Posts by northerncyclist2

rustydrifter10 said:The tech support guys are claiming this reported issue is just a Google ad and they don't see anything wrong with it.

I guess I wonder, would it be really that much trouble to arrange for someone from the tech team to pop in here once in a while and actually talk directly to the community?

It feels like a pretty basic standard on almost every other forum I've been part of... and honestly, I won't even get into how some forums handle stuff, because let's just say their response times are absolute jokes.

I honestly dealt with ads for a really long time, you know? But then things just got ridiculous—these stupid pop-ups started appearing constantly, covering up half the page every single time I tried to click on something. And once the viruses started cropping up... yeah, that was it for me. I had to say enough is enough. To be honest, Reddit was actually the very first site that pushed me to finally install AdBlock; I’d never even bothered using it anywhere else before that. So, yeah, that's just how civilized the advertising is over here.

I guess I use ellipses sometimes... mostly when I'm not totally sure if I should just wrap up a sentence or keep the momentum going... maybe it's more like a stream of consciousness thing. Or perhaps when I want to leave an idea hanging there, kind of open-ended for further thought...

original post : http://www.reddit.com/r/post/123

Jacob Chase42 said:Anything that deviates from what’s considered standard could be labeled an anomaly or a disorder. But then again, you have to ask, what actually defines "normal"? That’s a fair question to pose, I suppose. If we're talking about society where the number of heterosexual people stays pretty much constant, then any significant deviation from that baseline could be viewed as a statistical anomaly.

From that perspective, homosexuality—being a phenomenon that occurs less frequently in society—is an anomaly. And I don't mean that to be offensive; it's just a way of looking at the data. 🤷

So, does that make left-handed people disordered too? 🤣

I mean, it's not like there isn't a reason for it, but nature seems to favor the right hand over the left. Otherwise, I guess the number of lefties and righties would be roughly equal... 😁

Walter Garcia53 said:I was actually just about to come here and ask about this myself

🤦

it looks like it won't 😢

They’re probably going to pull everything until they fix those annoying little smiley face issues on the XYZ servers. I guess it all really comes down to whatever the owner decides to do. It kind of paralyzes the current admin team too, since they don't have enough technical permissions to actually get their jobs done properly. Yeah, it's definitely a situation for 🤦

electricharbor30 said:Avast is flagging that banghead emoji—you know, the : 504 : one—as being infected with malware.

For heaven's sake, why on earth isn't that little smiley hosted directly on our own forum server? It looks like it's sitting on some random, sketchy third-party site instead. 🤔

Here's the link to the emoji: http://s362974870.onlinehome.us/forums/air/public/style_emoticons/default/BANGHEAD2.jpg

I mean, is it actually possible that the folks running the forum admin side are such tech amateurs that they don't even know how to upload an emoji properly?

And honestly, that's not even the only one. There are a couple of other smileys that aren't hosted here either. They really should just move them all over to the main US server immediately. Then maybe they won't be so surprised when Google and antivirus software start giving them a hard time, right?

jadetrucker43 said:Nah, I think you just need to clean up that extra space right before the [/url] tag. 😉

I guess I was thinking about that one movie... you know, the one where they get everything right? It’s funny how much detail goes into those things. Anyway, I think it's actually correct: "In the movie..." Solino (2002) So, I was sitting in this little diner downtown today, just minding my own business, when I noticed this whole film crew had taken over a bunch of tables... I mean, it was kind of wild to see. You know how it is when you're just trying to enjoy a quiet meal and suddenly there are massive lights and cameras everywhere? It totally caught me off guard. I guess I spent half the time wondering if I should even be eating my burger or if I was accidentally part of a background shot in some big Hollywood production. Maybe they were filming a scene for a Netflix show or something? It felt pretty surreal, honestly. Just one of those random, cool things that happens when you least expect it.

Yeah, I guess that’s because the parser that strips out consecutive spaces totally ignores the tags. It doesn't really see the content inside those tags as its own separate thing, you know? So, it ends up leaving that very first space alone, but then just wipes out everything else that follows. Maybe that's just how it's built, I suppose.

Maria Hughes25 said:I just wanted to drop this link right here for you all!

Well, I guess that picture was actually hosted over on Instagram instead of this forum. Since then, Instagram has gone ahead and deleted the photo, so it's pretty much gone for good. This forum doesn't really store the actual images you upload; it just keeps a little logical link to wherever the image is sitting on a server like Instagram's.

Nicholas King said:I don't really get all this constant complaining about the servers being bad. I mean, it's not like your entire life or your ability to breathe depends on them, right? I guess people just overreact sometimes.

I feel like everyone’s obsessing over the user experience and technical glitches, but if you ask me, the real reasons why engagement numbers are tanking have nothing to do with server stability. Honestly, blaming the server is kind of like falling off your bike and then kicking the damn thing because you think it's the bike's fault... I mean, maybe that's just how I see it, but the core issues are somewhere else entirely.

