11 months without politics (2 Viewers)

[Joe Bryant]

On the upside, the forums now that the PSF is gone are a net positive I believe. We have a great community here.

The forums have always been a net positive imo. This is a great place, lots of good eggs.

For sure there are tons of good people. That's never been a question. I meant a net positive for Footballguys as a business given the cost of hosting them in dollars and effort vs the reward.

 

[Captain Cranks]

So for the very small handful of dirtbags who used the PSF and the forums like a personal toilet, here is my message to you - What exactly was the long term plan there? Keep up the toxic behavior and keep trashing the place until Joe's health and wellness completely collapsed? Are you that completely selfish? Do you have any sense of community or even integrity at all? If you had any respect for this place at all and in the people in it, since you won't be permanently banned, you should just leave and never come back. But you won't. Because, as I said all the way back in 2006, people are going to do exactly what is in line with their character. Or lack of it.

Perhaps you should take a moment to consider how you might be guilty of what you've said here.

“Why do you look at the speck of sawdust in your brother’s eye and pay no attention to the plank in your own eye?"

Matthew 7:3

 

[thecatch]

SCOTUS is way too political these days to be discussed non-politically. I tried on r/scotus - no one wants to acknowledge there might be multiple reasonable viewpoints on complex legal issues.

Maybe we can hide it in the lawyer thread. I do enjoy intelligent, non-partisan legal discussion. Divided Argument is an excellent legal podcast along these lines if you haven't listened.

 

[BassNBrew]

I miss it. It was my primary source of political news and there was some good discussion to be had. There was also a lot of unnecessary nonsense as a byproduct of our political landscape. It seems like we've lost some posters in the process too (some good and some bad).

I will say that I pay a lot less attention to politics than when it was here, which may be a positive for my overall health.

Same. I have become so uninformed I feel pretty dumb around some of my clients. If the PSF was open I would have know about the things like the Panama canal. Finally told the guy I'm so hyper-focused on my business that I don't spend time on the news. Used to be able to spend 15 minutes there and be up to speed on current events. When I go to any of the news outlets it's surfing a Tsunami of Trump/Biden stuff to find anything important.

 

[kface]

I don't think the solution is running away from the problem. I admire Joe and respect his decision. Must have been a bear to moderate. But I think discourse is critical to even have a chance to find common ground. Maybe tighter reins, maybe more moderators, I don't know what the answer could have been. And, again, I trust that Joe and his team talked about this ad infinitum. Nonetheless, I miss the Political Forum and come to these forums much, much less often.

It wasn't discourse however it was mostly typical internet garbage with people getting way out of line and that hatred and agrument spilling over into the other forums as well. We are all now just one people on here - fantasy football lovers

 

[rustycolts]

Definitely better. I still think their should be room for a thread on midterm and presidential election night as those are such monumental events but otherwise it’s been great.

I agree that it's been great, and I'm not opposed to a special "election night" thread, but honestly politics just adds nothing positive to this type of site. Look at FFT and tell me that they're better off with their political content. Or any other site that doesn't have politics as part of its core mission.

Ivan,
You are one of the best posters in the current forums and you are well respected by most everyone. And I remember when I was get piled on and attacked at some point, you spoke up and defended my right to free speech. I've always appreciated that. IMHO, one of the biggest questions comes down to this - What exactly is in it for @Joe Bryant to restart or reopen the PSF?

He pays the bandwidth, the same bad faith actors go on the endless attack ( For how long? More than a decade? With how many aliases from the same bad faith posters? If you add it up, they probably rack up to half a million posts between them with all their aliases) Then Joe speaks up at some point and says the problems from the PSF are causing impact on his self care and wellness. That's not a criticism. I'm a fellow small business owner, and I understand the isolation and stress of being in charge. How did the worst bad faith actors respond to Joe's talk about the situation? Many of the exhausting problem people doubled and tripled down. So what's the message to Joe there?

1) It's a bright neon sign that says they don't care if his children starve. Or if he doesn't have a roof over his head. Or if people who work for him can't pay their bills. The forums have a marketing element for FBG as a business and a brand. This place is still a business. It's still a conduit for people to earn a living.

2) It's a huge freeway sized sign that the worst bad faith actors don't care if Joe's health collapsed completely, just as long as they could use this place like a toilet and spit in other people's faces for sport.

