Welcome PF members!
I hope Philosophy Forums does well, and I'm not trying to lead a breakaway movement in a bid for world domination (well, not entirely). I simply don't want to be at PF now it's in the hands of someone who doesn't care, either about philosophy or about high quality web content.
I also wanted to see a philosophy forum on a different kind of platform. It might be a matter of taste, but I never really got on with the traditional bulletin board format, and I think it's time to take advantage of the new technology and the improvements in design that have been made by web engineers and designers over the past ten years. PlushForums, which is the hosted forum software that this site runs on, is perhaps not the most advanced or cutting-edge platform out there, but I think it's a good choice.
Kudos to Paul for his amazing creation: it became an important part of my life and is where I learned most of what I know about philosophy.
I also wanted to see a philosophy forum on a different kind of platform. It might be a matter of taste, but I never really got on with the traditional bulletin board format, and I think it's time to take advantage of the new technology and the improvements in design that have been made by web engineers and designers over the past ten years. PlushForums, which is the hosted forum software that this site runs on, is perhaps not the most advanced or cutting-edge platform out there, but I think it's a good choice.
Kudos to Paul for his amazing creation: it became an important part of my life and is where I learned most of what I know about philosophy.
Comments (316)
Also, I noticed that Sapientia is back! Good to see you, dude. Were you just lurking since God knows when?
Hi, Pneumenon. Good to see you too. I took about a year off, in which I rarely browsed PF, because I felt like I needed a break. I was getting frustrated and demoralised. But I'm back! (For now, at least).
How do I change my user name? I want to remove the Gerald (not my name anyway).
Oh and welcome on board, again. :)
It is now, Gerald. X-)
And welcome Sapientia. Good to have you here.
I read that as "technically stupid".
AHHH! Don't answer yet. Take some time to mull it over.
:-)
The site seems very user friendly... or should I say 'idiot user friendly'. as I'm not a tech guy at all.
Nice to see people showing up. Also... that Pneumenon made it. I tried to send out a PM to you, but it bounced back.
I reached my 40 PM limit yesterday for the first time ever sending out invites and managed to do a few more via IM.
Nice to see that Sapientia's hooter is back too!
Now to test the most important function for me...
Yippie! 8-)
Meow!
GREG
Welcome, MOS!
If ever a "Wiser words" thread were called for...
I realize a diaspora from the old site isn't inevitable. It just seems likely to me... so this forum is an awesome idea. Although I pretty confidently predicted that G.W.. Bush would not be elected president. And then it happened twice, so I've learned not to listen to me.
No. It's not nice to make fun of Miss Wyoming. It's not her fault she has trouble with English. She's not even from this planet.
... looking at this, who really cares about English grammar?
Meow!
GREG
You're really Miss Georgia!!!
Congrats!
Meow!
GREG
But anyway hello everyone that got here before me.
Yes, hello to everyone also.
Also, the white background is too bright for my eyes, but that can be solved later if you implement some sort of skin system. Or am I missing it?
Note that a relatively a low number of words per line, i.e., narrow columns, is good user-experience design, hence the typical newspaper and book formats. Having to scan all the way across the screen slows down reading.
Yeah I can customize the colours, but only admin can do it and this would apply globally, i.e., you can't pick your own colours as far as I know. Personally I like the white, but I might try something else and see what everyone thinks.
Thanks a lot.
May you could spend a few days changing them around and start a thread where everyone could vote for their choice. Nice and democratic like.
I am not impressed by what the new PF owners have said so far. The whole thing still doesn't make sense.
Anyway, it's good to see the familiar names of writers I have enjoyed for several years. It's a new day.
http://thephilosophyforum.com/page/useful-hints-and-tips
Thanks for the welcome.
Good god I complain so much. Okay, I'll go do some actual philosophy now.
If I get 180 Proof to come over to the party, can we use his avatar?
He's gotta be one of the finest philosophers I know.
Meow!
GREG
Imagine if you used Ayn Rand?
WOW! :-O
Meow!
GREG
180 proof, Psychotick, Anonymous66, March Hare, The DivineFool , Agustino, Soylent to name a few.
also a few newbies like AbsurdRhetor.
Meow!
GREG
He was fun.
I could also get in touch with The Death Monkey and Kwalish Kid... also Stax.
