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Post by William L. Rupp on Jan 26, 2010 11:14:07 GMT -8
AztecMesa was started to fill the void left when the new AztecTalk banned political discussions. I felt that the political section of AztecTalk was valuable and I posted my comments there often. So did many other AztecTalkers. AztecMesa was begun six months ago. Now it's time to evaluate.
Frankly, I have been disappointed that more of those AztecTalkers who participated in the old political section have not chosen to be active here. A political discussion forum can succeed only if a wide variety of viewpoints is represented. So far, the spectrum of views expressed on AztecMesa has not been as wide as I would like.
Furthermore, there have been no new members sign up for about three months. That is a bit discouraging, I must admit. Therefore, I must put forward these questions:
* Is AztecMesa a worthwhile operation?
* Should it continue?
* If so, how can it be improved?
* How can more posters be encouraged to register and participate frequently?
I have made one change which may have gone unnoticed. I have changed the site's settings to allow guests to post replies to existing threads. (Only registered members may create threads, however.)
Please give me feedback. It will be useful to me as I determine what to do with this site in the future.
Thanks,
William L. Rupp (AKA AztecWilliam)
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Post by aztecwin on Jan 26, 2010 13:01:09 GMT -8
You have done your part William. I am also disappointed that more folks are not coming over to discuss issues. Part of it it that it is another site that you must visit and part of it is that a lot of the liberals do not want to participate when things are turning against them. I hope you see fit to keep this open, and that we can get more of the old folks to come on over. I have posted links to topics over here from time to time but they don't seem to stimulate anything and some things have been deleted. It is a real mystery why the other board was not left pretty much in tact, but it is Zip's choice and he nominated the most wacked out left wing guy to run his Off Topic area.  Just kidding Bob. |
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Post by AztecWilliam on Jan 26, 2010 21:13:53 GMT -8
What is important is to present political ideas coherently and forcefully and then be prepared to respond to serious challenges by those with different opinions. I think that kind of interchange is valuable. We can only hope that more people people will choose to contribute their thoughts.
AztecWilliam
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Post by steveaztec on Jan 26, 2010 21:34:16 GMT -8
I think it all comes back to you William. As Win said, thank you for giving us another option.
I have left the other board forever and enjoy being able to post my opinion on here, but to tell you the truth I don't really have a big desire to post (or at least argue) Aztec Sports anymore.
I have invited about 6 former really good posters that left Aztectalk over the last year to come over here.
Most of them are burnt out like I am.
The ball is in your court. If the board is up, I will continue to post a thing here and there that I really feel strongly about.
But truth is for me, that in 6 months or so (or possibly much sooner) I could be done posting forever on any board.
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Post by AlwaysAnAztec on Jan 27, 2010 8:35:26 GMT -8
You have done your part William. I am also disappointed that more folks are not coming over to discuss issues. Part of it it that it is another site that you must visit and part of it is that a lot of the liberals do not want to participate when things are turning against them. I hope you see fit to keep this open, and that we can get more of the old folks to come on over. I have posted links to topics over here from time to time but they don't seem to stimulate anything and some things have been deleted. It is a real mystery why the other board was not left pretty much in tact, but it is Zip's choice and he nominated the most wacked out left wing guy to run his Off Topic area. Just kidding Bob. You asked why there is no discussion. The above comment is a primary example. When one of you actually state YOUR opinion on a subject, I normally respond. However what I normally see here is a posting of an article by one of you and the other basically responding "ditto". Sorry, but there is no opportunity for dialog there. This site has become nothing more than a 'bash the liberals' site vs. one for active discussion. If you guys just continue along those lines you might as well kill the site as it doesn't hold much interest for me. Also, my rule of thumb has always been that I won't say anything on one of these boards that I wouldn't say to someone's face. The rest of you might want to follow the same rule. |
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Post by uwaztec on Jan 27, 2010 8:51:38 GMT -8
You asked why there is no discussion. The above comment is a primary example.
When one of you actually state YOUR opinion on a subject, I normally respond. However what I normally see here is a posting of an article by one of you and the other basically responding "ditto". Sorry, but there is no opportunity for dialog there.
This site has become nothing more than a 'bash the liberals' site vs. one for active discussion. If you guys just continue along those lines you might as well kill the site as it doesn't hold much interest for me.
