New posts

Reply to thread

Message

I'll be honest, I don't want to lose anyone. But I also don't want to lose the robust debate here at ASF. I have been a member of forums that functioned as political echo chambers where only left wing or right wing views were acceptable and those who dissented were banned or ganged up on and "run out of town". Forums that take this approach are inherently uninteresting because there is no real debate, just people agreeing with each other and mindlessly bashing political opponents.

There are limits to what I am prepared to accept but perhaps those limits are not as strict as some would prefer. On a personal level, I am a political moderate and I have never sought to mould ASF politically. It is simply the sum of those who make this place their home. Some represent the far left or far right but most are more moderate. I would ask that people do not let a small number of extremist voices drown out the ocean of political moderates that exist here.

There are alternatives to leaving. Two things I can suggest are to add those whose views you find offensive to your ignore list, or just ignore the General Chat forum entirely.

It goes without saying that I would like to see more stock related chat. I have done everything in my power to encourage it short of begging, and I have probably even done that once or twice in the past. To those who want more stock chat, please post more in those threads. I would love to see more of it as well.

ASF is a stock market forum with a robust and active General Chat forum. I'm not sure that will ever change. I would definitely like to see more nuanced and moderate views expressed in General Chat threads, but I have never been big on censorship, nor have I tended to rule with an iron fist. I allow most debate within reason, but I believe very firmly in the marketplace of ideas and feel that those who make the best arguments will win people over to their way of thinking. If you disagree with someone then present your own ideas. Debate and discuss by all means. That's why online communities like ASF exist in the first place.

<blockquote data-quote="Joe Blow" data-source="post: 890071" data-attributes="member: 1">I&#039;ll be honest, I don&#039;t want to lose anyone. But I also don&#039;t want to lose the robust debate here at ASF. I have been a member of forums that functioned as political echo chambers where only left wing or right wing views were acceptable and those who dissented were banned or ganged up on and &quot;run out of town&quot;. Forums that take this approach are inherently uninteresting because there is no real debate, just people agreeing with each other and mindlessly bashing political opponents.There are limits to what I am prepared to accept but perhaps those limits are not as strict as some would prefer. On a personal level, I am a political moderate and I have never sought to mould ASF politically. It is simply the sum of those who make this place their home. Some represent the far left or far right but most are more moderate. I would ask that people do not let a small number of extremist voices drown out the ocean of political moderates that exist here.There are alternatives to leaving. Two things I can suggest are to add those whose views you find offensive to your ignore list, or just ignore the General Chat forum entirely. It goes without saying that I would like to see more stock related chat. I have done everything in my power to encourage it short of begging, and I have probably even done that once or twice in the past. To those who want more stock chat, please post more in those threads. I would love to see more of it as well.ASF is a stock market forum with a robust and active General Chat forum. I&#039;m not sure that will ever change. I would definitely like to see more nuanced and moderate views expressed in General Chat threads, but I have never been big on censorship, nor have I tended to rule with an iron fist. I allow most debate within reason, but I believe very firmly in the marketplace of ideas and feel that those who make the best arguments will win people over to their way of thinking. If you disagree with someone then present your own ideas. Debate and discuss by all means. That&#039;s why online communities like ASF exist in the first place.</blockquote>

[QUOTE="Joe Blow, post: 890071, member: 1"] I'll be honest, I don't want to lose anyone. But I also don't want to lose the robust debate here at ASF. I have been a member of forums that functioned as political echo chambers where only left wing or right wing views were acceptable and those who dissented were banned or ganged up on and "run out of town". Forums that take this approach are inherently uninteresting because there is no real debate, just people agreeing with each other and mindlessly bashing political opponents. There are limits to what I am prepared to accept but perhaps those limits are not as strict as some would prefer. On a personal level, I am a political moderate and I have never sought to mould ASF politically. It is simply the sum of those who make this place their home. Some represent the far left or far right but most are more moderate. I would ask that people do not let a small number of extremist voices drown out the ocean of political moderates that exist here. There are alternatives to leaving. Two things I can suggest are to add those whose views you find offensive to your ignore list, or just ignore the [B]General Chat[/B] forum entirely. It goes without saying that I would like to see more stock related chat. I have done everything in my power to encourage it short of begging, and I have probably even done that once or twice in the past. To those who want more stock chat, please post more in those threads. I would love to see more of it as well. ASF is a stock market forum with a robust and active [B]General Chat[/B] forum. I'm not sure that will ever change. I would definitely like to see more nuanced and moderate views expressed in [B]General Chat[/B] threads, but I have never been big on censorship, nor have I tended to rule with an iron fist. I allow most debate within reason, but I believe very firmly in the marketplace of ideas and feel that those who make the best arguments will win people over to their way of thinking. If you disagree with someone then present your own ideas. Debate and discuss by all means. That's why online communities like ASF exist in the first place. [/QUOTE]

Verification