Posts by slycrane94

Justin Harris12 said:Yeah, part of AxMi's response was aimed at me—or rather, at all Muslims and Jews collectively. I don't know if he actually hates them, but I didn't want to respond when he posted that. He's an admin and I'm just a regular user with no real standing here. Honestly, it bothered me because he insulted both groups without any justification, and he got away with it.

Is that how things work in America? Does the truth hurt so much that you have to take offense? Constantly seeking protection from other people's opinions and demanding censorship for any criticism is a common trend these days, but that doesn't make it ethical or particularly civilized.

Finally started my own thread. \o/
After all this time, someone actually decided to take notice of me.

If you think I’m going to start sucking up to certain groups on this forum, you’re mistaken. It would only take one click from Anderlon to wipe me out, or he could just ban me if he feels like it. Honestly, I don't care. This forum isn't important enough to me for me to start playing nice just for the sake of political correctness.

Justin Harris12 said:Why on earth would you want to moderate Islamic topics? 🤷
Are Muslims considered true believers and second-class citizens?
The more you write, the more it becomes obvious that everything I’ve been saying is actually coming true.
You’re acting like some kind of martyr here, playing the victim while you moderate this place as if you’re the sole authority over the entire forum. And what was that about Joe? What exactly are you getting at? Are you talking about what Joe wrote last night? 🤷
You’re going straight for the ad hominem attack against me, even though I haven't criticized you as a person—I only critiqued your moderation, because that is your role here. If your username was "Kitty Kitty," people would be complaining about the handle "Kitty Kitty" rather than targeting Tyler Cruz32 personally. You keep accusing me of using ad hominem tactics, but this isn't the first time you've resorted to lying; I’ve already proven that not a single sentence I wrote was a lie. By extension, that means you were just making up your own version of the truth, which is nothing more than blatant lying.

Look, when it comes to all that behind-the-scenes drama, honestly, neither I nor the rest of the folks here on the forum really care. You just have to learn how to deal with it—it’s as simple as that. It's like at work; a regular employee doesn't need to be privy to the CEO's private strategic plans for the corporation. That shouldn't be their concern. An employee's job is to focus on their own tasks, hit their targets, and get paid according to their job description. Period.
So you can just go ahead and grab yourself a ban without actually telling us what's going on over there. Just mentioning that "something" is happening is nothing more than a pathetic excuse, and honestly, I don't think this whole situation should have even leaked onto this thread in the first place.

The decision has been made, and frankly, I’ve got nothing left to say about it. My only regret is that such a call was ever made, because this tendency to blindly defend the moderators is going to be the death of this forum. You all are going to learn the hard way that being a moderator shouldn't mean getting automatic protection; being an admin means making fair decisions that serve the community. Right now, the reputation of this site is being dragged through the mud, and if things keep going this way, it's nothing but a downward spiral from here.

Maybe tone down the demands and especially that "poor us Muslims, nobody loves us, boo hoo" act. You're starting to draw parallels to how people talk about Jewish communities.

Moderators are volunteers working in their free time. It doesn't mean they are on call 24/7 just so you guys can fight through reports.

And as for the decisions? Forget about them. You were the one throwing around threats about calling the police (honestly, just tell us how much they laughed at you). Being offensive isn't a failure of the forum, the moderators, or the admins. If you're going to be this sensitive about everything—especially regarding your religion—why not just find a forum where everyone shares your views and enjoy yourself there?

Justin Harris12 said:Look, I agree with most of what you said, but let's be real: circumcision is basically a routine medical procedure in hospitals nowadays for hygiene reasons, regardless of any religious tie. That said, I wouldn't do it to my own kids, and I definitely don't plan to.

Weakening children isn't civilized, no matter the excuse. Besides, the data supporting the benefits of circumcision comes from Jewish and Muslim doctors, so it's pretty subjective if you ask me.

Let them do whatever they want once they turn 18, but until then, leave them alone.

