Sad, sad day when the abuses and sabotage of a few can pull down the third-most popular sub-Forum on CrossfireForum.org.

The site enjoyed by so many will be missed.

 

I rarely posted on the political thread, but I used to enjoy reading it.
Rather than moderate and reprimand the abusers, it was easier for certain people to just eliminate it.

How sad that no one was warned and all that research and information is now lost to us.

I am sadly disappointed in the "leaders" of this forum.

I have just sent notice to Julian that I will not renew my Super Sponsorship.

 

Funny how the ones that voted to get rid of the political section, could not just stay away after losing the vote. They had to act like foul mouth children and destroy the site, rather than let others express an alternative point of view. Sad, truly sad, and shame on them.

 

First of all we did try to moderate that forum.
We deleted posts and were accused.
We deleted threads and we were accused
We got PM's every week with complaints from people who felt threatened and personally I didn't have the time to be reading through all the trash to see who is right or wrong and who threatend who etc.
And no matter what we did we would be accused of not being fair by someone.
The people responsible for it's end were the very ones who participated on it in such an unprofessional and immature way.

Don't be disappointed in the "leaders" of this forum as there are no "leaders"
There are moderators and a site owner.

Blame the posters who caused all the trouble and wouldn't change there ways when they were warned. Yes in many PM's "they" were warned.

 

There was a vote on this subject? I missed that one. James

 

So only the political forum holds your interest? The rest of the Crossfire Forum isn't worth any amount to you?

James

 

Sorry to see the Conservative...uh...I meant "Political" forum go.

That forum caused a lot of unnecessary tension on this site. Good riddance.

 

Probably a big mistake. This place is moderated much less than many forums (and TheSPacePort in particular, we are virtual babysitters over there!) This lighter mode of moderation works well here and fits the place well, Gary.


I have been somewhat absent lately, so I REALLY don't know who/what did this, but I will say this: I enjoyed that forum a LOT. It was interesting to read threads that I didn't even post in. But more to the point, many here have political views VERY different from mine - but I count them as friends. I found the political forum a good place to get to know someone, so that when there was a GTG, I knew who not to discuss politics with! SERIOUSLY, the forum served a good purpose.


We often have considered eliminating "The Range" from TheSpacePort. But the consensus among the mods and admins is that doing that will kill the site. Not completely, but in effect.


I fear the same here, and I hate that.

ONE MORE THING: Beaner put it well, when he predicted that politics will now invade the rest of the site - and destroy it.

 

I trust your judgement and knowledge of this topic my friend, but I do find it interesting it comes on the heal of a PM I sent FP asking about what appeared to be a perception I had where those who seemed to be the biggest accusers of others (i.e. racists) and very venomous in their attacks never seemed to have warnings posted in that area as much as those they targeted.

His first open response was his post telling of the zero tolerance. What I saw was the accused coming out and agreeing to the terms, but never saw anything from those others.

Fine, it's done, but like Cruxpyr I liked to go in and read some of what was going on. But I did grow tired of it that I stopped posting so much as the few would never stop with their accusations and attacks.

 

Oh never mind cant get embed code to work.

 

I was not aware of a vote on this topic either. But let me see if I can put some perspective on this issue. This is first and foremost a car forum dedicated to car enthusiasts of the Crossfire. It has always been very liberal with letting everyone have fun without tons of rules. Julian provided a "general" and "political" forum, as well as a couple non Crossfire sections to discuss topics freely. All other car forums I belong to don't have a political forum.
The Political forum has become a real burden to moderate. We (the moderators/administrators) of the forum have only become involved when we were notified of threats, or abuse. In such cases we closed or deleted the thread, mostly on the requests made by you (the political forum posters). Gary and I have collectively been PM'd by over 12 members at one time or the other. Some from you that are complaining about it being closed. I will not name anyone. To say you have never been warned? Are you kidding me? Have I not posted reminders for you to keep it civil? Have we not deleted or closed threads because of abuse and flared tempers? Give me a break...
I suggest that all of you take responsibility for getting this section closed. It was your behavior that led to the closing. You abuse the previllage given to you here. It is a liability to the owner of this site to allow the threats and abuse to continue.
I was not aware it was shut down until one of you notified me via PM this morning. I'll be the first to tell you that in numerous occasions I suggested that forum be closed. But even then, Julian allowed it to continue. Hey, It's his forum, and his decision, and I have to respect that. He apparently decided to eliminate it last night when he got involved to fix this site when it was down. I'll share his comment to Gary today, He said for now the political forum is closed. I don't know what that means long term.

