"About the Ultramodern Board..." Topic

It seems that the above mentioned board is causing some problems. Folks are having a difficult time behaving themselves there.
While some might very well feel otherwise, I think we could do without an Ultramodern Board, or a Current events Board. Or any other Board that has to do with goings on that are happening just now. It just seems that too many of us get too emotional over such.
Maybe we should have a poll about this.
At any rate. That's what I have to say on the subject.

I've decided to use the Fez for what I want to say and use the board for what it's supposed to be for-gaming.

Or people could excercise some self control ? Theres a fair bit of what people say that I get pretty angry at (in general, not just here) but I dont feel the need to name call, make racist remarks or bully someone.

Let us take a oath comrades! Not to frequent the Ultra-Modern board until it is reformed! Not to fall to the temptation to turn TMP into a politics forum! To always try our best to keep our posts in the spirit of wargaming and military history!

If it's really that distressing, why not just turn it
off ???

Why should people who play modern wargames have a useful tool like a forum page taken away because others object to the nature and intensity of debate which goes on there? Military History is a sub-section of History. History is the study human behaviours and interactions over time. Human behaviours are at least in part determined by politics. Many believe that war is just an extension of politics by other means. How can you have a meaningful discussion about wargames and Military History without discussing politics? That would be like trying to have a discussion about Art History without being able to discuss perspective. It's daft and pointless to try.
With cross-posting many topics land on the Ultra-modern board and other boards as well. Should these other boards be closed as well? There are other boards where anger and disharmony have long reigned and yet they are still intact and not under threat. Why are the Napoleonic and Utter Drivel boards still here to name but two (and in no way to indict people who post on them)? I would never think of banning the Napoleonics boards because of a history of controversy, even though I do not game Napoleonics on a regular basis and thus I would not miss such boards. The people who do game this genre need the boards and I would not presume to superimpose my craving for tranquility over their desires to fully discuss their passions and love of the hobby.
The root of the acrimony which sometimes bubbles up on TMP is not the board but the people who post on it. To ban a board because one believes that it incites discord and the collision of ideas is like arguing that we must ban roads and parking lots because they encourage and enable traffic accidents and road rage. The problem is almost always not the road but the drivers who use it.
We do not live in a world where one group of events can be compartmentalized from other events. The are no discrete quanta in the human experience. We have to take the good with the bad. That does not mean we ignore the bad. As has been seen in recent days when someone crosses a line (about a topic rooted in WWII), many others step in and try to correct or countervail real or perceived threats to forum decorum. That is a sign of a healthy forum and community and, while to some it may sound tedious and annoying, it is part and parcel of the human experience we all share.
Why do we so often wish to ban what piques us but tolerate those things which truly threaten our future? There are many things worth fighting to ban or control in this world but the proclivity of wargamers to bicker and cluck at each other like angry hens seems somewhat low on the totem pole of threats to our way of life.
If things being discussed on a board just irk you, ignore them or "ignore" the posters. If things on a board are in your opinion dangerous, wind yourself up for a fiery diatribe and give those who utter such dangerous ideas a blast of 'correct thinking' in the hopes that they will rethink their position or through shame or exhaustion be less vocal about it. That is the way things are in the real world and just because we play with toy soldiers does not mean we can leave the real world behind all the time.
Here endeth the sermon.
Cheers.
Rod Robertson.

I am very happy with the Ultramodern board as it is.

It is essentially Current Affairs by another name, and I've turned it off to let the politicos have their tedious squabbles in peace.

If the politicos were disciplined even handedly instead of punishing overwhelmingly those who support the Editor's POV it might be fairer.
As it is, you know who can get away with more.

But let's face it. It is what it is and is not going to change. Enter at your own risk and don't whine when you get the DH or get locked out. You have no one but yourself to blame, and whining about arbitrary punishment under a sock puppet or on a different site only makes you look foolish. "Fair" is a place where you go to win blue ribbons for your pig.

It seems that the above mentioned board is causing some problems. Folks are having a difficult time behaving themselves there.

Yes, it does look like DH bait, but if YOU don't bother to post there, why eliminate it?
One of TMP's main problems is that we have more than our fair share of nannies who want to force things into being the way they want it to be. And the "enemy" site has the same problem but will not admit it. One of their current arguments is that some of the self exiled loudmouths from TMP are trying to force another exile to run HIS new site the way THEY think it should be run. They want him to ban people they don't like who annoyed them on TMP. Morons have no sense of irony.

I came upon this thread, and sat here thinking, and typing and erasing replies for quite some time. In the end, I arrived at this:

Here and elsewhere, I try to conduct myself such that I am considerate and respectful of others. It is an obligation that I commit to, when I subscribe to being a part of society. Sometimes I screw up, but I don't come here with the intent to be malicious. I cannot expect this from others, and sometimes I forget that.

Rod for the win!

There is no reason to get rid of this board. If you can't handle it just turn it off.

Agreed.

Perhaps a second board for Ultramodern miniature gaming would be useful, We could post discussions of games, rulesets and miniatures.
I think there should be a poll on the subject.

Ultramodern board for those times when bricoles are just not available.

It's just fine as is.

People can either calm down, or exercise some self-control if it bothers them, and not read the postings, or not over-react if they do decide to venture in.

I too have turned it off as it is more about current military affairs and little about miniatures.

I'm finding I write something in response to a posting on the UM board and after I get it off my chest I erase it and go back to Napoleonic boards to stay out of the Dawghouse.

The modern board is described as:

Ultramodern (2004-2014) – For discussion of military events within the past 10 years, including ongoing operations, and wargaming in this period

That is what is talked about there. That is what is supposed to be talked about there. That talk generates interest and commercial demand which spurs producers to make products to satisfy that demand. The talk supports and enriches the genre and the hobby in general. I really don't see what the problem is all about. The content is clearly described on the link to the page. It's a very interesting place to learn about the world too.
Cheers.
Rod Robertson

"…and go back to Napoleonic boards to stay out of the Dawghouse." Gosh.

I'll repeat my plea, if anyone actually posts anything wargame related there please cross post it, it is the one board I turned off due to the signal to noise ratio being about 10000 noise to 1 signal.

It has helped in cutting down the CNN posts and "someone in Iran farted" stuff by confining it to one forum.

I've never been interested in ultra-modern games and I've never turned this board on. Seems like I would not ever do so now.