Posts by Susan Price30

Edward Young3 said:After reading this detailed explanation, I actually feel a sense of affection 🙂

Well then, fine. 😁

But like we discussed earlier, some issues are just superficial aesthetics, while others carry much more weight (not that they're on the same level as what we called "cosmetic" before, lol).

There’s a point where you can tolerate a lot, but in my opinion, the line was definitely crossed when there are mods who don't take threats of violence or the promotion of illegal behavior—which violates the US Constitution—seriously enough or instead reward them with more than a measly 45 points for supposedly "offending users" (???).

As long as maniacs like that are allowed to post openly telling women they'd, quote: push them down stairs or beat them daily, etc.—and they can write freely here (exactly like someone once wrote to me on a different thread, and the mods in charge of that sub-forum treated it like it was perfectly fine)—maybe it's time for all of us to distance ourselves from this place, take a step back, or at least ask ourselves some hard questions.😉

Just a thought... personally, I have no desire to be associated with a place where someone can say something like that to me and have it pass as if nothing happened. No way.

Sophia Thomas7 said:It’s basically because the current moderation team over at LJESa is being "stricter" right now—or maybe they just have different standards—than the crew over at MK. Once some new mods eventually step in at LJESa, things might shift; we might see more joking around or, conversely, even tighter control. At the end of the day, the mods and the community work together to shape the vibe of PDF, giving it its own unique flavor while making sure everyone sticks to the Reddit forum rules.

Look, you can either deal with people like that or just crush them. Some folks simply don't have the backbone to handle it, so they just back off. Sure, we definitely need trolls around—and let’s face it, there are plenty of them lurking in the LJESa threads—but what we really need is a solid, regular audience to keep things grounded.

If they're being strict, 😁🤣then they're the worst mods on Reddit. In my opinion, you all should be removed from there immediately; that sub-forum is failing specifically because of the last few disastrously bad LJES mods... clearly, you have no idea what you're doing or how to moderate such an eternally popular and widely read section. And it seems others there are noticing too, even those who weren't directly targeted by threats of violence, by the way...

This thread turned into a total troll fest right from the start with all that talk about breaking arms, knocking teeth out, shoving people down stairs, and other nasty stuff that the mods didn't even address with a warning. So, I'll just take this opportunity to emphasize that breaking arms, knocking teeth out, and things like that (inflicting serious bodily harm) does not qualify as necessary self-defense, cannot be justified by acting in the heat of the moment, and is punishable under the Family Law of the United States.

Nicholas King said:I realize that not all subreddits are "identical"—look, at least this time nobody (so far 😁) has shoved Politics down my throat. But I’m not actually looking for total uniformity among all subreddits; I’m talking about those that exist somewhere in the middle regarding how casual they are. In what way is ŽK somehow "less identical" than MK? And finally, by what logic is LJES any less similar to MK?

But that isn't even the whole story. Fine, for the sake of moving this discussion forward, I will concede that the opening post in that thread was just trolling. However, if you actually looked at the thread, you would have seen clear instances of hateful sentences that weren't just jokes—and they were written right here on Reddit. When someone writes "drop dead" to another user, that happens on Reddit, and it doesn't matter whether it's happening in a joking MK thread or some other subreddit.

I’ll say it again: all those mistakes listed by kurin (and, if I understood correctly, the admin went through quite a bit of trouble to list examples of transgressions from years ago) are absolutely nothing compared to the (again, non-joking) statements written there. How else are we supposed to interpret his bias, if not as pure intolerance toward anyone who dares to challenge him? I've already said this: his views are a massive red flag for me too—but I dealt with that by breaking them down, mocking them, or whatever else was necessary.

Didn't someone say, "we need trolls too"? 😬

I agree, but that's just how you handle it; they are who they are.

Edward Young3 said:I can sense the hostility here. 🙂

🤦

I suppose the issue is that most people wouldn't want to authorize some kind of direct debit through their primary bank account, nor would they feel comfortable leaving their private data exposed like that. A small "membership fee" would likely be the easiest way to handle it.

