Feedback on the Politics Forum

College Confidential Community
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We recently got some feedback about the Politics Forum and we’ve seen several users opt out of the forum so I wanted to open up the discussion and get everyone’s input on the following:

  1. general thoughts on the PF
  2. positives: what you like, why you participate, what we do best?
  3. negatives: what you don’t like, why you opted out of the group, are there certain things that upset you about the PF?
  4. improvements: any suggestions or thoughts on how we can make this better?

As referenced in my guidance post, College Confidential is not meant to host political discussions. The PF is a distraction and often times is problematic because it requires a lot of moderation. That said, many members like to discuss politics and some college admissions topics may get political these days. We created the PF as a perk for our active contributors and we want to keep it and are looking to you to tell us who to make the experience better.

Feel free to comment below or send me a PM if you want to discuss something in private.

I want to end by giving another shout out to our amazing moderators @sushiritto and @DadOfJerseyGirl who put in many hours and do excellent work. We are extremely thankful to have part of the team!

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As an aside, I got many questions on how to exit the PF. @CC_Jon wrote this post detailing the steps.

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Ill start:

#1. I feel like this is the college confidential…but there’s more non college stuff than college but that’s ok. I do think there’s a small group of regular folks so sometimes almost like a PM that’s in public.

#1. I think people should be allowed to share their thoughts - without be attacked by others. And people here attack regularly. Someone was called a racist before - that’s wrong. That person gave their thoughts. So either that should be policed or maybe the rules needs to be posted every hour.

#2. With many, you can have a concrete discussion - even on items some might feel silly or stupid. They may be to them - but not the general public. I know many don’t like me - but the point is to discuss, not to attack or to marginalize.

#3. The # of related threads - and the many groups that all really fall on top of one another. I don’t think we need a VP, Kamala, Donald thread - I think all three can be in one, as an example - it’s the same people in all of them sharing the same stuff anyway - so it gets a bit confusing.

#4 Less threads - as I just noted. Also, I know there’s likely no way to adjust slow mode - but if you post something, someone responds with a question or critique, it’d be great if there were a way to respond without having to abide by slow mode. Not sure that’d be possible though.

Thanks

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I was grateful for the help in eliminating the list of political threads from my notifications. Political forums seemed to dominate, maybe because I clicked on some once. I was involved in a few before exiting, and got some PM’s from folks who were also exiting. My mental health has improved since leaving the PF!

I have to say, the PF has somewhat tainted CC for me and I find I am coming here less often. Maybe I’ve been here too long anyway. Discussions about college, parenting, music and student mental health have been interesting and I have always felt drawn to those. I also like to help with essays.

I guess, as I said, the aggressive differences on the PF cast a negative aura around CC in general for me. I have known some of the posters for quite a long time. I will say I have learned from a few participants whose perspective was different from mine, often through PM’s. It is nice when disagreements are not only civil but enlightening.

Kudos to the moderators who do quite a job in difficult circumstances.

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I am probably not your target audience with respect to this question, but I’ll share my feedback.

1. General thoughts on the PF

I like that it exists because there are some topics that I think are worth discussing and hearing others’ opinions on that would run afoul of the regular forum’s rules.

2. Positives: What I like, why I participate, what we do best

There are two main thread types that I like. I particularly like theoretical/philosophical discussions, like discussions about third parties, alternative methods of voting, potential candidates, etc. I also like threads about breaking news and with various explanations and perspectives.

I enjoy participating in these types of threads because I often learn something new and appreciate hearing viewpoints that I’m not as familiar with or that I don’t hear on a regular basis.

I think that people are generally good about being respectful to each other in the types of threads that I just mentioned.

3. Negatives: What I don’t like, why I opted out, certain things that upset me about PF

I have not opted out. When there are threads about one particular candidate or about some position/policy that has already been determined, I feel as though the threads primarily just devolve into people in their hardened stances with not as much growth or evolution of people’s thinking. It’s just (usually) two sides going back and forth with similar points with not as much of a feel of open-mindedness.

What upsets me is when people start making insulting remarks about politicians that seem to hit way below the belt. It’s one thing to insult a politician’s take on an issue or their duplicity or similar, but it doesn’t feel right to be making fun of people for their appearance or other things that have nothing to do with why they’re running for/in office.

But I tend not to read a lot of the politics threads, or at least not a lot of the very popular ones. Or I’ll read them for a little bit and then stop because nothing new is being said and it’s just the same back-and-forth that I avoid trying to hear elsewhere.

4. Improvements: Any suggestions or thoughts on how we can make this better?

Separate out the politics forum threads from regular CC ones when one is looking at the latest threads, or allow that to be an option for people to select.

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Although I actually enjoy the robust give and take on the PF I think it is a net negative for CC. Here’s a few thoughts on why:

CC forums are unifying in nature – posters helping students and parents as they plan for college. The PF is simply divisive and I can’t help but think that it might color how posters feel about other posters on the main CC threads.

