# Can We Keep Politics Out of IMHO and MPSIMS? **URL:** \ **Category:** About This Message Board\ **Created:** [November 13, 2016, 6:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-we-keep-politics-out-of-imho-and-mpsims/771870 "2016-11-13T18:22:44Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 10\ **Page:** 9
**Author:** ![Exapno\_Mapcase](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/exapno_mapcase/32/1051_2.png) [@Exapno\_Mapcase](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Exapno_Mapcase)\ **Post date:** [February 24, 2017, 2:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-we-keep-politics-out-of-imho-and-mpsims/771870/162 "2017-02-24T14:50:23Z")
> [@Bone](#): > > To what end? As it relates to this board, what purpose would that serve? Do you think it would persuade those not already convinced to your cause? Is that the most effective way to bring people to your point of view? I may be wrong, but I doubt that would be effective if the goal is to persuade someone to change their views. As I and others have said, you are completely wrong on this - and in more than one way. The front page of the New York Times led off its lead story with “senior Democratic officials concede that the blueprint has already been chosen for them — by an incensed army of liberals demanding no less than total war against President Trump.” Telling people they can wage their total war if they promise not to talk about it amongst themselves is bizarre and futile. And persuading others is of less importance right now that keeping the base sufficiently fired up to take positive actions. > [@](#): > > As to the renaming, here is the description of the Elections Forum: > > > [@](#): > > > > For discussion of elections and electoral politics, including strategy and tactics, political parties, individual races, **political news, and politicians and public figures**. > > Notice the bolded part? I do note it, and I note that for as long as the forum existed the mods have actively worked to keep non-election based political discussion out of Elections. You can’t suddenly say it’s been OK all along: that’s one of those “do you believe me or your own eyes?” situations. The number of threads in Elections has decreased recently because people have learned better than to put their political threads there. Telling us that oranges are apples is not the best move in the current atmosphere. ---
**Author:** ![Bone](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bone/32/407_2.png) [@Bone](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bone)\ **Post date:** [February 24, 2017, 3:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-we-keep-politics-out-of-imho-and-mpsims/771870/163 "2017-02-24T15:04:36Z")
> [@Exapno\_Mapcase](#): > > I do note it, and I note that for as long as the forum existed the mods have actively worked to keep non-election based political discussion out of Elections. You can’t suddenly say it’s been OK all along: that’s one of those “do you believe me or your own eyes?” situations. The number of threads in Elections has decreased recently because people have learned better than to put their political threads there. > > Telling us that oranges are apples is not the best move in the current atmosphere. I acknowledge that this historical perspective is true. > [@Sir\_T-Cups](#): > > …I don’t understand this. It seems so simple to me, and not a giant upheaval of the “impact of thread geography”. If the thread you’re starting has to do with politics, put it in the Politics forum. If it doesn’t, then put it somewhere else. End of the story. There could be a little bit of a gray area when it comes to IMHO threads, since some of the polls do ask legitimate questions. Those threads can be dealt with in time. But under no circumstances should something that is politics related go into MPSIMS. If it’s truly that mundane and pointless, then it can just be thrown in with the rest of the political crap and be called a day. Exactly what you describe has to do with thread geography. What you are proposing is not only a name change, but a redirection which is different than the status quo. A name change alone would not do the things you mention without subsequent rule changes. This is what I mean when I say the resistance that I perceive is related mostly to rule changes that may follow a name change. ---
**Author:** ![Martini\_Enfield](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/martini_enfield/32/11123_2.png) [@Martini\_Enfield](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Martini_Enfield)\ **Post date:** [February 24, 2017, 11:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-we-keep-politics-out-of-imho-and-mpsims/771870/164 "2017-02-24T23:22:15Z")
> [@Sir\_T-Cups](#): > > This line of thinking is patently, absurdly and 1000% absolutely false. The conversation belongs literally in none of those places because it involves throwing your unwarranted opinion on people who have no desire to hear it. It’s disgraceful to other people, it’s rude and it’s selfishly making yourself and your opinions more important than someone else’s. > > Also, you throwing your opinion around like that will literally change absolutely nothing other than making you feel important and better than me. Which, I guess, is the point of talking about politics in general, so I can’t fault you too much for that. > > It’s also the line of thinking that got me started on this whole endeavor in the first place. I’m sorry that you, **Bo** , whom I honestly have no qualms with, have to bear the brunt of this right now, but it’s ridiculous to think that just because you have an opinion that I have to suffer for it. > > There is a time and a place for everything, and that includes politics and Trump talk. That time is whenever because that place is the Open-24-hours-a-day Elections forum. However, there aren’t always elections going on, and politics goes way beyond simple elections. I completely agree 1000% with all of this. There are several things I’m particularly passionate about but I don’t go around deciding that everyone in the universe must know about how great video games are at every single opportuntiy (Hey random lady in the supermarket queue, did you know the _Civilization_ games are incredible? You should play them and you’re a hateful peasant if you don’t!) I’m not buying any of this stuff about “changing the board geography.” Rename “Elections” to “Politics” and then you can all hate on Trump together as much as you like and everyone will be happy. ---