I want to be fair about this, there are some people here who would have been permanently banned at nearly every other established community on the Internet for their behavior. But I also calibrate that Joe tends to want to see the best in other people. I am hesitant to punish someone for that. It's an expression of hope. He's unwilling to permanently ban some people. Since he won't do that, and that's his right, the PSF can't exist. Just because I might do it different doesn't mean Joe is wrong. It's his house, he has to eat the cost of what happens here (and that goes beyond just money), so it's his decision.

So for the very small handful of dirtbags who used the PSF and the forums like a personal toilet, here is my message to you - What exactly was the long term plan there? Keep up the toxic behavior and keep trashing the place until Joe's health and wellness completely collapsed? Are you that completely selfish? Do you have any sense of community or even integrity at all? If you had any respect for this place at all and in the people in it, since you won't be permanently banned, you should just leave and never come back. But you won't. Because, as I said all the way back in 2006, people are going to do exactly what is in line with their character. Or lack of it.

@IvanKaramazov , you spoke up for me when others wouldn't in public. I'm grateful for that. If there is anything I can do for you, you are welcome to reach out in private. Through my media optics career, my reach extends pretty far into all kinds of pathways. If I can be of service, let me know. I want to square away some things for @Max Power , @rustycolts , @BladeRunner and a few others as well, including some guys in the Shark Pool where I played in leagues with them, before my clock expires. You are a good egg, Ivan. You are respected by everyone here. I'm glad to have known you.

Hey buddy good to hear from you. Did you ever make your move to my neck of the woods? Here's hoping your clock is like a Timex takes a lickin but keeps on tickin.

 

[Psychopav]

SCOTUS is way too political these days to be discussed non-politically. I tried on r/scotus - no one wants to acknowledge there might be multiple reasonable viewpoints on complex legal issues.

That's really sad imo

 

[drummer]

I haven't been around here in a long while, but I am not surprised to see that forum being shuttered. I think it's been a couple of years that I posted in it. While a good intention that many for years prior to that forum being implemented was something that many here asked for, that forum turned into something that was far from the discourse that was posted here before that sub fourm existed. I remember coming into the FFA during elections (before 2016) and discussed politics, history, science etc, with others and it was very respectful to an extent, maybe a little chippy from time to time, and when events happened I was able to share them in real time with everyone here, and it was fun, engaging, thoughtful, and informative.

It was refreshing to read a lot of great informed opinions, and again I spent election nights here, because it was fun.

Now politics, history, science is a third rail here, and that's not to be unexpected, it's happened everywhere and it's a darn shame. But not really needed, no one needs to engage in that sort of heated rhetoric unless it's just to rage against others.

 

[facook]

I don't think the solution is running away from the problem. I admire Joe and respect his decision. Must have been a bear to moderate. But I think discourse is critical to even have a chance to find common ground. Maybe tighter reins, maybe more moderators, I don't know what the answer could have been. And, again, I trust that Joe and his team talked about this ad infinitum. Nonetheless, I miss the Political Forum and come to these forums much, much less often.

It wasn't discourse however it was mostly typical internet garbage with people getting way out of line and that hatred and agrument spilling over into the other forums as well. We are all now just one people on here - fantasy football lovers

Had to "laugh" respond, no offense intended. Just that there are tons of posters in the FFA who could not care less about Fantasy Football. I'm not one of them, I play and enjoy. But the FFA is NOT the Shark Pool.

 

[facook]

I miss it. It was my primary source of political news and there was some good discussion to be had. There was also a lot of unnecessary nonsense as a byproduct of our political landscape. It seems like we've lost some posters in the process too (some good and some bad).

I will say that I pay a lot less attention to politics than when it was here, which may be a positive for my overall health.

Same. I have become so uninformed I feel pretty dumb around some of my clients. If the PSF was open I would have know about the things like the Panama canal. Finally told the guy I'm so hyper-focused on my business that I don't spend time on the news. Used to be able to spend 15 minutes there and be up to speed on current events. When I go to any of the news outlets it's surfing a Tsunami of Trump/Biden stuff to find anything important.

You didn't know there's a Panama Canal!?

 

[BassNBrew]

I miss it. It was my primary source of political news and there was some good discussion to be had. There was also a lot of unnecessary nonsense as a byproduct of our political landscape. It seems like we've lost some posters in the process too (some good and some bad).

I will say that I pay a lot less attention to politics than when it was here, which may be a positive for my overall health.

Same. I have become so uninformed I feel pretty dumb around some of my clients. If the PSF was open I would have know about the things like the Panama canal. Finally told the guy I'm so hyper-focused on my business that I don't spend time on the news. Used to be able to spend 15 minutes there and be up to speed on current events. When I go to any of the news outlets it's surfing a Tsunami of Trump/Biden stuff to find anything important.

