Political Threads on Twins Daily - Policy Update, Please Read

[Brock Beauchamp]

For the past few years, the Twins Daily moderator staff has put as much effort and thought into political threads and how to manage them as they've put into any other section of the site, yet political threads are low single digit percentage points of our posts.

 

We've also had difficulty with some other, higher profile sections of the site. We have decided to focus on those higher profile sections of the site, as they involve the core mission of Twins Daily.

 

Unfortunately, that means we will be shutting down all political threads for the time being. It is unlikely that this is a permanent solution - though it may be - but we need more time to develop a strategy how to moderate the innate argumentative and vitriolic nature of political threads in 21st century America.

 

This was the recommendation from the moderator staff but they're not the people who made the ultimate decision to do this: it was me. If you have any questions, suggestions, or anything constructive to say, please feel free to private message me at any time.

 

Hopefully, in the future we will develop a better system to prevent the bickering, insults, and downright nastiness that has consumed these threads for the past few years and, again, if you have suggestions how to do that, you know where to find me.

[Vanimal46]

Candlelight vigil starts at 12 PM...

 

Even though the threads got heated at times, I learned a lot from our community members over the years. I'll miss them.

[PseudoSABR]

I'll miss them. The timing seems rather sudden.  I certainly didn't find the vitriol outsized recently.

[USMCTwin]

I understand and respect your decision and sympathize with the tough job of moderating them. I will also greatly miss the political threads. Even though I didn't post frequently it became a place I knew I could encounter other world views without the level of vitriol that you find on twitter or other sites. I do hope a solution can be found in the future and that we can work on having better dialogue. 

 

Shout out to the moderators! I appreciate your hard work.

[howeda7]

Though I only participated occasionally I actually found them very civil relative to most of what you see online. I'm a bit surprised by this.

[Mr. Brooks]

Incredibly disappointed.

I come here as much for the discussions about real life issues as I do for the sports, sports, sports, is your whole life just sports discussion.

 

This will defintely result in less participation for me.

 

It saddens me that people couldn't moderate themselves, but given our current political climate, not surprising, I guess.

 

I understand the moderators do a lot of work for little or no pay, so I can't fault the decision if it's becoming too much.

[Brock Beauchamp]

 

I'll miss them. The timing seems rather sudden.  I certainly didn't find the vitriol outsized recently.

I'm disappointed as well but prioritization was needed. 

 

I hope this is temporary, and suspect it will be. We just need to get a few other things sorted and then I'd like to re-open the subject once we feel like we're on more stable ground.

[Craig Arko]

Wise decision.

[Musk21]

 

Though I only participated occasionally I actually found them very civil relative to most of what you see online. I'm a bit surprised by this.

 

Agreed...Surprising and disappointing. Hope these very informative threads can return. I've been more of a reader/lurker, but also thought the threads were relatively civil.

[gunnarthor]

I just wanna firebomb someone now ...

[Badsmerf]

Why now? The election season is starting, and this is the only place I'm able to voice opinions and read others' opinions. The baseball forum is too saturated and dry for me. Baseball is only a small part of my life these days, I check box scores and gamecast frequently but have only watched ~5 games this year. Can we bring them back after the trade deadline? This isn't just line making a trade... Or addition by subtraction. Did you at least get cash considerations?

[Badsmerf]

We've also had difficulty with some other, higher profile sections of the site. We have decided to focus on those higher profile sections of the site, as they involve the core mission of Twins Daily.

 

For some reason I feel dirty. Like, Johan Santana trade, or Luis Castillo dump for cash. Words matter Brock. You think some parts of the forum are better than others.... I'm not gonna say it, but you know deep down what it means. I will not be silenced! Unless you ban me... Tyranny I say!

[Mike Sixel]

Both disappointed, and not. Good luck with the other issues, even if I don't know what they are!

[biggentleben]

Many have said what I would, essentially. I enjoy the fact that discussions here can incorporate opinions of difference (in general) without getting nasty. As the Twins are my second (and sometimes 3rd) team, this shuts down a significant portion of where I participate on the forum - at least actively.

[PseudoSABR]

Wish we still had this place to post about today's tragedy.