Announcement 2020 Update: Political and Politically Charged Content Not Allowed

[Chickenhappy8708]

That makes sense.

 

[Kusanar]

I have a few questions.
What counts as political? Do political jokes count as political? Is racism considered political ( still bad, whether it’s political or not in my opinion)? Is saying the USA has a president considered political?

If any of this comes off as rude, I’m sorry. I’m just wondering where the line is drawn on these sorts of things so I can do my best to avoid them.

My take is that stating facts should be ok unless you KNOW it will set someone of a different political opinion off. If it is a fact that is relevant to the forum (chickens etc) then facts are facts, if it is not relevant and will set people off, then drop it.

Stating "my party is great and yours is stupid" probably not cool.. lol

 

[Chickenhappy8708]

My take is that stating facts should be ok unless you KNOW it will set someone of a different political opinion off. If it is a fact that is relevant to the forum (chickens etc) then facts are facts, if it is not relevant and will set people off, then drop it.

Stating "my party is great and yours is stupid" probably not cool.. lol

Well said.

 

[hysop]

Can I just say that I love that meme?

At first I skipped over the meme to read the post, then I read your comment and went back to look at the meme. I’m dying!!

 

[Nifty-Chicken]

I have a few questions.
What counts as political? Do political jokes count as political? Is racism considered political ( still bad, whether it’s political or not in my opinion)? Is saying the USA has a president considered political?

Please see my post above

LOTS of subjectivity, but our advice: if there is question if it's political, it might be best to avoid it.

We can't really create a list of things that are / aren't allowed, but I think most people can look at something and say, "Would those opposed to my perspective on this idea be upset about what I'm posting?"

We'll need to leave it up to our members to do their best at judging what is / isn't politically charged, then trust our team to do what is best for the community if an item is deemed to be inappropriate for BYC. (again, not that the subject is bad/wrong... just that it isn't appropriate here).

 

[ariri30]

Hey Peeps!

TL;DR: Political and politically charged contend will no longer be allowed on BYC.

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As most of you know, there has been tremendously political and social intensity recently... and heading into the US election, we're expecting things to only amplify from here.

On BYC we strive for complete neutrality with regards to these issues. We work hard to allow our members the flexibility to post all manner of topics and discussions. That said, we've found some topics become heated, contentious, and create a situation that isn't healthy for our members or our community. Very often our report system is flooded by flagged content which then requires our amazing moderators to spend countless hours sorting through the content.

With all that in mind, our team has decided to change our stance from "discouraging" political and politically charged content to disallowing content that is political or politically charged.

Notes Regarding This Change:

1. Sometimes peeps complain that we're silencing their freedom of speech. BYC is a privately owned website (by me ), so it might be helpful to view BYC as a home in which you've been invited (as a member) to come inside for a visit. You may not like how we've decorate the place, or that we ask you to leave your shoes (strong politically charged opinions) at the door before you come in. We totally understand. It's totally your choice to not come inside out house... just like it's our choice to determine what kind of behavior we'll tolerate inside our home.
2. Our amazing and diverse team will do their best to determine which content is "political or politically charged". It's impossible to draw a PERFECT line between what is and isn't "politically charged", but our team will discuss any that are in the "gray area" and make a judgement call" as best we can, with the goal to keep the community humming along as smoothly as possible. (We know we're doing a really good job being unbiased when both "sides" of an argument think we're being too strict and biased)
3. "Content" includes posts, pictures, avatars, signatures, etc.
4. This new policy will be in place at least until the dust settles from the US election
5. If someone posts something that you take issue with, either ignore it or report it. Do not start or engage in a fight. Remember to avoid feeding trolls!
6. We understand many of our peeps are VERY passionate about their beliefs and perspective, and this can be exacerbated when a moderator takes action to something posted. If you receive a warning or reminder of this policy, and/or have content removed, please remember our rule against PUBLICLY questioning our rules and our moderation. You're welcome to contact any BYC moderator PRIVATELY with your questions, concerns, feedback, etc. Similar to the analogy above, imagine if you're invited into someone's home for a super-fun party, and start screaming at the hosts (in front of all the other peeps) about how much you hate the food that's been provided to you for FREE. Instead, it would be more appropriate to kindly and privately talk to the host (moderators) in private and start a productive dialog to express your thoughts, questions, and ideas.