Structurally, I don’t see how PF thread moderators can also be prime posters on the same thread. I hate to say it, but it sometimes feels that a hand is on the scales when flags get dropped and how “edits” are made.

I’m not sure anything can “fix” most of the PF threads, but perhaps if discussions were about policies (reproductive rights, taxation, etc.) instead of parties and people, more common ground could be found (but probably not… :stuck_out_tongue_winking_eye:).

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I think @compmom stated it pretty well and something I never thought of. CC is a college group first and foremost. Political posts that are about college is one thing- this is definitely far beyond that. I never realized how easy it is to get sucked into the negative parts of the PF until I stepped away. I am pretty sure this is why a lot of the big college Facebook groups have a no politics policy.

At the end of the day there are those who are left, those who are right and nothing that is said is probably going to change that. I do wish people would stick to topics on hand (way too much but trump but trump on threads like the Biden for fitness thread which makes it more of a tit for tat type thing then having a discussion) but also know its easy to get off track and not fair for the mods to constantly police the threads. I feel too guilty to flag a post because I feel like it’s creating more work for them not to mention I am probably guilty as well for going off topic. Maybe less threads and a more broad one since it’s alot of the same rhetoric over and over and at some point many can just stop reading that one thread since its become the same thing over and over. No point having a Kamala thread if 1/2 the posts are not even about her, No point having a Trump thread if 1/2 the posts are but Biden…but Biden. I mean at this point its the same people bashing either candidate over and over and over.

How about a Politics 101 thread where those who don’t know a ton about politics (hey me) can feel safe to ask questions and get answers (not opinions lol). How about a thread where you have to find something good with the candidate you are NOT voting for (haha wishful thinking). But would love to see other topics where people can genuinely learn and be productive.

I will be honest… we are headed to the knee deep thick of it. Fighting with strangers on the internet isn’t something I’m willing to engage in so I prob. will have to keep opinions to myself or just exit completely but just think there are too many keyboard warriors who would never speak to each other like this in public. That said, there are posters whose posts I enjoy reading and learning from because you can tell they keep an open mind and are not throwing out negative opinions about one side over and over and over. I do think the PF has probably scared away many who felt they can’t voice their opinion for fear of being attacked. This was me over a year ago when I deleted CC from my bookmarks.

And please don’t shoot the messenger here- I don’t think CC moderators who are posting as normal posters should have “moderator/super moderator” next to their name when posting. It seems very left leaning sometimes (and I say this as someone who considers myself middle but starting to lean right so maybe I just am sensitive to it) and when you see someone with that moderator status, it just doesn’t seem “fair” (said in my 2nd grade voice cause I can’t think of the word right now).

ETA- the constant articles posted… oiye.

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I agree with this. It’s hard to come across as fair as a moderator if you’re also sharing your opinion. Perhaps there needs to be a distinction when one is posting as a moderator and when they’re not.

Anyway, I chose not to join the politics forum because I was way too upset about some of the posts after October 7. I like CC most of the time and wanted to continue to like many of the posters who I may disagree with politically. And I want them to like me.

I don’t think politics should be a part of CC unless it’s directly related to colleges. I think that extends to social and religious issues as well.

I know that many things are discussed on here but my philosophy has always been that religion and politics are really personal.

You aren’t going to change anyone’s mind screaming on the internet and if you really consider it for a minute, you’re probably not even trying to, you’re just feeding your tribe.

Twitter/X Reddit Facebook all exist for posters to get their political fix. I don’t think it’s necessary here.

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I like the Politics Forum for the most part. I find some of the discussions interesting, some of them frustrating. I don’t like the occasional attitude of having to be right and, if you disagree, you are wrong. Politics - like life - is rarely like that. I like discussion. I don’t mind disagreement. But I don’t like the kind of debate when it seems like, rather than an exchange of differing opinions, it’s someone trying to prove your views wrong. There have been one or two threads that I’ve had to leave because it seemed like a group of posters just wanted an echo chamber rather than an exchange of ideas and opinions and, in fact, it felt like the main posters essentially ganged up on posters with a differing view. That was frustrating. But, as I said, I can choose to leave those situations if I don’t enjoy them. The ones where I feel like there is actual discussion I enjoy. I also feel like I can compartmentalize the politics forum, in the sense that I don’t let discussions there bleed into the other forum sections or into my opinions about posters in other forum sections. I can disagree with them in one place, but agree in another place and, to me, it’s all good.

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I like having the PF. I think it, plus the parent cafe, keeps frequent users engaged when there isn’t as much college related discussion happening.

I will post occasionally, but don’t follow threads because there are too many posts to keep up with. As others have mentioned, it tends to be the same people with the same stance trying to drive home their point.