Meow!
GREG
I just posted those whom I've PM'ed.
I'd love to see To Mega Therion, angslan, NeubergCrowley, Arkady, AaronR, sheps, ciceronianus, Marchesky, and others.
Still unsure about the situation at PF and about whether I will quit there entirely. I will visit here too, though, for the time being.
180 Proof, NeubergCrowley, MarchHare, ragus, FrankLeeSeaux, stephnlawrnce, Agustino, Csalisbury, ZzzoneiroCosm (no seriously!), Mr. Gorbag, psychotick, Q~uestion, Sam26, prothero, anonymous66, dclements, TheDivineFool, Mars Man, Unexpiritualized, angslan, Arkady, creative, Tagg, mutemaler, lambda911, stax (yes! stax), pkautz223, Wolfman, Tobias, fdrake, throng, Luke C, Joey Joe Joe Jr Shabadoo, Philo1965, Nihilistic Locomotive, NeubergCrowley, MrSkeptic, AbsurdRhetor, demonstrable, and will invite Kwalish Kid only if I have permission.
I might have missed a few names there, but I have sent out 65 invites.
btw... someof them to the older website so you might wish to look into that from time to time Jamalrob!
Cheers!
Meow!
GREG
Sure.
I simply wrote each person in an individual PM with a central copy paste message without me saying they should come, but stating that this was a viable option if PF is not for them or if they have lost faith in the new owners.
It was a hour or so well spent.
Meow!
GREG
I PM'd him and it indicates it was read, but I've not seen him here or there.
It's done. I've messaged 'em.
Well... we need him here and I'm 200% sure of that!
Meow!
GREG
I'll see you guys later.
Personal invites are a very good means of letting people know there are other options if they so care to leave PF. It is a personal community. A great community.
Meow!
GREG
Ass or no, I figure he's knowledgeable and contributes.
I thought he had been active for... a year or two, maybe?
What about Mars Man. I know he has been out of the loop for a while but what if he returns and finds the door lock?
we should use that avatar for the forum ;). tho i do love Kant, I agree with the political motivation...
Now keep me accountable to my Epicurean vows.... ;)
What about Mars Man. I know he has been out of the loop for a while but what if he returns and finds the door lock?
As far as I'm concerned, the more the merrier.
And I just commented about you on another thread. the universe is so mysterious.
Nice to see you Banno, welcome.
But is it possible for this to function as a boycott to the original website and force them run the forum properly? It'll be difficult to produce a platform as good as the one Paul built up. Or is that too much of a stretch (because they're just pure scammers or something along those lines)
You have a lot of quit in you.
No, this is not a protest site. It's not a temporary port in the storm. It's not a cheap imitation. It's not the junior varsity team.
This is a kick ass replacement of a noble effort that miserably failed due to poor financial management. Instead of sitting by our bedside waiting for us to die, weep for the others who have yet to realize their captain has failed them and their ship is sinking.
This is our site, our reality, so we get to write the history. That's how it works.
Someone give me a flag damnit. I need to wave something. I'm feeling all inspired.
Hi everybody!
Ahh I see alright. I just wanted to see the underpinnings of this whole website.
Not to worry, we know you're on side. :)
By the way if you want to do the @ thing, you have to use the special one next to the eye @Wosret otherwise no link.
(It's on the menu, Wos, the one there right in front of you when you post. I'm starting to find it unsurprising you never noticed Saphsin :P )
Though of course you don't actually have to use the @ button; you can just type what it ends up entering in the text box, e.g., @ followed immediately by "Baden", with the quotes.
@Baden
Wasn't he the one that wrote a book on "ignorant wisdom" or something like that? Some Socratic irony thing, then came excitedly promoting it for a bit, and then stopped coming. I assume that he's too busy signing books now.
Kind of like me, eh Paul?
I'm also a 'one trick pony'. ;)
I could invite him too. He is from Virginia, where I originated and we did have a good connection.
Meow!
GREG
I think I've had about 20 PM exchanges with Saphsin.
Nice guy! :D
He's one of my invites.
Also and Anime freak! ;)
Meow!
GREG
I just sent him an invite. (xzJoel to be exact)
I think he's a bit busy with work and new family.
He was the first person in PF to have corrected my ranting. I'm forever in his debt.
