Posts by Ryan Gomez4

Emily Myers32 said:From what I can see, certain sections of the political scene are constant hotspots for issues—some easy to fix, some much harder (IMO).

The immigration thread, aka the Ban Factory🤣
A good chunk of those bans were deserved, but sometimes people definitely overreacted. It’s a mess on both sides—too much toxic language and everyone nitpicking over every single word. The real struggle is separating a personal opinion from stating a fact. You shouldn't ban someone just for having an opinion (that's basically censorship), but you have to ban them if they're being abusive. In practice, it's a nightmare to get right. Both sides are part of the problem.

ppdf Political Scene
The political scene is trollfest. A total disaster. Just a bunch of habitual trolls constantly hitting the same buttons on every single topic. There’s zero constructive debate, just a contest to see who can spit venom better. 99.9% of the posts aren't blatant bannable offenses, but the overall vibe is... bottom tier. It’s easily the worst part of this entire site. It needs a serious cleanup.

All those threads about the Civil War or the old days of America—they can get intense, but thankfully interest is dying down. Looks like people are finally fed up with it.

I'm with her regarding the ppdf political scene. Obviously, you'll always have die-hard partisans posting there, but the way things are handled now completely kills any desire for moderate users to even bother participating in that subforum.

briskbison55 said:If a moderator is actively debating in a thread, they shouldn't be the one moderating it. Let someone else handle the cleanup—maybe after checking in with the mod who took a side. At least then you cut half the accusations of bias in the bud.

I disagree. Part of a moderator's job is keeping the discussion on track and maintaining a high standard, and you can't really pull that off if you aren't actually involved in the fray.

Emily Myers32 said:I get why people want objectivity and how you might try to chase that with something like this, but I just don't see how anyone is supposed to actually know what they're moderating.😁

Here's an example:
If I, a respected veteran here (🥳), were suddenly put in charge of moderating the Philosophy subreddit. Look, I'm not from Mars, but I'm definitely not an expert on all that stuff.
How am I even supposed to tell if someone is trolling when everything they say looks like trolling to me? 😁

oćureć, how are you meant to make any real decisions if you aren't deeply familiar with the subject matter? 🤷

And imagine if you were given an alternative instead... 😬

velvetfalcon44 said:All these endless regulations are just a slow march toward total individual control—it’s pretty obvious if you look closely. At this rate, we might as well just have them implant microchips right now so they can seize our bank accounts and hand us a tiny allowance just enough to cover the bare essentials while they pull all the strings behind the scenes.

Honestly, if they can pull it off, let them. But right now, I’ve got this new digital ID and I can’t find a single smart card reader anywhere to actually use it, so I’m stuck answering stupid questions everywhere I go.

Sarah Ruiz42 said:I honestly think even these guys—knowing full well they’re playing dirty and risking losing people—only ask such stupid questions because they know their targets are stuck. They target people who can't just pull their cash and walk away. Once you're tied down with those "special loyalty" loans, overdraft fees, and credit card debt, you're trapped. In my opinion, the people in this country who actually have the freedom to just close their account and disappear are a tiny, tiny minority.

Well, I’m part of that tiny minority. One day my usual private banker was on a different shift, so I went to the teller window and this guy started badgering me with all those questions. I told him straight up that I wasn't signing a thing. I got my transaction done anyway while he sat there grumbling. My only regret was making the people in line wait while we went at it.

Ethan Vaughn27 said:😁 😁 Is there anything else?

It’s infuriating. I write out a whole post, hit send, and just get a System Failure. 🙂

How hard is it to check the logs and actually figure out what's going on? 😁

Oh, plenty. 503, 504, and even a 505 for good measure. 😁

rustywalker42 said:Fine, no big deal, I just wanted to know why. 😉

I basically agree with her—Politics has become such a disaster that I don't even bother going there anymore.
Even if we don't see eye to eye on the actual issues, it’s a fact that both sides just talk in circles depending on the topic.

That's the thing. On the politics board, you run into so many users who just spout the same tired clichés over and over. Every single one of their posts is just mindless filler. When those people show up in a thread, any sane person loses interest in reading, let alone contributing. Anthony is spot on—you find those types on every side of the aisle.

rustydrifter10 said:It’s just not doable, and honestly, I wouldn't want it even if it were. We have moderators to keep the discussion on track, so just reach out to them if you see a thread getting trashed. Limiting posts would just kill off good content, and that's a waste.

