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WARNING! Political and Contentious Discussion Ban

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psadmin

psadmin

Brilliant_Rock
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PriceScope has always been a beautiful amazing place for wonderful people to help, learn, and discuss all things about diamonds and jewelry.

Unfortunately, political and contentious discussions have been affecting and eroding this community and therefore we are banning political discussions.

Political posts and threads include but are not limited to:
  • Elections.
  • Praise, Insults, or demeaning comments about political figures.
  • Commenting on the actions of a political party, incumbent or candidate.

It is important to us that PriceScope is inviting to all people and enjoy the common love for Diamonds, Colored Stones, Pearl, Jewelry, etc.

We urge everyone to approach sensitive topics with the utmost kindness and respect perspective. Do not let many wonderful topics turn to a discussion about politics.

Any topic or post may be removed at the discretion of PS Staff and the poster may be given a timeout without warning for violating these policies. All moderation decisions are final and will be made at the discretion of PS staff members.

Thank you for your understanding.

Andrey and the PriceScope Staff
 
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Honestly, I know some people will disagree, but I have come here for close to 15 years now as a delightful escape from all that is going on in the world to enjoy my love of diamonds and jewelry! So thank you for trying to keep this a happy place! (There are many other places for those who love to discuss politics and their love or hate of candidates.)

(Just in case anyone might think this...no, I have never reported a political thread as far as I can recall.)
 
Thanks Andre.

No joke - I was just about to post that I just realized every one of the several fora I've left over the years has been during that now-unmentionable period that occurs in America every 4 years.


... I apologize for a zillion posts that now-violate PS's new rules. - IOW I confess to contributing to the problem.
... and, unlike D2006, I've reported many threads that violate PS terms.
 
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kenny said:
... I apologize for a zillion posts that now-violate PS's new rules. - IOW I confess to contributing to the problem.
... and, unlike D2006, I've reported many threads that violate PS terms.
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Kenny, Had you ever reported yourself? :tongue:
 
Dancing Fire said:
Kenny, Had you ever reported yourself? :tongue:
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I think so, but probably to move a thread to a more-appropriate forum.

Ella is free to correct the bad memory of this rotten-brain old fart.
 
I avoid political discussions on message boards, social media, and IRL, and believe banning such discussions on PS is a good thing.

DK :))
 
I am sorry that it came to this as I have been one of the people who enjoyed political discussions (most of the time). I have always understood the position taken by posters like diamondseeker2006 and another of my good friends, the longtime Pricescope member canuk-gal, that political threads makes Pricescope less enjoyable for them. We members differ.

We have in common, however, our love for diamonds ad colored gemstones. Many of us have also formed friendships here over the years.There have been plenty of threads in which we had time to discuss family matters and silverware and china patterns and all sorts of other topics, like whether someone was in an area threatened by a hurricane or a blizzard..

Pricescope will cotinue to be a vibrant, thriving community. I thank you and Ella for all the time and attention you devote to Pricescope.

Deb/AGBF :wavey:
 
kenny said:
I think so, but probably to move a thread to a more-appropriate forum.

Ella is free to correct the bad memory of this rotten-brain old fart.
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You do occasionally report yourself! Usually after you regret posting something but you are outside of your 45 minute window. :lol:
 
@Ella not to jump on the bandwagon and everything but thank you so much for all you and @psadmin Andrey do. You guys make PS the wonderful place it is and we cannot tell you enough how much we appreciate all you do!
 
I've been a member of Pricescope since 2007 and a lurker for a few years before that. I recently decided to leave the community after I was put in "time out" for calling out blatantly racist comments in a political thread. An offline friend mentioned to me that this post was made banning politics, and I felt the need to weigh in.

This is bullshit, Andrey. I appreciate you forming and maintaining and supporting this community over the years, but I am disappointed and frankly, disgusted, with the lack of public support for the civil rights movement happening currently in the US, and moreso with the tacit support for the MANY racist members that frequent this community. I do not care to be a member of a community that does not care to eradicate racist dog-whistle posts and support for an authoritarian (racist) regime. I would hope that allowing members to hold these vital political discussions would be more important that site visitors and page clicks, but apparently not. I hoped that supporting BIPOC communities would be a priority to PS, but it seems not. I hoped that you would see the importance of members being able to call a spade a spade, or in this case, a racist, without a juvenile "time out." Silence is acceptance. I am disappointed in your priorities and cowardice.

Thank you for allowing me to make some of my greatest friends on PS, and I will miss my time here. I hope the forum grows in a better direction in the future. As I told Ella previously, if it's PS's intent to be a haven for old rich racist ladies, that's your prerogative (and you're killing it), but I want no part in that. Good luck.
 
