# Political posts belong in Great Debates according to MEBuckner **URL:** \ **Category:** The BBQ Pit\ **Created:** [September 1, 2003, 2:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/political-posts-belong-in-great-debates-according-to-mebuckner/198900 "2003-09-01T02:34:36Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 13\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Reeder](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/c6cbf5/32.png) [@Reeder](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Reeder)\ **Post date:** [September 1, 2003, 2:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/political-posts-belong-in-great-debates-according-to-mebuckner/198900/1 "2003-09-01T02:34:36Z")
Isn’t that what I said was the reason my posts were in Great Debates?? _originally posted by MEBuckner_ > [@](#): > > Moderator’s Note: Why was this posted in the Pit? The original post doesn’t appear to be ranting at anything. > > **Political discussions belong in Great Debates, to which I am moving this thread.** [http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?s=&threadid=208302](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?s=&threadid=208302) Yet I have been told different by other mods. Can we get an agreement among the mods on this? Randy ---
**Author:** ![Gaudere](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/e495f1/32.png) [@Gaudere](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gaudere)\ **Post date:** [September 1, 2003, 2:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/political-posts-belong-in-great-debates-according-to-mebuckner/198900/2 "2003-09-01T02:45:28Z")
Generally, topics dealing with politics, religion, sexuality and other hotbutton divisive topics belong in GD. However, if a topic appears very free of debate, or the OP appears to have no interest in debate or it is very rant-like, or it is not likely to turn into a good debate, it would be better off in another fora. You missed MEBuck’s qualifier _“the original post doesn’t appear to be ranting at anything”_, which meant he read the OP, saw that it was a debate and not a rant-like one, and decided it would be suted to GD. If you are uncertain as to which forum a thread belongs in, please email the proposed title and OP to a moderator. ---
**Author:** ![Xploder](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/x/a183cd/32.png) [@Xploder](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Xploder)\ **Post date:** [September 1, 2003, 2:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/political-posts-belong-in-great-debates-according-to-mebuckner/198900/3 "2003-09-01T02:45:29Z")
So are you going to post a reply with a LINK or just do as normal and ignore everything??? ---
**Author:** ![Xploder](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/x/a183cd/32.png) [@Xploder](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Xploder)\ **Post date:** [September 1, 2003, 2:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/political-posts-belong-in-great-debates-according-to-mebuckner/198900/4 "2003-09-01T02:46:36Z")
That was, of course, directed at **reeder the wanker**. ---
**Author:** ![Tuckerfan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/eada6e/32.png) [@Tuckerfan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tuckerfan)\ **Post date:** [September 1, 2003, 2:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/political-posts-belong-in-great-debates-according-to-mebuckner/198900/5 "2003-09-01T02:48:13Z")
Uh, maybe because it’s better written and more articulate than 99.999999999999% of _your_ threads, which seem to consist mostly of “George Bush is a meanie and I don’t like him!” sentiments. ---
**Author:** ![DMC](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dmc/32/18049_2.png) [@DMC](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DMC)\ **Post date:** [September 1, 2003, 2:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/political-posts-belong-in-great-debates-according-to-mebuckner/198900/6 "2003-09-01T02:48:32Z")
Reeder, The post that was moved actually invited a disccussion, hence MEBuckner’s moving of it. Many of your posts, on the other hand, are simply rants, in which there is nothing obvious to debate. You’ll not MEBuckner said: > [@](#): > > Political **discussions** belong in Great Debates, to which I am moving this thread. You’ll notice that I bolded the word “discussions”, which is quite different from a post, which could be a discussion, a rant, a flame, etc., and therefore not necessarily immediate fodder for Great Debates. ---
**Author:** ![Reeder](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/c6cbf5/32.png) [@Reeder](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Reeder)\ **Post date:** [September 1, 2003, 2:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/political-posts-belong-in-great-debates-according-to-mebuckner/198900/7 "2003-09-01T02:53:20Z")
Most of my posts had enough responses to merit calling a “discussion”. Granted some from posts within the post. But without the original post those would not have happened. ---
**Author:** ![treis](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/bc79bd/32.png) [@treis](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/treis)\ **Post date:** [September 1, 2003, 2:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/political-posts-belong-in-great-debates-according-to-mebuckner/198900/8 "2003-09-01T02:57:04Z")
I think you should be happy that you wrote an OP worthy of being in Great Debates. This is a momentous day for you. ---
**Author:** ![John\_Mace](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/john_mace/32/185_2.png) [@John\_Mace](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/John_Mace)\ **Post date:** [September 1, 2003, 3:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/political-posts-belong-in-great-debates-according-to-mebuckner/198900/9 "2003-09-01T03:05:06Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by treis \* > \*\*I think you should be happy that you wrote an OP worthy of being in Great Debates. This is a momentous day for you. \*\* FYI, the thread referenced in this OP was started by **SunTzu2u** , not **Reeder**. ---
**Author:** ![DMC](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dmc/32/18049_2.png) [@DMC](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DMC)\ **Post date:** [September 1, 2003, 5:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/political-posts-belong-in-great-debates-according-to-mebuckner/198900/10 "2003-09-01T05:45:05Z")
Reeder, To be perfectly fair, your posts have gotten much more debate worthy recently, as it’s now very clear what it is you wish to debate. A lot of the flak you received in the past was for posting non-debates in GD, just because they were political in nature. For example, you posted a link to some flash animation, along with the following: > [@](#): > > Those with slow connections (like me) take note. It takes a few minutes. But it’s well worth the wait. > > It addresses the Bush administration’s treatment of our veterans and troops. > > It’s very touching A reader has no clue what it is you want to debate. Is it the quality of the flash animation, whether it’s telling the truth about the Bush administration’s treatment of our veterans and troops, a speed test for those with broadband, or is it just an exercise in linking? On it’s face, it looks more like a rant than a debate, and that’s the case no matter how valid the rant might be. Over the past few weeks, your posts have begun to make statements that can be debated, you’ve asked questions, and you’ve generally improved the quality of your OPs in every way. Conservatives will still not agree with you (that’s okay :)), but they at least have something to grab onto. ---
**Author:** ![iampunha](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/74df32/32.png) [@iampunha](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/iampunha)\ **Post date:** [September 1, 2003, 7:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/political-posts-belong-in-great-debates-according-to-mebuckner/198900/11 "2003-09-01T07:16:39Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Tuckerfan \* > Uh, maybe because it’s better written and more articulate than 99.999999999999% of _your_ threads, which seem to consist mostly of “George Bush is a meanie and I don’t like him!” sentiments. You missed providing the obligatory link [here](http://www.georgebushisameanieandidontlikehim.com). ---
**Author:** ![Beryl\_Mooncalf\_1](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/9f8e36/32.png) [@Beryl\_Mooncalf\_1](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Beryl_Mooncalf_1)\ **Post date:** [September 1, 2003, 1:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/political-posts-belong-in-great-debates-according-to-mebuckner/198900/12 "2003-09-01T13:54:16Z")
DMC That is one of the best examples of positive criticism I have seen. Even I learned from it. Thanks ---
**Author:** ![Bricker](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/977dab/32.png) [@Bricker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bricker)\ **Post date:** [September 2, 2003, 9:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/political-posts-belong-in-great-debates-according-to-mebuckner/198900/13 "2003-09-02T21:05:32Z")
What **DMC** said.