The old thread was over 5,000 posts. As many of you know, threads of that size bog down the server when they're opened because every post is queued up in the background at the time.
And because there appears to be some confusion about what is and is not against the rules here, here's a reminder:
It's not against the rules to make disparaging remarks about politicians, political parties or political organizations here.
It is against the rules to make disparaging remarks about other members.
Examples:
Not against the forum rules:
I think the Republicans/Democrats (etc.) are nuts for rallying behind Newt/Obama.
Warning, infraction and possibly time-out worthy (depending on your history of breaking forum rule 4):
You/your beliefs are ignorant!
Everyone here has the right to believe what they want. But no one has the right to be hostile toward another member because of their beliefs, just like no one here has the right to be hostile toward anyone else here just in general. Doing so is a violation of forum rule four.
Now what should you do if someone breaks that rule? Well, you have a few options (most of these are covered in the FAQ which can be viewed by hitting the FAQ link at the top of any page):
1. Report the post by hitting the triangle with the exclamation point located in the post. All mods and admin will be notified of the reported post and we'll take action as our real lives allow.
Once you do that or if you'd just rather move on entirely...
2. Ignore the hostile post. That's right. You always have the option to not acknowledge another member's hostile post or engage that member at all. And how do you do that? Scroll past the post or...
3. Put the member making hostile posts on ignore. All you have to do to accomplish that is hit the Settings link at the top of any page and then choose Edit Ignore List in the column on the left side of the page. Enter the member name in the box that calls for it and hit the OK button.
What should you not do, regardless of who the hostile post is directed toward/which side of any political fence you're on? Quote the offending post for any reason. Not to argue with it, not to shoot back, not to agree with it, not to back it up, not to laugh with or at it. Not at all. Why? Because no matter your intention for quoting a hostile or rule-breaking post, doing so perpetuates the arguement and often creates needless grudges here.
Here's a tip I'd just like to offer in general:
There is a difference between forum rule 7 (the rule on how to properly post copyrighted material here) and posting links here for other reasons.
If anyone acts as if you have to post links to support your opinion, guess what? You don't have to. It's your opinion, regardless of what you've seen, heard, read, etc., that helped you form that opinion. Anyone posting here also has access to the internet and it's plethora of search engines and can look for themselves. No one here is obligated to 'fetch' any information for anyone else. And not providing links to support your opinion does not make it any less valid. Period.
And please remember that at the end of the day, we are all just ordinary people who are members of an internet forum. There are no superheros, supersleuths or supervillains here. Just people who choose to spend some of our time talking about subjects that interest us on a forum created for fun, conversation and sharing our interests as well as supporting Scott's business, findadeath.com.
Comments or questions? Check out that FAQ link I mentioned. Need further help with anything provided there? PM any moderator or Nick.
Thanks.