I have a gripe!
Since their inception, these forums have tried to stay clear of politics. This is not because politics are bad, or because politics do not pertain to MST3K – this is because moderating politics is incredibly delicate and time-consuming work, and we lack the resources to oversee a free-for-all forum environment. I will remind y’all that your moderators are here on a volunteer basis – to my everlasting shame, as their work has enormous value and importance, but see above re: lacking resources – and they put a huge amount of time and energy into trying to keep the forums tidy, friendly, useable, and rule-adhering. The mods did not write the rules; they are simply doing their best to apply them.
I know many members disagree with the no-politics rule. Some of us really struggle with not making things political. I, personally, really struggle with not making things political, and honestly in my free time I don’t hang out in online spaces that don’t allow political conversations, because I know I’ll fail to follow the rules. Politics are an important part of many of our lives, and no media, MST3K included, is truly apolitical. These forums just aren’t the place for that conversation.
For clarity: speech that is abusive, threatening, or harmful (which includes hate speech, slurs, etc) will get a decisive admin response – if you have examples of a user who has threatened you, or used other abusive language, in public posts or via private message, PLEASE message me with the details so I can investigate further.
Bad opinions, alas, we all have some of those, and they are not technically against the rules. (Remember, you can always mute or ignore folks who get under your skin. They’re not perfect tools – and I am hopeful we can get some better ones installed – but they can help.)
Communities can be messy sometimes, especially when they draw people from a wide variety of different backgrounds together under the banner of a shared interest. Disagreements and conflict are inevitable, and no forum can be a truly safe space. MSTies are for the most part a pretty thoughtful and kind group of people, and very welcoming and inclusive, well beyond a lot of other fan communities I won’t name. I like to think the MST3K community reflects the values of the show itself. Ultimately we are all here because, no matter how we disagree on other subjects, we share a fondness for our pals on the Satellite of Love. That doesn’t mean we all have to choke back our differences, but it can mean we give each other a little space in the interest of the good of the community overall.
I’m reopening this thread now. Also, my DMs are always open to y’all – it might take me a day or three to respond but I will get to ya.
Thank you for reading.