Rule 8 question

[KinKrow]

Okay, but that doesn't help me work out in advance what issues are allowed and what issues aren't. How is the American electoral college controversial enough to shut down a discussion? In the thread in question, yes, one poster gleefully abandoned reason, but that was one person.

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I've found that the TLDR is that the staff will spank you for discussing basically any real life political issues, so just keep it only in your stories.

The rule says twenty years, but it's really more like fifty years considering the twenty years seems to stretch to cover anything that caused tension within the past twenty years, including older shit.

It's no real use defending your point either, just keep your head down and avoid politics on QQ.

There doesn't seem to be large punishment except for repeat offenses, so it's... whatever, I guess.

It boils down to QQ being a smut site, and avoiding uncomfortable irl issues.

 

[TheGrumpiest]

Okay, but that doesn't help me work out in advance what issues are allowed and what issues aren't. How is the American electoral college controversial enough to shut down a discussion? In the thread in question, yes, one poster gleefully abandoned reason, but that was one person.

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Hoooh boy. Without delving too deeply into that particular mess, yes, the Electoral College is highly controversial and highly charged at present.

Basically, as I understand it, Rule 8 is more about "Don't turn a thread into a hyperpartisan shitstorm nuclear flamewar" than actively avoiding political issues. A lot of posters have some pretty obvious political slants to their stuff (Tananari comes to mind) and they don't really get called on it unless it creates a mess, which on occasion it does. If everyone stays reasonably chill, the mods don't get called, and Bjorn Stronginthearm is your uncle.

 

[WarGame]

Nothing important, but if anyone is bored and hanging around here (not even necessarily a mod, really), I could use an extra set of eyes on something.

For context, there was discussion of a plan for a teenager (who in the words of the QM "knew fuck all about fuck all") hunting down some locals who had just apparently destroyed another local village and taken the children. (I say "apparently" because the teenager did not speak the local language.)

What I was thinking of was a news story about a teenager, not so different from the MC, going to a war zone.

Q: So? What's wrong with that? It's honorable to serve your country! He sounds brave!
A: No, you don't understand. I mean he literally went to a war zone. Alone. With no equipment. Without telling anybody where he was going. He got stopped at the border. They wouldn't let him in. Then he wandered off, tried to take a taxi despite not speaking the language, got into a rough situation and had to be rescued.

Some others objected to the plan with the usual objections to military intervention: "We don't understand the situation here, we don't even speak the language, for all we know the winners were the good guys and they took the kids because the good guys spare the children when they win a war."

> Most importantly he doesn't know these people and the context oft he situation. From his point of view the people here could have been attacked in retaliation for something they started.

> Lacking context on this potential blood feud with an enemy we know nothing about

I take no stance on military intervention, but I do take a stance on idiot-teenager intervention.

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I made reference to a war, but if I've done my job right you shouldn't be able to tell at a glance which war, or failing that you shouldn't be able to tell how I might feel about it. In an ideal world you wouldn't even know for sure which country the teenager might be from.

(Though of course you could probably make some guesses from the fact that I'm asking about Rule 8...)

(I had second thoughts because some asshole was playing the "I'm not going to talk politics but" game in another thread (and thankfully got a warning), so I figured maybe it's worth trying not to be that asshole. I suppose I could've asked someone in the teenager-quest thread, but that would have been counterproductive to the goal of not focusing attention on the war itself. As I understand it, the broad intent, which I very much appreciate, is not just "don't start arguing about current politics" but also "don't gesture vigorously at things to make other people start arguing", or more succinctly don't start shit.)

 

[alethiophile]

I made reference to a war, but if I've done my job right you shouldn't be able to tell at a glance which war, or failing that you shouldn't be able to tell how I might feel about it. In an ideal world you wouldn't even know for sure which country the teenager might be from.

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I can't see any political issue in that quote. As far as Rule 8 goes you're in the clear.