This forum has a policy which is more than a decade old, of requiring members to refrain from interjecting poltical commentary into apolitical threads. This policy came about because some members felt the need to turn each and every thread political, which is an annoying and idiotic thing to do. This behavior is unwelcome, to say the least.

In some forums, political discussion of any kind is prohibited, but we allow such discussions here and I am glad to do so. No one familiar with this forum can deny that such discussions here are extensive and many of these discussions offer in-depth political analysis, thanks to certain dedicated members. You can find link after link to relevant political articles which are on the web. You can gain insight from others here- insight not available on most major news networks because of the obscene bias of these networks, It would be possible, as a matter of fact, to rely solely on this forum for staying informed on the important events in American and global politics. That's a fact. Anyone who browses the Lounge daily knows this is true, as silly as it may sound to someone unfamiliar with this place.

Given this, we ask one thing of members- do not post political commentary in threads which have nothing to do with politics- no political commentary- absolutely none. Zero- not even casual jokes. Not the first word about politics or politicians should appear in apolitical threads.

It is astonishing to me- with this policy being in place for years and years, and with it being strictly enforced- that we have members who have been here for many, many years and who have thousands upon thousands of posts- violate this policy so blatanty and so casually.

No one who is reading a thread which deals with firearms or cars or the million other subjects outside of politics is reading it with anticipation and desire of the thread suddenly turning into the pervasive subject of politics.

This must stop. No one wants to hear your lame, unoriginal, boring, unfunny jokes or your angry, railing speeches about politics in threads which have nothing to do with politics, least of all, me. Those of you who violate this policy have to find a way to keep it in your mind that this annoying behavior is entirely unwelcome and to comprehend that it will be addressed harshly each and every time you shoehorn that shit into a thread. Stop it. I'm not asking you. I'm telling you. Stop it. If this behavior persists, I'll start handing out suspensions. Maybe that will help those of you who should damn well know better, to stop this silly, pointless, unwelcome crap.

Thanks Para! Guess some people don't learn the first time they get kicked by a horse...

quote:

Originally posted by parabellum:
It would be possible, as a matter of fact, to rely solely on this forum for staying informed on the important events in American and global politics.

Although parabellum does not need my endorsement, I must say that that statement is most certainly true. I have a digital subscription to a major newspaper, but the first thing I do in the morning is look here for new news before opening the paper’s site. And I am literally continually amazed by how well this forum is moderated and run.

From a new member, I can see this behavior happening, but from guys who have hung out in the lounge for a certain amount of time, it is puzzling.

quote:

Originally posted by parabellum:
You can gain insight from others here- insight not available on most major news networks because of the obscene bias of these networks, It would be possible, as a matter of fact, to rely solely on this forum for staying informed on the important events in American and global politics. That's a fact.

I rarely watch TV news, and rarely read most news sources on the web, but for years, I have kept up with current political events mostly through this forum.

quote:

I am literally continually amazed by how well this forum is moderated and run.

Yes. Thank you, Para!

I would not have the patience that parabellum exhibits.

I don’t know how he does it.

Thanks Para. I appreciate that we have this policy. It makes it one heck of a great forum. It sucks that you have to post reminders like this, however I appreciate you taking the time to handle these situations.
Thank you for this forum.

Merry Christmas Para.

I get better, factual political information here on this forum than from the usual "news" sources.

I also want to says thanks to Para for providing us this forum.

And Merry Christmas!

It was harder to avoid this a few years ago. It's nice to have nonpolitical threads.

I’ve been guilty of the above- a subtle reminder was all it took to take care of it.

Yeah, my reminders are subtle, like flaming napalm raking the jungle. Subtle like a hornet's nest dropped on a concrete floor. Finesse is my middle name.

I am more of a reader than poster here, lurker to some, but I know a couple of things; don't disparage people based on their looks, and don't interject politics into apolitical threads.

It's not hard to enjoy this place.

Thank you Para!

quote:

Originally posted by parabellum:
Yeah, my reminders are subtle, like flaming napalm raking the jungle. Subtle like a hornet's nest dropped on a concrete floor. Finesse is my middle name.

LOL Sorry. But you sure do have a way with words! LOL

I sure appreciate your efforts to curtail the unwelcome political posts. Of all the bad posting habits that have come and gone, it's an oddity that this one has persisted. I tend to avoid the political threads. I get so weary of seeing political content - it seems to be everywhere - that when I come to SigForum, political stuff is the absolute last thing I care to read or discuss. Those drive-by attempts at political humor or whatever just aren't funny or helpful. To me, they're just a nuisance.

What ? No chiding ? No flippant remarks at all ? Sweet Jesus don't waste them all on me.

quote:

Originally posted by bendable:
What ? No chiding ? No flippant remarks at all ? Sweet Jesus don't waste them all on me.

Oh great, now you have injected religion into this thread.

Those antics have run me out of several threads, although I'm sure some would say that's a good thing given my conservative views. So yeah, thanks Para for reminding us why this forum is unique and a good place if you follow a few simple self-evident rules.

quote:

Originally posted by bendable:
What ? No chiding ? No flippant remarks at all ? Sweet Jesus don't waste them all on me.

I'm going to go out on a ledge here...take a real leap of faith...and assume that Para knows the proper spelling of the word "dam(n)", thus the different responses in the two threads.

You want your rant to be treated seriously?...then learn to communicate effectively, and part of communicating effectively is spelling words correctly.

Misspellings, especially those in thread titles, are ripe for a little good natured fun.

quote:

Originally posted by bendable:
What ? No chiding ? No flippant remarks at all ? Sweet Jesus don't waste them all on me.

Forgive us, brother. It’s been a long time since we had a dog pile around here. We’re getting a little hard up.