Forum members gone too long. Where is The_Beyonder 3 3

[G.A.tor]

Detective27kid was always my favorite

[comicdonna]

10 minutes ago, G.A.tor said:

Detective27kid was always my favorite

The change was for a good cause.  

[comicdonna]

5 hours ago, SCSQP said:

Why can't you access your old id, Chris?  

[COI]

On 4/19/2019 at 8:22 AM, lizards2 said:

I wouldn't be surprised if over-moderation may have something to do with people leaving this place behind.

I rarely post now because I keep getting warnings from Mod1 over very innocuous postings.  I suspect one of my "followers" is there to turn in my posts.

Why do I worry about it?  I'm trying to keep off the vacations list, so that I can continue to post sales threads.

Bingo.

I can post and inevitably get banned, which will stop me from posting, or not post, which stops me from posting but allows me to access my PMs. Or I can moderate myself to the increasingly ambiguous snowflake brigade's standards, which would make me hate myself, so I might as well just not post. 

I could also be less of a jerk, but that's totally never happening. 

[VintageComics]

7 hours ago, jsilverjanet said:

I’ve received a few slaps for speaking the same way or tone to @greggy despite I think everyone knowing that it was a joke

yet someone here took the liberty to notify the post - make some comment regarding it and then foolishly moderation took it and issued the warning/strike

Also  I brought up moderations change a long time ago. At that time everyone thought I was full of it blah blah blah

 

My cases have been similar.

On the old boards it would have been good fun. On the new boards, I was reprimanded.

5 hours ago, RockMyAmadeus said:

Moderation's never going to change until and if the people above them...perhaps way above them...understand and recognize a problem. And that's a huge "if."

Everyone who has been punished will claim innocence, and their "enemies" are just as likely to declare them guilty as sin. There is no "jury of your peers" here, nor can there be. The most effective way to address the issue is to write to the powers that be, calmly, rationally, and clearly explaining your position, focusing on the problem, not protesting your own individual innocence. Complaining about moderation is effective to a point...but ultimately, the only change will occur from the top. 

I've sent two clear, calm emails. Never even received a reply.

37 minutes ago, jsilverjanet said:

1 hour ago, tv horror said:

Personally the Mods are encouraging these members, unfortunately they seem to be getting their way by pressing that button without consequences.  

+1,000,000

It's a game to some people who are petty and have nothing better to do than mess with other people.

[VintageComics]

1 minute ago, COI said:

Bingo.

I can post and inevitably get banned, which will stop me from posting, or not post, which stops me from posting but allows me to access my PMs. Or I can moderate myself to the increasingly ambiguous snowflake brigade's standards, which would make me hate myself, so I might as well just not post. 

I could also be less of a jerk, but that's totally never happening. 

Break a leg!

And brunettes > blondes!

Oh yeah, FU.

And we miss you.

[VintageComics]

BTW Andrew, I broke a leg 3 years ago. So I can make that joke with street cred now.

[comicdonna]

Never broke a leg.  Ripped one out of it's socket, though.  That hurt like hell.

[COI]

5 hours ago, RockMyAmadeus said:

Moderation's never going to change until and if the people above them...perhaps way above them...understand and recognize a problem. And that's a huge "if."

Everyone who has been punished will claim innocence, and their "enemies" are just as likely to declare them guilty as sin. There is no "jury of your peers" here, nor can there be. The most effective way to address the issue is to write to the powers that be, calmly, rationally, and clearly explaining your position, focusing on the problem, not protesting your own individual innocence. Complaining about moderation is effective to a point...but ultimately, the only change will occur from the top. 

When someone gets moderated, there are two parties involved: the moderator and the person who reported the post. The person getting reported on isn't involved. Random Ninny decides to hit the button, the moderator decides what action to take, and it's done. 

From my perspective, the pattern of appeasing the ninnies suggests to me that the moderators are primarily concerned with keeping complaints to a minimum. So of course this only works one way, as normal adults with healthy self-esteems who go outside from time to time and don't take themselves too seriously aren't going to complain to teacher every time someone annoys them, or has the audacity to express an opinion or conduct themselves in a way that doesn't perfectly reflect whatever is bouncing around in their psyche. So we got this gradual race to the bottom to make the thin-skins and pettiest among us feel safe. They will continue to clamp down tighter and tighter, choking the life out of this place in the process.

