Can the politics forum be hidden from guests or even better removed?

[+Gary7 Subscriber²]

Just now, FloatingFatMan said:

By that logic, guests don't need to see ANY of the forum, doing so just stifles new membership...   IMO, the only areas that should be hidden, are the extra areas included with a subscription.

 

Just now, The Evil Overlord said:

It used to be, old forum had a second password, and authorisation policies in place

It still can be if they want it too.

[The Evil Overlord]

5 minutes ago, FloatingFatMan said:

 

 

No, but guests may become members if they see topics of interest.

A valid point, I used to lurk here in the '02-03's onwards (I think) looking for xp troubleshooting tips, I didn't join up however for almost a decade, until I decided I have some helpful tips of my own.

[LimeMaster]

10 minutes ago, FloatingFatMan said:

No, but guests may become members if they see topics of interest.

I get what you are saying. However, In Neowin's case, it's usually somebody joins for tech advice. Then if they decide to stay, they discover & contribute to tech & non-tech sections.

 

Plus, I don't think stuff like RWI & DP sections really show the good reasonable side of members compared to other sections. There's a lot more arguing, which I'm sure would not give the guests a good first impression.

[Skiver Veteran]

1 minute ago, The Evil Overlord said:

A valid point, I used to lurk here in the '02-03's onwards (I think) looking for xp troubleshooting tips, I didn't join up however for almost a decade, until I decided I have some helpful tips of my own.

I still no longer acknowledge your existence until you change your name back!

[FloatingFatMan]

I'll point out, It doesn't bother me if things ARE hidden, but I don't think it should be based on content. Either all non-tech content is hidden, or none is. Not just bits that some members think are contentious...  If we're going to there... then personally, i think anything to do with Apple is damned contentious sohide it from guests!   That stuff is pure filthy tech-pr0n!

 

[The Evil Overlord]

1 minute ago, Skiver said:

I still no longer acknowledge your existence until you change your name back!

It's kinda grown on me, it's as silly and childish as my wife claims I am, my sig reveals my true username, and I'll always be proud of that  

[LimeMaster]

1 minute ago, FloatingFatMan said:

I'll point out, It doesn't bother me if things ARE hidden, but I don't think it should be based on content. Either all non-tech content is hidden, or none is. Not just bits that some members think are contentious...  If we're going to there... then personally, i think anything to do with Apple is damned contentious sohide it from guests!   That stuff is pure filthy tech-pr0n!

 

It is mostly, but those sections that you've been defending are dragging the pure tech sections for guests down the drain.

[Eric Veteran]

24 minutes ago, FloatingFatMan said:

If you're going to hide non-tech related forums from guests, then you should hide ALL non-tech related forums from them to be fair, and then guests will think Neowin is dead.

 

Where do you draw a line?

 

I would put the line back where it used to be. All non-tech forums used to be invisible unless logged in and there was an option to hide RW/NSFW content in your profile.

[The Evil Overlord]

2 minutes ago, FloatingFatMan said:

I'll point out, It doesn't bother me if things ARE hidden, but I don't think it should be based on content. Either all non-tech content is hidden, or none is. Not just bits that some members think are contentious...  If we're going to there... then personally, i think anything to do with Apple is damned contentious so hide it from guests!   That stuff is pure filthy tech-pr0n!

 

ftfy  

[+Gary7 Subscriber²]

Dushmany..I like your current name better.

[LimeMaster]

1 minute ago, Gary7 said:

Dushmany..I like your current name better.

So do I. I called him The Evil Overlord years before he changed it.

[Mando]

8 minutes ago, The Evil Overlord said:

It's kinda grown on me, it's as silly and childish as my wife claims I am, my sig reveals my true username, and I'll always be proud of that  

tbh i dont mind either nametag, i know of you by either, ive been here that long. 

 

On a side note, i have a new name at work from my MD, hes Hindu and calls me Moses lmfao cos of my and i quote "biblical beard!" I call him Sir....hes my MD ofc hahahah nah I call him by his first name.

 

[The Evil Overlord]

1 minute ago, LimeMaster said:

So do I. I called him The Evil Overlord years before he changed it.

Ahh yes, the Ol' LippZillaD Council  

[DConnell Member]

10 minutes ago, The Evil Overlord said:

It's kinda grown on me, it's as silly and childish as my wife claims I am, my sig reveals my true username, and I'll always be proud of that  

As far as I'm concerned, "The Evil Overlord" IS your true username! Anything else is just an alias.

[The Evil Overlord]

Just now, Mando said:

tbh i dont mind either nametag, i know of you by either, ive been here that long. 

 

On s sid enote, i have a new name at work form my MD, hes Hindu and calls me Moses lmfao cos of my and i quote "biblical beard!" 

 

That reminded me of a funny thing that happened to me once, I'm a good friend of a Taxi dispatcher, and I needed a ride, so I went into his office (open door policy) and asked for a booking home.

He said 'The one outside' as a buddy joke I called him a 'name' and told him there were 4 cars outside.

He then said get into the car that belongs to Father Christmas. The funny was the fact I knew which driver he was referring to

[MikeChipshop Member]

Pah, don;t like the politics forum, don't visit it. If it continues to help pull in membership and revenue that keep the other parts of the site running that i visit more often, then that's a plus in my book.

[shockz]

34 minutes ago, FloatingFatMan said:

No, but guests may become members if they see topics of interest.

