I know religion is something that shouldn't be brought up in a forum, but what else might be considered taboo? Politics, maybe?

Anything that addresses people under the age of 18, unless it is a parenting forum, should probably be avoided.

Well, you want to stay away from anything that a minor can't discuss. You never know how old your users are, so you have to be careful. Politics is probably a good subject to discuss, it will certainly get people to post there opinions, but you will probably need to be careful to moderate well.

I don't think there are any taboo subjects to be honest. Ok if you are targetting minors as users, then you need to keep that in mind with moderation, but if your users are adults, why not talk about religion? Or politics, or religious politics even?

These are subjects that always generate a hot thread, even on a forum like mine dedicated mostly to a specific sport.

I don't think that anything should be taboo, unless it's going to offend people. It's perfectly possible to have a sensible discussion about religion or politics without offending people, so why not allow forum users to do so? You just need to be a bit hot on the moderating in case not everyone is as level headed as you'd like!

Well, you can't really avoid offending some people, every now and then, even with the mildest of comments. You just do the best you can.

I think it's the INTENTION to offend that's the important thing then. In real life, you wouldn't deliberately say something inflammatory unless you were trying to pick a fight. And it should be no different on a forum.

With so many different viewpoints and religions, all claiming to be the one true one, there will always be someone you offend. As long as the opinion is put forward in a polite manner and not designed to flame or upset, then it's too bad if someone can't handle the opposing viewpoint.

If you can't take it, you shouldn't be contributing.

There are certain types who are only there to push their point of view and ram their religion down your throat, with no intention of joining in a rational discussion. They don't tend to last long on mine..

I agree, Stav. I don't understand why some people have to take things so seriously. Everyone is entitled to their own opinion, and if you don't agree with it, fine. You are welcome to share your own opinion. Sometimes seeing things in a different light can help open up your eyes to things.

I see your point. On top of that, the fact that you are online posting, as apose to talking face to face. It gives many the chance to voice opinions and hide behide there computers. Most of these people wouldn't dream of talking about the stuff that they do online, if they were in person.