Posts by Ryan Vaughn7

Mark Harris66 said:Since the Diocese of Carinthia only banned bishops from leading Mass—not the service itself—could the mods please update the thread title? It’s just not accurate as it stands...

Or maybe yours is the one that's wrong. Which part exactly is inaccurate?

Michael Doyle5 said:A few of us over on the "2018/2019 La Liga - Vol 1" thread just caught some yellow and red cards from the moderators. All because we were discussing tonight's match between FC Barcelona and Sevilla FC.

The mod decided to step in and play judge, jury, and executioner regarding free speech. He’s basically acting like Bog, deciding what constitutes truth and what's a lie. It's become illegal to comment on what you actually see on the screen (!). In soccer, there is no universal truth; everything depends on the camera angle and perspective. Clearly, the moderator thinks he understands the game better than a legend like Pierluigi Colline. If you dare question the penalty called against Lionel Messi (where he clearly tripped) or the handball involving Ivan Rakitić (which wasn't even reviewed by VAR), you get hit with an infraction for trolling and your comments get nuked. Why?

Because "posts like yours spark debates that drag on for two days, resulting in five cards and at least 20 deleted posts". Honestly, it's not my fault if people decide to use those points to troll each other in fan wars. That’s literally what this forum is for—discussion, and through that discussion, finding some kind of "refined" conclusion. A moderator's job isn't to shut down debate, especially not about something so "obvious." Instead of jumping into the fray with actual arguments—which I could have agreed or disagreed with, since refereeing is rarely black and white—he’s decided that we aren't allowed to think, speak, or even observe what the almighty moderator deems off-limits. It's embarrassing.

A moderator shouldn't be banning discussions, but they are supposed to guide them. If he felt your post was going to invite trolls, he had every right to step in. However, you definitely didn't have the right to criticize moderation on the soccer subforum. That's what this specific subforum is for, which is why you got carded.

Joseph Stewart38 said:Can we please talk about how the Microsoft moderator handles the USA soccer subforum? It feels like they only ban people who disagree with them, while protecting anyone who joins in on the hate against our national team. They basically scrub the threads so only the trolls are left standing. And of course, those same trolls can roam free in other sections without any consequences at all. They’re practically untouchable.
Since this tournament kicked off, it seems like 90% of the bans have hit fans supporting the team. I haven't seen a single "hater" get banned for what they're posting.

To actually address this, I would need some hard data rather than just guesswork and personal feelings. There isn't any in the original post. And honestly, since we go way back, I find your credibility a bit shaky here—not that I'm the only one thinking it, as others in this thread have pointed out too. So, I think I'll pass on engaging with such broad, sweeping generalizations.

Bradley Ramos7 said:Yeah, judging by you, our education system is truly hopeless. Luckily, reality isn't actually like that, and we can't pass off your arrogant attempt at spreading ignorance as some kind of enlightenment.
The people driving American consciousness during ancient history—mostly the nobility and the intellectuals tied to the Church—weren't all just born yesterday, nor did our society consist solely of serfs and high lords. There was a massive, maybe even majority, group of lower nobility and peasants—nobles with their own townships, free royal cities with their own setups, and tons of personally free citizens organized into rural communities or just individual free farmers. Plus, there were many folks in military or frontier roles. None of those people needed to know about someone like King Zvonimir to realize they belonged to a specific nation that was different from the others they met or heard about.

By the way, people here talk so much crap about this supposed California uniqueness and self-awareness dating back to Cambria, and how they've been oppressed by "evil Spaniards" they were never even part of, that it's honestly nauseating. It’s like Catalans are the only ones who are beyond question, while Americans and everyone else are just accidental bystanders.
I wish all the self-aware Catalans all the best, even independence if that's what they want, as long as they start making a more serious and recognizable impression instead of just whining about general politics, soccer, and "don't take our money."