Justin Harris12 said:So it's perfectly fine as long as one Muslim eats pork, skips prayer, drinks alcohol, allows Muhammad to be called a pedophile, and tells jokes about him? 🤷
Is that what it takes to fit in? Are all the others just not "okay" then?
Do you actually grasp the distinction between freedom of speech and the actual impact of what a person says? Are you really going to joke at someone else's expense when they clearly feel uncomfortable in your presence?
Do you honestly believe that newspapers or TV news stations should be running segments calling Muhammad a pedophile or a murderer, comparing him to Hitler, or broadcasting caricatures of him? It would look ridiculous, wouldn't it? So why isn't that happening?

Look at South Park. They mock absolutely everything there. That’s how it should be. Once you start censoring, things fall apart because people start hiding everything just to avoid offending someone.

People offend me all the time with what they write here, yet it never occurs to me to demand a ban. Some people probably wish they could hit certain truths with an atomic bomb, but they likely feel the same way about my opinions, so we're all in the same boat.

Ultimately, why do you care what some guy you've already labeled as stupid or a troll thinks? Just ignore him.

PS: Don't expect much from the media; they're pathetic and lack the guts. Look at the West—they might poke fun at Islam here and there, but heaven forbid you mention anything about Jews. You'll be labeled an anti-Semite instantly. It's nothing but pure censorship and political correctness.

Justin Harris12 said:Look, I’m not out here advocating for or endorsing the desecration of any religion. But when people start coming for mine? I’m ready to run straight to the police. I haven't said otherwise, and I'm not complaining about that stance. When you look at how civilization works, take France, for example—they’ve actually banned the wearing of the burka. You have a Western nation dictating dress codes; a country that restricts freedom of clothing, especially when its neighbor, the Netherlands, allows nudists but still bans the burka. It’s a strange contradiction. I am not calling for a ban on criticizing Islam. There is a massive difference between legitimate criticism and blatant insults. To take a figure like Muhammad, who is recognized by not just Muslims but by many around the world and within other faiths as one of the greatest moral leaders to ever walk this earth, and label him a pedophile or a murderer—claiming he was just like Hitler—that is beyond critique. Putting up caricatures of him with exaggerated eyebrows, a huge nose, and a scimitar in his hand isn't "debate." It’s nothing more than inciting hatred and religious intolerance.

If I recall correctly, you guys actually stripped an avatar off one of our members once, didn't you? He had an image of an Israeli flag being trampled in his hand, and shortly after that, he was hit with a permanent ban. That whole "incident" was cited as part of the reason for the ban, too. Yet, on the flip side, you always seem to hide behind the banner of free speech whenever people start attacking or labeling Muslims on this forum. It's a bit of a double standard, isn't it?

I already told you, my opinion isn't an official stance. My views don't align much with how this forum is run, which is exactly why nobody asks me for them.

The idea that Western countries aren't civilized is obvious. Just because someone lives in the West doesn't make them civilized. On the other hand, there are certainly issues regarding religious demands. For instance, something like incest is something the law would forbid, and those who do it would face 20+ years in prison. It's the same issue with women who cover their entire faces. How are you supposed to identify someone if you can't see their face? There has to be a limit to what is permitted in the name of religious freedom.

As for debating who qualifies as a moral giant, we could talk about that from sunrise to sunset.

Justin Harris12 said:So, according to you, Muslims aren't "civilized," and America and Western nations are the ultimate yardstick for civilization?
By what metric, if I may ask?

It isn't really about whether I read the posts or not; the issue is that this is a discussion forum meant for debate. There are certain things written against Islam that I simply don't like, and that's fine—I'm going to try to defend them with actual arguments. What I'm writing here goes way deeper than just mocking Islam; I'm not that thin-skinned. The point is that myself and a few other users have provided proof of constant rule-breaking and the refusal to follow guidelines by almost the same group of people, and it's always specifically regarding Islam. You've accused me of only defending Islam and not other religions; well, yes, that's true. While I don't disrespect or belittle any other faiths, I am here to defend Islam, and I will continue to do so as long as I am able. That is my interest, and I follow my interests. Other religions aren't my concern, even though I respect their followers.