Meow!
GREG
It was at the International Skeptics Forum.
I did send him info of the new website via a PM in PF. I'm not too sure if he gets those anymore, but I indicated it was from me. I always had a good rapport with him.
Meow!
GREG
I think he had an issue seeing my username or something? Or he's just saying that to tease me. I've been talking to him for the past 2 years or so. <.<
So after taking the cautions given about the passwords, then answering to mayor of simpletons call, I don't that not stopping participation in the old PF makes me unwelcome here or somehow "not part of the true PF". If it does, then this isn't the site for philosophy and exchange of open ideas. Besides, quoting is far more easy here. It really works well. But as you said, all the wonderful archives are there.
I have to say that what really moved me in the old site was when Paul decided not to just simply ban people, but created the "Unmod" section. And that banned people could and were reinstated. That was a sign of true toleration fit for a philosophy forum. Because in the basically little world of individual Internet sites, sometimes the admins start to be little Hitler's ruling their own small Reich.
Agreed!
... and it's stuff I'm not scared to death to respond to with one of my senseless rants. :D
Glad you're here dude!
Meow!
GREG
Back in the MSN days, my home base was "Philosophy And Absurdity" but as you can imagine, not all 'thinkers' called that home base, a bunch of other folks called "Philosophy 4 Everyone" home base.
PnA and P4E, respectively, were as different as they could possibly be under the umbrella of Philosophy. Many of us were members of both sites and were able to post without malicious intent. Others had their respected allegiance and contributed in only one.
Over time, a friendly rivalry was born, like football teams often have with other teams. At times we debated ideas together in what would be PF's shoutbox, other times we debated alone but the times that brought us together as one, was in time of loss. It's a reality that crosses all man made sites, that the person on the other end of the keyboard can eventually mean something to us and just when we thought we had it all neatly compartmentalized, humanity sets in and we are drawn together without recognition of sides, teams or loyalties.
Tiffers
Done!
Meow!
GREG
congrats jamalrob
Second that.
Did so this morning.
Why they haven't figured out that I'm just inviting one after the next to come over here is beyond me?
Meow!
GREG
As for PMB, Incision, andrewK and Nagase, I wasn't too sure as they are in the mix of mods and ads, so I wasn't sure if my name might get a 'red flag' if I jumped the gun with the 'authorities'.
Meow!
GREG
May I dedicate a song to you, since you are now 'the white' (probably ala Gandalf)?
Gotta love that bass!
Meow!
GREG
btw... no hidden message or such, I just like this song and figured it might be something you'd find cool too.
Glad you could make it.
I have been sending out info/invites, but the PMs per day are limited in PM, so I have sorted things through number of posts and recent activity.
After a bit, I found I've written so many people (nearly 100) that I'm beginning to lose track of who and what I've written.
anyway...
Glad to see your name here and no need to be silent. ;)
Meow!
GREG
I really like the way the 'moderator/editor' indicator icon makes your avatar look as if you have been decapitated and your holding your own head. :D
Meow!
GREG
Please...
... you need to use that as your signature! ;)
Meow!
GREG
Notice that in saying "welcome!" I am not referring to anything :D
I wonder if the new owners of PF ever took into account what would happen if the community moved...
Welcome taomath. :)
Hotel California playing softly in the background.
I was known as ' Thresholdsun' over there, but when I signed up here I put my real name into 'name' box, therefore let it be 'John'
Thanks to Jamalrob (apparently) for making the effort to create what will hopefully be a great place for tossing ideas around.
:)
A road going downhill is at the same time going up hill. The old PF is both descending and ascending and always has been. Per Hera's Clitoris (AKA Heraclitus). Welcome to the THE Philosophy Forum.
The Eternal Recurrence of the 'seesaw effect'?
>:) Stimulating fellow that Here-a-clitoris!
Do you mean the fact that when you enter a discussion you've been in before, it takes you to the last post you read (which is sometimes the end)?
I guess I'm asking is if there is a way to swiftly ping pong back and forth between the post you want to quote from and the one you're writing at the bottom of the page.
Quoting Thorongil
To ping pong up and down--I've just been trying it--you can hit "Preview" and click on the name in the quote link or reply link and that will take you up to the post. To go back down to the post you're composing, click on the menu bar blue background--ah, now I see what you mean, it's the blue strip at the top where the navigation is. Or quoting something else will also take you back down.
