I am no longer an active poster on these boards, however I do read them and keep in contact with many of the people who I met here. What I also have is distance and perspective, coupled with a lingering sense of distaste when I think about what the Deep Thoughts forum has become.
I have the following things to say:
1.
Voting for no mod will preserve the status quo. It will leave The G-man free to do all the things that, in my opinion, have dragged this board ass backwards. People like this, evidently lacking in any kind of self restraint, need to be managed rather than promoted to positions of responsibility. If you leave this forum unmanaged, The G-man will take charge in an unofficial capacity and it will effectively continue along the same lines as it did when he was in power.
2.
Divvying control of this forum along partisan lines and expecting some kind of balance to emerge is pure stupidity. One party will inevitably shout louder than the other.
You need people of good character managing (not controlling) this forum. People who are intelligent, who have a measure of self-control and who have a sense of humour. I am voting for:
Uschi,
Son of Mxy,
Sneaky
3.
This is a discussion forum. It is not a political rally; nor is it one of those execrable mud-slinging campaign advertisements that get shown incessantly on TV, whenever America is about to go to the polls.
There needs to be more of an effort made, by the people beginning threads, to present a balanced foundation for discussion. Currently a lot of threads seem designed to breed resentment and rub people up the wrong way. As an example of this you need look no further than The G-man’s self aggrandising: Who's More Generous: Liberals or Conservatives?
A thread like this is less concerned with any ensuing discussion, than it is with getting-in a cheap, below the belt punch. This kind of shit erodes the credibility of anything that is discussed on these boards and it needs to end.
It might be asking a bit too much, but I believe that anyone starting an new thread on this forum needs to make the sincere effort to present both sides of the argument, as a balanced press article would. It’s a discipline that would separate the people who want to land a cheap shot, from those who are genuinely willing to enter into open minded debate.
I think also that the wording of post titles needs to be looked into and, in some instances, changed to something less inflammatory .
4.
One thing that is used on other message boards and which might work here:
At the bottom of the first post of each new thread there should be a FOCUS: This should be a neutral outline of the general points that are up for discussion – things that will provoke debate and encourage brainstorming.
5.
The number of active posters on this board is low. Consequently there is no excuse for the Deep Thoughts forum to have sunk to the lows that it has. Weed out the extremists. These people often shout the loudest, but they also have the least to say. If you vote fucktards like this into power, they will be a thorn in your side for the foreseeable future.
