Medek, that’s not quite how this works. 🙂 I still find myself following politics just for fun and to learn, and I don't see why I should deny myself that just because someone else is having a meltdown. Personally, I’m not really bothered by mindless posts, but being called out without any actual argument? That gets under my skin. I mean, what is a forum even for? It exists so we can exchange views within some set of rules—even if they are a bit loose. I fully realize my posts aren't going to flip the script for anyone who disagrees with me, but I honestly enjoy reading what people reveal about themselves during a discussion. In that sense, what I'm doing is perfectly fine and often actually constructive, unlike that habit of screaming after the fact that "that wasn't what I meant." How are we supposed to have a coherent—or even semi-coherent—discussion if Powerlock gets all worked up because I quoted him, and then proceeds to aggressively invent things in my posts that I never actually said? 😁 😁 And if we're going to call someone sensitive, well, Powerlock dug up a thread from, what, two years ago? 😬 It’s pretty obvious he can't handle his own past posts. 🤷
slybison8 said:Let's take a moment to look back at this, Tyler Grant76:
It seems the entire focus of this discussion has been centered on personal provocation and targeting me as an individual since March 2010, all because of my political views. I suppose today's incident isn't really anything new when it comes to how you express your intolerance toward me.
And just so we are perfectly clear: Yes, you claimed that the garage in Warsaw would be reserved exclusively for buyers of Horvatinčićev apartments. That turned out to be incorrect, much like today's assertion that Kerum is planning to sell the hotel to the Hilton corporation. In reality, the fact is that Kerum is being forced by the terms under which he purchased the hotel from the Privatization Fund to sign a franchise agreement with a foreign chain. I don't believe you are uninformed. So, I guess all I am left to conclude is that you are intentionally misrepresenting the facts.
Furthermore, I wonder what any of this has to do with moderation? I have never issued you a single penalty for simply disagreeing with me—even though there is a school of thought suggesting one can be penalized for violating rules while arguing with a Moderator, I generally don't follow that approach. Regarding today's thread where we clashed, I wasn't acting as a Moderator; I was merely participating in a discussion. The fact that my status as a Moderator "bothers" you is strictly your own issue, and I don't wish to dwell on it. It is unfortunate, I suppose, that you allow your own frustrations and intolerance to impact third parties who have nothing to do with any of this.
Are you kidding me? 🤣 Well, I actually started that thread using a quote from you. From something you wrote on the forum. It wasn't some fabrication or made-up scenario like you’re trying to pin on me. 🤷 You definitely gave the topic enough fuel, but honestly, no matter how you spin it, you're irrelevant here—you're just representing one specific viewpoint.
So, basically, this whole thread is just a targeted attempt to provoke and harass me personally because of my political views back in March 2010. Today's little incident isn't anything new; it's just more of your usual intolerance toward me.
That's nonsense. I'm just asking you to follow the forum rules.
And let's be perfectly clear: Yes, you claimed the garage in Warsaw would be reserved exclusively for customers of Horvatinčićev apartments.
Irrelevant. But since we're being clear—I didn't. I was commenting on the permit and the development plan, which states exactly that—the spaces are for center users, specifically defined by number. I don't feel like digging up the development plan again right now, but I've looked at it at least five times already. You can Google it yourself if you want. You can find it. I didn't claim anything else; all my posts regarding Warsaw are right there for you to read.
That turned out to be incorrect, much like today's claim that Kerum is planning to sell the hotel to Hilton. In reality, the fact is that Kerum is forced by the terms under which he bought the hotel from the Privatization Fund to sign a franchise agreement with a foreign chain. I know you aren't uninformed. So what am I left to conclude other than that you're just planting false ideas?
This is ridiculous. Over the last few years, I've read and listened to so many of Kerum's statements regarding the Marjan Hotel that I know exactly what I'm talking about, and most of those statements are available online for you too. Honestly, I think I'm the one who should be calling you out for planting ideas when you start rambling about "American ownership."🤷 Anyway, it's your job—both as a user and as a Moderator—to argue your points rather than just whining and jumping to arbitrary conclusions.