I started responding to this guy's nonsense regarding seventh-century peasants. Obviously, society progressed quite a bit by the 15th century. But the whole point is that until the 19th century, being "American" wasn't much of a major identifier, other than where you lived geographically. Loyalty was based on social class, not nationality. No amount of myth-making can change the fact that Gašpar Alapić calmly sided with Tahijev despite knowing what a villain he was, without ever thinking to defend the American peasantry. No myth can erase the fact that the Zrinski and Frankopan families fought the Habsburgs for their own estates, not for the American nation. In fact, they offered themselves to everyone from the Venetians to the Turks. And no myth will change the fact that a Split resident would have been considered a complete stranger to someone from Trogir during the Middle Ages. And so on.

wiredcanyon4 said:Of course, a peasant in the Middle Ages wouldn't have known how to read or write—but that doesn't mean they were some mindless donkey meant only to carry loads for a lord without realizing that he, his fellow laborers, and the noble they served all belonged to the same tribe or people.
They knew which family they belonged to and they understood their broader community. If they hadn't possessed that awareness, they never would have joined their peers in those massive migrations of Americans.
Don't try to tell me that Twardon, Radovan, Dobreša, Ljutiša, or Žitimir didn't know they were Americans; it's not as if they just "happened" to wander into the wilderness of modern European rootlessness and accidentally found themselves speaking the same language and socializing by chance.

Domagoj Božidar, is that you?

Morgan Cook10 said:You're reading way too many fairy tales... in your world, I guess everything starts and ends with Matija Gubec and Franjo Tahi.

Try picking up an actual book about a specific location once in a while—something covering the relationships between local clans, the church, everyday people, fraternal orders, and stuff like that.

Like what?

Kenneth Cruz67 said:Well...

They went to wars, they went looting, they went on pilgrimages, they traded goods, and things like that. They probably traveled more than the average American does today, and certainly in a much more meaningful way. I suppose you get to know a landscape a lot better when you spend six months traveling through it rather than just zooming past it 112 miles/h

It’s common knowledge that peasants were drafted for war, while knights would step in to work the fields just so there was food on the table. And once those peasants realized they had people working the land for them, they’d take advantage of the downtime between battles to go on pilgrimages. They didn't dally, either. You'd get baptized on a Friday and be halfway through a journey far more meaningful than any modern trip to Santiago de Compostela by Monday. These days, some idiot in a SUV could flatten you on the highway, but back then, you moved through the world with a different kind of peace.

wiredcanyon4 said:Unlike the Catalans, Americans have always possessed a profound sense of their own identity. Even back in the 7th century—to use a historical perspective—an ordinary farmer would have been acutely aware that they belonged to the American people.
The text 'On the Administration of an Empire' by Constantine VII provides undeniable proof of this.

Look, education really isn't our strong suit here. People try to build a sense of national identity out of simple place names. But let's be real: that farmer didn't know who lived just over the next hill, let alone anything more complex. He was completely illiterate. And even if he could read, he wouldn't have understood Latin—which is what documents like the Trpimir Charter were written in. Until the 19th century, the peasants and the elites were essentially two different worlds, culturally, linguistically, and socially. Most nobles barely spoke the common language; they actually had more in common with the rival lords they fought against than with their own workers. Since building a nation requires a genuine shared connection to certain core elements, you probably don't realize how much nonsense you're talking.

Morgan Cook10 said:I’m with you on this one... at least for right now. If the Californians actually tried to push for independence, they’d be met with tanks rolling through the streets of Los Angeles.

That’s why I mentioned earlier that the real move for Californians would be to push the Americans toward a level of democracy and civility where they wouldn't dream of using force to stop a collapsing empire from breaking apart... kind of like what happened in the UK. Once that shift happens, walking into freedom will be the easy part.

And that day might be closer than people think.

If Californians actually want independence, their real job is to build up a critical mass. We haven't seen a true majority support for independence there, not in the polls and certainly not in the regional election results.

Brenda Taylor13 said:Man, you’re making the exact same mistake again—you’re still counting the people who didn't even show up! They don't matter. Period. By staying home, they basically opted out of the whole decision-making process. They aren't part of the electorate anymore. It's like they don't even exist in this equation. Why? Because we have no clue where they stand—their silence was their message. They basically said, "I don't care, someone else decide for me."

