On this board we have one thing in common, our trade. But we also need to vent from time to time. If its politics, so be it! There are also other things that need to be discused besides Electricity. As for me, I don't want to go to another Board to do this.
If you do not like a thread don't read it, or don't respond to it negativly. You can express you opinion, but remember your among your peers.
The glory of this country is we are all the same in being different from each other, some slightly and others greatly. Thats life!

The people on this board are smart and I'd like to know what they think on any topic.

For whatever its worth.
Rob

yes to that!

Rob,

With all due respect, this is an Electrical-related Forum. That's what it's here for.

Certain subjects can divide even the best of friends. I'm trying my best to prevent that from happening.

I know I don't have all the answers, but I believe avoiding some topics is the best way to go. I'd rather have you guys a little mad at me sometimes than at each other.

Bill

We do have a chat area here for Members to use too. Discussion there is usually much more free-form and separate areas can be made on the fly for specific topics if needed.

Bill:

For the record, I agree with the way you and the other mods keep this forum under control. Even I have slipped and posted inappropriate comments, which were handled in a polite and civil manner.

There are always three major hot-button topics; politics, religion and sexuality. No matter how one would try to moderate such discussions, it is far too easy to allow them to degenerate into major flame wars.

If you'd like an example, take a look at the forums on powerlineman.com {Mods: feel free to edit this direct reference if you deem it necessary.) I'm not knocking the site or it's moderators, but thier discussions frequently get quite out of hand, with personal insults flying.

Even designating a separate area for politics can still result in a lot of misunderstandings and bad blood.

So my vote would be for no politics, thank you.

Let's keep this site great!

I don't go to my Town Hall to buy electrical supplies and I don't go to an electrical forum to talk politics.

I am fully behind Bill and his policy's here at his forum.


Well no doubt there are many very intelligent members here. You can email most of them if you want to talk about other subjects.

Bob

Politics, like excrement, just happens. Even here. But as much as possible, I'd dearly love to keep the politics limited to that which is directly relevant to the electrical field, eg. AFCI requirements or minimum service sizes, adoption of electrical codes. These discussions will cause enough pain; we don't need to borrow more.

-Jon

If you guys would all just agree with me there would be no reason to argue.

I really appreciate this site, Bill. Any way you want to run it is fine with me.

Dave

How about we start with Union vs. Open Shop?



All kidding aside...

Although I haven't been participating much lately due to a heavy workload / family load,
I have been around consistently for nearly 5 years. The reason that I spend the little time I do have exclusively on this site, is because of the way the administrators have managed it.
It has remained consistent through a series of moderators who all seem to adhere to similar guidelines, and it works well, in my opinion.

If it ain't broke... ...

John

[This message has been edited by Redsy (edited 09-03-2005).]

Yes, I've always wondered if switching from copper to steel pipe by using a brass fitting is really as corrosion-free as using a dialectric union...

(The "dialectric" part is what makes this electical. )

[This message has been edited by SolarPowered (edited 09-03-2005).]

And then, of course, there are discussions of Table 310.15(B)(6), or about people installing receptacles upside-down, with the ground pointing up.



[This message has been edited by SolarPowered (edited 09-03-2005).]

If I am not mistaken both of those subjects have to do with the electrical trade and the NEC.

I have never seen the political spin on receptacle orientation. Is ground up left wing and ground down right wing.

Bob

[This message has been edited by iwire (edited 09-03-2005).]

If you do a Google search on "politics forum", the result will be about 366,000 hits.

"Electrician's forum" will yield about 150.
This is an electrical forum.

Another point I'd like to bring up is that the misspelling of profane words, or the addition of a symbol or two to replace the vowels of a cuss word does not change the intent of that word. They will continue to be removed.
,
The "G" rating of this forum, lack of flaming, and overall helping each other attitude has, I believe, been instrumental in the forum's success.

What part of that don't you understand??

As Bill said the chat rooms are available, and special rooms can be created for any legal purpose you want. There's also a Private Chat feature that will allow you to argue in private with one another.
We'll even turn off the Chat Room profanity filter if you can't find a better way to express yourselves.



[This message has been edited by electure (edited 09-03-2005).]

I post on some other boards that allow politics and things are generally out of hand.I must admit to having fun at those sites at times. This board is great the way it is. Thanks to Bill and the Mods for keeping this site on topic

Alan's non-political electrical list.

Labour: Too much torque, and too slow.
Conservative: Very wooly in the loft-space.
Liberal: EMT with only 2 wires in it.
AC/DC: Whatever turns you on.
Reactionary: A reluctance to conform.
Ohms Law: Shooting them trespassers is legal!
Volt: But, don't revolt.
Right hand man: Mr. Fleming.
Resistance: French, of course!
Party Hack: A DIY'er fixing the Xmas lights.
The Economy: A fluorescent light bulb.
Bush: A tubular bearing. A small tree.
Tax: Stix things to planx.
Income tax. When you tread on one.
Left Wing: Another 400A panel required.
Right Wing: Same old.
Govern: Control kW within parameters.
House of Representatives: An average home.
House of Commons: A shop doorway.
House of Lords: Five 400A panels.
Senate: Old silent movie.
Switch sides. Edges of a recep.
Heater: 22 calibre resistance wire.
Debate: Remove cheese from mousetrap.
Redneck: The top of a bottle of Bordeaux.
Party Division: A sheetrock wall in a Condo.
Lobby: The hallway.
MP: milli-pascals.
American Way: 52nd Street.
Chirac: Somewhere to put your boots!
Majority: Jority's mother.
Russians: O'Hanlon's sandwiches.
Red Russians: O'Hanlon's jam sandwiches!
Racist: Lance Armstrong (racerist actually).
Coke: Sugar diluted slightly with water.
Heroin: A lady firefighter.
Bag lady. Mrs Versace.
Minority: Overseer at the coalface.
Censorship: A boat full of thermocouples from China.

Alan

I'm really into politics but I choose to (for the most part) keep that to myself at work. It just causes unecessary problems sometimes so its best to just avoid the situation. I also vote to keep POLITICS OUT from the electrical discussion.

My only commentary on the politics/no politics debate concerns exactly WHAT is construed as "controversial" or "political".

I've had a few posts "disappear" over the years (including as recently as last week), presumably because an opinion expressed struck one of the mods as "too controversial". Admittedly, my politics run pretty far to the left side of the spectrum, but it's not like I was calling for armed revolution (like that pinko Thomas Jefferson), or even civil disobedience/property destruction (like those anarchists at the Boston Tea Party).

If you want to attempt to have a "politics-free" zone here, then that's just fine. But it should hold for ALL political viewpoints. It seems like the threads glorifying military service or ranting against the "enviro extremists" are allowed to run while views from the left of center get killed quickly.

Hell, even that US flag waving in the upper left corner is a "political statement" of sorts, and could be seen as exclusionary of the many non-US members here.

Just my $.02...

[This message has been edited by NJwirenut (edited 09-03-2005).]

It figures that a lefty could only afford to give his 2 cents.

RE; Alan Belson's non-political electrical list:

ROFL!!!

Are we sure he didn't work with Monty Python?

And I prefer my grounds up, thank you.

Well, we can't all work for the likes of Halliburton, now can we.

If I was raking in "no-bid" contracts for work I never did, I would be able to chip in more than $.02.

Okay,

We can't even have a Discussion about discussing Politics. Is anyone paying attention here??

Let's stick to Electrical-related matters please!!