Announcement: Politics Guidelines

We all know Amtrak is, by nature, a political animal.  It was created  by the government and is subsidized each year by the government.  It  follows, therefore, that from time to time we discuss Amtrak in a  political light.  Sometimes this happens when there are debates in  Congress about  reauthorizing Amtrak's funding.  Other times, we  discuss a particular politician's actions regarding Amtrak -- whether  he/she is already in office, or is campaigning to assume political  office.  Much of this is completely acceptable discussion here, as long  as it stays objective and factual, because it directly involves Amtrak  and (often) its future survival.

However, in recent discussion  threads, we have endured political banter that quickly devolves into  partisan fighting.  This has absolutely NO place on the  forum.  Debating the merits of a particular policy or bill as  it regards Amtrak's development and funding is acceptable, but not  when it means defense of a particular persuasion or agenda.  This is  the Internet, where nobody cares if you lean left, right, or  center.  The more respectful members understand this, and keep their  political preferences to themselves as much as possible.  Others, it  seems, enjoy making their views known at every opportunity, turning  what is usually a benign, neutral discussion into a  needlessly political discourse.  What for?  Who cares?  

What  this vocal minority doesn't seem to realize, or at least care  about, is that for every one post extolling their favorite party's (or  candidate's) virtues, numerous silent readers or first-time travelers  take offense and may in fact not return to the forum.  There is no need  to polarize innocent discussions about train travel.  I suspect this  will only get worse as we near the elections this fall.

Beginning immediately:

• No political mentions, references, insinuations, or likenesses permitted in forum signatures, avatars, or user names.   I don't care if the person or party SUPPORTS Amtrak with a given policy -- just forget about it.
• Any  post that expresses favor or preference for or against a specific  politician, political candidate, or political party, or what they stand  for, may be deleted at any staff member's discretion.  The  goal  here is to protect the good-natured civility we all enjoy here on the  forum.  Common sense will dictate whether a post is likely to provoke  other members.  If we are lucky, the member will exercise such common  sense before posting, and no intervention will be required.
• Any post that expresses favor or preference for or against another member's political views will be deleted.
• Any  thread  that  continues to attract posts of an overly subjective political nature  will be locked, pruned of offending material, or in some  cases, completely deleted.
• If you disagree with a  moderation decision made by a forum staff member, take it up with that  person (or an Administrator) in a private message, NOT in public.

Any  member who  repeatedly feels the need to test this policy will be dealt  with appropriately.  This is a privately owned forum, and the First  Amendment is upheld only to the degree that it pleases the forum  administrators.

Let's talk about the facts and the issues as they concern Amtrak without making it personal or turning it into a discussion about each other's values.  Why is that so hard?

I  will  also take this opportunity to remind everyone that the forum has  an "ignore" feature.  If another person is bothering you, please feel  free to employ it against that person.  You will no longer see their  messages on the forum.  If you would like some guidance on how to use  the Ignore feature, please don't hesitate to contact one of the forum staff  for a tutorial.  This is a far better way to express one's displeasure  with another user than to stoop to their level and respond in kind.

Anthony
Forum Owner, Founder and Administrator