So, fans of Cecil Adams can not post in the style of Cecil Adams?
If GQ is spawning too many politics debates, it’s because dweebs are responding to political asides, like the ones Cecil makes often, as if that was the point of the message.
Go after the ones who have no sense of humor, and let the Cecilists be Cecilesque!
Peace.
Refraining from making a comment on Mussolini making the trains run on time for fear a Great Debate on mid-twetieth century Italian facism would break out.
Well, first I’d like a link to the thread that post came from, so I can read it in context. When I’m done, I’ll come back and tell you that you’re no Cecil Adams.
and I protest - you failed to include manny’s name in the thread title. how the hell am I supposed to win that damn contest if people keep pitting manny w/out proper title credits, hmmmm?
What are you talking about? GQ is for General Questions with factual answers. Political debates belong in GD. Period. What is so hard to understand about that?
Umm… perhaps you missed the sticky first thread topic in GQ which has been there for the past 12 days which replaced the other sticky thread throwing down the gauntlet of no political asides, ever. It is located at:
It is not a case that I’ve been slapped for doing so, it’s just that I’d like to be able to do so now and then when the mood hits, sort of like when Bush pisses off an ally or like when Clinton wants to dive into an intern.
That’s exactly why the rule exists, and exactly why I have such a bug [location deleted] about it.
See, someone asks about, say, the British torching the White House during the war of 1812 and the subesquent restoration. If someone comes (heh) by and opines that the place was cleaned up “until Clinton and Monica soiled it again” or whatever, I know – know – that someone else is going to say something to the effect of “sure, he soiled the carpet, but Bush soiled the institution.” And all of a sudden, BAM!, the poor guy who actually asked a legitimate question is screwed, because the thread is off course and the large, extensive group of people interested in and qualified to answer will abandon it to a bunch of folks taking cheap shots at their un-favored institution.
I actually have a question on this very topic, and I’m hoping someone can clear it for me. The impression I get from this thread is that political discussions are banned from the General Questions forum. The impression I get from manhattan’s sticky is that only the random snide remark (whether it’s designed or not to provoke a reaction) are banned from that forum. I don’t see any other threads or stickies on the subject in ATMB or in GQ.
So, are we still allowed to pose questions of a political nature in GQ? For instance, would threads like “What are the planks of the Republican Party?” and “How much would it cost to mount an effective election campaign?” allowable? If not, which forum would be best suited for them?
Well of course questions like “What are the planks of the Republican Party?” and “How much would it cost to mount an effective election campaign?” are allowed.
It’s when the response to the question is something like “The pubbies planks suck” that will take it out of GQ, and that is frowned upon, as it should be.
It should be remembered that it is not generally the question that is the problem but the “answers”.
Of course I don’t presume to speak for the mods/admins just my opinion.