Getting more members here...what you can do.

[WharfedaleTiger]

Anyone want to start a facebook group? any take-up?

[John Drake]

Originally Posted by WharfedaleTiger

Anyone want to start a facebook group? any take-up?

Facebook threatens anonymity. We'd stay on just long enough for FB to realize we weren't using our real names.

You might try it in Second Life, tho I doubt you'd get lots of takers. SL is not a social net, but neither are we.

[Danny]

Originally Posted by Marc

I just want to reiterate that I appreciate all that visit these forums and post their thoughts. October some a record number of posts and I hope that this board continues to grow, while maintaining a friendly atmosphere.

Something that you can do to get more members here is include a link to the forum in your signatures if you visit other discussion forums...assuming there are no restrictions against it at the other forums. I know many people frequent more than one discussion forum so it could help a lot.

I will continue doing what I can to increase the numbers here and would appreciate any help that the current members can offer.

Thanks again!

Unfortunately if you are looking for non Americans this will not happen with many of the attitudes on the forum including moderators. Non American posters such as myself are routinely dismissed with comments like "YOU won't have to pay for healthcare", "YOU won't need to pay for the stimulus" etc etc.

I reported a plethora of such comments to the site staff and even Pmed an admin and got no response whatsoever. If you want more members, you need to instruct your staff to be more open and polite to foreigners.

[Steve]

Originally Posted by Danny

Unfortunately if you are looking for non Americans this will not happen with many of the attitudes on the forum including moderators.

Good...

Non American posters such as myself are routinely dismissed with comments like "YOU won't have to pay for healthcare", "YOU won't need to pay for the stimulus" etc etc.

Because your opinions, as non-Americans, do not matter...

I reported a plethora of such comments to the site staff and even Pmed an admin and got no response whatsoever. If you want more members, you need to instruct your staff to be more open and polite to foreigners.

You've reported people for dismissing your comments?

Holy shit.

Whassamatta', Danny Boy, did your wittle feewings get hurt?

You know, Danny, I know a lot of Canadians.

None of them whine as much as you do...

[John Drake]

Originally Posted by Steve

Good...



Because your opinions, as non-Americans, do not matter...



You've reported people for dismissing your comments?

Holy shit.

Whassamatta', Danny Boy, did your wittle feewings get hurt?

You know, Danny, I know a lot of Canadians.

None of them whine as much as you do...

attaboy Steve, that should increase our Foreign participation.

It's call "US Politics online", not "Americans Only give opinions about US Politics Online"

I think people from other countries give interesting insights, a view from outside.

And the ones who dismiss them would do that anyway. It's a variation on ad authoritatem, just one of the many rhetorical fallacies they retreat to when someone bests what they laughingly call "arguments" on their nonexistent, "merits"

[MattLarson]

Originally Posted by Danny

Unfortunately if you are looking for non Americans this will not happen with many of the attitudes on the forum including moderators. Non American posters such as myself are routinely dismissed with comments like "YOU won't have to pay for healthcare", "YOU won't need to pay for the stimulus" etc etc.

I reported a plethora of such comments to the site staff and even Pmed an admin and got no response whatsoever. If you want more members, you need to instruct your staff to be more open and polite to foreigners.

I'm sorry facts upset you so much, Danny.

From now on, I'll pretend you do have a responsibilty to repay all the debt you are so enthusiastic about. Does that make you happy?

[Imperator]

Originally Posted by Danny

Unfortunately if you are looking for non Americans this will not happen with many of the attitudes on the forum including moderators. Non American posters such as myself are routinely dismissed with comments like "YOU won't have to pay for healthcare", "YOU won't need to pay for the stimulus" etc etc.

I reported a plethora of such comments to the site staff and even Pmed an admin and got no response whatsoever. If you want more members, you need to instruct your staff to be more open and polite to foreigners.

So you demand special treatment because you are a foreigner? I see. Well that’s typical to be sure. One is accorded respect or derision based on their speech and ability to build and debate their platforms.

If I went to a foreign forum and began debating everything under the sun A-Z having to do with that particular country, I would expect some derision as I don’t live there and cannot possibly understand the nuances of living there day to day subjected to that immersion, yet that doesn’t seem to stop some folks here.

Inevitably the debate is almost always negative, we don’t do this, we don’t do that, we are this we are that, its gets tiresome to see this jetsam and flotsam on a week to week basis, if I did that in that mythical forum at the end of the day I would expect that derision at some point.

If you came to my home I would accord you extraordinary respect because I am your host, but, if all I heard was how bad my cooking was, why did I have guns in my house, why did I go kick that guys ass down the block, the condition of my kids health care, their education, why my finances are messy, etc. that would wear me down and eventually, I’d have to tell you to step off.

[Chosen1]

The scales of this topic are important to note in this situation. Imperator said it best, but who honestly have you seen the United States ridicule? I understand that some people here made fun of French Fries and dumped some wine, which reminds me of the "tea bagging" scene(getting cultish?), but besides that who have we ever insulted? Russia? North Korea? If memory serves me right, Canadians frequently import their opinions into American politics, and when I say "Canadians", I don't mean just the citizens but the politicians as well. I think most Americans think we are being too nice and dually ignorant, we don't want to look bad but at the same time we don't really care what you think. Do we still trust Israel? I've had that debate during the Palestine drama, and although we should support Israel, Israel can sometimes say and do some pretty kookie stuff.

What I mean is ... why should we trust the world? I know I said in the last post I made that globalization is inevitable, but at the same time globalization is not currently here. It's happening slowly but it hasn't happened. I feel that if you trust the rest of the world then you are being pretty naive. How many Americans support the UN? And How many Canadians support the UN?
I don't know, I know a lot of Americans do not like the UN, it's a pretty costly and at the same time useless organization.

And these organization collections, by the way, are things countries like Russia don't like very much either, for good reason.

I guess ... to find an acronym ... sometimes you have to walk forward regardless. If both paths are bad, take the lesser evil. I would love the world to be a perfect and trusting place. I would love to have to listen to people across the world and take their opinions into account because they love my country, but blind patriotism is not patriotism, and it is my duty as a citizen to question my government, not yours. Although that may sound hypocritical, I do feel sincerely that even the United States and other countries cannot be compared to each other in terms of what is better.

Like I said previously--you cannot compare an ant to a giant. Regardless of however jealous that may make even Canadians feel, it's the truth and you will respect the truth, or you are living a lie, and that is all the more reason not to trust you.

We don't care what you think, and although we should not ignore the world, like George II had done frequently, that does not mean we should listen to anything you have to say. We may cooperate towards our individual goals, but that's really as far as it goes.

For instance, people in the UK and Australia often hang out in the same servers in certain places like international websites like Yahoo, and video games like Guild Wars. We are western society so we identify with each other, and sometimes I overhear something about some party in the UK and what certain people are saying. I might say simply, "I agree", or "I disagree", but I will not make any argument towards establishing a campaign or debate against that party because it is not my right to do so. What do I know of them? I'm sure they are really good people. What sort of idiot would I be if I just went off on English Conservatives? They are nothing like our conservatives, and I don't even know HOW they are like in the first place.


I realize everyone else said this already but I just wanted to get my 2 cents in to pass the time.
No disrespect intended. Quite the opposite, really.

[leighredf]

I'd like to give a new member's perspective. I am a member of another similar site but the level of postings on that site had dwindled to the point where I needed to find another site. I went to "big boards" and looked for a political discussion site with Vbulletin since it would have a similar structure to what I was used to.

I think you attract new members by having active discussions.