- Joined
- Nov 13, 2007
- Messages
- 1,624
- Reaction score
- 284
- Points
- 237
As many of you know, when we setup SufficientSelf.com we had the goal of having a place where our members could discuss self-sufficiency and self-sustainability openly in a respectful and friendly way. We wanted to have a less strict moderation style than we have at BackYardChickens.com
Over the past few months we've seen a lot of political threads or topics that veer off into politics that end up with a lot of reports to the SS staff and/or hurt feelings.
We pulled together the staff here and even solicited the help of some of the BYC staff and we reviewed many of these problem threads. In general we found that while the political discussions were often interesting and passionate, they frequently turned into situations where things turned personal, topics were locked and feelings were hurt.
We decided that the net pros that came from allowing these discussions became far outweighed by the net cons. It was very rare that a political thread ran its course and all the participants left feeling better than when they started... especially without the staff constantly cleaning things up.
For this reason we've decided (again after much discussion and thought) to introduce a new moratorium on political threads or posts.
We don't make this decision lightly, but we do it based on what we believe is best for the community as a whole. If members slip into politics we'll issue a friendly reminder, but if members continue to get pulled into starting political discussions or fork non-political discussions into politics then the SS staff will need to take more strict actions (which we hate doing).
Thanks to everyone for making this such a great community. We've been amazed at the growth and the incredible diversity and information found in this group and we look forward to seeing what we can learn in 2010.
While this decision isn't up for debate, if you have any helpful questions or feedback about this new policy please post them as a reply or contact a member of the SS staff directly.
Cheers!
Over the past few months we've seen a lot of political threads or topics that veer off into politics that end up with a lot of reports to the SS staff and/or hurt feelings.
We pulled together the staff here and even solicited the help of some of the BYC staff and we reviewed many of these problem threads. In general we found that while the political discussions were often interesting and passionate, they frequently turned into situations where things turned personal, topics were locked and feelings were hurt.
We decided that the net pros that came from allowing these discussions became far outweighed by the net cons. It was very rare that a political thread ran its course and all the participants left feeling better than when they started... especially without the staff constantly cleaning things up.
For this reason we've decided (again after much discussion and thought) to introduce a new moratorium on political threads or posts.
We don't make this decision lightly, but we do it based on what we believe is best for the community as a whole. If members slip into politics we'll issue a friendly reminder, but if members continue to get pulled into starting political discussions or fork non-political discussions into politics then the SS staff will need to take more strict actions (which we hate doing).
Thanks to everyone for making this such a great community. We've been amazed at the growth and the incredible diversity and information found in this group and we look forward to seeing what we can learn in 2010.
While this decision isn't up for debate, if you have any helpful questions or feedback about this new policy please post them as a reply or contact a member of the SS staff directly.
Cheers!