And what does any of this have to do with moderation? I've never given you a single warning or penalty just because we disagree—even though there's a school of thought that you should be penalized for breaking discussion rules even when arguing with a moderator, I don't really subscribe to that view. On today's topic, where I clashed with you, I wasn't acting as a moderator; I was just having a discussion. If my status as a Moderator "gets under your skin," that is entirely your own issue, and I have no intention of dealing with it. I'm sorry, though, that you allow yourself to take your personal issues and intolerance out on third parties who have absolutely nothing to do with this.
I’m honestly about to lose it 😁 😁 Just say you feel forced into being a moderator. I guess... look, I expect a moderator to actually follow the forum rules, whether they're posting their own stuff or dealing with everyone else's. That's really all. If we're going to push this to the limit—and I think we should, because I certainly want to—then your entire response right here is enough reason for you to be moderated rather than doing the moderating.
hollowtrucker77 said:It’s all up to you, really, and like I said before, I’m going to hand this over to my colleague, just so there isn't any perception that I personally have a grudge against you or that I'm being anything less than completely objective here.
You haven't got a clue. Falling behind, I guess. Objective or not? I guess even this whole "washing hands" routine feels pretty symbolic. 😬 It’s all pretty straightforward, really. And since the medium we're using here leaves a basically permanent paper trail, I guess anyone should be able to dig up posts like this without much trouble. I guess I should probably clarify my position on this. Maybe I’m being too cautious, but looking at how things have unfolded, it feels like we're seeing a bit of a pattern here. It’s hard to say for certain without more data, but there seems to be a certain level of instability that shouldn't be ignored. I mean, if you look at what happened previously with the privatization process, it really sets a precedent, doesn't it? It makes me wonder if we're just repeating the same old mistakes under a different name. I don't want to sound overly cynical, but I think we need to stay vigilant. Just my two cents, anyway....which he's trying to justify with this. I guess I should probably address what Zach Gomez2 said earlier about the whole situation. Honestly, looking back at how things were handled, it feels like there was just way too much paranoia involved. Maybe we were all being a bit too reactive, but it’s hard to say. It’s just one of those things where everything felt a bit disorganized, I suppose. 🤣 🤣
So, I’ve finally had enough 😁 I’m asking someone to please rein in the hysteria from the moderator slybison8, and I really think the discussions they participate in should start being moderated properly. In a recent thread about San Francisco, the moderator slybison8 basically allowed insults, trolling, and anyone holding an opinion different from their own—including people who actually agree with them—to be targeted with all sorts of unprovoked, baseless names. And when asked to fix it? They just doubled down with more insults. A few days ago, hollowtrucker77 and I were having a discussion on the main board about how slybison8 communicates in other threads, hoping that you, as the admin, might actually step in and do something about it. But since slybison8 just keeps acting out against anyone who disagrees, I guess I'll just move the conversation over here. Honestly.
Andrew Chase31 said:This whole thread exists because some people just can't wrap their heads around the fact that different opinions exist. People aren't afraid to speak their minds, even when they go against the mainstream. In this specific situation, it’s not about whether Lockheed Martin personally supports targeting Mexicans in rural areas; it’s about the fact that he, much like myself, believes hate speech shouldn't be so strictly penalized if no one is actually being seriously threatened. It’s similar to how things work in the US—I think, and clearly Lockheed Martin does too, that we should aim for that kind of standard here.
