At first, I thought, "Don't get me started!", but you did, so here it goes:
The Number One Reason that I love the Politics Forum is that it is an incredible news source.
As a publicly active "political" person, but also a rather busy, working one, I need to know what is going on in the "real world", daily. But, I don't have the time to sit around idly perusing the news all day. Of course, each morning, I go to compendiums of "News" such as Google News, to see what is immediately going on in the World.
But, more and more over the 14 years that I have been a member of LPSG, I just cut to the quick, and go right to LPSG's Politics Forum to find out what the big issues of the day are, what news people are really talking about, and always, to so many links provided by other members to more in-depth analyses of those issues, provided by the many dedicated attendees of this Forum, Left and Right and in between!... Here, I find what is actually pertinent, today.
The men, and, yes, the women, who contribute so much information to the Politics Forum, not only provide me with the "news of the day", or alternate opinions to consider, think about, or even argue with, they also provide me, and all other attendees with news sources that I would have never been aware of until clued into them here, in LPSG's Politics Forum. For that, I am very grateful!
Unbeknownst to my "real life" friends and family members, many of news items, photos, and videos that I have shared with them, I copied and pasted from posts in LPSG's Politics Forum. So often, I get reactions from them, asking me how I come up with all these news items that they haven't seen in their local papers or the websites that they go to. I tell them a "little white lie", that, "Well, I am involved in a political discussion group, and the people there are from all over the world, speak many languages, come from many different points of view, and it is the best source of news that I have."... THAT is not a lie.
Here, also, I have learned to think, before I post, and to be ready to defend my stance. It has been a "learning experience" that I have not really gained elsewhere on the Internet. It has helped me become more articulate about politics and current events in my life, out in the "real world".
@Mr. LPSG - Early on, when you came aboard, you considered getting rid of the Politics Forum, altogether, because it gets "contentious" sometimes. So what! Would you rather have a bunch of people posting their political opinions, willy-nilly all throughout the other Forums of LPSG?... If so, good luck with "managing" that!
What is wrong with having a Forum where people can offer their political opinions and argue about them? We are adults here. We have opinions, We have ideas... And, we have a need to talk about them... NO ONE WHO ISN'T INTERESTED NEEDS TO ENTER THE FREY... No one is forcing the apolitical members to read anything in the Politics Forum! So, what's the big deal?
Every once in awhile we get comments from apolitical members who think they are cute by "reminding" us that, "This is a big dick website. Why are you guys arguing about politics?"... My answer to that is simple. We may admire or even possess 'big dicks', but that does not preclude us from also having a BRAIN to use!
@MisterB is an LPSG Staff Member and Moderator, and is a regular reader and participant in the Politics Forum. (As are several other LPSG Mods, and former Mods.) - I trust him, judging from his "Likes" and comments here, to monitor this Forum. Surely that means something to you Admins? - You hired him.
If the Politics Forum didn't exist anymore, this site would have a lot LESS pertinent content, and I for one, would sign-in to LPSG a lot less. It would become "just another Dick Site", to me.
To close: Here is a MAJOR reason that I LOVE the Politics Forum, and so should YOU: - It's very existence is one of the most effective and efficient ways to weed out the RACISTS that show up all too often at LPSG. Sometimes it takes weeks, sometimes only within a few of their own ignorant posts, but here in the Politics Forum, more than in any other LPSG Forum, they are most likely to show their "true colors" as the racists that they are, and then thankfully get banned, much to the relief of the decent people of LPSG.
That is a good thing, for this site, right?
A/B
Perfectly written! The major point that has been made by me, but not nearly well as Action Buddy is that members you do not want at LPSG can often give themselves away is through the Politics forum and get banned.
The second item I don't remember any one mentioning. That is the element of public service that so many businesses want to project as part of their business.
As he mentioned, I fine myself coming to LPSG for my first look at national and international news. Politics and Women's News do provide a public service.
This Is What I Love About the POLITICS FORUM!
I find out not only what the US news is saying, but the news is saying from the UK, Europe, Canada, and Australia with a few other national news thrown in.
And, I can ask for help on a particular news event.
England is the Mother Country for the US
Americans would be more likely to go to war to defend Canada than the UK according to a poll from about 8 years ago. But this is due to geography. The only nation that can easily try to try to occupy Canada is Russia. Russia would have to go through Alaska, one of the 50 states in the Union of the US to get to Canada.
In the South a majority of the white population's ancestors are from either Britain or Ireland and assorted nearby islands. All of my known ancestors are from Ireland and Britain. Some ancestors only going back four generations. Some going back to 1607.
One entire year in the early grades is the Colonial Era. That means England. American history is English history up to year 1781 when England gave the 13 English colonies their freedom.
Americans don't look at either Canada or the UK as being foreign countries.