Having the primary objective of moderation be reducing/eliminating complaints as opposed to, let's say, actually looking at context and intent when deliberating over reported posts, is precisely the problem. The priority seems to be dousing every tiny fire, as if eliminating complaints entirely is remotely possible, instead of aiming to provide an environment where people can express themselves freely, within the scope of a reasonable and clearly defined code of conduct. 

Nothing will change because the people who don't like it leave, and are replaced by the people who are doing the complaining, or people who are too new to know any better. And the mods are content to keep dousing those imaginary fires. 

[jsilverjanet]

1 hour ago, COI said:

Nothing will change because the people who don't like it leave, and are replaced by the people who are doing the complaining, or people who are too new to know any better. And the mods are content to keep dousing those imaginary fires. 

+1,000,0001

 

[Prince Namor]

When I was a kid, we played ‘fuzz ball’ in our neighborhood. That’s baseball with a tennis ball. 

When it hit a car or light post or whatever and took a crazy bounce some other way, there was no do over. It was always “Play the obstacles”. 

Thats my philosophy of life. Play the obstacles, there are no do overs. Learn the terrain. Get smart. 

This forum is what it is. Moderation is what it is. Play the obstacles. 

We can whine about it or quit or dream of someone making a change, but ultimately who really gives a toot?

Its a silly forum where we argue about .2 difference in an imaginary grading system for comic books.

No ones paid to be here, no ones paid to stay. Play the obstacles. Value the ignore function and don’t cheat. Save your politics for Facebook or wherever you post that no one cares either. 

It’s not that difficult.

 

*One time my friend Tom hit a line shot through our neighbors window. I was playing outfield. He hesitated at home plate because he thought he was in trouble. As our neighbor (a 30+ year old nice guy Canadian) came barreling out his front door, I stepped inside and grabbed the ball and end up holding him to a single. Play the obstacles. 

[VintageComics]

3 hours ago, COI said:

When someone gets moderated, there are two parties involved: the moderator and the person who reported the post. The person getting reported on isn't involved. Random Ninny decides to hit the button, the moderator decides what action to take, and it's done. 

From my perspective, the pattern of appeasing the ninnies suggests to me that the moderators are primarily concerned with keeping complaints to a minimum. So of course this only works one way, as normal adults with healthy self-esteems who go outside from time to time and don't take themselves too seriously aren't going to complain to teacher every time someone annoys them, or has the audacity to express an opinion or conduct themselves in a way that doesn't perfectly reflect whatever is bouncing around in their psyche. So we got this gradual race to the bottom to make the thin-skins and pettiest among us feel safe. They will continue to clamp down tighter and tighter, choking the life out of this place in the process.

Having the primary objective of moderation be reducing/eliminating complaints as opposed to, let's say, actually looking at context and intent when deliberating over reported posts, is precisely the problem. The priority seems to be dousing every tiny fire, as if eliminating complaints entirely is remotely possible, instead of aiming to provide an environment where people can express themselves freely, within the scope of a reasonable and clearly defined code of conduct. 

Nothing will change because the people who don't like it leave, and are replaced by the people who are doing the complaining, or people who are too new to know any better. And the mods are content to keep dousing those imaginary fires. 

Written like a true Virgo.

And I tend to agree. What you are left with is less quality and less objective thinking.

Edited April 22, 2019 by VintageComics

[VintageComics]

20 minutes ago, Chuck Gower said:

When I was a kid, we played ‘fuzz ball’ in our neighborhood. That’s baseball with a tennis ball. 

When it hit a car or light post or whatever and took a crazy bounce some other way, there was no do over. It was always “Play the obstacles”. 

Thats my philosophy of life. Play the obstacles, there are no do overs. Learn the terrain. Get smart. 

This forum is what it is. Moderation is what it is. Play the obstacles. 

We can whine about it or quit or dream of someone making a change, but ultimately who really gives a toot?

Its a silly forum where we argue about .2 difference in an imaginary grading system for comic books.

No ones paid to be here, no ones paid to stay. Play the obstacles. Value the ignore function and don’t cheat. Save your politics for Facebook or wherever you post that no one cares either. 

It’s not that difficult.

 

*One time my friend Tom hit a line shot through our neighbors window. I was playing outfield. He hesitated at home plate because he thought he was in trouble. As our neighbor (a 30+ year old nice guy Canadian) came barreling out his front door, I stepped inside and grabbed the ball and end up holding him to a single. Play the obstacles. 

