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Whats the Current Status of GAF in general right now?

God Enel

Member
Then I think the mods have to do the job if there I a thread for a game dedicated for the politics. Z Zewp

I mean we can try it and see how it goes. If it’s still shit then maybe there is need for a separated forum. :)
 

Kadayi

Banned
If there isn't enough of a populace to support a separate politics in gaming sub, then doesn't that say everything? Why is a minority then forcing politics into so many threads in the gaming discussion forum? Like I said, I don't want to take away anyone's ability to discuss politics in videogames, if that's their thing. But at the same time I'd like not to have politics shoved down my throat the entire time.

I don't really look into metrics on these things because frankly, I don't obsess about it. If I see a thread about a subject that piques my interest I read it, if I feel I can contribute I do (likes, posts or otherwise), if not I pass it over. What I would say is that at the end of the day regardless of what people post, they're active contributors in whatever fashion they choose and they are adding to the forum by putting their thoughts down and I applaud that, even if I may disagree with them on subject matter or opinion. If some people want to obsess about SJWs ruining their games that's their prerogative. I might not necessarily share their opinions on all matters (I'm generally pragmatic about most things gaming or otherwise) but I'm not going to rain on their parade.

As for the onus being on me to drive the discussion I want, that's all fair and well. But those threads often just spiral into politics anyway. Would the mods allow us to make threads with a rule of no politics? Because that would be great. But I doubt that's going to fly either

I'll honest, you've been registered on GAF almost as long as me yet you've barely a 10th of my posts and in truth, I'm not that prolific a poster versus some. When you're not even remotely averaging a post a day, it feels a little misplaced to come in and espouse about how toxic the gaming forum is, and its driving you away. Demonstrate you're an active contributor, get an actual avatar and mayhap people might give a bit more credence to your thoughts on matters. As is, you're coming across as a bit of a hollow sniper here demanding a separation of church and state in gaming, but with very little evidence that in doing so the forum is going to significantly benefit from your contributions as a result. Sorry if that comes across as a little harsh, but I call it as I see it.
 
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Papa

Banned
If there isn't enough of a populace to support a separate politics in gaming sub, then doesn't that say everything? Why is a minority then forcing politics into so many threads in the gaming discussion forum? Like I said, I don't want to take away anyone's ability to discuss politics in videogames, if that's their thing. But at the same time I'd like not to have politics shoved down my throat the entire time.

As for the onus being on me to drive the discussion I want, that's all fair and well. But those threads often just spiral into politics anyway. Would the mods allow us to make threads with a rule of no politics? Because that would be great. But I doubt that's going to fly either.



Never been a fan of this kind of mentality (no offense intended). If the status quo isn't great, challenge it. I think the forum can be greatly improved by catering to both people who want to discuss politics and those who don't.



And I completely disagree that a cover having two black women on it is automatically pushing an agenda. And I have absolutely no interest in discussing such a "talking point". If anyone wants to discuss that, I'm not trying to take that away from anyone. But it would be nice for those of us not interested in the political side of gaming, to be able to discuss games as games. Currently that's not possible for a lot of videogames (see: The Last of Us 2).

Hence why I'm advocating for splitting the political from the general gaming discussions. It's the best of both worlds and nobody has discussions they're not interested in forced on them.



And then it'll be a couple of hours before the political posts start flooding in again. I've seen this happen a few times in the last few months.



...because they're the villains and the reveal trailer makes it very clear that they're awful people? But it might be better for you to take this discussion to the original thread in Gaming Discussions so as not to derail this one with an unrelated topic.


Disclaimer:

I just want to reiterate that I'm not trying to attack anyone in this thread. Sorry if anyone does feel I'm attacking their stances, because that's not my intention. I'm trying to keep my posts very neutral, but I do feel very strongly about the situation. It's really impacting my enjoyment of Gaf that at the drop of a hat, a thread I'm participating in can turn political (and very often does). And I'm sure I'm not the only person, seeing as I see complaints about the highly politicized nature of Gaming Discussions quite often.
I think we can reach a decent compromise that suits everyone, even if it is something as simple as marking threads where political discussions are allowed. If the staff feel differently, then fair enough. It's your forum and I'm only a guest here at the end of the day. In that case, I'll happily go on my way and look for another forum where it's less politicized without any drama or hard feelings towards Gaf.

