Should L&P be closed?

[RNB65]

I suppose it can be said still once again: www.armedpolitesociety.com for everything else.

Buy why clutter up my desktop with two different websites when one website with an additional folder would be easier and faster to navigate?

 

[The Real Hawkeye]

There is an easy solution to this. Divide into two folders, i.e., 1) Legal and Political (where anything related to law and politics may be civilly discussed), and 2) Right to Keep and Bear Arms (where only gun related issues may be discussed). I am a member of a web site that does exactly that, and it works out perfectly.

 

[Skywarp]

I think what makes L&P so chaotic is why THR is great in my opinion. THR has a very diverse political population unlike alot of RKBA/ Gun forums.

We have Republicans, Democrats, Libertarians, Independents, liberals, conservatives, centrists, neo-cons, and everyone in the mix. It makes for a great chance to see how other people think and test your own convictions.


Very few other gun boards have that. Hell very few other gun boards would have openly gay members as regulars and people respect them as fellow RKBA advocates. I was very impressed when I first came here and remain impressed with the attitudes on this forum. Yeah the debates get heated but it is healthy for our society to do this, especially in public domain.

 

[SolaScriptura139]

I voted for a reminder of the rules. I think that L & P is a nice section of the forum, and for the most part is a civilized section. Deleting threads entirely with ridiculous rants and personal attacks might be a good idea instead of just closing them which leaves them available for fence-sitters and anti-gunners to see and use against us. I think limiting the section to firearm rights and not having the tag "and other civil liberties" might be a good idea.

 

[shooter503]

Keep L&P but withdraw any posts that use inflammatory language. The following idea is absolutely correct.

Don't be surprised if "Democrat" or "Snopes Clinton" gets a post deleted as though it never existed.

A discussion of RKBA inevitable leads down side alleys such as politics, government repression (including excessive use of force) etc. Don't censor discussion of the topics but make sure the discussion is a civilised one. In that the Moderators have my vote.

 

[jnojr]

One man's "ridiculous rant" is anothers rational discourse.

An awful lot of things that are going on in this country today were nearly unthinkable even 10 years ago. "Oh, that'll never happen here!" "You're paranoid!" "Better adjust your tinfoil hat!" But today, we accept a lot of this crap. And when we talk about where things are going, we commonly hear "Oh, that'll never happen here!" "You're paranoid!" "Better adjust your tinfoil hat!"

IMO there's too much moderation here as it is. Lots of interesting threads get closed because one person feels it's "off topic". But here's this thread... it has nothing to do with RKBA, and it's up to four pages already!

 

[RealGun]

I think those who visibly protest closing of a thread should be shown the door. That is trolling. At some point there needs to be the acceptance of authority. Some will never get that part.

 

[Danus ex]

If this is as stinky as our litterbox gets, then L&P is fine. All forums need a virtual litterbox, or you'll start finding verbal feces in the other sections.

 

[Navy joe]

I do not know if you can do it within Vbulletin; but a minimum requirement of 500 posts and/or 1 year of membership time to enter the fray would help. It would also help to make it like the For Sale forums, if you are not logged in, you do not see it. Heck, Strategies and Tactics would benefit from that too. Beyond that, I think it needs to be recognized that some of the knee-jerk government/police defenders are no better than some of the knee-jerk tinfoil hatters.

 

[tubeshooter]

I want to go on records against post minimums. In my experience post count doesn't necessarily mean much, and besides you'll just have people spamming the boards to get that minimum. It's just additional strain on the server that really isn't productive to the original goal.

 

[Skeptic]

I do not know if you can do it within Vbulletin; but a minimum requirement of 500 posts and/or 1 year of membership time to enter the fray would help.

It was said very well here:
I would not base anything on post counts because.
1) Some of us have lurked here for a long time before posting.
2) Some of us only post if we feel we have something important or different to add the discussion.
3) Post count is no indicator of political savvy.
4) Post count is no indicator of intelligence.