We do play the obstacles.

But we also like talking about the time that broken window made the game a little more exciting that day.

[Logan510]

How can people tell when their post has been reported on the new boards? On the old boards it was easy, not so sure how to tell on this one 

Or are people just paranoid?

[Domo Arigato]

My recent experience does lead me to believe that the moderation in here sucks balls (oops....sorry......very sorry.....need to be politically correct) testicles. 

I was given a vacation recently and in the notice it said "The post in question is linked above if you'd like to review what was removed".

There was nothing linked.  There was nothing given to me to review.  

Now, it did say that I can request a moderation review after my vacation was over and I was allowed to post again.  What the hell is the point in that?  The punishment is over at that point.  Stellar process, guys! 

Now....if I had to guess which post of mine the slack-jawed, button-humping monkey reported, it was probably one in the thread where the guy was complaining about CGC losing his books.

Now granted......I did say that when I went to CGC to find out what happened to his books, that I witnessed CGC dragging a forum member (greggy) into a dark room with an alter in the center of it.  And I may have mentioned that they killed this certain someone (greggy) and poured this certain someone's blood all over the missing books.  And I might have stated that this could only mean one thing....that they sacrificed a virgin (greggy) over his missing books.

But, good grief......we're talking about greggy here.......NOBODY IS GOING TO MISS HIM!!!

[COI]

49 minutes ago, Chuck Gower said:

No ones paid to be here, no ones paid to stay. Play the obstacles. . 

Hence why some people stop posting, which is the general topic being discussed in this thread.

You "play the obstacles" when there's still some value to extract from the game, and you leave when the value is no longer there. The fun I got from this board was directly impacted by the changes in moderation and the general culture of the board. I don't think it's whining to point that out when the topic comes up and I feel like crawling out from under my rock for a few seconds.

Edited April 22, 2019 by COI

[RockMyAmadeus]

3 hours ago, COI said:

When someone gets moderated, there are two parties involved: the moderator and the person who reported the post. The person getting reported on isn't involved. Random Ninny decides to hit the button, the moderator decides what action to take, and it's done. 

From my perspective, the pattern of appeasing the ninnies suggests to me that the moderators are primarily concerned with keeping complaints to a minimum. So of course this only works one way, as normal adults with healthy self-esteems who go outside from time to time and don't take themselves too seriously aren't going to complain to teacher every time someone annoys them, or has the audacity to express an opinion or conduct themselves in a way that doesn't perfectly reflect whatever is bouncing around in their psyche. So we got this gradual race to the bottom to make the thin-skins and pettiest among us feel safe. They will continue to clamp down tighter and tighter, choking the life out of this place in the process.

Having the primary objective of moderation be reducing/eliminating complaints as opposed to, let's say, actually looking at context and intent when deliberating over reported posts, is precisely the problem. The priority seems to be dousing every tiny fire, as if eliminating complaints entirely is remotely possible, instead of aiming to provide an environment where people can express themselves freely, within the scope of a reasonable and clearly defined code of conduct. 

Nothing will change because the people who don't like it leave, and are replaced by the people who are doing the complaining, or people who are too new to know any better. And the mods are content to keep dousing those imaginary fires. 

That's precisely correct. I will add that the administration...whoever makes "the final decisions" around here...had a choice to make, a long, long time ago, and chose to go down this path. The other path was to train people...constructively, privately, and consistently..."I understand that this upsets you. However, you need to learn how to deal with being upset by what others say (with the caveat always being when comments become personal, which is ALWAYS the boundary line that ought not be crossed), even if that includes using the mechanisms we've provided (ie, the ignore function) to help you do that. You are the driver of your satisfaction on these boards, not moderation." Had they done that, they would have had an entire community that knew not to run to teacher except in very serious cases, and they would have achieved the same result: fewer complaints...but in a much healthier manner.

It's basic human nature: if your children go to you and learn that you will respond favorably to their complaints, they will keep doing it, for smaller and smaller issues, until and if you tell them to cut it out and learn how to deal with it on their own. 

But that's not the path that was chosen. And a good dive into the board's "Terms of Use" demonstrates why: the guiding philosophy is "as few complaints as possible", which is advertised to the masses as "how to make friends and avoid moderator interaction." It explicitly states that you're unwelcome if your interest is anything other than "making friends." It's a wonderful sentiment, to be sure...but it's only a sentiment. It's how your mother would wish for things to be, God bless her. But how your mother wishes things to be isn't how the real world works.

