Post of Political or Religious Nature…

The mods will use their judgement and assess each post on a case by case basis. If it sounds like a LOT of work, well it is. Thankfully the guys we have on the sterring committee are absolutely committed to running the best site on the net.

Everyone will have to trust that our mods will be even-handed. I think they’ve proven they can do this as well as any group of mods to be found on the net.

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Q: Will it apply to waving flags in one’s avatar, or reminding others to get out and vote when the time comes, or how about words of inspiration that have helped many through tough times?

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A: of course not.

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I don’t become offended, I just move on realizing we all have our opinions. I think it’s the people who attack another member that need to be removed, not the subject!

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In theory this is the perfect response to a touchy subject. Unfortunately in practice it didn’t work. I’ve heard dozens of people complain about this type of post… and never once heard a single person say anything to the positive about the political or religious chatter on IDA.

It is a tough call and I know I can’t make all members happy. But this is the direction we’re going and we’ll be placing our trust in the mods to make sure it is implemented in a fair and even-handed manner.

I prefer to look at ALL, and there are a ton of them, positive things that come from this site and the people who are on it both members and staff. We are all here for our love of fishing/hunting and the learning and fun fellowship that keeping things clean gives us. Looking forward and as Greg suggest keeps our eyes and topics/thoughts/words spoken on the good things that happen here. Thanks to all for being a part of IDA. And thanks in advance to all for doing your part to keep it educational and fun to be here.
Thanks, Bill

Slip, The ban is regarding political and religious posts that are done to divide people and ignite tempers. I think we are all responsible enough to know what “Those” posts are. (If not, there are Moderators around charged with the task to remind people.) Merry Christmas and the like are not the problem. The posts pitting one religious group or belief (Same in the political world) against yours mine or someone else’s are what will be removed.
I would jump into or even create a politically charged post from time to time. But I am in agreement with the other managers and moderators on this one. It becomes a whole different ball game when you cannot “See” all those people sitting out there on their laptops and PC’s. Many with vastly different views than mine or yours. They will not know if you are kidding, serious, or just saying something for shock value. But if we are here, we should be taking advantage of the hunting, fishing, and all around “Good” banter that is around this site.
Happy Holidays!
Bring on the ice!!!!
Tuck

VERY well put Tuck. Thanks, Bill

Wasnt there some talk about a political forum at one time. People that dont want to read it dont need to visit there then.

Political forums on other sites of the same general theme as IDA have been an utter disaster and have been forced closed in a short amount of time. We looked into the possibility of having a designated polical forum by asking other sites what they’ve done or referencing how things have gone in that type of forum.

The results were far from favorable for all that tried it.

God Bless you James for keeping the

Sorry, I just couldn’t resist.

As for political stuff, I stay away from them…don’t know enough, don’t care enough…

Religious though…..as long as you believe in God, it’s all good…it’s the other freaks I can’t deal with…

Good choice.

Extremely glad to hear it.

Absolutely the right move James. Thanks!

Kelly

Welcome TwoBear!!

Definitly cool with me guys…….Like you said -we have politcal boards out in web-land…I am on a couple.

I came here for FISH’IN

I trust the mods

Good call

ps -nice to meet ya twobear!!

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Definitly cool with me guys…….Like you said -we have politcal boards out in web-land…I am on a couple.

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We also have sports boards (as in football, baseball, etc.)out in web-land, do we not?

James thanks for the heads up on the ignore.

When and if the sports chatter starts to cause us to lose quality members then we’ll address that as a seperate issue. To this point after 5 years I’ve never heard anyone complain about us allowing an occassional sports post.

Although the Vikings do tick me off.

All my life I have heard that politics and religion are bad topics for the dinner table…or to speak about with friends and family (to a point). This is not something that was specific to my family and friends either. These topics are notorious for creating controversy. I am thick skinned too and what people say doesn’t bother me. But knowing my own beliefs won’t always coincide with others’ beliefs I choose not to stir the pot and keep my opinions/beliefs to myself. This is done out of respect for others simply because I understand these two topics can create friction. I reiterate….these two topics…not work or sports but religion and politics.

As was said before, IDA is a great site because it focuses on the outdoors. Most of us come here because we have the opportunity to share common interests and enjoy some comradery. I think we are all fortunate to have a vehicle that allows us to do this. Thanks for everyone’s efforts to keep this site going which in my opinion is truly the best site on the net.

Chris

I have to agree it was time. I also jumped in to the frey a time or two on these type posts, but, I have to admit it has become a distraction from what I come here for, and that is talking, learning, and sharing about our great outdoors!
While I personally enjoyed jumping in some of the political discussions, it is not something I will miss. Gives me more time to focus on what this site is about!
I have the utmost confidence that the moderators here will not become over-zealous cencors, but continue to do the stellar job they have been performing in the past! Keep up the great work guys!

