Posts by Tyler Grant76

Chloe Palmer2 said:The CIA certainly knows what they're doing.

What kind of connection is that, Tyler Grant76? If you aren't aware of the fact that even the previous Pope spoke openly about the Church's historical sins, including its inaction during World War II, then I suppose there isn't much point in continuing this conversation.

The Church is a massive organization, and naturally, there were priests and monks who sympathized with the Nazis. But there were far more individuals who actively helped Jews and others persecuted by the Nazi regime. However, your priority seems to be attacking the Church; if news broke tomorrow that some local priest in Colombia was dealing drugs, you'd probably accuse Benedict XVI of protecting the cartels. 🙄 🤣
Go ahead and join forces with boldgardener93; you two seem to be cut from the same cloth. 👋

I’d honestly just like a link (either in English or American, whatever works) so I can check out the exact wording and how it was phrased. I know it was only recently—not a long time ago—that the previous Pope made those apologies, but I’m really interested in the specific language used. Also, maybe try linking it directly to this thread? 😉

Tyler Grant76 said:Got a link? 🥳

Here's one where they explicitly renounce those actions:

Like thousands of other Nazi war criminals, Eichmann escaped Europe via "ratlines." These were secret routes used by Nazi and fascist criminals to flee to South America—specifically Argentina, Paraguay, Brazil, and Chile, though sometimes they even made it to the USA or Canada. These paths were organized by Catholic priests, monks, bishops, and other Nazi sympathizers.

(...)
He secured his entry papers for Argentina in 1948, though he didn't use them right away. In 1950, he traveled to Italy, where he connected with Archbishop Alois Hudal through a Franciscan priest. Hudal was the mastermind behind the most successful "ratline," alongside the route managed through the Pontifical American Institute of St. Jerome (which is how Ante Pavelić escaped). Using a bishop's confirmation of his refugee status under the name Ricardo Klement, Eichmann managed to get a passport through the Red Cross and finally left Genoa for Argentina in 1950.

Other notorious figures used these same "ratlines" to reach Latin America, including the infamous Josef Mengele—the "Angel of Death" who eventually died in Brazil—as well as the Nationalists leader Ante Pavelić and the former Jasenovac commander Dinko Šakić (who was later extradited to America, convicted, and is currently serving a 20-year sentence). Most of these criminals fled using documents obtained in Vatican City by individuals posing as Catholic priests. Some of these criminals are still living in South America.

By the way, if this article is accurate, then the title of this thread is wrong.

And hey, Crtice, you want that link?

Chloe Garcia98 said:When people bring up the undeniable role the Red Cross played in helping Eichmann and several other war criminals escape, I think it’s worth making a small distinction. Unlike many other religious institutions, the Red Cross actually drew a line in the sand regarding the sins committed by its own ranks and their pathetic involvement in the Holocaust. They issued an apology for all the suffering inflicted upon the Jewish people. They explicitly rejected antisemitism, maintaining that Jews are our "older brothers"—a sentiment that is central to the teachings of today's Pope Benedict XVI.

Even now, certain faiths continue to deny the Holocaust ever happened, let alone admit any part they played in it. 🙂

Got a link? 🥳

Here's one where they explicitly renounce those actions:

Like thousands of other Nazi war criminals, Eichmann escaped Europe via "ratlines." These were secret routes used by Nazi and fascist criminals to flee to South America—specifically Argentina, Paraguay, Brazil, and Chile, though sometimes they even made it to the USA or Canada. These paths were organized by Catholic priests, monks, bishops, and other Nazi sympathizers.

(...)
He secured his entry papers for Argentina in 1948, though he didn't use them right away. In 1950, he traveled to Italy, where he connected with Archbishop Alois Hudal through a Franciscan priest. Hudal was the mastermind behind the most successful "ratline," alongside the route managed through the Pontifical American Institute of St. Jerome (which is how Ante Pavelić escaped). Using a bishop's confirmation of his refugee status under the name Ricardo Klement, Eichmann managed to get a passport through the Red Cross and finally left Genoa for Argentina in 1950.

Other notorious figures used these same "ratlines" to reach Latin America, including the infamous Josef Mengele—the "Angel of Death" who eventually died in Brazil—as well as the Nationalists leader Ante Pavelić and the former Jasenovac commander Dinko Šakić (who was later extradited to America, convicted, and is currently serving a 20-year sentence). Most of these criminals fled using documents obtained in Vatican City by individuals posing as Catholic priests. Some of these criminals are still living in South America.

By the way, if this article is accurate, then the title of this thread is wrong.

Maria Barnes said:Just so you know, posts aren't actually deleted. They just get hidden from view, so everything can be audited or restored if necessary. So, if anyone feels they have a legitimate grievance, there’s a place for it—just provide the links to where the content should be, explain what happened, and we'll look into it.

That's great. Read up. 👍

Maria Barnes said:Look, I’m not responsible for what you guys say here. Those are just your own personal opinions, not the official stance of the Forum.

That's clear enough.

We (the moderators and admins) are really just here to handle the light cleaning and touch-ups. We perform minor interventions to ensure all topics and posts stay within generally accepted civilized norms, blah, blah... and follow the rules of this Forum.

