I’m always in favor of minimizing the number and the extent of non-aviation threads. Although people (me included) tend to happily discuss about such topics for various reasons. This forum and DAN are the only forums I participate in and practically the only places on the Internet where I post something (except occasionally posting flying/diving/trips pictures on FB), so I guess that’s why I participate in non-aviation related discussions.
Peter wrote:
Back to the last topic though, what are we to do when we get a bunch of people posting this stuff here?Like I said, there has to be some sort of editorial policy. If there isn’t, a forum will fill up with crazy stuff, and one can see that all over the internet. And the editorial policy must cover political issues, otherwise – now transport yourself to say 1939 – supporting Hitler and his actions must be allowed under the banner of “free speech”.
I think you’ve already answered it – you need some policy, otherwise you’ll get all sort of things. And in some cases you’ll be forced to act, for example, if you are contacted by the UK or EU authorities re: disinformation/discrimination/etc…
Sure, but it was you for example who got extremely upset over my criticism of Russia as being a backward country.
Peter wrote:
Sure, but it was you for example who got extremely upset over my criticism of Russia as being a backward country.
No!!! Please ensure that you make the difference between Russia/Russian government, Russian citizen and Russian person!
Russia and/or the government of Russia is whoever does all those things around the world.
Russian person could be someone who is (at least partially) ethincally of Russian descent (or plural “Russians”).
When you say “Russians” you might mean the government and/or citizen, but some will understand it as people of Russian descent. These all are very different things!
And I’ve reacted to some of the things you were saying that could be perceived as ethincal/racial abuse, I do not react to the criticism of the Russian government. :)
Or any other government for that matter – most of the governments are muppets struggle running their respective countries.
Graham wrote:
I disagree. I think it highly unlikely that there’s some over-arching purpose to it and I simply wouldn’t credit the proponents with sufficient guile and intelligence to operate that way.
Well, that depends. Wakefield, for instance, definitely had a purpose. There are also conspiracy theories that are actively propagated with the purpose of undermining trust, although that may not have been the original motivation.
Airborne_Again wrote:
Well, that depends. Wakefield, for instance, definitely had a purpose.
Yes, well there’s always a crook on the make somewhere.
That individual conspiracy theory proponents have individual commercial motivations seems far more plausible to me than them all being part of some grand conspiracy to undermine trust in governments and society.
The problem of course with the notion of conspiracy theorists is that the label can be misapplied. Thus people who are against government intervention, either as a point of principle or in particular circumstances, are often shouted down as conspiracy theorists.
Peter wrote:
but if we unlock the Ukraine thread we will get a bunch of pro Russia posters try to trash it
1) Can you have a per-day limit for a poster in a thread? Would that be too much work on the SW side?
2) The definition of ‘pro Russia’ here tends to be rather wide. Anything that does not match the western narrative is marked as pro-Russia, even if it is highly critical of Russia. But yes, you are the arbiter…
3) There is not point in yet another Russia – bashing echo chamber, there are plenty of those. Opening the Ukrainian thread makes sense only if also allowing at least some disagreement.
4) My whole point of participating in the Ukrainian thread was to point out delusions, wishful thinking and outright propaganda on the west’s side. Because having rose glasses instead of facing the reality never brought anything good. The biggest loser (after Ukraine and Russia, of course) in this whole affair is Europe.
5) Over the last year almost nothing changed, just (much!) more people are dead. The end is not in sight, if anything Ukraine is in a worse shape than it was a year ago. Still, calling for peace is ‘pro-Putin’! The power of propaganda is astounding.
Esteban, you would be removed from that thread, and EuroGA (because you don’t make any GA contributions) anyway 
There’s an excellent Ukraine thread on (dare I say it) pp***e. It’s well moderated to keep the Putin trolls off. Why do we need to ask Peter to undertake the same task?
There’s a hint in the title of this forum, just the last couple of letters. The off-topic discussions, like the never-ending electric car hamsterwheel, are fun too, but it’s up to Peter which ones he allows (not to say encourages), and which he considers create too much work.
Conspiracy theories are inevitable. Every human (well, lots) wants to be part of some special inner circle with its own secrets and coded language. Hence the Masons and (dare I say it) pilot discussion forums. Doctors, lawyers, pilots, IT specialists… can already tick that box. For a lot of people, being a flat-earther or anti-vaxxer or whatever is the only avenue they have. The best illustration is the oft-repeated picture of the guy at (I think) a flat earth gathering, with a clumsily handwritten sign that says “I know more than scietists” (sic). I’m sure that he and his buddies are very proud of their circle who, thanks to youtube, know more than others who’ve spent their whole lives studying something.
Before the internet, they were isolated cranks. Thanks to it, they can find each other and reinforce their wacky views. As can less savoury types, unfortunately. But then, people probably said much the same when printing was invented.
Ours was doing pretty well until it got trashed