Given the current security issues out there... well, that shouldn't stop anyone who actually wants to sign up from doing exactly that.

By the way, do you happen to have a link or the name of that "American forum"? Because, like I mentioned, as far as I know, none of the other forums do this.

Edward Young3 said:Cosmetics aside... content is what really matters 😉 , but if everyone actually wanted or DEMANDED improvements, donations would certainly help 🙂

Well then, go ahead and donate $333 and we'll see if this little experiment actually works.😉

I mean, nobody is actually stopping you from sending a check to three administrators once a month, or whoever else... right?

Edward Young3 said:No. I personally believe if people are unhappy with the technical aspects of their favorite TRASHY forum, they should actually contribute to improving it—even if that means chipping in financially.

Given how much I know about servers and all that, I've spent enough money on music 🙂

Are you aware of even one single serious forum where you actually pay a membership fee upon registration or whatever?

Or do you honestly think it's okay for a forum to be constantly crashing?

Unbelievable.😁

If this thread had stayed open, it most likely would have just turned into a trolling fest. No one is "making things up" here; you're simply missing the obvious.

James Patel20 said:Here. It looks like Obama's office denied the congratulatory message.

http://tacno.net/Novost.aspx?id=12467

We could have just posted there that you didn't close the thread properly.

I am not being impatient; I am simply being fair. 🙂

Even if it wasn't closed immediately, what did you expect to achieve by debating on a thread set up like this?🙏

The whole topic was nothing but trolling, and the opening post was pure bait... thank goodness they didn't give you a ban for it... they didn't just lock something based on hearsay "facts."

Daniel Ward87 said:You didn't quite catch my drift. There’s no rule saying people can't wish each other a Merry Christmas or a Happy New Year on a PDF. That wasn't even what he was complaining about, and that definitely wasn't his reason for posting. Honestly, I’m not going to drag this out any further because there’s really no point. It’s just one person claiming one thing while I claim another. Let's just agree to disagree; dragging this on is just a waste of time spent trying to prove someone else wrong.

It's true that the religion subforum isn't just a private club for believers. There isn't an exclusive section on this forum reserved for any specific group of people. Religion is a topic anyone can jump into, as long as you're registered and don't have any active bans preventing you from posting here or in that subforum. It’s not about gatekeeping; everyone has the right to share their thoughts on the subject, provided they play by the rules. I don't see why pointing out that the religion subforum isn't an exclusive space should be taken as an attack on believers or anyone else. It’s just a plain old fact.

Religion is basically a space for us to chat about faith, different religions, and anything else that falls under that umbrella. This isn't just for strictly "religious" debates—sometimes people might just be phrasing things a bit weirdly, and that's okay too.

Religion isn't just for the religious types, and spirituality isn't strictly for the non-religious or pagans either. Every sub-forum here is open to everyone.

Regarding exclusivity, my main point was that some feel even the Christmas thread isn't necessarily a dedicated space, but rather more of a general catch-all for that date—December 25th. That was the basis for my comment. I actually posed more questions than assertions, because I wasn't entirely sure what Nicole James was thinking or intending.

And as for everyone being free to post wherever they like as long as they follow the rules... well, I didn't mean anything else by it.🙂

I am actually relieved you're saying it wasn't what some perceived it to be—a provocation or potential intolerance on his part. Okay then.

What Nicole James will decide to do next year remains an open question for all of us, so let's just wait and see how things unfold.

If I understood him correctly, the whole idea of a Christian Christmas discussion on Christmas Day shouldn't even be allowed in the Religion section, simply because he felt that a topic about Christmas was bothersome which is why he posted that message in the "holiday greetings" thread, right?

He also mentioned here that the Religion sub-forum isn't "exclusive to believers"—which implies that this supposed "dominance" of a faith that doesn't even seem to exist is actually bothering him. This concept of "exclusivity" is a bit of a myth anyway, since we have separate sub-forums like Spirituality for those with pagan or New Age beliefs, and Mysticism/Alternative for others, both of which seem to function perfectly fine within their own dedicated spaces.

