As you may know, I had previously started polls asking whether the ET neighborhood has gone to hell: http://elitetrader.com/vb/showthread.php?s=&threadid=166733&highlight=hell And, separately, whether ET was being overtaken by the likes of Stormfront: http://elitetrader.com/vb/showthread.php?s=&threadid=155678&highlight=stormfront To the extent that people have responded to these polls in the affirmative, perhaps it should come as no surprise that there may well be a causal relationship. Theoretically, the Politics & Religion forum exists to keep the bullshit and hate away from the trading forums. The problem, as I see it, is that there is unpreventable seepage. One culture affects the neighboring culture. The Politics & Religion forum, in its present form and current state of moderation, provides a backdoor of sorts for all kinds of racism, bigotry, hypocrisy, disinformation and whatever other bullshit usually accompanies such low standards of thought and conduct. And these elements invariably find their way into the trading forums with self-evident results. While there may always have been such an element in the trading forums, it is further encouraged by the conduct in, and "quality" of, the Politics & Religion forum. Therefore, I don't think that the Politics & Religion forum keeps the trading forums clean. Rather, I think it corrupts them. Do you agree?