Posts by rustydrifter10

Andrew Roberts5 said:And he hasn't said a word to anyone... or has he?

But honestly, who exactly is supposed to be doing what here? 😕

Yeah, it’s true—certain posts and specific threads do get wiped from the board. 🙂

analognomad59 said:No, no, no, you're missing the point... if a warning is worth 30 points... shouldn't it take more than three of those 30-point warnings to trigger a ban? And if a mod posts in Thread A saying that from now on they aren't handing out warnings for a specific violation but are jumping straight to a ban—assuming that's within their authority—how am I supposed to know that unless I happen to open Thread A? If I commit the same mistake in Thread B, I could get banned instantly even if I haven't hit the point threshold yet, despite what the official rules say...🤷

Look, if a moderator announces they're moving straight to bans, it’s usually because they tried issuing strikes first for a rule violation, but users just kept pushing the same buttons, so they stepped up to a warning because clearly, the strikes weren't working. In those cases, the new policy usually applies specifically to that particular thread and the people participating in it, rather than being a blanket change for the entire site guidelines.

That being said, lately over on Red Bull, users have been mass-provoking the moderators, and honestly, I've started handling that by issuing a 100-point strike, which triggers an automatic three-day ban. Since you guys aren't quite used to this style of moderation, I haven't been doing it up until now (though I fully intend to); instead, I've mostly stuck to standard strikes for rule violations, and even then, only after spending a couple of days just deleting posts, typing out warnings, and handing out yellow cards.

Moderators absolutely have the discretion to judge whether someone is violating a rule in a particularly malicious or aggressive way that warrants a heavier penalty. For those of you who follow the rules, stay constructive, remain polite, and keep things on-topic, you really have nothing to worry about.

Link.

analognomad59 said:I'm with you there, that comment was pretty tasteless. These women are often coming here feeling sad and exhausted from everything, and then you see a comment like that pinned at the top... I mean, why even complicate things? They can poke fun at themselves, sure, but having a moderator joke at their expense... I guess it's "hilarious" to some people, but it’s really not okay. If she had gone through all this herself and had people mocking her, maybe she’d see things differently... 👎

...

And yeah, I don't quite get why the thread with the belly photos got locked. Pregnancy is such a massive milestone in someone's life—definitely more significant than redecorating an apartment or picking out an outfit for a night out—so I don't see why those kinds of topics aren't getting shut down too 🤷

Also, from what I gather, the penalty for disrespecting forum rules—meaning commenting on how the moderators are doing their jobs—is a 30-point card? Did everyone who got banned hit 3+ cards and rack up over 100 points, or did the mods just snap and decide to ban them on the spot? 🤷 I'm sorry if I'm questioning whether the moderation is being fair, but I don't think it hurts to ask... And I'm also confused, if a mod writes "from now on, I'm banning for this and that," do they actually have the power to fast-track a ban like that? And if they do, how long does a decision like that last for something that usually just gets a warning card? How am I even supposed to know if they've made a rule change like that on a thread I didn't even visit today, knowing I might get banned for something that should've just been a warning? I'm not trying to be provocative, I'm genuinely curious... 🤷

Look, I meant it as a joke, but clearly we don’t all share the same sense of humor! If I offended anyone, I am truly sorry; that wasn't my intention at all. I went ahead and deleted it just so nobody else would feel uncomfortable.

And also, I don't get why that thread with the belly photos got locked.

It's because that thread basically turned into just another casual chat room.

Did everyone who got banned receive three or more warnings and rack up over 100 points toward a ban, or did the mods just snap and decide to ban them on a whim?🤷

Other people's warnings and bans aren't your concern. Just stick to the rules and you should be perfectly fine.

...and I don't get it, if a mod writes "from now on, I'm banning for this and that," do they actually have the authority to fast-track someone straight to a ban like that?

When it comes to major or repeat offenses, yeah, they do.

And if they do, how long does a decision like that last—where something that usually just gets a warning suddenly results in a ban?

Everything regarding warnings and bans is laid out right there in the forum rules.

But how am I supposed to know if they posted an update like that? They might say it in a thread I don't even open that day, and then I wouldn't realize that something which normally earns a warning is now an instant ban. I'm not trying to be provocative, I'm genuinely curious.🤷

Just read the rules, follow them, and like I said before, you won't have any problems.

Ryan Thomas4 said:Is this thread meant for things that annoy us since we became parents, or things that annoy us because of being parents?

A simple example.
I am a parent, and the heat annoys me.
Does that count as on-topic or off-topic?
Or would it be "more correct" for this subject to write—the heat annoys me because it bothers the child, or because I have to struggle with putting the child to sleep in this weather.
"Since I became a parent" would imply everything that irritates me since my child was born—whether related to the fact that I am a parent or not.
"Because I am a parent" would mean irritation caused by things specifically tied to my child or parenthood.

