Do we need a political forum?

Among many other things, I am sure everyone on here hopefully has HR 669 on their brains. And I hope that its no secret that if HR 669 fails to be passed, then there will be more ban proposals in the future. So, with this in mind do you think we should have a political forum?

I say yes, a political forum could further aid in bringing awareness to not only pet bans but possibly other issues that are brewing.

I am not much of a political person (unless it comes to reptile/exotic pet bans of course), but I think one could be useful.

What do you think about?

I think it's definitely an idea worth discussing. :gj:

I say yes... it should be a sub category of the quarantine room..... You have to get mods ok to enter.

I vote yes and say we put it towards the bottom of the forum list. I do not think it needs to be in qt room. Everyone, no matter age, is entitled to their opinion. A open forum for subjects like 669 and anything else political should be open for everyone all the time. Dale Jackson and Rush Limbo aren't exclusive, why should our chat be? Sorry to make a big deal of it, just trying to get a point across.

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Originally Posted by DavidG

I vote yes and say we put it towards the bottom of the forum list. I do not think it needs to be in qt room. Everyone, no matter age, is entitled to their opinion. A open forum for subjects like 669 and anything else political should be open for everyone all the time. Dale Jackson and Rush Limbo aren't exclusive, why should our chat be? Sorry to make a big deal of it, just trying to get a point across.

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NO way it can't be in the quarantine room. The conversation by nature is way too emotionally charged.

It would also in my opinion be very nice to get all the political crap OUT of the main quarantine room.

Beyond a political forum (which I strongly support as it becomes increasing important) I'd like to see a "thumbs down" option. We have the "thanks" thumbs up option but I think a thumbs down option is needed.

I've sitting here, doing 10,000 things at once, doing all that I can do to fight hr 669, reading posts blaming large constrictor owners, hot owners, posts bowing down already requesting permit systems and I'd like the option of giving my thumbs down to these people. I'd like to show my pubic distain as well as my public praise when need be.

I'm a member of the NRA, not because I believe in everything the NRA stands for but because I believe if you give an inch you loose a mile. I don't agree with talking with IRAN or North Korea about them having nukes because when you are right, when you are honest you will always loose when you concede. Iran has said they only want power when they have all the oil they could ever need, you give in, a year later they have a nuke and your conceding more to opease them. Its a never ending battle of the good guy giving in to the other side. We concede on hots or large constrictors, we concede on permits, WE LOOSE, the other side continues to work on banning. We gain nothing, the other-side gears up.

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Originally Posted by Mike Cavanaugh

NO way it can't be in the quarantine room. The conversation by nature is way too emotionally charged.

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That's why it's the political forum. Keeping a open chat atmosphere is important in any debate, mostly political. It keeps you more level headed and makes you watch what you type which is usually a better response. Maybe if enough people sign "yes" to getting a political forum where it's located will be up for debate. Ultimately it's up to the staff here though.

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Originally Posted by Mike Cavanaugh

I say yes... it should be a sub category of the quarantine room..... You have to get mods ok to enter.

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Originally Posted by DavidG

I vote yes and say we put it towards the bottom of the forum list. I do not think it needs to be in qt room. Everyone, no matter age, is entitled to their opinion. A open forum for subjects like 669 and anything else political should be open for everyone all the time. Dale Jackson and Rush Limbo aren't exclusive, why should our chat be? Sorry to make a big deal of it, just trying to get a point across.

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I agree with both of yall statements on certain levels. I think a political forum would need to be open for the public and not put into the QT room simply because that would in a sense limitate its purpose, which is to help spread awareness. But, like many others views (whether it be religion, politics etc. etc.) people can and do get emotional charged about certain things.

I personally feel that a forum pertaining to animal/herp-oriented legislation should not be put into a "QT-room/members only" access type situation.

Yes, opinions do tend to get heated in politically-oriented situations, however, when it comes to legislation that could potentially threaten this hobby/industry, we all need to be able to step away from personal differences and focus on the fight at hand. Quite frankly, if a reptile keeper cannot lay down their personal political opinions for the sake of preserving this hobby, it may be time for that person to take a deeper look at why they're on a site like this to begin with.

Just my $156.02 (includes bailout BS taxes, or so they tell me :rolleyes:)...

K~

I voted yes.
I think the only reason so many political threads end up in the quarantine room is because no one respects others opinions.
Especially when they arise their opinion, as if it were a fact.

Hence the reason I rarely ever give my opinion on political issues. Sometimes, I'd just rather avoid the rudeness.

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Originally Posted by Mike Cavanaugh

I say yes... it should be a sub category of the quarantine room..... You have to get mods ok to enter.

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Great idea. A place for political discussions that will no doubt be heated that the general public can't access therefore keeping the image that the website moderators desire.

The staff is discussing, and no - a forum dedicated to posting about legislation that affects our hobby will never be in QT out of the eye of the majority of the forum membership.

Other political threads that are not industry related will continue to go to QT, because this is a REPTILE forum, not a political one. BP.net does not desire to become a political forum either.

