ATTENTION: Post Removal!
I have had 3 posts removed very recently. Two were direct responses to a member's own posts addressed to me, and the other was a joke in a different thread. May I know the reason for their removal?
It seems to me that the moderators are intent on attacking me whenever they get the chance to. I will use this thread then to ask the moderators if I can respond to posts. So may I respond to these posts please:
Reply to Noble Dust
Reply to Noble Dust
Reply to TimeLine
If I may not respond to them, then they should be removed, because it's not fair to have questions and replies that I am not allowed to address.
If I may not respond to them in the thread they are in (because it's off-topic or whatever other reason), where can I respond to them?
Whenever there's a post addressed to me, I will from now on be asking you in this thread if I'm given permission to respond to it. That will save you from the trouble of having to remove them. Thank you.
It seems to me that the moderators are intent on attacking me whenever they get the chance to. I will use this thread then to ask the moderators if I can respond to posts. So may I respond to these posts please:
Reply to Noble Dust
Reply to Noble Dust
Reply to TimeLine
If I may not respond to them, then they should be removed, because it's not fair to have questions and replies that I am not allowed to address.
If I may not respond to them in the thread they are in (because it's off-topic or whatever other reason), where can I respond to them?
Whenever there's a post addressed to me, I will from now on be asking you in this thread if I'm given permission to respond to it. That will save you from the trouble of having to remove them. Thank you.
Comments (90)
Can you start refraining again? Mr. self-restraint and self-control?
What's the date of that post you quoted?
It's tricky when it comes to jokes. We could just delete all jokes for being distractions from serious discussion, but that would be a tad extreme, and it wouldn't be as fun around here. If it was just a one-liner or a brief remark made alongside serious comments then perhaps it wouldn't have been deleted. Either way, if you submit a comment that is entirely facetious with no serious content which adds to the discussion, and which risks derailing the discussion, then you should be prepared for it to be deleted and should not kick up a fuss if it is. Especially if it is particularly lengthy, vulgar or personal. Please try to understand it from our perspective.
Because it seems you don't want to answer, I'll tell you. It's 3 months ago. So yes, I have refrained for 3 months, and at the request of many members I decided to come back. Why don't you try refraining from posting snarky comments and trying to insinuate nonsense about me for HALF that time!
Quoting Benkei
01/19/2017
Quoting Benkei
02/22/2017
Can't even keep your own word. And you're asking me about keeping mine? >:O
Quoting Sapientia
Thanks for your answer Sapientia!
My joke did have multiple serious meanings (believe it or not :P ). And the meanings were that (1) someone can't understand something without experiencing it, and (2) what may look sensible and good from one perspective, doesn't look sensible and good from another - that was also the point of that Buddhist story I attached at the end.
I also don't think the joke was "vulgar" - there was no swearing involved, bad or aggressive language. Personally because of its exaggerated nature, I would have found it hilarious even if it was addressed to me. It was quite clear that it's a joke because it was exaggerated and contained information that I couldn't have known in the first place. It read almost like an advertisement against pornography and masturbation - I saw nothing terribly wrong with it, worth removing, but okay, I can appreciate if you don't want to see that kind of jokes - thanks for letting me know!
Two I remember deleting. The continuation of the argument against Timeline was deleted for being off-topic and derailing. The joke in the pornography discussion was deleted for being gratuitously lengthy and inane. Don't expect a lengthy debate on every routine moderating decision by the way. Your constant attention seeking is boring. And I have better things to do.
Constant attention seeking? I don't remember being around much for the past 3 months.
Quoting Baden
Okay, so TimeLine at the moment has a comment in that thread spreading blatant LIES about me.
Quoting TimeLine
Can I address this? Cause it's quite off-topic to me, but it's in that thread. So if I can't address it there, where should I address it?
Also Noble Dust has asked me to explain my actions regarding my posts to TimeLine. It's off-topic, but he has asked me in that thread. Can I answer him, or is that derailing the thread?
Isn't the answer obvious? Send a PM. A short personal argument may be tolerated in a discussion but if it goes on too long, it's going to be cut off. I deleted Timeline's last response to you too. The difference being that she immediately understood why and didn't complain about it.
Quoting Baden
They deleted a joke I made recently as well. No was rationale given. Perhaps it wasn't funny enough. It was made in a thread that no one will respond to anyway and whose author won't respond. Neither was it hateful, but no matter, it needed to be deleted, because god forbid there's humor or sarcasm on a philosophy forum.
