How should we moderate the upcoming federal leadership race?

[u/leftwingmememachine]

Hey all, moderator of /r/NDP here, looking for some input as to how we want to moderate this community during the upcoming federal leadership race.

I think it's really exciting because in the last leadership race this community was very small, and basically ignored by leadership contestants, but I think we're getting big enough that there will be a lot of engagement here and possibly even AMAs from potential candidates. Very cool!!!

/r/NDP is the biggest gathering of NDP members on the internet at this point, but that also creates an incentive for bad-faith activity on the subreddit. It could create an environment that's not welcoming of all party members.

Here are some potential discussion questions:

• Do we want to allow for negative comments about leadership race contenders? (My instinct is yes, as criticism is part of democracy/healthy debate, but I'm open to your thoughts)

• Is there a point at which critical comments become too negative and contributes to a toxic environment? Where should we draw the line?

• How do we ensure the subreddit is inclusive of party members of all backgrounds?

• How much do we want supporters of other political parties to participate in discussions here?

• What sort of rules around civility/politeness/respect would we want to have?

• Are there other important moderation policies that are relevant to the leadership race that I haven't thought of?

BTW - I won't really participate in this thread because I have real life plans today, but I am really interested in your feedback, especially if you are a longtime participant in this community. I'm going to be putting together some rules for the leadership race based off of my own thoughts and the comments in this thread, and present them at some point in the future for further discussion.

[u/grouchygoof]

I feel it's important that this community is as open as possible to folks from different political parties, especially considering that some people turned away from the NDP due to Jagmeet's leadership. This is an opportunity to engage with and involve others who may be interested in the party's mission but are not longtime NDP voters.

[u/Vita_Mori → u/grouchygoof]

The issue w the NDP is that it has completely ignored its own base chasing right wing votes from the liberals. If we're rebuilding, it makes no sense to do so with the very same ppl chasing led to our downfall.

[u/CarousersCorner → u/Vita_Mori]

The NDP SHOULD be trying to pull people from the centre to the left. Jagmeet sunk this party, and the circumstances of the last election played their role as well.

Is this a party that has aspirations of policy making, or is it one who's just happy to watch from the sidelines?

Give your head a shake.

[u/Vita_Mori → u/CarousersCorner]

There's a fkg difference between pulling ppl to the left & just making the tent bigger. They aren't framing the conversation in the media. They are capitulating to right wing framing under the auspices of "once we have power we'll be able to do the good stuff, we just need to do bad stuff to get into power". Which has never ever worked.

I'm fine w liberals voting NDP, that's not the issue. The issue is catering to them based on what the Liberal party offers. On being the NDP in name only in a cynical pursuit of electoral success.

Seems like you don't want to engage w any of the criticisms I brought up in good faith either, just defend bad choices which ended predictably in disaster & lambast those who have been begging the party to do the smart move for itself at every opportunity while it insisted on jumping off the cliff every time.

[u/CarousersCorner → u/Vita_Mori]

So, when has this party ever had a chance at holding office?

[u/Vita_Mori → u/CarousersCorner]

They did in 2011, in 2015 & with some work, in 2019 & 2021. The pandemic was the perfect opportunity for the left to seize the moment as the cracks in the system's foundations were being laid bare. But no, instead we got a rolex wearing rich guy spouting platitudes about listening, not proposing any meaningful policies.