Let preface this by saying that I'm just as guilty as the next person about making political posts on this board.

I know we live in a free country and this is a wide-open board and I'm not arguing anybody's right to post their opinion on the upcoming presidential race. When we express our political views it makes us feel like we're involved in the process and we might have an impact on the outcome of the election.

But, the truth is that almost nobody who reads this board is going to be swayed by what we post here.

The great thing about this board is it gives us all the opportunity to meet other chippers and to extend our friendships through sharing chip-related knowledge, trades and chip transactions.

Greg has provided us a place to meet and discuss anything, and I can't say enough about how much I appreciate that. Can you imagine life without The Chip Board?

I think it's great that we can post anything we want without a moderator deleting it because it's off-topic, as happens on other boards. But, I think we need to also show some responsibility in not abusing the priviledge Greg has given us.

All I'd like to suggest is that everybody stop and think for a minute before making another daily post expressing your political view, even if you're only responding to an opposing viewpoint.

Think about the fact that the country is basically split 50/50 when it comes to party affiliations, notwithstanding alternate points of view that also field candidates. Every time you post your political view (especially on a repetitive basis), you are taking the risk that you will alienate half of the chippers who read your post.

I don't know about you, but when November comes and goes, and the election is over, I want my reputation on this board to stem from my chip-collecting activities and not from my political views. I intend to collect chips and build friendships with chippers for years to come, and risking my reputation on the remote chance that I might sway someone to my political point of view who came here to talk about chips just isn't worth it.

Just my opinion.