So, you admins didn't actually bother reading my first post, did you? Instead, you decided to jump in with this response out of some sense of agenda, making it look like my only complaint is the mockery of Islam. Is that really how this is being framed?
As administrators, do you honestly believe that mocking religion, inciting hatred, and promoting racial intolerance are permitted on this forum?

According to one part of the sub-forum rules:

"Insulting other users, intentionally provoking personal arguments, non-constructive nationalistic, religious, or similar conflicts (trolling), or starting threads about other members (except for celebratory purposes)."

If one user writes that Muhammad was a pedophile and a murderer, another compares him to Hitler, and a third posts a caricature of Muhammad that incites malice and racial or interfaith hatred—and if you guys approve of all that—then I don't think I'm overreacting. But again, I truly hope someone will actually read my initial post without jumping to conclusions beforehand.

I'm not an admin involved in management policy, so I couldn't care less about that. I'm responding because I'm bothered by the logic that "when something dear to me is mocked/criticized/insulted, it's a tragedy, but when the same happens to anything else, it's fine."

Catholics have complained here multiple times about being constantly told that a bunch of priests are pedophiles and such. I haven't seen you jump up to defend the Catholic Church or whatever.

Regarding civilization, you have a point. Any country that restricts free speech and creates "sacred cows" that cannot be mocked is not a civilized country.

For instance, over in Germany, some crazy priest in Bavaria tried to push for a law to protect the Catholic Church from criticism, and people basically told him where to go. That's a relatively civilized nation.

PS: There's a reason why I'm not consulted on the forum's editorial policy. Just wait for Nicole James to give the official response.

Justin Harris12 said:I am formally requesting a review of a user's report regarding the religion sub-forum. This individual filed a complaint within the appeals book instead of using the designated thread for reports, which led to a moderator named Meadow warning them about spamming.

The rhetoric being used over there—especially those caricatures of Muhammad being posted—has crossed every possible line. If you all are looking for trouble with the police, fine, go ahead, but I’m warning you now: things are boiling over in that thread, and it might just end that way.
If the site administration decides to shut down the forum to investigate whether there are criminal grounds for filing hate speech charges, or if they decide whether this platform actually tolerates such content, don't come crying to me. I'm not the one at fault here.

Maybe we should invite the owner, Anderson, to drop by the forum once his bank account runs dry and the site goes dark. These aren't empty threats; I'm not making threats. I'm simply saying I intend to seek advice from a local Islamic association. We are going to review everything, and then we will decide whether or not to take this to the authorities.

This isn't something that can be swept under the rug, and everyone involved will have to answer legally for their actions.

I have tried to handle this politely, civilly, and strictly according to the forum rules by attempting a diplomatic solution internally. However, it's clear to me that this issue is being ignored and there is no desire to address the very problem I warned you about.

I don't know where you live, but in a civilized society, people are allowed to mock anything—including religion.
If you can't handle it, stop reading their posts and move on.
It's especially obvious since you only complain when your own faith is mocked, yet stay silent when others face the same treatment. That doesn't work. Either criticizing every religion is wrong (as if), or criticism is allowed for everything. In a civilized society, it's the latter.

Elizabeth Davis said:signature 🙏

I honestly just wish there was a way to block admins who don't even act like admins. I really can't be bothered reading this kind of nonsense. Day in and day out. 🙄

I know where I was, I know exactly what I was doing, and I know precisely when and where I picked up the virus. It happened in an instant. But no, it’s not the forum's fault—it's Facebook's fault, which two other people in my house were using on their laptops at the time. They have the same antivirus as me and didn't catch anything. 🥳

What browser are you running? Which OS? Is everything patched? What antivirus? And so on.

Saying you caught some "police virus" doesn't tell us much. Give us some details.

When someone starts making a scene about a virus, it would be nice to get actual details so we at least know what we're supposed to be complaining about. The joke is that modern antivirus software competes over who detects more junk, and then you end up like people here on OPu, complaining about a link that is perfectly safe. Or like when someone complained about a headbanging smiley just because it was hosted on a weird domain, rather than because the thing itself was actually dangerous.