I’ll admit that I view posts from the strongly opinionated people differently in the non PF threads. I also see some of the tension or animosity between users carrying over into the non PF threads. That concerns me.

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I appreciate being asked this question. To be perfectly honest, the politics forum has tainted CC for me. Just ick. I already had one foot out the door - my youngest kid is off to college soon and it’s become a bit too easy to click on over here to see what’s going on, despite diminishing returns. Some of the PF comments just really turn my stomach, and I think it will be healthier for me to step away entirely from CC as a whole. Seems like a good time to put my energy into something else in my next chapter (but don’t know what yet). I do appreciate all I’ve learned here from intelligent and thoughtful members of CC.

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I think I joined the PF when Roe v Wade was overturned and a post in the everyday thread was asked to be moved to the PF and so I followed it there, but not long after I was looking for the instructions on how to leave; it was disheartening, unpleasant, and the opposite of the helpful and friendly discussions that I so appreciated in the Parent’s Forum.

So I haven’t been over there since then, and I would never go back. I do appreciate the Parent Cafe for “off topic” discussions, and I appreciate the boundaries around it.

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I was around when the previous political forum was around. I was glad it was closed.

I haven’t joined this one, and I’m glad. I get plenty of political “discussion” elsewhere.

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Kudos to @sushiritto and @DadOfJerseyGirl for successfully herding the frenetic PF herd.

That said, at this point I feel like this forum has played itself out. Things are only going to get worse between now and November. Unless the PF generates revenue through clicks it may be time to put it out to pasture.

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Having read through some of the feedback, I’m saddened to hear about others’ negative experiences and reactions to the political forum.

One of the things that I think is great about CC is that knowing so little about other posters allows people to be much more open-minded about other people’s comments than they might be if they came across them in real life. I think that’s true with respect to the wide range of ages of posters (source), but also regional differences, political differences, religious differences, economic differences, etc. People’s ideas are judged purely on the merit of their ideas and not because of whatever affiliations or preconceptions we have about them.

Thus, if people are developing negative feelings toward others or towards CC because of views expressed in the PF, then I think it’s reasonable for it to close or to have vastly different parameters. There are so few spaces where people from a variety of backgrounds can interact in a generally respectful manner, and I’d hate for CC to lose that.

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This thread makes me glad I never joined the PF. The positive for me is that having the PF may help keep these discussions from creeping into the main forum.

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I do value some of the information and perspectives that I’ve encountered in the PF, but I also lean toward feeling like it’s a net negative.

I end up feeling obliged to respond because I don’t want the PF threads to turn into, essentially, a CC-hosted blog for unopposed opinions that I disagree with. But at the same time, it’s a fairly small group of contributors, and I doubt that any minds are being changed.

I feel as if there are two things that are potentially worth our time: one is organizing with allies and sharing information with people who share the same values, and the other is attempting to disseminate information and persuade people who may be immersed in a different point of view. The PF feels like worst of both worlds to me - while there are participants I would love to hear more from, it feels as if we’re wasting our time “sparring,” and not even doing so on a platform where a wider audience might benefit from weighing the arguments presented.

I think it’s good that these discussions are “quarantined,” and agree that it might be harder to keep them off the regular threads without an outlet. But it also feels like an unproductive energy suck that seems to be fueling grievances. I’m not sure what the solution is. Maybe we need two different “echo chamber” forums with limited, scheduled/structured debates between the two, lol.

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Agree that some topics (including those involving colleges) that are political or semi-political can be pushed to the politics section, rather than having the moderators try to make judgement calls about whether a post or topic is “too political” for a nominally non-political set of forums.

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It would be a shame to make a permanent change when the concern is really about what is likely to be a frenetic next few months.

It seems very reasonable for people who want to exit the politics forum to do so, and then see whether the forum calms down after November before making any permanent decisions.

I think there are always going to be topics which are both college-related and political and can be usefully discussed, but may be better kept out of the main part of CC.

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Appreciate all the great feedback we got so far, so THANK YOU for sharing.

One of my goals with this post is to get the discussion going and see how to improve the offering on the site for those who have had a negative experience in the PF and are considering quitting the site altogether. We appreciate having you part of the community and would like you to stay. You are valued! Leaving the site is not the solution, though I understand if that’s your ultimate decision.

Politics is messy and intense and, unfortunately nowadays, extremely partisan and divisive. I get it if someone does not want to engage with that content. So, if you joined the group and want out, here’s how to leave the PF.

It does not currently. But creating a lot of administrative problems hehe. That’s why we will start introducing ads in the PF. The ads will be limited to the PF and we see the revenue (although very small I am sure) as the price for keeping the lights on there. I’ll share more about this when we have set it up.

Also, we are reviewing your feedback and suggestions and will make a plan on how to improve the PF and the overall experience. I’ll get back with a more detailed post on that later. For the moment, let’s keep this discussion going. :slight_smile: Thank you!

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