There are plenty of political forum out there free of charge.

I will leave this thread open till end of day tomorrow so you can vent, but it will be closed. After that the 'general" section will not be used for political talk.

 

For those that yearn for politics, here is a Political Forum for you :Political Forum - US & World Politics Forum

And guess what........there is no discussion over there about automobiles.
Enjoy.

 

Its sad as it was ruined by two people in particular who had no morals or self control in how they interacted with other fellow members here. Many of us, myself included, crossed the line. However, these two comedians consistently blurred the limits of acceptable behavior.

Happy Motoring you two.

 

So you found it easier to ban an entire site, rather than a couple of repeat offenders? At what point do you say "Hey I have sent that guy so many warnings I am going to ban him." Never? You told a couple of us that we could not call Rad Sherman, But you had nothing to say when Billie threatened to kill Kane! Valkryderguy you seem like a nice guy but maybe you and FP should just let someone who is interested in the topic, moderate it. Rather than ban it. Just saying... And for those that thought the political section was divisive or offensive are you such children that you could not resist looking? It was you that clicked on the section, no one made you, though at this point, I think maybe someone should have. Sorry for the rant!

 

Did I mention that this was the third most popular sub-forum on CrossfireForum.org? That's a lot of views.

 

As best as I can remember, there was a copious amount of banter from the Libs that was never apologized for, but certainly contributed to the closing of the "conservative" forum.

If you were a voice of reason for the left side of things, we would have certainly welcomed your opinions.

On that note, opinions were welcomed but the personal attacks never were. Towards the end, I had numerous attacks on my faith in Christ and my conservative beliefs. These attacks weren't retaliation for any personal attack I had levied against anyone, but rather a rebuttal for the conservative values I held and defended. Stating that you believed folks should work for their money (shocking, right?) would net you a charge of racism. From where, I have no clue.

Since my involvement in the political forum, dating back to 2007, I've noticed one overall theme: Liberals are all about peace, appeasement, caring for others, and insuring the prosperity of all -- only as long as you agree with them. If not, look out and you had better have thick skin.

It caused tension, but it's about the only "developing" section of the forum. Innovative modifications for this car have hit a plateau, so I suspect the forum traffic will drop significantly.

In the end, the story is all too familiar: some bullies arrived on the playground and instead of direct punishment, we close the playground. Solves the symptom, hides the problem.

I hold no authority on this site, so I'm along for the ride. Life will surely go on.

 

Do not draw the conclusion that because I object to an action by the moderators, that I do not care about the rest of the forum.

I am withdrawing my FUNDING of the forum because the many, many responsible members are being muzzled because only a handful of people refused to behave.

This forum was an enjoyable place to share interest in our cars and pick up useful information.

While I did not go to the political section very much, I found the diverse views and opinions very informative and very interesting. It was a place were liberal and conservative points could be shared. However, on occasion, someone would get a bit out of hand and the moderators would pull them back in line. But this time, a select few made it their agenda to be so objectionable that, rather than crack down on the perpetrators (as was said they would), the powers that be chose to close it entirely.

 

Before I get banned for it, what constitutes "political talk?"

Is a political joke OK?
Can we mention politician's names
Does the personal insult ban only happen in the political section, now gone, or will you enforce it elsewhere.
Like should have been done long ago.

If it gets out of hand will you pull those Sub Forums as well?

Do we still expect photos of a comely lass in a small bikini to be banned but not the picture of a vagina?

Where does the line of censorship exist? How much warnig do we get? What path of appeals is available?

Inquiring minds want to know.

And Gary, if you heard those complaints, you all should have acted. You and the other Moderators didn't. So it continued.

And so,...... here we are.

 

Franc,
I suggest you request of Julian to become a moderator here and then you can decide these actions...
C'mon Franc give it a try..see if ya like it or not
See ya this weekend.

 

Please Gary, will you come help me up off the floor? My side hurts too! James