It isn't about nitpicking. This isn't about being stubborn or rebellious or critical. It’s just an attempt to clear up a misunderstanding.
To reiterate.
I had been viewing this thread as a sort of outlet for all my frustrations. If that is no longer the case, I'd like to know—it would reduce the chances of me making a mistake, which means less work for the moderators having to delete or flag my posts.
But fine, the change in title resolves my uncertainty.
Thanks. 👍

The whole point of the posts in this thread should be related to being a parent, and if that isn't obvious from the start, then you really need to make it clear.

hollowtrucker77 said:well, I’m glad we finally cleared up that little mystery once and for all

If that's how it is, then feel free to lock it as far as I'm concerned. 😁 🙂

I went ahead and changed the title. Honestly, though, nitpicking every single little word isn't really getting us anywhere. I'd like to think we're all mature enough to read between the lines and catch the general point on our own.

We’ve gone ahead and closed or moved some of those threads because, frankly, they had turned into nothing more than endless chat rooms. Some of them actually started out with great intentions and could have been genuinely useful if they hadn't spiraled, so we’ll likely reopen them down the road with much tighter rules and stricter enforcement. That said, we aren't about to let our support forums turn into a massive pile of spam where everyone just rambles about everything under the sun, so we won't be bringing back every single thread we took down.

I’ve gone ahead and added an addendum to the rules, so now nobody will have any excuses left.

Peter Doyle2 said:Well, I don't think that's quite right—I've seen it happening in various sub-forums, and not just in the chat threads. You see questions like "why was xy banned?" or comments saying "xy, come back soon," and those posts weren't being carded or sanctioned as "commenting on moderator actions."

But today, it's actually because of those exact types of questions that a few people in the pregnancy group got banned.
It's a chat thread where it's always the same group of people, and tomorrow, when the women who weren't here today show up after the weekend, they'll probably ask, "why is half our group banned?" and get banned themselves, just like everyone else.

Honestly, it feels a bit harsh.
And it doesn't seem fair to suddenly start punishing the female users so rigorously for breaking rules, when, I guess, part of the blame lies with the people who weren't enforcing those rules in the first place, which is how Red Bull turned into what it is now...

Look, those posts were made right after a warning was issued that explicitly stated this kind of talk is off-limits and would result in a ban, so nobody can really play the "I didn't know" card.

I get why it feels harsh to you, I really do, but just take a look at how many warnings have been posted on this thread over the last couple of days and how many formal reprimands we've seen. What’s even the point of handing out warnings if they’re just words on a screen that nobody actually enforces?

Since the official notice is tucked away on the very last page, I highly doubt the girls are going to stumble upon it first thing tomorrow morning.

Look, bans aren't being handed out over petty nonsense; they're happening because people are straight-up breaking the forum rules. The fact that nobody was getting disciplined for it until now is a completely different story. All those closed or moved threads were just unnecessary clutter—mostly random chat topics—and honestly, you've been seeing warnings scattered all over Red Bull for days now on just about every thread.

In the beginning, we were just giving gentle reminders. Then we moved to deleting posts followed by warnings, then came the yellow cards and extra cautions, and now? Now it’s time for the red cards and full bans. It's just the natural order of things when rules get ignored, but I guess you guys haven't really seen it in action before because we weren't strictly enforcing it.

And let me be clear: more changes are coming, just like we said. The old way of doing things simply isn't sustainable for Red Bull anymore. We realize it feels different to you, but the same standards apply to the rest of the forum, and it's high time they applied to your section too.

Angela Ramirez3 said:But look, if the whole goal here is to build a truly helpful resource for parents—both current and future ones—don't you think it would be way more useful for expectant twin parents to land on this site after their pregnancy and find actual threads where veteran twin moms are sharing their lived experiences? I mean, specifically regarding twins since that’s what we’re talking about right now, but wouldn't that beat having three different threads about maternity leave benefits, three about local flea markets, or five different discussions about whether or not Target or Walmart have good sales going on right now?

Honestly, parents can always share their personal stories in the general lounge; you don't really need a dedicated sub-forum just for twin parents. If we followed that logic, we'd end up needing specific chat topics for every single niche interest group out there that thinks only people in their exact situation can offer advice! Go ahead and support one another, but on this platform, those kinds of chats belong in the General Discussion area—or you can just head over to the Off-Topic boards on Reddit.

As for all those other topics, like I mentioned before, you can definitely expect to see some more changes coming down the pipeline.

Angela Ramirez3 said:Well, then just go ahead and wipe out rustydrifter10 and all the pregnant women too, since apparently every other topic around here is considered "unnecessary chatter."