It would also help to make it like the For Sale forums, if you are not logged in, you do not see it. Heck, Strategies and Tactics would benefit from that too. Ok, maybe…

Beyond that, I think it needs to be recognized that some of the knee-jerk government/police defenders are no better than some of the knee-jerk tinfoil hatters.
Agreed…. Knee jerk reaction is not a good thing.

 

[Greg L]

(didn't read the whole thread but scanned the first page - fwiw)

No,

This place lost something very important when the Roundtable was evicted (I might hit APS once every 2 months these days), to do the same to one of the other bigger forums here would be just as stupid. L&P provides a good place to go to get a different from the MSM slant on news that can impact me.

Are there idiots/psychos with access to a computer here? Yes, welcome to life - there are idiots everywhere. If someone is consistantly being a pot stirring jerk then get rid of him. More than anywhere else I would hope that this place would recognize the stupidity of punishing the masses for the wrongdoings of a few....

 

[Michigander]

Could always move L&P over to armedpolitesociety!

 

[Skeptic]

APS does not have the same "feel" as THR. Some of the same people, but a different feel.

 

[redneck2]

If everyone would stop for a few seconds and take a breath, I think the answer has pretty much been revealed

Look at the amount of response this thread has received. That alone shows me that this is worthwhile, if for no other reason than it gets members interested and invigorated.

If you can't stand a little heat, run to your corner, curl up in the fetal position and suck your thumb. If you're old enough to enjoy the responsibility of a firearm, you ought to be able to read a post on the internet without having your blood pressure going into orbit. If you can't handle this, how are you going to handle CCW?

If someone's a total raving idiot, rap their knuckles and move on. That's what the Mods are for. Why should my rights be curtailed because someone else can't handle their freedoms?? (sound familiar?)

For those that want their emotions protected, go to http://www.wussyschoolgirl.com

 

[JMusic]

Reminder of the rules. Rabid discussions of any topic is not welcome here. We live in a very stressfull time. Remember the good ole days, WWI, WWII, Korea, Veitnam, Watts riots and Whitman Sniper foray in Austin Tx. .

Jim

 

[cropcirclewalker]

I don't know. I could be wrong.

Maybe I am seeing some sour grapes. I don't know who is an anti. Lots of deception and to me it seems that many here are closet anti-gunners (elitist types, "OK for me, but not for thee" types)

They are irrelevant to me.

Otherwise, we got us three types on this forum.

[psycobabble]

1) Gunnies who accidentally fall into L&P on their way from a hunting or gun smithing forum.

2) Tin foil hatters. (some may think of me as such) I characterize this type as one who has read the constitution and recognizes that there is something wrong.

3) Koolaide drinkers. These are leos or leo apologists (generally authoritarian types that need to tell or be told what to do, or actually fear the liberty to make their own choices). Some say that we need "Structure".

Now, ordinarily, in the real world, when a koolaide drinker tells a tinfoil hatter to move along because there is nothing to see here, he usually gets compliance. That is because the tinfoil hatter knows that he may end up in the jug charged with disorderly conduct or resisting arrest or something like that.

Here, in the virtual internet world, that is not the case.

Some of us here have difficulty accepting noncompliance.

Some of us think that we should all love the police state.

Some of us think that if we have nothing to hide, we should not fear the police.

Thus, this thread.

[/psycobabble]

I have never been asked permission to have my vehicle searched. The only time it was searched, I was not asked. Nor did I get an apology. It was implied that, "Well, this time you got away with it. Maybe we will catch you next time."

I enjoy reading L&P.

If you just ban the tinfoil hatters and the koolaide drinkers L&P will die a rapid death. Yawn.

Close it down and I will find another forum.

You decide.

 

[junyo]

If you can't stand a little heat, run to your corner, curl up in the fetal position and suck your thumb. If you're old enough to enjoy the responsibility of a firearm, you ought to be able to read a post on the internet without having your blood pressure going into orbit. If you can't handle this, how are you going to handle CCW?