You didn't know there's a Panama Canal!?

I believe it's a gloried ditch now.

 

[Dickies]

I miss it. It was my primary source of political news and there was some good discussion to be had. There was also a lot of unnecessary nonsense as a byproduct of our political landscape. It seems like we've lost some posters in the process too (some good and some bad).

I will say that I pay a lot less attention to politics than when it was here, which may be a positive for my overall health.

Same. I have become so uninformed I feel pretty dumb around some of my clients. If the PSF was open I would have know about the things like the Panama canal. Finally told the guy I'm so hyper-focused on my business that I don't spend time on the news. Used to be able to spend 15 minutes there and be up to speed on current events. When I go to any of the news outlets it's surfing a Tsunami of Trump/Biden stuff to find anything important.

You didn't know there's a Panama Canal!?

I believe it's a gloried ditch now.

The glory hole of the Americas

 

[bigbottom]

I think the mood, spirit and good will of the forum is vastly improved. I also think my own mood and spirit is improved, not just because I’ve basically eliminated political debate as a hobby, but also because I’ve dramatically reduced the level of acrimony I’m exposed to in my daily life.

 

[facook]

I miss it. It was my primary source of political news and there was some good discussion to be had. There was also a lot of unnecessary nonsense as a byproduct of our political landscape. It seems like we've lost some posters in the process too (some good and some bad).

I will say that I pay a lot less attention to politics than when it was here, which may be a positive for my overall health.

Same. I have become so uninformed I feel pretty dumb around some of my clients. If the PSF was open I would have know about the things like the Panama canal. Finally told the guy I'm so hyper-focused on my business that I don't spend time on the news. Used to be able to spend 15 minutes there and be up to speed on current events. When I go to any of the news outlets it's surfing a Tsunami of Trump/Biden stuff to find anything important.

You didn't know there's a Panama Canal!?

I believe it's a gloried ditch now.

The glory hole of the Americas

Ditch, not hole.

 

[PIK95]

I think the mood, spirit and good will of the forum is vastly improved. I also think my own mood and spirit is improved, not just because I’ve basically eliminated political debate as a hobby, but also because I’ve dramatically reduced the level of acrimony I’m exposed to in my daily life.

Same and happy for you. I have been toying with the idea of ditching my phone, email, all social media, and quitting all fantasy leagues. I seriously think I would be happy with a break from society for a while.

 

[ren hoek]

I don't know what the answer could have been. And, again, I trust that Joe and his team talked about this ad infinitum. Nonetheless, I miss the Political Forum and come to these forums much, much less often.

You really nail it here. It just seems crazy. The mindless bickering was brutal but I just scrolled past or muted it. It was worth it to read certain people, even ones I profoundly disagreed with. We had our little containment chamber, we weren't hurting anyone.

Like look I hate the state of the world too, but I think decent people have a moral & ethical obligation to give a ****. Eventually, we will all have no choice but to pay attention.

To be fair, i know nothing about running a FF business or what it must have looked like from the other side. It just sucks investing 20 years of your life interacting with people and your prime reason for discussion up and disappears.

I would hazard a guess that most of the people who would have voted 'no' are long gone by now. But if people like it better this way, who are we to disrupt that. I just thought there was a place for all of us, not just people who want to disengage from politics.

 

[Joe Bryant]

And, again, I trust that Joe and his team talked about this ad infinitum. Nonetheless, I miss the Political Forum and come to these forums much, much less often.

Thank you GB. We discussed it internally seemingly like forever it seemed and arrived there after fully examining it the best we could. LIke everything we do, I've no idea if it's for sure the right answer. It's just how we think it's best to try and be. There are certainly some like you that visit the forums less. But web traffic has never been the goal of the forums. Thank you for the trust and all the best to you.

 

[squistion]

And, again, I trust that Joe and his team talked about this ad infinitum. Nonetheless, I miss the Political Forum and come to these forums much, much less often.

Thank you GB. We discussed it internally seemingly like forever it seemed and arrived there after fully examining it the best we could. LIke everything we do, I've no idea if it's for sure the right answer. It's just how we think it's best to try and be. There are certainly some like you that visit the forums less. But web traffic has never been the goal of the forums. Thank you for the trust and all the best to you.