Also, my rule of thumb has always been that I won't say anything on one of these boards that I wouldn't say to someone's face. The rest of you might want to follow the same rule.[/quote]
Mostly agree with this take. Especially the last sentence. If you guys think its just wonderful for AFAN to blindside people with insults and profanity just because he agrees with you...then fine. I respond to sports and the occasional environmental issue...and that is it.
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Post by AztecWilliam on Jan 27, 2010 10:07:43 GMT -8
You have done your part William. I am also disappointed that more folks are not coming over to discuss issues. Part of it it that it is another site that you must visit and part of it is that a lot of the liberals do not want to participate when things are turning against them. I hope you see fit to keep this open, and that we can get more of the old folks to come on over. I have posted links to topics over here from time to time but they don't seem to stimulate anything and some things have been deleted. It is a real mystery why the other board was not left pretty much in tact, but it is Zip's choice and he nominated the most wacked out left wing guy to run his Off Topic area. Just kidding Bob. You asked why there is no discussion. The above comment is a primary example. When one of you actually state YOUR opinion on a subject, I normally respond. However what I normally see here is a posting of an article by one of you and the other basically responding "ditto". Sorry, but there is no opportunity for dialog there. This site has become nothing more than a 'bash the liberals' site vs. one for active discussion. If you guys just continue along those lines you might as well kill the site as it doesn't hold much interest for me. Also, my rule of thumb has always been that I won't say anything on one of these boards that I wouldn't say to someone's face. The rest of you might want to follow the same rule. I appreciate your response. I link to articles that I think may be of interest to readers. I usually give a short intro that sets the stage but does not simply restate (or prestate) what the author of the piece has to say. On other occasions I post a fairly long argument in favor of one issue or another with the linked piece sort of a supporting or adjunct item. Let's take health care as an example. If one listens only to the Administration or its supporters, one might be unaware of some of the (in my opinion) problematic aspects of the proposed bill. For example, Obama has talked about bringing about efficiencies in health care delivery. Sounds good, to be sure, but people need to keep in mind that the government has, shall we say, a very spotty record when it comes to cutting costs. In fact, that very issue, cutting costs (which is to be desired) versus cutting spending (which, if costs to providers remain the same, inevitably leads to a lower standard of health care) was the topic of one my threads posted to the health care/insurance forum. (The article to which I make reference is this one: www.jsonline.com/news/opinion/78899997.html I invite anyone who disagrees with the author's thesis to share the reason for that disagreement.) Clearly, the article in question criticizes the Democrats' proposed health care proposal. Is that "bashing?" Does any criticism of the President or his party amount to bashing? I don't think so, but that question misses the point. The point is that a political forum succeeds only when all viewpoints are represented by cogent presentations made by those who hold those viewpoints. I don't see any reason why supporters of Barack Obama, the Democrats, government run health care, etc., do not step forward and have their say. Posts containing such views and opinons are certainly not going to be banned or edited. With respect to posting links to articles, readers can react to the idea contained therein just as readily as to ideas and opinions put forth by posters who do not link to articles found elsewhere. Anyway, my basic message is the same; all opinions are welcome, just so long as they are presented with a minimum respect for polite discourse. I hope to see more opposing views in the future. Whether my goal in this matter will be met is an open question. It's totally up to those who visit this site. AztecWilliam |
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Post by AztecWilliam on Jan 27, 2010 10:23:32 GMT -8
Mostly agree with this take. Especially the last sentence. If you guys think its just wonderful for AFAN to blindside people with insults and profanity just because he agrees with you...then fine. I respond to sports and the occasional environmental issue...and that is it. I went back and checked AFAN's recent posts. Sure enough, I did find a couple of ad hominem attacks which are not in line with the civility that I want to be the standard of this board. I must have missed those at the time. However . . . and this is a big however . . . , such indiscretions represent a very, very small portion of what has been posted on AztecMesa. I would hope that no person would decline to participate on that account. For my part, I would (and did on the old board) try to respond to less than civil attacks in a gentlemanly (though perhaps acid-tongued) manner. When one is the target of swear words, to respond in a calm, non-hostile manner is always the best policy. AzWm |
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Just kidding Bob.
