Well so far 8 posts have been removed from this thread.
The sole reason that those posts aren't here anymore, is because they contributed nothing of substance to the conversation.
(It should be noted that those posts were removed by a fellow Mod while I was at work today, and they were removed in compliance with our CE&P Posting Guidelines.)
This is what a thread is supposed to look like in CE&P by my reckoning.
No matter how
off the rails the opening post might appear, so long as there are links to compare and contrast, or even to support a particular view or perspective, a logical non-personal discussion is possible here.
I would like to note that at least one of the links used in the opening post had already been used in another thread in this forum.
The first link that I used supported Peggy Noonan's WSJ editorial, but it was from an opposing perspective.
This experiment/test proved what this Moderator, and many of my fellow Mods back here already know:
- There are some extremely intelligent individuals who post here everyday, from both sides of any given argument.
- Typically the first response/reaction from any given side about a topic that one or the other right off the bat either agrees with or doesn't agree with, is almost always either going to be "knee jerk," or "pile on."
- Which is typically followed by an interpersonal remark, and the thread essentially gets derailed or hijacked from there. (It should also be noted that this thread was not given the prefix "On-Topic" for a reason, and experience has shown that even if it had it wouldn't have made any difference.)
I want to personally applaud some of you who've posted in your own way which contributed in constructively helping to "moderate" this thread as members.
Most all of you did so by deliberately side-stepping and ignoring the "off topic" un-substantive content posts, and kept the discussion going and keeping it
on-track.
I wanted to acknowledge that, and let y'all know how much it is truly appreciated.
I would like to ask each of you reading this to keep this in mind when posting here in CE&P.
Will my response truly contribute anything to the topic discussion?
It seems like everyone who posts here likes to bitch about how bad this forum is to post in, but a small handful just like to stir the pot, poke the nest with a stick, and draw attention to themselves.
If you're a regular poster here, or just someone who likes to come in and read, we all know who those "regulars" are.
I've been here on JUB, and posting here in CE&P long enough to remember a time when the banter between opposing views was at least amicable.
Here lately, and especially since this past election, it's become toxic.
This thread, and my experiment/test proved my premise.
I have no doubt that I could have found a topic and two opposing links that counter-supported each other in favor of Republicans, and we would have witnessed the same type of responses as outlined above.
This thread was even Post Reported, and outrage expressed that a "mod" posted a topic like this!
It's not much different than when another CE&P Mod posts something that "the other side" doesn't like.
So for those of you who've left thoughtful posts, and for those of you who've read this far into this post; Thank You.
So I'll leave this thread for a bit to see what y'all make of it.
