Gun Threads Have The Same Results As....

[palm grease]

Political & Religious threads.
I wouldn't visit a Sports Car Forum looking for percussion conversation. I feel as if the topic (here at TB) is taboo. It's an issue that many of us feel very strongly about....pro and con. I think that's great! I also think that a Bass Forum isn't really the place to discuss guns. I'd love to have some younger, more impressionable students, family members, budding players visit a site like TB, however, every other week OT houses a thread about XYZ gun law being passed or a discussion about a crime committed. That type of thread often becomes very heated and sometimes so derailed that TBs members discuss how nicely this gun or that rifle shoots or how they carry it, or the best place to keep it in their home.... not topics I'd encourage a younger member of my family, student base etc to learn about.... at least not on a bass forum. There are other places these likes and dislikes can be discussed, I don't see why TB should be one of those.

If it's the decision of the TB administration to allow such topics to be discussed, maybe the lobby is a better place then OT.

This is just a suggestion. I hope it falls on open ears.

Thanks for reading!

Regards

[Phat Ham]

Perhaps create a sub-forum of OT for topics like these that end up becoming religious or political so people can still talk about them without cluttering up OT?

[::::BASSIST::::]

I agree, the topic of guns has no place on TB.

[Steve Clark]

Originally Posted by ::::BASSIST::::

I agree, the topic of guns has no place on TB.

+1. I do find them a little disturbing.

[BlackLake]

I will agree too....nothing good comes out of gun discussions here.

[neptoon]

i love weapons...i do find it rather ridiculous to see some of the discussions that are started in OT - which is why i leave that box unchecked in my preferences for when i click the 'new posts' button...heck, i rarely even go to the lobby for the same reason...too much junk to slog through...

[Thor]

I am against arbitrarily restricting free speech. If nothing else, just
on principle. Free speech, open discourse of ideas and
access to information is the cornerstone of open democratic
societies.

That being said, I purposefully stay out of gun threads, religious threads and (when they were allowed) political threads. I have nothing to add, no one to persuade and some
topics, like what brand of 'palm grease' I use, are just personal
and I choose not to discuss them on the internet.

I would like to see them in the Lobby. Not that the Lobby should be the exit before the dump or anything. That solves the problem of students and so forth while not overly restricting members speech.

[neptoon]

+1...that's why i don't even visit those subforums...

[mike_v_s]

I have a bit of a different take. I think the results of political and religious threads are the fault of the participants, not the subject. Same thing with the gun threads. Rational discusion CAN be had, but a few people seem to have their opinion and are unable to contain it with any civility.

My solution is to allow the previous three subjects and just ban those that can't seem to conduct themselves in the threads after X number of violations.

As far as shielding anyone from this site, I'd think that you might be doing them a disservice based on your personal politics. YMMV.

Mike (don't own a gun and have never fired one)

[bongomania]

Free speech is great in general but on a bass forum I think the membership and the bandwidth are better served by not allowing every random hoser to grind their axes about non-bass related stuff.

I don't know about banning gun talk, but I would seriously and strongly support the idea of all OT being moved to the Lobby. I also approve of recent moderator actions to crack down on repeat offenders (in terms of people who flame or start fires); I just wish there was a budget for the mods.

[mike_v_s]

Originally Posted by bongomania

I also approve of recent moderator actions to crack down on repeat offenders (in terms of people who flame or start fires); I just wish there was a budget for the mods.

+1...but there's been at least one innocent victim in that crackdown.

Mike

[Chris Fitzgerald]

Originally Posted by mike_v_s

I have a bit of a different take. I think the results of political and religious threads are the fault of the participants, not the subject. Same thing with the gun threads. Rational discusion CAN be had, but a few people seem to have their opinion and are unable to contain it with any civility.

+1

[Mark Latimour]

Originally Posted by mike_v_s

I have a bit of a different take. I think the results of political and religious threads are the fault of the participants, not the subject. Same thing with the gun threads. Rational discusion CAN be had, but a few people seem to have their opinion and are unable to contain it with any civility.

