Political Posts

[Green Man]

I would suggest that there be some guide lines for purely political posts.

We all have different opinions on politics, and I think we need to be aware that the one thing we do have in common is a love for Wildlife and Gardening. We come here because of this passion and that is the common thread between all of us.

I'm not exactly sure how to tackle this but I think that we should all agree to temper the politics so we can enjoy why we come here and benefit from the dialog, information and passion for gardening. My fear is that our passion for the political will distract from our love of the things that bring us here. There are plenty of political sites that one can rant in........

Just a suggestion. Any feedback please post......

Greenie

[suunto]

Totally agree, Green Man...

[doccat5]

Good idea, Green Man. I agree also.

[joepyeweed]

I agree that politics tends to muddy up a good conversation. And I like to see this forum stay away from politics. However, politics and conservation intersect frequently, so perhaps we could start a forum strictly for conservation related politics?

[Cirsium]

Green Man, thank you for bringing this to our attention.

Both political and religious discussions are off topic for these forums. I thought it had been covered in the Forum Rules or elsewhere, but I'm unable to find it at the present time. Besides being the "hot button" type of topics that they can be, there are some technical reasons for excluding those type of discussions.

We are focused on keeping the forum topics as close to our mission statement as we can.

Wildlife Gardeners promotes environmentally sound practices to preserve biodiversity. We do so by encouraging discussions of the preservation, restoration and establishment of native flora and fauna AND sustainable gardening practices. The Best science will prevail. We are an environmental tutelage and advocacy organization dedicated to fostering a love of ecosystems and education in the areas of environmental science and natural history.

We hope everyone will understand our desire to stay focused on our mission, and will respect our desire to stay away from political and religious discussions. There are plenty of other websites available to engage in those topics.

[Stoloniferous]

I'm afraid that the nature of these forums is ideological. We're not just gardeners - we all have certain strong philosophies about gardening that are going to make political and religious topics at times unavoidable.

[PineStraw]

Originally Posted by joepyeweed

However, politics and conservation intersect frequently, so perhaps we could start a forum strictly for conservation related politics?

I think joepyeweed has a great idea.

[Stoloniferous]

Indeed! Might be worth trying.

[Sage]

Originally Posted by joepyeweed

I agree that politics tends to muddy up a good conversation. And I like to see this forum stay away from politics. However, politics and conservation intersect frequently, so perhaps we could start a forum strictly for conservation related politics?

Good point. In the areas of wildlife and sustainable gardening there are sure to be hot button issues in the public arena and though riskier than a discussion on "canning", there will be an inevitable overlap and need for discussion and education.

Possibilities:
1) One and only place for these discussions
2) In each likely area, a dedicated thread

I think #2 would work best. Under "Reduce that carbon footprint", for example, a thread for discussion of bills, pending legislation, etc., would be both informative and education, which should fit in well with WG's mission statement.

[Stoloniferous]

I think to minimize forum fragmentation, as well as work for our moderators, the forums ought to stay as-is until political and religious discussions become a real problem.