The original intent of this category was so when major current events happened they could be contained in this category through factual news stories. It was my intent that this category would help to remove the temptation to post about things like this on the main forum and could be muted by those that do not want to be informed of current event news.
It’s not being used much, and when it is, it tends to tempt political posts, so I am just trying to decide if it is better to get rid of it so there is less clutter on the forum or just keep it around since its not really hurting anything and could be useful if big events start happening in the news.
You decide :
Decide Current affairs category fate
Get rid of it. Its not useful.
Please keep it in case it case its needed in the future. It’s not hurting anything
Without being political. Given the state of governments worldwide right now. I think that it’s possible we would require it at some point. That’s my main concern is that there should be an outlet for people to communicate with each other if things happen.
I disagree. People are voting positively and clearly there is concern that there might be need for some ability to communicate on the site in the context of changing times. I really think it’s important that we keep it
I do like that it is basically a vomitorium that current news items can be stuck in where I don’t see them because I have it set to ignore. Deleting news items also does that. Mainly I do not want to ever see news randomly here.
All joking aside, I am sure that most users here are aware that I have made a deliberate choice to bump along on the lowest dose possible of APs. I am sensitive to side-effects of APs and higher doses mean I end up with more cognitive drag, enhanced negative symptoms, avolition, and anhedonia. Higher doses turn me into an unemployable lump.
The trade-off is that I have to carefully manage a LOT of positive symptoms (nanobots from outer space!) and walk the tightrope of maintaining my insgight on the lower dose. Here are my main ways of doing this:
Keep busy (I have soooo many hobbies and projects) because a moving target is harder to hit.
Clean eating and weight loss. Clean food increases my energy. Losing over of half my body mass means that much of my energy is no longer tied up in just staying alive.
Regular daily exercise.
Therapy. I do therapy relentlessly. CBT, DBT, and ACT.
I work my AA program (extension of above, really) and attend online meetings.
Stress management. I avoid upsetting things. I don’t do crowds. I avoid relatives as much as possible. I don’t discuss politics. I don’t follow current events, as they are 95% upsetting. Getting upset riles my positive symptoms.
TLDR is that I fastidiously avoid current news and politics. Since the current affairs catgory is a draw for people who like to discuss both, I regard it as a trap I can get stuck in and that can damage my recovery - or management of - my condition.
I didn’t even know there was a “current affairs” room anyway lol its gonna eventually turn political and gonna start a sh!storm of fights and bans eventually
I like it in the same way I like UB, I can ignore it. I am just aware that both categories are fly paper for certain users and they will never be anything but a source of frustration to mods/admins.
I will leave this poll up until tomorrow. If the vote is to remove, it will take me a little while to get rid of it , as you have to clean out the category before it can be removed. So, it will vanish in a few days.
I voted to keep it, because it keeps random news and political topics from popping up in the lounge, and since I’m a certified lounge lizard that’s nice.
It may actually be easier to moderate the current affairs category than a bunch of threads in the lounge. It keeps all of the hot button topics in one place.
