I agree, and those arguments don’t seem to be at all about politics.
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People losing their jobs/livelihoods because of government choices, thereby diminishing their food choices and opportunities, is also about government policy, and so it becomes a political issue.
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There’s no way “current affairs” aren’t political, unless you keep “current affairs” to the weather (oops, recent weather conditions, not climate change) or sports (oops, not gender of athletes), or perhaps family news that has nothing to do with politics (oops, some news might).
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Dining Across the Divide is an interesting recurring column in the British newspaper The Guardian.
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I always enjoy reading all of. your posts Digga!
We used to be among the few countries on earth that could have two people, at politically polar ends, still be friends.
I respectfully disagree. Fundamentally one’s politics are merged with one’s values, and this means that while people can be friends despite disagreements on some points things fall apart where the divisions are based on the humanity of others (or the rights of said humans/ non-humans).
Attitude matters but I think the “once upon a time” needs to go. Discourse has become more heated but that’s because the stakes have become such that some people struggle to look the other way.
What I do see here, though, is the American exceptionalism that many Americans across the political spectrum spectrum share.
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I am going to delete the recent political posts in this topic.
I personally don’t disagree that food and politics are intertwined. So is just about everything else with politics. But our rationale of the no politics rule is very simple:
1/ We don’t have the moderator resources to deal with the arguments.
1a/ This is a hobby so we aren’t going to resource the site at a level to adequately deal with the arguments.
2/ We don’t want to deal with the political arguments.
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Do you have any guidelines for us, so that we might know what is probably acceptable as “intertwining” and/or where the line is drawn as to what’s unacceptably political. I accept, of course, that this is inherently tricky and it may be the case that “folk know when a line is crossed”.
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My recommendations are also quite simple. Imagine we are all at a meet up that’s focused on talking about food. Try to avoid to be that person who stray way too far and have people listen to something they didn’t come for.
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Good guidance, ho. Thx
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Maybe we could amend Brecht: “First feed the face organic fruit and veg, then talk right and wrong.”
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“Erst kommt das Fressen, dann die Moral.”
Also fitting these days, the famous Max Liebermann quote “Ich kann nicht soviel fressen wie ich kotzen möchte.”
Now I have to look at the “What’s on your mind” threads…
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I suggest you curb your expectations. It’s entirely drama-free — which is why it’s one of the more popular/populous threads.
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The ignore/mute user function is very helpful in avoiding a lot of baloney.
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Amen to that. For those that don’t otherwise know:
Click on your avatar in the top right corner of the website
click on ‘Profile’ (the one that looks like a little person)
click on ‘Preferences’ (the one that looks like a gear)
along the top, click on ‘Users’ (the one that looks like multiple people)
There is an ‘Ignore’ and ‘Mute’ list. ‘Mute’ means you won’t see personal messages, or chats, and you won’t be notified of this user posting in threads. You’ll still be able to see their posts. ‘Ignore’ is like mute, but this user’s posts will be hidden from you as well. (you always have the option to view them if you want).
Thus far, I have had to put exactly ONE user in my ignore list, an obvious troll account that kept trying to agitate the fecal matter. I suspect others also have this person on their lists.
People here are, by and large, pretty reasonable and civil. There are certainly points of disagreement, both large and small, but folks seem to be ok with that. On the rare occasion some discussion begins to get a bit heated, everyone seems mature enough to realize that this is probably not the forum to get too deep into upsetting, highly subjective topics, and removes themselves from the discussion. Which, so far as I can tell, is just about the best behavior one could hope for in an online community.
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I have also only ever put one account on ignore. I don’t think they post any more - whether that’s been their choice or theyve been banned, I dunno.
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I’m at an all time high of 5 ignored accounts.
That has made all the difference. I should have done it 3 years ago.
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The facility is great. You gotta use discretion not to overuse but ignoring the few who just irritate the shit out of you really does make the difference in enjoying any forum. I wish Tripadvisor had it - if I could have just “ignored” the troll, I wouldnt have felt I had to stop posting.
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I have only one person on ignore also. There was a second one, but I think that poster is gone.
