White Lives Don't Matter - apparently

[Steve R.]

I keep wondering how the democrats juxtapose ID for vaccines but not for voting. This is why controlling any border is so crucial otherwise, you get this dumbing-down effect of the voting populace.

There is another aspect to illegal immigration flooding the US that has received virtually zero attention. That is the cultural aspect, the illegal immigrants are coming from a society where there is significant corruption in the government and in how one conducts business. In coming into the US, they will bring that societal outlook with them. Consider that the illegal immigrants are arriving with a "price" on their bodies, where the cartels (human smugglers) want to be reimbursed. That will mean that the illegal immigrants, either through legal or illegal means, will need to raise money to pay back the cartels. Finally, since corruption has been part of their culture, they many well continue to view and use corruption as "normal" and may never adopt US cultural values such as the rule-of-law as the new normal.
(Honor killings, still occur in the US committed by immigrants who have been here for a long time.)

 

[Jon]

Lest us not forget that the illegal immigrants want to cheat to get in. They know they are breaking the law, they know there is a lawful process to go through for immigration, but they don't care. It is like a shoplifter who knows you should pay for something, but doesn't want to. They just steal it instead. What a way to start life in America, by instantly becoming a criminal.

 

[AccessBlaster]

This proves Delta Airlines is racist. Imagine how many minorities they are denying to fly because they can't obtain a proper ID

 

[FrankRuperto]

He said, she said, blah blah, enough talk. We're beyond diplomacy. Let's have bloody adventures in a long overdue civil war.

 

[AccessBlaster]

Nah, just be consistent.

 

[AccessBlaster]

 

[Pat Hartman]

The really silly thing about the voter ID hysteria is that we all KNOW what the headline would be in the NYT if this exact position were espoused by Trump and the Democrats were the ones pushing for voter ID>

President Trump says Blacks too stupid to get voter ID.

 

[AccessBlaster]

Charles Barkley getting it right, nice job Mr. Barkley!

https://twitter.com/x/status/1378435984707133445

 

[FrankRuperto]

@Jon

I think its a big mistake for you to allow political debate in AWF, as it detracts from the main purpose which is MS Access technical discussion. I know several Access veteran developers who are turned off by this aspect of AWF and refuse to join your site, let alone major corporations like Microsoft who chose to not identify with AWF's political agenda. Is your reason for allowing geo political discussions in AWF to increase website traffic? It looks like AWF is top heavy with Trump and U.S. Republicans trolls, or maybe Russians hijacked this site, and that scares away many from joining AWF. What is the true agenda of AWF, an "Access technical forum" owned by and based in the UK which is primarily being used as a platform to fosters U.S. political controversy and destabilization?

 

[Jon]

@FrankRuperto Yes, some think that way, and some don't. But read on and you will see I cater to both audiences. If you prefer CNN, there is no need to ever see the Fox News channel, as you will see.

AWF is the most popular Access site and by some margin. Unless you have some evidence that the traffic lost by allowing politics is outweighed by the traffic gained, you don't really know the answer. You can't appeal to everybody, since everybody has a different opinion. I haven't seen anything from Microsoft that says they do not approve of allowing politics on this site.

Those who do not want to join the site don't have to. But those who do can turn off any part of the forum and never see the messages. I have made the site cusomisable so that members can tailor it (hide forums) to suit their needs. Were you aware of that?

You can turn off all non-Access sections and just leave the Access parts. You will then never be aware again that a politics forum exists on this site. I do not believe any competing Access forum has that ability.

Half the US believes in free speech, the other half have a different view. Same applies to immigration etc. I don't like Brussel Sprouts, my dad loves them. I just create a place where those who like it here, come here. But some don't and that is fine too. But ask yourself a question, if you believe that this place should be purely about Access, why is it so much more popular than the other two competing Access forums? Why have UA now decided to put their Watercooler right near the top of the site, like we have here?

