New forum!

[nullnor]

i don't know what i am going to do once i am out of a job and trying to fix my life. don't know if i'll be posting more or less. but i won't have the luxury of sitting at a computer all night anymore with nothing to do and no-one to talk to. if i do it means i'm not doing what i need to, if i don't it won't be from anything here, it's just means i'm finally outside frolicking around somewhere in the world.

[johnnya24]

As much as I hate all the dumbass Trump / Anti-Trump political threads over the last number of years, we forget that the Sports Bar was pretty dead after the move from the old site. The traffic isn't high enough to sustain separating the content like this.

IMO, it's just something we're gonna have to tolerate, but also, we all need to make more of an effort to promote and contribute to non-political content. I have failed in this lately.

The rank stupidity and toxicity from both sides in the Trump debate has had an effect for sure, but it's not only politics. There's also a sense of fatigue in general. I mean, do I really want to hear myself repeat the same old crap again and again? Not really. I'm bored of hearing myself. So at times I just can't be bothered. And it's not just the post, it's the replies, then the reply to the replies etc etc ... I used to see my day disappear in these futile back and forths. Sometimes I write a comment, then just delete it for that reason. I'm done in general with the repetition and regurgitation of futile internet based debates.

Here's my opinion ... here's my opinion again ... and again ... WAIT WHAT? you're expressing an opinion different from mine? ... well here's my opinion again, but this time with more EMPHASIS ... and then some more ... and some more ... HUH?!? IT SEEMS DESPITE MY ITALICISATION ENBOLDING AND CAPITALIZATION, YOU STILL DO NOT AGREE WITH ME! ... well here's my opinion yet again, but this time with your message broken into quotations so I can address every goddamn point.

... as if any of it makes the slightest difference. People on the Internet don't argue to forward a debate, they argue to reinforce their own presuppositions ... so it's all circular and ultimately pointless.

The traffic cannot sustain segregation of content ... it's up to the rest of us to promote better content in the SB.

[TranaGreg]

where's that like button???

then again, maybe I'm only agreeing with you to reinforce my own position.

[gcstomp]

I appreciate your take Johnny, for most part agree. I would like to think thoughtful and honest perspectives offered on site dont need to be labeled as stupid and toxic but there is a needed balancing that we must always attribute weight to 2 sides of every argument. This is fair thing to do insofar as internet utterances back and forth never change perspective on a dime. Not like you can get a full fledged committed anti dh rule person, for instance, to simply read something, even if its a powerful, compelling and honest argument as to the whys of that pov being wrong, and get movement. (Fill in dh with more provocative words, same result)

Splitting results in lower traffic. We already see it. Is that good? Heck, just close off politics, sportsbar, and anything not directly sport related and you will achieve focus, and less traffic. Is that bad? The move has been made, arbitrary for sure, not like there was a poll, but so what. Everything evolves. I remember when ebay lost its individual message boards across categories. I used to frequent bookseller board there. It was a community, same small but active group. Vibrant, rowdy, but an insider group. Ebay swept away most every board, made a few general boards, and killed little communities of familiar spots. Something like 95% traffic lost. Is this bad? To ebay bottom line, could not mean less, literally was just a non income generating nicety that contributed to community. Quash the quaint, embrace the change.

[revo]

I made the change after seeing FBGs board also did the same. And some of the old-timey posters have come to me and said they hate coming into the Sports Bar for fear of getting sucked up into a political thread. So we'll see how it goes. If it starts to affect traffic,no big deal, I can always move it back.

[cardboardbox]

I made the change after seeing FBGs board also did the same. And some of the old-timey posters have come to me and said they hate coming into the Sports Bar for fear of getting sucked up into a political thread. So we'll see how it goes. If it starts to affect traffic,no big deal, I can always move it back.

People said they couldnt avoid clicking on the Trump thread even though they desperately didnt want to?

SAD!

[Erik]

And some of the old-timey posters have come to me and said they hate coming into the Sports Bar for fear of getting sucked up into a political thread.

I wasn't avoiding the SB, but I was spending a lot less time here because it seemed like every day, most of the top half of page 1 of the SB was politics threads, which I had no interest in reading.

[Gregg]

Right now there are 11 members and 12 guests on our site. 7 are in politics and 6 in the sports bar.

Not bad.

[Ken]

Right now there are 11 members and 12 guests on our site. 7 are in politics and 6 in the sports bar.

Not bad.

I suspect mlb deadline day has an impact (even if they are moving over to the other forums afterwards).

[Teenwolf]

I like the split. I feel like 1 Trump thread at 500 pages has been an attempt to contain political discourse to as few threads as possible so as to avoid overwhelming the sports bar with political content. I've avoided starting other threads in the sports bar in the past for the same fear of overwhelming the SB. I feel like the split will allow us to stretch out a bit more in both forums. Love the move.

[revo]

I like the split. I feel like 1 Trump thread at 500 pages has been an attempt to contain political discourse to as few threads as possible so as to avoid overwhelming the sports bar with political content. I've avoided starting other threads in the sports bar in the past for the same fear of overwhelming the SB. I feel like the split will allow us to stretch out a bit more in both forums. Love the move.

Yes, it does allow you to post different threads and not just in the one yuuuuge Donald Trump thread. Good point.

[Boone]

I like it! Sports bar will be a better place.

[B-Fly]

I go away on vacation for a week and come back to find you've moved my cheese?!?!

Seriously, though, I think this works fine, although I can imagine we'll get some debate over whether discussions of things like sexism and racism are politics or not.

[revo]

I'm going to put all "volatile" topics in the Politics thread, including the threads on racism. Make The Sports Bar Great Again!

[Teenwolf]

I'm going to put all "volatile" topics in the Politics thread, including the threads on racism. Make The Sports Bar Great Again!

Any way of contacting Steve to let him know about the recent change? I feel like the folks who left would enjoy the change.

Racism isn't exactly political, but I agree with the intention of keeping the hot button issues in politics and the frivolous stuff in the Sports Bar.