Moderators can't be online 24/7, and not all threads are the same. I know my own sections well enough to spot the useless spam that chokes a conversation, and I clear it out once or twice a day. But look at the Politics section—which is what the OP is actually talking about—those threads are a mess, and the mods can barely keep up with the blatant rule-breaking.

granitefalcon26 said:I really enjoy reading your stuff; you're my favorite. Honestly, I don't have anything against any of the moderators. My only issue is that the Reddit rules and how they're enforced seem to target certain users specifically.
At least Charles Fox10 has been consistent about this so far. It means if someone calls the legitimate Ukrainian government fascists, they should be facing sanctions.☕
People around here are calling Ukrainian soldiers and the legitimate Ukrainian government fascists.
1.I can't believe people actually fall for that stuff. It’s honestly pathetic how easily they get played.
2.I can't believe people actually fall for this stuff. It’s honestly embarrassing.
Looks like the posts have been wiped. 🙂 👍

I'm boycotting this thread for a few reasons:
Charles Fox10 explained to me that you aren't allowed to compare pro-Russian separatists—calling them terrorists and all—to the Chetniks from that fascist breakaway state. It's strictly against the rules.
Comparing the Russian military to the US Army is strictly against the rules here.
Any comparisons between the war in Ukraine and the American War of Independence are strictly prohibited.

If I called Putin the new Hitler, I’d probably get banned instantly. Yet, apparently, making fun of the Ukrainian president is perfectly fine.
The crowd on Reddit is dodging the whole Ukraine issue. It’s not just me, either. All those so-called pro-Russian users—though you aren't even allowed to call them that here—have turned this entire thread into nothing but a fan club for Mother Russia and Putin.☕
As someone deeply involved here, seeing Russia tear into an independent Ukraine and slice up its territory hits hard. It’s even worse watching the mods stay silent while people glorify some fascist puppet state that’s basically just a failed version of Russia. Watching everything unfold in Ukraine feels like reliving the War of Independence all over again. 😢

I might be breaking some rules by chiming in since I don't moderate this PDF, but as someone actually participating in this debate, I have to point out that a lot of people on Reddit are constantly doing the same thing:
They're actually comparing pro-Russian separatists—whom they love to label as terrorists—to the Chetniks from that fascist breakaway state.
They're out here comparing the Russian military to the old US Army.
They’re drawing parallels between the war in Ukraine and the American War of Independence.

And on top of all that, they label anyone who disagrees with them as a Mexican sympathizer. One guy on Reddit even went as far as demanding everyone in the thread post their IP addresses just to track where people were posting from.

granitefalcon26 said:It’s pretty ridiculous how people just ignore the Reddit rules. If you're posting links to articles in foreign languages, make sure they're only in English.The rest needs translating. Right now, this looks more like a Russian forum than an American one.
Clearly, some people think they're above the Reddit rules since everyone just lets them get away with it.

Where does it say that links to articles in foreign languages aren't allowed? It's gotta be in the rules somewhere.

The only rule I could find in the PDF regarding links and foreign language text says:

Article 6.
If you're posting stuff in a foreign language, you have to include an English summary. Just give us the gist in one or two sentences so we know what's going on. If you don't, your post might get nuked.
Links aren't a substitute for actual writing. If you drop a link, you need to include a quick summary—title, gist, or a key quote. Make it obvious why that page even matters to the conversation.

rapidmason1 said:The standards along the coast in the USA are among the best you'll find globally.
Massive estates, luxury apartments, high-end cars...
It beats out the Italian or Greek coasts, and honestly, I think it even surpasses the French Riviera.
Between the Mediterranean climate and having some of the warmest waters in the temperate zone, it's hard to beat.
Unemployment? It doesn't exist here.
If you aren't working, you can always find a way to land something through a connection at City Hall or a local utility company.
It’s absolute paradise...

Bold statement, but totally spot on. If you aren't well-connected enough to get a handout, your only shot is starting your own business. And even then, expect people to throw sand in your gears at every turn.

