- As we are an ideologically heterogeneous community, EGF does not officially "pick a side" on certain hot-button issues, which increases the difficulty of moderating serious discussions about them.
- As divisions escalate in the broader culture, the above becomes more pronounced.
- As we are committed to civil discourse, we are resolved not to let any part of the site descend into an unmoderated free-for-all.
- As we already struggle to define and enforce our conception of civil discourse on the rest of the site, it is that much more difficult when applied to the uniquely divisive Serious Discussion subforum.
- As we on the staff are finite beings with limited time, attention, and patience, there is a breaking point where the demands of a difficult subforum can exceed our ability and willingness to deal with it.
The removal of any one of these problems might be enough to keep the subforum going, but none of these is likely to go away any time soon, so we're shutting it down.
This was a collective decision arrived at after a lengthy process. This thread is for public feedback on the decision.