[...]
So far I have a load of people that say don't change a thing. I have others that say - "yeah, the political rants section is a problem - it should go." And I have been approached by some that are pointing out a toxic environment of cliquish behavior - thus they are not posting as much as before.
[...]
The bottom line is that I want to ensure that we maintain a rich community that promotes free expression, but also maintains a lever of respect towards each other.
We need to acknowledge the limits of communicating via text and emoticons. I find that a lot of comments made that could be deemed either offensive or trollish in nature, are the the result of not foreseeing how the comment might be viewed or taken by others. This is the downside of modern communications whether it is here in the forum, or via emails, of phone texts. Not many folks know how to monitor their tone.
[...]
The forum seems to have morphed into a catch-all for anything and everything, rather than just gambling related.
And that perhaps is where the problem lies.
Many sections of the forum are inoffensive, some are informative, and others are simply fun, e.g.
- Horse racing and tips
- TV Talk
- Simply Movies
- Health and Wellness
- Foodies Forever
- Your fur babies (my personal favourite)
etc. etc. etc.
The actual gambling threads, irrespective of the subject, remain relatively polite and friendly, although obviously there are exceptions, but these exceptions in the main appear to be caused by Newbie members with an axe to grind.
But then we have Political Rants which causes the most dissension, although some of the threads in The Attic can be vicious as well.
Regarding the Trump threads, it is very difficult for most of us to remain non-confrontational when the subject under discussion is so dear to our heart, and this is perhaps the driving force behind our behaviour, which translates to a language we would never dream of using in face-to-face discussions. As CM so aptly stated:
"We need to acknowledge the limits of communicating via text and emoticons."
Bryan states:
"The bottom line is that I want to ensure that we maintain a rich community that promotes free expression..."
Is this really feasible when some threads are so controversial?
To answer my own question: I firmly believe that permanently closing some of these threads would be to deprive many of us an outlet in which to understand and discuss different POV's regarding world events. And I actually believe that this action would also be removing the heart of the forum as it exists in its current form.
So what to do?
There are a few options that I can see.
Remove all contentious threads. Or moderate the hell out of them.
Members to avoid threads where they know they are going to lose control of their emotions.
Members who participate in the more volatile sub-forums to treat participants as they would in real-life, and make a determined effort to remain polite, and stop with all the insults (and insulting emojies).
Accept that certain threads - and subjects - will always have an element of friction and antagonism, and leave those threads to 'self-govern'.
So... sorry Bryan - nothing new to add or help you with a resolution to a problem that is starting to take over your awesome forum.