News Section changes

[Nep Nep]

Let me stop you right there before the accusations, while it's very obvious I've had a problem with how the News section has become, not a single mod or admin makes decisions without a majority vote of other mods. This was not my sole decision and the way that we decide how the forum run is NEVER the choice of any one individual.

We have decided that the current news section offers little opportunity for activity and the topics in there are divisive and would most certainly be unattractive to new users. We have decided to part ways from the NF style setup and move away from public political discussion. All discussions of such nature will be moved to the round table. We will try to allow religious discussion if desired under perspectives but that too will be under scrutiny to ensure that it is more productive.

Certainly after the overturn of Roe V Wade and Justice Clarence's threat to look into the other rights Roe V Wade protected such as gay marriage, this a time of the highest emotion. I don't think it would be suitable for such content to be on our publicly viewable page, as whether one likes it or not abortion/gay rights are desired by the majority, and thus since new members are more likely to find the opposite view distasteful and potentially us, we're moving all current political content into the Round Table.

No more political discussion will be allowed in the news section or even perspectives. Religious discussion may continue in Perspectives, but may be regulated as well if it becomes just a small group of people arguing all the time. Round table will meet all political discussion needs from now on and it will all stay in there.

Let me stop you right there before the accusations, while it's very obvious I've had a problem with how the News section has become, not a single mod or admin makes decisions without a majority vote of other mods. This was not my sole decision and the way that we decide how the forum run is NEVER the choice of any one individual.

We have decided that the current news section offers little opportunity for activity and the topics in there are divisive and would most certainly be unattractive to new users. We have decided to part ways from the NF style setup and move away from public political discussion. All discussions of such nature will be moved to the round table. We will try to allow religious discussion if desired under perspectives but that too will be under scrutiny to ensure that it is more productive.

Certainly after the overturn of Roe V Wade and Justice Clarence's threat to look into the other rights Roe V Wade protected such as gay marriage, this a time of the highest emotion. I don't think it would be suitable for such content to be on our publicly viewable page, as whether one likes it or not abortion/gay rights are desired by the majority, and thus since new members are more likely to find the opposite view distasteful and potentially us, we're moving all current political content into the Round Table.

No more political discussion will be allowed in the news section or even perspectives. Religious discussion may continue in Perspectives, but may be regulated as well if it becomes just a small group of people arguing all the time. Round table will meet all political discussion needs from now on and it will all stay in there.

Posted below are the other mods consent to this change as proof.

The change will take place slowly over the day, if you do post politics today in the section it will simply be moved to the Round Table with no action taken against you.
But the change will be fully in effect one week from today, that should be enough time for even the busiest people to take a look and see the new rules.

 

[Goth Boy]

Remove the News Section.

 

[Goth Boy]

Like what's the point of that place?

To discuss important stuff on an anime website out of all places where most people aren't experts at anything except having mediocre coding skills?

 

[Nep Nep]

Spiicccyyyyy.

We may do so in the future if activity continues to be minimal.

 

[Vermiform]

Remove the News Section.

We need anime news section.

In all seriousness though it's more of an issue of activity than too many political news... Some of you might know I've been posting biology and bug news on NF since 07 (yeah...) and I still do from time to time but they get drowned in political and "spicy" social/pop news.

So why am I not posting my news content here just as much if activity is the issue? Cause then honestly you'll have a page of MY and my news only which we can all agree is less than favourable.

Designating a separate section for political news is a smart and efficient way to decrease any future clutter but we need ways to promote news sharing on this forum too.

 

[Aurelian]

We need anime news section.

That can just stay in the general anime or manga sections.

 

[Goth Boy]

Some of you might know I've been posting biology and bug news on NF since 07 (yeah...) and I still do from time to time but they get drowned in political and "spicy" social/pop news.

At some point it's your own fault

 

[Vermiform]

That can just stay in the general anime or manga sections.

I was being sarcastic to the point it sounded genuine... I apologise...

At some point it's your own fault

The lack of activity or...? Cause I can totally dump a dozen bio/bug news right now and you look at me and tell me it'll be wise

 

[Goth Boy]

The lack of activity or...? Cause I can totally dump a dozen bio/bug news right now and you look at me and tell me it'll be wise

What I meant was it was your own fault for trying to start conversations about Bugs in a Section filled with Angsty Incels venting out about the girls who rejected them in high school and their abusive dads for 15 years

 

[Nep Nep]

We need anime news section.

In all seriousness though it's more of an issue of activity than too many political news... Some of you might know I've been posting biology and bug news on NF since 07 (yeah...) and I still do from time to time but they get drowned in political and "spicy" social/pop news.

