Given the way in which a number of CAaSS threads have broken down lately, I think it might be good for TCS to have a place in which one can have a meta-discussion of the politics of the site, so as to avoid driving other threads off-topic. It's very apparent that a lot of users feel aggravated by the nature of political discourse on TCS right now, and so I think it should be discussed. A particular area of concern right now is the expressed feeling of some conservative users that the site is hostile towards people with conservative views, and so part of the purpose of this thread is to give those users the opportunity to explain what the problems they perceive are, and if they think anything can be done about it. There is also a problem - particularly noticeably recently - with CAaSS threads getting dragged too quickly into personal attacks and bickering more than proper debate. Again, I think there should be some discussion as to possible solutions for this, if there are any (not necessarily even policy, but just a collective effort to try and do better). These seem to be the two biggest issues right now, but if there's anything else anyone wants to bring up this is the place for it.
Let's really try to not just turn this into another round of bickering. Assume the same rules Tess has brought in on the "Unite the Right" thread:
http://thecommentsection.org/viewtopic.php?f=39&t=10348&start=150#p253641
Obviously I can't actually enforce this myself, but I think the mods and admins will be watching this thread closely, given that they really do want to address users' concerns.
There is also the distinct possibility that people may not be able to fully express their opinion on this without seeming to criticise specific other users. As long as this is done politely however, I think it's fine, because I think it's necessary. The fact is, everyone on this site who posts on CAaSS can probably improve how they approach political debate in some way, and it may well be that you just haven't noticed something in how you debate that's putting other people off. If you do feel someone is criticising you and you disagree, disagree politely. Sometimes people come across as overly aggressive because they actually feel they're not being shown enough respect, and if you think that's the case, then again this is the place to calmly explain why you feel that way.
I do have thoughts on this myself, but it's taking a while to write them up, so I'm creating this thread now and I'll chime back in later.