Boilrig is the lifeblood of this forum (THINKPIECE) - Polidicks

Far Left? Lol. Only by the standards of certain Americans. Facepunch is majority Center Left at most by the standards of the rest of the world. If this site were actually far left, everyone here would be talking about seizing the means of production and abolishing private property and/or the State.

It was only after I joined the FP discord was it I realized that Facepunch is actually just a hidden LGBTQ hive mind in disguise. Even the Polidicks discord is primarily posts about sex toys and traps. It's like some US university ward found the forum and used it as a hangout, either that or there is a direct correlation between staying on Facepunch too long and chopping your dick off.

I wouldn't know. I basically never frequent the FP discord other than the general chat channel. The discord I'm on is the small one devoted to fixing that legendary lost Bionicle video game, The Legend of Mata Nui. See, it turns out the Bionicle fanbase is absolutely filled with LGBTQ people - which among other things caused a massive conflict on the formerly largest Bionicle fan-forum between the (mostly) tolerant, progressive staff and a bunch of Christian homeschooled Bionicle fans (of which I was one at the time, although unlike many I was smart enough to keep my bigoted opinions to myself). Needless to say, that's one of the biggest reasons the site is basically a ghost town now, with the fundies all banned and a lot of the more progressive members too pissed off about the whole thing to want to ever step foot on the site again. The fanbase has since fragmented between tumblr, other fansites, and countless discords. The ones you chose as a Bionicle fan largely depend on whether you or not you still think gay and transgender people are icky.

Imagine joining a website 6 months ago, proceeding to make 518 posts, and within those 518 posts somehow saying nothing of value asides from comedic value anyhow: https://i.imgur.com/VdcCSkk.png https://i.imgur.com/fPrvEY1.png

As much as I like the OP's sentiment, I disagree with the person it decided to name. Boilrig has time and again posted things that appeared to be deliberately tailored to irritate as many people as possible, and has then left the thread without ever returning to defend his position. He moves the goalposts when losing an argument, cites information from terrible sources on the rare occasions he decides to back his arguments up, and I'm not entirely convinced he's not just trolling half the time. The last encounter I had with the guy was when he made the bizarre claim that government officials who broke a country's law shouldn't be held responsible and then just left. I absolutely agree that dissenting opinions are the lifeblood of any public forum, but I think that people should be held to a higher standard of intellectual integrity.

I agree but I don't think it's a bad thing because anyone who is on the fence about brexit sees just how absolutely retarded the arguments for brexit are and boilrig does nothing but prove just how much of a colossal fuck up and terrible thing brexit is

Dude you went apeshit when people didn't give a fuck about XXXtenacion's death. In fact i think you even tried to spread conspiracy theories about his abuse victims.

I too post hundreds of times about things I consider background noise because, like you, this is my definition of background noise. https://i.ytimg.com/vi/Zjf5pdJJ44Q/hqdefault.jpg

You know, we'd probably consider you less pathetic if you admitted that you fucked up. Yet you continue to disappoint us.

Considering that you got no less than 3 bans in the same thread, I think it's better for you to shut the hell up about this.

Considering the whole no deal thing we've got going on, doesn't that mean we're leaving the EU because we don't like them taking the reigns... By letting them take the reigns on the terms of our exit? Doesn't make much sense to me that you agree with the referendum and given the no deal option where the EU define the terms, you're still okay with it. I understand some people still want to leave, and that's fine, but wouldn't it be better to hold off until we get a competent government who can put together an exit deal that represents their constituents?

Having the debate equivalent of a punching bag who keeps coming back for more doesn't really help this forum stay less echo chamber like. But that's just my view.