Oh wait, scratch that, the mods can be humorous and sarcastic, but not anyone else. Emptyheady learned that the hard way, whose ban, by the way, was still an egregiously bad decision.
Quoting Baden
You have better things to do, and yet you take precious time out of your day to moderate his posts and respond to his threads. Amazing. Just ignore him or stop complaining. Or better yet: stop being a moderator if you really have better things to do. Go do those better things!
The man has 4.2k posts and who knows how many at the old forum. I certainly haven't read them all. I've ignored them, because I don't have the time to read them.
Quoting Sapientia
Perspective. Hmm. Here's a couple questions: who among the moderators leans to the right politically? Who among them is actively religious? Here's the list: Sapientia, Michael, Baden, StreetlightX, jamalrob, Hanover, unenlightened, and andrewk. I look at that list and couldn't answer either question in the affirmative with any certainty.
So might it be that Agustino's politics and religion, mixed with the somewhat abrasive posting style he employs, have something to do with your continued irritation with him? I'm not trying to peddle some persecution complex. I ask for as little moderation as humanly possible. There was a particularly nasty piece of work I ran into recently named JJJJS. Did I ask that his viscous posts toward me be deleted? No. Did I report him? No. I simply ignored him, the surest method of defeating a troll like him. I think the mods are way too thin skinned and willing to ban or delete first and ask questions later.
My own moderating focus is on maintaining quality, and I don't mind a bit of argy-bargy. Other mods are much quicker to pounce on flaming. We each make our own decisions, but in the end I think we all aim to justify them with reference to the posting guidelines.
Ironic hearing that coming from Thorongil, one of the site's major right wingers who I never even remember moderating. Although I think his comment was directled at the mod team in general. When was the last time you think you were moderated for being right wing @Thorongil?
Thank you.
Quoting TimeLine
Apparently I can't answer TimeLine, but she gets to slander me in public, no repercussions.
Quoting Baden
Right, make a note of it, and start doing it now. That's exactly what you did with me.
I deleted your last post directed at her and her last post directed at you. Seems fair to me.
Quoting Agustino
? Your posts had no political content. One started with:
[quote=Agustino]
LOOOOOOOL >:O >:O Playing the victim much?
...
[/quote]
and the other with:
[quote=Agustino]
Sappy, first delete that 1GB of porn on your computer, close your subscription to NaughtyAmerica, and live without masturbation for 21 days, and then let's talk again...
[/quote]
So, as amusing as your accusations are, all you need to really do is grow up and follow the posting guidelines.
As a reply to someone else when Sapientia or Wosret mentioned you were everyone's bitch - certainly not an interaction with you. I haven't interacted with you until today when I noticed you unfortunately came back and felt it deserved pointing out, since you pride your self on your restraint and control. Which obviously isn't all that.
You'll also note that I never laid claim to any type of exceptional restraint to begin with. So even if I had interacted with you before today it is irrelevant in relation to your own statements.
Um, he banned Emptyheady for basically this very reason.
Quoting Baden
It was. I wasn't necessarily saying that the mods knowingly pick on right-wingers for being right-wing (apart from Empty), but that 1) their political views may influence some of their moderating subconsciously and 2) it is interesting to note the fact that all the mods appear to be irreligious lefties in one way or another. How did that happen?
@Hanover is an irreligious lefty?...Maybe there is hope for our relationship yet! (Y)
Well, to answer your point, not all the mods are lefty. Most are irreligious I guess although I can't speak for all. But then that's hardly a surprise on a philosophy forum is it?
Care to enlighten me?
Quoting Baden
I wouldn't know. Why wouldn't it be?
Because philosophers and those interested in philosophy such as you would find on a philosophy forum tend to be less religious than the general public. If you did a poll of the members on this forum, for example, I would expect most members to declare themselves lacking in religious conviction.
@Hanover is right-wing. Not sure about religious.
Umm no, that one was actually a joke, and you're just misrepresenting it if you post a bit. Not gonna fool me with these tactics.
And yes - I do start my post with:
When I'm replying to bullshit and lies like this:
Quoting TimeLine
What's wrong with that?
Quoting Baden
Ha Ha Ha! And when was Hanover made a mod? Exactly when I left. To be able to give a flimsy reason like this that no one actually believes. I think you'd be a good politician Baden. Not to mention that Hanover is an atheist (as are ALL the mods, by the way). On top of that, he says he is a conservative but apart from economics, he probably agrees very little with conservative policies. Does he agree with Russell Kirk for example? Highly doubt it!
