There's no way I'd vote for a Politics orElection thread. For a variety of reasons, including that I don't think this is the right time to be bringing this up.

As far as the technical side of board health - aka coding/traffic/whathaveyou - as ita goes, so goes my nation. So I am anti-proliferation in general.

In specific, I appreciate Aimeé's offer to put the thread on a three-month trial. If it passes, I think that is the best idea. Also, "Vegas" and "Toepick!" are both very good ideas. I would probably still vote against the thread on the basis of anti-proliferation, but I appreciate the flexibility.

I see this as a mildly significant step in the debate over The Direction Of The Buffistas. I'm hoping someone else understands what I'm trying to say and can expound further as necessary, because I can't seem to.

I like Aimee's proposal of a trial period. It would make it much easier to pull the plug if things go wrong.

So I won't say I'm comfortable with the idea, but I've moved to "on the fence." Because the idea of a Buffista quasi-blog has appeal.

If a Politics thread passes, I'd suggest the header contain the following:

• This is a trial period to see if the board can handle a Politics thread without undue rancor. Include the date when the trial period ends.

• Post links, not entire articles. (Possible exception: Short, 1-2 paragraph excerpts ok if the link will expire soon after posting.)

• A reminder that we all have our political hobbyhorses. Respect that, at least to the extent of avoiding, "Not that issue again!" remarks.

Oh, and Cindy, love your tagline! Yay Meredith Brooks!

New server. Magazine ads. Plane tickets.

The new server we say we can't continue to afford? The magazine ads that I don't know what you're talking about, exactly? And bringing Nilly to the US?

Completely different things -- saying we have a lot of money is not just counting your chickens before they've hatched, you're not even to the bit where birds have evolved yet.

Right now, the money we have is whatever money Jesse has, and that's earmarked for hosting. The other money? Not yet existing, and I can't recommend any course of action that assumes it does.

The problem I have with a trial period is that we may revisit a contentious discussion in another three months.

[So far, I think I've counted two who say they will post in the thread]

Rob, I'm happy to work with you on developing the UI if that's a sticking point -- my email is mtepper at echonyc dot com.

Oh, and Cindy, love your tagline! Yay Meredith Brooks!

Thanks, Fred (oh, and you helped me catch a misspelling so thanks, twice). I think your suggestions for this thread, if it comes into being, are all sound and necessary.

The problem I have with a trial period is that we may revisit a contentious discussion in another three months.

That concerns me, too. Perhaps the proposal's wording could state there would be no re-opening of lightbulb. We're having the discussion now. The thread itself (I'm not convinced it will pass) will serve as proof to those who choose to vote. When the 3 months has passed, we could just have a straight up yea or nay vote. I don't know. Again, I would like to see something built into the proposal, an escape clause, so that if the thread causes some horrid problem, we can shut it down before the 3 month gut check, Aimee has proposed.

[So far, I think I've counted two who say they will post in the thread]

I think, for me, content and tone of the thread (if/when it comes into being), what's going on in the political arena, and in the press, and my own mood at the time, will have a lot to do with whether or when I post, or even lurk.

Does anyone else on the fence feel that way?

Does anyone else on the fence feel that way?

Pretty much. I don't know that I'd ever post in there very much, but there could be the occasional comment, depending on the factors you described.

Does anyone else on the fence feel that way?

My opinions are definitely evolving (or flip-flopping -- I'll own up to the possibility) since my first post last night.

There's a decent chance that I'd at least lurk, try it out. But I have a longstanding rule against discussing politics online (yes, I've broken it a number of times, and it isn't as firm as it used to be), especially during my peak posting hours. So I doubt I'd ever be a very active poster in such a thread. But if the thread tone is polite enough, I might say a few words now and then.

I'd probably post a few times.