Look, I’ll be honest—we’ve noticed that way too many threads and posts around here have just turned into unnecessary spam or random off-topic chatter, and we’re actually planning to step in and fix that. We want to keep things organized, so just a heads-up that spamming or treating serious discussion threads like a casual chat room isn't allowed anymore. We really want to make sure every topic stays focused on what it was actually meant for!

I mean, what is even the point of having a dedicated subforum if we aren't allowed to actually vent about our problems? The whole reason these specific threads exist is to give us a space to open up about whatever is weighing on us, so why can't we just talk about what’s bothering us?

Look, I just wanted to clear things up regarding how we’re handling our discussion threads. As long as a topic actually makes sense and follows the community guidelines, it’s staying right where it is. We aren't going to have a bunch of random, pointless chat threads cluttering things up, so let's just keep the conversations focused and meaningful!

Honestly, I wouldn't be feeling quite this disappointed by these decisions if you weren't constantly shutting down or moving threads that have been our lifeline for years. It feels like we lose these little pockets of community that actually help us get through things! If these discussions had only been opened a day or two ago, I probably wouldn't have anything to say at all, but when you take away the spaces that have supported us for so long, it really stings.

Look, all this really means is that we’re finally tackling a job that, let's be honest, should have been done a long time ago. I totally get why people are feeling a bit restless; I know many of you have grown fond of the way things used to run around here on the forum, but the old way just wasn't following our own rules, and frankly, it was doing more harm than good. We truly believe we can transform this community into a much more constructive and valuable space, rather than letting it turn into just another endless, disorganized chat room where topics fly by without any substance. So, we're officially heading in that direction, and we're putting all our energy into refining these new guidelines—which are absolutely vital for everyone currently posting and for anyone who decides to join us down the road.

We’ve decided to scale back on the number of active chat threads here at RiD because, honestly, we feel like there's no need for every single niche interest group to have its own dedicated space. It’s much better to have one central hub where everyone can just hang out and talk to one another freely. We’ve decided to keep the General Hangout thread as our main universal spot, which means the Stereo Show thread is being moved over to the Off-Topic section since it's really just an extra layer we don't strictly need right now.

Basically, everything you want to chat about can still happen in the General Hangout or over in the Stereo thread now that it's sitting in Off-Topic.

Just click on your username in any of your posts—you can even do it right here on this one 🙂—and you'll see a section labeled San Francisco.

Look, I’m happy to swap out signatures for anyone who actually comes to ask me. 🥳

And honestly? Even for those who don't bother asking but end up breaking some rule along the way, I'll step in—though they're definitely picking up a penalty card in the process. 😁

brighteagle39 said:Yeah... you actually told me all that in a private message, so you're definitely getting some negative points from me here because you just committed a major violation... you're repeating something you've already said before...

Look, I didn't repeat myself in the thread, and I certainly wasn't being off-topic. 🙂

I already mentioned this to you in our DMs, but I’ll lay it out here too: the Green Party isn't Barnes & Noble. You can't just drop book recommendations because you think they vaguely relate to the topic; this is a subforum where we actually need people to make arguments, share their perspectives, and jump into the debate. If you honestly feel like a specific book would help someone in the thread, go ahead and mention it—but please do it within a constructive post where you're actually adding your own thoughts to the mix instead of just running an ad for a book.

brighteagle39, honestly, talking to you feels a bit like being a second-grade teacher trying to teach kids how to write full essays right after they've barely mastered the alphabet. Please, just take a moment to read the rules and try to stay on topic. Try reading the original posts and what everyone else is saying so you can actually follow the flow of the conversation and understand what the discussion is even about. You really need to learn how to separate the vital information from the fluff and distinguish between a complete thought and something that's just half-baked...

Just a heads-up for everyone here: the ability to tweak your signature's BB size, color, or font has been temporarily disabled, and honestly, nobody seems to know when—or if—they’ll let us change them back.

If you're looking for more info, there's already an existing thread covering this. Actually, if you dig around, you'll find there are a few different ones out there discussing it.

Grace Ortiz13 said:I know exactly what their excuse is.

They aren't racists—it’s just because we're Black, right? 🙂

Oh my god, are we actually Black?!?!!? Seriously? 😲

EDIT: Oops... Sorry, Sashek. 😁 You totally jumped in while I was busy looking for a link. I'll lay off now. 😳

Grace Ortiz13 said:So we don't get a raise either, huh?
Racists. 😠

And you only got yours because the world started spontaneously destroying itself thanks to the garbage my friend ambermason16 and I have been putting out here. 😠

Is it 'cause we're black? 🙂

Congrats to the blue team. 😍

Just waiting on Durica now. 😳 🙂