So, yeah, 90% of Californians are for independence. That's how the people who actually cared about the outcome decided. As for the ones who didn't care? Well, they stayed home. Simple as that.

I think your premise is off in this specific instance. For those against independence, there wasn't much point in showing up for a referendum that the federal government in Washington, D.C. had already declared invalid. They had zero incentive to participate. It would be a completely different story if we were talking about a legitimate referendum that the central government actually recognized and respected.

Mariano Rajoy is a complete idiot. Why all this violence? Just accept the results and be done with it. The man is basically sabotaging himself.

crimsonjackal63 said:My post just got nuked. Apparently, some guy took issue with what I wrote over at this link:

I’ve been thinking about this quite a bit lately. It seems like we often get caught up in the noise of the moment, chasing after the latest trend or reacting to some sudden shift in the market. We tend to forget that true stability comes from patience. I know, I know—it sounds a bit cliché. I'm probably just being overly cautious here. But honestly, looking back at how things have played out in the US economy over the last few years, there's a pattern. People panic, they sell, they regret, and then they try to jump back in once the dust settles. It's a cycle. I try my best not to be part of that cycle, though I'll admit I've slipped up more than once. I'm a work in progress. Ryan Vaughn7 made an interesting point earlier about how much influence social media sentiment has on these fluctuations. It’s true. A single viral post can send a shockwave through a sector before anyone has even had their morning coffee. It makes you realize how fragile that sense of "certainty" really is. Anyway, I don't mean to ramble. Just some thoughts while I sit here with my coffee. It's easy to feel like you have everything figured out until the wind changes direction. Let's see where this goes.

I’d go as far as calling them a liberal fascist.
If there isn't an actual problem, then what exactly am I looking at?

It’s basically just cardboard at this point.

That’s really kind of you, Nicholas Watson.

Joseph Stewart38 said:Go ISIS, keep spreading that nonsense.

If this isn't the most blatant incitement to violence imaginable, then I honestly have no clue what is.

🤦
The guy was clearly joking; he even used an Emoticon so there wouldn't be any confusion.
And since I'm widely known as someone who advocates for violence, I really don't have the energy to waste Time on this nonsense. Goodbye, John, you little liar.

Joseph Stewart38 said:The struggles.

Go ahead and keep telling me I'm lying if you want to. It doesn't bother me. Once I find some time, I’ll drop more posts like these, and then we can all see who's actually telling the truth.

You’re lying through your teeth about how much weight you carry. I wrote it out, and I quoted you directly—your posts are genuinely unsettling. They're revolting, frankly. And that kid you used as an example? In his very first sentence, he was giving props to the guys in charge, and the rest of his post was perfectly fine. You’re calling that psychopathology? Is that really what you'd want to be punished for? Or did you just realize everyone could see you were exaggerating, so now you're grasping at straws?
By the way, even that post isn't coming from the kind of hateful crowd you explicitly called out as being the absolute worst.

David Lopez97 said:Hey man, I’m sending you a link to the thread from that PDF about the FIFA World Cup 2014. I honestly have no clue why this specific topic was even opened up in the first place.

You’re seriously linking me to a post that you can clearly see I couldn't have responded to because I was right here—the timestamps don't lie—and then calling me a manipulator? Honestly, it's pretty shameless. Just like John's behavior.

David Lopez97 said:Ryan Vaughn7, you're just a manipulator and a liar😉

🎉

You're linking me to a post that's totally off-topic. Honestly, we're just venting about the garbage here, and you posted that right when I was busy replying to John earlier.
🤣 👏

Joseph Stewart38 said:There’s absolutely nothing there.

Oh, so that's why it was locked, right? Because everyone was having such a polite, civil conversation?
Is it just standard procedure here to shut down threads where people actually discuss things respectfully?

