An accusation was made by a poster that this Forum
was "awash with Lefties".

Is that true?

Some might thing the opposite was true.

That it's "awash with conservative old men".

So I thought it might be interesting to see what people
really think.

And on top of that - what do they like or dislike
about the forum and why they keep coming back - or
in some cases - why do we think or suspect some have
left?

Over to you folks.

Now's your chance to vent or praise as you see fit.

Just one request - let's not use this opportunity for
personal attacks - please.

Lord, Grant me the serenity
To accept abusive people the way they are
Courage to maintain my self-control
And wisdom
To know that if I act on it
I will go to jail or be banned.

Foxy

the thing I like about olo is that it allows all worldviews without censorship. It is reflective of the clashes that are taking place in society and allows people to state what they are thinking. Personally I think it brings out the best and worse in me. Olo is a mixture of abc dogma and sky news and everything in between. As with US politics views on olo are more polarised than ever. It has also taught me that it is almost impossible to separate personalities from ideology. Most politicians play it safe by avoiding the culture wars so I probably have more respect for those who say what they think whether left or right.

Dear runner,

What a beautiful and very thoughtful response.
So well put. Your summation is much better than
anything I could have said.

Thank You.

Foxy,

I would like to see people giving their arguments based on their own position instead of cutting and pasting stuff gleaned on the web. That is, they should support their arguments based on what they themselves know to be accurate. Too many people on OLO think that presenting an argument is a simple matter of extracting information from others and presenting it as their own. You and I know exactly what that is called.

How many people on OLO can actually put forward an argument based on their own expertise of a subject?

Dear runner,

I'd just like to add to the points that you've raised.

The forum does indeed allow a diversity of views
without censorship.

Of course we're all supposed to abide by the forum's
rules which as you know is - not to flame, not to
shout (use caps extensively), not to post the same
message across multiple threads, keep responses on
topic (hard to do), not to use spam, not to attempt
to circumvent suspensions and we know that the
moderator's rulings are final.

Failure to abide may result in post deletion or even
account suspension.

Anyway, we've all at times stretched these rules to the
limits and we've all been given a great deal of lee-way.
Especially in being able to say what we're thinking,
while often breaking the rules.

I agree this forum does bring out the best and the worst
in people. Myself included. Mea culpa. I've made some
doozy mistakes - that O cringe when I think of them.
Anonymity helps in this regard. I would never have done
it in "real" life - face to face. That's not how I was
brought up.

I guess when the right buttons are pushed most people
will react.

And you're spot on - I too have noticed that views on the
forum have become more polarised than I remember them
being in the past. And again - spot on - it is impossible
to separate personalities from ideology.

But I am with you - that I have more respect for people
who say what they think (minus the personal insults) then
people who play it safe, as most politicians tend to do.
Yet again, I guess politicians have to toe the party line,
their careers depend on it.

Thanks for the opportunity, Foxy :)

Misopinionated,

"How many people on OLO can actually put forward an argument based on their own expertise of a subject?"

I recall that you once called yourself an environmental sociologist, which sounds about as wanky as you can get, but I look forward to you taking your own advice :)

Joe