Ghost of Midnight

Hinesburg Political Debate

What are the boundaries of discussion for an online forum?  In each neighborhood/town Front Porch Forum, the members who participate decide what to talk about by the nature of what they post.  With the Nov. 2 election, politics has moved front and center in many FPF neighborhoods recently.  This pleases some folks and troubles other.  Here’s a typical exchange… this time from Hinesburg this week…

We thought Front Porch Forum was designed to trade information with neighbors, not to serve as one more place for people to post political editorials. Len’s piece in today’s forum, while well written, was out of place. Statewide and local election coverage is available through a plethora of channels and we did not sign up for FPF to be lectured at or editorialized to. We signed up to learn what our neighbors needed, and to share what we needed. Is this what we can expect from FPF? It is bad enough that the candidates invade our homes with phone calls at all hours without regard to whether or not we want to hear what they have to say.

And a neighbor countered with…

I would contend that FPF is exactly the place for an open discussion about all issues facing our community including political ones.  Why would a person read an editorial or a political post if it disturbs them?  I would suggest averting your eyes until you can scroll down to the next post.  I for one enjoy knowing different perspectives from my neighbors, including where the next garage sale will be and why certain politicians might be or might not be good for our town…

Good points all around.  Regardless, experience shows that, a day or two after the election, FPF will return to neighborly postings about lost cats, babysitters, car break-ins, helping neighbors in need, etc.