I think the US states that have enacted fluorescent lighting bans so far largely did so in order to reduce mercury pollution. I think this is due to the international adoption of the Minamata Convention on Mercury.

@HomeBrewLamps — no offense Owen, but didn't you step down as a moderator? And thus, rule enforcement does not fall on your shoulders any longer?

And why are you so offended that Alex and I exchanged some VERY docile criticisms? Evidenced by Alex's first reply, he understood exactly what I was getting at. So why is that when one says hurty words the wee woo police  come out?? It's not even you in most cases, this has happened before, particularly with Rudy.

I mean, inherently lamp bans are political discussions. In all senses of the word, that is exactly what they are— decisions made by political figureheads. So I find it odd that we cannot even bring up politics when the topic at hand is literally that.

And I can imagine bias from the mediating side can affect things too... not saying you are, but no one is completely non-partisan.

And you say people leave when someone can't get along. Well, I disagree, and I think occasionally hosting productive conversation regarding personal opinions is healthy and a good way of avoiding echo-chamber insanity. Have a look at Reddit, for example.

I'm sorry if this thread took a turn though. And I do understand that this should've been done through DMs. But my reasoning stands that Alex has done some bizarre things that could warrant some annoyance.

I have a bad feeling that this is going to become an argument…

@HomeBrewLamps — no offense Owen, but didn't you step down as a moderator? And thus, rule enforcement does not fall on your shoulders any longer?

It does not matter that I have stepped down officially. I still hold more sway than you realize and am perfectly capable of shutting things down. You doubling down and continuing on is rather strange considering you should know the rules. But lets break this down.

@HomeBrewLampsAnd why are you so offended that Alex and I exchanged some VERY docile criticisms? Evidenced by Alex's first reply, he understood exactly what I was getting at. So why is that when one says hurty words the wee woo police  come out?? It's not even you in most cases, this has happened before, particularly with Rudy.

It is not a matter of mutual understanding. It is a matter of qwelling unecessary behavior. Saying someone is acting "like" an idiot is still borderlining on violating rule 1 and depending on who it is can cause some offense. And could result moderation action. It is not about me being biased. I could care less about either of your political views. Rudy would have most likely just shut down the thread immediately at this point.

I mean, inherently lamp bans are political discussions. In all senses of the word, that is exactly what they are— decisions made by political figureheads. So I find it odd that we cannot even bring up politics when the topic at hand is literally that.

Yes. lamp bans are political. But Inserting stuff like:

@HIDLad001
About Tylenol, yeah, RFK is a nut. But he is promoting healthy eating, and food manufacturers are set to remove Red 40 from foods by 2027/28. So it isn't all that bad. Personally, since I come from a familial background that didn't have everything they ever wanted when they wanted, my opinion is that money I personally make is money I should personally keep to myself. But, I know you disagree on that front.

And This:

Neither do I, but a lot of the stuff he says is just simply not true, like his stance that Tylenol causes autism, when this has been disproven time and time again by the scientific community.

Is not related to lamp politics at all and is explicitely prohibited in the rules.

And I can imagine bias from the mediating side can affect things too... not saying you are, but no one is completely non-partisan.

No I am not partisan towards either of your sides. I have my own set of beliefs that exist outside of this system that I will not disclose here as it is against the rules.

And you say people leave when someone can't get along. Well, I disagree, and I think occasionally hosting productive conversation regarding personal opinions is healthy and a good way of avoiding echo-chamber insanity. Have a look at Reddit, for example.

I'm sorry if this thread took a turn though. And I do understand that this should've been done through DMs. But my reasoning stands that Alex has done some bizarre things that could warrant some annoyance.

Yes. People leave all the time due to dissagreements and politics are a catalyst for such. I can list atleast 8 members that have left within the past 5 years for various reasons regarding other members and their conflicts.

Bizzare things are up for interpretation. Again. If politics above the lamp bans were not introduced in the first place then there would not have been that much more annoyance. But they rear their head anyway because naturally people want to go deeper. The whole "dear leader" thing could have been not said, ignored or addressed in a more neutral fashion such as telling someone to stick on topic. Bringing up stuff like "You sound like" is close enough to "You are" that it might aswell be considered inflamatory conduct. You simply got lucky that Alex did not start freaking out. There is plenty of channels outside of this site to talk about politics unrelated to lamps. Plenty.


Lets stay on track.

This thread is spiraling into politics fast, keep it on track. Keep discussing politics instead of talking about the original topic that was asked will get this thread either locked or deleted. 

Very good points there, @HomeBrewLamps . And @RCM442 , understood. 👍🏻 Sorry.

Right, moving on, I personally don’t think that the USA (or anywhere for that matter) should stop fluorescent. The LED tubes and bulbs thing look kinda bad, unless it’s warm…

@SussexEuroSOX While I have not authority on this site (I'm nothing more than an active member), I can offer my opinion. Syay away from this sort of stuff, I've seen things like this snowball into huge arguments and have members quitting, or taking a long hiatus, one in particular involving a certain member from the UK comes to mind from early last year, I'll leave it at that...

Keep in mind, I'm giving this to you as advice, as a friend. I'm not trying to be mean, or discourage you from using this site.

To anyone who doesn't find this post helpful, send me a PM and I'll delete it as quickly as possible.

@Baked bagel 11 I knew this was just a friendly reminder,    And yes, I have heard of an argument but I won’t name anyone in it or what it was about.

Anyway, I don’t like this. Can we get back to flourescent please?