We could debate the weight of such a message when it's aired publicly, or discuss whether it's appropriate for public consumption and if society should try to scrub away those kinds of primitive outbursts. But the core of the argument was this: one side (mostly left-leaning, which is a paradox in itself) is calling for strict punishments and narrowing freedom of speech, while the other side (the right-wingers, another paradox) is pushing for broader individual liberty. Everyone is just standing up for what they believe in and voicing their views. Personally, I don't see why it's so shocking that a moderator thinks people in this country should be able to say whatever they want, provided they aren't endangering others... Honestly, it's mind-blowing. Imagine that—freedom of speech. 🤣
I think the issue is that the definitions are getting blurred. Promoting fascism and racism isn't democracy; it's actually using democratic tools to try and shrink or dismantle it. If this were just some isolated incident, then talking about punishment or making it a headline would be pointless. But this is a trend. If we keep staying silent or failing to punish it, we end up with kids today thinking that hating on other nations, religions, or whatever... well, maybe it's even okay, or even desirable. Take Miami, for example. From its streets, there’s basically a call for violence against any kind of difference, whether it's hockey players 😬, Mexicans, Jews, or the LGBTQ+ community. Every single day, walking to school or the beach, a kid in Miami sees at least one message like that. I won't speculate on what they hear at home, but the fact remains that by the time they hit adulthood, most are pretty much clueless when it comes to terms like "free speech," "democracy," "tolerance," or "the state." So, look, if the school system failed, if parents failed, or if the damn local sanitation crews failed to scrub these messages away—then punishment is what's left. It’s a penalty-message for all those other confused kids. Sure, punishing things can backfire; that's a real possibility early on. But I guess people, especially young people, if they want to survive in modern society, will eventually have to adopt values that go beyond nationalism. And honestly, it shouldn't even be that hard, since most haven't actually internalized these negative views; they’re mostly just parroting stuff they heard somewhere without context, which just makes them incredibly insecure and aggressive.
I still get a little kick out of watching Lockheed Martin get absolutely wrecked by Moderatura, especially considering how much damage they usually cause 😁
Roger Wright said:I’m young, and I’d really like to keep my sanity until at least 25.
Ugh... 😍 🙂 I can't say I've read every single thing you've ever posted here, but I guess your age is only kind of an excuse for what I just read. It isn't other people who label you as part of the Blackstone Group; you're doing that to yourself. And honestly, it’s just silly. That whole "little guy working at Blackstone" argument feels pretty childish, though maybe I'll give you some credit since you're young and were honest enough to actually state where you work. Those warnings you got—I know about them—they were actually justified (not sure about the exact count), especially since they came from moderators who, you know, prefer to steer the conversation, which is their actual job, rather than just handing out penalties left and right. Still, it would be such a shame if you left. These little conflicts you deal with—whether they're internal or just here on the Forum—well, I think you'll actually come out stronger if you just keep facing them.
Since yesterday, I’ve been wondering why the thread about the protests in Warsaw was moved to the Mad House. It doesn't fit there by any metric—aside from the fact that Unfaithful is allowed to engage in such mindless trolling—and its tone and subject matter actually align perfectly with the Politics subforum where it belongs. The construction projects on May Square and in Warsaw, along with the citizen protests tied to them, are vital political issues for Chicago and the entire country, especially since we're looking at political violence against the law. Besides, the same individual presents himself as a developer and entrepreneur across the rest of America, so this isn't just some local issue.
I’m asking for a reasoned explanation, or better yet, please move the thread back to where it belongs.
You're joking, right? 😁 😁 If you felt there was too much chatter about the fugitive, and that we didn't need another thread, you could have just moved the posts over to the thread about Sanders's resignation. Instead, you just hard-deleted two topics in two days without saying a word. And honestly, I haven't even touched either of those threads—you know that—so it would be nice if you didn't act all high and mighty in your intro like they were mine. I think I've left maybe one single post over there, and it was just regarding the fact that Congress is questioning the legality of Sanders's current status.
Anyway, whether it's due to laziness, ignorance, or just what the moderator intended, the big Sanders thread is once again cluttered with partisan nonsense and various conspiracy theorists. Because of that, a separate topic discussing how a former Prime Minister is currently exploiting legal loopholes to score himself representative status, a paycheck, an office, and bodyguards actually deserves its own space. I mean, speculation is one thing, but these are concrete, provable, and current situations, isn't it? We could even expand this thread and ask ourselves how Congress in America can vote to allow one representative to do something while denying another the exact same procedure, citing the same law 😬 As far as I'm concerned, the topic could be titled "Must the US Congress follow the law?"