The point I’d really like addressed is why anyone would think religious people should be denied access to the one specific space intended for them—the space meant for religious discussion and expression.

In other words, why do others (pagans, alternative groups, etc.) have their own designated areas, yet in the Religion section, religious individuals are suffocated—to the point where a moderator (if we follow his logic) wouldn't even want to see a Christmas thread or feel comfortable offering greetings to those celebrating the holiday??

If anyone ever needed a clear illustration of what suffocating believers looks like on this sub-forum, perhaps this is the perfect example of the sad reality we're seeing.

Thank you.

Morgan Rodriguez57 makes a valid point. Even on sites like Politico, which aren't specifically centered around these holidays, moderators allow people to open these discussions, offer greetings, and chat freely without any friction or censorship. On those platforms—where the mods are consistently top-tier—religious topics pass through without issue. It’s only on this specific sub-forum dedicated to believers (since everyone else has their own specialized spaces) that we see blatant suppression against believers.

Those in the loop already see it, and we all know what's happening. Perhaps it should be emphasized once more, just in case it escaped Anderlon's notice... It might also be worth considering why so many religious users have stopped posting here (whether by choice or otherwise). For instance, the Muslim community made a conscious, collective decision to withdraw entirely—I believe they even appointed a specific moderator afterward to fix things, but unfortunately, that didn't help either. As for Christians, there's hardly anyone left, even though just a year or two ago, the numbers were huge. And I'm not talking about random trolls; I mean priests, theologians, and truly wonderful contributors who were a joy to read. So, the logical question remains: why?

Timothy Robinson2 said:I think you misread that. They’re opening a thread specifically so there’s zero doubt about people trying to provoke or mock others.

Even if Nicole James treated it like a federal holiday, they should still have a separate thread for those types. I mean, sure, it's the same day, but we aren't celebrating the same thing. It's kind of like if two kids, say Ivica and Marica, were both born on December 25th, but one lives in Miami and the other lives in El Paso, and you congratulate the kid in El Paso and claim it's basically the same as congratulating the one in Miami just because the date matches. Doesn't really track.

Then there’s his post in English, which is apparently against the rules.

If you quote or link to text in a foreign language, you have to provide an American translation. For longer pieces, you don't need a word-for-word breakdown, but a summary covering the essential points for the discussion is mandatory.

Of course, whenever he pops up, you get all these other types who just feel this irresistible urge to stir the pot on a simple topic—something that probably should just be a handful of posts saying "Merry Christmas" and moving on.

Some people actually enjoy talking about religion and having real discussions with anyone, but man, it's exhausting when "sponsored" spammers show up on every single thread. I report them constantly, whether they're religious or not, but they just get left alone to do their thing until the people who actually wanted to discuss the topic eventually give up. Bit by bit, everyone stops posting anything meaningful. Everything just turns into bickering with spammers and trolls.

Honestly, if someone can't just say two words— Merry Christmas & mean it regardless of what faith or ideology they follow, then to me, that feels pretty extreme and bizarre...

Then again, we used to have a mod there (who was eventually replaced) who would constantly spam links and calls for people (including Christians) to convert to Islam, using the moderation tools for his own personal agenda. So, looking back, nothing about this seems particularly surprising...

link

The link you provided doesn't mention anything about adding three days or three nights, so I'm not sure what you're talking about. If you want, go ahead and post a link that actually says that so we can take a look...

As for the last point—once Catholic Radio breaks the news and the Pope himself confirms it, then it's official. 😁 Until then, should we really just believe whatever anyone happens to say or write? To put it another way: anyone is free to claim whatever they want, but in this case, we have to stick to the official stance of the Catholic Church, right?

Nicole James said:So, the reality is that practically every culture throughout almost all of recorded history has celebrated a holiday dedicated to the sun and light during this season. I celebrate the federal holiday called Christmas exactly as it is because I personally find the symbolism quite compelling. Next year, I plan to start a dedicated thread for holiday cards covering all the different aspects of this season—just so no one accidentally feels slighted or offended...

