You and @ChileBob are correct, there hasn’t been anything in the rules regarding politics, primarily because it hasn’t really been brought up before. I apologize if this seemed arbitrary, we will need to update the guidelines.
The issue is if you let politics be part of the forums then the Mods have to begin drawing a line elsewhere. If Trump is ok then so is Biden. Next, why not Putin? Why not Antifa? etc… If you let one stand and not the other then you risk offending both sides for arbitrary moderation decisions and the discussion quickly devolves away from having anything to do with Zcash and becomes about… politics; the Mods politics, the Developers politics, the MGRCs politics, etc…
Politics by its nature is a divisive subject. And as mentioned in the code of conduct
We are committed to making participation in this forum a harassment-free experience for everyone
everyone should be welcome regardless of political affiliation. antifa wants to start a thread, good. putin, biden, and trump are very important in regards to zcash, so all non-forum violating conversation should be acceptable.
wish there was a putin thread, filled with people that understand his thinking. i want to know why putin hates cryptocurrency, but seems to understand the importance of hard/sound money.
Fwiw i think the ideal way to handle such threads is to put them in an off-topic / minimally-moderated forum category or something that are not displayed by default but you can opt in to them if you want. It then serves the same purpose as the “avoid divisiveness” moderation policy without outright deleting the thread. I don’t know if the forum software supports this anyway
Personally not interested in any kind of political neutrality. The Zcash CoC is not politically neutral, and deliberately so. This for example:
We are committed to making participation in this project a harassment-free experience for everyone, regardless of level of experience, gender, gender identity and expression, sexual orientation, disability, personal appearance, body size, race, ethnicity, age, religion, or nationality.
primarily reflects a left-wing viewpoint. Also, antifascism is just basic humanity combined with the desire to avoid an authoritarian dystopia. It really hammers home how far our political discourse has deteriorated that antifascism is considered remotely controversial
I think the greater point here is: I and others come here for cryptography and zcash. Not to have people try to convert us to their political point of view - I really dont think the forum should be used for political activism outside of the realm of crypto.
My post might be a bit of a hot take and I am probably just showing my ignorance.
To back shawn up a bit, to the best of my knowledge “antifa” == antifascist + authoritarianism.
The meaning seemed to change about 4 years ago when the American “antifa” split heavily from the European version. The EU version is characterised by a shield with three downward arrows. This is the Symbol for The Iron Front
The flag I see most prominently displayed in America is a version of the Antifaschistische Aktion flag. With one of the red flags coloured black to represent anarchy and the other one is still red for communism. - These people are mainly anti capitalist and pro anarchy rather than caring about fascism. (we have this antifa in Europe too, but communism is not seen on favourably in many European countries).
I still find it really strange to see people protesting, one holding an Iron Front flag/shield and the person next to them an Antifaschistische Aktion flag…
The original “antifa chapter” in America, Rose City Antifa did use the correct symbol, the Iron Front Symbol, but now use the stylised antifa flag.
“Antifa” has always meant antifascist, plain and simple.
The EU version is characterised by a shield with three downward arrows. This is the Symbol for The Iron Front.
Honestly I don’t know wtf you’re talking about. Antifascists tend not to be keen on belonging to organisations, and splits between factions in the 1930s are hardly relevant now.
If you’re getting political so will I, antifa is not a representative of anti-fascism just because of its name. And the lockdowns which for some reason the left has supported in the US, are the real authoritarian dystopia; I am totally frustrated the cryptocurrency community for some reason forgot all about the individual freedoms it supposedly cares about when germs enter the picture.
e.g. People in Israel are literally in prison because of the covid lockdown - cannot go more than 1km from their house and airport shut down for outgoing flights.
I find it extremely political to say harrasment freeness is a left-wing point of view, when left activists destroying property and committing violence and frightening people on the streets of US
Since we’re getting political (<3), I am convinced that they are “useful idiots”. Portland (Antifa USA HQ) had Black Exclusion Laws in 1900s. Foreign adversaries have taken advantage of white guilt (baizuos! Lol) and created a narrative amongst impressionable youth and their professors that is not relevant.
In India, the same type of social discourse is leveraged by the corrupt communist parties who control public education and “show up in numbers”, threaten societal lockdown, and groom radicals. My parents came here for individual liberty and justice… law and order
The far-flung, opposing viewpoints held by prominent people in the Zcash Community attracted me here. Never a dull conversation!
I agree… Hope there is a separate (hidden?) area for this. Perhaps moderator reveals access to it when you become political… Or, you get invited
"…against this citadel of the status quo, the fifth wave has raised the network: that is the public revolt, those despised amateurs now connected to one another by means of digital devices. Nothing within the bounds of human nature could be less like hierarchy. Where the latter is slow and plodding, networked action is lightning quick but unsteady in purpose. Where hierarchy has evolved a hard exoskeleton to keep every part in place, the network is loose and pliable-- it can swell into millions or dissipate in an instant.
Digital networks are egalitarian to the brink of dysfunction. Most would rather fail in an enterprise than acknowlege rank or leaders of any sort. Wael Ghonim’s passionate insistence on being an ordinary Egyptian rather than a political leader was an expression of digital culture. Networks succeed when held together by a single powerful point of reference – an issue, person, or event – which acts as a center of gravity and organizing principle for action.
Typically, this has meant being against. If hierarchy worships the established order, the network nurtures a streak of nihilism.
The center cannot hold and the border has no clue what to do about it."