We shouldn't lower our expectation's just due to scarcity though. Sgman is/was full of shit, we shouldn't tolerate stupidity just because we disagree with it. That's like having a token conservative/righty. If I'm going to see conservative views I want them to be good ones I can learn from. I'm not interested in nonsense from fox news/brietbart etc. There used to be a poster here, Flashmarsh, he was controversial (and sometimes full of shit but so is every poster occasionally) but he was a conservative I really appreciated talking to. Sadly he got banned and later put a password on his blog. Peeps like sgman or that kulka guy give "right wingers" a bad name and just gets peeps frustrated like "is this the best they've got? they must all be stupid" I'm economically left wing and liberal but I think we really do need better right wing representation (we have grenadiac and scorpion who are great, but they're more like libertarian - not actually very right wing conservative)

The only political opponents on this forum I've wanted actually removed are the likes of Tudd who spout intolerance and racial hatred purely for the sakes of "memes" or "stirring the pot", not because they actually believe in it whole-heartedly. Agents of chaos have no place here. Boilrig is a twat but I don't think he should be silenced, I just think he's a cunt and I'll call him a cunt to his cunty face gladly, and I'm sure he'll return the favour. Cunt.

I get why people don't like Sgman but I really don't mind him too much since any argument that reeks BS is pretty obvious to detect whether he's being disingenuous or so. His politeness and also willingness to be genuine when appropriate is still appreciated and people like him is a good reminder that the world always have conflicting views, but we don't have to be hostile against each other on disagreements. I rather have 10 Sgmen then 1 r/The_Donald regular here or 5 random YouTuber commentators from 'skeptic channels', at least you can actually have a conversation instead of just getting meme'd on every 3 words or so. Maybe I'm gullible but I believe in being courteous and friendly even in the face of stupidity, ignorance, bigotry and such is much more beneficial for everyone in the long run than being upfront angry and mocking the opposing side. It's not like either ways will convince them to change their views in an instant, but the softer former approach I believe has at least better chances because human empathy can always connect one way or another. I acknowledge spreading misinformation can be harmful, and yes even certain headlines in SH and Polidicks have people even jump the bandwagon here without reading through the entire story, but being aggressive in your approach is setting up yourself as an easier target because people will use that anger against you usually, and will win the sympathy of those on the fence better because it's easier to be attractive with the affable party. There's room for retaliation but the appropriate opportunity doesn't really appear frequently in forums like these. Fighting fire with fire doesn't really work often. Beneath every ignorant shitposting or trolling user still lies behind a human and sometimes with the right approach you can get through them and get a genuine response from them. I get it's also not fair to have to be passive to them given what they can spout out, but there'd be more results that are positive with a positive approach. That said I really do appreciate the presence of Grenadiac and Emperor Scorpious as well, and I hope they continue to participate in discussions because their views and words are always insightful and appreciated. Though I get why you'd call Grenadiac libertarian, but he is a self-admitted Texan cowboy right-wing conservative, but he just fits that mold well of an upstanding American who believes everyone have their individual freedoms as long as they aren't stepping on each other's foots that seems to be not as common anymore due to the rise of the alt-right style of conservatives.

I meant libertarian as what it was before it got hijacked Like in the sense of someone who puts high value on personal freedom (their economics might be left or right or centrist) and most political discussion I've been Grenadiac participate in has been regarding defending personal liberties. I assume they're economic stances are centre/centre right depending on what country you are viewing it from but that's just me guessing.

Ah makes sense. From that point of view I can see why it's easy to assume he'd be libertarian yeah. Speaking of that, I really miss the times politics weren't so locked into partisan views like for the past 3 years. It used to be more pleasant to talk opposing views in politics back when Fascism and Communism were just the butt of a joke, and most people wouldn't actually consider going that back far into their political wing just to get a win against the other group. Maybe it's more on the fact we're older now and maybe this is just us having a bigger idea and world view of reality and are now old enough to participate in it, but at the same time things just seemed much more tame 10 years ago and you wouldn't get a political statement in every corner you'd go to.