So why am I not posting my news content here just as much if activity is the issue? Cause then honestly you'll have a page of MY and my news only which we can all agree is less than favourable.

Designating a separate section for political news is a smart and efficient way to decrease any future clutter but we need ways to promote news sharing on this forum too.

No more politics.

 

[Nevermind]

If you're gonna be that concerned over potentially butthurt spineless lurkers, you might as well just close down the entire section then. It's inevitable politics will come up with news. Though I don't know how you can keep the Ukraine war thread and remove the geopolitics one, since that one wasn't particularly controversial.

 

[Goth Boy]

Ukraine war thread

How is war not political? Why is that thread allowed if there are no politics allowed

 

[Nevermind]

If you want to grow ultimately censoring yourself because some people might not like something isn't going to work. The only way to grow is to produce good content and get good word of mouth and then make the forum provide an exclusive benefit.

I've been thinking through producing stuff that goes beyond the wrestling show, at least for OBD-branded content.

 

[Vermiform]

What I meant was it was your own fault for trying to start conversations about Bugs in a Section filled with Angsty Incels venting out about the girls who rejected them in high school and their abusive dads for 15 years

Not just bugs, bio news as a whole.

I've noticed a trend, years back bio news were exciting even for ppl who had no interest in nature, nowadays more and more ppl prefer to whip themselves with the most horrific and downright haunting news around, it's no issue of ignoring reality it's an issue of ppl actively hunting dark and depressing news... I mean I'm a lot closer to the conflict right now in terms of geography and Papa Putin always has an eye set on us all but I much rather focus on positive and uplifting news while still maintaining a sense and understanding of the "bad" ones.

 

[Nep Nep]

If you want to grow ultimately censoring yourself because some people might not like something isn't going to work. The only way to grow is to produce good content and get good word of mouth and then make the forum provide an exclusive benefit.

I've been thinking through producing stuff that goes beyond the wrestling show, at least for OBD-branded content.

I'm not really censoring anything, just moving away from having public political discussions, like most other places.
Whether you agree or not, some views are seen as deplorable or at best ignorant selfishness being their guiding principle. We really don't need that kind of energy. It was literally just the Cafe but with everyone allowed to participate instead of a handful of people.

Politics has ceased to be about what's good for everyone. Now it's about what's good for me, and how something makes me feel rather than how something actually is. It's a cesspool. It's an emotional nest of which few can escape and no I don't mean people get emotional about it, that's normal, I mean viewpoints are rarely backed by any form of logic anymore.

Instead of, oh hey the court just stripped people of rights and has threatened to strip more vulnerable groups of rights! It's waaahhhhh I pay too much for my chevy truck at the pump!

I'm over it. The fact that you're not is fine. I just think me and plenty of others just don't want to see some of the content that goes on there. It doesn't foster community or enlighten anyone. It just devolves into two parties digging their heels in and telling each other how stupid they are, and yes I am blaming myself for that too.
I could have, should have done better. Should have tried to explain that it was easy to have those viewpoints when I masqueraded as straight, when my dad had me go to church all the time. But I've gone the other way now and I realized that what people really lack in politics is the ability or desire to care about one another.
Rather than letting my disgust get to me I should have gently tried to explain the view point of marginalized groups. Maybe it would have still been for nothing but surely it would have hit a chord in at least one person.

We are human and we live in this country together, yet all we care about is ourselves. The costs WE pay, the problems WE face. Many of us are blind to what people different to us experience, and worse yet when they tell us, we tell them it's bullshit, that it's not as common as they say. We brush it aside because we don't want to believe.

After coming out I had no choice but to slowly flip political leanings. I realized that I and others that shared my shall we say category before, have no idea what they're talking about when it comes to gay rights or minorities etc. When I talk to the straight men at work about politics (they start it) they do exactly what I used to do. Brush aside my concerns. Oh nooooo they won't take away gay rights, we've got guns! We'll defend you! Very confidence inspiring no?
Abortion? Well this news article told me it's wrong at 12 weeks so yeah. Research? Nah dude. You say a fetus isn't a baby and that's why they're two different words? Nah what about the bible tho?
Oh they overturned roe v wade to protect gay people! No really!

This is the kind of selfish, ignorant, pompous crap I hear daily. From people who will NOT be affected by the decisions regardless of how they go. People that really don't give a shit. Btw two of those people have literally told me they straight up don't like black people. Like they just fucking said it casually.
Oh I'm not racist, I just don't really like them!

Logic, science, none of it penetrates through the ignorance, through the emotional investment in false narratives. Maybe I have to get on my knees and cry, beg them to understand that the court is poised to harm people like me. They want to. They want us to be lesser. They want us to go back to being a silent phantom in the shadow of society. One that they can silently and callously harm again without anyone caring.

