As per a vote of board members, for many years off topic posts have been allowed on METAR, as long as the no politics rule is followed and the posts are labeled “OT.” However, TMF has changed the rule and moderators now remove off topic threads labeled OT.
The no politics rule is integral to the survival of the board (which is slowly dying anyway) and therefore some moderation is critical, but as @WendyBG put it, off topic threads on METAR is a feature not a bug, and include some of the threads I enjoy the most. So the question becomes do we cut out all the off topic threads, or do we migrate somewhere else where we can still have these discussions?
I see a few choices ahead of us:
Manlobbi’s Shrewd’m site already has a METAR board (not very active, but it isn’t dead either). However, I’m not sure how the moderation might work. Manlobbi seems very committed to Shrewd’m so maybe something could be worked out.
A reddit board could be set up for free, and whoever sets it up could be the moderator. Easy, peasy
Perhaps off-topic posts are contrary to the mission, and we should get rid of them for the good of the community.
And perhaps, we had a good run and now it is time to move on.
If you go out off of the MF world you will see a lot of TMF people have started their own news letters. Simon Erickson, Firedupwealth, Brian Feroldi, etc. I believe the TMF world is falling apart and they have had their moat broken. So yes, all good things must come to an end. Thanks TMF for the education I received from all of the posters on TMF, (Not TMF themselves), It was a struggle to learn but the education I received was Immense. It is sad because MF received from it’s members as much as their members received from MF.
Many of us live, peruse, scan, several venues, I recently rediscovered Shrewd’m after losing the link for a while, so am finding thread, some old, as well as boards I’d asked for, but are currently pretty quiet… I also see 2 old posters I’d as well never see again, and their occasional 4 Recs tell me there are 3 other lurkers, but easily ignored… Not sure why the purge was reawakened here, personally I believe life is more than investments, and even when working, I never understood why so many fellow employees never figured out we live in a political workplace as well as the actual Political world… They never seemed to see the bigger picture, and even if one was aware, or not, stuff happened, good or bad anyway… Hopefully this settles down again, and wish all well… People helping people, in so many ways…
I want the community to continue, and voted Shrewd’m simply because already exists but would accept other quite happily.
How about stay here and NOT label OT, but simply accept off thread so long as not damagingly political? And urge people to put in some macro observation so as to keep the thing glued together? Like this:
After all, public discussion is a crux and foundational aspect of liberal economics and crucial to macroeconomic analysis.
Shrewd is going to be getting into wingnuts. There were some tears shed when they left but visiting them has been difficult for some here trying it out.
That said Shrewd it may be.
Reddit is good with me. Reddit would open it up to larger audiences. Might be best.
Yep the pot conversation had turned medical. It was on a drug. Let’s face that squarely.
It was not econ.
I do not know who complained but let’s also face the fact some people are very uncomfortable around pot. The crazy thing is trying to have such a conversation as if everyone should be completely happy about it. That is unfair to those who are not.
This conversation is only triggered by force a conversation here on a drug. It is not simply OT it is also very uncomfortable to some people.
We do not start a lot of topic conversations out of that concern. Just people can not say $crew having pot around me.
I accept it but do not like it. Some people utterly hate it.
I have used OT four or five times in the last month. Twice in the last week. None of those topics were pulled. None of them will be.
I am going to reiterate because it needs to be said clearly.
I have had four or five OT threads this month. Two in the last week.
None of them will be pulled. It was not just OT. It was the topic. Some people are very uncomfortable with conversations on pot. You do not talk about all sorts of things if it makes people uncomfortable.
I vote to stay on METAR but not label posts OT. If the board migrates we will lose even more regulars and the momentum of our discussions will be dissipated.
I will continue here and will flag posts that should be removed. I wish we could keep the OT marking. I still believe that the interesting (but not inflammatory) posts on METAR (many involving new technology and science) are a feature, not a bug, of this board.
I also would posit that the majority of formerly labeled “OT” posts could also lose that designation and still be characterized as macroeconomically-related.
I think that’s the point of confusion. If the new policy prohibits OT posts, all OT posts should be taken down. If there’s some other reason, it should be explained.