It's a law of networks that the more nodes for communication there are, the more communication there will be, even if the number of communicators stays stable. So, yes, adding a politics thread will add traffic.

It's a bad idea because we shouldn't be adding new threads right now until all our coding issues are done.

We have at least one volunteer to help with the coding in BaBB, btw.

I've got mixed feelings about a politics thread. A total Ban on Politics (BOP) is preferable, in my opinion, but you can't stop people from talking about the topic in a US election year. Is segregating the conversation the answer, or the route to more madness? I tend to think the problems we've had have been about personality clashes, not clashes over political POVs -- I get the sense that maybe what happened with Jen K was the exception there? I wasn't here for that -- which makes me think the problem isn't with political discussion in the wrong places, but people just being assclowns.

See, I would expect the denizens of the politics thread to adhere to the same level of conduct that we expect in every other thread.

I'm not talking about things like overt personal attacks and trolling, which I'd assume we wouldn't have too much of. It's more that, in most threads now, we've got periods of tons of disagreement, where tempers might flare or buttons get pushed, alternating with periods of relative calm. And when there are hotter periods, if frequently seems to happen in a lot of threads at once, and I think at least some of that is spillover. I've be worried that a politics thread would be constantly at the "tons of disagreement" stage, and that the heat from there would spill over into other threads.

Also, I like discussing politics, and I've enjoyed a lot of the politics conversations here. If there were a thread for politics to be quarantined, than I would miss the type of political discussions we've had up until now.

I'm anti-proliferation, since being on the dedicated server so far means that problems can be ignored.

If we don't want to keep shelling out the $$$, we need to fix those problems. Haven't yet. So I can't bet on that horse.

Without that consideration, I really don't care whether it exists or not. But the idea that ALL the politics discussion had to go there is seductive, in a pipe dreamy sort of world.

I'm notoriously anti-proliferation, so...

Yet, these days, I don't care whether or not there is a Politics thread. I think it's probably a bad idea. I think it will probably lead to more ill will rather than less. Plus I think ghettoizing the political discussion is a bad idea. Those are my board-related reasons for my disinclination.

My selfish reason is that I really enjoy reading about politics even if I don't usually participate in the discussion. But I'd avoid a politics thread like the plague.

I am undecided about how I'd vote on this one. I mean, if lots of people want it, who am I to deny the wrong-headed crackpots?

I mean, if lots of people want it, who am I to deny the wrong-headed crackpots?

Just because the wrong-headed crackpots want something does not mean it's in their best interests to get it.

I don't know, even though I seconded the idea, I don't plan on voting for it.

I think it will probably lead to more ill will rather than less.

Me too. But if it's ill will among those that wanted it ... that's not my bed, although I'm sure the aftershock will be wider than just the one thread.

I see no honest upside, except for people that wanting it, getting it.

I get the sense that maybe what happened with Jen K was the exception there?

I don't know. I am still, even now, too close to this issue to be an accurate judge. It didn't feel like a political debate to me.

I'm inclined to vote for it, and if I see baggage from heated discourse there clearly affecting the tone negatively in unrelated threads, calling the involved parties on it in those threads. I hope that ALL of us will still be open to a "dude, chill" comment if we forget ourselves and let things get out of hand?

I would hope so, Matt.

While things around here do get tense, I'm rather relying on Buffistas staying, inherently, Buffista, even when discussing politics. Yes, politics can get loud and messy and divisive, but, foolish me, I keep thinking it doesn't have to. I'd rather not avoid doing something because, ooh, bad things might happen. Something good might happen, too.

And, yes, I've been on other boards, even stuck my nose into the infamous TT Politics boards. Giving ourselves a place to discuss important things is not necessarily putting out the welcome mat to Freepers and wild-eyed fringers off all sorts.