When you're at the bottom, clicking on the menu bar takes you straight to the top, but when you're further up doing the same thing takes you to the bottom.
So...click "preview" --> click on name link of who you've quoted or are replying to --> quote or reply or click on the menu bar to take you back down.
Make sense?
~smiles~ Michael, I am really glad you are here! 8-)
I was actually hoping for something different...
Thanks. We'll see how long that lasts. Busy life nowadays. O:)
I've not been doing much philosophy posting in recent months, as my spare time is mostly taken with trying to learn more physics and playing around with data analysis in R to help my partner with a medical statistics project. But I do enjoy reading the interesting and provocative thoughts of others and I miss the stimulating posts of those who are no longer at PF. So I'm looking forward to reading some of those on here.
best wishes
Andrew
I always find it best to handle friends with both hands~ (L)
Funny... I leave from Vienna, Austria in 4 weeks to go to the USA via Washington DC, what I would describe as a 'very unsteady part of the world'. :-O
Meow!
GREG
It's us or her, Wayfarer. I'm not having this half-arsed commitment to philosophy, whichever forum it's on.
Glad you decided to do so. Hopefully you'll post some more as well.
Quoting bert1
:D
It would be nice to see him around.
No, I'm being tormented by another scientistic troll who is convinced that the Wave Function is physically real and explains everything. Serves me right for posting there, I think I'll retreat to Dharma Wheel for a while.
I too wish him well in both spirit and in body, where ever he is ~ Though my feeling is he is still on this earth with us~ (L)
I have to comment you for the free nature of this platform (and I don't mean ad free or free to use). I come from other philosophical forums where admins enforce jaw-dropping policies and forget that they live in a democratic society where people are allowed to have personal opinions, support them with complementary material, as long as they are respectful.
I am also happy to see the link for a "Learning center" and embracing the relation between Knowledge and Philosophy.
However, we do have guidelines and we do sometimes moderate comments and members according to what they say, not only how they say it. The forum is not a microcosm of society, and has its own particular rules. For more information, see the guidelines:
https://thephilosophyforum.com/discussion/480/site-guidelines
Sure and I can see the value of that since we are human beings with all our flaws, temper and biases. I find useful any set of rules designed to limit certain behavior and sophistries but not rules designed i.e. to intentionally separate philosophical positions from verified epistemology, so that any idea can be presented as if it shares the same philosophical value.
I really thank you for providing the "guidelines" link, something that I was looking for.
I will stop bothering you by saying this last thing. I just finished reading the guidelines and I find them more than reasonable! I understand that theory and application may vary and there are "real-life" difficulties, but a quick eye drop in threads of personal interest gave me the impression that everything appears to be healthy...on the surface at least :up:
Quoting Nickolasgaspar
:zip:
https://web.archive.org/web/20210901000000*/www.philosophyforums.com
It certainly isn't an indepth archive (just a few snapshots here and there), but looking at the old forum, seeing names I've not seen in ages on my screen again makes me feel things. Posting it here in case someone missed this and is feeling nostalgic or something. :smile:
That's easy to say @Wayfarer - can you point to a particular problem?
It's not easy to fix if only a general complaint.
Quoting jamalrob
Have done.
Unfortunately, some see flagging/reporting as being something they wouldn't do.
They prefer to tackle the problem by themselves and not be some kind of a tell-tale.
That's fine and can work if the poster is open to reason and any exchange is informative; some even change their minds or attitude.
Not so in the case of an absolutist and trolling trouble-maker.
Unfortunately, when posts are flagged there is no space to give a reason.
Even if followed up by a PM, any 'low-quality' or offensive posts are simply deleted or edited.
This means that there is nothing to point to as evidence for any newcomers...or those unaware.
The person has a clean slate and looks reasonable when nothing could be further from the truth.
I appreciate that it is never easy for the mods and I wish them all the best.
Thanks for all that you have done with quick responses when contacted :sparkle:
I don't flag shit here. My posts could very well be flag-worthy. I think the most effective way to show your disapproval is to say it in the thread and explain why the post is bad.
To clarify.
I am not in the business of post quality control.
