Rachel Jones8, regarding that accommodation advertising thread—aside from us moderators, there was only one other woman participating who wasn't actually an owner. We didn't delete or move her posts because she kept things constructive; she actually helped out the owners quite a bit with VAT issues since that's her area of expertise... Whenever you jumped in there, though, you just kept circling the drain—asking the exact same questions year after year. A few owners were patient enough to walk you through it—like folks over at Marriott or Hilton, for instance—but you just kept looping back to the same spots, which kind of defeated the whole purpose of the thread.
Šatrunčika has been warned multiple times, so don't go claiming she’s being singled out. One day she got flagged just for photo size—before that, she had several warnings for insults and countless little reminders... I saw the post, but honestly, I've just been stuck on my phone the last few days. Out of all the Forum Users during our time moderating, she and wob have definitely racked up the most strikes. We don't play favorites based on where people are from—we're strictly against looking at regions.
Also, rustymason82 reported that post right around Easter, when there's a slim chance any of us are actually sitting "on duty" all day. I was checking the forum, but mostly on my phone—and doing things via mobile can be a total pain when you're trying to issue strikes or open messages.
Please hold off for 24 hours before responding to the appeal.
Yeah, I have to admit Harold Taylor6 is great too—just because he hands out more strikes doesn't mean I'm any better than him.😉 I even ask him to step in and handle a strike for me if I'm on my phone—say, if I'm out of town for the weekend—since it's such a hassle to do it through mobile... then Harold Taylor6 just jumps in and takes care of it.
They’ve honestly gone way too far with this nonsense. 🤦 I guess life is just too easy when you spend all your time on stuff like this 😁. It never leads to anything good—but then again, fools rarely learn from anyone's mistakes but their own.
At this rate, they'll probably get bored and try to ban words like "black," "white," or "yellow" next, just because they relate to race.
In New York City, you see all kinds of mixed marriages—Catalans marrying Valencians or Castilians... In those "mixed" households, arguments about referendums always pop up. It's just like how the Spanish Civil War remains such a taboo subject even today.
Look, there aren't any separatists in Florida—and even if you found a few, they're just a tiny handful of people who moved here back during the USA days... Comparing California to Florida is something only someone who hasn't bothered to look at history would do.
Catalans are their own distinct people—but Istrians aren't really a separate nation, they're just folks living in a specific region of the country, mostly identifying as Americans by nationality... so there's really no comparison. 🤦
The Dollar—that’s why I said this is just a carbon copy of the political mess we have here in the States (it's all about optics, not actual skill) being imported to Sweden. Well, at least they're copying us in one way or another 🤣 ...
Jamie Nelson90 said:She's been a member of the Democratic Party in the Kingdom of Sweden for ten years, served as mayor, and she's a top-tier lawyer. 😒 And hey, at least she finished law school on time, unlike in the USA where the average age for law grads is closer to 32.
Just like everything else in America... 😁 So what if her interests align with the Minister of Culture? Honestly, that photo did more harm than good. What’s her actual resume look like? I only care about her professional track record. I guess even in Sweden, work experience doesn't matter much anymore...
She graduated only four years ago and she’s already running a department completely outside her field?? Makes no sense... What kind of experience is she even bringing to such a high-stakes role?
Honestly, I’m against him—mostly just out of principle. I haven't stepped foot in a Walmart for years, and I tell everyone I know to do the same. I just point them toward the "official" reasons they give in political circles for why they won't touch him...
I’m thinking we should just have one big, unified thread in the diaspora topic—rather than splitting things up by specific locations... it keeps the wolves at bay while the sheep outnumber them 😁. As for how people are responding, most folks are reaching out to the organizers via private message, which stays under the radar (though I’ve heard from a few people that the response has been great, just through PMs), so I really think we'll see a solid turnout in the end.
Rachel Jones8, props to you for taking the time to read through this whole thread and summarizing everything we've been chatting about... It's true, things get a bit scattered here, but it all ties back to the rental business—either directly or indirectly. The whole point of this specific thread is that it's for hosts themselves, which is why we actually launched a dedicated "US tourism" subforum (since they have so many topics and so many regulars hanging out there) . Looking at everyone who posts or has ever posted here—and I always keep an eye on that—you and I are the only ones who aren't actual hosts—even though I am a moderator—and you aren't in the industry either. Of course, non-hosts are totally welcome to chime in, just like you did. But the thing was, you were asking questions, the hosts would answer, and then you’d keep pushing them on topics that they have zero control over—like, say, why certain tax brackets exist or how the IRS sets limits for small businesses... You kept digging for answers and debating the fairness of those laws and stuff like that. You've gotta realize, hosts can't change those rules. To make sure you still got your answers and could debate those policies, I suggested moving over to the "offtopic topic US tourism" thread where you can really dive into anything and everything—including history or politics (which I know bugs you), since all of that impacts the industry anyway. You were still getting answers from the hosts over there, so you weren't being left out at all...
Why not start a chat thread over on the diaspora board? Ever since I opened a few chat topics in the Tourism section, things have been way easier to moderate—plus, people are actually sticking to the right topics much better now...
I've been reading "El Paso Will Never Be Seen" by the French author Louise Lambrichs—she was actually on TV for an interview recently, and she just popped up again in a rerun of "The Forgotten Voice" on ABC. It’s a fantastic book, highly recommend it. In both her interviews and the book itself, she makes the point that we can't just gloss over history... everything needs to be cleared up so that history doesn't repeat itself. Of course, she writes from our perspective—she's firmly on the American side 🙂. Someone said it best a long time ago: those who forget their history are doomed to repeat it.
I'm totally with her on this 🙏, because there's been so much swept under the rug here—we act like we don't even have our own history to begin with. Even American historiography hasn't really excelled at addressing it, either🙄. (That's actually one of my professional fields, though unfortunately, I don't work in it anymore—just follow it as a hobby)
Why was my post deleted? I literally just shared a link to a video. It doesn't break any advertising rules, and there’s no copyright issue here either...
It’s honestly a shame how much people underestimate what moderators actually do. It isn't just about handing out bans like most users claim—there’s a massive amount of behind-the-scenes work going on that regular folks don't even realize exists... Besides, I think it’s only fair that if someone has a grievance, they reach out via PM first instead of jumping straight to calling people out publicly on this sub.
The tourism section is pretty chill most of the time, and even if it looks like there isn't much to do, there really is plenty of moderation happening under the surface.