There are two other types of responsibility here. First off, if a moderator on your Forum breaks their own rules... well, are they actually accountable to you? I mean, if you don't say anything, does that basically mean you're okay with that kind of moderating? Maybe. I guess it’s worth considering.
And another thing... if posts on this Forum start veering way outside basic civilized norms—you know, stuff involving race, gender, nationality, or just general intolerance—and then a user actually gets "rewarded" with moderation for it, doesn't that basically mean the Forum is endorsing that kind of behavior? I guess it suggests the platform is okay with people stepping outside those social boundaries. Maybe.
Look, at the end of the day, this is a public online space. There are certain ground rules we all have to follow, if that's how you want to put it. 🥳

By the way, since it’s such a rare chance to be talking to you while you're actually running this whole service, I was wondering... do you feel like you have any editorial responsibility?

Maria Barnes said:Honestly, anyone can act smart. You don't need an official title to do all those things you just listed that make a good moderator.

Even though we're talking about being an official moderator on an American Forum 😁, I’d argue that I was repeatedly blocked from restoring topics by a formal moderator here (Michael Adams2). It was constant trolling—refusing to split threads, refusing to stop insults, and so on. I reported posts. I filed complaints. Nothing happened. So, I just left.

None of that actually requires moderator privileges. You, or any other user on this Forum, could do all of it. It seems a bit silly to complain that a moderator isn't doing what you think they should be doing—like guiding the talk or replying—when you could just do it yourself.

Well, I can't do anything when my posts get deleted, or when the whole flow of a conversation is manipulated through selective deleting. I just don't have the energy or the time to deal with someone shouting "you said black!" after I clearly said "white," and then while I'm confusedly scrolling back up to find my "white" post... it's gone. 😁 So then I'll just repost. Or maybe I'll just spam. 😁 😁

Maria Barnes said:So, tell me... what's actually stopping you from being a moderator like that?

I just don't have any desire to be a moderator on this Forum.

d@d@ said:If he was actually doing that in the politics subforum, the admins wouldn't be protecting him—meaning people would be talking about it, but they aren't.

Maria Barnes?

By the way, I’ve even got screenshots showing him doing it. You want me to email you, Maria Barnes? Just so I don't look like I'm just talking nonsense, and so I don't end up spamming this place.

Maria Barnes said:You probably realize that once you start posting seriously, both the tone and the direction of the debate shift. Even those typical Forum idiots can change their tone if they want to. So, really, it’s the people writing the posts who set the mood, not the moderators. Moderators can only step in to save things if there's actually something left worth saving. We could probably keep this thread going in a coherent—or totally trivial—tone if we wanted to.

I almost missed this, but it pretty much gets to the heart of the issue. 😳

A moderator is supposed to moderate. Their main job isn't just deleting stuff or handing out bans; it's to moderate. To guide things. To respond in a way that keeps the discussion on topic and moving in a sensible direction. Right?
It's rare to find a moderator here who actually does that kind of moderating.

nimblewalker58 said:Come on, try not to be so paranoid. Just look above. 🙂

What paranoia? I guess you just don't get what I'm saying, or maybe you're just not listening?

nimblewalker58 said:Hey Tyler Grant76, you don't need to be a moderator to apply your own post settings for the next 300 minutes—you can even just delete the whole thing if you want.

And honestly, a mod can only edit posts within their own subreddit, not someone else's.

🤣 🤣 Well, you definitely gave me an example there, haha. 😍 🙏

Anyway, I guess you might have gotten a bit mixed up while typing, but this Reddit is actually Maria Barnes's. And the subreddits? They belong to her. 😁 😁

nimblewalker58 said:Hey Tyler Grant76, you don't need to be a moderator to edit your post settings for the next 30 minutes—you can even just delete the whole thing.

Or change it.

Look, nimblewalker58, I think anyone with half a brain realizes that isn't what I was getting at.

Maria Barnes said:All moderators need to follow the same rulebook. Of course, there’s room for some subjective judgment. You have every right to step in or issue warnings regarding any deviations, and we'll look into it.

Maybe moderators should probably start by actually following the Reddit rules. People have reacted, so maybe just ask someone to catch you up. 😉

Keep in mind that a moderator with different political views isn't necessarily a bad moderator.

Well, obviously not. But, I'll say it again: just to clear things up, I'm not saying Inquisitor's freedom of speech should be limited by anything other than the site rules. As a user, no matter how much I might dislike his take—he’s an intelligent, articulate, and honestly pretty funny guy. He just needs a moderator 😁 who doesn't use their position to delete anyone with a different opinion, allow one-sided insults or threats, or shut down entire threads just to distort the truth. That... I guess that's just awful to me.

And as long as nobody—not the admins or you as the owner—takes action, I'll just assume you're okay with that style of moderation.

Maria Barnes said:Look, I’m being dead serious here, so laugh if you want. What the regular users don't really grasp is that for every one registered member on Reddit, there are ten lurkers watching every day (that's 3,000 versus 30,000). Basically, people come here primarily to read. Plus, most of the registered folks who show up don't actually post anything, so the ratio of posters to readers is roughly 1:30. That's why maintaining the quality of the site is a constant goal, even if it feels impossible.

