Meta: Moderator Musings

It's the offseason for basically everything VT sports-related. Any news coming from the football team is usually bad (transfers, arrests, etc) and we're all eagerly anticipating the upcoming year, one full of hope and trepidation in equal parts. So naturally we're trying to fill time talking about stuff. It's part of the awesome fabric of what makes TKP what it is. With the large growth in the size of the community (which is awesome), we have increasingly diverse viewpoints, desire for content, and interactions with one another. So we try to find things to talk about.

You will undoubtedly notice that Joe removed the EU/Brexit post. He and I had a discussion about it and ultimately agreed that it was not an appropriate topic for TKP. Why? It's inherently political. Sharing news is one thing, especially when there is a discussion to be had about any number of interesting topics. But something that was politics really isn't fodder for that; the disclaimer at the end of the post summed it up - "don't talk about politics." Kind of hard to do when that underlies everything in the post. If your caveats self-stifle the post and subsequent discussion, it shouldn't be posted.

So in the interest of promoting good posting and community involvement, I, as your humble Moderator, ask you to carefully consider what you post. Does your topic promote discussion? Most importantly, are you willing to facilitate that discussion through active involvement? Or are you just posting something without much thought as to what questions or information the topic raises? Posting news isn't inherently bad or contrary to the Community Guidelines, but news should be posted only when it generates discussion. OT threads are typically something fun or of general interest; this is not to say that world events are barred, but the ramifications should be considered.

In my time here on TKP, I have been continually impressed with the breadth and depth of knowledge of the community, humor and wit, and varied opinions. It's one of the best places on the Internet to hang out. So please help me and the fine ownership of this site to make sure it stays that way. Please feel free to use this forum to ask questions about content, post opinions, heckle me, etc. but perhaps hold off on a flood of Emma Watson GIFs until it is at least a few weeks old and needs to be revived to the top of the tracker for...reasons.

Random asides:

1. I have seen a few inquiries/complaints about NSFW content. Some of the images posted lately are a bit borderline and I have not said anything about it. Please think for a moment before you post for those of us who have relatively permissive work environments that don't mind a bit of wasted valuable time on TKP but would trigger a visit from HR or a stern look from the boss.

2. As it is political season in the US, I have seen a slight up-tick in tongue-in-cheek humor and use of various public figures in GIF/meme form. I'm giving a little bit of rope here because I can see and appreciate the satirical value of such posts. I'll only weigh in if people actually start talking about politics. We can use imagery of political figures to illustrate points (especially humor) without going down the dark road of divisive arguments.

Go Hokies.