My solution is to allow the previous three subjects and just ban those that can't seem to conduct themselves in the threads after X number of violations.

As far as shielding anyone from this site, I'd think that you might be doing them a disservice based on your personal politics. YMMV.

Mike (don't own a gun and have never fired one)

Originally Posted by Chris Fitzgerald

+1

You might appreciate my thoughts in this thread: Lightening up on the Lobby and OT - moderation of behaviour vs moderation of topics

[palm grease]

bump... opinions pls on your views about gun threads on TB.

I feel that gun topics and issues are more welcomed and less trolled in a forum such as: http://nationalgunforum.com/forums/index.php .... this is a national gun forum that caters to sportsmen, collectors and the likes. You wont find any pictures, sales and suggestions of any bass gear, because......well, it's a gun forum.

This is my humble attempt at keeping Talk Bass a Bass Players site with Bass topics and our normal, light hearted Off Topic convos.

Again, thanks for reading.

[mike_v_s]

Again, the problem isn't the topic (I think a light hearted discussion can be had by people who collect things about said collection), it's a small percentage of the participants with little to no self control.

Mike

[palm grease]

Originally Posted by mike_v_s

Again, the problem isn't the topic (I think a light hearted discussion can be had by people who collect things about said collection), it's a small percentage of the participants with little to no self control.

Mike

there is a bit of truth to that, however..... mentions of guns for sale from TB members and light hearted converstaion about wanting to shoot up your school is only present due to the topic.

on more then one occasion guns have been offered for sale and money has been offered for "collectors" peices.... this has nothing to do with self control, it has to do with the topic and the customary exchange of bass gear here on TB.

Mike, is TB in the business of Gun Trafficking?

[mike_v_s]

Originally Posted by palm grease

there is a bit of truth to that, however..... mentions of guns for sale from TB members and light hearted converstaion about wanting to shoot up your school is only present due to the topic.

I must have missed that post, but I'd imagine that a mention of wanting to do some harm with a gun would result in a ban here and at the forum you recommended for gun discussions. I'd also imagine that people dumb enough to bring that up aren't going to be restricted by the allowed forum topics.

on more then one occasion guns have been offered for sale and money has been offered for "collectors" peices.... this has nothing to do with self control, it has to do with the topic and the customary exchange of bass gear here on TB.

Mike, is TB in the business of Gun Trafficking?

This site has a for sale forum specifically for "Other Stuff" that is not bass related. I am not aware of the laws, but if it is legal to purchase a firearm from a private party via the internet and all of the legal steps are taken, then I view it as a private transaction of goods and services, not "Gun Trafficking".

On the other hand, if paul were to decide he did not want a particular item sold through his site, it is his business but it doesn't mean that all discussion of said item has to be restricted.

Mike

[pbagley]

Originally Posted by palm grease

Mike, is TB in the business of Gun Trafficking?

I didn't realize that there was gun trafficing going on here. I'd have never suspected there was anything other than private transactions for legally owned property. Next thing I know you'll be telling us about narcotics and slave trading...

Or were you exagerating to make a point?

Opinion - I don't come here to look for anything but talk about basses, bands, and the music business. I don't expect to find posts on race cars, guns, raquet sports, or any other hobbies.

But it does not bother me at all if someone posts about what ever topic is on their mind. I can skip all the things I don't care about pretty easily, or I can choose to look at what's being said on some random topic. It's my choice.

As an old fashioned liberal (Power to the People) I support your free speach, and I support your freedom of choice to ignore anything you want. Wouldn't it be nice if we all respected each other, including our differing opinions on a variety of subjects?

Getting back to bass now,

- Paul

[palm grease]

ok... fair post, Mike.

[mike_v_s]

Originally Posted by palm grease

ok... fair post, Mike.

Thanks, man. See? Intelligent discussion is possible, despite the fact that my particiption has lowered the average IQ of those involved.

Mike