I'm the new guy, who never really posted in OMNI before I moderated there. So, from a slightly less informed perspective....

Looking back, I don't see enough political/religious threads during non-election times to justify a sub-forum. Right now, no question.

I would most likely be in favor of leaving things the way they are through the end of the election process, then making the decision based on what OMNI will look like for the next few years.

You're correct in that this is the intention.

But I have learned an unexpected lesson in my brief period moderating OMNI.

OMNI to the several hundred or so hard-core OMNIites who literally live there is a God-given birthright, an inalienable prerogative, and a Don't Tread On Me liberty.

The intense and ferocious pride of ownership in OMNI was a complete surprise to me.

Hey, I'm thrilled to see folks so passionate about something.

But we can't downplay the importance of OMNI, IMO, to the many for whom it is a cause more than a mere forum.

I disagree. As someone who has no interest in the dozens of new threads started each day on the US election, ignore thread does nothing. I'd have to open each one and set it to ignore.

As it currently stands I have the choice of ignoring OMNI, or picking my way through pages in the forum view to find the few non-political threads that interest me.

That said, the status quo isn't really a problem for me. It just means I'm visiting OMNI less than normal at the moment.

I think the people supporting this are not fully considering the difficulty with classification. Sure, there are obvious topics which are political, religious, etc., but thee are plenty of threads that are not as clear cut (and threads that eventually evolve into a political, religious discussion). For example, where would a thread about a historical event be posted, especially one that is controversial (for example, the decision to drop the atomic bomb)? If history is not considered politicals, when does an event go from being politics to history (for example, if I started a thread on the 2000 presidential election, where would it go?). Are threads about Israel or Islamic terrorism political threads or religion threads? If someone wants to pose a question about the beleifs of another religion (in a non-critical way), is that really appropriate for a forum that is being designed to handle the potentially acrimonious topics?

I strongly urge those supporting this plan to think about these issues so that the moderators have some firm guidelines for thread placement with which to work. Leaving it to individual moderator discretion is just going to create a new set of problems.

I don't want 3 more forums to watch, but then I probably wouldn't really watch them anyway. OMNI is already just an afterthought for me. I scan a page or two of recent thread titles and maybe, sometimes, look at one or two threads. Today I just took a quick look at one and decided it was just too dumb.

Humor & Games -- This might get a lot of the jokes of the sort we see in the DL Lounge Thread. I could see people (who wouldn't otherwise venture into OMNI) participating in this.

I guess I'm mildly negative, but I'll support anything that keeps OMNI going and minimizes any hassles in managing it except for a complete lack of moderation (keep that Report-Bad-Post button!).

I think three more forums is too much, but I wouldn't mind seeing

OMNI - Moderated, no politics or religion
OMNI Cage Match - No active moderation unless you need to be referred to law enforcement.

I prefer Thunderdome. :D

The other concern I have is that when you say that a section is not going to be moderated, it effectively means that the TOS will not apply in that section. Is that really what we want?

Is there really a problem that people cannot control themselves to NOT open threads they are not interested in? GEEZ.... why don't we further segregate OMNI into subthreads like: Sports, Sex, Politics, Religion, and any other subtopic we can come up with.

I have no problem not opening threads I am not interested in... and do not see any need to further segment OMNI.

IF the 'Ignore Thread' feature could be implemented and is as quick and easy to use as 'Ignore User', I think it would be a more practical solution than this proposal.

There are multiple solutions to the problem but I still think it is up to the management and volunteers to decide first on how heavily or lightly they manage OMNI threads and posters.

A recurring theme in this discussion is that if OMNI is such a problem for individuals, then a time-out might be another solution.
Take a holiday from OMNI or use it in moderation :)

:confused: It is my understanding that several senior volunteers constantly monitored OMNI prior to the announcement of official co-mods.

I cannot imagine a TOS free 'tribal area' :mad:OMNIstan:mad: on FT! ;)

I have been an actively participating member of flyertalk for 7.5 years. In all those years, I may have been to OMNI 5 or 6 times. If the election stuff is bothering people ( I would not know because I dont even have OMNI on "MY Flyertalk menu ); can't they just grin and bear it for another 5 weeks. OMNI will still be there after Nov 4 and they can go back then.

With all due respect, look at the timing as to when FT assigned moderators to OMNI -- smack in the throes of an election cycle -- says something to me.

Assuming it was the election issues that created the need the need to bring in moderators, doesn't that say something about the need for branched forums? You could leave the "Master OMNI" forum policed back to only Randy, and we would probably need the moderators in the other forums.

The sticky in OMNI about soliciting feedback is a good one, I think it should be appreciated that the moderators are sensitive to OMNI-goers.

The other side of that coin is to ask whether the need for that thread also comes from a sensitive nature of moderating OMNI in the first place. I don't know, and I don't mean to put words in mouths of others, but has that been in the back of the minds of some?

Again, politicians will never be void of saying stupid things -- that's the long-term thinking. In the next six months, whichever of the candidates are elected, he is going to face criticism of ginormous proportions coming off the heels of elections and fresh memories of campaign promises.

My two cents.

How? There are dozens of threads to ignore and more being added all the time. Marking off threads to ignore is not practical in the US political season.

Is discussing OMNI moderation outside OMNI and the referenced sticky thread permitted? I understood from that thread it was not.