Edward Mendoza6 said:Those guys fixing the guardrail—are they actually working for the Department of Transportation or what?

I’m wondering too. 🤣

Ryan Wilson2 said:Quincy:

bluemason3 As stated by: Have you truly abandoned the pursuit of philosophy?$67 Is it truly possible to argue that "ascetics are simply incapable of achieving anything meaningful in this life"? Is that the fundamental truth we're meant to accept? 😁 Where do you think these extreme, boundary-pushing tantric practitioners actually come from? It’s highly improbable they are being recruited from the masses of wealthy families or those elite social circles. 😳 Drogerasi ☕

Drogerasi nikad 🙂I am still standing by that position, and I have no intention of wavering.

That is precisely my point. Those who actually possess significant wealth certainly aren't losing sleep over how to "transcend" their material circumstances; they have already mastered that realm. Isn't it always the case that those preoccupied with spiritualizing away their possessions are simply those who lack the means to acquire them in the first place? 😁

It’s easy for them to preach when they have such effortless access to drugs.

I disagree. When you're broke, you think about making money, not "transcending" it. You only start worrying about spiritual stuff once you've actually secured your survival.

Ryan Wilson2 said:I won't bother responding to every single individual comment here, but I will state my position clearly: I do not believe the results of spiritual work are dictated by the specific temperament of the seeker. Nor do I subscribe to the notion that an individual possesses greater value simply because they choose to abstain from material pleasures.

Until we effectively confront and dismantle our fears, we remain incapable of discovering our true essence. We are all living in a profound illusion if we genuinely believe we have mastered our physical impulses, or that social norms exert any meaningful control over them.

It is a self-perpetuating cycle; our inherent conditioning makes it nearly impossible to break free from this fear without a radical shift.

So, get on with it. 😁

Thank God we can't actually get rid of fear (which is just hormone-driven anyway). If we did, we wouldn't survive long enough to enjoy life. I saw this documentary recently about a woman who had zero fear, and she was constantly getting into accidents or getting hurt because she had no survival instinct.

Nicholas Gonzalez8 said:Look, psychology is an interesting field, and a truly great psychologist can definitely help someone make personal strides, but there are specific spiritual dimensions that psychology—and psychologists—just don't grasp and tend to ignore entirely.

I believe true strength actually comes from that very tolerance, wisdom, and knowledge mentioned earlier. So, it’s definitely not a waste of time.

It’s hard to view the world in strictly black and white. There are plenty of shades of gray in between—just like there are people who are deeply tied to material stuff and worldly habits, and then there are those who aren't attached to any of it at all.

And honestly, I think physical evolution mostly starts with a spiritual one... a shift in how we think and live our lives.

From everyone I've met, just living a comfortable life isn't enough for most. And really, considering how many questions we ask throughout our lives, it’s hard to argue that we aren't searching for truth. It’s just that sometimes we lose our way on that path and end up putting way too much importance on things that don't matter. I respect your perspective, but I firmly believe we are much more than just the sum of our influences and circumstances. Some individuals prove that every single day.

People have massive potential, in every sense of the word. But by obsessing over control, we actually end up losing it.

I definitely agree with the bold part. 🙂

I'm all for eating less—it’s better for your health anyway—but I don't buy the idea that giving things up automatically makes you some kind of spiritual guru.

Ryan Rogers5 said:Oh, for sure—without being honest with yourself, you've got nothing. And you can't get honest without some serious self-discovery, right? But let's be real: self-discovery doesn't just happen; it requires actual work. And that kind of work? It takes grit and sacrifice. This is where I feel like we're hitting a wall, because I see a lot of people on this forum thinking they can just "level up" spiritually by reading a few books or getting into deep debates online. And when someone mentions "working on yourself," most people just think about sitting on a therapist's couch. Honestly? That's not enough!
We could spend twenty years over-analyzing every little reaction we have and still end up nowhere if we don't take some real, heavy-duty action. I'm talking about the stuff spiritual leaders have been doing throughout history—fasting, prayer, enduring the cold, sleep deprivation, and all that other intense discipline.

Sleep is actually a basic requirement for spiritual growth. 🙂

Ph'nglui mglw'nafh Lovecraftian Mythos!