Some thoughts on M4C.net

[Suwannee Tim]

Something I want to point out is when I request civility I am doing so to prevent the slide of the thread into chaos, not because my tender feelings are at risk. The problem with a member objecting when they have been insulted is that the offender will then, more often than not take the "you are a crybaby" or "you are a whinny pussy" approach so, instead of shutting down the childish behavior, it has been given new energy. That's why I suggest a reprimand by a third party.

[Heartland Hawk]

I have also seen an increase in the personal retort posts as well as an increase in the "Which rifle is better to kill zombie hordes with?" threads. I come here because that is a rarity here, and I really enjoy the caliber of posters here. I post in GD because it contains topics and theads that are germane to my interests. I don't post in the tech forums a lot because I don't have much to add that isn't posted by someone else. I agree that GD "fleshes out" the personalitites here and the SME's. I hope it stays.

[Suwannee Tim]

I frequent this forum because there is a hell of a lot less nonsense to wade through when trying to find information or informed opinion. The above mentioned

"Which rifle is better to kill zombie hordes with?"

is a good example. The personal shit adds a large amount of noise that has to be waded through to find information and sometimes the personal crap takes over and informed members loose interest in the thread leaving questions unanswered. More than once I have asked a question that has gone unanswered presumably because the informed folks have given up on the thread.

[Suwannee Tim]

A suggestion: "The Official Personal Insults Thread" where members desiring to make such remarks would be directed. There is some value in personal insults as it allows members to gauge the perpetrator's maturity, purpose and seriousness. Knowing these things about a member allows me to make a more informed judgment of the member.

[Armati]

I love the resource that is M4Carbine. Lots of very knowledgeable folks here. And, the Mods do a good job of trying to keep things fairly civil and reasonably professional.

However.....
(you knew that was coming!)

I think the site is a wee bit too sensitive on certain subjects - especially, on 'LEO bashing.' It seems that 'LEO bashing' is the catch all reason to close any thread. I know there have been A LOT of problems with this in the past (esp. on other sites) but I think a few of the Mods are hypersensitive to this. It sort of reminds me of how 'racist' or 'NAZI' is used by people to just end discussion of things they don't want to think seriously about.

There is a lot of talk these days about budget cuts and deficit spending. I have not seen people take this problem this seriously ever. Over the next two years there will be a lot of serious national discussion on what and where to cut. In many local govts there are already battles taking place over police and FD budgets. Almost 2/3 of the Federal budget goes to the DoD or various intelligence and security programs. Here too, there will be a serious discussion of just how much of this stuff we can afford and how much of it is of any real value. I personally, would like to be able to discuss this seriously here without being called a rasists... ah, I mean anti-LEO.

[Littlelebowski]

2/3rds of the federal spending is on entitlements (Social Security and Medicaid), Armati. The other third is spent on Defense and DHS.

[Armati]

2/3rds of the federal spending is on entitlements (Social Security and Medicaid), Armati. The other third is spent on Defense and DHS.

I am talking about all military, security, intel, DoJ, seriously add it up.

And, perhaps 2/3 is a bit high, but it is actually more than all of our social spending (which is also too high). My point is, this topic should not be off limits just because We The People want these agencies to actually justify all of this spending.

[chadbag]

2/3rds of the federal spending is on entitlements (Social Security and Medicaid), Armati. The other third is spent on Defense and DHS.

I think he may have meant 2/3 of the so-called "Discretionary" budget, of which SS and many of the other entitlements are not included.

[Palmguy]

I am talking about all military, security, intel, DoJ, seriously add it up.

And, perhaps 2/3 is a bit high, but it is actually more than all of our social spending (which is also too high). My point is, this topic should not be off limits just because We The People want these agencies to actually justify all of this spending.

I just added up the numbers from the 2010 budget. SS, Medicare, Medicaid, Income Security, Unemployment, and Federal Retirement/Disability account for about 58% of the federal budget.

That said, I could not agree with you more about the rather liberal interpretation of "LE Bashing" that has been adopted here.

[GermanSynergy]

I like M4C alot and have met/trained with some of the folks on here. All have been superb stand up guys.
While some of us may have our disagreements on some issues, this is the best firearms related board extant.

We have a great community here and don't want to see it go the way of other gun boards with childish BS.