Having said all of the above, and despite our political differences, I appreciate the comment since it is born from wanting the best for this place. We are on the same page regarding that aspect.

Edit: Following Frank's comment, I will add something to the introductory email thread found here:

New Member? READ ME FIRST!

Welcome to the Access World Forums! To get the best out of these forums, please do the following: INTRODUCE YOURSELF Introduce yourself - not this thread but by clicking the Post Thread button on the top right - and tell us about yourself. Are you new to Microsoft Access or an established...

www.access-programmers.co.uk

I will make it clear that those who dislike the politics forum, or any other areas, they can turn them off. Why have a button down shirt that you don't like, when you can remove the buttons? Become your own tailor!

 

[FrankRuperto]

@FrankRuperto Yes, some think that way, and some don't. But read on and you will see I cater to both audiences. If you prefer CNN, there is no need to ever see the Fox News channel, as you will see.

AWF is the most popular Access site and by some margin. Unless you have some evidence that the traffic lost by allowing politics is outweighed by the traffic gained, you don't really know the answer. You can't appeal to everybody, since everybody has a different opinion. I haven't seen anything from Microsoft that says they do not approve of allowing politics on this site.

Those who do not want to join the site don't have to. But those who do can turn off any part of the forum and never see the messages. I have made the site cusomisable so that members can tailor it (hide forums) to suit their needs. Were you aware of that?

View attachment 90594

You can turn off all non-Access sections and just leave the Access parts. You will then never be aware again that a politics forum exists on this site. I do not believe any competing Access forum has that ability.

Half the US believes in free speech, the other half have a different view. Same applies to immigration etc. I don't like Brussel Sprouts, my dad loves them. I just create a place where those who like it here, come here. But some don't and that is fine too. But ask yourself a question, if you believe that this place should be purely about Access, why is it so much more popular than the other two competing Access forums? Why have UA now decided to put their Watercooler right near the top of the site, like we have here?

Having said all of the above, and despite our political differences, I appreciate the comment since it is born from wanting the best for this place. We are on the same page regarding that aspect.

Edit: Following Frank's comment, I will add something to the introductory email thread found here:

New Member? READ ME FIRST!

Welcome to the Access World Forums! To get the best out of these forums, please do the following: INTRODUCE YOURSELF Introduce yourself - not this thread but by clicking the Post Thread button on the top right - and tell us about yourself. Are you new to Microsoft Access or an established...

www.access-programmers.co.uk

I will make it clear that those who dislike the politics forum, or any other areas, they can turn them off. Why have a button down shirt that you don't like, when you can remove the buttons? Become your own tailor!

Again, I feel AWF should remain neutral on the topic of politics because many developers do not want to identify with a site which fosters political controversy.

As for Microsoft's involvement in politics, I encourage you to read up on their decision to suspend political contributions: https://blogs.microsoft.com/on-the-issues/2021/02/05/changes-to-political-giving/

Keep in mind that MS and the U.S. Government is monitoring all political discussions on this and other forums.

 

[Jon]

Frank, again you have ignored most of the points I have made.

...because many developers do not want to identify with a site which fosters political controversy.

Do developers not watch the news? All US news channels are full of political controversy. Facebook and Twitter are full of political controversy, and look how popular they are. Why is this site so popular, compared to the other Access sites that do not have a politics section?

As for Microsoft's involvement in politics, I encourage you to read up on their recent decision to suspend political contributions:

If Microsoft want to suspend political contributions, that has nothing to do with them disapproving of other sites. They are unrelated and your connecting the two is more than speculative.

Keep in mind that MS and the U.S. Government is monitoring all political discussions on this and other forums.

Why keep that in mind? It's just irrelevant.

 

[FrankRuperto]

So you're saying if you remove political discussion in AWF, then it will no longer enjoy high traffic?