Quoting Baden
The moderators should be unbiased and should be capable to understand different perspectives. This means that ideally there should be 4 irreligious mods, and 4 religious mods. There should be DIVERSITY in the beliefs of the moderators. They should be as different as possible from each other. This ensures lack of bias and helps eliminate blindspots. You're telling me 8 atheists will decide what great philosophy of religion posts are?
Really the mods aren't supposed to be people who get along with each other because they share the same basic worldview. That creates an imbalance of power that manifests by shutting out certain views from the forums and banning certain innocent members, like Emptyheaded.
Around a month after, actually.
Well, we can't win then can we? If we don't bring on more mods with different perspectives, we lack diversity; if we do, it's just a ploy to trick people into thinking we want more diversity. Well, let us know when you finally figure out what you want. Cheers. (Y)
Why was Hanover given moderator powers? Has he even used them?
Hanover ain't. Neither is StreetlightX, as far as I'm aware. Not sure about andrewk.
I wouldn't worry. Up until today he didn't even know how to delete a post.
This is why we don't usually let right-wing Americans be moderators. All this fancy technology is too complicated for them.
We need to introduce tutorials or something now that we're getting all diverse and stuff. ;)
Danish?? I'm Irish. Maybe you mean Benkei who's Dutch and no longer a mod. Anyway 5:3 Europe : Non-Europe. Not a huge imbalance, I'd say.
I'm not worrying, just curious. Unsurprised that you ignored my question, >:O
Saw your location was Elsinore, made a wrong assumption.
I'm Scottish.
Don't expect an answer to any question that puts me in the position of having to compliment Hanover..
Don't know. Can we fire him for laziness @jamalrob?
Gotcha.
Gulag for anyone who disagrees.
Second the motion. Never liked this blue theme either...
What you should realize is (1) any forum dedicated to the humanities will likely be left leaning, (2) any English speaking site that doesn't originate from certain areas of the US will likely be left leaning, and (3) the right is no more tolerant than the left, meaning that expect stupidity to be banned regardless of political affiliation.
While I do consider myself a part of the right (especially when lined up against most on this site), I am far less tolerant of the nonsense often presented on this site than are those commies you have finally exposed. That is, you'd do well to realize that certain right leaning folks owe their continued existence to someone other than me.
So, do please arrive at another theory to explain the deletions than bias. For example, perhaps the deletions are occurring because they are warranted.
Perhaps.
Quoting Hanover
Perhaps.
Quoting Hanover
Debatable. The idea, however, is that a diversity of views will decrease abuse, not that the right is immaculately tolerant.
Quoting Hanover
I just threw the fact out there, and I was careful not to make any explicit causal claims, so please don't straw man me. The deletions may be warranted or unwarranted, but the fact that the mods here have roughly the same views is problematic and might possibly have contributed to how the site is moderated (which is definitely true in the case of Empty). This ought to be puzzling and slightly concerning to anyone who frequents the forum and of any political/religious persuasion.
I do feel I've been a bit lazy. If I ban you, will that be enough work for the day to keep me aboard?
Oh boy, what a knee slapper! I mention the fact, in all seriousness, that almost all the mods are on the left, and what do those mods do? Laugh it off with sarcastic quips instead of addressing the claim.
Quoting Michael
Yeah, that's a very big difference.
Quoting Baden
Hanover isn't very different. He agrees with the other moderators on a lot of things, including, for that matter, religion. If you made someone like Mariner moderator, I could understand. But Hanover? Give me a break. That's obvious as the sun in the sky!
Quoting Heister Eggcart
Let me tell you the politically incorrect answer. They've tried to ban Agustino, and there weren't enough moderators supporting that decision. I would release the PM from one of the moderators, except that he would be placed in an unfair position if I unveiled who it was.
So there was not enough support. When it failed, they've decided to bring in someone else, in preparation. Who best to bring but someone who has publicly stated that he wants Agustino to get banned?
This vindictive guy isn't fit to be a moderator, and anyone can see that.
Quoting Hanover
When has a moderator EVER admitted to have been wrong and acted out of line? Never? Apparently, you guys never make mistakes. And you're always jumping to defend each other.
Uh, so that makes three immigrants on the staff. No wonder the right-wing posters are so against the mod team.
I'm pretty sure the majority of non-philosophical threads turn into comedy.
Might be because so many of us are left-leaning and the left demonstrably has more humour than the right. ;)
Except I don't roughly have the same views as any other moderator on here. I voted for Trump after all. I know that's an odd fact I have to throw out to gain credibility. If I'm on the left, I'd hate to see what the right looks like.
