Board Improvement Suggestion Thread

wrong thread i think fam maybe you should come off them lmao

I just made a thread for mental health

Push out all the Reddit users.

Lots of great responses in this thread but let's build off of that. What are specific actions we can do on this board? One user (I replied to them below) has made a mental health general thread and I think that's a great start.

Thanks comrade! I think it would be a great idea to have this as a recurring thread. Let's try to encourage comrades to submit mental health/self care related resources so we can build a template for future threads.

Bad praxis

You write like a manager

Left unity is a wonderful thing and should be encouraged in every possible avenue.
Reddit is not one of those avenues.

starting a group research project to create educational resources on specific topics would be easy to do and we could get loads covered if we had a bunch of different people gathering loads of information on a set subject.

Would be cool if we had a board for that, we could call it /freeedu/ or something like that!

I think one major conflict concerning "brocialists" we have to resolve is that of identity politics. A problem this board faces is that while it is correct in its assessment that identity politics is toxic to the socialist cause and does not fit into Marxist theory, it sometimes goes further than that into reactionary territory and rejects the struggle oppressed groups in society have to face. Sexism and racism are political realities and yet are common occurence on this board, not just by LARPing Holla Forumsacks and nazbols, but common (albeit often ignorant) users as well. What identity politics needs to be criticized for is not that it addresses discrimination in American society, but that its perspective and approach is fundamentally flawed.

We need to find consenus and educate on what specifically the problem is with identity politics, as to not accidentally recruit and mobilize reactionaries. Furthermore since identity politics are essential to the current liberal movement, we can only stand against it and recruit people from the liberal side if we can properly explain the Marxist alternative. It would be helpful for example to educate about Marxist feminism or point to the late MLK and Malcolm X who both towards the end of their lifes have come to the realization, that the Black community can only be freed through overcoming the economic discrimination that is placed upon every American citizen through the capitalist system.

>>>/freedu/ already exists fam

Sick post bookposter

Furthermore I believe that we need to define the extent of our anti-capitalist sentiment. Essentially we need to find common ground when it comes to the way we want to bring socialism about. Since we are operating online we need to be very careful here: Our goals need to be clearly defined and have the global reality in mind, especially that of the US and Western Europe, since I would guess that will be where we can reach the most people.

Personally I believe that advocating for a violent revolution should not even be a point of discussion, since we are simply too weak and face too great of an enemy to have any realistic shot at a violent revolution and seizing of the state. Everything else is feasible in my opinion and - again, just in my personal opinion - a non-violent revolution accompanying fraternisation with the military (organization of labor strikes and occupation of work places for example), no matter if you're more on the authoritarian or anarchist side, is the most efficient and realistic goal.

In this way I advocate for a centrist approach that finds a compromise between authoritarians, anarchist and socdems.

I think having a recurring /fit/ thread would be a great idea too, we could encourage fellow comrades to obtain gains for fighting Nazi

Okay, I can agree with this to a degree. The popular "leftist" subs are liberal larping at best and COINTELPRO at worst.

Did you get that from the CIA's "disrupting leftist groups for dummies"? Im trying to encourage meaningful community discussion to improve the board. Try to contribute. If you have to criticize don't be so intellectually lazy about it.

There's already a board for this but so many comrades do not know they exist. Definitely need to spread awareness and encourage activity.

I agree completely and it's refreshing to see a nuanced opinion on the topic. The challenge is communicating this to liberals and brocialists without scaring them off.

Another great point which is why I suggested organization efforts, both online and irl, in the OP. There's a lot of interest in leftist politics in the West lately but the organizational framework is definitely wanting. We need to encourage organization, empower the working class, and spread class conciousness first.

Correct me if I am wrong but they are not explicitly leftist are they?

Not explicitly, but check it out, there's definitely a lot of leftist resources on there

They are.

I am indeed in favor of /scg/ but every time I try it the bunkerfags cointelpro it up with hurr durr fuck off prickly

Mixed messages here comrades.

This is in the sticky:
>>>/freedu/428

but they aren't specifically gathering leftist material.