I'll be brief; I have to head to work.

Does your response mean that the Inquisitor's improper handling of policy will actually be stopped? I mean, people are watching 😁. Or are you going to tell me he stays on as a moderator just because nobody else wants the job?

Act shocked that Maria Barnes even bothered to show up in this thread: 😁

Maria Barnes said:But why, dear? 😍 Didn't you notice how many of those 67 users were unregistered—you know, the ones who just lurk and read? That’s the vast majority right there. I guess it seems like they find this subforum perfectly fine.

One would assume that when you refresh, those bits travel over to the lurkers too 😁
But whatever. If you're actually making money off this site, all I can say is: props to you. 🙂 I only mentioned them to point out how, well, let's call it—easy 😬 you are.

Big Brother might be a trivial phenomenon, but that doesn't mean we're going to tolerate trivial or stupid posts there once we start moderating. 😉

Big Brother is just an example showing that this site, by its very nature, encourages chat and trivial, mindless posts, regardless of what you claim (or maybe hope) otherwise.
If someone actually wanted to improve the quality and flow of discussion here, they'd hire moderators who actually know how to moderate: you know, redirecting posts to stay on topic, moving or deleting off-topic entries (which requires being able to recognize them 😁), and actually... moderating. As it stands, the whole moderator institution just feels like an ego trip for a few people who spend their time in some private corner bickering about whether gender labels should be next to usernames. By the way, do you guys clear the chat from the moderator lounge? 😁

Anyway, you can't really control the quality of discussion on a massive site like this with the current moderation system; it wouldn't even be worth it. So, I'm just rolling my eyes at your repetitive comments on the subject. The upside of having such high volume is that even amidst a mountain of chatty, trivial, and dumb posts, you still get a decent amount of great content. Without that critical mass, it wouldn't exist. Elitist forums don't survive. So, just hush and enjoy the win 🙂

(this thread was moved from Deleting my posts)

Maria Barnes said:Trivial stuff, off-topic chatter, random chat posts—they get deleted regularly. Honestly, there's no reason to be surprised, and certainly no need to worry about whether they were actually like that. 😉 I guess almost nobody is immune to that kind of thing.

Besides that, entire threads get wiped if they're just trivial, silly, or just pure chat... If you were part of those, well, your post count takes a hit too. Old threads get cleared out as well.

Anyway, by cleaning things up every now and then, we're just trying to raise the quality of Reddit, and even the individual subreddits.

Best regards, 😉

🤣 🤣

Maria, honey, what about closing the whole Big Brother subreddit, for instance? I see there are 67 users online right now... how much is that worth in actual dollars? 😍 😍 Come on, go ahead and raise the quality level. 😍 😍

Then again, if I recall correctly, the quality of a forum actually goes up when it starts crashing :emoji: 🙂

Arthur Ruiz2 said:. She didn't really nail the schedule for all these events...

What kind of events? That’s what I want to know. Last year, I was wandering through Washington, D.C. (right after the Atlantic Ocean, where he was feeling pretty bored too 😬), showing an Italian guy around. His big complaint about the city was that there aren't enough Indian, Japanese, or Thai restaurants 🤣 🤣. Like, it's just not multicultural enough 😁 😁

Arthur Ruiz2 said:They visited Old Town, and that's fine. That part is over. They hit the islands, too, which was also okay...
I already told you, that wasn't even my main point—it was just how one specific group of tourists saw things. If you want to label that as being ill-intentioned, well, that’s your call.
...I honestly don't get where all this hostility comes from whenever someone has a different take. Maybe you didn't feel that negativity, but just look at the other comments here. I even mentioned in my first post that we should probably just chill out.
That's all I have to say about it.

What "hostility," lady? Read through everything I've posted on this thread. It’s genuinely baffling to me that a group of Scandinavians—regardless of their itinerary or who sent them—has absolutely nothing to do in Venice for three whole days.
What "different opinion"? These people don't actually have an opinion because, let's face it, they haven't found anything worth thinking about. 😁
It’s idiotic. This habit people have on this forum of turning any debate into a discussion about "negativity" or "good intentions"... I just don't engage with that.
This isn't about my personal judgment; it's about a few 😬 facts I laid out in my previous posts. Your insistence on pushing this further just shows how shallow your view is, and frankly, how shallow those tourists are if they're bored out of their minds in Venice.

Look, Arthur Ruiz2. Do you really get that if someone arrives in a new city, a whole new culture, and doesn't find enough to do in three days, there's probably something seriously wrong with their head? It’s not even about how much stuff there is to see.
Just to give you an idea—if you want to skim all the historical landmarks in Venice, you're going to need more than three days. I spent about fifteen years vacationing there and I still haven't seen everything. Even just hitting the main spots takes longer than three days. And the market? That place is absolute madness for Scandinavians looking for something exotic; you could spend half a day there alone. Honestly, if you just sit by Onofrio's fountain and take it all in, you've got plenty to do. I can't even list it all right now. Just think about it for a second, and maybe you'll realize what an idiotic point you're trying to make here.