covid and lockdown

The forum rules are super clear, everyone. This post is not related to Lyme or even chronic illness, and "overtly political" posts aren't appropriate.

A lot of people got away with violating this rule on the COVID thread because I could not stomach reading it. Lots of posts were flagged for the admin. Super disappointing, and not at all in the spirit of what this site is for. It's making me hesitate to respond to posts by people whose beliefs I find appalling -- and that's exactly the reason that political posts are inappropriate here. What if a member knows something that might really help you, but they never see your post asking for help because they blocked you?

I'm supposed to be locking or deleting posts like this, as a moderator, but I don't like to do that because it makes members feel bad - even members that I'm learning I disagree with vehemently. Pretty please let's just follow the forum rules.

People definitely should help each other regardless of beliefs, but political beliefs are not relevant here regardless.

This site has a blocking function that allows us to block posts from people whose posts we don't want to see. If someone feels the need to block someone in order to set a boundary and protect their health, then they have every right to do so. I hope that a person moved to block someone also will alert a moderator or admin that someone's behavior has been inappropriate or unsettling. I personally will not block anyone because doing so would mean I could not be a moderator.

Again, the forum rules are clear, they are set by the site owner, and they exist for a reason. Moderators have to enforce them. No one is being silenced. There are a plethora of places online to post about politics.

Perhaps it's worth noting that I get direct emails often about these issues from people who feel alienated by the site and who are concerned that mods aren't doing enough to enforce rules. This is not coming out of left field. These complaints are not coming from one side or another, but from people who feel the content is inappropriate and/or combative. This is not a partisan rule.

saraeli. Thank you ! I couldn’t agree more. We are here to help each other with Lyme.