Throwing out some ideas:
I think a platform specifically for Holla Forums artists (illustrators, (graphic) designers, (web) developers, programmers, musicians, audio & visual people, etc) would be a good idea. It provides a plateau for collaboration and sharing knowledge and ideas. Get an authentic, /leftpol/, production mill going.
I have a lot of ideas for this, but I am inconvenienced at the moment and are unable to materialize them myself.

Recently I have seen complaints the moderation isn't strict enough, while volunteers complain users don't report enough. Personally: I don't even know what I should report anymore!
There have been some posts that seem blatantly inflammatory and yet are openly condoned by the BO or volunteers, while other posts are removed before anyone even gets a chance to reply. A clear statement on what is considered appropriate for the board would be appreciated.
(In general the moderation could stand to be a bit more involved with the community, I believe.)

Finally, I advice dropping the 'we are the most hated board on 8ch' sentiment. Instead, try probing other 8ch communities' opinion on Holla Forums. You'd be surprised how many BOs and volunteers prefer Holla Forums over Holla Forums, but are afraid to say anything as to not incite the "cuck"-spammers.

Also, was that Discord ever made? Is this it?
If so, I would like to ask a volunteer add to the FAQ OP.

You are missing:
youtube.com/user/GentleGinjeet/videos
youtube.com/user/xaxie1/videos (questionable, needs confirmation)

Yes, definitely. Speaking from personal experience here, but even among my liberal and partly conservative family (Germany) class consciousness is on the rise. A very simple but big issue is simply a lack of education about what socialism even is. All people think about is the Soviet Union and GDR in our case specifically (people have conflicting opinions on it).

I've heard my mother complain about how she is being exploited at work, formulate even how workers ought to seize the means of production, yet she wouldn't identify as a socialist.

—

The mental health general is a very good idea I think, especially on *chans. Many users here are emotionally very conflicted, I can tell with every thread I read. I believe especially when it comes to the political spheres of the internet, young people with mental health issues flock to it since they are looking for reasons for their own personal suffering and identify outward causes for it, such as the political reality of their worlds. I think this is particularly obvious with Holla Forums and if you have ever gotten to know a decent number of Holla Forumsacks you probably know yourself just how miserable some of them are. Only an individual that can care about itself can start to truly care about their fellow human beings.

—

I would like to have a presence on Reddit, but we need to pick our subreddit names carefully and talk about moderation standards before. I believe the success of a subreddit is entirely and absolutely dependant on the moderation team and the guidelines and impressions that are set very early on. The current leftosphere is a disaster, especially /r/socialism ever since the hostile takeover some time ago.

Not only, but there are lots of threads for that, like
>>>/freedu/1156
>>>/freedu/1602
>>>/freedu/5

Oh yes, good point you're bringing up here. I completely agree with you, I am unsure of what is allowed here and what not as well. Personally I think we should be much harsher on LARPing Holla Forumsacks since they tend to derail discussions.

...

Another user made a mental health thread

Yeah, the left definitely needs to improve its artfront. We have catgirl's comics (which most people on the board, myself included, love) but they don't really appeal to normies. And we have to gain ground with the working class.
hard agree
yup, that's it. someone ITT also posted a link to a list of comrades on youtube and twitter as well.

I've seen the same here in the US with friends and family members who voted for Trump. They know that something is wrong and that neoliberalism has failed them, but they don't know how to articulate it. They flock to reactionaries because they're unaware of other alternatives. This is definitely one of the greatest failures of the left, but the people and systems in power have certainly put a lot of effort into making things even harder for us.
I agree completely. There was a huge backlash against the mods of /r/socialism recently and a lot of splintered leftist subs spontaneously cropped up, which has only served to fracture the left. There needs to be a planned, coordinated and unified effort if we're ever going to gain ground on reddit. Same goes for Facebook leftist groups as well.

Nobody is suggesting uniting with liberal LARPers. The question we should be asking ourselves is how do we attract these types to true leftism rather than push them away?

But I mean, specifically we could make leftypol better by having educational resource projects.

We're doomed.

You have a good point, but I like to add that there shouldn't be anything wrong with criticizing the more reactionary elements of liberal idpol, such as tone policing and so on, but from their left. Also, if anyone is being legitimately discriminatory, they should be called out on their idpol as well I think.