🤦
If every single update meant to actually improve this place ends up being stalled because of some server issue, then I guess you could say the server itself is part of the problem. But honestly, that’s probably just one of many things holding this forum back...

Jeffrey Bennett77 said:I mean, if people actually paid, we'd probably get a better server or maybe a newer version of the forum that actually works. But then again, if donations dropped because of that, there wouldn't be enough cash to keep all those fancy upgrades running. 🙂 As for me, I'm mostly just here to troll—and I've got the receipts to prove it 😁 so I really just need a bigger inbox.

Could you maybe explain to me why a new server would cost more to maintain than this old junk? 😁

Jeffrey Bennett77 said:He mentioned setting up some kind of Verizon tier, and I guess you compared us to a site where everyone pays a subscription, so naturally, people can get banned there. But if we started banning our Verizon members here, the site would basically run out of money since we'd be left with just the free users and maybe a few decent VIPs. 🙂

Wait, what do you mean by "run out of money"? 🤷 I mean, the money isn't exactly sitting here right now, so the only way to get it is to actually earn it, I guess. 😁

And honestly, I don't really see many serious, long-term members getting banned often, and they’re usually the ones most likely to use a service like that anyway. I don't think a Troll with only three posts is going to pay extra for a bigger inbox...

Sarah Sanders34 said:I think I started a thread once where I asked if the forum could ever allow Facebook-style likes.

Even though I felt a little embarrassed about starting that thread, I guess I was secretly hoping for an answer. 😁

The whole thing came from seeing so many massive posts where everyone just replies with stuff like "I agree" or "This," and honestly, it happens all the time. It’s especially tough if you’re a moderator because then you have to go around deleting all those repetitive comments.

To me, it seemed like if you could just like a post, you’d lose all those tiny, one or two-word responses or random emojis, and instead, you'd get a clean, readable thread without a million quotes from people who don't really have anything else to say other than they like someone's opinion or a photo.

I’m not sure if it would actually reduce the number of posts, but if we're being realistic, maybe it's better if some people write less and just hit the like button instead. 😁

It would be pretty easy to add a forum like/thanks/whatever button; they probably just need to find and install a ready-made vBulletin script for it.

Brian Edwards78 said:That was just a donation to keep the site running. This is about paying membership dues. And honestly, both types of payments show which account or card was used. 🤷

Our college forum, let's say it's like a private subreddit, uses annual bank transfers
. The transfer just had this unique code I got from the admins. As far as I know, the actual account number is kept private by the bank, right? Plus, you aren't even 100% anonymous on a forum anyway; the police could probably track you down via an IP address that Reddit and AT&T are required to keep on file. $10

I mean, sure, there are ways to bypass all that, but I guess in a decent community on a simple little forum, there's really no need to go there, 🙄

rustydrifter10 said:Just posting a smiley face basically just means "I agree," and I guess it's hard to see it as anything more than that. It’s kind of like how an "👎" post just means "I disagree," which feels just as unhelpful. If someone actually agrees with what's being said, maybe they could briefly explain why or add their own little thought, just like people who disagree usually do.

If we go down that road, implementing a proper "like" script would be super helpful, I think. A user could get a notification when someone likes their post, there could be a count of total likes on every profile, you'd see exactly which forum members liked a specific post right underneath it, and maybe even some global stats showing the top givers and receivers of likes. Of course, we don't have to include all of that...

loneraven25 said:I mean, what else do you even need when you’ve got access to user info?
Like, people link their Facebook accounts all the time, usually straight from their phones,
giving up all their contacts, and then even their friends' contacts too...
So thanks for that.
If that kind of stuff actually gets implemented, I guess let whoever wants to click it, just click it. 🤷
And honestly, I think the forum carries some of the blame here too, since it basically makes it possible.

🙂

The Facebook script just reads its own encrypted Facebook cookie, and the forum reads its own (hopefully) encrypted Reddit cookie, so there isn't really any actual connection between the two...

Now, if we were talking about a "log in to the forum using Facebook" feature, that would be a whole different story, but I guess even a kid could figure that out.

loneraven25 said:I mean, just giving half-accurate info doesn't really guarantee any safety. 😁
And on a site like Reddit, everyone basically decides their own level of anonymity,
but the platform can't really protect someone if stuff starts showing up on their Facebook profile. 😍

Look, I really don't want to sound condescending or anything, but I feel like I get a pretty good handle on things like web security and data streams since that’s actually what I’m studying.

I think there might be a little misunderstanding about how those Facebook likes actually work... they don't really have anything to do with the users here on Reddit, but rather with the people on Facebook who share content from other sites (in this case, posts from the forum) onto their own profiles for their friends to see. It doesn't matter at all whether those people are members of the forum or if they're logged in right now, because the Facebook script just pulls user info from its own cookies, which essentially keeps you "permanently logged in" to Facebook anyway.

