WARNING! Possibly U.S.-centric

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15 of the 20 threads appearing on the first page of the Debate & Current Events index as I type this post are U.S.-centric. (And nary one is labelled as such, not even the ones started by a Brit. For shame!)

Why are so many threads in this forum U.S.-centric? Are the non-U.S. members apolitical? Apathetic? Overwhelmed into a state of catatonic helplessness by the sheer number of U.S.-centric threads?

Does it behoove the U.S. members to take up the slack and start more threads focusing on matters, say, British? Or would that be considered sticking our noses into others' business?

Discuss.
 
Because people don't care about UK politics (unless you are from there).
 
I for one think I would appreciate a more international focus on politics in this forum. Not that US politics are not entertaining or anything, it's just that I think we're missing out on the fun in the rest of the world! How about a thread where everyone gives a summary of the state of current political affairs in their country? If someone has already posted about your country, then you have to pick another country... Minimum two paragraphs. Could be fun, yeah?
 
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when I went to France 20 years ago, I was shocked to find that you couldn't get baked beans on their own, only with sausages. And they had no sliced bread...:eek:
 
Blobbenstein said:
when I went to France 20 years ago, I was shocked to find that you couldn't get baked beans on their own, only with sausages. And they had no sliced bread...:eek:
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Do you mean tinned or served in a restaurant ?

I have never got used to all the snide remarks the French make about our food. It really bugs me that they
think that you can only eat decent food in France.:mad:
 
Indian Summer said:
I for one think I would appreciate a more international focus on politics in this forum. Not that US politics are not entertaining or anything, it's just that I think we're missing out on the fun in the rest of the world! How about a thread where everyone gives a summary of the state of current political affairs in their country? If someone has already posted about your country, then you have to pick another country... Minimum two paragraphs. Could be fun, yeah?
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Oh, I agree - I'd like to see more stuff from/about other countries.

I just find it amusing that people complain about too many American threads in this forum, but can't be arsed to start their own threads.
 
shyvas said:
Do you mean tinned or served in a restaurant ?

I have never got used to all the snide remarks the French make about our food. It really bugs me that they
think that you can only eat decent food in France.:mad:
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It's in their DNA.
 
mlp said:
Oh, I agree - I'd like to see more stuff from/about other countries.

I just find it amusing that people complain about too many American threads in this forum, but can't be arsed to start their own threads.
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Further to LS's thread, most of the members are from either the UK or US . Yes, everyone is free to post
about any country that they wish.
Envy said:
It's in their DNA.
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They also say it's part of their heritage e.g. they have to eat foie gras.:mad:
 
I think this whole labeling threads thing is pretty silly, but equally I think that it seems to have become UK vs US is silly too. I get that some of it is in jest, but still, feels a bit like I'm at school reading it.

Local boards are great for discussing restaurants or products, and I love using them for that, but I don't see the point in trying to segregate discussions that can be meaningfully held between people of different nationalities - which is pretty much everything else. It just isn't hard to open a thread, and leave it if you're not interested. I think segregating threads off would just make it quieter around here.
 
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I dont see the problem

UK only products, eaterys, stores, brands, campaigns, offers, holidays(ie we have Mothers Day on a different day to US) go in the UK sub forum
Same with other Countrys. Thanksgiving is a US thing, why would UKers need to weigh in.:shrug:
Politics and other debates that can be talked about from any Country in public forums...Simples

Why is that causing such a gripefest?
 
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SummerRain said:
I think this whole labeling threads thing is pretty silly, but equally I think that it seems to have become UK vs US is silly too. I get that some of it is in jest, but still, feels a bit like I'm at school reading it.
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+1. I had to go and find the thread as I had no idea what everyone was referring to, and for the record I thought posting anonymously was a bad idea from the start!:p It seems like some people just want clearer thread titles which isn't particularly controversial IMO.
 
Moll Flanders said:
+1. I had to go and find the thread as I had no idea what everyone was referring to, and for the record I thought posting anonymously was a bad idea from the start!:p It seems like some people just want clearer thread titles which isn't particularly controversial IMO.
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That is also my opinion.
I sometimes get' lost' as we have so many subsections. On the other hand it means that the forum is popular and members are full of interesting ideas; that are nice to share.
 
I wouldn't mind discussing Canadian politics, but the fact is, that this board is far from being the only source of U.S. centric information. I don't really hear much of my country's politics unless I am on a Canadian website, or am watching a Canadian tv channel. Most cable packages here have an abundance of U.S. tv networks and only a few Canadian ones. We cannot avoid U.S. politics even if we tried! I've come to expect it though and I totally assume politics threads are always about U.S. unless stated otherwise. So I say, let the U.S. threads go unspecified and let us (non-USians) specify everything else. I don't mind!

I don't blame non-Americans for being a bit annoyed at it though. The only time it really bothers me is when I read about products, or freebie offers and waddayaknow...offer only available in the U.S.
 
Alice-Bee said:
I dont see the problem

UK only products, eaterys, stores, brands, campaigns, offers, holidays(ie we have Mothers Day on a different day to US) go in the UK sub forum
Same with other Countrys. Thanksgiving is a US thing, why would UKers need to weigh in.:shrug:
Politics and other debates that can be talked about from any Country in public forums...Simples

Why is that causing such a gripefest?
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It feels as if the board is splitting in two. :( I would have no idea now where to post a thread unless it has to do with non-holiday food, or maybe a petition.

I just read threads by the latest post, and often don't notice the area it was posted in.
 
ledboots said:
It feels as if the board is splitting in two. :( I would have no idea now where to post a thread unless it has to do with non-holiday food, or maybe a petition.

I just read threads by the latest post, and often don't notice the area it was posted in.
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So let's NOT let it! :) We're having some discussion and misunderstandings. For me, I can accept the explanations that everyone is giving as to the "why" some things were said. That's what it should be about. If I take something the wrong way and the poster explains that it was not their intent, there's no reason why I shouldn't take that person at their word and move on.

If this whole thing (and I'm already forgetting how it started...menopause can be a blessing indisguise) is really about having titles more clearly defined, that's not unreasonable. I think, sometimes, it's my own insecurities of not being computer/internet/message board literate enough and the last thing I want to do is torture people who are savvy. I don't mind being asked to make an extra effort to do things properly...just keep in mind I might not always get it right, not intentionally, but because I either rushed and forgot or I made an error in judgement.

I truly am a "people" person first and foremost and I want everyone to be happy, which is unrealistic, but I'll never stop hoping.:hugs:
 
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Alice-Bee said:
I dont see the problem

UK only products, eaterys, stores, brands, campaigns, offers, holidays(ie we have Mothers Day on a different day to US) go in the UK sub forum
Same with other Countrys. Thanksgiving is a US thing, why would UKers need to weigh in.:shrug:
Politics and other debates that can be talked about from any Country in public forums...Simples

Why is that causing such a gripefest?
Click to expand...

I don't know. I just browse the board by "What's new?" and scroll through the thread titles. You can hover the cursor over a thread title and a little pop up shows the very beginning of the post. So it's not like you -have- to click on a thread, when you have a little preview like that. I don't know why people would get aggravated or annoyed or whatever because they happened to click on a thread that wasn't of interest to them. If that happens to me, I just keep right on browsing. *shrugs*

I also think that this U.S. Presidential election has been SUCH a big deal, and so important in many ways, that there would be a lot of discussion lately. Things may die down a bit.
 

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