Politics in General Chat

[wjrasmussen]

Noticed a lot more political or close enough in General chat lately.  It is annoying.  What can be done about it?

[biostem]

The quickest step is to ignore the particular user.  The long term solution, since political topics are against the Code of Conduct, (outlined here under "Content Guidelines"), is to report the offender.  If that person is receptive to feedback, you could point them to the Code of Conduct, but in my experience, it usually just inflames the situation...

[Snarky]

I do not read general chat much even though it is up.  I keep an eye on LFG because I am always searching for the next horrid pug story.

 

If I did see something (and sometimes I do) I will ask people not to do that.  Which works about 10% time.  Then I will ask really nice.  That also has limited success, but it sometimes works.  Then I ignore it for 1-2 min.  If it keeps going I will hack up a ball of snark and lob it. 

 

Now, if it is something really beyond casual disregard for the code we agreed to I will mention we do not need to do that and report it.  Everything is in context.

 

I do know what you mean though.  The local town council is considering placing more guards at the blood banks. I encouraged a bunch of protesters and used a few other tricks I know.  Unfortunately, politics just ruins people's lives.

[honoroit]

people who dislike politics tend to have off view, and dont like that coming up in a forum where theyre exposed.

 

the bigot, the fascist, the twisted to abuse - those that foster unkindess of thought and work that to belief or self definition...

 

theres a segment of those - at least on excelsior.

[cranebump]

Our problem, I think (at least here in the U.S.), is that, for way too many people, their political view is so intertwined with their sense of identity that criticizing their views - and, sometimes, the politicians who embody those views - is tantamount to attacking them personally. That sense of identity, supported by targeted (sometimes self-selected) messaging, has expanded to foment rabid ideological fringe groups, each of which is convinced that the fringe on the other side is the harbinger of destruction. Because they're always yelling about everything, and because our media rewards noise over substance, they squeaky-wheel their way into prominence. 

 

As someone in the middle of all this, I get really tired of that. You're not the solution. They're not the problem. Your scorched-earth, zero-sum approach is. Because of that, when it comes to solving real problems in this system predicated on compromise, we're just spinning on the mouse wheel.

Edited May 23, 2023 by cranebump

[InvaderStych]

1 hour ago, honoroit said:

people who dislike politics tend to have off view, and dont like that coming up in a forum where theyre exposed.

 

 

Some of us who actually do care about the state of politics and are politically/socially involved in our real lives also want a place where we can escape that for a time.

 

I keep my politics out of my video games; I expect the same of others. 😉

 

I do my best to keep it off the forums as well, but I've certainly slipped from time to time. I'm not perfect. Far from it as a point fact. At best I am a very bad person who is trying to do good things.

Edited May 23, 2023 by InvaderStych

[Nyghtmaire]

3 minutes ago, InvaderStych said:

At best I am a very bad person who is trying to do good things.

 

 

[Techwright]

Start a new tab.  Leave General out of it.  95% of the problem goes away until some knucklehead decides to stick it in Looking For Group or Help and the player base usually deals with them redirects them after a minute or so.

 

I actually do this on all my characters.  It's part of the startup process just like visiting the P2W for Sands of Mu.   I start a new tab I name "LFG".  I put into it:

 

• Looking for Group
• Hero event announcements
• Villain event announcements
• Praetorian event announcements
• and a very few, low-traffic other channels important to me. 

General stays far away in the original tab, and is there still should I ever need it.  I've never missed it.  If I need to ask something, I go over to the Help Channel tab.  

 

This goes beyond politics.  Sometimes it's just peace of mind.  Some of you whippersnappers (who are still on my lawn!) can read and type responses at speeds approaching The Flash.  Me, not so much so.  Having a relatively clear chat screen allows me to focus on what's important at that moment, especially in team and league action.  If I've got a dozen channels spewing text at me, I'm stopping to scroll back up to see what I missed because of all the traffic.

 

[0th Power]

I don't ever look at general so I don't see this at all.  As far as the discussion goes, it is fairly easy to have a civil discussion of politics with one other person.  The moment another person joins the discussion there is an imbalance and all civility disappears.  I personally like talking to people with the same view, similar views and different views as long as its 1-1 and civil.  In a public forum or in a open channel on a long dead super hero MMO, I think not.

[ZemX]

1 hour ago, InvaderStych said:

I keep my politics out of my video games; I expect the same of others

 

Not talking about the "machinery" of politics is easy.  Campaigns, candidates, votes, etc.  But social issues are not so easy to separate.  If someone in General is discussing the sexual orientation of a comic book character, for instance, to some that is politics and to others it is just... life.