It wasn't really "all cultures," but more like pre-Christian paganism celebrated something similar. Nowadays, most people just celebrate December 25th as Christmas and nothing else, and let's be honest, pagan holidays don't necessarily fall on the same dates as Christian ones, nor are they even called by the same names, right?

Also, the Spirituality section was separated from the main Religion section, much like how there's a separate Magic and Mysticism area where people with non-religious beliefs can write about various topics since that's the space provided for them.

Why exactly would you want to open a thread like that in the Religion section, which—given its name—is primarily intended for religious folks and interfaith dialogue? If there are specific sub-forums for this kind of thing, please explain. Would a thread about Christmas meant for those who actually celebrate it really bother you?

Daniel Ward87 said:It's true that there isn't much connection to the Christmas we celebrate today. Also, while Sol Invictus isn't tied to Christ, as I mentioned in the link, the idea of bringing Christ closer to pagans by blending religious foundations is an old story—anyone with even a basic understanding of religion knows how that works. Okay, I get that this is a bit off-topic for a holiday greeting thread, but I just wanted to clarify that there was no intentional trolling going on here.

One thing is for sure: Nicole James wasn't trying to be provocative, believe me. However, I suggested keeping the Christmas greetings and similar stuff to a more basic level just to avoid any unnecessary drama.

To some people, it might look like a provocation, considering how the topic is framed and since this specific section on the site is labeled as the religion forum for Catholics/Christians, the holiday greeting thread, rather than being part of something like the Alternative or Spirituality sections.

If he wasn't provoking, as you claim (and I'll certainly accept that possibility), then who exactly was he greeting and for what? On this thread, people are celebrating the feast of the birth of Jesus... that's exactly my point.

If Nicole James personally celebrates the day of the sun god or follows a cult that observes something on December 21st or whenever—that's her personal business and no one is judging her—but really, should she be posting a massive wall of English text that most people here won't even understand, which also has nothing to do with the actual topic? It's more likely that, as mistyjackal14 pointed out, other forum members would simply get a warning or have their posts deleted immediately... etc., etc.

Regarding the last point in bold, thanks for understanding and for the effort; it seems you truly grasp what we're discussing here.

It’s about the sunrise occurring near the winter solstice—around December 21st.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Solstice

With three days and three nights, the sun is essentially reborn, meaning the days start getting longer again—it's the triumph of the sun, which is Christmas, the birth of a young, minor god. Christmas doesn't have to be strictly a Catholic holiday.

The winter solstice falls on December 21st, though if you look at the link you provided, it says it can be a day earlier or later. Back in 2011, for instance, it actually fell on December 22nd.

So, what exactly does that have to do with Christmas or this specific topic?

Daniel Ward87 said:Neither. I read the text, asked the mods for some clarity, and did a little digging online to get up to speed on the literature.

It wasn't a provocation at all; it was actually a pretty positive sentiment. Sure, it might sound edgy, but celebrating certain dates—especially December 25th—has been around since forever, long before Jesus Christ showed up. It's no secret how various holidays, especially Christian ones, came to be. Even Jesus himself is depicted as Sol Invictus http://hr.wikipedia.org/wiki/Datotek..._Invictus.jpeg. So, there's no provocation here; if anything, it's just a basic historical fact.

But that has nothing to do with Christianity or the Christmas we know and celebrate, right?
The deity Sol Invictus ("unconquered sun") isn't related to Christ; it's a pagan god often identified with Mithras, the primary deity of the Greco-Roman mystery cult Mithraism during the reign of the Roman Emperor Aurelian back in 274 AD. It's worth noting that today, that cult is virtually non-existent—at least not in the form it held back then.

This thread was started to celebrate Christmas—the Christian holiday marking the birth of Jesus Christ. Since Nicole James doesn't believe in or follow the cult of Mithraism, but instead identifies as an atheist or anti-theist (and since celebrating on the exact same day wouldn't be called Christmas), it definitely feels like a provocation to those of us who celebrate Christmas.

Thanks for the effort, Daniel Ward87, and for always trying to smooth things over. However, it’s significant that Nicole James doesn't feel the need to offer an explanation or an apology to the people here who expressed their frustration and find her post irrelevant to the topic.