OK...so...if attracting the largest audience possible has never been the goal of the forums, I must respectfully ask:

What has been the goal of these forums?

 

[ignatiusjreilly]

Having tried to foster more amicable political discussion over at the Discord, I can attest to how difficult it is to have balanced political discussions. The media and social media lead us to experiencing different realities. We gravitate to sources that confirm our biases and those sources are showing us only part of the picture. They also tap into us emotionally and pit our tribes against each other. Trying to reconcile our picture with someone who is consuming a different picture is very time consuming, frustrating, and potentially impossible. Why?

1. We like being right. Our version is the right version and we need to convince the other side of that.
2. We don't take the time to understand things from the other person's perspective. We want to spout our opinion and be done with it.
3. We just don't have the time or energy. It's a difficult process.

Overall, the Discord is far more respectful and civil than the PSF, but that's because it is fairly one-sided. Me and others would like to have more conservative voices, but I'm not convinced it's even possible nowadays.

This is exactly how I feel. Ideally, you can have a wide range of viewpoints while also avoiding personal attacks, but if forced to choose between the two, I'd absolutely prioritize the latter. So I enjoy the Discord discussions even though it's definitely an echo chamber. I love it when people come in and push back against the majority opinion, but I also get that it's exhausting when everything you say gets challenged.

If any of the conservatives in this thread want to give it a shot, I promise I will do my best to engage thoughtfully with your opinions. (I should also add that @Captain Cranks does a good job of shutting down any arguments that veer into personal attacks)

 

[quick-hands]

two years on, I still think losing the political forum was ungood.

I wonder how the traffic was effected.

Bring back PSF

 

[glvsav37]

agree! like the McRib, we need to bring it back for a limited time, esp these next 2 weeks.

 

[The Gator]

No.

 

[Joe Schmo]

agree! like the McRib, we need to bring it back for a limited time, esp these next 2 weeks.

It was tried, we had a couple of threads that devolved into politics recently and they got whacked after a short time because we still can't act right towards each other. It'll never be different.

 

[Kiddnets]

Tough one as I do enjoy using this forum for most of topics out there - its sad that some of the biggest topics in the country today simply cant be discussed here. But as someone whose been a fan of this place from close to the start, I respect Joe and what hes built here. If it creates too much chaos then I get it - still love the place!

As an independent is there any place to read unbiased news and/or discuss without it being severely slanted from one side or the other?

 

[Dan Lambskin]

two years on, I still think losing the political forum was ungood.

I wonder how the traffic was effected.

Bring back PSF

 

[arrow1]

and longer without yoga pants...

 

[Harry Manback]

agree! like the McRib, we need to bring it back for a limited time, esp these next 2 weeks.

It was tried, we had a couple of threads that devolved into politics recently and they got whacked after a short time because we still can't act right towards each other. It'll never be different.

It's a natural consequence of instituting rules meant for kidergarteners instead of grown adults.

 

[Joe Schmo]

When grown adults can't resist flinging poo, they get treated like kindergarteners. The psf brought out the poo flingers.

 

[-OZ-]

I’d prefer to have it, and I’d continue to mostly ignore it. There are plenty of places to discus politics, most of which are trash.

 

[fruity pebbles]

A 24 hour election night thread would be cool imo. I mean it is the biggest world event and this one is particularly close. But know that’s not going to happen.

 

[Gally]

As an independent is there any place to read unbiased news and/or discuss without it being severely slanted from one side or the other?

I believe the answer is no. Everything has its own slant to it.

 

[ghostguy123]

I have to ask. Why is their no politics allowed around here? So what if it gets heated and there is some name calling.
I would think a forum like this could be a good place to learn and here different viewpoints.
Oh what do I know.

I never participated or even read hardly any of the political stuff in here.

 

[dkp993]

Nothing would be different or change. I lamented the loss of the PSF (warts and all) but honestly at this point wouldn’t vote to bring it back (not that Joe would ever consider it, just making a point).

 

[ghostguy123]

You have to be a real low-life piece of #### to get involved with politics

To get far into politics, agreed

 

[Mister CIA]

Too bad the PSF couldn’t follow the lead of the music threads here. IMO the music crowd here has always been the high water mark of interaction. A bunch of good natured folks that respectfully discuss their passion.

Rush s... Oops, nvm

 

[Leroy Hoard]

People act like their browser can only support one website. If you can sample more than one place for fantasy football advice you can do the same with this.

 

[urbanhack]

No.

yesno

 

[Cowboysfan8]

As an independent is there any place to read unbiased news and/or discuss without it being severely slanted from one side or the other?

