OT Damn the thread about secession is closed
 

Damn the OT thread about secession is closed.

I was going to comment on the petition to split California into 6 states. Since it concerns my home state, I've been following the petition somewhat closely since it first was announced.

But then again, there's been petitions to split California for almost as long as the state has been in existence. See the state of Jefferson.

further discussion can be sent via inbox. and that's all I will say about that here!:)

sorry mods, feel free to delete/close, etc

An issue for Alaska is that there actually is a reason for the Russians to lay claim to one part of Alaska. An island named Spruce Island belonged to the Russian Orthodox Church "In perpetuity" meaning the Tsar actually didn't have the right to sell it along with the rest of Alaska during the Alaskan purchase. Its not very big, but it is just south of Alaska proper.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Spruce_Island_(Alaska)

Yeah...I'm as guilty as anyone for posting comments that got it closed.

All this talk of succession is worrying, if Wales ever declares independence I'm seeking asylum in England, Wales without the English to temper our passions would be a horrible place.

Still not sure what happened or why is closed but hey your the mods

It was OT
It was political (the only thing I have asked people to avoid going to deep into)
It was generating ill feelings and anger.
It was disruptive to the site in general.

it was going down a dark path that we've seen before.

three things we shouldn't talk about:

politics
religion
sex

hey Kato, not sure how much more work you'd want to put into this but ever thought about creating an OT section for stuff like this?

So discussion of the politics of sexual religions is a no-no then? :D

Some things get people riled up something fierce. Sex and Religion are non-issues to me but politics always get me riled up. Almost gotten me fired from my job more than once.

The concept of an OT subforum has been brought up before and I honestly do not see the value. Simply putting threads that generate ill will in a different forum will still generate ill will. Yes fewer people will see the subforum, but it still might anger users into not coming back.

We are a small and generally dwindling group. T2k13 has perked us up a bit, but as it has not exploded onto the rpg scene, we are generally old diehards with a smattering of newer players. I don't think we can afford to lose too many users.

That is why I try to push on topic posts and if we go off topic that we keep away from current politics.

You could always move to Scotland. Mind you, we might be independent ourselves come September...

Poor England, it once ruled the world and now even Scotland is going there own way. (Possibly)

Taking off my mod hat for a moment, as simply a forum user, I totally agree. This forum is dedicated to Twilight 2000, not politics. I'm sure that there are forums out there dedicated to the latter, if that's what you're looking for.

As mod, I've had to deal with multiple complaints generated by OT, mostly political, and it's not fun. Furthermore, I've seen more than a few regular posters disappear after a round of forum acrimony. As Kato noted, this small community is significantly diminished every time someone decides to take an indefinite leave.

I partly blame myself for posting that thread in the first place. :( I had no intention for it to be political (not entirely, anyway), just felt it was rather amusing in a twisted sense I suppose that the Russians might be making noise about taking back Alaska.

I really don't understand all this secessionist crap in the first place, personally. I think that perhaps Robert Frost didn't realize how much truth there was to the proverb "Good fences make good neighbors".

The fact of the matter is that someone, somewhere always says the grass is always greener on the other side of the fence.

Of some possible historical interest, there was once upon a time a Republic of West Florida for a while. The flag was the "Bonnie Blue", a blue field with a single white star in the center.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Republic_of_West_Florida

Hunh...my history degree didn't cover that!

They still use it for tourism I think. Even will stamp a passport if you bring one with you.

I haven't had a passport since I was an infant. If I still have one, it's long lost.
Last time I went to and from Mexico and to and from Canada, they weren't requiring passports from Americans. Otherwise, my military ID sufficed.