Completely agree, Andy. Tony does his own thing, as he's both very interested himself in politics and has 'aligned' the off-topic section of his forum to cater for the regulars who enjoy indulging in rather serious political discussion, which is fine. It's now become part of pfm's identity.
AoS, in that respect, is totally different. This is very much a hi-fi and music forum, with an off-topic section tagged on, essentially for folks to indulge in some harmless fun/banter, or chats about footy, food/drink, cars and such, which appeals to our regulars, although of course anyone is welcome to join in
Very 'dry', serious, in-depth political debates, like you say, are best carried out elsewhere.
Marco.