Is intolerance getting worse on GN?

My first and biggest mistake on joining GN (after the referendum) was to admit to voting leave and being a Conservative.

I can still remember how I felt in the first couple of weeks, the vitriolic comments directed towards me.

Of it wasn’t for Anniebach I would have deregistered and headed for the hills.

Claremont

Not sure. The other day I was reported for saying that laughing about a very serious and tragic was sickening. It was reported for being a personal attack. I never said the person was sick, but that the use of laughing emoticon was 'sickening' in the circumstances.

I recall that Claremont.

And, if I remember correctly, the poster who reported isn’t a ‘leftie’ (AFAIK).

Perhaps your system for detecting ‘lefties’ isn’t that efficient woodenspoon🤷‍♀️

The most notable difference that I find is on the political threads where there is currently no tolerance of any poster who attempts to give any sort of balanced or even neutral view on a subject. I am weary of being pushed into spelling out whether I am in favour of one extreme or another. GN has been split into rights and lefts, pro Israel or pro Hamas etc etc and debates are stifled because of it. N &P threads used to run until they were full and then carried on but that rarely happens now.

Oh I don’t know, most left wingers on social media come from a position of superiority - anyone else is a racist idiot. And if you dare admit you voted Brexit or reform, they demand you write a thesis explaining why.

I do think there are some posters (thankfully only a very few) who seem to deliberately twist what someone else has said just to provoke an argument.
I honestly don't think I've seen much personal abuse on here though - although it may well have happened on threads I've no interest in. There again, maybe some people are more easily offended than others.

Cossy

woodenspoon I’m probably what you’d consider a leftie and woke, I have never reported another poster

Same!

It really isn’t only the left, whoever they might be, right leaning posters and politicians also think they’re right
We need to be able to respect people we disagree wuth

It does seem to be if you say anything that is not on the 'left'. The 'left' do seem to like to tell you what to think and how to think. Fortunately from an early age, I always knew to think for myself.

A poster who lives in Israel was bullied off a thread, it was cruel,
she was polite tried to explain and share her experiences

I recall a few people being put, was it in the doghouse? all at a similar time, can’t recall what it was for, they returned.

I absolutely hate heavy metal/rock/punk but I wouldn't tell someone not to like it just because I don't!

There are so many people out there determined to control everyone else's lives because they don't have it in them to control their own!

Ignore the haters! If you want a jacket spud with cheese and beans, go for it!

If you want to support a particular political or religious group, do it!

By responding to the haters you're giving them fire to fire back at you, by totally ignoring them they have no power!

It’s up to Rod who he votes for, is he shouting ‘vote reform’, from the rooftop's, No! It doesn’t affect his music in any way, shape, or form.
Unlike that bloody idiot, shouting death to IDF, I turned my tv off.
How can you he shout something like that & get away it?

I agree kittylester

Even a thread about trousers had to have 'light hearted' after it!

I have never reported anyone except spam

FGT2 is able to read GN threads but no post at the moment

I respect her views, if everyone just agreed with the current train of thought, we would just become a nation of sheeple.

The one thing which I think has diminished since I have been here is respect for other posters.

^
If one feels passionately about politics as many of us do, I honestly don't think that there are times we can "Agree to Disagree".^

People ought to be able to do that. As a minimum.

"Never be rude, everyone is entitled to their say"

FGT was never rude from what I read as to the responses to her posts, she took a considerable amount of flack, I occasionally saw her type "ouch" to one particularly vitriolic personal remark. Most people don't have hides like a rhino. She took such nasty comments with a certain amount of good grace imo and didn't respond in kind. I know it's been said umpteen times before, but I think its regretable we're missing, hopefully temporarily, one of GNs popular characters.

As FGT was always polite I fail to see how she broke guidelines unless we are not allowed to express legitimate views.

May be she slipped up once?
And that was enough?

The Glastonbury thread was always likely to stray into politics though, given the events this year. The first political reference on the thread wasn't about Rod Stewart, it was about Bob Vylan, and as so often, one thing leads to another. I think it’s unavoidable.

Part of my op was about the fact that these were very light hearted threads - not politics! As someone said upthread - the sort of thing you talk about with friends over coffee.

And, on the same point- we never used to have to label threads as 'Light hearted'.

The lack of any shred of humanity from people, the hatred, the racism. " Othering " of anybody who doesn't look or sound like themselves

But this could apply to left wingers view of Reform voters.
But left wingers never see that.

Never be rude, everyone entitled to their say without being offensive.

lafergar 👏👏👏

If you disagree with their leftie dogma they press that report button

No they don't.

Some "leftie types" are heart sick of the way things are going. The lack of any shred of humanity from people, the hatred, the racism. " Othering " of anybody who doesn't look or sound like themselves. Some of the posts about Southport were terrible.Any kindness is met with an accusation of " virtue signaling"
There is a huge and growing gap between those who have and those who will never have.

I would like there to be a requirement to say you will report a post openly on the thread, which is what I always do when I report, but Gransnet mods don’t favour that approach, they have explained on a previous discussion.
I know of a number of posters on the left who have been suspended or banned too, and I think it’s quite misguided to imply that it’s peoples political beliefs that result in that happening. You’re banned if you cross the line as far as the mods are concerned, and I don’t believe them to be politically biased at all - it’s clear in the rules what is unacceptable.

Mamie

I have been on Gransnet from the beginning and I think there has been an increase in short posts, making very negative judgements on people and events, without including any reason or evidence whatsoever.
There has also been an increase in opening posts that can only be described as "goady" and set the tone for inflammatory debate from the start.
There have always been posters with strong views on left and right, but there used to be far more evidenced discussion.

Good post that sums up my feelings as well. I avoid the posts that are ‘goady’ from the start.
We all have different opinions, ways of living and experiences of life in general. This is the make up of society and ever will be.
I enjoy an evidence based discussion, but some posts are opinions presented as facts and then the discussion can become fractious.