I wouldn't know where to start, even if I wanted to. That is the job of the mods.
I don't flag any old shit and for sure my posts could be flagged for that too. ( I tried once to flag my own but the system wouldn't let me...so I deleted it! )
That isn't my concern.
My main flagging experience came after a prolonged effort by myself and others doing exactly what you suggest, to no avail. This was some time ago.
The mods aren't all-seeing, especially in threads of little interest to them.
Flagging a single post is unlikely to meet with any action. Perhaps a deletion.
However, a consistent pattern of trolling and nasty behaviour needs to dealt with, in my opinion.
And that is only apparent after posters in different threads use the flag function and PM.
I have nothing but admiration for excellent posters with knowledge and experience who correct any misinformation and misrepresentation.
In fact, it could be argued that there is a need for trolls.
All the better to set things straight.
After any flagging, I am either told that it isn't warranted or that action will be taken.
For example, the mods are now aware and will monitor the behaviour.
As for any obvious:
Quoting Amity
Then, the mods should already be aware...
That's why I asked @Wayfarer :
Quoting Amity
Thanks for giving me the chance to explain further.
We all have different strategies.
As a matter of interest, the person whose posts I and others engaged with and flagged is still around.
Still being monitored.
I no longer engage. Haven't done since that time. But others do.
Thanks for listening.
Thanks for the reply. Best wishes. Enjoy your break :smile:
Quoting Amity
This is a philosophical stance. Good catch.
I came in here browsing while having coffee and this one resonated with me
Quoting Wayfarer
While I realize things in America are pretty shitty I never thought I would be blamed for another person's lack of education or intelligence. Yesterday I had it happen twice in a single thread. A thread about intelligence. One of them was outright rude and abusive while the other was apologetic about how they sounded.
You see what I mean? Multiple people arguing about the semantic meaning intelligence but not the meaning of the thing, the meaning of the bloody words, and hostile to bettering their approach through education because it's too much damned work.
I am not kidding, I threw up. I got up, walked around for a minute, and the wave of nausea hit me while standing in my kitchen. I barely made it to the trash.
How the fuck have we fallen so far as a people?
How can one come to a place started by a man who argued against assumed meaning and taught the man who taught the father of science and be confronted by people so entitled and arrogant they they think knowledge is an assault on their privilege?
I just can't bear it.
I'm incredibly overworked and came here to decompress and now I want to offer my services to write an algorithm to prevent morons from posting just because I'm so sad right now.
I'm interested.
Essentially it's like an IDE linter but uses semantic and sentiment analysis and NN heuristics to identify logical fallacies (especially direct and passive ad hom) as well as other warnings and flags and then requires that the writer pass the linting test before posting. Also the linter would need a process-based Kubernetes cloud to run the training data. I also don't have the training data yet, but I suppose the post history from the bbforum backend to this site could work well.
Think you are too late mate, they are all around us. They come talking sweetly and seduce the minds of the smart and brave so that they become blathering idiots. Don't trust anyone, anyone of the posters here might suck up your intellect. :wink:
or... imagine the world of "Cars" where every junker on blocks thinks it's a racecar just because its horsepower is close (relatively) to the horsepower of a racecar...
we don't really have to imagine, however. We can just watch "The Walking Dead" because even though the dead are destroying society and the world the people who aren't dead are still screwing up by the numbers because they have their heads up their asses
But hey, it's cool right? We don't need to stop hoards of junkers or entitled kids or zombies from destroying the things we love. We can just ... IDK... believe it's all gonna be OK because mamma said we were special when we were kids and everyone deserves to take our toys and break them.
In the future, anyone who is famous for as long as fifteen minutes will become a national treasure.
Given the state of AI language processing today, if you can write code that actually understands posts well enough to identify the types of arguments/fallacies being made the majority of the time, you'll be wealthy beyond your dreams.
There has been a lot of growth in this space (because of funding and interest). See some of what is on github.
Yes, if you can create what I'm talking about and secure the IP and run a business you could probably turn it into good money. There is a lot more time and effort around that than it sounds, however.
Let's just say that conn artists have made anyone trying to get funding for this kind of venture require things I don't personally have, one of which is personal wealth and the other is the time that comes from that wealth.
It's not so much what is possible as what is probable.