Ability to turn off political forum is not the point. Just the thought that AWF allows political controversy is enough to turn off many from joining plus anihilating approval by companies like Microsoft. You might as well change your site's name from Access World Forums to Politics World Forum.

 

[Jon]

So you're saying if you remove political discussion in AWF, then it will no longer enjoy high traffic?

I've answered this so many times now, but you won't address the points I have made.

Just the thought that AWF allows political controversy is enough to turn off many from joining.

Yet you keep posting in the political section yourself. You get my point?

plus anihilating approval by companies like Microsoft.

You are not speaking for Microsoft.

You might as well change your site's name from Access World Forums to Politics World Forum.

The politics section represents 2.2% of the posts here. Your perspective is not balanced.

 

[FrankRuperto]

I've answered this so many times now, but you won't address the points I have made.


Yet you keep posting in the political section yourself. You get my point?


You are not speaking for Microsoft.


The politics section represents 2.2% of the posts here. Your perspective is not balanced.

Plain and simple, there's no room for political innuendo in a site which is supposed to be dedicated to MS Access technical discussions. As a result of AWF not remaining neutral on the topic of politics, you are fueling division and loss of business and friendship among software developers.

 

[Jon]

a site which is supposed to be dedicated to MS Access technical discussions.

Who says that is what the site is dedicated to? The assumption is that the owner is not deciding what the site is supposed to be about, yet the opposite is true.

As a result of AWF not remaining neutral on the topic of politics,

AWF is neutral on the topic of politics. It is just a placeholder for members to discuss politics, should they want to.

you are fueling division

Division already exists. Why are you engaging in a forum section where you oppose its very existence?

loss of business

I do this for kicks, not business.

loss of...friendship among software developers

Do you want to be a friends with someone you might consider a Nazi, or racist?

It does seem that this topic rears its ugly head from time to time. Those with no experience running a forum believe they have the insight, wisdom and knowledge to turn the most popular Access forum into an even more popular place. But they don't have any of the data, or experience. They think the site owner is a fool.

I'm still waiting for an explanation for why this site is way more popular than the other sites that only focus on Access technical discussion. But no explanation comes because it is an inconvenient truth. I am doing it all wrong, yet the numbers say I am doing it all right.

 

[FrankRuperto]

Your site can easily experience a mass exodus. You are your own worst enemy by not remaining neutral yourself and siding with the far right. It reflects negatively on your entire site.

 

[Jon]

Your site can easily experience a mass exodus.

Anything is possible. But you are speculating with no evidence. Instead, the opposite seems to be true. The other sites are the ones who have lost the most traffic.

You are your own worst enemy by not remaining neutral yourself and siding with the far right

Censorship of the site owner is another political position, which I don't share. Being a Conservative is nothing to do with the far right.

It reflects negatively on your entire site.

It is so negative that we have more than double the traffic of the next nearest competitor, where they do not discussion politics.

access-programmers.co.uk Traffic Analytics & Market Share | Similarweb

access-programmers.co.uk is ranked #3448 in the Computers Electronics and Technology > Other Computers Electronics and Technology category and #165907 Globally according to February 2022 data. Get the full access-programmers.co.uk Analytics and market share drilldown here

www.similarweb.com

Perhaps we can discuss this again when your data catches up with your perceived reality. Until then, the facts are on my side, not yours.

 

[AccessBlaster]

Sounds like the liberal lockdown is taking a toll.

 

[FrankRuperto]

It is so negative that we have more than double the traffic of the next nearest competitor, where they do not discussion politics.

With this statement you are contradicting yourself by saying earlier that political discussion is only 2.2% of total traffic.
I would like to see what the court of public opinion has to say about this topic, however, that's not possible in AWF since it is heavily biased toward the far right. And I would be saying the same it were biased towards the left. There's simply no justification for an Access forum to be entertaining political innuendo. Why don't you experiment by temporarily suspending political discussuions in AWF and provide metrics of traffic by each AWF sub forum?