So, I guess anonymity isn't really being broken here, because all that gets shared on a Facebook user's page is the poster's username, the actual content of the post, and a link to the specific post. And if you look closely, you'll probably notice that all of that is already public information on Reddit anyway.

Elizabeth Davis said:ever since you started posting in the off-topic section, I've been trying to mute you because, honestly, seeing notifications that you've posted when I can't actually see anything is just super annoying. It makes it way harder to skip through 😬

Anyway, getting back to the main point:

The stuff you mentioned—the idea that everything should be implied—would pretty much require a total overhaul of how this entire site works. Like, from all the different sub-sections and modes down to some of those (as people say) "pointlessly purple" admins who don't seem to do much.

If you had muted me sooner, you probably would've noticed that I barely even post in the off-topic threads anymore 😁
/off-topic off

As far as I know, the site is still owned by Mr. Anderlon, who was basically one of the pioneers of the American internet, and I really have to respect him for that. But, I don't know, maybe it feels like he’s gotten a little complacent lately? Maybe he’s just getting older or maybe that early ambition just kind of faded away... I guess. Either way, Mr. Anderlon managed to build something truly special here, one of the biggest online communities out there, and it's all in a language spoken by millions. Of course, business matters to him, and I'm sure a site like this brings in some revenue. But, I think, for the sake of the community and just better management, it might be a good move if he handed over the reins or sold the place to someone younger—someone who actually has the drive to mess around with new features and keep the site evolving.

I mean, I believe a well-run site can make decent money while still leaving room to invest in better servers and faster connections, and maybe even tossing a little something to the admins and moderators for their hard work. Even if it's just a gift card or something small.

But right now, the way things are going, it’s not being run well at all. The software is totally outdated, the servers are basically on life support, and those super intrusive ads have pushed people away. A lot of us—myself included—know the site needs the money, so we try to be supportive, but the ads are so bad that we end up using adblockers. And that means the ad revenue—which is pretty much the only thing keeping this place afloat alongside a few other failed attempts at monetization—just keeps dropping.

I suppose because of the momentum this place has, Mr. Anderlon will probably still pull in some cash for a few more years. But I really hope it's not all about the money for him. I hope he still has a bit of that old-school internet spirit left, and that he’ll finally make some changes to the business model so the users benefit, which would eventually help the owner too.

loneraven25 said:I honestly think this is just a total lapse in judgment.
The forum can totally protect your anonymity through its own Terms of Service,
but adding those Facebook Like buttons basically kills that privacy entirely. 🤷

Well, I don't think anonymity is actually lost... user posts and names are still technically protected under privacy rules, it's just that any random idiot could share them on their own wall if they feel like being extra. And of course, they'll include a link to the site to drive some traffic...

There isn't even a direct link between a Facebook login and your specific username here, so the forum hasn't leaked any private info. Even if you were to like your own post, nobody on Facebook would know it was you (unless, I guess, your Facebook profile is also named loneraven25 😁).

Maybe the only real issue is people resharing post content over on Facebook, since that kind of thing isn't explicitly laid out in the Terms of Service (which is basically the contract you make when you sign up for Reddit). But then again, I guess there's that whole legal debate about how much a user actually owns their posts versus how much control they have over sharing them, blah blah blah legal stuff, blah blah blah.

Elizabeth Davis said:Who even cares about a bigger inbox, a fancy avatar, or a custom signature when half the time you can't even get onto the site because of those annoying 503/504 errors or—you know—malware? I wouldn't pay even a couple of bucks a year for this.

I mean, I guess it goes without saying that if there was better funding, we'd probably see better servers, smoother software, and actual administration, so maybe then we wouldn't be dealing with all these issues.

But hey, you probably won't even see this post since you've got me on ignore anyway... *sigh* :

Elizabeth Davis said:I don't really get this part. If someone doesn't read the rules and breaks one, are the rules and them actually at fault and in need of 🤔changing?

I mean, reading through a PDF of rules takes maybe three minutes tops—even if they’re super long (kind of like those medical insurance documents, but that's a whole different story). I guess anyone planning on being a serious part of this community can definitely spare that little bit of time.

Sure, you should definitely give the rules a read, but it's not like we're living in North Korea where you have to mow down every newbie with a machine gun just because they made a harmless mistake. I feel like it would be more fair if the moderators just gave people a heads-up about the violation and pointed them toward the right section instead of just coldly tossing out a Cardboard ban. It's all about people relations, you know? This isn't the NYPD where they can just flex their authority however they want; it's a website that actually relies on (new) users to survive. Even the local police usually don't go full force for a first offense; they typically just give you a warning 😁