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Left Hand Man
Posts: 13
Joined: Wed 01 May, 2024 15.05

DS forums are nothing but a haven for cranks and fruitcakes, and that's been the case for a long time. Channel 5 seems to attract the most inflammatory discussions there, weirdly enough. To be honest I'm surprised the forums weren't shut down years ago.
Issaknife
Posts: 14
Joined: Fri 03 Jan, 2025 02.23

Left Hand Man wrote: Sun 26 Jan, 2025 14.26 DS forums are nothing but a haven for cranks and fruitcakes, and that's been the case for a long time. Channel 5 seems to attract the most inflammatory discussions there, weirdly enough. To be honest I'm surprised the forums weren't shut down years ago.
General Discussion was shut down. The real reason was political discourse.
Tardisrotor
Posts: 18
Joined: Tue 28 May, 2024 13.45

Left Hand Man wrote: Sun 26 Jan, 2025 14.26 DS forums are nothing but a haven for cranks and fruitcakes, and that's been the case for a long time. Channel 5 seems to attract the most inflammatory discussions there, weirdly enough. To be honest I'm surprised the forums weren't shut down years ago.
I Don't know about "cranks and fruitcakes" but there are some "sad-fishers" and those who use the advice forum as an alternative for professional therapy.
Issaknife
Posts: 14
Joined: Fri 03 Jan, 2025 02.23

That US election thread seriously needs shut down. It hasn’t been about broadcasting in months. The politics board closed for a reason.
Left Hand Man
Posts: 13
Joined: Wed 01 May, 2024 15.05

Issaknife wrote: Thu 13 Feb, 2025 05.12 That US election thread seriously needs shut down. It hasn’t been about broadcasting in months. The politics board closed for a reason.
The politics board closed, I think, because there was some harassment going on. Think it might have been something to do with the Labour antisemitism scandal. The political threads seem to be a way of keeping that discussion from spilling elsewhere.
james2001
Posts: 765
Joined: Sat 04 Jun, 2005 23.10

If by "harrassment" you mean stalking and doxxing, then yes, there was plenty of that going on. Nothing to do with the Labour antisemitism scandal, it started well before then. It's incredibly disturbing to find a bunch of people had a forum where they were following DSers around the internet (myself included) and documenting everything they could find out about them- including where they lived. The people from said forum had countless sleeper accounts that sprang into life regularly, usually to attack certain users or post what personal information they'd discovered about them, it's hardly suprising the admins had enough.

A few months back, someone DMd me to say that they'd finally had enough (after having abuse spammed on their LinkedIn page and their workplace being contacted) and they'd hired a private investigator to find the people behind said forum... it abruptly went offline not long after that, a co-incidence I'm sure.

And remember this was all because these people either disliked people not sharing their politics, or they blamed other people for them getting banned from DS, so they decided stalking, doxxing and harrassment was a suitable reaction.
Issaknife
Posts: 14
Joined: Fri 03 Jan, 2025 02.23

Another politics thread in Broadcasting!! 🙄
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