But if we do that then what will happen to my sick Castro banner?

"Brocialist" is a lazy word more often than not casually thrown around to silence dissent among the left as part of greater tone-policing efforts without actually doing the work of, you know, educating and organizing which has been the whole point of this thread. Neither I nor the other user were using the term brocialist to silence dissent. A little bit of reading comprehension would demonstrate that. YOUR comment displays the same level of intellectual laziness and unwillingness to engage as the people who actually do use the term brocialist unironically. Don't be like them.

I wonder who could be behind this

bump.

Reminder that Asian anfem admits to derailing threads and is a wrecker.

Going to politely bump this so people from a different timezone get to see it.

Posting my own

youtube.com/channel/UC_oi8JESlRbOQW5n7Pl07NA

Get rid of socdems

Get rid of anarkiddies

Get rid of tankies

Get rid of weaboos

Get rid of idpol ideologies

Oi yeah, nah, fuck off m8

Who'd be left?

I totally agree with the last one tho

Lets all report this cunt so he gets banned

That's not how it works, newfag

You'd really want a Holla Forums with only garden variety leftcoms?

Ive reported a post with different IPs and it was erased in the past, double newfag

Go to hell you fag.

I feel like every once in a while there's a new round of well-meaning and dedicated Holla Forumsers who want to make something out of this board, and every time you guys meet disappointment because you tend to get a disproportionate idea, mostly from each other, of how much fighting spirit there really is here.

Holla Forums can be a good board for debate and memes, and there are plenty of smart people here, but this is not the starting point of any serious action. Every single effort at expansion and coordination has failed because the people who want to do something along those lines at a given time are like a handful at best, and even when you manage to mobilize some shared drive for action and organization, we just end up in chat rooms awkwardly repeating the same ideas just to realise we already do everything we can, because we lack the numbers, the skills and the familiarity with each other necessary to do anything else.

My advice is for you to pick all these ambitions here and take it to more fertile ground. There are many "centers of gravity" for left-wing people on social media, and if you can make yourself present in any of those circles you will eventually meet people who live near you and share your ideas. This is already a starting point, better than trying to make Holla Forums into something that it's not.

Self improvement?

But wouldn't that just make you Holla Forums?

You make it seem like organizing events, collaborations, etc requires extraneous effort, but, really, all a community endeavor needs to become a reality is doing.
One person with knowledge of web development can create a website that others can use as a plateau.
One person with illustration experience can make promotional art.
One person with a chat can rally people to work together.
Combine these and you already got a one person powerhouse.

I can't speak for others, but I've got a history of getting stuff done (granted, nothing with Holla Forums yet). From community events and collaborations to erecting chat groups and fora. Seriously: just do it.

I haven't seen any of those praxis threads on a while.
Eitherway we should expand them

Agreed

Also I dont think we really need to worry about the "SJW menace" PROVIDED that the admins always permit actual free discussion and dont ban people for saying faggot or nigger. I dont care if there are NazBols and Feminists and AnCaps and Black Nationalists here as long as true shitposting and spamming is banned and the admins stay otherwise hands off.

But seriously overt shitposting should be banned. Not just someone being stupid or making a joke but multiple replies that are purely provocations.

zizek posters pretty much

I'm pretty new to this board, so here's a few suggestions from my own experience:

When you're new to this board, everything seems intimidating. This makes it hard for "outsiders" to convert to socialism. Perhaps explain the different ideologies in a simple manner in some thread?

MORE MEMES! The memes are a great way for outreach and publicity to outsiders, and would surely convince some people to join the leftist side. Another way for outreach is to collect all the Leftypol twitter accounts and youtube channels somewhere. I suggest making a /new/ thread and sticky it, which links to everything you need as a newcommer to socialism and Holla Forums (for example links to yt channels, twitter users and useful sites)

/scg/ and /rtg/ would also be great.

bump

there honestly needs to be less tolerance for shitposting

tbh I didn't even think about this but you're right, we assume a certain familiarity with leftist politics on the board, it would probably help to lay out some 101 stuff in a sticky

Holla Forums is not interested in self improvement, they are just posers.

I got a fever, and the only prescription is more ideology catgirls.