To be honest, I don't get your proposal about those two top topics. I really don't see why they should be opened, at least for now. What's wrong with a thread about whether Sanders's mandate is legal and ethical? What's wrong with a discussion on how some representatives can activate their mandates while others can't? Why shouldn't we talk about how the current Congressional majority is insulting every American citizen, while simultaneously picking their pockets to pay for the former Prime Minister's perks? The relationship between Sanders and the new Government definitely deserves its own topic, in fact 👍
Come on, try explaining one more time why you deleted TWO topics—not moved them, not closed them, but deleted them—just so people couldn't read about how Sanders treats America and its citizens, his own voters? Every news outlet has covered this story, every radio station, every TV channel. It's only on this forum that it's "too much talk" about Sanders. Daaaaaaaaj 🤣
Edit: If Sanders ends up running for President, will we be allowed to write about everything he did as Prime Minister—the scandals and the lies during his time in office—or will that be considered off-topic? 😬 Just wondering.
Looks like some moderator wiped out (merged it?) another thread regarding Sanders's unemployment benefits.
So, we aren't allowed to discuss Sanders's potentially illegal—and definitely unethical—actions on this site? Why is that? I mean, can a topic not even last twelve hours before some lackey comes along to clean things up? It’s been 24 hours since you deleted the first one, so... maybe you could explain the reasoning? 😁 😘
Since last night, there’s been zero discussion about how Sanders gets to collect a full salary for six months after resigning, or those taxpayer-funded bodyguards, his office, or the whole mess with freezing and unfreezing his seat in Congress. Looks like the thread was just deleted—not moved or merged with anything else. Why on earth would they do that? And does anyone actually know who pulled the trigger? 😁
For instance, look at this over here
First off, I'm curious about the legal side of things because, well, a) Sanders resigned without giving any reason. So, under labor laws—regardless of whatever specific laws govern members of Congress—I don't think he's entitled to any compensation (though I guess I'm open to being corrected by someone smarter than me). Secondly, this is the second time Sanders has put his Congressional mandate on hold, even though you're only supposed to be allowed to do that once. The topic definitely has legs, especially given how we always see the law suddenly changing overnight 😍 😬, and it provides a chance to discuss the legacy of our former President. Maybe some intellectual wants to argue that we shouldn't talk about pending court cases or something like that, but that doesn't fly here since Sanders isn't even on trial yet. Or maybe there's just some other valid 😍 excuse to protect the reputation of a runner?
nimbletinker3 said:Michelle Johnson16, thanks for the heads-up. Since I haven't been on the forum for a while, I noticed Inqui has been banned for some time now. I checked the banned users section and there aren't any complaints listed from him. 🤷What happened?
He got banned because of something over in the Ex-Yugoslavia section. I wasn't following that thread, so maybe he did say something offensive, but I can't really reconstruct what went down since the posts were deleted. He tried to file an Appeal here too, I think right before the permanent ban hit. By the way, I tried finding the link to that specific thread for you, but it’s gone—just those four pages of PŽK left here, probably because they cleared out the Appeals and Complaints sections 🤷
Oh, and I'm pretty sure they officially issued the permanent ban because of his accumulated points. Which, I guess, can happen 😬
Even though my political views are pretty much the polar opposite of Inqui's—and honestly, I was pretty furious when he first got appointed as a moderator—he’s one of those rare, genuine users who actually has the brains and the literacy to back up his opinions with real arguments, no matter what they are. It’s incredibly rare, truly exceptional, to see someone maintain that level of discourse without hitting the usual low points we see daily under the current moderation staff. I don't think Simba-OS should be a moderator, nor Albatross, and certainly not Vojky, for the exact same reason I pushed back against Inquisitor's moderation: there's just too much bias, and sometimes it even feels malicious. On top of that, those three don't possess Inqui's intellect, they aren't funny, and their posts aren't even remotely as high-quality as his. But, just like them, Inquisitor and people like him should still have the right to speak their minds, provided they aren't leaking private info, making threats, or being outright abusive. That's all 👋