LogFAQs > #979919303

I will write a version of what I did when 261 got shut down: I don't think that public discussion forums are well served by limiting discussion of basic topics. Any topic where people gather to discuss something can turn toxic if the folks involved are not approaching it in good faith-it is the unfortunate part of the internet and always has been. Dealing with that is the cost of doing business if you are operating a series of discussion forums. Special rules for politics or any other topic won't solve the toxicity problem. It just means that you won't get any engagement on your site during an election year when politics is what people want to gather to discuss.

There have been many toxic political discussions at this site over the years, and I am certainly not volunteering for the difficult job of moderating those discussions. But if the goal is to make rules that eventually eliminate all possible disagreement and controversy, then I just don't see the point of the discussion forums at all. When we are finally left with boards for the five games that everybody likes, that will be fine, but also pointless to engage with.

My humble opinion is they should either run actual discussion boards, with all the headaches the internet has always had, or just be done with it. Because the final product of excising all topics that could lead to an actual conversation won't be something people want to spend time with anyway.