I Love the Politics Forum because I can connect to distant cousins in the UK.
We Americans share the American history up to 1776 with England.
This is not racism. African Americans who are into English culture are my brothers and sisters. Most African Americans have 1/4 or more English blood flowing through their veins. The slave owner and his sons were the fathers of many of the slave children born in the US.
Racism as segregation was introduced in 1876 by the wealthy land owners to prevent the white poor and lower class whites from joining with African Americans who aso are poor or lower class from joining forces and be able to break the bind that the wealthy of any color to lose control of the government.
This is I believe the reason some Republicans are also racists.
It is about keeping poor whites and poor blacks from joining forces.
Stacey Abrams and John Lewis fixed that in Georgia! John Lewis in the primaries and John Lewis from the grave in the general elections.
The point of that comment about racism is to show that the respect for ancestors and all the cousins alive today as being important.
And I love the POLITICS Forum for the chance to correspond with distant cousins in the UK, Canada, and Australia as well as from the US!
African Americans also have that right to connect with English culture because English culture is a major component of African American culture today.
Add to that people here at the LPSG who are Americans, with no English connection and Scandinavians such as one friend who is a mod at LPSG.
I Love the POLITICS Forum because I can connect with the world more in the POLITICS forum than any other source that is available to me.
In summation:
I Really Love the POLITICS Forum as A/B so well stated:
1. Politics keeps political discussion away from the other Forums!
2. The Politics Forum does the best job of weeding out the trouble makers that neither you nor your mods want want here at the LPSG!
3. I can communicate with other Americans, other English as first language and the world best here in the Politics Forum.
Mr. LPSG. The rationale for ending the Politics Forum that you are considering also applies to ETC. and Women's Issues.
You will lose some member participation if you close Politics, ETC and Women's Issues not out of spite, but because many people can't wait to log in to these three forums that in truth have nothing to do with large dicks!
And as Industrialsize points out, the POLITICS forum was begun so ETC could have a chance to succeed.
There will be bans if you are strict on politics as Americans for sure add political comments as part of our conversation with others. It comes naturally to Americans. I don't know about the Netherlands.
I am aware of the divide in the Netherlands between the Catholic areas and the Protestant areas in the Netherlands even though a majority of the citizens don't go to church except for the Holy Days and other Special Days if then. It is cultural.
Will mention of religion and culture comments also become outlawed? How far do you want to take Politics? In Ireland the political differences are directly related to culture/religion.
In the UK, England is Church of England and Wales, Scotland and and Northern Ireland are Presbyterian/Reformed as is the protestant church of the Netherlands. Ireland is Catholic.
People who are agnostic often still have their brand of cultural Christianity driving their political persuasions.
It is culture and historical culture that is dividing Ireland and Britain from being one nation and also republic or kingdom. It may be leading the UK and Ireland to have five independent nations when one or two nations would work.
It is culture that has driven England to vote to leave the EU. It can be a pain to separate culture and religion. I read that back before there was an agreement between Northern Ireland and Ireland, the most avid people about the culture (church) to the point of killing people were people who did not go to church and were not a member of a church. It was the regular church goers that were the most moderates.
Here in the US the most extreme right wing do not go to church and hell would freeze over before they went, but they are of the same culture group as most white Americans who do go to church.
A one sentence that tells this is that the year for studying religions is called World Cultures in US culture. The US Constitution guarantees freedom of religion and as some put it freedom from religion. The US who has a higher percent of people attending church than does Europe. The US is officially a secular republic.
So it is the Ancient World and World Cultures or similar name for one year in school curriculum. The only major religion in the world that is not from the Ancient World is Islam and Islam is only 100 years away from the Ancient World that most historians list as the fall of Rome in 476 AD. Of course there are at least three different dates that some historians use as the fall of Rome, all between 400 and 476. Some historians list the Rise of Constantinople in the 300s AD.
Retired history teacher here.
Getting humans to agree or be neutralized is a daunting task on anything. When as a mod, we had to termp ban
Culture drives politics more than any other one factor, even for those who have never stepped into a church, synagogue, or mosque.
Culture is a person's way of life. I believe it is almost impossible to separate politics from culture. I could write a book about how culture is at the heart of the political discord in the US, not socialism, or democracy, democratic socialism and so on and so forth.
Mr. LPSG, you will need to put a line there for cultural comments as well as political comments as part of a new TOS that bans any mention of Politics.
This is a can of worms that the reason the Mods set up Politics toward the end of my time as service as a mod.
We in the US also have differences in culture which I'm sure you have discovered while here.
There will be a drop in the total number of people posting at LPSG.
It appears you have already made up your mind. Keep in mind, that the fireworks show that may result may kill off part of the LPSG.
I don't plan to leave, but others may. The big dick pics and videos will keep me here.