What is this??

[Bjørn Rørslett]

The point is not that your opinions should be restricted, as NG invites open-minded discussions as a general rule. However once we touch or cross boundaries of political, ethical or similar contentious issues, we are well and truly outside the domain of photography. Thus NG is not the vehicle to promote your arguments whatever value they might convey. Discussions of the ethics of photographers' behaviour would be more acceptable if one can constrain the debate to what aspects have a direct bearing on photography as such.

I know this is a difficult terrain to navigate, but I fear we lose a lot of the communality if off-topic posts are allowed. They cannot help us in our photographic endeavours. People are entirely free to vent their frustration or opinions within more suitable venues.

[Jørgen Ramskov]

I like the policy, but I'm just not used to it. I need to remind myself of the policy before posting

[Bruno Schroder]

 You're right. Got it and point taken.

[Bjørn Rørslett]

The Team will stand by you 

[Gary]

I like the policy, but I'm just not used to it. I need to remind myself of the policy before posting

I am in the same boat as Jørgen Ramskov. I too need to remind myself that this forum is simply for photography. In this case, purity is a positive.

[Bjørn Rørslett]

We are far from being puritans, Gary. There are absolutely NO "family values" or "work safe rules" in operation here.

However, experiences from a number of sites tell us that once you allow off-topic discussions on contentious themes, they can easily come out of control and cause a lot of damage to the web community at large. Nobody benefits from using a photography forum as the foundation for political, religious, or ethical campaigns. There are media better suited to those purposes. Use these instead.

In fact, Common sense and some empathy will solve nearly all issues and allow you to safely navigate and post on NG.