What's going on with the Politics subforum?

There’s actually less censorship going on over on the official Government Facebook page than there is right here on this forum.
And honestly, that’s the smoking gun for why this place is losing its grip—this kind of gatekeeping just doesn't fly in the 21st century. Combine that with how behind the times the tech is, and you've got a recipe for disaster.
It’s like a microcosm of life in America: you’ve got this endless bureaucracy—only this version is digital—sticking its nose into absolutely everything. It’s just a constant barrage of arbitrary rules, fine print, bans, and general pressure from people obsessed with maintaining total control.
A mess of a country, a mess of a forum.

Maybe this very thread holds the answer as to why commenters are disappearing and why the quality on Politics has plummeted so hard.
We could try to discuss the causes, but we aren't allowed to mention moderation. Give me a break. At that rate, we might as well just lock the whole thing down right now to stay consistent.
We’ll immediately protect the root cause of the issue and pivot back to a superficial review. It’s like saying we need to investigate why things are failing in America, but we aren't allowed to mention corruption.

I’m an old-timer here, despite having a brand new profile. I haven't posted in years, but I’ve kept touch with some of the regulars. Talking to them, I found out the main reason people walked away was strictly because of the moderators.

Some say the forum has shifted left. But it isn't just the conservatives leaving; high-quality users with liberal views are walking out too.
A real contributor wants a debate. Ideally, they want to go toe-to-toe with someone who disagrees. That’s where real insight comes from. That doesn't exist here anymore.
A colleague noted—and I actually agree—that this forum is under a microscope by various interest groups that hunt for mistakes 24/7 just to report them. It keeps them funded. Just look at how this forum was dragged through the mud by the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission. Did the site ever release an official statement to debunk those claims? I don't think so, but I know it definitely impacted many threads where censorship did its job.
The trouble started with hate speech, homophobia, and political correctness. These terms have no clear boundaries, and extremists expand them daily using almost Stalinist methods to decide what is "acceptable" and what isn't.
In an atmosphere like that, anyone—especially the moderators—can be accused of failing to stop hate speech or being politically incorrect.

Given everything, the moderation is to blame for what's happening. Censorship killed the forum. But you have to understand them; who in their right mind would go against the mainstream today and put their neck on the line for free speech, only to be branded a racist, a fascist, or a homophobe? Media is everywhere now, including outlets run by people with incredibly distorted perceptions (those scare me most) who can smear you in an instant and ruin your life.

I’d say this forum is dead as a platform for exchanging ideas. And it's not just us; the whole concept of uncensored communication is dying. It used to be that censorship meant removing the rude or the vulgar; now, it means removing anything deemed "unsuitable," without any clear rules on what that actually means. When there are no clear criteria, the only ones left swimming in that swamp are one-time trolls.

crimsonjackal63 said:Well, sometimes you just need a bit of luck;
- A collection of posts, complaints, and comments—which I spent about fifteen minutes drafting on the "Messages, Complaints, and Comments" board before his mysterious disappearance—was actually read by someone. 😍

But that isn't the point.
It matters much more that Anton is on the right track, and honestly, someone should probably act on this.

Here is an example of how things shouldn't be handled, in my opinion:
- I rushed over to the "Politics" section and found the first nearby closed thread:
"Should the government ban dangerous wireless (WIFI, WLAN) and tablets in schools?"
Here is the link:

- The user put in the work, wrote a post, included links, presented arguments, etc., but then a moderator stepped in and chopped the thread down at the root instead of waiting to see if it would spark interest among users or if counterarguments might fuel further discussion.
Users themselves should be able to show whether a topic is worth attention—whether it's natural science, non-science, conservative, liberal, etc.—or if it's totally uninteresting and will simply evaporate from the forum on its own without outside intervention.

Basically, in "Politics," people should be allowed to open various topics, and interventions should be kept to a minimum.
Less is more.
That way, interesting titles stay at the top while the less attractive ones fade away.

Hot topics like "The US Government" and such shouldn't even exist as permanent fixtures.
When something interesting happens in Washington or around the administration, someone will open a specific thread about a specific issue, and that’s how "Politics" returns to being current.
A thread will last exactly as long as it needs to, and in its place, a third or tenth current event from the Government will take over.

I hope someone takes good care of these well-intentioned suggestions from forum members.

I closed the thread primarily because it has nothing to do with Politics; it belongs in Natural Science, or perhaps Alternative Studies based on what we know now. In America, there is no political movement or legislation regarding wireless devices, and cases abroad are marginal rather than part of national policy.

So, I really don't see how a serious discussion about the social impact could unfold; I just see arguments over scientific validity and conspiracy theories. We let the thread about the World Trade Center run to let people vent, and even there, the discussion had little to do with politics and veered wildly into talks about secret societies and support pillars.

My thanks to everyone for participating.