Facepunch is a vicious circle. Only the most stubborn right-leaning posters, or those that are the most entrenched in their opinions, stay to argue politics > the left-leaning majority of the forums generalize and antagonize the right > most center-right or moderate-right posters leave > only the most stubborn right-leaning posters stay to argue politics. I wish Facepunch could once again let anyone feel welcome, but now it has acquired a reputation. That's why I encourage everyone to always debate in a civil manner, and to tone it down with the zings, the dumb ratings, and everything that makes one feel unwelcome for petty reasons. Most of you might dismiss this message because you actively see the right as the enemy. This is a very modern issue in our current society, but if you have any hope of working towards a better world, you will at the very least consider these words. Call me an idealist if you will, but I do see the irony in a forum that pretends to be progressive and promoting tolerance, but one that spreads hate towards half of the U.S. population or elsewhere.

I'm gonna miss Sgman. Most of his arguments were usually over split-hairs and semantics, but at least he didn't come across as someone who had their prefrontal cortex replaced with a cybernetic meme receptor like most of the other right-wing posters.

I dunno man, I don't see why I should condone the systematic destruction of political alliances, business regulations and consumer protection for the sake of tolerance. What we're constantly debating over never gets anywhere because the week after, the right wing governments will have topped their depravity anyway. In a world that wasn't insane, we wouldn't even be looking at this from an ideological point of view because how can you be against less rights and less opportunities to climb the social ladder for any demographic? It's like right wingers are suicidal and just begging for a life of constant poverty and anguish and suffering for other people.

I sorta disagree that this is an issue with facepunch, this is an issue with politics as a whole. instead of focusing on individual ideals, we put people in rigid teams, pitted against each other. I have to spend half my time explaining to my friends that just because I am liberal, does not mean I am one of those rainbow head "dumb sjws!!1!" from all those youtube videos the algorithm recommends to anyone in a 10 mile radius. instead of arguing with each other, we have to fight off projections instead. its tiring

I don't generally represent views that I don't actually believe, but at the same time I typically don't feel a need to add another voice to the choir in threads where the overwhelming consensus is what I agree with- ratings suffice. I guess I can see how it would make me seem contrarian/devil's advocate when I'm mostly posting to disagree, especially when often I disagree with things on matters of principle, or agree with an idea in general ('CEOs are grossly overpaid') but disagree with a specific aspect/position of it ('CEOs are figureheads, nothing more'). This thread, and your comment, kinda speak to me because I've never considered myself conservative. I voted for Bernie Sanders, and happily will do it again if the opportunity arises. I support socialized healthcare, LGBT rights, taxing the rich, immigration, social services and safety nets, addressing racial inequality and police reform, and reduction of the military. With the exception of gun control, I can't think of a single big-ticket issue that I don't side with the left on, and on that point I am not a single issue voter. There may be more minor issues, or nuances of those bigger issues, where I don't agree with the left, but I don't feel like that's what constitutes a centrist let alone a conservative. On Oldpunch I used to occasionally have the opportunity to debate from the left-leaning position in response to centrist and right-leaning users. Now if I'm debating, I'm virtually always the one taking the more right-leaning position. To me, that feels like a pretty good litmus test for how the forum has changed demographically. Some issues are already starting to feel like an echo chamber, and I'd hate to see things continue that way. One thing that I feel has to be pointed out is that the political trends vary on an issue-by-issue basis. Facepunch as a whole isn't nearly as left-leaning on guns as it is about Trump, and stuff like identity politics is overwhelmingly criticized. Describing things in terms of 'left' vs 'right' is a convenient shorthand, but it doesn't adequately capture the political leanings of a heterogeneous group.

Yes, of course. It is a societal issue and I didn't mean to say it was particular to Facepunch. But FP has been hit hard with its repercussions, they are plain to see here. If we hope to fix this problem, then which better place to start than here, where we can take as much time as we want to discuss, with friends or complete strangers who are also well-versed in politics?

