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Non-political space

Catherine MansleyCatherine Mansley Posts: 28 admin
edited 6 January in The potting shed
Hello lovely forum users. This is a gardening forum, and we would like to keep it as a non-political space. Anything which is flagged to the moderators as being of a political nature, may be deleted. Please do not start political discussions on this forum, as they may be deleted. Thank you for your understanding. 
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Posts

  • B3B3 Posts: 27,505
    That's a pity. It was good to have a place for reasonable political discussion without the offensive rants on news forums.
    In London. Keen but lazy.
  • JennyJJennyJ Posts: 10,576
    Thanks for the clarification @Catherine Mansley . That makes much more sense than some political discussions/comments being allowed and others removed.
    Doncaster, South Yorkshire. Soil type: sandy, well-drained
  • rowlandscastle444rowlandscastle444 Posts: 2,612
    edited 5 January
    pansyface said:
    Just a nit-picking question.

    If the government of the day decides to reintroduce neonicotinoids or some other controversial product which has direct implications for gardeners and wildlife, are we allowed to discuss that?

    Asking for a friend. 🙂
    pansyface  , I  would imagine that it would be fine, provided that people keep to the specific topic in hand, and don't use the thread as an excuse to rant about politics in general. 
  • Hostafan1Hostafan1 Posts: 34,889
    As with any other topic, nobody is obliged to read them.
    If folk don't want to read about politics, they can ignore it, but it seems somewhat heavy handed to shut down reasonable discussions about politics.
    Devon.
  • philippasmith2philippasmith2 Posts: 3,742
    Thank you for the explanation @Catherine Mansley.  
    It would seem the safest bet for Forum users would be to avoid any mention of politics, politicians or current events whether in the UK or elsewhere if unrelated to Gardening or Plants ( altho I'd have to say it may be expecting a wee bit much that the odd political comment won't pop up given the upcoming General Election in the UK  ;) ) 
    For new posters in the future, it may be a good idea to remove "Topical Debate" from the acceptable subjects included in The Potting Shed description.  At least that way, no one should be left in any doubt as to what is allowed and what is not. 
    Not my intention to be difficult  as I, like many others, have appreciated and enjoyed  the forum over the years. Moderation can't be easy these days and despite disagreeing in this particular instance, I certainly don't envy you trying to please us all  :)
  • steveTusteveTu Posts: 3,219
    Thank you for the explanation.
    I must admit I am a bit lost by it though, as the COVID thread had political posts, BREXIT - the POLITICS thread was untouched by moderation for ages. I often post about the Sunday morning BBC TV politics show or the R4 Today program under Curmudgeons . I'm certain I've seen Boris mentioned all over the place.
    The humour threads are often, quite rightly IMO, political.
    It's your forum and your rules, but I personally think you'll lose 'character' by potentially deleting any political post - and by making it 'may be deleted' it leaves it open to posts testing the water rather than being genuine posts.
    UK - South Coast Retirement Campus (East)
  • Hostafan1Hostafan1 Posts: 34,889
    If we're only allowed to talk about gardening themes, presumably the " what to watch on TV thread" will be deleted?
    Ditto threads about pets? 
    Ditto threads about crafts and hobbies? 
    Where will you stop?
    If we dare to contradict advice on GW, will those posts be deleted?
    Devon.
  • B3B3 Posts: 27,505
    .
    In London. Keen but lazy.
  • B3B3 Posts: 27,505
    Perhaps we are mature enough to have a reasoned debate @Emptyheadtime
    In London. Keen but lazy.
This discussion has been closed.