No separate politics thread. No separate religion thread, no separate sex thread (Bitches can handle that on our own, thanks). The topics come up in various places and get dealt with, but having one concentrated area of potential controversy makes me nervous.

And the thing is, I don't think we are going to stop snarking at Julia Roberts or George Bush or Carrot Top; and it will include things we would never say about someone registered on the board.

Yes, but Julia Roberts isn't just someone not registered on the board; she's a public figure, and therefore legally (am I right?) available for snarkage.

I don't wanna hang onto this very much farther, as we've obviously got different points of view and I can't trot out any more or different arguments to compel you, I've got no chance of making you change your mind.

I just want to say I'm really, really against the bit "our policy is based on the idea that there should be no personal attacks on any poster here. people who are not Buffistas are fair game" going into any official, FAQ-type document. Please.

Politics, like Religion, is often based on faith and passion. While it is possible to discuss such things politely, it is extremely difficult to actually make "progress" in such discussions with strangers. The urge to be "right" and to win people over to your way of thinking dominates the wary and unwary alike.

This is why I can't discuss literature online any more.

(That was a joke.) (But it is actually, pathetically, true.)

I'm rather behind Allyson re. thread-proliferation, here. I don't want to become a TT, where the structure was a thread for every topic; I'd rather have our threads be differing zones of discussion. I'm being a little crazy, probably, certainly, but it's really felt to me like that's a much richer earth for discussion. Maybe, it's more suggestive/nurturing of communityhood. There's less disassociation; less congenital split; more freedom to reference past discussions on other topics in greater detail (because it happened in the same thread and same area, of course).

I may be insane. But that's how I see it.

(Funny... this is Natter about Natter)

Well, actually, Darrien, it's on-topic for both the thread and the discussion, so, I wouldn't call it natter at all....

having one concentrated area of potential controversy

Yes. That's a very good point.

I'm really, really against the bit "our policy is based on the idea that there should be no personal attacks on any poster here. people who are not Buffistas are fair game" going into any official, FAQ-type document. Please.

To the best of my knowledge, no one has suggested that. We've always said we don't want to be too specific.

No separate politics thread. No separate religion thread, no separate sex thread (Bitches can handle that on our own, thanks). The topics come up in various places and get dealt with, but having one concentrated area of potential controversy makes me nervous.

wrod. Especially on that last sentence.

The topics come up in various places and get dealt with, but having one concentrated area of potential controversy makes me nervous.

It's the topics popping up all over the place in Natter that I like so much. I may not have woken up wanting to discuss mating habits of Australian mammals, but I think it's nifty when that's what ends up happening.

I also like discussing politics in natter becasue it seems that people less interested, or not arguing act as a buffer.

having one concentrated area of potential controversy

Am I the only one who flashed to the ending of Time Bandits with the 'concentrated evil' that looked like an incinersted pot roast that made people explode when they touched it while reading that phrase? And seeing similar things (i.e. exploding Buffistas) becasue of it? Or am I merely insane?

To the best of my knowledge, no one has suggested that. We've always said we don't want to be too specific.

I was afraid Gar was leaning in that direction.

I'm going to go flutter off into a ball of twinkling, shimmering unnecessariness. That's not a word, either.

I agree that there probably shouldn't be a politics thread. Wrod. The only pro I can see to having one would be, if a political conversation started to crop up where people were uncomfortable talking about such, the people that want to talk about it could be directed to some place it was safe to talk about. That doesn't sound like it's a problem here, though.

I think we should have a "Powederkeg" thread, lined with explosives, computer virus broadcasters and bitter, drunk mimes. I think it would add some spice.