[PoFo]

By Siberian Fox.

Founded on 4 January 2003, the Politics Forum has now been running for ten years! Ten years is a pretty long time for any forum to have been going, so I thought I'd take a moment to write about the community here.

Back at the start of 2003 I was searching for a place to discuss politics online myself, but I just couldn't find anything that looked even remotely decent. There certainly didn't seem to be any forums around at that time that had active communities dedicated to discussing international politics. Disappointed by my search I decided to just go ahead and start such a place myself. Starting a discussion forum is easy, but building it up into a large community and maintaining it is an exceedingly difficult task. I was helped out starting by three things: Firstly, we had a first-to-run advantage, and so we picked up a lot of members who were searching like me, but couldn't find anything else. Secondly, a forum I was involved with about the history of the USSR closed down temporarily shortly after I started, and a lot of the members jumped onto the Politics Forum. Thirdly there was a massive amount of interest in international affairs during our first year, when in March the USA and UK invaded Iraq.

The initial influx of members interested in Soviet history at first gave the community a very pronounced slant towards communism and socialism, but it wasn't too long before it became much more diverse. What I find interesting however, is that in all these years the community has never lost its ability to look at things from an "alternative" angle, rather than descend into constant party-politics. There have always been members ready to share knowledge of the broader picture on any given issue rather than dismissing things as typical of party X, while Party X's supporters blindly defend whatever it is.

The unique style of the community here has been greatly enhanced by its international nature. Although Americans make up by far the largest single contingent, there is no one nationality with an overall majority of members here - everyone is in a minority. The same goes for political opinions, with such a broad spectrum of views represented, the forum is not dominated by any one faction. I never find I have to read long before coming across an interesting insight or opinion that challenges assumptions I may have taken for granted. I feel that it is the ability of the members to continuously challenge the assumptions made in daily politics, to take nothing for granted, and always be demanding of evidence to support arguments that both keeps the community fresh, and drives up the standard. Consequently, the overall standard of debate has tended to remain very high and interesting to read for a decade.

It is the members of our community that have kept the Politics Forum alive and vibrant for 10 years, and the hard work of many generous volunteers who have kept the community largely free of the nefarious activities of flamers and spammers. You all deserve a huge thank you for making this such a great community. It truly is a unique place on the Internet.

Just for fun, I thought I'd finish with a little political career comparison. So far, the Politics Forum community has seen out:

• One US President (George W. Bush).
• One Chinese President (Jiang Zemin).
• One German Chancellor (Gerhard Schröder).
• One Indian Prime Minister (Atal Bihari Vajpayee).
• One Russian President (Vladimir Putin and Dmitry Medvedev).
• Two British Prime Ministers (Tony Blair and Gordon Brown).
• Two French Presidents (Jacques Chirac and Nicolas Sarkozy).
• Six Japanese Prime Ministers (Junichiro Koizumi, Shinzō Abe, Yasuo Fukuda, Tarō Asō, Yukio Hatoyama, Naoto Kan and Yoshihiko Noda).

May our community flourish as well in the next ten years as it has in the ten just gone. I look forward to seeing you all around!

[sokath]

Woah! What happened? I blacked-out there for a moment.

10 years! Never would have thought that PoFo would be still here and so diverse and vibrant with debate that cold January morning way back in 2003, when Fox asked me if I'd like to help him (and I use the term loosely, Foxy really did all the legwork) moderate a purely political discussion forum.

Obviously, I'm not around much anymore, but it's pretty rad to see the old girl still around and flourishing the way she is! A huge thanks to Foxy and the rest of you for keeping her rolling and makng PoFo what it is today!

S./

[The Clockwork Rat]

A toast to Siberian Fox for his founding of PoFo and admirable guardianship, and a toast to the community who - for better or for worse - are exactly as he said: challenging of daily assumptions and demanding of evidence whenever it is needed. Furthermore, for being a community that is enjoyable to be a part of.

[Figlio di Moros]

Here, here! And to the many members who, after a better part of a decade here, are still challenging asumptions and making their point, or perhaps simply retired to Gorkiy.

Salud!

[skinster]

[J Oswald]

Here's to PoFo, the only forum on the Internet! Gloryvic Siberian Fox!

[Rei Murasame]

GLORYVIC POFO

GLORYVIC BB

[Plaro]

All hail PoFo and the founding father!

[KurtFF8]

To another 10 years!

My 10 years at PoFo isn't for another 2 months apparently, but I've grown quit a lot politically as a result of PoFo (and the SE community that had migrated here in the beginning).

It may seem a little strange to have been a part of a message board for this long, but it's a good place to have been.

[jimjam]

Thank You for providing and maintaining a forum where folks can shout into cyber space with whimsicality, seriousness and points in between.