There's a HUGE difference in having a forum that keeps everyone up to date on current legislation that affects us as reptile keepers and a general political forum. My Yes vote was for a forum for current legislation and alerts, but would be No for any other type of political forum, since we already have QT.

Thanks Robin. I have seen many good forums suffer major blows due to politics, religion, and other controversial topics. I would hate to see this site suffer the same consequences due to opinions and ideals that not everyone agrees with. I voted "no" just for the reasons I stated. We have a great forum here and it's really an enjoyable place to come to and hang out at. I would hate to see the atmosphere here change because of politics or other controversial topics.

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Originally Posted by DavidG

I do not think it needs to be in qt room. Everyone, no matter age, is entitled to their opinion. A open forum for subjects like 669 and anything else political should be open for everyone all the time.

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Just to clarify something...the QT room is not exclusive to age or anything else. Any member who wants in need only let us know.

A forum for subjects like 669 is one thing...and something the staff is now currently considering (as Robin pointed out). But "anything else political" can stay in the QT forum. :)

(Great meeting you this weekend, btw! :handshake )

A forum for legislation and possible bills and laws would be a good idea. I don't care for politics discussions or forums online, because no one seems to be able to respect that there are differing opinions.

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Originally Posted by rabernet

The staff is discussing, and no - a forum dedicated to posting about legislation that affects our hobby will never be in QT out of the eye of the majority of the forum membership.

Other political threads that are not industry related will continue to go to QT, because this is a REPTILE forum, not a political one. BP.net does not desire to become a political forum either.

There's a HUGE difference in having a forum that keeps everyone up to date on current legislation that affects us as reptile keepers and a general political forum. My Yes vote was for a forum for current legislation and alerts, but would be No for any other type of political forum, since we already have QT.

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Definitely, I agree. I don't want Bp.net to become that either, but keeping it like the way you describe would be perfect imo.

I'm fairly new here but I'd like to share a bit of experience with a general political forum. I'm a super moderator over at another website, dedicated to the martial arts. THE BIGGEST headache for the mod staff over there is the political forum. Politics are hugely emotional and will create heated debate. That heat, if not very closely monitored, can very easily turn into a full on conflagration. If you want a politics forum be prepared for some of your members to go from some of the nicest folks you've ever met to complete monsters... on both sides of the aisle.

Just my .02

There is a difference between POLITICS IN GENERAL and HERP LEGISLATION.

I would LOVE to see a herp legislation forum.

Politics in general can be whatever the site owners/mods want it to be. There are pros and cons for how that would affect the community here, and it works well enough to keep that in the quarantine room.

I really do think that especially with the focus on HR669 and similar recent proposed/passed legislation that a herp legislation forum would serve the community very well, facilitate discussion, help us organize to keep the hobby afloat, and help inform people about local laws.

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Originally Posted by mainbutter

There is a difference between POLITICS IN GENERAL and HERP LEGISLATION.

I would LOVE to see a herp legislation forum.

Politics in general can be whatever the site owners/mods want it to be. There are pros and cons for how that would affect the community here, and it works well enough to keep that in the quarantine room.

I really do think that especially with the focus on HR669 and similar recent proposed/passed legislation that a herp legislation forum would serve the community very well, facilitate discussion, help us organize to keep the hobby afloat, and help inform people about local laws.

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Make that a pet legislation forum, and that could be exactly what we need.(?)

I don't think there needs to be a separate political forum. This is a reptile forum. Sure the QT is nice to have a political conversation here and there, but I have other forums I go to to talk political issues.

Now with regards to HR669, that's obviously a political issue, but because its also directly affects us, it definitely is more than appropriate to discuss on a reptile forum.

And plus, I think that pretty much everyone likes and enjoys reptiles and that is something we can all come together on. However, I'm sure there are political issues that would wedge some of us apart. I'd rather want to continue to come here without risking poisoning the well by keeping discussions mainly about reptile related things and not letting it drift to such hot button issues that political forum would surely invite.

Guys,

We will never - ever - have a forum here dedicated to general politics.

We know that general politics is a headache. That's one of the reasons we have the quarantine room. Out of general view and accessible to only those who want to take part in it.

The politics of Pets and Herps in general is what I am quite certain this thread was intended for.

I like the idea. As with any new idea - especially one that could cause quite a few issues, takes us time to discuss and lay out the rules and boundaries.

:)

Just an idea I had: let's stop using the word politics or any deivation thereof while considering adding a new forum category.

Maybe instead focus on using phrases like "pet legislation" instead of "politics of pets and herps"?

A simple change of wording might get people to not confuse the goal of a forum dedicated to discussing issues like HR669 with "vote for <candidate> or else you're a bigot/heathen/idiot!"

I'm interested to hear why people might oppose a forum dedicated to discussing and informing our members of pet laws, both current and those that have been proposed and are under review by local, state, and federal government.

It's done. :) Expect most of the HR669 threads to migrate their way over there.

http://www.ball-pythons.net/forums/f...play.php?f=147