling is that the moderators have created their own mess by not enforcing existing Film-Tech rules. If someone posts an inappropriate personal attack against another member, their post should be deleted and they should temporarily be suspended.

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quote:

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Other than that, my feeling is to leave well enough alone. Speaking as a conservative, I enjoy reading what the "left" is thinking, no matter how wrong or ill informed it is.

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Since you feel that it's all the moderators fault, I could resume strictly enforcing the rules by banning you for making a political comment outside of the political forum.
 

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Posted by Phil Hill (Member # 371) on 02-24-2004, 07:22 PM:
 
Daryl: A FYI... I for one, have NEVER bitched in private about some moderator to another moderator! I always publicly bitch! So, blow it out your ass, bub!

quote:

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Personally, I take little action against anything in that forum since I'm a thick skinned Canadian...

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Oh PULEEZE! That's a load of !

That's it! No MORE Nachos for you!

>>>Phil
 

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Posted by Floyd Justin Newton (Member # 1316) on 02-24-2004, 08:05 PM:
 
Hey guys--

Let me know when the smoke clears!

fjn
 

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Posted by Manny Knowles (Member # 1171) on 02-24-2004, 08:20 PM:
 
I thought it was a nice idea [ban Phil] to start that forum but I remember Brad saying from the start [ban him now] that he had regrets [that was uncalled-for] and he figured it would someday come back to haunt him [and disrespectful] as soon as it raged out of control. I think the only surprise is [who does he think he is, anyway?] that it lasted as long as it did.

I recall Rachel being "promoted" specifically to moderate that forum [fire her] since none of the other moderators [bunch of loser idiots] was very keen on dealing with a whole political thread [she has failed to maintain order].

No question about it, the political forum was a brave experiment [bad idea] and it could be [shouldn't be] viewed as a kind gesture from the good folks at Film-Tech. It was really a sort of noise filter [prison colony] to ensure that certain views [often hateful, self-centred and ignorant] could be voiced in a place [vacuum] where uninterested members wouldn't have to deal with controversial political issues.

Leave it open [shut it down] otherwise the politics will start showing up again in the Film-Yak forum.

Wouldn't it be great if Joe really was *always* right? [How scary would *that* be?]
 

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Posted by Rachel Gilardi (Member # 1016) on 02-24-2004, 08:35 PM:
 
HEY! I kept a good eye on that damn forum for a long time. Only problem, no one listened. People went way too far and it got way out of hand. It shouldn't be the mods position to make adults act like adults. The people that contributed to the forum and acted like children are the reason its shut down right now, not because the mods weren't paying enough attention.

So there! That's what I have to say.
 

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Posted by Brad Miller (Member # 2) on 02-24-2004, 08:50 PM:
 
Not that Rachel needs the backing, but she really has done a very good job in bringing questionable issues to everyone else's attention and quite a dandy job of moderating as well.

I doubt I'll bring the political forum back. Surely SOMEWHERE on the internet there is a forum specifically for that babble where everyone here can go to complain about how poor our government is being ran. This is a movie related website. The jokes work great here ( keeps things ), but the politics don't. It's not worth my, or any of the moderators, having to deal with the abusive emails that have been sent trying to keep things under control without "preventing fair speech", etc, etc, etc.

Can anyone recommend a good political website with a forum?
 

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Posted by Daryl C. W. O'Shea (Member # 1303) on 02-24-2004, 08:54 PM:
 
We could make it pay per abuse. Everytime somebody 'commits an offense' they have to buy something off of my wishlist.
 

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Posted by Manny Knowles (Member # 1171) on 02-24-2004, 09:30 PM:
 
My religion forbids me to buy those kinds of things, Daryl!
 

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Posted by Daryl C. W. O'Shea (Member # 1303) on 02-24-2004, 09:37 PM:
 
That must be some insecure religion or something, since most of the stuff is about security.
 

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Posted by Manny Knowles (Member # 1171) on 02-24-2004, 10:12 PM:
 
Nice to see that you've tidied up your wish list in time for Easter.
 

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Posted by Mike Blakesley (Member # 26) on 02-24-2004, 10:54 PM:
 
Seriously, I am somewhat surprised that anyone would e-mail the mods privately to gripe about a thread being shut down, etc. I don't recall any times that the mods didn't explain their actions in great detail, and usually give several chances for the arguers to cool it before taking action.

I think the mods have been very fair, considering they're not political analysts (I don't think, anyway).

How about a music forum? Only movie soundtrack song discussions allowed, of course.
 

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Posted by Joe Redifer (Member # 3) on 02-24-2004, 11:57 PM:
 

quote:

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Bradley Miller wrote:
Ok then that's it. Joe Redifer, you are hereby BANNED! You will never post here again, until you do.

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quote:

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Floyd Justin Timberlake wrote:
Hey guys--

Let me know when the smoke clears!