[cranebump]

Chiming on 

28 minutes ago, Techwright said:

Start a new tab.  Leave General out of it.  95% of the problem goes away until some knucklehead decides to stick it in Looking For Group or Help and the player base usually deals with them redirects them after a minute or so.

 

I actually do this on all my characters.  It's part of the startup process just like visiting the P2W for Sands of Mu.   I start a new tab I name "LFG".  I put into it:

 

• Looking for Group
• Hero event announcements
• Villain event announcements
• Praetorian event announcements
• and a very few, low-traffic other channels important to me. 

General stays far away in the original tab, and is there still should I ever need it.  I've never missed it.  If I need to ask something, I go over to the Help Channel tab. 

 

Same here. That's generally a good solution.:-)

[Belazarius]

Yesterday it started by someone reacting to an announcement and others reacted to the reaction etc...to the point that it looked like some famous twitch stream chat (exagerated). I could not keep an eye on the lfg/help anymore. I just clicked my 'help' tab which only listed the lfg/help/tells discussions : problem solved and then had a good end of the day.

Edited May 23, 2023 by Belazarius

[InvaderStych]

17 minutes ago, ZemX said:

Not talking about the "machinery" of politics is easy.  Campaigns, candidates, votes, etc.  But social issues are not so easy to separate.  If someone in General is discussing the sexual orientation of a comic book character, for instance, to some that is politics and to others it is just... life.

 

This very much depends on the tenor of the discussion; I should not have to elaborate to adults the difference between a casual discussion of a comic book character and a problematic and often bigoted discussion of sexual orientation or any other individual's characteristics or traits.  I know you know the difference, my friend. 🍻

 

Sexual orientation should not be politicized.  It saddens and infuriates me that I will not see the day in my lifetime when it finally is not.

 

When the tenor of the chat treads into that territory that is where it goes too far.

[ZemX]

16 minutes ago, InvaderStych said:

Sexual orientation should not be politicized.

 

Would that it were so.  Just saying that whenever I hear a complaint about political discussion or politics in games, half the time it is something like this it seems.

[d4verman]

10 hours ago, wjrasmussen said:

Noticed a lot more political or close enough in General chat lately.  It is annoying.  What can be done about it?

I haven't noticed, but I really hope it's not becoming a trend or something. 

[Skyhawke]

General gets taken off when a character pops out of the creator. It's just part of my new character setup.  I'm sure there's some fun and frivolity there, but I've only seen it as a cesspool of garbage thoughts, both political and otherwise. 

[Clave Dark 5]

Yeah, I remove it from my chat once it becomes a problem.  I have reported some of it too, and also ignored a few.  I really should remember to put one star ratings on them so I can avoid them too, like I did with ToT leeches back during Halloween.

[FFFF]

3 hours ago, cranebump said:

Our problem, I think (at least here in the U.S.), is that, for way too many people, their political view is so intertwined with their sense of identity that criticizing their views - and, sometimes, the politicians that embody those views - is tantamount to attacking them personally. That sense of identity, supported by targeted (sometimes self-selected) messaging, has expanded to foment rabid ideological fringe groups, each of which is convinced that the fringe on the other side is the harbinger of destruction. Because they're always yelling about everything, and because our media rewards noise over substance, they squeaky-wheel their way into prominence. 

 

As someone in the middle of all this, I get really tired of that. You're not the solution. They're not the problem. Your scorched-earth, zero-sum approach is. Because of that, when it comes to solving real problems in this system predicated on compromise, we're just spinning on the mouse wheel.

 

I think this is absolutely right. Many years ago, I used to work at a company where there were people of all sorts of political leanings. You'd get a sense of who they were because they'd note that they attended church (might be a conservative) or they volunteer at a homeless shelter (progressive maybe?) However, political discussions and opinions were actively discouraged, and people generally respected that. Discussions were either about work or family-safe topics like sports, school or plans for the weekend. I worked with people of all sorts of political affiliations for years and politics just didn't come up (very often), and to this day, I'm not positive about the political leanings of some of my former coworkers.

 

Advance to 2023 and you have (in the US at least) a subsection of the population who not only can't shut up about politics but actively tries to engage everyone around them about politics. It's like they can't help themselves and are totally oblivious that it's exhausting for everyone around them.

