Our longtime users know that administrators and moderators intervene when CR4 threads or blogs get too political. See rule 5.
This is a tough topic to moderate. First, science and engineering have a clear intersection with government policies and agencies. Second, what one moderator deems “too political,” another might consider relevant discourse.
Moderators are instructed to replace comment chains that dovetail into policy or political party debates. Individual, off-topic political comments will get removed, or marked as permanently off-topic, depending on circumstance. Political threads get moved to the Break Room. Political blogs are removed.
So then, what are the best practices?
- It is OK to state a truthful fact, even if the topic has been politicized. Example: Climate change is supported by scientific evidence.
- It is OK to state an official policy in generic terms. Example: The U.S. backed out of the Paris Agreement.
- It is NOT OK to discuss politicians or political parties. Example: Trump hates the environment!
- It is NOT OK to debate ideology: Example: Liberals are too sensitive about climate change!
Key reminders
- If you think a discussion or comment is too political, then report it.
- If the conversation has turned into a political argument, it has likely gone too far. Report it.
- If you want to have a political discussion, have it in the Break Room and message people to join it. (The Break Room is opt-in; join it here.)
Other prohibited discussion topics:
Thanks for reading! Please keep this in mind as we try to improve the CR4 community.