A huge THANK YOU to all the amazing peeps visiting inside our "home" that respect our rules and the tone / demeanor we've decided is best for our group!

 

[Nifty-Chicken]

My take is that stating facts should be ok

Ah, this reminded me of a GREAT point I should comment on.

Just because something is "true/fact" doesn't mean it's ok to say it. I've been running forums for about 15 years and countless times I've seen people have their content reported for being offensive, then we remove it, and then we get the argument back:

"Well, I was just stating fact!!!!"

... as that's some defense for always being able to say something.

If that's the case, then I invite that person to go to their significant other, children, parents, friends, and directly tell them all kinds of "facts" and see how they respond. For example:

• "Hey wife, that dress makes you look SUPER fat."
• "Hey husband, our neighbor is clearly nicer than you are."
• "Hey child, your younger sibling is way smarter than you."
• "Hey boss, we all think you're a horrible human being, and we wouldn't be sad if you got hit by a car tomorrow."

Those may all be 100% true "facts"... but it doesn't make them ok, or appropriate to say.

 

[Kusanar]

Ah, this reminded me of a GREAT point I should comment on.

Just because something is "true/fact" doesn't mean it's ok to say it. I've been running forums for about 15 years and countless times I've seen people have their content reported for being offensive, then we remove it, and then we get the argument back:

"Well, I was just stating fact!!!!"

... as that's some defense for always being able to say something.

If that's the case, then I invite that person to go to their significant other, children, parents, friends, and directly tell them all kinds of "facts" and see how they respond. For example:

• "Hey wife, that dress makes you look SUPER fat."
• "Hey husband, our neighbor is clearly nicer than you are."
• "Hey child, your younger sibling is way smarter than you."
• "Hey boss, we all think you're a horrible human being, and we wouldn't be sad if you got hit by a car tomorrow."

Those may all be 100% true "facts"... but it doesn't make them ok, or appropriate to say.

Lol, I would totally say those things in real life though... I'm nicer online

 

[ChocolateMouse]

I'm concerned about the boundaries/bias on this. Especially around lived experiences.

Some peoples very existence is inherently "more political" than others. That makes it hard for people to actually talk about chickens, or their lives in chat threads. For example, a recent ban on firing people for being LGBT+ went through the court system a few months back. That ban directly effects whether or not a huge swath of my family and friends are capable of talking about their lives in public, including me, but many people consider it political. For us, however, it's just literally existing.

This summation can be applied to LOTS of people. I get criticism from strangers for keeping livestock as a woman. I have to be more experienced than my male counterparts to garner the same respect in communal settings locally, but some people consider that political. I know people who experience the same things around race, and have much bigger things to worry about if the cops come to their door for a noisy rooster than a fine from the city like I do. Or people who are on food stamps who are trying to grow their own. Even keeping chickens for those people (including me) can be political.

So I'm curious as to where the boundaries fall about being able to talk about our lived experiences or the lived experiences of the people around us when just living with chickens gets political.
Do we just not get to talk about that the way someone mainstream does? Do we have to deliberately omit details someone with an identical problem but different circumstances would not?

 

[ariri30]

Ah, this reminded me of a GREAT point I should comment on.

Just because something is "true/fact" doesn't mean it's ok to say it. I've been running forums for about 15 years and countless times I've seen people have their content reported for being offensive, then we remove it, and then we get the argument back:

"Well, I was just stating fact!!!!"

... as that's some defense for always being able to say something.

If that's the case, then I invite that person to go to their significant other, children, parents, friends, and directly tell them all kinds of "facts" and see how they respond. For example:

• "Hey wife, that dress makes you look SUPER fat."
• "Hey husband, our neighbor is clearly nicer than you are."
• "Hey child, your younger sibling is way smarter than you."
• "Hey boss, we all think you're a horrible human being, and we wouldn't be sad if you got hit by a car tomorrow."

Those may all be 100% true "facts"... but it doesn't make them ok, or appropriate to say.

Can I tell you about my boss