And of course, they decide to hand someone a partial ban on a sub-forum where they’d already contributed hundreds of high-quality posts—all because they allegedly had "one or two clones," which was the excuse given, even though their original handle wasn't even banned. It’s honestly laughable. 😁

But I wasn't the only one; this happened to other prominent and widely read members of the religion community there, like Rob Roy, Toza, and Parsifal. Everyone seemed to be handed some transparently flimsy reason just to get them kicked off the religion forum.

I’m sure the forum owner is absolutely thrilled to have people running their own little business while fighting their own private battles, lol. But I suspect the guy unfortunately has no clue what was actually going down over there.

Nicole James said:Look, this isn't some exclusive club reserved solely for believers or high-level theological debates—you can find plenty of those forums out there, whether they focus on Islam, Catholicism, or whatever else. Here, everyone is welcome to dive into discussions about religion regardless of where they stand, and honestly, I think the best conversations happen when we look at things from different angles, not just through a strictly theological lens.

Besides, it seems a bit strange that you're taking issue with the greeting, especially since your access to the religion forum was revoked. I really hope you aren't resorting to using clones again to get around things.😉

I agree, though what you wrote in English was spot on. Was that an early April Fools' joke? 🙏 You could have just gone to a website for jokes and sent them over.

They aren't finished yet, either. All believers. They left because that wasn't actually an "expert" subforum—there were other reasons for that...

Isn't it strange that you wouldn't like the greeting, considering you've been banned from the religion forum? I hope you aren't using clones to post again. 😉

I was never actually responsible for the things I was accused of; it was just a way to get rid of people by planting false evidence. That kind of thing was standard practice under the old "forum regime," wasn't it?😉

No, I haven't been posting there since Shady was removed, nor have I been reading any of it. That post—well, that link to your post is right here on PZK, isn't it?

mistyjackal14 said:I really wanted to take a moment to give a shout-out to the admins over at the Religion sub-forum, not just because they allowed us to go ahead with celebrating Christmas this year, but because they actually took the initiative to get things moving (@Brenda Cook4).

The real issue, however, seems to have shifted up a notch toward the moderation team. You see, while the thread itself proceeded quite smoothly with everyone showing mutual respect, one moderator (who also happens to be an admin on the Religion board) decided to start trolling, flame wars, and dumping endless litanies written in English*
For the first time ever, I actually found myself using that little traffic sign icon down in the corner, though I’m well aware it isn’t particularly effective against reds.🙂

I managed to successfully ignore the post, but a few trolls and flamers did gather to back up the moderator.

Perhaps any given religion, or even anti-religion, has intolerance baked right into its foundation, which leads to this strange paradox where, in the name of tolerance, one must permit their very intolerance and provocations—but honestly, those are getting into some pretty heavy, sophistic philosophical territory.

Anyway, I'll offer my thanks to the admins once more, because if I’m going to offer criticism, I believe it’s only fair to offer praise as well, all while holding onto the hope and understanding that things might improve even more next year; I realize that normalcy doesn't just happen overnight, and you can't force change through the hierarchy.

*It might sound a bit silly to people from other sub-forums when I mention relying on untranslated text, but on the Religion board, that is strictly monitored, and I've personally been handed warnings for poor translations, even by that very same moderator.

Sorry, but what exactly are you talking about here, and what are you even thanking them for?

The smallest issue is that the post was written in a foreign language—it looks like the guy is just mocking everyone with have a blessed day under the sun in a thread that is strictly about football and sharing holiday wishes for Christmas with everyone, whether they celebrate or not.

Back when I used to post there, that subforum had plenty of active believers who contributed regularly—lots of Christians and Muslims, and many great, informative threads. Now, none of them post there because all those people have simply moved on.

What are you all doing there? Why feed the trolls who just want to make fun of people? It doesn't seem like that subforum is for believers anymore, nor is it a place for high-quality theological debate or interfaith dialogue—at least not until the whole concept of the subforum changes.