I would like to open some discussion on the new rule that has been posted about disallowed topics.
I myself am deeply against the idea of telling people what they can and can't talk about. I do appreciate that this is a private forum and there are no granted rights providing freedom of speech and expression. However, I've always felt that telling people what they can and can't talk about is a very, very narrow step away form telling people what they can and can't think about. I'm sure we can all agree that any stifling of thought or expression is not something that we want or consider healthy.
I can also understand how from a moderation perspective, the idea of having to devote resources away from where they're needed to quelling the same discussion over and over again can seem frustrating and counter-productive. If it is a problem of resources, would having more moderators help? Or is there a way in which the members of the site can help to make the moderating easier?
If there is any alternative to telling people not to discuss certain topics, I would hope to think it's worth looking into.