And for the record, rants about the horrors of masturbation are neither rightist or leftist. They're just fucked up beyond repair. Just one man's opinion I guess.
I'm now to learn that I was part of an elaborate court packing scheme as opposed to my simply having asked to moderate. Nope, no conspiracies. You'd be surprised how unimportant you are.
Aside from the strangeness of referring to yourself in the third-person, this kinda undermines the point you've been trying to make. Clearly the mod team isn't out to get you.
In preparation for what? You had already said you had left for good before we took Hanover on. We didn't expect you to come crawling back into our warm embrace. (L) ;)
Depends. I've seen plenty of left-wing protests of college speakers like Ben Shapiro, in which the protesters were utterly humorless and seemingly incapable of understanding wit or irony.
That's not true. Baden and I admitted to being wrong about censoring discovery's posts attacking the previous Thai king, and other mods took issue with our decision.
I'm the funniest one here. Just ask me.
You're always the exceptional exception.
We modded @discoii? Impossible! He's a lefty!
Was my complaint ever that the mod team is out to get me? No, but I know a large part of it is. That's not what this thread is about though. So don't change the subject.
The problem is that the mod team is biased - it has unfairly banned people in the past (Emptyheaded), it has been unapologetic about it, refused to reconsider, and it's been taking on new moderators which are even more pro-banning, by their own admissions. The moderator team is also heavily biased, and creates an atmosphere in which conservative and/or religious views are always on the losing end. Some members don't even want to voice conservative opinions, because they are "hot button" issues.
Quoting Michael
Publicly? Also please note, discoverii is a leftist (as were his posts against the Thai king).
I guess I misunderstood you then when you said "it seems to me that the moderators are intent on attacking me whenever they get the chance to".
Remember this:
Quoting Agustino
And yet you're back. @Emptyheady must be disappointed. I do know he meant a lot to you though (despite the fact that you keep calling him Emptyheaded, which is more of a description than his actual name.)
I hereby publicly admit I was too harsh on @discoii. I also sent him a PM at the time admitting that. I guess I made a mistake. Wow...
First - a protest is TEMPORARY, not infinite. Second - I've decided to start posting again after a few people have asked me to, and reconsidering what they've said I made the decision to do it.
Rather like your memory. Never mind, I'm sure Emptyheaded or whoever he is doesn't care at this point. He's probably too busy trying to figure out how to tie the shoelaces on his new pair of jackboots.
:-} Yeah, how fun it is to insult someone who can't even respond, isn't it... pathetic!
Just a joke. You seem to expect everyone to appreciate yours. So, don't be sour, go fill in some polls or something. Cheer yourself up. (Y)
Viva la revolución!
Quoting Agustino
Why are you talking about yourself in third-person?
Maybe he's secretly been using a second account and forgot he wasn't using that one right now. ;)
The freudian slip of illeism. Entertaining, nonetheless :)
Well @Baden was certainly entertained. As far as I know... :B
There were moments that were popcorn-worthy :D
Is that another one of your jokes?
[Quote=Agustino]Sappy, first delete that 1GB of porn on your computer, close your subscription to NaughtyAmerica, and live without masturbation for 21 days, and then let's talk again. You'll see benefits even in the way you urinate, believe me. The stream of urine will be vigorous, you won't even believe the splash it will cause once it lands in the toilet!
No more of the wussy-pussy trickle down peeing you currently get because of the chronic prostatitis from too much masturbation. Pff - you must be tired to have it barely comin' out like a grandfather. But believe me - once you start feeling that great energy and vigor running through your body, you'll never go back!
“Suppose, M?gandiya, there was a leper with sores and blisters on his limbs, being devoured by worms, scratching the scabs off the openings of his wounds with his nails, cauterising his body over a burning charcoal pit. Then his friends and companions, his kinsmen and relatives, would bring a physician to treat him. The physician would make medicine for him, and by means of that medicine the man would be cured of his leprosy and would become well and happy, independent, master of himself, able to go where he likes. Then he might see another leper with sores and blisters on his limbs, being devoured by worms, scratching the scabs off the openings of his wounds with his nails, cauterising his body over a burning charcoal pit. What do you think, M?gandiya? Would that man envy that leper for his burning charcoal pit or his use of medicine?[/quote]
This isn't the first time that you've had posts like this deleted. Shouldn't you know the standard and know what to expect by now? I was disappointed to learn that your return has already been mired, but I can't say that I was surprised.
Sorry ag, you're just too much of a grandstander.
Agostino drops by the Forum
And Wayfarer...lol.