I can’t fathom how Trump is off limits in that thread.
I can understand Trump being considered off-topic if it turns into yet another omnibus talk about how Trump is a bad person in non-Iran-related ways. We don’t need to hear about Trump’s golfing trips or White House ballroom in such a thread. But if it is about Trump and what he’s doing to Iran, it is perfectly relevant.
It would be like having a thread about 9/11 but saying we aren’t allowed to talk about Osama bin Laden in the thread.
Okay, I made myself sleep on this before responding, but first, I think you’re quite wrong, and second, you aren’t doing yourself or the board any favors by NOT actually quoting the moderation in context. So first, let me add some context by way of my most recent moderation that included you.
[quoting the whole thing would make this even more of a book, so I’ll use snips to illustrate my points]
From the onebox listed (or if it doesn’t load, it’s the second sentence of moderation after my quoting):
We are trying to talk about issues, not just attack Trump.
Please note the work just in the line above. It’s very important.
I go on to say that of the three posters listed, the first was snarky but mostly on topic, making 5 solid (and quite snarky) on-topic comments about Trump’s motivations. The last was, well, by my eyes a roll-eyes level of exaggeration but making a point on Trump’s randomness, but when I first saw it I let it pass.
A pretty shot time later, you posted to the thread (not in response to the first poster I mentioned) with another of your passionate condemnations of Trump and his ilk. The first part of it was also on topic, about bombing the enemy to drum up support/patriotism at home. The second part was a similarly cheap shot about Trump being stupid, not exactly uncommon, but adding nothing to the topic in question.
But now we’re going from 80% on topic, to 50% on topic posting. And yet I still didn’t step in, despite seeing a reaaaaaaaalllllly common pattern.
The third poster who I mentioned, again, a short time later, was 100% Trump basing and zero percent on topic, with nothing but a crack on Trump being so stupid he can’t tie his own shoes and too fat to do it anyway.
I hope you see the pattern now? In Trump and adjacent threads, what goes from a few fun snarky bits to dozens of posts “just” (that word again) bashing on Trump. Until a moderator steps in, and then it’s all “why didn’t you just warn/stop it earlier, why am I getting called out?”
But that brings me to the rest of the moderation and your claims of bias:
I’m quoting the last paragraph of my moderation that addresses the points above:
I get it, I really get it, but please , take the cracks to one of the many Trump threads if you’re just getting your shots in. It doesn’t add to the topic, and it almost always leads into an extended off topic rant on Trump. If you want to attack him, keep it specific to his motivations for the event in question rather than on his appearance, weight, or general stupidity - the Pit’s a better fit for that.
Does “I get it, I really get it” look like I’m defending or protecting Trump? No, I’m saying the above are more rant than anything else. I’m specifically saying yes, you can attack him (though note the word JUST for the third time) but do keep it specific to his motivations for that topic, and to avoid generic rants on his stupidity, appearance, and weight or take those to the Pit. It’s where rants go.
And it was a note, not a warning. Hopefully that made my moderation at least more clear. As to your other recent moderation about “Trump being off limits” it’s largely the same. For example @What_Exit:
Note it’s not that Trump is banned, but just Trump bashing. And sure, WE is a bit brusque in that one, but we’ve given out the same nuanced instructions over and over and over again, but it keeps creeping back, because you (Der_Trihs) and everyone else is so angry about the situation.
Speaking of which, just an HOUR ago, WE had to step into these related threads again:
Because we had multiple responses that just said “Because Trump is Stupid”, or that “Because Trump is a criminal/pedophile”. Those aren’t comments specific to the actual events going on right at the time - or at least, the posters in question made no effort to tie it specifically to the current event. That’s venting, but no, it doesn’t further the conversation without those specifics.
As I said above, I get it, I really do. But yes, these comments almost always create extended off topic rants, and yes, we’re going to moderate them. And when people keep doing it over and over despite clear moderation saying “please don’t” we are going to get more abrupt, and probably in the not too distant future issue warnings for repeat offenders.
Hopefully this puts my and potentially other moderation in sufficient context.
Maybe it is more about signal-to-noise ratio than strict adherence to a topic. You had an interesting question about how the US could extricate themselves from the war (roughly “why can’t the US just pack up and leave?”), but the responses were all basically one-liners.
Right.
But I agree with the Mods, we just dont need another trump bashing thread. Mind you- discussion of his policies is on point, but name calling is not needed.
I disagree here @Der_Trihs: I see little to no bending over or hushing of negative language towards trump, or the right wing. Where I’m a bit left of a lot of the board, most of the board is left of the Democratic party in general. trump and right wing bashing is an honored tradition here, but it, like many things, has its time and place. I must admit, I have not read the thread in question as I’ve been preoccupied and by the time I saw it the number of posts was a bit overwhelming. In general, however, I do not see this board or it’s mods rushing to defend trump, his regime, or his followers. Just sayin’
You’re a better mod than I would ever be able to be. Willful blind oblivious misunderstanding is the least of what you are calmly dealing with here. Where do you get the patience from? (rhetorical question)
Thank you for the compliment. I’ll leave out the secret rituals but emphasize one more point about this particular subject that relates.
I get, heck we (the P&E mods by volume, but all of us) -get- it. Trump 2.0 is not a normal political situation. Trump 1.0 wasn’t either, but this is far worse politically. So we KNOW emotions are high, we try to put ourselves in your shoes (it’s not hard). And we’ve made note after note after note. But at the end of the day, we try to set expectations. When we split the thread, it was an effort to keep the moderation reasonable and distinct, but the real kicker is @Aspenglow’s lovely words:
Bonus points because she can say it in a paragraph and not in a book.