Not that ive seen unfortunately

 

[fatness]

A 24 hour election night thread would be cool imo. I mean it is the biggest world event and this one is particularly close. But know that’s not going to happen.

I think an election night thread would be a terrible idea, started at the exact time people are most emotional and heated about politics. And there's no way the anger it shows and generates would die down even if the topic is locked at 24 hours. Some people are still angry about the 2020 election 4 years ago.

 

[fatness]

As an independent is there any place to read unbiased news and/or discuss without it being severely slanted from one side or the other?

I think the Associated Press is as close to unbiased as I've found.

I also like the feature of Google News where each article they feature usually has from 5 to 50 different source articles on the topic, so you can read several sources and points of view and try to piece together for yourself what the "real" story is.

 

[FreeBaGeL]

As an independent is there any place to read unbiased news and/or discuss without it being severely slanted from one side or the other?

ground.news is an interesting take on this. They don't write the news but they curate it with a rating on each article about the leaning/centrism of the source, and all sources quoted within the article.

 

[CletiusMaximus]

As an independent is there any place to read unbiased news and/or discuss without it being severely slanted from one side or the other?

Here's an old discussion with some ideas ... from the PSF!

News source ideas please

My primary source of national and world news is my apple news feed. I'm looking to add some more conservative or balanced viewpoints to my feed, which at the moment is WSJ plus a handful of (what feels like) more left leaning publications. The Atlantic, New Yorker, Guardian, Vox, Huffpo (yes, I...

forums.footballguys.com

 

[DA RAIDERS]

We had a guy rage quit over politics. He got into it with some coworkers with opposing views. His main line was: “just wait till papa trump is back”. He was teased HEAVILY. He couldn’t take it and walked out on the spot.

 

[Todem]

I really don’t give a **** to talk politics……it’s in our face in some form or another everywhere.

I come here to have spirited discussion about anything but that.

I mean….I rarely went into the Political forum.

And the few times I did I was banned for 30 days for absolutely nothing.

No thanks.

 

[Phil Elliott]

A 24 hour election night thread would be cool imo. I mean it is the biggest world event and this one is particularly close. But know that’s not going to happen.

I think an election night thread would be a terrible idea, started at the exact time people are most emotional and heated about politics. And there's no way the anger it shows and generates would die down even if the topic is locked at 24 hours. Some people are still angry about the 2020 election 4 years ago.

And the 2016 election also.

 

[BLOCKED_PUNT]

As a guy that was around here towards the end of the PSF and did post in there, it's likely a good thing that it's gone. I do remember being annoyed at several people and I'm sure there were people that were annoyed with me. I know that I did suggest that we could have a private opt in PSF but that was me trying to find a happy medium between the people that wanted a PSF and didn't want one (or to even look at one.) Politics, especially over the past decade, is too toxic and decisive. It's (primarily) a FF forum and I think we should mostly stick to that and if you really really wanted to talk politics you could find a place for that.

 

[the moops]

I had a few people on my ignore list when politics was a thing here. Since the banning those folks are no longer on my ignore list, and well, I actually enjoy their takes on many things.

 

[Runkle]

I have to ask. Why is their no politics allowed around here? So what if it gets heated and there is some name calling.
I would think a forum like this could be a good place to learn and here different viewpoints.
Oh what do I know.

I never participated or even read hardly any of the political stuff in here.

Dude, this board apparently can't handle a emoji. You think the people here are going to be able to withstand hearing "I disagree with you"?

 

[belljr]

Tough one as I do enjoy using this forum for most of topics out there - its sad that some of the biggest topics in the country today simply cant be discussed here. But as someone whose been a fan of this place from close to the start, I respect Joe and what hes built here. If it creates too much chaos then I get it - still love the place!

As an independent is there any place to read unbiased news and/or discuss without it being severely slanted from one side or the other?

Haven't you heard there is no such thing as an independent.........

 

[titusbramble]

I have to ask. Why is their no politics allowed around here? So what if it gets heated and there is some name calling.
I would think a forum like this could be a good place to learn and here different viewpoints.
Oh what do I know.

I never participated or even read hardly any of the political stuff in here.

Dude, this board apparently can't handle a emoji. You think the people here are going to be able to withstand hearing "I disagree with you"?

This

Also an election night thread would be an awful idea, if only because most of the states that count have already stated they're incapable of doing what the rest of the world can and counting the votes on the night, so what's the point