Not sure if this is the right thread to ask this but didn’t know where else to go. I’m fairly new around here and am enjoying engaging in discussions about football. Lots of different opinions as you would expect for such a diverse group of people. There would be little enjoyment or reason to have a forum like this if everyone agreed, it would get boring very quickly.
Now for my question - when not talking about football is there either an official or unofficial understanding that you’re not allowed to have a different political/ sociological view other than socialism/leftism? I ask this because from reading the dedicated political threads and other threads where sometimes politics or social issues crop up, it seems that people aren’t allowed to have or put forward an alternative view point. If it is the case, I will tread lightly. I’m not likely to be dishing out any political views or causing any trouble but I would just like to know.
I think it's a fair question to have asked. To be honest, I've been wondering myself recently. Don't get me wrong, I really love this site and I'm very fond of an awful lot of people on here. For a long time this has been the first website I come to each day and the last one I exit from before bed. It's the only site on the internet I post on these days.
More recently though, I've felt a little uncomfortable. There does seem to be some party lines that if you veer off from it gets messy. Even in the main football forum there is an undercurrent at times where some seem to feel there is only one way to support the club. One political thread recently saw a fella get a dogs abuse. I mean really personal stuff. Now I didn't agree with his viewpoint at all, but he at least put his head above the parapet and tried to suggest that not everything is black and white. I agree with that assertion, although I am the polar opposite to his viewpoint. Of course, some topics are highly emotive, and emotions can sometimes get the better of us, but it was pretty ugly.
The stuff in the Bitters' thread earlier today was not transphobic to me but, of course, not everyone sees it that way. I've counselled transpeople. I've worked with a support group for transpeople. My friend's son is trans too. I have many years interest in the topic too, yet I didn't see anything sinister in that thread. It could have taken a turn for the worse if left to run, but who knows?
I have a lot of sympathy for the moderators. It's a twat of a job to do. I was asked to mod on mental health sites I used to frequent but I always declined. Whatever you do, some think you are wrong. I mean who needs the grief?
In all the time I've been here I've always felt ok posting freely, but I sort of feel it's like walking on eggshells a bit these days and I've pulled back and refrained from posting for much of the week. There are topics I doubt I'll bother posting on again. I might even end up regretting this post too.
I'm more of a shades of grey person than a strictly black and white person, but veering away from the party line can bring more grief than it's worth. Everything is offensive to someone. Maybe it's the current climate playing a part there. The entire population is stressed to the max due to so many factors. In a time where we could probably benefit from laughing more, we often seem to be offended more instead.
Binning participation in the off-topic sections did appeal to me, but even in the main forum there will be people telling you not to deviate from what they deem to be the only acceptable way to support the team, manager and club.
Maybe we are all just on short fuses though. The world is struggling through a pandemic. People are scared for family, friends and themselves. Liverpool are having a shit season by our standards. VAR, injuries, bad luck galore. These really are strange, testing and unprecedented times we are living through. Tolerance levels are bound to dip in such circumstances and frustrations will always be near the surface. To me, the ambiance of the site has shifted recently. Maybe that's real, or maybe it's just my perceptions based in my own currently frazzled brain. Who knows?