I know why they can't see. They don't want to see. Looking at America as it is now is too difficult. Believing that our rights could be reversed is not a concern for the people outside of our groups. Our individualism has gone to the extreme. We don't vote to make the country better anymore. We vote to impose our will on others. We don't vote to expand choice and opportunity, we vote to weaponize our beliefs. The bible and the constitution are being used as a sword to impale the non-Christians.

No. More. Public. Politics. It divides, it leads nowhere, and it enlightens no one. People should put people before their stupid political party.

I'm not a perfect person and I have plenty of growing to do. Being able to keep my rage in check at view points that I find utterly deplorable is certainly something I need to get a grip on, but at the very least I have grown in understanding of groups that I once ignored, not out of hatred, not out of racism, not out of sexism but out of pure ignorance. That is the case for many of us and I hope we can all realize that without having to become a part of one of those groups.

Much of what I said in the NF cafe was straight up wrong. This is apparent to me now. I too was too focused on me. My experience. But my experience a country does not make. It's not about just me. I don't live in a vacuum. I don't want people to all turn into democrats, I want people to stop for a moment and think about if they REALLY understand the person they're talking to. To consider that what they say is likely not some dramatized ramblings but a real lived experience, and potentially one that is common for people like them. To understand that if that's the case then things need to be done to make it better for them, not worse.

We pick our sides and we look for all the evil in the other side to discredit it. And while maybe someone entrenched in QAnon cannot necessarily be helped by someone who isn't a professional, a regular person of any party should be able to extend their attempts to understand the ills of another.
We have all made that mistake and that is why The News is just the Cafe 2.0 just with a heavier starring cast and that is why it has no place here.

 

[Nevermind]

Politics has ceased to be about what's good for everyone. Now it's about what's good for me, and how something makes me feel rather than how something actually is. It's a cesspool. It's an emotional nest of which few can escape and no I don't mean people get emotional about it, that's normal, I mean viewpoints are rarely backed by any form of logic anymore.

Instead of, oh hey the court just stripped people of rights and has threatened to strip more vulnerable groups of rights! It's waaahhhhh I pay too much for my chevy truck at the pump!

Politics has always been about who gets what. That is how it's always been since the dawn of civilization and how it always will be. You think you're being logical but you aren't (and nobody else is, either). That wall of words shows it.

If you want to go apolitical and give everybody a safe harbor, that's fine, much as I can't stand the thought of removing something just because some geek somewhere might find it offensive. If it's a branding decision, that's one thing, but that doesn't sound like what this is. It sounds like you didn't like what people said and that's the reason. The world isn't a hugbox, so my style is to just have everything be a free for all within its respective space. Just understand it's not going to grow the forum. Only producing good content which can trend will do that.

Nihilus and me got the most activity the OBD's seen in years with the wrestling show. I have other plans slowly in motion. I'm just trying to figure out payment structures and copyrights in that sort.

 

[Nep Nep]

Politics has always been about who gets what. That is how it's always been since the dawn of civilization and how it always will be. You think you're being logical but you aren't (and nobody else is, either). That wall of words shows it.

Yeah and it should be everybody has the opportunity to get everything.
My outpouring of sentiment is separate from the logic that all should be equal. Under a social contract, equality is in the best interest of its longevity.

If you want to go apolitical and give everybody a safe harbor, that's fine, much as I can't stand the thought of removing something just because some geek somewhere might find it offensive. If it's a branding decision, that's one thing, but that doesn't sound like what this is. It sounds like you didn't like what people and that's the reason. The world isn't a hugbox, so my style is to just have everything be a free for all within its respective space. Just understand it's not going to grow the forum. Only producing good content which can trend will do that.

It's not removed though, it's just in a different place where it's not automatically viewable by the public, they have to choose to see it.
I did make it clear I don't like a lot of the viewpoints expressed and considering the majority of Americans tend to lean that way nobody wants to see people still resisting change for nonsensical reasons. Talking about abortion btw, nvm Europe who largely allows it. That leads to a large majority of potential people that could be quite disgusted and leave automatically, be disgusted and try to argue and then leave when no compromise is made, or just refer to our news section as a shit heap like NF did with the cafe.

Yeah we tried the free for all, and there was some stuff there that was really dumb and it alienated many. Nobody wanted to take the time out of their day to challenge it save for me and a handful of others. Again, think about all the energy you spent arguing in the Cafe and hearing exasperating shit all day.

If your news section becomes so intolerable that only one side will post in it, that's a problem in itself. We didn't need or want a new echo chamber. The cafe on nf is there for that.