Disagree with this move. Also realize my opinion is not being solicited.


We’ve all had our feelings hurt. We’re all grownups who should be able to step away and take our own timeouts when we need them.

Issues like leadership, systemic injustice, the pandemic - these are all political to some extent. Thanks to the pandemic many people don’t have the social support networks they would in other times. The reality of 2020 is that there is no way to turn this community into a place of politics-free rainbows and unicorns without losing the souls of peoples’ real-world day-to-days.

Can we at least try something else before a blanket ban? Put a label on threads that are political, and those who are looking for escape will know right away to avoid them? Or move discussions to a separate subforum altogether?
 
As I have said before and will say again, human rights are not political. Neither is discussing racism or current events as long as political discussion is left out of it. If people can have civil conversations about these kinds of topics outside of politics, they will continue to be allowed. If they continue to get contentious and rude, they will not be.

Liberals feel attacked and singled out by us. Conservatives feel attacked and singled out by us. I will close a thread and get multiple messages from BOTH SIDES OF THE AISLE yelling at me or fighting with me about our decision. This behavior is not ok.

Those who have gotten time outs and believe it is because they espouse a particular political view should go back and re-read my correspondence with them. It is always because of swearing, name calling, making threats, etc. It is never about merely discussing a contentious topic.

We cannot win here, and the inability of people to have civil discussions without resorting to name calling, is the reason this decision was made by Andrey.
 
kenny said:
... and, unlike D2006, I've reported many threads that violate PS terms.
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I certainly report posts that violate PS terms. I've probably reported yours once or twice. Mostly I report spammers. But I avoided the political threads because of the intense hatred displayed in many of them. I do not hate people, in general. I may hate some things people say or do, but I am not a mean person and prefer not to associate with mean people. It dismays me to see people who cannot be tolerant and civil to those with differing viewpoints. I've lived through both republican and democrat presidents and survived without having panic attacks daily over what the president does or does not do. Constant anger and hate is not good for anyone.
 
Ella said:
As I have said before and will say again, human rights are not political. Neither is discussing racism or current events as long as political discussion is left out of it. If people can have civil conversations about these kinds of topics outside of politics, they will continue to be allowed. If they continue to get contentious and rude, they will not be.
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Ella-

I hear you about your dilemma moderating. But with your expanded guidelines about what we can post, racism and current events included, you give me a dilemma.

I will have a hard time knowing what I am allowed to post and what I am not given the parameters you gave above. I have never had a time out and I do not want to get my first one by posting a topic that you feel you made clear was forbidden.

For example, is it political or human rights to post about the police shooting (seven times in the back) of Jacob Blake in Wisconsin?

Deb/AGBF
 
Institutional racism (including police brutality), human rights, Coronavirus response and politics are all interconnected. I do not envy those whose job it is to distinguish between allowed and not-allowed discussion on any of these topics. I would not want that task, myself.

I participate on multiple Internet forums. Every forum I am on that once allowed political discussion no longer allows it, and all for the same reason: too many posters show themselves incapable of maintaining civil discussion. Dealing with all the reported posts, deleting posts, and issuing warnings and time-outs became too time-consuming for the moderators (who are often volunteers) to handle. Who has time for this?
 
Civil rights are human rights. Politics have always been intertwined with civil rights so it is hard to discuss one without the other. Every aspect of our lives is heavily influenced by politics.

I haven't been active on the political threads but read EVERY SINGLE ONE. It is a shame this decision had to be made.

Could we have a politics forum? Yes, they degenerate. Yes, we all have biases, blind spots, and triggers. But it is so important for us to be able to have these 'conversations'. I have become more informed by reading these threads. We have some incredibly astute contributors who have useful knowledge, or at least superior googling skills. We have lovely men and women who have made me realise that my reality is not the same as theirs, and that their hierarchy of what matters to them is different from my own. I, of course, think they are wrong, but I also appreciate them sharing where they are coming from.

I only go to hangouts when I don't need a break from life. I go to RT or CS or SMTB when I need a break from the disaster of reality.

We name call because we recognise how MUCH the people in power, and the political systems they operate in, affect us. We are passionate. We care. This is a good thing. Please don't penalise us.

Edit to clarify: i haven't name called here. I only do that face to face...
 
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All topics of social importance will be political since it is policy -- either set by government bodies or ignored by government bodies -- that drive the issues. @Ella, would you consider re-creating the SteamRoom that existed before your time and Andrey's time here? An unmoderated hidden subforum where topics that may become heated can be discussed with impunity?