**Author:** ![octopus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/octopus/32/3716_2.png) [@octopus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/octopus)\ **Post date:** [February 24, 2017, 11:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-we-keep-politics-out-of-imho-and-mpsims/771870/165 "2017-02-24T23:41:58Z")
> [@Exapno\_Mapcase](#): > > I was going to let this thread drop, but this can’t go unchallenged. > > “Preaching to the choir” has come to mean words or actions that are futile, redundant, or actively counterproductive. Yet the fundamentalist Christian churches in America have spent years screaming about the horror that is the LGBTQ community and yesterday the President of the United States removed federal protections on transgendered people. > > Preaching to the choir is basic to creating bonding within a community, and the more so as that community feels threatened. It has been a staple of religious services since antiquity. Do adults go to church because they need to learn the precepts of their religion? Obviously not. They go to have their beliefs affirmed and their confidence in them strengthened by publicly avowing them in the midst of a cadre of like-minded individuals. Churches never stop talking about sin, ever. They may also enumerate good works, but sin is always there, lurking, ready to emerge if the strictest vigilance is not paid. The Enemy is a palpable presence, and must be fought, daily, weekly, yearly, in thought and deed. > > This is the best technique ever devised for group action. The Left needs to ramp preaching to the choir up by ten thousand per cent just to get to the bottom levels of where it needs to be to become effective to take on the screamers of the right. More preaching. Larger choirs. Every venue, every minute. So the SDMB is a left wing church? Politics that are off topic in a thread ought to be moderated. It ruins perfectly good threads that have nothing to do with politics because zealots think saturation is effective. It’s not effective and it’s boorish. ---
**Author:** ![Exapno\_Mapcase](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/exapno_mapcase/32/1051_2.png) [@Exapno\_Mapcase](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Exapno_Mapcase)\ **Post date:** [February 25, 2017, 3:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-we-keep-politics-out-of-imho-and-mpsims/771870/166 "2017-02-25T03:43:22Z")
You were told repeatedly that if you elected Trump you would own every bad thing that resulted. You elected Trump anyway. Ergo. ---
**Author:** ![octopus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/octopus/32/3716_2.png) [@octopus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/octopus)\ **Post date:** [February 25, 2017, 4:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-we-keep-politics-out-of-imho-and-mpsims/771870/167 "2017-02-25T04:27:36Z")
> [@Exapno\_Mapcase](#): > > You were told repeatedly that if you elected Trump you would own every bad thing that resulted. > > You elected Trump anyway. > > Ergo. How chilling. Post as you wish. Don’t be surprised when the law of unintended consequences strikes. ---
**Author:** ![Martini\_Enfield](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/martini_enfield/32/11123_2.png) [@Martini\_Enfield](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Martini_Enfield)\ **Post date:** [February 25, 2017, 6:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-we-keep-politics-out-of-imho-and-mpsims/771870/168 "2017-02-25T06:55:08Z")
> [@Exapno\_Mapcase](#): > > You were told repeatedly that if you elected Trump you would own every bad thing that resulted. > > You elected Trump anyway. > > Ergo. None of the posters from outside the US elected Trump. Even if we supported him, it’d be a bit difficult to vote for him on account of the “Not being American citizens” thing. ---
**Author:** ![Snowboarder\_Bo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/snowboarder_bo/32/229_2.png) [@Snowboarder\_Bo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Snowboarder_Bo)\ **Post date:** [February 26, 2017, 2:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-we-keep-politics-out-of-imho-and-mpsims/771870/169 "2017-02-26T02:00:24Z")
> [@octopus](#): > > So the SDMB is a left wing church? Politics that are off topic in a thread ought to be moderated. It ruins perfectly good threads that have nothing to do with politics because zealots think saturation is effective. It’s not effective and it’s boorish. > [@Exapno\_Mapcase](#): > > You were told repeatedly that if you elected Trump you would own every bad thing that resulted. > > You elected Trump anyway. > > Ergo. > [@octopus](#): > > How chilling. > > Post as you wish. Don’t be surprised when the law of unintended consequences strikes. Let’s go to the quarry and throw stuff down there! That’s gotta be one of the most hilarious exchanges I’ve ever seen on the Straight Dope! ---
**Author:** ![bobot](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bobot/32/21622_2.png) [@bobot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bobot)\ **Post date:** [February 26, 2017, 2:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-we-keep-politics-out-of-imho-and-mpsims/771870/170 "2017-02-26T02:27:51Z")
> [@Snowboarder\_Bo](#): > > Let’s go to the quarry and throw stuff down there! That’s gotta be one of the most hilarious exchanges I’ve ever seen on the Straight Dope! I for one am proud to be in the same club as Exapno Mapcase. ---
**Author:** ![Snowboarder\_Bo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/snowboarder_bo/32/229_2.png) [@Snowboarder\_Bo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Snowboarder_Bo)\ **Post date:** [February 26, 2017, 2:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-we-keep-politics-out-of-imho-and-mpsims/771870/171 "2017-02-26T02:35:42Z")
> [@bobot](#): > > I for one am proud to be in the same club as Exapno Mapcase. Ditto. The humor comes from the utter cluelessness apparent in **octopus** ’s response. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-we-keep-politics-out-of-imho-and-mpsims/771870.md?page=8)