I guess I missed the train re: Boilrig but I am also glad he is here. I can think of no more effective stand-in for the pro-Brexit position than him. He has done an incredible job of influencing peoples opinion on Brexit, just not in the way he probably hopes. I blame the people who use it to describe themselves I'm genuinely happy for you that your life is happy, productive, and fulfilling, and one day I hope you learn that just because someone wants universal basic healthcare, or believes the minimum wage should be a living wage, they don't hate America. I'd argue that the demographics have shifted right if anything. We have lost more left/far-left users than we have right users, and general politics in America in Europe have shifted to the right.

I mean, what left leaning users (beyond the Sanius squad) have we lost and which right leaning users have we gained? I'm pretty sure the FP demographics show the same thing - forum is becoming more left-leaning in general. I've had pretty much the same experience as catbarf, not that that necessarily counts for much.

We gained a fair few right leaning posters during 2016, and as you said we also lost the Sanius Squad as well as people like Starpluck and yawmwen. I know what poll you are talking about and if anything it reinforces my point that peoples politics didn't move, their political surroundings did.

As a useless anecdotal counter, I can personally say my politics have definitely changed throughout the years. For most of my time here, I was largely apolitical. But starting around the 2016 electoral campaign, I've suddenly and increasingly been having urges to call for the proletariat to rise up against the bourgeoisie oppressors and seize the means of production. My father's socially-far-right politics have become increasingly agonizing to listen to in recent years, too.

The vitrol comming from both sides has really only made people with pre-existing notions to dig their heels further into their beliefs. Yes, one side MAY be more damaging than the other, but that simply does not mean you can relentlessly round up anyone with different leaning and castrate them for holding different ideas unless they openly support oppression/crime/racism/ect. The problem I have with Facepunch (not as a whole but a blanket term for users who do this. I really do not know what other word to use for that) is that often times I will see trolls not just on the right, but on the left. The minuscule people who were right wings on these forums is smaller and smaller for various reasons. Any time someone posts something right-wing oriented even if they're being reasonable they're slammed with dumbs and are bashed. There are users who respond without vitrol but there are many times people simply are just caustic about it in their approach. You know what being caustic does? It makes people bitter and angry and only affirms that "the other side is abunch of xnegativethinghere". Yes, sometimes there are no reasoning with right wings but this is the same for the left. I have my own right wing leanings but I'd rather not speak my mind in full on these forums simply because I've lurked and watched how people react to even reasonable right wing posts. Politics has become a team-game us vs them debacle. Really, it will only get worse especially thanks to the world affairs going on at the moment. Both sides, left and right, are to blame for this situation in their own ways. We often forget that the person on the other end of the spectrum too is human and has a reason (whatever it may be) to fall into their beliefs, be it a reason you find "good" or "stupid". It's still a damn reason, and the only way to move forward and respectfully debate in my opinion is to understand that reason and take it into consideration. My ideals personally have fluxuated because of how insane both sides have become and I do not even know where I stand anymore other than "slightly to the left with right ideas". I can't stand this identity politics and it's done nothing but further drive and weaken the state of America and possibly the entire western world. Again. Yes, there are some insane actions from the right wing. Yes, there are some insane actions from the left wing. But do you really think slamming boxes and insults to the direction of people who oppose your side will convince them they're wrong? This all has been echoed in this thread already but its a point that rings very true.

I've never seen this btw, people on FP are usually more than eager to discuss and debate with right-leaning posters if they're willing to engage in good faith and very often they're given the benefit of the doubt more often than not when it comes to their motives if they demonstrate a WILLINGNESS to ACCEPT solid evidence. 90% of the time when a right-leaning poster gets dogpiled it's because they dismiss good evidence so of course anyone that has any clue will either show them additional evidence or demonstrate how idiotic their mindset is. It's good to be restrained and give people the chance to express themselves but most of the "prominent" (and I use that term very, VERY loosely) have shown that they think reality does not apply to them. How many times do we have to reiterate the same points and the same evidence before coming to terms that a user simply isn't interested in the truth?

I don't believe that and have never believed that. I challage you to evidence that claim or stand as a liar.