That's the problem. Neowin used to be a pretty solid technical resource in the early 2000s. Since then the latest forum activity has gone from very technical oriented discussions to more often than not, full of RWI threads.

 

RWI is honestly probably one of the worst things to happen here. But you've got to pay the bills somehow, it's by far one of the most viewed areas of the site, even without full visibility by guests.

 

Earlier today for example, there was only one thread not related to politics, and it was something from Jokes and Funny in the latest forum activity.

 

Having anything solved more than a simple driver issue is a rarity here. The quality of highly technical members, capable of solving complex issues here has been reduced from the majority to a few members in the MVC group. Sad really. The site has gone from catering to all aspects of Technology to more general discussion... back in the day Linux, Apple and Windows members got along with not many flamewars, enough to where if there was one, it was quite a show to watch. The only polarized groups were, oddly, video card manufacturers and AMD/Intel. Now this type of behavior is more so the norm. The site started dying out after Windows XP and customization community leaving and ended up catering to more general discussion. After Windows Phone launched, the site banked on the platform to try and bring it back to the XP era, where we took on a bunch of "members" who "loved" the platform so much, they alienated just about anyone else and now all we're left with are them and RWI crew.  After? Windows Phone dies out, it'll be interesting to see where it goes.

 

It's a skeleton of something that used to be great. The only reason some of us oldies are here is because it's been our internet home for the last 15 years. More so simply a habit of coming here. There isn't really much redeeming qualities of the member base and forums here, I'd be willing to bet must of us who've been here forever only come for the front page.

Edited August 19, 2016 by shockz

[LimeMaster]

Just now, MikeChipshop said:

Pah, don;t like the politics forum, don't visit it. If it continues to help pull in membership and revenue that keep the other parts of the site running that i visit more often, then that's a plus in my book.

Unsuspecting guests won't know to do that. They'll see the evil gremlins & never visit Neowin again.  

[+Warwagon MVC]

4 hours ago, Danielx64 said:

 

That topic started it all. While I don't post in the politics forums I find it really sad that it one of the most active forum for this board and this board is suppose to be a tech board. There are some comments in there about how staff shouldn't be allowed to post in the politics forums and also people have been caught off guards in thinking that guests can't view that section.

 

With the politics section gone I believe that this forum would be a much better place without all the toxic that politics brings. What your take on this?

The problem here is, you care to much what people think. Just don't care as much, it's worked great for me! I just don't understand how a person can get bent out of shape, from someone elses political views or insults.

[Draconian Guppy]

Am I the only that that isn't bothered with the politcal issues? If you don't like it  ignore/dontreadit.  If you hide disable, you will limit other users to make their own choice.  /leftist in me.

2 minutes ago, warwagon said:

The problem here is, you care to much what people think. Just don't care as much, it's worked great for me! I just don't understand how a person can get bent out of shape, from someone elses political views or insults.

+1 preach brother

[The Evil Overlord]

7 minutes ago, warwagon said:

The problem here is, you care to much what people think. Just don't care as much, it's worked great for me! I just don't understand how a person can get bent out of shape, from someone elses political views or insults.

His behaviour in Nik's thread has already cemented his legacy,

[TAZMINATOR]

To everyone  (who complain about the specific threads):

 

If you don't like the specific threads such as politics, just ignore them.  No need to complain because it's childish thing to do. You have two options: Ignore or leave.

 

If you like politics, then you can create your own politics thread for those or existing ones if available. 

 

To admins and mods: you could create politics pics thread which everyone would be happy.  Up to you. That way, you wouldn't worry about complaining all over again.

 

 

 

38 minutes ago, LimeMaster said:

So do I. I called him The Evil Overlord years before he changed it.

Wait what?   I thought we called him The Evil Rabbit?

 

 

 

 

 

/just kidding.

[DrunknMunky Veteran]

Guys, lets keep this on topic and avoid derailing so we can hopefully get feedback, improve and change things.

 

Do not use this topic to call out members personally.

[Skiver Veteran]

6 minutes ago, TAZMINATOR said:

<snip>

 

To admins and mods: you could create politics pics thread which everyone would be happy.  Up to you. That way, you wouldn't worry about complaining all over again.

 

 

 

Wait what?   I thought we called him The Evil Rabbit?

 

 

 

 

 

/just kidding.

We actually discussed this very thing the other day, our biggest reservation is that "funny political pictures" often make fun of one side of a political party which in turn means those that support that party get offended and either complain or then attack that person as they've taken it personally etc.

 

Its a difficult thing to balance correctly, if we allow pictures that get classified as flamebait then people complain and if we remove them we'll be too heavy handed.

[TAZMINATOR]

2 minutes ago, Skiver said:

We actually discussed this very thing the other day, our biggest reservation is that "funny political pictures" often make fun of one side of a political party which in turn means those that support that party get offended and either complain or then attack that person as they've taken it personally etc.

 

Its a difficult thing to balance correctly, if we allow pictures that get classified as flamebait then people complain and if we remove them we'll be too heavy handed.

If it doesn't work, then ban politics from the threads if you all can not handle the complaints.  

 

That's what mods are for. They can moderate the threads and delete the posts/threads if necessary.

 

Some thing to people who do the same thing on other websites... such as Ford fans go over to Chevy forum and post bad posts like "Chevy sucks!"  then left.

 

There are bad mouths everywhere...   Jealousy, bad mood, etc.