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We'll be sure to do that Floyd. Does everyone have Floyd's phone number? We all need to let him know when the smoke clears. Thanks for posting!
 

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Posted by Thomas Procyk (Member # 1170) on 02-25-2004, 12:31 AM:
 
I think the political forum should be kept open, but with a few new rules. Fist off, since this is a FILM related site, any and all political postings would have to, in some way, referece, affect, or be related to film or the film industry. That would cut down on the posts considerably.

However, the forum was created to separate the film talk from the political talk, so that's kind of the opposite of its intention. Then maybe the answer is this...

To separate the personal attacks from the political forum, there should be a Personal Attacks forum. Here, members can say whatever is on their mind about other members that they want all the other members to see. At the end of the year, maybe we could have a Film-Tech Scrap after the Film-Tech Drink!

As for the mods not doing a good job, I'll admit they occasionally missed a few things that needed some action on there. And if that's because they were afraid of being attacked by emails from angry members dissatisfied with their decisions about the forums they've been appointed to moderate, then they're not very good moderators to cave in to such trivial banter.

Now with the political forum [temporarily] closed, I'll have to visit all of the "Passion of Christ" threads to piss people off. Yay Mel Gibson! But he should have played Jesus... and yelled "FREEEDOM!" from the cross with his face painted blue.

=TMP=
 

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Posted by Dave Williams (Member # 299) on 02-25-2004, 01:23 AM:
 
Brad, if you got my email, then you have my thoughts on the subject.

Thomas P. and myself have engaged in several banters upon each other over the past eon or so, and always kept it above the belt. even though we never really ever saw eye to eye, and even would think of each other as complete idiots, as thomas is . (honestly though, I proudly refer to thomas as a friend of mine) Point is, we knew where the line was drawn and never crossed it, BECAUSE WE ARE ADULTS.

That and we take our politics as seriously as a good hot dog. It's there, then you eat it, then it's gone. If all had done the same, then we wouldn't be discussing this at all.

However it degraded to very demeaning personal attacks and I sometimes wonder if I inadverdantly egged it on by some of my other comments. If I ever had trust me that was never my intention. The film tech family is way too cool to destroy because we act like spoiled little children.

As sad as it would be, I vote to eliminate the forum permanantly and have the posts out of view forever. The film tech image has been grown over the past few years, created to help support great film presentation, and it should not be tarnished by a gradually degrading political forum that makes the rest of the group look like idiots.

My thoughts as I think them, and I am sticking to them. Mostly because I have to keep them on post-it notes. Brain damage ya know.

Ciao

dave
 

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Posted by Floyd Justin Newton (Member # 1316) on 02-25-2004, 07:05 AM:
 
Joe--

My last name is NOT Timberlake; it's Newton.

fjn
 

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Posted by Mitchell Dvoskin (Member # 751) on 02-25-2004, 08:06 AM:
 
The problem with limiting post to 1 per week is that it would effectively eliminate any kind of intelligent discussion of an issue. Discussion is a give and take, sometimes coming to an understanding, sometimes respectfully agreeing to disagree, but always leading to greater understanding of how another person feels.

Again, inappropriate personal attacks are not allowed on any Film-Tech forum, and those who violate this rule should temporarily be suspended from posting on all forums. Other than that, I think that you should leave well enough alone.

/Mitchell
 

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Posted by Joe Redifer (Member # 3) on 02-25-2004, 08:20 AM:
 
Thanks Floyd. I'll update my records!
 

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Posted by William Leland III (Member # 1400) on 02-25-2004, 09:47 AM:
 
i say keep it open. why does it need to have rules? i think that was the problem in the first place. just let people say what they want to say - it's called a political forum. we have arguements all the time here on film-tech.

anybody knows political arguements are very heated. ofcourse people would get immature and name call and take harsh offense to things - it's called human nature. that's their own problem. another problem i saw was, why do i need someone (mod) telling me that i can't call this person an idiot, stupid post etc... for that remark. i think that was the main problem, some people saw mods taking sides in arguements and that didn't help matters. the last problem was the email stuff, if i email say "mr.qwerty", it's between him and i. he should not got and tell the mod. that's like telling the teacher little jimmy is cheating on a test.

we members have no say so in the matter, just the mods. they have already made their decision. i personally don't like it, but no skin off my back. this is their website and they can do what they want to do, and they do, hence why the rules. im just glad that i can come here and post my thoughts and opinions.
 

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Posted by Bill Enos (Member # 440) on 02-25-2004, 05:13 PM:
 
Use of the terms intelligence, politics and reasonable discussion in the same sentence would be a concept that would be as likely to happen as world peace and for the same reasons. Keep it closed before some idiot hunts down somebody he thinks insulted him and blows his guts out. A lot of very reasonalbe voices elsewhere have become raging maniacs in political.
 

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