Is it possible for those who want to rant and rave , one political belief or the other, do so on Private Messengers to one another? It always bumps 'newbys' off the board, gives those new people the impression this isn't about 'RA and our concerns', about health etc. Please find another way to communicate your political agendas. Between politics and 'the german' ads. important issues are bumped down to the bottom.
Thanks, Lynda
There are a lot of OT threads here.....why would the political ones need to stop?Lynda. I do want to thank you for being one of the members to addressLorster, it may not be the fact that no one "wants" to post on your threads, it just my be that at the time you posted them there wasnt anybody that had anything to offer on those topics. There are alot of people that dont post something on EVERY thread on here. Most only post on threads that they have something to offer on. If you dont want to hear the rant and raveing about politics then dont read that thread, im still very confused on how hard of a concept it is to understand. Our lives revolve around more then just RA. This would be a VERY boring board if all we did was talk about the trials and tribulations of RA and it would depress alot of people. Talking about OT topics helps people get through the rough times that RA brings us.
Oh, and about the German posts....Since we have a VERY uninterested moderator we cant do anything about them so while they are highly annoying theres nothing we can do about them except ignore them< =text/>_popupControl(); I really don't feel that no one wanted to answer your posts Lori, just that no one was around at the time that had an answer for you. If I have an answer for a post I try to answer it. If I don't, well then I can't answer it. If a post has dropped to page 2, then go to page 2, answer the post, and it bumps back to page 1 where people can see it right off the bat.
As far as the OT stuff goes...RA touches each and every aspect of our lives. I find that most OT posts aren't medically related but do somehow involve RA. Like Shannon said, it is a very simple concept of not reading a post that is OT if it bothers you. We can't control what peoplepost, but we can control ourselves and what we read.
If a person feels that the political threads do not belong here, then maybe send a PM to the author of the thread and ask them their reason for putting a thread like that on an RA board. Let the author and respondents debate on the subject in the post and keep the post on task.
With as many people that visit this board coming from many walks of life, it is virtually impossible to please everyone all of the time. I feel we have to be willing to make some compromises so that everyone can get what they need from the board.
Lori, you are one of the most active posters on the OT political threads. You have stated it fills a need for distracting you from pain. That sounds like a very valid point, and I think the OT posts are very often therapeutic for all of us.
We are multi-dimensional people, and hopefully have many varied interests. That's healthy. It is also healthy to share opinions, personal stories, humor, and things unrelated specifically to our health. But in reality, it is all related!
My only concern lately has been the negativity directed at each other. We should be able to disagree with each other politically, without being nasty or hurtful. There's been a way too much nastiness here recently.
I think we're diffusing the negativity by going 'seperate but equal' and those who post on both being careful in how they post things without resorting to name calling and what not.
Lori -
I had a response to the NSAID's post but haven't had enought time to formulate a decent response. Still haven't. There was something in there that got me thinking (oh, noooo!) that I needed to research a bit.
Keep posting RA/AI related stuff.
Pip
About the German posts -
Maybe they'd drop faster if SOME PEOPLE didn't open the thread. Geez, we KNOW what they're about after we accidentally open the first one.
Pip
Is there anyway to figure out who's opening the ** threads? Cuz, if there was and people knew...they'd stop opening them.
Pip
Is that right? Just opening the thread keeps it around longer? I thought if no one posted it would just keep moving down the line. It's true that those of us who have seen the German posts before wouldn't bother opening them again, but I'll bet there are many others who didn't know that just opening a thread to read it would keep it active. I'm still not sure that's right. Just viewing a thread does not bump it...you have to reply to it. That's what I thought. Opening a spam thread bumps up the read count, and thus encourages the spammer to post again (because people keep reading his/her posts) Except that spam bots (which these most likely are) do not care who reads it, they post anyway. We have gone WEEKS before without reading the spam, and it still comes back. All they care about is the fact that their bot can freely post on a forum that isn't getting rid of them, or banning them. No matter what we do, they will post. It's something the admin has to address. In other words, we're screwed in the spam department.If OT threads are such a problem for some people then why not have a different forum, just for OT threads? Just a suggestion. It is true that some RA related stuff does get lost in the traffic, but if we all know this then try reading the first two pages to make sure you haven't missed anything (if you have time of course) if the OT keeps people happy, then I think it is OK, as we all suffer enough already without suffering anymore. Janie.XX
I guess I am worried about new people and the impression they are getting. Some of the OT (political) stuff is pretty nasty, and if I was new...I guess I would do what other new people have done, and leave.
We have to remember we are catering to the new people that have just been dx, and are very scared, and need support. That is the main reason I came, and others have as well. If they see that we are nasty to eachother and not very supportive on these OT, they will not stay, which in turn eliminates our focus on helping to educate and sympathize with the newby.
Well, my humble opinion is that the problem with the OT Political threads is that politics is one of those subjects that people feel so passionately about that it inevitably will cause hurt feelings along the thread. You know the saying, two things you don't discuss with friends, something like your income and your politics. Again, just my humble opinion.it wouldn't be so bad if the posters in those threads could keep their disagreements confined to those threads but their nasty interactions spill over to every encounter on every thread. I love a good political discussin in the appropriate time and place. A forum for the support of people with rheumatoid arthritis is not it. RA questions get lost.OH and RELIGION, that's the other thing you don't debate/discuss as it is another subject about which people generally feel very passionate.Please see, the 'newest post, asking if people want politics on this board and read my response. Thanks, Lynda