If that's a possibility, it should be understood by participants that they enter at their own risk. Perhaps set up a threshold of who has access -- such as members with over a certain amount of posts (perhaps 100 posts) to weed out those who join just to cause trouble. A notice could be sent to those who reach the threshold of posts that the forum exists and if they wish access, they have to tell you so before you grant access.
 
i think it's the admin's choice and fine to eliminate political discussions...it seems like it's hard for them not to devolve into personal attacks instead of sticking to debating ideas, which is unfortunate.
 
I'm glad for this tbh. While I like the political discussions, I hate what it does to me by allowing some people to get my goat and lash out. That isn't who I am. I want to continue to enjoy many of the people here who can understand that we don't all see things the same. I don't demand people see things my way and expect the same from others. If people want vitriol and demand conformity they can go to twitter. Not seeing 12 Trump hate threads on the first page will be nice. :bigsmile:
 
I have yet to report a post, either mine or somebody else's. I also don't let the fact that people disagree with me politically undermine an otherwise fine relationship. I'm not someone who takes offense at others disagreeing with me. I think DF is awesome even if his politics are at odds with my own. I don't believe in calling people out or ad hominem attacks, but if I have offended anyone with my opinions I am heartily sorry.

I do like the idea of a "steam room" as @Matata suggested.
 
redwood66 said:
I'm glad for this tbh. While I like the political discussions, I hate what it does to me by allowing some people to get my goat and lash out. That isn't who I am. I want to continue to enjoy many of the people here who can understand that we don't all see things the same. I don't demand people see things my way and expect the same from others. If people want vitriol and demand conformity they can go to twitter. Not seeing 12 Trump hate threads on the first page will be nice. :bigsmile:
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I very much enjoy some of the posters who get me riled up on political threads when they write about their dogs. I love hearing about families (your sons, for instance, red, who are a gift you gave to to our country, for example). I love seeing photos of grandchildren, too, no matter what the politics of the grandparents. But it is when people write about their dogs that I feel true sisterhood with them. I just love those dogs and I feel that others who love them have have to be human, too!
 
Ella said:
I will close a thread and get multiple messages from BOTH SIDES OF THE AISLE yelling at me or fighting with me about our decision. This behavior is not ok.

We cannot win here, and the inability of people to have civil discussions without resorting to name calling, is the reason this decision was made by Andrey.
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Just highlighting this one section Ella - I'm sorry that the moderators have been attacked over their decisions. That, you are of couse correct, is most definitely NOT acceptable behaviour. Perhaps I was hasty in asserting that we're all grownups here.

I do like @Matata's idea, if you would consider it. That would provide an outlet for those who wish to discuss, provide an easy way for those who don't to avoid discussion, and insulate the moderators from any fallout. People will get hurt. Maybe some people will leave. I think(hope) more people would get to know and respect each other despite differing opinions.
 
liaerfbv said:
I've been a member of Pricescope since 2007 and a lurker for a few years before that. I recently decided to leave the community after I was put in "time out" for calling out blatantly racist comments in a political thread. An offline friend mentioned to me that this post was made banning politics, and I felt the need to weigh in.

This is bullshit... I do not care to be a member of a community that does not care to eradicate racist dog-whistle posts and support for an authoritarian (racist) regime. .... I am disappointed in your priorities and cowardice.
if it's PS's intent to be a haven for old rich racist ladies, that's your prerogative (and you're killing it), but I want no part in that. Good luck.
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Rude, insulting and largely untrue. You just perfectly illustrated why topic bans have been implemented....
I'm not 100% sure but I think "flounce" posts may be against terms of service also. Best of luck to you.
 
Hi,

This is one of the most crucial times for our American Democracy. This is not made up drama. The issues are vital to all of us. Yes, people get heated, as they should. People need an outlet among persons they like or respect. PS can take credit for attracting some really smart women and men, who at least care about what is happening in our world and wish to share it with one another. PS has become a place where we can go to reflect on what is happening. You see we actually like each other here.

As Yisse states, we are all grownups here. We do show strong emotions here, but for me, one of the worst characteristics of , not just in political threads, is a pile-on mentality. One poster vs another poster is OK for me. When everyone piles on against a poster, whether its the topic racism, human rights, or those who are hurting our democracy, its bullying to me,

My posting is usually in an editorial style. I just want to state what I am thinking. Once Redeood convinced my gun ownership was fine. A yr later, under new circumstances, I had to re-evaluate my re-evaluation. But I did learn.

I want PS not to have to moderate these threads. Enter at your own risk. We, as a group, should moderate ourselves. No reports to PSadmin.

Ella, this is just not the Time to disallow these threads.

Annette
 
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