OK, so we can’t talk trash about the far left communist pinkos, or the facist pig infidels, but we still have the ACLU we can rip on, don’t we??

All kidding aside, what you’re doing James is in the best interest of this site, and I’ll support it 100%.

(Seriously though, what about the ACLU?)

IF ACLU stands for Absolutely Collosal Largemouth Unlimited then I’m all for it!

I too agree on the call, IDA has better things to do, and you just can’t afford to alienate folks, even if unintentionally.

Although when you look at the title of this post, it’s amazing it took 5 pages and finally the all powerful Oz to bring up grass carp

dave

Grass carp….iiiiiiiiissssssssssssshhhhhhhhhhh!!!!!

Friends don’t let friends fish for those things!!

I agree as well. I have been involved in a few of these posts as of late and would like to offer my appoligies to anyone that I may have offended.

This site has way too much good stuff to ruin it with the crap that goes on with ideals and beliefs.

” A man has to believe in something, I believe I’ll go fishing! keep on plugging!”

Good choice James!

The political posts tend to pop up more during election times and when outdoors stuff has hit a lull. To prevent the lulls and keep us focused I would suggest people post their adventures and questions more….. Or Briank could double his silly post output…

dd

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IF ACLU stands for Absolutely Collosal Largemouth Unlimited then I’m all for it!

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thats what Im talking about!!!!!!!!!James is starting a new bass orginazation. can I be the first member

Thanks James. This was a long time coming. I for one want to talk about fishing and hunting and was dissappointed several years ago by the amount of political stuff on here. I think grass roots political groups use free media whenever possible to divide us. I for one am tired of being divided and called names.

What about PETA? Can we still rip PETA?

(People Eating Tasty Animals)

Absolutely right decision James. Thanks for saving us from ourselves!

While I enjoyed some of the political posts, I think this is a good decision for the site overall.

I’ve always loved a good political or religious discussion/argument – it’s a great way to learn more about other’s beliefs and backgounds… oh well, sounds like ‘tolerance’ of the differences between people hasn’t been universally adopted or applied by both sides…

It’s too bad this had to happen but I understand the rationale behind the decision. I think the best argument for dropping those topics here is that this is/should be simply an outdoor/fishing website. It rubbed me the wrong way when you stated that the reason was because of a few people who were offended – another case of the ‘vocal minority’ (aka whiners… ) impacting the rest of us…

I hate to miss a big “weigh-in” like this so here’s my catch on the subject:

I agree that religion/political discussion has it’s place but maybe not here. Sad but probably true. As I think we lack “healthy” discussion in both areas in our society.

That said, there are SOME subjects that DO fall into the “political” catagory that directly relate to YOUR basic intent here. That being fishing and ALL related issues. Is there a better group, more focussed group than THIS group, to be updated with fishery management issues, NOT excluding the Tribal issues? Or will IDA take the low road that most media, and ALL of Mn. government has and continues to do, by hiding the countless facts/figures of issues such as that, from the public? Will IDA ignore/hide issues that relate directly to the quality of our basic interests here, which surely includes ALL aspects of fishery management? Midwest wide?

I agree—debating the Iraq war or gay rights issues or whatever in that sense is something WE can and should be able to discuss elsewhere. But fishing related issues that ARE politically based, should NOT be sanctioned. Tribal issues are NOT racist issues! In pure definition, the racist posts should be deleted. Key word being “definition”.

Think about it….your site can have huge POSITIVE impacts on the quality of how our DNR/Government manages/operates when dealing with YOUR fish and YOUR lakes. Spending YOUR money.

Steve Fellegy
218-678-3103

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That said, there are SOME subjects that DO fall into the “political” catagory that directly relate to YOUR basic intent here. That being fishing and ALL related issues. Is there a better group, more focussed group than THIS group, to be updated with fishery management issues, NOT excluding the Tribal issues? Or will IDA take the low road that most media, and ALL of Mn. government has and continues to do, by hiding the countless facts/figures of issues such as that, from the public? Will IDA ignore/hide issues that relate directly to the quality of our basic interests here, which surely includes ALL aspects of fishery management? Midwest wide?

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This type of post will be welcome here as I feel that the interest in fishing or hunting that we all share trumps our desire to avoid politically motivated posts that do nothing more than pit one member against another with no real possible outcome beyond a drawn out peeing match.

It will also depend on how that post is phrased. If the jist of the post is that one political part or another is at fault… it goes. If the post is to draw attention to an issue that needs attention and our collective involvement as a group…. then of course that thread will be welcome here.

And that’s why I completely avoided getting into listing in detail what is and what won’t be allowed… our mods will use their judgement versus simply trying to play by a set of unbending rules that would be destined to lead to failure.