If someone's a total raving idiot, rap their knuckles and move on. That's what the Mods are for. Why should my rights be curtailed because someone else can't handle their freedoms?? (sound familiar?)

I was going to write a long (and frankly brilliant) post... That pretty much said the same thing.

If you can't stand having your opinions challenged, the Interweb probably ain't your thing. If "my mind's made up and your mind's made up and neither one of us will say anything that'll change the other" then Interweb forums probably ain't your thing. There's plenty of blogs that moderate comments to allow gushing agreement with the author. Maybe people that aspire to membership in the chorus should try that.

 

[Ed Ames]

Thinking about it some more, I've come to the conclusion that the legal and political sides should probably be split. There are many legal issues with gun ownership and the need for a legal forum is crystal clear. There are also many political issues, and people need a place to discuss "issues affecting the right to keep and bear arms and other civil rights," and to, "Coordinate activism, debate with allies and opponents." However, the two types of discussion are very different. When talking legalities, going on about how things should be is at best a distraction and more often it's downright counterproductive. When discussing politics, the whole discussion hinges around how things should be, and how they are is almost irrelevant.

So split them.

 

[Autolycus]

L&P is my favorite forum. I admit that I have recently been involved in a lot of threads critical of law enforcement. I do feel that these issues relate to gun owners and Americans in general.

If the threads are getting out of hand it will be taken care of. It seems that the moderators keep a pretty tight lid on things and lock the threads when things turn sour.

Overall THR is probably the most well-moderated forum I post on. There are many forums I post on where just about anything goes. Overall I would say keep things as they are or even loosen them a little bit.

Just my $0.02.

Cheers,

Tecumseh

 

[ryoushi]

I say none of the above. Simply change the name from Legal and Political to RKBA to more accurately reflect the owner's and moderators' intentions for the forum. When I see Legal or Political I figure it's OK to talk politics.

Earlier today I posted BBS posts from Iraq that I thought was pertinent to the very heart of RKBA, that is citizens arming themselves to protect themselves and their homes. I thought it was topical but the thread got locked up as off topic.

 

[taliv]

fwiw, hso, this is the only thread in L&P i've read in maybe a month. In fact, it's been about a week since i even clicked L&P, when i used to read it several times /day.

anymore, i scan threads for usernames i recognize that have had something interesting to say before, instead of reading every response.

truthfully though, i've never been happy with L&P because it's nothing more than an echo-chamber for people obsessed with a particular viewpoint. the fact that they're often correct doesn't make up for the fact that they're regurgitating AM radio rhetoric without adding any value or original thought. worse, the rhetoric is designed to suppress discussion.

good luck

 

[No_Brakes23]

Close down L&P and the rabies will just go elsewhere. Plus, there will be a new bone to pick.

 

[GoRon]

L&P has gone through trials and tribulations before.

I like the moderating in L&P.

As long as the moderators are OK with it I say carry on.

It is a thankless job watching over L&P.

I will stop coming here for days at a time I get so steamed, can't imagine being responsible for herding all the chimpanzees in here.

Every time I come in here I just remind myself that not everyone has all the answers like I do and that I need to have patience with them.

 

[Art Eatman]

If somebody can't control their emotions when it's just ideas on the Internet, how are they going to have any self-control during a self-sefense situation in the real world?

Is it the mere anonymity of hiding behind a keyboard that brings out the rudeness and discourtesy?

I don't understand the alleged difficulty and hassle of having more than one window open, for, say, here and APS. I commonly have four or five windows open, browsing several sites from time to time. That has never seemed like any sort of big deal at all. I get tired of L&Pee and go to LawDog's or Tamara's blog. Or Kim du Toit's website. Maybe TFL and APS. I'll drift off and argue at the MacRumors.com forum. Or play Hearts or Solitaire for a while. No Big Deal.

But a lot of folks really need to go re-read the rules and do more thinking and less emoting. That makes life easier for everybody.

And Bambi wasn't cooperative. I did have a 20-bird covey of Blues wander past the truck, though, headed up the mountain to bed down for the night.

, Art