U.S. Politics FPP Draft

Topic-specific US Politics and US Politics-adjacent FPPs

As of July 23, 2019, Metafilter is Decommissioning the US Politics megathreads, and this wiki page is now available to support collaboration on topic-specific US Politics and US Politics-adjacent posts instead of catch-all US Politics megathreads.

As noted by cortex, "[s]ome of the substantial major stories or developments in US politics will make sense as standalone posts. We want folks to rework their expectations back in that direction, toward making topic-specific posts with focused discussions, as was the standard practice up until 2016. Sometimes that may be a couple paragraphs of roundup of links on a complex topic; sometimes that might just be one really good link worth discussing in its own right. [...] Finding the right balance of what’s big enough for a post and how many is too many will be a process. Part of the goal here is to adjust downward the overall weight of US politics discussion on the site, and the moderation attention needed to manage it. It’ll likely involve deleting some posts, and we’ll try to be communicative about where and why we’re drawing a line when that happens. Folks considering a post but not feeling sure about it are welcome to check with the mod team at the contact form for a second opinion ahead of time."

cortex also offers a broad rubric to consider when determining whether to post, using the example of impeachment: "if there's post-worthy developments about impeachment — which given the churny nature of US politics I'd characterize as "something happening" rather than just "folks writing down thoughts about the possibility of something happening" — I'd expect folks would be considering making a post. At which point, they'd ideally work through a few thoughts:

- Is there a post on the topic open already? If not:
- Does this feel like a significant development from wherever the conversation/news was when the last discussion left off? If so:
- Does it feel like this development's already clearly a noteworthy thing (as opposed to a thing that yet might or might not turn into a noteworthy thing)? If so:
- Think about making a post!

I don't have a more detailed rubric for this than that; I'd like folks to think about whether they're posting to fill a void on a topic or posting because a post feels like it's a genuinely interesting and useful thing, mostly, and if it's the latter and there's no other obvious reasons why not, then, okay, so it goes."

Please note: Working together on posts was a megathread tradition, but it was never required and it is not required for posting about US Politics or US Politics-adjacent topics on Metafilter. To work collaboratively on posts that are unrelated to US Politics, please visit the Collaborative FPP Drafting wiki page.

Posting Guidelines

Citations

To help readers quickly assess sources, including the name of the publication is encouraged. It is often helpful to include a reporter's name when they are well-known. For opinion pieces, this should be noted and the author should be included in addition to the publication.

Further reading:

• The Society of Professional Journalists Code of Ethics "Identify sources clearly. [...] Label advocacy and commentary. [...] Never plagiarize. Always attribute."

• Hand pain and links (MetaTalk)

• Things Generally Smiled Upon (U.S. Politics Thread Reference)

Sources

The use of credible and reliable sources is encouraged. Primary sources should be cited when available. Clickbait, gossip, and other thinly-sourced materials can create confusion, noise, and derails, and are therefore discouraged. Examples of discouraged sources include: The Daily Mail, The Palmer Report, The Washington Examiner, The Hill, ...

Tags

The use of the uspolitics tag is encouraged, so posts can be found by searching https://www.metafilter.com/tags/uspolitics. In addition, the potus45 tag can be used when applicable, so posts can be found by searching https://www.metafilter.com/tags/potus45. See Also: How should you tag posts? (MeTa)

URLs

When writing bulleted links on the wiki for posts on Metafilter, a link can be formatted as follows:

     • <a href="url address">Headline</a> (Source) Pull-quote/summary

For example:

• <a href="https://metatalk.metafilter.com/25265/Decommissioning-the-US-politics-megathreads">Decommissioning the US Politics megathreads</a> (MetaTalk) "During the 2016 US election cycle, we experimented with moving US politics discussion to a catch-all megathread model: focusing almost all discussion of the topic to large omnibus threads posted every week or two. The resulting megathreads have been a valued thing for many people, and a lot of work and care has gone into them from posters and commenters to try and help them be a functional part of the MeFi posting mix. But the threads have always posed significant challenges, and the time has come when we need to make a fundamental change."

    Note: The url address must be enclosed in quotation marks for the link to work when published on Metafilter.

Please do not use URL shorteners or redirects. (The only exception may be if one is required to access a paywalled article, such as a Twitter link to the Wall Street Journal.) If you do not want to link directly to a site for ethical reasons, please use a caching service such as the Internet Archive's Wayback Machine or Webpage Archive. Also, as a matter of housekeeping, please scrub tracking suffixes and extraneous data from a URL, typically everything that starts with "?" at the end of a link.

Very Important!

When copying and pasting content from the wiki into the post editor on Metafilter, it is very important to copy and paste from the editing side of the wiki, so all of the formatting is transferred. Otherwise, some of the formatting will need to be redone before posting.

Who will post?

It should be assumed that the person who creates the Draft FPP page will publish the post on Metafilter, unless they say otherwise in their Draft FPP. The megathread tradition of the small font 'thank you' to contributors at the end of the post is encouraged but not required, e.g. Thanks to TK for helping to create this post.

Draft FPPs in Progress

Draft FPP template pages are linked below to support collaboration on topic-specific posts. These template pages can be reset by deleting the content after the post is published on Metafilter. While the post is under construction on the wiki, please include a brief description of the topic in the list below.

If a template page is not currently available, a new template page can be created with the MeFi Wiki search box. Please use a title that begins with U.S. Politics FPP Draft-Topic, followed by the next number available. Enter the title in the search box, click the search button, and you will be presented with a prompt to create a new page. Next, click on the red link of your title to create a new page, and then add the link below with a brief description of the topic.