I didn’t say it was because of two black women. If you want to dismiss those people’s opinions, at least present the full story in the correct context. It’s two black women torturing a white male with a tattered American flag in the foreground at a time in which the political climate is incentivising hatred of white males and America to pander to victimhood identity groups. Now, I haven’t weighed in in that thread because the debate doesn’t interest me enough and I just won’t buy the game. But to present the issue as just being about two black women is tone deaf at best.
 

Domisto

Member
I don't think we can get rid of all politics from the gaming section. It's an industry with news related to the devs and publishers. Also many games are built around stories and characters that reflect something of the real world. Sometimes that will touch on political issues and I don't think we should try to push it to one side, but instead talk about these things with some respect for each other.

I recall someone saying that when a game thread gets over burdened by political talk a good idea is to split it in two, so that people who only want to talk about a game have a place to do that. That works for me. The political side thread would likely die down before the game thread after an initial burst of activity. In the case of pre-release news that can't be done so you will have to expect a mix if the news fits. Like with FC: New Dawn which looks to me like a case of publishers knowing how to push buttons and generate discussion. Calculated risk on their part.

So I think the current forum split is fine.
 

Exentryk

Member
...politics in the gaming discussion forum
I am like you who doesn't like political stuff in games and I'll actively avoid such threads. One of the reasons I moved over from REE was because every gaming thread there was turning into some political nonsense. If people talked about that stuff in their dedicated threads, that's fine. But bringing it into every other gaming thread is essentially thread derailment and offtopic posting. If this stuff gets moderated correctly, it's not an issue. REE mods didn't deal with this, so it became an issue. I am hopeful that mods here will moderate this aspect correctly.

There are some threads where it is unclear what can and can't be talked about though, like OTs. In such instances, it's probably best to just ignore those posts and talk about stuff you do want to talk about. It might be also worthwhile to make new threads and making the topic about what you want to talk about, and reporting any offtopic posts there.

I also wouldn't mind if all the political stuff was moved into another sub-forum, but if not, there are ways to deal with it for us.
 

Redneckerz

Those long posts don't cover that red neck boy
Just because I can get my point across in a single paragraph doesn’t mean I’m a shitposter.

😘
If only you had a point to begin with, that's the problem. ;)
28ta8b.jpg


I take no credit. The hard work is being done by the GAF Staff and community including you Redneckerz Redneckerz

I am simply honored to be part of the community.
Did Justice ever catch the Bandit? ;)

I am so glad to have people like you around, Cheese. It makes dealing with people like Matt so much more tolerable and it actually makes me consider he is a decent lad. :p
 

JORMBO

Darkness no more
The politics in the gaming subforum are really killing my desire to keep coming back, tbh. Like look at the Far Cry New Dawn reveal thread. What should have been a thread to speculate about where they're taking the series next, instead became a thread in which people were REEEEEing about there being black females on the cover and "wokeness" and god knows what else. All based on a single covershot with no context.

Can't have a discussion about AC Odyssey, because it's inevitably going to attract the anti-SJWs. Can't have a discussion about The Last of Us 2, because the anti-SJWs will be there seconds later to complain about the SJW agenda allegedly ruining videogames. Etc etc.

I get that politics in videogames is a hot-button topic for some people and I get that they'd like to be able to discuss it. I'll even say that sometimes there are valid conversations (they're in the minority though). So I'm not advocating for banning these discussions. But I do think they should be relegated to a separate subforum, for the same reason Politics and Off-Topic are separate forums. Not all of us care or want to hear about politics in gaming all the time. I get that it's hard and there will always be spillover from the politics forum into the general gaming forum, but it would go a long way towards making it more tolerable to those of us not interested in either SJW or anti-SJW nonsense. My accounts old, but I've only been active for a few months and Gaf, it's getting a bit much. This is a really nice forum and community with a long history behind it, but it feels like when the Resetera folks left, we traded one set of fanatics for another.

I really think that Gaf should create a gaming politics subforum separate from the general gaming forum. If the staff decides against that, then fine. It's your forum and you can run it how you see fit. I'll then set off and find a new forum where (hopefully) there's less politics and accept that Gaf is not for me, with no hard feelings in that regard.
I specifically didn't register on Resetera because I didn't like the highly politicized nature of that place. Now the gaming forum here is also becoming highly politicized. It makes it really hard for someone who just wants to discuss videogames without all the political drama.

