[ExI] LA Times: Rehabbing militants in Saudi Arabia (Meta)

[Gary Miller]

Eugene asked:  "How about we outsource all politics threads to a dedicated
list, where we can put all the heat (but very little light) to drive a nice
Carnot engine?"

I agree 100% Eugene, but how about we don't wait until we're 10 or 15 posts
into it and only the anti-American sentiments have been expressed.

Such one-sidedness creates a strong impression in the reader and potential
donor's mind that such topics are allowed as long as they are sufficiently
Anti-American.  And that by presenting a counterpoint that they are subject
to ridicule or moderation. Intelligent reasonable disagreement does not
require ridicule and aggression. 

I also feel that moderators should hold themselves to a higher standard and
make their points without attempting to ridicule or berate contributors.  By
creating a hostile environment readers are not encouraged to contribute or
become more deeply involved with the organization.

I suspect that that the ratio of lurkers to contributors is very high for
just such reasons!

And once you decide that a thread is to be discontinued or moderated, I
would suggest that it be done in a neutral fashion so as to not give the
readers the impression that you are trying to get the last one-sided word
before the topic is banned.