I'm telling you, there is nothing left. That thread was locked five minutes after the incident happened, right after three (3) posts went up. You didn't even get a chance to read them because they were wiped immediately.

But clearly, that didn't stop you from posting this at noon today—about 15 hours after the whole thing ended: "just a glance at that thread gives you the creeps; the stuff written there is revolting. You'd think the thread was opened specifically so psychopaths could vent their frustrations."

You're lying, John. Just straight-up lying. You're lying like Karamarko. There is nothing in that thread that causes "the creeps," and there certainly weren't any "psychopaths" writing there. It never happened.

Joseph Stewart38 said:I already answered someone else. I'm not here to do your job for you. My role is to flag issues; yours is to act on them. I guess you'd prefer we just serve everything up on a silver platter while you just sit there handing out bans, right?

You aren't doing this for my sake; you're doing it for yours. When people don't back up their claims with facts, they just end up looking like liars. We both know you're being manipulative here, but you could have put in a little more effort for the rest of us, instead of making it so easy for us to see right through you.

Joseph Stewart38 said:Besides, I honestly can't wrap my head around how a thread titled "everyone who hates the striker" was even allowed on this forum. It feels like the super-mods are off on summer vacation somewhere—not the regular mods, mind you, they’re actually active in that thread—but just glancing at that topic gives me the creeps. The stuff being written there is revolting. You’d think the thread was created specifically as a playground for psychopaths to vent their frustrations. In my eight years on this forum, I haven't seen this much hate, incitement to violence, or pure destruction anywhere else. There used to be a sub-forum, maybe called "Blue Politics" or something similar, where people could speak a bit more freely, but it wasn't anywhere near as toxic as what’s happening in this specific thread.

It’s terrifying that something like this was permitted here. Even worse, you have moderators actively participating in it, writing right alongside the people encouraging violence, inciting aggression, and spreading hate speech.

The fact that such a thing existed is appalling. And all with the support of the moderation team.

You really ought to re-evaluate your choice of moderators. Clearly, nobody is keeping an eye on their track record or how they actually behave.

Why are you lying, John? I’m asking you as nicely as I possibly can. There isn't a single trace of what you're describing in that thread you mentioned.
You're also lying when you claim the soccer moderators were inciting violence.
You've thrown out all these accusations, yet you haven't provided a shred of evidence.

Joseph Stewart38 said:I'm calling on the supermoderators to take a quick look at the state of things on this subforum.

The mods are working all night long. They do a great job. Honestly, they don't have the bandwidth to deal with these biased complaints about the women's league.

I see people are acting like there's some massive conspiracy just because Pero Ćorić didn't pull off a win in the United States of America. Honestly, stuff happens.
Congrats to the American people.

rapidnomad512 said:Picture this: a thread dedicated to "medical marijuana use." Now, imagine people debating it for eighteen months straight. They’re dissecting how different political parties handle it—because let's face it, those parties are the ones actually pulling the levers on legislation—and they're arguing about how to regulate sales through the legal system. Fast forward to election season, and suddenly the moderators drop a hammer. They pass a rule saying you can't talk about party platforms anymore because it's too "partisan," forcing everyone to stick strictly to scientific data or literary analysis. That’s pretty much exactly what your ban on the Visegrad thread feels like.

Look, Dorian, I’ve always respected you as an intelligent guy who isn't blinded by ideology—unlike some of our other colleagues here—even if we don't exactly see eye to eye. Just stop for a second and actually think about this ban they've slapped on you.