This is a well stated post and outlines the one gripe I have with the board. I’ve noticed politics popping up in gaming threads more often. It’s not anywhere as bad as Reset, but still annoying. I think it would be best to include those types of discussions as seperate threads in the Politics Forum even if they are tied to the topic of gaming. Sometimes they are interesting topics, but a lot of time the whole “SJW ruining gaming” narrative gets tiring to read about all the time, especially when it derails topics.
 
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Zewp

Member
I'll honest, you've been registered on GAF almost as long as me yet you've barely a 10th of my posts and in truth, I'm not that prolific a poster versus some. When you're not even remotely averaging a post a day, it feels a little misplaced to come in and espouse about how toxic the gaming forum is, and its driving you away. Demonstrate you're an active contributor, get an actual avatar and mayhap people might give a bit more credence to your thoughts on matters. As is, you're coming across as a bit of a hollow sniper here demanding a separation of church and state in gaming, but with very little evidence that in doing so the forum is going to significantly benefit from your contributions as a result. Sorry if that comes across as a little harsh, but I call it as I see it.

I registered this account almost 6 years ago, then posted once or twice and subsequently forgot about it. Then a few months ago the whole Jessica Price thing happened, I randomly landed up in a thread on NeoGAF and remembered that I had an account and here I am. Been posting regularly ever since. Would you have prefered that I simply make a second account for no good reason?

I thought we were having a decent discussion in good faith, then you pull out the ages-old "I have more posts than you so suck a chode" line of reasoning. What the hell, dude? Not cool. If there's a rule on NeoGAF along the lines of "you have to have X-average posts per day to be able to discuss the community or make suggestions", please do point me to it.
But I won't waste your time, because we both know that rule doesn't exist because using sheer post count as a metric for a users' value to a community has never, and will never, be a good idea.

I'll be honest, but I have no interest in engaging with someone who values post quantity over the quality and content of someone's posts. I was there when NeoGAF started invaded nag.co.za after it came to light that Miktar was stealing everything, including user titles, to rip off GAF on his own forum. I've been doing this forum thing for a very long time. I outgrew postcount e-penisry more than a decade ago.
Demonstrate you can play the ball, not the man and I might believe you're worth hearing out. Someone who looks at a ridiculous metric like posts-per-day, without any context, and simply decides the person's opinions are worthless based on that, is not someone who I'd be inclined to believe can reason on an adult level. And that I base on past experience of it being mostly children who attempt to clobber each other into submission with their post counts. Sorry if that comes across as a little harsh, but I call it as I see it.

I'm unfortunately going to place you on my ignore list now, because I don't think I can have worthwhile discussions with someone who uses these 'tactics' to try and discredit someone's ideas and opinions. You're welcome to ask someone to message me on your behalf if you ever decide to judge the value of forum contributions on their actual content, not quantity. No hard feelings either way. Have a great rest of your weekend. :)
 

Papa

Banned
If only you had a point to begin with, that's the problem. ;)

Did Justice ever catch the Bandit? ;)

I am so glad to have people like you around, Cheese. It makes dealing with people like Matt so much more tolerable and it actually makes me consider he is a decent lad. :p

At this point, I reckon you could probably predict my response to this.

Harden up, cunt.
😎
 

Papa

Banned
I registered this account almost 6 years ago, then posted once or twice and subsequently forgot about it. Then a few months ago the whole Jessica Price thing happened, I randomly landed up in a thread on NeoGAF and remembered that I had an account and here I am. Been posting regularly ever since. Would you have prefered that I simply make a second account for no good reason?

I thought we were having a decent discussion in good faith, then you pull out the ages-old "I have more posts than you so suck a chode" line of reasoning. What the hell, dude? Not cool. If there's a rule on NeoGAF along the lines of "you have to have X-average posts per day to be able to discuss the community or make suggestions", please do point me to it.
But I won't waste your time, because we both know that rule doesn't exist because using sheer post count as a metric for a users' value to a community has never, and will never, be a good idea.

