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Originally Posted by Erin Pavlina  There's a lot of fear about what the political forum could become. I say we try it and see if that's what happens. Like I said, I'm the first to pull the plug on disrespectful arguing and personal attacks and name calling.
I really want to hear what everyone has to say about world affairs. Sure I have some of my own opinions and some of them are pretty rooted, but I totally respect people who draw their own conclusions after careful consideration and possession of all the facts. I want to learn. I want to learn from the people at this forum where I know and trust them.
But we don't know exactly what will happen if we put the forum up, so I say we try it for a few weeks and see if we can have intelligent discussions without resorting to heated debates and name calling. If we never try, we'll never know. |
I think that's the best way to go about it -- ready, fire, aim. I can understand why Steve (and even you, Erin) may be hesitant to use that approach when it comes to opening a new forum/board, but I think it's the only way you're going to get accurate feedback.
I also think, if anything, we should make it clear that if this forum doesn't work out, that particular forum/board will be deleted (or something). Perhaps this info could be made available in a temporary forum announcement or in the forum/board description itself. That say, if it does go bad, there won't be a massive backlash if we have to get rid of the forum/board for the good of the Pavlina forum.
I also think that if we stop seeing this potential new forum/board as something that will be used solely for political discussion, it can have much greater application. I personally believe politics (at least in its current form) is a waste of time and the very fact we need it is probably evidence that we're making some bigger mistakes further upstream. I also believe having a board solely dedicated to politics would probably be looking for trouble. That said, I believe the issues surrounding politics -- the so called "world affairs" -- are very important, relevant to personal development, and when combined with the topic of politics, should help to temper the discussion towards a more constructive direction.
Maybe we should even create a "purpose" for this board so that, when making judgment calls about things, we can refer to the purpose and see if what we're looking at is congruent with that purpose or not.
I don't see the Pavlina forum as a place for discussion alone. I see this forum as a place where like-minded individuals can come together and do great things. Maybe this new forum/board will act as a catalyst for some change to come. Who knows?