Clarification needed for what counts as political or religious

roydan

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This is more of a discussion than a feedback or suggestion, but it's here because I think it's the most appropriate section for it.
I read it a couple of times before I posted it, I know it "reads" like a rant, but it really isn't.

A recent thread about May 1st was moved to the Sapphire section due to it being a political holiday, and although the context @God added to it later did show that it was indeed a political holiday, I don't think anyone thought about that as a political thread up until that point.

When does the line go?

I used to post happy [enter a jewish holiday] threads on a stricter forum and it was never a problem because although most holidays are either political or religious, with time they detach from that and are just traditions we have with friends and family.
Atheists celebrate Christmas, don't they? I know I celebrated Rosh Hashanah even though I couldn't care less about the Jewish calendar. I don't even know the Jewish date today.

My point is that holidays are not religious or political despite their source most likely is.

Where does the line go? Can we have flags as pfp? Can we wish a happy holiday? Can we ask if our fellow Thai members are fine after a tsunami? Can we do the same thing after a missile attack on Kyiv (I know the answer to this one, obviously, I'm just trying to demonstrate a point)?

I understand that a big part of rules is "the spirit" and not what is actually written, but that thread proved that most members didn't understand how we stand on that, and we need to be prepared for tens of thousand of members not understanding where the line goes in a year or so.

Referenced thread: https://officeoutlaw.com/threads/may-1-happy-workers-day.887/
 
Nah, I agree with @Octavia keep it around the major holidays, all else get out.

Since you have 30- 40 in Hinduism, 20- 30 in Christianity and a few in Islam.


Everyday would be a holiday or World X day.
Yeah yeah yeah, that's the whole point of Sri Lanka. 4 religions and people start celebrating couple days before and after each holiday so you're basically chillin' all the time. I love it. Problems start when you actually want something done. *nervous laughter*
 
Appreciate this discussion being opened. I think most of us just want to know where the line is so we can stay within it. The “Happy Workers Day” post didn’t feel political to me or others until after it was moved—so it shows there’s a bit of grey area in how it’s interpreted.

Totally get that moderation isn’t easy and that the team’s doing its best to keep things consistent. Maybe a few clearer examples or pinned clarifications could help everyone understand what falls under political/religious and what doesn’t. That way, both members and mods can navigate these topics with a bit more certainty.
 
Thank fuck we can't celebrate World Math Day
that would be disastrous for me
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Totally get that moderation isn’t easy and that the team’s doing its best to keep things consistent. Maybe a few clearer examples or pinned clarifications could help everyone understand what falls under political/religious and what doesn’t. That way, both members and mods can navigate these topics with a bit more certainty.
The moderation procedures are still being developed here as well. I need to spend time training the apprentice moderators and also continue working on the guidebook I have for them to ensure that moderation actions are done consistently.

I have admittedly not worked on this as much as I should've, so I take full responsibility for any inconsistencies in moderation here.

Anyway, the main thing with rules here is that I don't ever want any genuine members feeling like they're walking on eggshells with what they post.
 
I'll need some time to review everyone's replies.

If anyone else has anything to add, then you can post it in this thread and I'll take it into account when we refine the politics/religious discussion rules.

I'll post the drafted version of the rules here before actually implementing them, that everyone can see what they'll be before they go into effect.
 
It looks like this discussion has mostly concluded. I'll be reviewing everyone's answers as soon as I get the chance and find out what should be allowed, what shouldn't, and what needs further explanation. This will be concisely added to both the site wide rules and I'll create a site guide to explain it in more detail.

Thank you everyone who participated in this discussion!
 
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