General Discussion Poll

[Brian]

In light of the recent discussion that was hotly debated, and believing that this forum should run as a democracy, I thought we would run a poll to give the members a chance to have their say as to how the forum should run.

 

General discussion was created so that we could have a place to discuss off topic matters without disturbing the discussions in the dedicated forums.

The question is however, how off topic should we go?

 

a)Should General discussion be for any matters we feel like discussing at all?

b)Should it be moderated for topics that vaguely concern Nihonto, Collecting, Japan, the Samurai etc?

c)Should General Discussion be abandoned in favor of the existing dedicated Nihonto and Tosogu Forums?

 

Feel free to have your say, and please cast your vote.

 

Thanks,

Brian

[David Flynn]

Brian, thank you for this opportunity to have a say. In Australia, we have rather strict gun laws. Some of the comments made in the general discussion forum were rather disturbing. However, I am totaly for free speech. So, I vote that the general discussion forum be just that. Maybe though, if a subject appears to be sensitive, a warning of some kind could be given.

[David Flynn]

Brian, perhaps a fourth option be made available. The combination of points one and two.

[Brian]

David,

 

I am happy to keep the discussions to topics that vaguely revolve around our common interests if people prefer that. In fact..I voted that way myself.

If it is totally open to any topics at all, it would of course still be moderated, but everyone has their own ideas of what is acceptable, so it will always be contentious.

This is not about firearms. The discussion could easily have been about politics or religion. So maybe some controls are in order...but I will still allow some leeway. If you want to discuss photographing your collection or places to visit in Japan or Oriental food...that would be fine under the second option.

 

I will run the poll for a few days and let the members decide how they want this forum to be run. If anyone does not agree with something, please approach me. I am not closed minded when it comes to polite disagreement

 

Brian

[Bungo]

awhhhhhh, a dilemma for the daimyo's on what to wack !!

 

How about this............

 

Mod Edit - (How about no political links :D)

 

it could be sword related. Someone ( I think It's Herr Einstein ) once said.." I don't know what weapons they use in WW3, but I am sure it'll be rocks and sticks ( swords, may be ) in WW4 "...........something like that.

 

 

 

milt THE ronin

[sencho]

I voted for the middle option. I think a general discussion section is great, but maybe we should keep it slightly towards topic....

 

However I did enjoy the rugby banter a few weeks back, Brian.... I guess I will have to find a way to include the Japanese team next time!!

 

Cheers

Nigel

[DavidF]

How about an off-topic forum? General could be about either swords or Japanese but something that has a tangental relation to nihonto. An off-topic forum could be a dumping ground for stuff such as "What are the gun laws in your country?" or "Hey Milt, you still owe me money--just kidding."

 

Either way an off-topic forum would allow those interested in pursuing a thread without it congesting the other forums.

 

DaveF.

[Henry Wilson]

I think that the board should be for the discussion of things related to the Japanese sword as the banner of the board indicates.

 

I think that a general discussion board should be for discussing things that are not easily categoriesed in the other forums and may not immediately appear to be related to swords, such as kabuki, ukiyoe or modern steel manufacture etc but are linked in some indirect way and have some value to understanding Japanese culture.

 

As a moderator I feel that a free discussion forum on any topic that does not bear relevance to swords or Japanese culture would be very hard to monitor and would find it hard to judge what is acceptable and what is not. If we are talking about politics, gun laws or religion than why not talk about gambling, pornography and counterfieting?

 

There is enought to learn in the world of swords and fittings with out getting distracted with other things that can be pursued on other boards.

[Ed]

I also agree that the General discusssion section should maintain some relevance to Japanese culture.

 

On the other hand, I do not have a problem with a seperate "off topic" catagory, in order to discuss whatever you like. That way if someone wished to discuss anything with their friends here, they could. If you don't like the idea, simply avoid the catagory or do not participate.

[sencho]

I completely agree with Henry.

 

I think that if people want to discuss general things as Ed' says "with their friends" then they should use the PM function or exchange email addresses or just use another board.

 

Too much freedom easily disolves into crass idiocy. The integrity of this board should be maintained and preserved.., just like the nihonto that we study.

 

In addition it should be every members' responsibility to endevour to maintain a message board that is an example, an education, and an enlightenment to people who surf in and take a look at a subject that we all care about.

 

Personally if I have any messages to discuss in the future that are not nihonto or culturally relevant or I feel are "off topic", (like my rugby post before!) I will use the PM function.

 

Cheers!

[Brian]

Thanks for the replies so far all. I have noted all of them.

I am surprised that there are only 23 votes out of over 150 members. Do the others not mind either way?

So far there is a clear preference, which is encouraging..but I will leave the poll running for a while longer.

 

Regards,

Brian

[Bungo]

Thanks for the replies so far all. I have noted all of them.

I am surprised that there are only 23 votes out of over 150 members. Do the others not mind either way?

So far there is a clear preference, which is encouraging..but I will leave the poll running for a while longer.

 

Regards,

Brian

 

well, if you allow multiple votings ike we do here in the US of A..............

milt THE ronin

[Ed]

Make no mistake, my vote is to keep the general discussion board dedicated to Japanese related subject matter only.

 

What I was saying in regards to an "Off Topic" section, was that I don't care one way or the other if the board decides to implement such a feature.

 

Having an open discussion among friends would be difficult using the PM option. The rugby topic is a prime example. I couldn't care less about rugby, but it didn't bother or offend me that you guys discussed it. I just think it did not belong under the topic of general nihonto discussion.

[bdgrange]

Japanese culture and history are good topics as well within this heading.

Swords may have two aspects that we might enjoy and study, as once said by a fine teacher and collector Cary Condell.

One aspect is the sword as it relates to actual history and another is its construction and all of its attributes.

One might spend all his time understanding just one theme and not have wasted a moment.

 

bdgrange

[John A Stuart]

I think the middle road is the way to go, relying on the good sense of members to not stray too far from relevent matter. The peripherals sometimes can lead to a gem worth noting. The seperation of categories as well will tend to keep focus on the particular subject in hand and prevent unrelated thought from diluting the thread away from subject. Thus my vote. John