Political debates aren't good content so we can certainly do without them publicly displayed.

Nihilus and me got the most activity the OBD's seen in years with the wrestling show. I have other plans slowly in motion. I'm just trying to figure out payment structures and copyrights in that sort.

Yeah, good, keep at it.

 

[Nevermind]

Talking about abortion btw, nvm Europe who largely allows it. That leads to a large majority of potential people that could be quite disgusted and leave automatically, be disgusted and try to argue and then leave when no compromise is made, or just refer to our news section as a shit heap like NF did with the cafe.

Europe is actually more restrictive with abortion than most of the United States. And most people don't care about abortion as much as you seem to think. It gets a lot of attention so it seems more important than it really is. It's not a major issue for most people, especially in a bad economy.

Again, if you want to go apolitical for branding reasons, that's OK, it just doesn't sound like that's the motivation here.

Speaking of the wrestling show though, you all might as well sticky all the episodes before we go live, not just our Odyssey specials. I think we may have one tomorrow. Depends on how well Nihilus is doing with the script I gave him.

 

[Dr. Watson]

Only producing good content which can trend will do that.

Correct.
But we don’t want OLF to be defined by ‘good’ political content, we want things like the OBD wrestling matches, parodies that aren’t swarmed by controversial geopolitics, reviews that everyone - outside and inside this forum - can be enamored or intrigued by.
There are plenty of sites, specifically Reddit, that harbor discussion based on politics that allow what’s occurring in our (meaning staff and OLF users) news section that has very little, lenient moderation.

That said, the hug box stuff does not apply (to an extent) to the rest of OLF. With politics, everyone does not have a baseline respect toward one another and doesn’t see the point.
The other sections, however, require respect and a level of respect to eachother. Because anime, gaming, aren’t usually spicy and are easy to integrate into. And some level of heated discourse/debate is allowed, as it always has been, sans flaming. It’s expected. But it doesn’t tend to spark flames on a constant basis, politics does.
That is the difference.

 

[Nep Nep]

Europe is actually more restrictive with abortion than most of the United States. And most people don't care about abortion as much as you seem to think. It gets a lot of attention so it seems more important than it really is. It's not a major issue for most people, especially in a bad economy.

Again, if you want to go apolitical for branding reasons, that's OK, it just doesn't sound like that's the motivation here.

It wasn't just my decision as you saw. For me, I'm sick of seeing it. I'm literally over here waiting for the SCOTUS to overturn gay marriage and maybe more. I don't really want to hear another person brush that to the side like it's not important or is unlikely to happen. I don't want to hear more flimsy justifications and defense for it.
I'm not the only person that feels that way and so it does lead to a branding problem in the end. We're not going to keep as many people if we're pasting extreme talking points all over the place. Keep in mind, we could have just sunk to NF's level and banned everyone we disagree with and made a lefty echo chamber like NF but I and other mods decided it's best to just nip it in the bud. It's not enhancing the experience of the forum.
Regardless. the content is still there for you to discuss, just not in the News.

Europe is restrictive in how many weeks they'll allow but it doesn't seem like they have people calling it murder and wanting no abortion at all. Currently our Southern states are not even on Europe's level.

Abortion SHOULD be an important issue imo. Fellow citizens are losing a right that has allowed them to become more equal. It's VERY selfish that people are whining about gas prices while fellow citizens become lesser beings by court mandate. Why don't we care? No really. Why do we want to bring unwanted children in the world that will likely be unloved and certainly uncared for by the system? It boggles the mind.

That was exactly the problem I described where people are only worried about them. Meanwhile they could sell their oversized truck/suv and buy a sensible car with sensible gas mileage. That's not a disruption of their life to do that. Hell the trade in value of their shiny car would probably cover a good portion of the cost and cutting their gas bill by half or more would be an incredible benefit. I pay anywhere from 1/2 to 1/3 of what truck/suv owners pay in gas.
The economy isn't coming back until supply chains do. No president claiming they're going to fix it can make it happen any quicker. People want magic economical solutions but there are none and some president you vote for that tells you they're totally doing it while nothing really changes to appease the oblivious will NOT help. Until the WORLD recovers our economy will not recover either because like it or not, the entire worlds economies are reliant on each other. Hence it is in our best interest in MANY respects to defend Ukraine to the best of our ability.

Speaking of the wrestling show though, you all might as well sticky all the episodes before we go live, not just our Odyssey specials. I think we may have one tomorrow. Depends on how well Nihilus is doing with the script I gave him.

I'll tell everyone. Nihilus ofc is in the discord chat with us too so he can always alert us.