After publishing your post, please delete the content from your template and note that it is open for drafting in the list below!

U.S. Politics FPP Draft-Topic 1: Javenka Roundup/Trump Family Corruption FPP

U.S. Politics FPP Draft-Topic 2: open for drafting

U.S. Politics FPP Draft-Topic 3: open for drafting

U.S. Politics FPP Draft-Topic 4: open for drafting

U.S. Politics FPP Draft-Topic 5: open for drafting

To encourage ongoing collaborative efforts, the following small font addition is encouraged, but not required, at the end of posts:

Following the <a href="https://metatalk.metafilter.com/25265/Decommissioning-the-US-politics-megathreads">Decommissioning of the Megathreads</a>, collaboration on topical uspolitics/potus45-related FPPs continues, and draft posts can be found <a href="http://mefiwiki.com/wiki/U.S._Politics_FPP_Draft">on the MeFi Wiki</a>.

Other suggested small font additions include:

Want to chat? The politics room of <a href="https://chat.metafilter.com/">MeFi Chat</a> and the <a href="http://mefiwiki.com/wiki/Politics_Slack">Unofficial PoliticsFilter Slack</a> are available.

Draft FPP Template

The following can be copied and pasted from the editing side of the wiki and used as a template to help organize draft posts:

Post Title:

Description/Lede Paragraph:

Extended Description/More Inside:

Want to chat? The politics room of <a href="https://chat.metafilter.com/">MeFi Chat</a> and the <a href="http://mefiwiki.com/wiki/Politics_Slack">Unofficial PoliticsFilter Slack</a> are available.

Following the <a href="https://metatalk.metafilter.com/25265/Decommissioning-the-US-politics-megathreads">Decommissioning of the Megathreads</a>, collaboration on topical uspolitics/potus45-related FPPs continues, and draft posts can be found <a href="http://mefiwiki.com/wiki/U.S._Politics_FPP_Draft">on the MeFi Wiki</a>. • Thanks to TK for helping to create this post.

Megathread Template (Archived)

in case we need it for something:

• * *

Post Title:

Description/Lede Paragraph:

Extended Description/More Inside:

• Round-up:

• Round-up:

• Round-up:

IN OTHER HEADLINES:

• <a href="">Headline</a> (Source) Pull-quote/summary

• <a href="">Headline</a> (Source) Pull-quote/summary

• <a href="">Headline</a> (Source) Pull-quote/summary

• <a href="">Headline</a> (Source) Pull-quote/summary

• <a href="">Headline</a> (Source) Pull-quote/summary

Today is the Nth day of the Trump administration. There are X days until the 2020 elections.

Need some comic relief? <a href="https://metatalk.metafilter.com/25238/The-Fifth-Hyuck">The Hyucking Hyuck Thread</a> is your place for jokes and one-liners

Need to vent? <a href="https://metatalk.metafilter.com/25228/Fucking-Fuck-The-Venting-Continues">The Fucking Fuck Thread</a> is there for you, both for catharsis and sympathizing

Elsewhere on MetaFilter: <a href="https://www.metafilter.com/181824/Marie-Claire-long-reads-on-Women-and-Migration">Marie Claire long reads on Women and Migration</a> • <a href="https://www.metafilter.com/181803/A-Reckoning-Long-Overdue">A Reckoning Long Overdue</a> (Epstein indictment) • <a href=https://www.metafilter.com/181743/Defining-Concentration-Camp>Defining "Concentration Camp"</a> • <a href=https://www.metafilter.com/181719/Student-debt-is-essentially-illegitimate>“Student debt is essentially illegitimate.”</a> • <a href=https://www.metafilter.com/181624/Double-whammy-in-Miami-The-first-2020-Democratic-presidential-debates>Double-whammy in Miami: The first 2020 Democratic presidential debates</a> • <a href="https://www.metafilter.com/181558/Some-Suburb-of-Hell">Some Suburb of Hell</a> (US Concentration Camps) • <a href="https://www.metafilter.com/181555/My-Last-Hideous-Man">The Last Hideous Man</a> (E. Jean Carroll / Donald Trump) • <a href="https://www.metafilter.com/181532/Diamond-Joe-Centrist-or-Conservative">Diamond Joe: Centrist or Conservative</a> (Joe Biden) • <a href="https://www.metafilter.com/181524/The-Frontrunners">The Frontrunners</a> (Warren and Sanders) • OnceUponATime's <a href="https://www.2016activemeasures.org/">Active Measures</a> site

Previously in U.S. Politics Megathreads: <a href="https://www.metafilter.com/181835/For-nothing-can-seem-foul-to-those-that-win">"For nothing can seem foul to those that win"</a>

<a href="https://chat.metafilter.com/">MeFi Chat for live-blogging breaking news & events</a> • <a href="https://politicsfilter.slack.com/join/shared_invite/enQtNTQ0MTI3NjQ1MTQzLWRiZjRiZGFiNzlkMmQzZmQ3NWNlNzk1NmMzZTNlNmI5NTg1YmM5YWVlNTc5NWU4MjMyNWFmMmQ3NDQwNmVlM2Q">Unofficial PoliticsFilter Slack</a> • <a href="https://login.metafilter.com/funding.mefi">Help fund the site</a> • <a href="http://mefiwiki.com/wiki/U.S._Politics_FPP_Draft">Next FPP draft</a> • Many thanks to Doktor Zed and box for helping to create this thread.