Well, to be frank, at least we give an outlet for artists to voice their political opinions somewhere.  They may not be those that are shared by anyone on the staff, but, and this is the key, So long as the act of voicing said opinion does not violate the terms of service, we allow the images to stay in the gallery.  Many people post something that is very near and dear to them, in the political sense, and then disable comments for the images, to keep a political flame war from happening. 
Yes, we did have an OT forum, the C&D, etc.  Unfortunately, due to the amount of people on this site, it's not only a nonfeasable idea, it would take at least 3 moderators working FULL TIME on just THAT forum.  Not only is it not fair to them (who have lives away from Renderosity, including paying jobs and/or family), it's not fair to have a just and fair debate ripped away because one or two people can't keep the discussion away from becoming personal attacks.  I truly do see what you're saying, and how much many members want to have a forum where they can discuss politics, religion, and other potentially controversial subjects, but, even taking away the fact that too many out of control discussions could potentially harm sales (and, yes, this is a store too, I know), and while the actual numbers of the responsible members who can have a political discussion and be completely rational throughout, those who cannot have a debate with respect make it virtually impossible to do anything but monitor those threads/discussions. 
Yeah, there's the Coop over at PoserPros, but, well, even they lock and delete threads when they get way too heated to manage civilly.  Fortunately for them, most of the discussions stay somewhat civil.  But, you can't deny that this is a much bigger site, just numberswise.  I don't begrudge them their jobs, and, quite frankly, they do a good job at their site, but, well, each site is different.  They happen to still have the Coop, even though there have been a few changes.  We no longer have the C&D, Tavern, etc. 
I'm sorry that so many feel so dissappointed that we don't have a political forum.  I am.  Some civil debates on political issues are very interesting to read, when both (or, sometimes, just one, lol) side have good information.  But, knowing what has happened in the past, it doesn't work on this site.  It's been tried over and over again, to no avail.  And, just my opinion (not the views of any admin), but I doubt it will be tried again.

MS

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