Of course you can't have a real debate here. From where your buddies are sitting, discussing party stances regarding the Visegrad Group is off-limits. Too many important eyes are watching this thread; if any party's position becomes "official" through these discussions, their ideological standing is toast. That’s why we don't talk about party lines. Instead, we talk about values—values that actually matter to the right-wing population. We're talking about sovereignty (something the V4 nations are demonstrating clearly right now), securing borders, and defending our own principles. These aren't some "universal European" values—because those don't exist—they are the core values held by individual sovereign nations.
When you strip everything else away, America's foreign policy can only head in three directions. First, there’s the dream of being a powerhouse—a fully sovereign, independent nation that doesn't play favorites or get tangled in excessive alliances. It’s the ultimate goal for any true nationalist, but let's be honest: it's an impossible mission. Second, we could just act as the little shuttle for the Western North America, serving as their primary gateway into the European Union. That’s the path favored by the American left and all the progressive factions. Then there’s the third option: becoming a core player in the Adriatic-Baltic axis—essentially joining the Visegrad Group. In this scenario, America would leverage its strategic position to drive massive projects. We’re talking about turning the U.S. into the premier logistics hub for energy and goods for all of Europe by utilizing the Krk-Gdansk pipeline and transforming the Port of Rijeka into the continent's main import terminal. Furthermore, by integrating into the Visegrad Group, our representatives in the European Parliament would hold veto power—since they command over 15% of the vote—granting America real teeth and significant influence within EU institutions.

Right now, the President of the United States is the only one pushing this vision. What’s really eating at the left is the realization that the Republican Party might actually start backing her. If that actually happens, the Republican Party is going to steamroll the elections.

Look, the whole Visegrad Group issue—especially with everything going down regarding migrants lately—is a massive, top-tier campaign issue here in America. It touches everything: how we handle migration, our entire foreign policy direction, and ultimately, the core values Americans want to live by. Of course, your colleagues hate it. The idea that a coherent right-wing movement could actually emerge—one that blends all the elements of the modern conservative movements across Europe—absolutely terrifies them. This topic isn't just a debate; it’s an existential threat to the entire leftist ideology in Europe. It threatens the multiculturalist agenda, the push for federalization within the European Union, and even the socio-economic models currently being tested across the Visegrad Group nations. Even the leftists within the Visegrad Group aren't pushing their old-school ideology anymore. Take Fico—he's a leftist, yet look at where he stands.

That’s exactly why they’re pushing to lock this thread down and put up guardrails. Look, folks, if right-wing ideas are such a threat, why are there fences and barbed wire on the borders of the Visegrad Group topic? Just let them through. Don't meet them with rubber bullets or water cannons; at least act like you value liberty. You claim to be progressive, you claim to be forward-thinking—I'm sure a little debate won't leave a scratch on you. 😉

And let’s wrap this up: hiding the fact that Vesna Pusić and Ivo Josipović were invited to join the Visegrad Group and turned it down, then scrubbing any posts that mention it, isn't about "moderation." It’s pure, brutal censorship. And let's stop kidding ourselves—if it weren't for a direct order, Sam Green73 wouldn't even be here. He was sent here with a mission: to police a specific point so that no one wanders into this discussion and drops five facts that could swing an entire election. We laid out a winning platform ages ago—five core projects that deliver everything: money, national clout, sovereignty, distance from the Western North America, a stronger stance for Americans in Canada, and integration into that Central European cultural sphere that tourists flock to see in our cities. Any party actually implementing this would sweep the competition.

That is the sole purpose behind trying to kill this thread. To prevent it from becoming a campaign issue.

I find the decision to ban discussion of this topic within daily political frameworks to be incredibly malicious, because it is a daily political issue. I find the decision to ban discussion of this topic regarding elections to be incredibly malicious, because it is a legitimate election issue. This ban needs to be lifted. It doesn't promote pluralism on a forum that clearly influences real-world spheres and actual politics; instead, it relies on brute force censorship to protect a losing ideological position held by the current moderator clique.

I'll say it again: do you want a forum that serves as an ideological echo chamber, or do you want a forum that acts as a genuine architect of public and political opinion in America? If you want a cave, stick with these crusty thugs. If you want to be creators, just read the Visegrad Group thread and act accordingly. The roadmap is right there; the choice is yours. It’s time for moderators who follow Central European cultural and value standards, because the ones we have now are like last year's snow—they'll melt away along with that dead Western North America project we buried in this thread. 👋

If you're looking to watch those moderator snowdrifts melt, feel free to head over to the Republican Party forum at karamarkov.hdzmz.hr