 

This is a game, so for me, it's a quick click of the ignore button for offenders. Don't pollute my escapist fantasy by bloviating opinions I don't want to hear.

[wjrasmussen]

18 minutes ago, Clave Dark 5 said:

Yeah, I remove it from my chat once it becomes a problem.  I have reported some of it too, and also ignored a few.  I really should remember to put one star ratings on them so I can avoid them too, like I did with ToT leeches back during Halloween.

I am tired of doing that. Why should we be forced to deal with it that way?

[JasperStone]

Can we save our chat/tab setup?

 

It is part of my new character setup to separate out all the chats into specific tabs

[Snarky]

5 hours ago, honoroit said:

people who dislike politics tend to have off view, and dont like that coming up in a forum where theyre exposed.

 

the bigot, the fascist, the twisted to abuse - those that foster unkindess of thought and work that to belief or self definition...

 

theres a segment of those - at least on excelsior.

I have followed politics for years.  I do not like it brought up because 1) terms we agree to. 2) It fosters great disharmony.

 

Is my view "off"  Probably to about 40% or more of America.  yes.  

 

I have (and I had no idea how hard this would be...) just started studying German. As part of that I am perusing the culture.  Learning a few things.  Do you know how much education Germans have on pre WW2 and WW2 history?  A lot.  By the time they get to high school they're like "here we go again"  I knew that they banned certain symbols and pro Nazi things.  I had no idea they educated every citizen on the evils of it for twelve years.  Zwolf is twelve in Deutsch.  Such a fun word.  

 

I do not want to educate (and bore) those in this community on any of the topics you brought up.  IRL I (lazily) stand against all of them.  

 

The bottom line is Politics should not be brought up in game or on the forums due to the near immediate (and, in game, unresolvable) disagreements it brings up.  I am sure this is why nearly every (every?) MMORPG has rules against topics such as there.

[Nyghtmaire]

4 minutes ago, Snarky said:

I do not want to educate (and bore) those in this community on any of the topics you brought up.  IRL I (lazily) stand against all of them. 

Agree. Time to drag out George Bernard Shaw’s apocryphal quote: Never wrestle with a pig. You just get filthy and the pig enjoys it. 

[Neiska]

I have a solution. It's not a good solution, but a solution nonetheless.

 

I say we put @Snarky in office, against his will if necessary. He doesn't care enough to be bribed, he can't be intimidated, and no one can claim he is particularly favors anyone over another. It would be the best "Pug group" story of all time out of any MMO anywhere, and he should be kept busy enough we won't have to keep putting up with his undead self lurking here on the forums. (A long shot, I know. But we can hope.) And as a bonus, his cabinet picks should be very interesting, if not highly entertaining. Not to mention the meetings with other world leaders, interviews, and news conferences.

 

I even have a few campaign slogans to submit for his consideration -

 

"The Nosferatu cares about you! Vote Snarky 2024!"

"Don't settle for a lesser evil. Snarky 2024!"

"Why vote differently? Most politicians are almost dead anyway. Vote Undead to see a change!"

"Tired of the tax bite? Wait till you get a load of this nominee!"

"Snarky. Guaranteed minimum effort. Still better than the rest!"

Edited May 23, 2023 by Neiska

[Snarky]

20 minutes ago, Neiska said:

I have a solution. It's not a good solution, but a solution nonetheless.

 

I say we put @Snarky in office, against his will if necessary. He doesn't care enough to be bribed, he can't be intimidated, and no one can claim he is particularly favors anyone over another. It would be the best "Pug group" story of all time out of any MMO anywhere, and he should be kept busy enough we won't have to keep putting up with his undead self lurking here on the forums. (A long shot, I know. But we can hope.) And as a bonus, his cabinet picks should be very interesting, if not highly entertaining. Not to mention the meetings with other world leaders, interviews, and news conferences.

 

I even have a few campaign slogans to submit for his consideration -

 

"The Nosferatu cares about you! Vote Snarky 2024!"

"Don't settle for a lesser evil. Snarky 2024!"

"Why vote differently? Most politicians are almost dead anyway. Vote Undead to see a change!"

"Tired of the tax bite? Wait till you get a load of this nominee!"

"Snarky. Guaranteed minimum effort. Still better than the rest!"

What?  What did you say?  Madman!

[honoroit]

i just dont want to encounter the worst of right wing America, masquerading as thought police, of spewing diatribe, anywhere.

 

talk about whatever, just don't try to rez a lost war.

 

such presence demeans our community.