I'll be honest, but I have no interest in engaging with someone who values post quantity over the quality and content of someone's posts. I was there when NeoGAF started invaded nag.co.za after it came to light that Miktar was stealing everything, including user titles, to rip off GAF on his own forum. I've been doing this forum thing for a very long time. I outgrew postcount e-penisry more than a decade ago.
Demonstrate you can play the ball, not the man and I might believe you're worth hearing out. Someone who looks at a ridiculous metric like posts-per-day, without any context, and simply decides the person's opinions are worthless based on that, is not someone who I'd be inclined to believe can reason on an adult level. And that I base on past experience of it being mostly children who attempt to clobber each other into submission with their post counts. Sorry if that comes across as a little harsh, but I call it as I see it.

I'm unfortunately going to place you on my ignore list now, because I don't think I can have worthwhile discussions with someone who uses these 'tactics' to try and discredit someone's ideas and opinions. You're welcome to ask someone to message me on your behalf if you ever decide to judge the value of forum contributions on their actual content, not quantity. No hard feelings either way. Have a great rest of your weekend. :)

What value is the ignore function adding here? Ignoring Kadayi Kadayi over something as benign as that post, which contained some honest feedback, only fosters the echo chamber effect. I think we need to have a serious discussion about it if this is how it is being used.
 

Domisto

Member
Technology. Giving you the power to erase people and forget they exist. Super healthy.

Curious. If someone you are ignoring starts a thread, can you see it?
 
D

Deleted member 77995

Unconfirmed Member
Did that Cunth guy post recently? Am I glad we all agreed to put him on ignore and see if he'll ever notice.
 

Kadayi

Banned
What value is the ignore function adding here? Ignoring Kadayi Kadayi over something as benign as that post, which contained some honest feedback, only fosters the echo chamber effect. I think we need to have a serious discussion about it if this is how it is being used.

Don't fret about it Matt. If he wants to ignore me let him. I'm not going to lose sleep over it.
 

Papa

Banned
Don't fret about it Matt. If he wants to ignore me let him. I'm not going to lose sleep over it.

I'm not fretting about your individual case but I'm more questioning the bigger picture of how this contributes to the echo chamber effect when multiple people do it.
 

Kadayi

Banned
I'm not fretting about your individual case but I'm more questioning the bigger picture of how this contributes to the echo chamber effect when multiple people do it.

I'm an advocate for the ignore function tbh. I haven't had reason to use it since the departure, but beforehand I certainly used it to tune out some notable people who just weren't worth engaging with because inevitably doing so would probably result in a witchhunt dogpile and a swift perm ban. If we want a free forum, then we have to respect members rights to elect to ignore people.

Technology. Giving you the power to erase people and forget they exist. Super healthy.

Curious. If someone you are ignoring starts a thread, can you see it?

I think it says 'Ignored user;' test it out though. Set me to ignore and see if you can see this thread I made a while back: -

https://www.neogaf.com/threads/tv-gaf-winter-edition.1467658/#post-253634199
 
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Papa

Banned
I'm an advocate for the ignore function tbh. I haven't had reason to use it since the departure, but beforehand I certainly used it to tune out some notable people who just weren't worth engaging with because inevitably doing so would probably result in a witchhunt dogpile and a swift perm ban. If we want a free forum, then we have to respect members rights to elect to ignore people.

I'm just wary of potential big picture damage it is doing when people shut themselves off from opinions they don't like. Fostering an echo chamber mentality is part of how this place devolved to what it did, and I don't think many of us would call GAF from 2012-2017 a "free" forum. For what it's worth, there are a few posters here whose opinions generally make me cringe, but I'd never consider putting them on ignore.

What if we kept the ignore function but it was subject to mod approval?
 

Kadayi

Banned
I'm just wary of potential big-picture damage it is doing when people shut themselves off from opinions they don't like. Fostering an echo chamber mentality is part of how this place devolved to what it did, and I don't think many of us would call GAF from 2012-2017 a "free" forum. For what it's worth, there are a few posters here whose opinions generally make me cringe, but I'd never consider putting them on ignore.

GAF didn't go the way that it did because people used the ignore function, it went the way it did due to abuses by the moderation team and the culling of dissenting opinions. Ignore function is perfectly ok in my book.
 