[Potemkin]

Congrats, SF! Here's to another ten more years!

[HoniSoit]

I found and joined PoFo in 2005, and there was already a vibrant community back then. Looking back now, 2005 seems a lot closer to the founding of PoFo than it felt at the time. There was a whole "generation" of PoFoers very active in the first two or three years of my joining who have since become inactive (and many became mods and admins). It did feel like a golden period of PoFo.

Those of us who have stuck around though become much less active have matured with PoFo as we got a little older and have read, thought and most importantly debated more on and off PoFo. It is certainly almost impossible for a lot of us to ever find a group of engaged people to discuss politics with in real life.

Finally, I really appreciate the opportunity PoFo has given me to get to know some amazing people on PoFo over the years. They are too many to list here, but of course you know who you are. So I am looking forward to the next decade, not least because many of us are leaving or have left universities, and I would be extremely interested to learn what careers we will also be pursuing.

[Figlio di Moros]

To ten years and a haym I say, the find ourselve a loft go ne ourselfveds to celebrate. So long habe we been men and wohem of sustainace, today I say we drunk an punch unwilling spectarores in the face, for sthingk they are monts morond. Let us rejoice in our glory, through pfyisiacl fviolence and the maturity of fisdts- ceteranailtiy a man ensured of himself is unfraid of such hoolkagnuism as bukuming of truhm men.

Spumante for all, an apumante fog night!;

[Far-Right Sage]

I truly wish to extend the warmest of congratulations to the "man of the hour", the administrator Siberian Fox who has taken the time and effort to cobble something which I believe is truly great out of thin air and a little bit of imagination. That takes moxie, insight, and a fair amount of hard work - You truly deserve the credit on this one, sir. Naturally, those members of the community who have made a priority of sharing their thoughts with the rest of us and have gotten the wheels turning and even kicked off the seedlings of an original idea or several in the minds of what I can only imagine must be thousands of young people thirsty for both knowledge and the spirited debate which can only duly challenge that which they previously felt comfortable in accepting.

For my part, I came in at the tail end of '06, this being my first internet forum (Of course, as there are no others, this is only natural) and a place I sought out to kick around some ideas I had been writing about on and off and debating for many years. Ideas I grew up with, ideas I developed, ideas I heard and witnessed the emerging generations express before they self "corrected" and moderated to a more orthodox establishment view, neither right nor left, but wholly subservient in every aspect to the mediocrity of the status quo. I came not long after my late wife exited the earthly stage, as I sought to wind down and eventually retire from my former job, and on the cusp of searching for a great place for conversation and expression to fill the void. I found it, and as long as I'm healthy and coherent enough as to be tolerable, I intend to remain.

Congratulations to us, the pioneering of an exemplary discussion and debating medium, and the spirit of dialogue which has forged civil societies and brought down more than one king or regent throughout the ages.

Thought-provoking conversation is a curious and beautiful mistress. One can die tomorrow, but the ideas extended to another party can last and be remembered for another lifetime; those which are truly potent can retain an eternal life of sorts, passed down and existing entirely within their own reality.

There are some legitimately lovely and remarkable folks present here. What a pleasure it has been, and what a pleasure it shall continue to be, with the nature of changing times, a dollop of collective elbow grease, and the grace of God.

Let this fantastic ark of a project continue to astound, to endear, and to persist - And may the virtual lighthouse keeper whom Fox embodies stand in front of, behind, and with the community to ensure the flame burns brighter than ever.

[Brother of Karl]

It's been just shy of a year and a half for me, but I have enjoyed my time on PoFo very much so far. I'm glad there is a place on the web with such intelligence.

[naked_turk]

I didn't know the board was so young when I joined it in September 2003. Happy 10th, PoFo. Thanks for the debates, the dead-end flame-wars, the laughs, and especially the learning: You've exposed me to so many more viewpoints than I would otherwise be exposed to, and provided a great avenue to keep up to date with news and world politics whenever I've had the time.

Thanks Fox and everyone else who has made it (and continues to make it) possible

[Figlio di Moros]

I expent I should beck my decorem, as nakmet turk ash shown up. I say cheners to yoiu, good fir, for kkep inf up wjith us ass these goof jeers, despite ann the klose calls and paftian uullkant- fitkerys to you, sir, that we all might lurk while wainting it remiss. That we all mitgh find ourselfs remembered, even for a bit, simply by still being here a bint linker. Cheers, Ottorman.

[fuser]

Cheers Siberian Fox & PoFo

When I joined in I had never thought that I will stay for so long but now I don't think I can stop using PoFo.

[Nattering Nabob]

Happy 10th PoFo...may you outlive many more world leaders...

[unbalanced zealot]