Keep Nonshop Talk...Get rid of politics and religion

Don,
I’d rather read people discussing politics and religion than about those hoodwinked by A-2 steel hype or people screwing up perfectly good hand tools with their work-sharps. I find the endless discussions of honing guides or sand paper sharpening annoying and want to scream, “Why not just lean to sharpen, it’s a h*ll of a lot easier and more efficient.”

I rather like the religious discussions, fits with my lifestyle. Political discussions are all over the board, just avoid some of the trolls and the annoying posts diminish considerably.

-- --Rev. Russ in NY-- A posse ad esse

What we really neeed is Hans:
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1740707/

-- I'm not as good as I once was, but I'm as good once as I ever was.

So lwllms… do you like the worksharp 3000 or an Arkansas oilstone better? ;-) kidding.

We built a bridge! , I agree 100% with Lwllms.

-- "_If we did all the things we are capable of doing, we would literally astonish ourselves_." Edison

CheeseWiz, Don – is this how you spend ALL of your time? Seems you should have little time left to be offended by all these folks who make your time on the intertubes miserable by having an opinion that differs from your own.

Your dovetails impress me BTW. I’m a little intimidated by them, myself. I’m conflicted between learning to do them well by hand and learning to do them passably well using a jig and router. Either way, I think visible joinery brings a lot to a project. At this point in my hobby, all of my projects have more utilitarian than art. I appreciate your tips. Mission accomplished! ;)

-- IZZZZZI BoB IZZZZZI

SchottFamily, I’m retired so yes I do have a lot of time. I would like to say to you that I have nothing, nothing at all against people with opinions that differ from mine. However, I do have opinions on how people should treat each other when they disagree and you are correct in that in this case my opinion is the only opinion. Like the old saying about agreeing to disagree…that is fine as long as a little civility goes along with it. BTW, what is your first name, I’m sure it’s not SchottFamily. Of course I could be wrong and you can feel free to disagree. Nicely of course…
On another note I am now building a jig to cut dovetails on a bandsaw. I’ve come to the conclusion that when you get to be my age the frustration that goes along with cutting “tight dovetails” just isn’t worth it. I’ll be posting my process soon. Hope you have a chance to look at it.
Don

-- I would drink a river of the kool aid before I took the smallest sip of the tea...

I’m Rob, Bob, Robert, Bobby – call me anything but late to dinner! Pleasure to meet you, digital as it is. You’re a wee bit north of me, but I’d welcome an ‘in-person’ introduction – I really have no idea what I’m doing and would appreciate some perspective. My tools scare me as much as they excite me as to what I’m able to accomplish. That may sound odd, but it’s honestly where I sit – maybe it’s just that I’m green. I look forward to that jig.

I like Mark Twain’s take on this whole thing: “It is by the goodness of God, in our country, that we have three unspeakably precious things. Freedom of speech, freedom of conscience, and the prudence never to practice any of them.” Maybe it’s a generational thing, but closer to home, the Muppets taught me, “People is People”. You can’t regulate that. No matter how extreme someone’s opinion is, I don’t mind them voicing it – if nothing else, it lets me know who I’m talking to. I worry about the motivations of those who want to silence that. As easy as it is to ignore a twit, why try to censor them?

-- IZZZZZI BoB IZZZZZI

For what it’s worth, you are free to either read, or not read any post on this forum. I have my own ideas / beliefs in politics and faith. While I do not discuss them here often by my own choice, I would like to be able to discuss whatever I feel is appropriate in the non shop talk area… I should be able to discuss Pastafarian Orthodoxy if I so wish you know what I mean?

-- Manufacturer of fine quality sawdust since 1984. Comments and advice on my shop welcome. Check it out at http://lumberjocks.com/dbhost/workshop. Gladly accepting shop build donations!

Ya mon!

-- IZZZZZI BoB IZZZZZI

Well then how could I ever convince yall that Jesus is a democrat???

Randy

Threads complaining about politics and religion in the non shop area are more annoying (and usually just as controversial and argumentative) than politics and religion threads themselves in the non shop talk area.

I dont participate in any political or religious threads at all, so I could really care less if they’re gone. I have no interest in them while on lumberjocks. Thats why I just ignore them. If I see the title of the post has nothing that interests me, then I dont click on it – whether its religious/political talk or woodsworking. Doesnt affect me in the slightest possible way. I dont understand why it bothers some people so much…....

This isnt a democracy. If the owners of the site want those topics banished, then they’ll do so. Starting a thread and having people vote on whether or not those topics should be removed and trying to “strong arm” the owners into getting your way wont do anything except start another argument.

Dont take what I say personally. I don’t know you, and I’m sure you’re a great guy. What i said above refers to the last 50 threads before yours, trying to do the same thing….

-- Hey you dang woodchucks, quit chucking my wood!!!!

Thanks Dakremer. 50 threads, huh? At least I don’t feel lonely. Here’s what I’ve learned over the last couple days. Even though curiousity (my weakness) will drive me to look at all of the nonshop posts I will not continue to lobby for dismissal of political or religious posts. There are too many good posts in nonshop talk to disrupt the flow. As a few people have told me over the last few days…live and let live. It just bothers me that some can be so mean and disparaging to others who don’t happen to agree with them.
Don

-- I would drink a river of the kool aid before I took the smallest sip of the tea...

I completely agree with you. Its not really the topics that are the problem. Its individual users that can’t just “agree to disagree” – then fights start, etc, etc, etc. There’s definitely no place for that here, or anywhere…

I’m not gonna say I’m a saint. I’ve gotten into my share of arguments here. I typically dont allow myself to take it to the name calling, bashing, trolling level that some do. I come here because I enjoy woodworking, and thats exactly what I do. I usually just ignore the rest.

-- Hey you dang woodchucks, quit chucking my wood!!!!

How is Sawmill Creek doing?

-- I would drink a river of the kool aid before I took the smallest sip of the tea...

The problem with discussions on religion and politics is; there is no sounding board available for people to vent their frustations so they open up on forums like this one. Even though it is an off-topic forum, the two major topics that people want to discuss are religion and politics. People who talk religion or politics do so because they are looking for agreement with their views. I have my own views, but I find it best to keep them to myself for I know for every view I present, there will be an opposing view. This can only serve to turn into a heated arguement where neither side wins. it is a lose-lose situation. It took me a long time to finally come to this conclusion, so I stay far away from any discussion(arguement) concerning religion or politics.