[Moderator]

Originally Posted by Rosie1950

Glad this will be monitored going forward. My biggest complaint is while just reading another post I went past several political adds all of which are for 1 particular party. I have seen quite a few of these adds so IF there is to be no political discussions (which I whole heartedly agree with) what’s up with the adds?

They are generated by google ads and other bots based on your computer search history. They are not generated, sponsored or endorsed by TOTV

[coffeebean]

Originally Posted by Silver Streak

As you set this up, I hope you'll give some guidance on how we can discuss current events and news WITHOUT mentioning politics? I have a hard time imagining that, somehow. I tend to agree with whoever it was who suggested creating an area where political discussions ARE allowed (apparently there used to be such a thing? I'm relatively new here). Though personal attacks/name-calling should still be disallowed, of course. Personally, I'd love a space to CIVILLY discuss political issues with my neighbors. If that's even possible these days?

Thank you, moderators, for what you do here! I'm sure it's a frustrating and thankless task much of the time.

Agree. I don't see any news worthy subject other than politics in the news these days. Honestly, we don't have any other current events being reported during this climate of unrest that we are all dealing with. The pandemic and BLM movement is all I'm seeing, hearing and reading about and they all have political roots. I have no idea how to eliminate the discussion about current events and not discuss the politics that is behind our current events.

I truly appreciate the moderators for taking on the impossible task of keeping politics out of a forum devoted to "Current Events". Good luck with that!

[ladyarwen3]

Thank you for the reminder!

[Indydealmaker]

Originally Posted by kenoc7

You have said this before and have done nothing about posts that are political and/or hate speech. Do you really mean it this time.Posyts don't have to mention political parties or politicians to be political.

Moderators volunteer their time and are not always going to have the time to catch every violation immediately.

[Schaumburger]

Originally Posted by Mumbles

Aren't there some posters here who have used their own photo? Does anyone here know if it's permitted to do so? IMHO a person's name--in and of itself-- won't cause heartache, but it can get nasty after a while. Perhaps a photo will be less a cause of anything, and we may never see that person walking, driving, golfing in TV. Safer?

My photo on TOTV is the same photo I use on Facebook and Linkedin. I should get a more current photo (with more gray hairs) LOL.

[Schaumburger]

Originally Posted by Goldwingnut

This will be an interesting line for the moderators to tow and I look forward to see how it is handled, too much heavy handedness and this forum becomes a worthless world of sunshine and unicorns, not enough and it degrades to the trashy level of may other social media platforms.

While spirited discussions will surely abound in the coming months of the November elections and will be more easily identified as political, what about the grayer areas? Where will you draw the line? A discussion of the 25% property tax increase is most certainly of profound interest to Villages residents and Sumter county alike, it easily shifts to a discussion of those making the decisions and that pending election, where will you draw the line?

Since the posting of this thread you have had no teeth, this post https://www.talkofthevillages.com/fo...people-307816/ was clearly and purely political and offensive in nature and yet was allowed to fester for 90 posts. A quick review of the threads and posts on may of the forums show a great many clearly laced with political tones and derogatory comments. Where is the line to be drawn on these? When will this line be like a knife at the throat of liberty?

Obviously this website is free to pluck and purn its branches as it sees fit. We can only hope they are not too aggressive as to kill the tree.

Well said. Thank you Don.

Regarding using photos, then you might as well use real names. If your photo is associated with your real name anywhere else on the internet, your photo here can be used to find that name with facial recognition software. I personally don’t care either way regarding anonymity online, I am already using my real name.

[Bogie Shooter]

Has the sub-forum been setup yet?

[Aloha1]

Originally Posted by TOTV Specialist

We will have this new sub-forum created within the next few days.

It would be really helpful if you could define what is a "political" comment. Is naming an elected official considered political? Or naming a political party? Even in the course of a discussion involving historical facts about a person or party? Some basic guidelines might help eliminate unintended violations.

Originally Posted by Aloha1

It would be really helpful if you could define what is a "political" comment. Is naming an elected official considered political? Or naming a political party? Even in the course of a discussion involving historical facts about a person or party? Some basic guidelines might help eliminate unintended violations.

The OP said: “Let us remind you that posting about politics is strictly forbidden. This includes the mention of political parties, political individuals, or any political topics.” Seems pretty straight forward.

[CFrance]

Originally Posted by Bogie Shooter

It would be nice if the new sub-forum posts would not show up when "Forum New Posts" is selected.

I second that. Sometimes even the thread titles incite.

[CFrance]

There are certain people who passively-aggressively sneak political references into seemingly innocuous threads. It even happened today. I would hope the moderators would keep an eye out for these and remove them.

[wisbad1]

Originally Posted by TOTV Team

Dear TOTV users,

Talk of The Villages was originally created as a forum for Villagers to come together easily, and discuss happenings across the town and beyond. However, in recent months, we have seen a surge of posts that violate our site guidelines, and have impacted the general mood across the forum.

Let us remind you that posting about politics is strictly forbidden. This includes the mention of political parties, political individuals, or any political topics. Even with warnings and reminders of this rule, users continue to post about politics. We will now begin giving out one week temporary bans to any user who violates this rule. If users continue to defy this rule, longer or even permanent bans will be given.

In addition, discussion on TOTV should remain kind and respectful. Negatively directed posts are not allowed. Negative posts directed at other users will be deleted, and any user who continues to disregard this rule will be subjected to a temporary ban.

We understand that during these tumultuous times, it is cathartic to come to the forum and discuss everything happening on the news and in our community. We encourage open discussion, and welcome everyone with different backgrounds and viewpoints. To reflect this, we have decided to create a new sub-forum dedicated solely to current events and news. On this side of the forum, users will be able to discuss everything happening in the world, and those who do not wish to participate, can easily ignore this sub-forum. This sub-forum will still adhere to site guidelines, and will be moderated according to these rules. This means there will still be no political discussion allowed. All we ask from our users is respect towards each other, regardless of differing opinions, and respect towards our site guidelines.

Lastly, please note that the General Discussions Forum is meant for topics related to The Villages, Florida. This includes topics related to buying in the area, and for things related to living in The Villages. The New Members Forum is meant for new members to the site who wish to introduce themselves to everyone on the forum. If you post a topic that does not fit these descriptions, your post will be moved to the correct forum.

If you wish to review our site guidelines, you can find them here: https://www.talkofthevillages.com/fo...p?pageid=rules

Why are you not enforcing it?

[Aloha1]

Originally Posted by theruizs

The OP said: “Let us remind you that posting about politics is strictly forbidden. This includes the mention of political parties, political individuals, or any political topics.” Seems pretty straight forward.

Not really. Would bar any discussion of history, deaths of prominent individuals, etc.

Originally Posted by Aloha1

Not really. Would bar any discussion of history, deaths of prominent individuals, etc.

Ok with me, if that’s what they meant. If a thread gets started for example about certain past wars or about certain past presidents, I just see the thread descending into it’s typical chaos. There is nothing from keeping a group of you from starting your own forum site and allowing such discussions.