- Joined
- Jun 29, 2014
- Messages
- 4,058
We have been moderating some threads lately that either violate Rule 12 - NO POLITICS or are brushing up close to the line. There have been questions from members whose posts have been reported about why their post was deleted, or some comments about censorship have been made on the site. If this were a site that had sub-forums or off-topic discussions where politics were allowed - I could understand where these questions about deleted threads and posts are coming from.
But, let's speak plainly. This site is NOT a site where politics is welcome. We are an online community of hobby machinists, diy-ers, makers, retirees, professionals, YouTubers, and many, many other people from many different walks of life. It may not be readily apparent to members, but eventually one realizes that there isn't ANY politics on this site despite boasting over 36,000 members from around the world - and it is refreshing and unique - and we are intent on keeping it that way.
Rule 12 has been pretty simple to understand. For years, the rules has clearly stated: You agree not to discuss POLITICS. EVER. PERIOD.
It's been many years since that rule was established and social media has made it increasingly difficult to not see politics everywhere and in everything. This has created a bit of a filtering problem for the moderators as we receive and act on reports about political posts. And trust me, all of the staff members have different opinions about what we think is political and what is not and for good reason - we all come from different walks of life. And more importantly, the one thing we all agree on is that the real topic that is our priority here is not politics, it's making chips!
In order to focus our priorities, we have expanded on this rule to help the moderators in fielding reports of threads that are political in their manner and context. There are too many topics considered political and so we are widening the definition of what is political in Rule 12.
You know what they are - taxes, climate change, elections, political corruption, all of the schisms in their various forms - hopefully you get the idea of what we do not want corrupting our purpose - to learn and share with other hobby machinists. If you agree with all of this, but you still MUST talk about these topics - well, there are a lot of sites out there that will allow for it. We don't. Please read the revised rule below.
DO NOT DISCUSS POLITICS OR GOVERNMENT POLICY PROBLEMS:
12. You agree not to discuss or argue the politics or present the merits of any government policy topics not related to machining that may be considered controversial, inflammatory, divisive or derogatory of political views by other members - EVER. PERIOD. Any mention will be deleted without comment or warning. Individual comments and/or threads may be locked or deleted if they meet the criteria of this rule. Multiple violations of this rule may result in a temporary or permanent ban.
OUR PURPOSE IS THAT WE ARE A HOBBY MACHINIST COMMUNITY - lets keep it there.
Please follow this link for the full list of Rules
But, let's speak plainly. This site is NOT a site where politics is welcome. We are an online community of hobby machinists, diy-ers, makers, retirees, professionals, YouTubers, and many, many other people from many different walks of life. It may not be readily apparent to members, but eventually one realizes that there isn't ANY politics on this site despite boasting over 36,000 members from around the world - and it is refreshing and unique - and we are intent on keeping it that way.
Rule 12 has been pretty simple to understand. For years, the rules has clearly stated: You agree not to discuss POLITICS. EVER. PERIOD.
It's been many years since that rule was established and social media has made it increasingly difficult to not see politics everywhere and in everything. This has created a bit of a filtering problem for the moderators as we receive and act on reports about political posts. And trust me, all of the staff members have different opinions about what we think is political and what is not and for good reason - we all come from different walks of life. And more importantly, the one thing we all agree on is that the real topic that is our priority here is not politics, it's making chips!
In order to focus our priorities, we have expanded on this rule to help the moderators in fielding reports of threads that are political in their manner and context. There are too many topics considered political and so we are widening the definition of what is political in Rule 12.
You know what they are - taxes, climate change, elections, political corruption, all of the schisms in their various forms - hopefully you get the idea of what we do not want corrupting our purpose - to learn and share with other hobby machinists. If you agree with all of this, but you still MUST talk about these topics - well, there are a lot of sites out there that will allow for it. We don't. Please read the revised rule below.
DO NOT DISCUSS POLITICS OR GOVERNMENT POLICY PROBLEMS:
12. You agree not to discuss or argue the politics or present the merits of any government policy topics not related to machining that may be considered controversial, inflammatory, divisive or derogatory of political views by other members - EVER. PERIOD. Any mention will be deleted without comment or warning. Individual comments and/or threads may be locked or deleted if they meet the criteria of this rule. Multiple violations of this rule may result in a temporary or permanent ban.
OUR PURPOSE IS THAT WE ARE A HOBBY MACHINIST COMMUNITY - lets keep it there.
Please follow this link for the full list of Rules