Papa

Banned
GAF didn't go the way that it did because people used the ignore function, it went the way it did due to abuses by the moderation team and the culling of dissenting opinions. Ignore function is perfectly ok in my book.

Yeah, I’m saying it was a factor, but not the sole one or even anywhere close to the largest one though.

Is ignoring someone not a form of culling dissenting opinion? Perhaps I’m being pedantic, but whether it happens as a result of moderator action or individual action, the end result is the same: the removal of dissenting opinions that would otherwise prevent you from crystallising your opinions based on a limited world view.

I’m happy to disagree on this.
 

Hobbesian

Banned
You can easily ignore people without an ignore function.

I'll admit that I was one of those people constantly stockpiling my ignore list prior to the election. That, coupled with me getting most of my news and political discussion from GAF, really put me in the center of the damned bubble and by the time the election rolled around and realized the mistake I made, it was too late.

Never again. Abusing the ignore function is weak-minded.
 

CatLady

Selfishly plays on Xbox Purr-ies X
I'm just wary of potential big picture damage it is doing when people shut themselves off from opinions they don't like. Fostering an echo chamber mentality is part of how this place devolved to what it did, and I don't think many of us would call GAF from 2012-2017 a "free" forum. For what it's worth, there are a few posters here whose opinions generally make me cringe, but I'd never consider putting them on ignore.

What if we kept the ignore function but it was subject to mod approval?
Nah, in a "free forum" users should have the choice to ignore others if they choose to. I personally don't use it but won't force my choices on others.
 

Papa

Banned
Nah, in a "free forum" users should have the choice to ignore others if they choose to. I personally don't use it but won't force my choices on others.

Whether we can agree on this or not, I just want to say I'm glad we can discuss moderation standards and general forum tools openly :)
 

olimariOA

Banned
It's odd.
Sometimes this place is really moving, but conversation is light.
By that, I mean people are mostly blasting our their opinions rather than chatting with one another.

Opa has been bleeding members, but discussion and conversation are still strong there.
I hope GAF can recover fully.
 

Melon

Banned
As someone who only joined earlier this year and has like 11 posts; my opinions don't hold much weight. However, I figured I'd throw a little bit of positivity (albeit kinda lame lmfao) anyway. I heard horror stories of this place from various friends and outlets, so I figured I'd give this place a look for myself. Not bad. Maybe it's because all my past forum experiences have also been chaotic, but I really don't mind this place. Will that opinion change? Maybe. But in this moment I'm actually enjoying being here. I haven't genuinely enjoyed being on a forum in quite some time, so it's a nice change.
 

Papa

Banned
As someone who only joined earlier this year and has like 11 posts; my opinions don't hold much weight. However, I figured I'd throw a little bit of positivity (albeit kinda lame lmfao) anyway. I heard horror stories of this place from various friends and outlets, so I figured I'd give this place a look for myself. Not bad. Maybe it's because all my past forum experiences have also been chaotic, but I really don't mind this place. Will that opinion change? Maybe. But in this moment I'm actually enjoying being here. I haven't genuinely enjoyed being on a forum in quite some time, so it's a nice change.

Welcome and cool name. Surprised it was available.

Your post count generally won't be held against you unless you come in here trying to bend the place to your will from day 1, which you obviously aren't doing. There is a stigma about GAF due to its previous incarnation, but that cancer was excised in October last year and now calls itself Resetera. The rebuild here is well underway so you picked a good time to join.

P.S. There's no need to include disclaimers about your opinions (i.e. "albeit kinda lame"). Just say what you think, tell the truth, and try not to be a dick unnecessarily.
 

StreetsofBeige

Gold Member
As someone who only joined earlier this year and has like 11 posts; my opinions don't hold much weight. However, I figured I'd throw a little bit of positivity (albeit kinda lame lmfao) anyway. I heard horror stories of this place from various friends and outlets, so I figured I'd give this place a look for myself. Not bad. Maybe it's because all my past forum experiences have also been chaotic, but I really don't mind this place. Will that opinion change? Maybe. But in this moment I'm actually enjoying being here. I haven't genuinely enjoyed being on a forum in quite some time, so it's a nice change.
Welcome. I'm pretty new too, but have enjoyed posting almost every day. When it comes to gaming, I'd rather interact with gamers than read the millionth game preview from a website.