So, instead of a vibrant, alive, engaging community, where people learn how to deal with people with whom they disagree, even vehemently, with a measure of respect and decency, instead we see petty behavior rewarded and encouraged, all in the name of "ease"...including silencing and the threat of silencing those who fail to conform. The members....not a single one, not the most obnoxious, most vile member who has ever posted...has ever been the problem, and never will be, because individual members have no power over anyone else that every other member doesn't have. The only people who can force anything are those with the power to silence. 

I just dealt with this on social media today: someone made the ultra-common complaint to someone else (I was a third party) to "stop trying to push your opinion down everyone else's throats!" But, when everyone has the same ability to post, by definition, no one can force their opinion on anyone. What that statement really means is "stop saying things that I don't like!" with a very healthy dose of implied "...because I'm afraid you might convince others!" Those people...as history has proven over and over again...would happily silence those who offend them, and often make themselves pests to those who have the power to do so. It is those with power who must "be the adult in the room" and not indulge this behavior, in the name of expediency.

And, as I said, nothing will change unless enough people voice enough reasonable concern to the people at the highest levels, until they understand that it has affected the bottom line, and it's hard...sometimes impossible..to see that in such an indirect way. 

Good to see you again, COI. Glad I inspired you to post. I debated a good minute or two before submitting the last post, wondering if it was worth it. I guess we'll find out.

Edited April 22, 2019 by RockMyAmadeus

[RockMyAmadeus]

1 hour ago, Chuck Gower said:

When I was a kid, we played ‘fuzz ball’ in our neighborhood. That’s baseball with a tennis ball. 

When it hit a car or light post or whatever and took a crazy bounce some other way, there was no do over. It was always “Play the obstacles”. 

Thats my philosophy of life. Play the obstacles, there are no do overs. Learn the terrain. Get smart. 

This forum is what it is. Moderation is what it is. Play the obstacles. 

We can whine about it or quit or dream of someone making a change, but ultimately who really gives a toot?

Its a silly forum where we argue about .2 difference in an imaginary grading system for comic books.

No ones paid to be here, no ones paid to stay. Play the obstacles. Value the ignore function and don’t cheat. Save your politics for Facebook or wherever you post that no one cares either. 

It’s not that difficult.

 

*One time my friend Tom hit a line shot through our neighbors window. I was playing outfield. He hesitated at home plate because he thought he was in trouble. As our neighbor (a 30+ year old nice guy Canadian) came barreling out his front door, I stepped inside and grabbed the ball and end up holding him to a single. Play the obstacles. 

I respect the hell out of you for playing the obstacles. But if no one ever knows there's a problem, it's true, nothing can ever change. As COI said, if you find no value, you'll stop playing entirely.

And it's not true that no one's paid to be here.

[VintageComics]

1 hour ago, Logan510 said:

Or are people just paranoid?

Because if you ask moderators (and you get an answer) they usually tell me that a post was reported.

It's the way things work around here now. Moderators don't actively engage in threads today the way Arch used to 15 years ago.

Now they simply moderate obvious posts that stick out like a sore thumb and reported posts.

[greggy]

4 hours ago, Domo Arigato said:

My recent experience does lead me to believe that the moderation in here sucks balls (oops....sorry......very sorry.....need to be politically correct) testicles. 

I was given a vacation recently and in the notice it said "The post in question is linked above if you'd like to review what was removed".

There was nothing linked.  There was nothing given to me to review.  

Now, it did say that I can request a moderation review after my vacation was over and I was allowed to post again.  What the hell is the point in that?  The punishment is over at that point.  Stellar process, guys! 

Now....if I had to guess which post of mine the slack-jawed, button-humping monkey reported, it was probably one in the thread where the guy was complaining about CGC losing his books.

Now granted......I did say that when I went to CGC to find out what happened to his books, that I witnessed CGC dragging a forum member (greggy) into a dark room with an alter in the center of it.  And I may have mentioned that they killed this certain someone (greggy) and poured this certain someone's blood all over the missing books.  And I might have stated that this could only mean one thing....that they sacrificed a virgin (greggy) over his missing books.

But, good grief......we're talking about greggy here.......NOBODY IS GOING TO MISS HIM!!!

I would