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How can we discuss risky topics - carefully or not at all?


dualism

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Hi, I can understand that many big topics in society should be kept out of forums and thus certain categories may not be discussed.

Is there any space for reflection on virtual realities and communities which grow online? These are places where many people nowadays experience things and people outside their normal everyday lives.

I have been put into a thoughtful mood today by 'events'.... thoughtful.... does anyone know of bodies which are looking into rules and behaviours in online spaces? Please keep answers GENERAL in keeping with the general question!

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I am not 100% sure what you mean by "reflection on virtual realities and communities which grow online", it certainly sounds off-topic so you are in the right place but could you clarify what exactly it is you wish to discuss? Are you looking to talk about things that influence online communities? How to keep online communities happy and health?

 

In regards to this forum, you are probably already aware but just in case you can find the rules in this thread https://board.dualthegame.com/index.php?/topic/8-forum-rules which goes over what content is considered unacceptable (ie: real life politics, ideology and religion) be sure to give it a good read if you haven't already. If you are still unsure whether or not the topic you wish to discuss is allowed or not just pm one of the forum moderators, I am sure they can help you figure it out.

 

 

 

 

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Yes, thanks. In part it is indeed about what happy and healthy is for a community as a whole, but also its individuals.

I also specifically wonder why the words 'real life' are included before the word "politics, ideology and religion". Does that mean we can take Star Trek ideology and talk about that or DS9 religion even, if we choose to? Or even more freely about how we would like our communities to function 'politically'?

I appreciate that when topics become risky, one person might be able to carefully keep within the lines, but others are tempted outside. This makes life difficult for mods and those tempted, other readers and the original person - that's everybody!

Some people might be able to have a calm discussion about a group's ideology, but not about whether a sporting official's decision was right or wrong. But how do we find out about each other well enough to make better decisions about our group members who we share actions with, if we cannot assess what some of their ideologies are, for example.

It is, of course, possible that a forum decides it cannot afford that, but this is a forum for a very complicated universe of future cooperation and many many interactions, not all of which will end well...

Edited by dualism
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2 hours ago, dualism said:

Hi, I can understand that many big topics in society should be kept out of forums and thus certain categories may not be discussed.

Is there any space for reflection on virtual realities and communities which grow online? These are places where many people nowadays experience things and people outside their normal everyday lives.

I have been put into a thoughtful mood today by 'events'.... thoughtful.... does anyone know of bodies which are looking into rules and behaviours in online spaces? Please keep answers GENERAL in keeping with the general question!

I don't really know tbh. Though to keep answers GENERAL, the internet is similar to a mirror of the human psyche eg prevalence of porn for example... and the inhibitions which are permissible and filter up from the sub/un-conscious or whatever the hell makes up most of the software running in our brains compared to the small fragment that thinks it's running things (!) whatever computer analogy fits the so-called conscious "active session" mind. DU as a part-sandbox will become an expression of some of that for sure.

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23 minutes ago, dualism said:

Yes, thanks. In part it is indeed about what happy and healthy is for a community as a whole, but also its individuals.

I also specifically wonder why the words 'real life' are included before the word "politics, ideology and religion". Does that mean we can take Star Trek ideology and talk about that or DS9 religion even, if we choose to? Or even more freely about how we would like our communities to function 'politically'?

I appreciate that when topics become risky, one person might be able to carefully keep within the lines, but others are tempted outside. This makes life difficult for mods and those tempted, other readers and the original person - that's everybody!

Some people might be able to have a calm discussion about a group's ideology, but not about whether a sporting official's decision was right or wrong. But how do we find out about each other well enough to make better decisions about our group members who we share actions with, if we cannot assess what some of their ideologies are, for example.

It is, of course, possible that a forum decides it cannot afford that, but this is a forum for a very complicated universe of future cooperation and many many interactions, not all of which will end well...


This -while it has not been discussed here on our forums- has actually been a debate people often have. What can you discuss and what can you not. While, yes, some people do indeed are able to have calm conversations or discussions when it comes to "real" - as you mentioned, anything that is reflected in real life - politics, ideology, and/or religion, most often than not, topics like such lead to unnecessary drama, conflicts between community members, hate speech.  As such, most online communities opt out on those topics, as has been the case with our forums, as stated by the rules @Msoul posted above me.

Which leads me into the following:
If you're not sure on what you can or can not discuss here, take a quick moment to read the rules so you don't get moderated or send a DM to any of the moderators, and we'll be happy to assist you.

 

 

~ Meldrik

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You can discuss everything in the internet as long as you stay with facts and don't get offended if someone has a different opinion. Having to moderate discussions about any topic, as controversial as it might be, shows only that either the community members are unable to control their emotions and have a proper argument or that the moderators suffer from the "I'm offended because others might regard the topic as offensive"-syndrome. No topic by itself is offensive!

 

If you want to test if a community is able to have proper arguments just ask them to list some positive points about something they most likely hate, be it a different religion, the third reich, genocide, communism or whatever. If they can give several positive arguments despite being absolutely against it then you can proper discussions about most topics. If you get answers like "nothing is good about that" or "you can't talk about that" then you're in presence of people who are unable to be reasonable and you should probably try not to be to engaged in that community.

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Thanks Meldrik.

vylqun: I see your point and I agree with your opinion, but even asking people to give positives is still talking about real world stuff, and if the answers are public it would probably draw lots of argument.

As we move further into the virtual then knowledge about the virtual will grow and replace lost common knowledge from fictional works. Instead of George Orwell, will discussions about politics in Eve be ok?

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