I dedicate this to @PhilFish.
There has been talk lately about how we might bring back old posters to PJ and who those posters might be. Most of us want a more lively board on which to post but no one really has any idea how to make that happen. Why did those people leave? What has to change before they return? Or have they just forgotten that PJ exists as they went on to the more glorious boards out there.
Here is my own brief history and analysis of Political Jack. It won't be source supported or deep since I won't be spending days or months doing it............but it will be an overview that might shed light on and give ideas on how to get talk going.
PJ was new and literally exploded into action in September of 2011 when the Slate Fray closed its doors and prolific posters needed a new home. Dave was so desperate for posters that he was paying money for people to post here. Some of us made a little of that money (I did)....... but it had to stop due to the volume of posts Fray posters brought.
Fray posters did bring the posts, but it also brought infighting. The Fray was a brutal place and it brought the brutality here. Over time, some posters grew tired of the rancor and left. Others learned how to deal with it and stayed.
Anyone who comes here is subject to some pretty severe vetting. That includes being called a "sock puppet" for quite a while until it is proven one way or another. The Fray was ripe with sock puppets and I am pretty sure we have them here. Sometimes it matters, most times it doesn't matter and is just a way to insult someone.
Through time, our moderators have tried different tactics to settle things down. More moderation, less moderation....... then more then less......... But posting on PJ is what it is. It takes on a life of its own regardless of the moderation style. Usually harsher moderation makes posters leave. But moderation that's too loose also causes posters to leave. As long as moderation is fair and consistent, it will tend to bring rather than lose posters.
There are old posters who left here that we either love or love to hate. They left for a variety of reasons but ultimately it was that the tone of PJ is not something they choose to deal with. We all have choice. People can't be forced to post here.
Is the wish for PJ that somehow the right and left factions could find common ground and get along at least some of the time? That was possible on the Fray of old. Is that what we want here? In today's political climate, I don't think it's possible at all. There have been posts geared to unite us on some shared interest topics. I recently made a post about Game of Thrones. It fell flat. Others have made posts about movies........ they also fell flat. Posters of PJ don't want to get along. They adamantly do not want it.
Conclusion: Unless and until we can get past the hatred of the "other" side, we are doomed to being a small, brutal political forum. Maybe that's enough.
There has been talk lately about how we might bring back old posters to PJ and who those posters might be. Most of us want a more lively board on which to post but no one really has any idea how to make that happen. Why did those people leave? What has to change before they return? Or have they just forgotten that PJ exists as they went on to the more glorious boards out there.
Here is my own brief history and analysis of Political Jack. It won't be source supported or deep since I won't be spending days or months doing it............but it will be an overview that might shed light on and give ideas on how to get talk going.
PJ was new and literally exploded into action in September of 2011 when the Slate Fray closed its doors and prolific posters needed a new home. Dave was so desperate for posters that he was paying money for people to post here. Some of us made a little of that money (I did)....... but it had to stop due to the volume of posts Fray posters brought.
Fray posters did bring the posts, but it also brought infighting. The Fray was a brutal place and it brought the brutality here. Over time, some posters grew tired of the rancor and left. Others learned how to deal with it and stayed.
Anyone who comes here is subject to some pretty severe vetting. That includes being called a "sock puppet" for quite a while until it is proven one way or another. The Fray was ripe with sock puppets and I am pretty sure we have them here. Sometimes it matters, most times it doesn't matter and is just a way to insult someone.
Through time, our moderators have tried different tactics to settle things down. More moderation, less moderation....... then more then less......... But posting on PJ is what it is. It takes on a life of its own regardless of the moderation style. Usually harsher moderation makes posters leave. But moderation that's too loose also causes posters to leave. As long as moderation is fair and consistent, it will tend to bring rather than lose posters.
There are old posters who left here that we either love or love to hate. They left for a variety of reasons but ultimately it was that the tone of PJ is not something they choose to deal with. We all have choice. People can't be forced to post here.
Is the wish for PJ that somehow the right and left factions could find common ground and get along at least some of the time? That was possible on the Fray of old. Is that what we want here? In today's political climate, I don't think it's possible at all. There have been posts geared to unite us on some shared interest topics. I recently made a post about Game of Thrones. It fell flat. Others have made posts about movies........ they also fell flat. Posters of PJ don't want to get along. They adamantly do not want it.
Conclusion: Unless and until we can get past the hatred of the "other" side, we are doomed to being a small, brutal political forum. Maybe that's enough.