The horror stories you read were probably from last year and years before when this site was HUGE and was a clusterfuck of people posting with biased mods. A lot of loud people left, and by the looks of it most mods left too or got canned.

Things happened and cleaned up. The site is smaller, but the discussion more relaxed. You won't fight too many people making personal insults, cussing and accusing others here anymore. The politics section can have some heated discussions, but it's tame compared to other forums.

You also don't see too many people getting banned, since people police themselves reasonably well.
 
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As someone who only joined earlier this year and has like 11 posts; my opinions don't hold much weight. However, I figured I'd throw a little bit of positivity (albeit kinda lame lmfao) anyway. I heard horror stories of this place from various friends and outlets, so I figured I'd give this place a look for myself. Not bad. Maybe it's because all my past forum experiences have also been chaotic, but I really don't mind this place. Will that opinion change? Maybe. But in this moment I'm actually enjoying being here. I haven't genuinely enjoyed being on a forum in quite some time, so it's a nice change.
Glad you are here!

Your post count doesn’t mean anything. Most here were here for years before signing up.

Your opinion matters greatly so express yourself. Anyone who does so and is sincere adds greatly to our mission.

That mission is to have fun and continue to add to this awesome community. I just made that mission up btw. But it sounds good lol.

So be yourself, enjoy the site and it’s inhabitants, and speak your mind.
 
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As someone who only joined earlier this year and has like 11 posts; my opinions don't hold much weight. However, I figured I'd throw a little bit of positivity (albeit kinda lame lmfao) anyway. I heard horror stories of this place from various friends and outlets, so I figured I'd give this place a look for myself. Not bad. Maybe it's because all my past forum experiences have also been chaotic, but I really don't mind this place. Will that opinion change? Maybe. But in this moment I'm actually enjoying being here. I haven't genuinely enjoyed being on a forum in quite some time, so it's a nice change.
Every post is weighed by its own merits.

That OldGAF "get outta here Junior Member" bullcrap can stay dead. Welcome and please stick around.
 

Kadayi

Banned
Is ignoring someone not a form of culling dissenting opinion? Perhaps I’m being pedantic, but whether it happens as a result of moderator action or individual action, the end result is the same: the removal of dissenting opinions that would otherwise prevent you from crystallising your opinions based on a limited world view.

I think your mistake is to assume all people use the ignore feature to drown out people they disagree with on some political level. You need to think a little bigger on that front. After a while, on old GAF the realisation just sunk in that some people just weren't worth the time and energy. People like Lime and Snitch for instance. Nothing constructive ever came out of responding to them, not because of their politics, but because they were clearly Troll posters who weren't interested in an honest discussion versus forum runaround. Hope that makes sense.
 

Redneckerz

Those long posts don't cover that red neck boy
At this point, I reckon you could probably predict my response to this.

Harden up, cunt.
😎
I don't need to use Harden against soft-boiled Pokemon/Eggs like you Matt. :p

At the end of the day the gatekeepers talk to you, not to me. You might want to wonder why that is, and it isn't because i worship the Savior himself, Evilore. ;)
 
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Wings 嫩翼翻せ

so it's not nice
As someone who only joined earlier this year and has like 11 posts; my opinions don't hold much weight. However, I figured I'd throw a little bit of positivity (albeit kinda lame lmfao) anyway. I heard horror stories of this place from various friends and outlets, so I figured I'd give this place a look for myself. Not bad. Maybe it's because all my past forum experiences have also been chaotic, but I really don't mind this place. Will that opinion change? Maybe. But in this moment I'm actually enjoying being here. I haven't genuinely enjoyed being on a forum in quite some time, so it's a nice change.

You SOB I wanted that name!!!!
 

Elfstar

Member
There should definitely be some kind of "Politics in Gaming" subforum, but i'm afraid it would drive away too much traffic from the main Gaming section right now.
 

bitbydeath

Member
Yeah, I’m saying it was a factor, but not the sole one or even anywhere close to the largest one though.

Is ignoring someone not a form of culling dissenting opinion? Perhaps I’m being pedantic, but whether it happens as a result of moderator action or individual action, the end result is the same: the removal of dissenting opinions that would otherwise prevent you from crystallising your opinions based on a limited world view.

I’m happy to disagree on this.

I agree in principle which is why I’d never use it.
 
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