Brian Edwards78 said:Those ancient versions only run because people haven't bothered to upgrade from prehistoric XP to anything modern. We can all agree the OS is over a decade old, and using the built-in browser today is barely better than using a trash can. Even with an up-to-date patch level, it's a joke. Why people refuse to move on from XP is a whole different debate, but it's still wrong to insult someone by saying, "You used IE and that's why you got scammed on Facebook," or whatever nonsense.

I've been browsing this forum on IE without AdBlock for years and haven't been scammed once, yet I don't go around calling people idiots when they fall for something.
I only call them out when they're being plain stupid. 😬

As if. Try selling that line to anyone else. Every single ITovac has tried that excuse at least once. 😛

Brian Edwards78 said:I figured this was just some outdated IE bashing. 😛

So many people are still running ancient software thinking updates are meant for someone else.

Also LOL at Microsoft and the NSA 😛

Elizabeth Davis said:Sure, clicking on a friend's name, typing "hey, what's up?", and hitting enter can be incredibly dangerous for your computer.🧐

It’s clearly easier for you people to just troll us and act like we're idiots than to admit you actually messed something up.🥳

Facebook used to be full of all kinds of sketchy stuff and bad links. It happens to everyone.
Of course, it helps if you're browsing with IE or running some ancient Flash plugin. The thing is, antivirus software flags everything under the sun. Just because an alert pops up doesn't mean there's an actual virus on the forum. As far as I recall, there was only one real issue, yet these warnings pop up like weeds after a rainstorm.

The point is, this isn't as black and white as everyone here is making it out to be.

Is it probably just because people spend two hours scrolling through Facebook and clicking on every single thing they see?

I have no clue why they blocked him. Last time, it was because a smiley icon was hosted on the wrong domain...

Brian Edwards78 said:I’ve been bringing up membership fees since 2003, yet nothing ever changes. 😬

At least we have years of experience being ignored. 😁

Elizabeth Davis said:That didn't offer much comfort when I caught that "police" virus myself, nor did it help my friend who picked up the same thing from another thread. We all know why we're here—we got infected, and frankly, we couldn't care less who's to blame. Sorry, not sorry.

How can you be so certain you actually caught something here? Even the pros struggle to pinpoint an infection like that, so it's a bit strange hearing someone who isn't tech-savvy claim it with such certainty.

The link milkyway reported doesn't look suspicious to me. Either they misreported it, or their antivirus just had a glitch—which happens more often than people think.

Brian Edwards78 said:Axel, you've started peddling pure demagoguery. 😢

If people didn't have AdBlock, these forum ads wouldn't be such a mess. There's no need to twist the argument back to "it was either this or that." We both know you already have the answer to that question. 😉

I'm not selling anything; I'm just saying certain things are linked. I still think a subscription model might be the best way forward, though I'm far from being certain about it.

Robert Kim74 said:If computer repair shops start mailing invoices directly to owners, there's a slim chance they might try to audit their income through ads riddled with malware...

Following that logic, people would just stop using AdBlock so companies could actually make money from legitimate ads instead of relying on sketchy ones just to scrape by.

I know everyone here thinks it's their fundamental right to have a fast, high-end server for spamming and trolling, but that’s not how the real world works. Especially not in a capitalist system like the one we have here in the States.

PS: I don't know what version of https://www.virustotal.com/en/url/47...is/1374557874/
Milky Way they're running, but either the link in the first post is broken or that antivirus is tripping.

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

hiddenotter98 said:Can we please stop letting people label believers as "sick" in one context or another?

I wish people wouldn't call us "sick" just because we have a common cold. It feels pretty ugly to me, and honestly, it’s just depressing. 😢

Justin Harris12 said:So you became an admin back in 2003, which means you were only three years old when you took the job😁, yet you were already a moderator by your first year

Talented at 3 PM.

northerncyclist2 said:So, are you wearing purple just for the hell of it?

Just kidding. You don't need to be a mind reader to see the rotten business policies driving this forum.

I’m purple because nobody even remembers why I was made an admin in the first place—and honestly, it’s easier to just let me be than to actually give me work.

Carl Brown66 said:When I finally become a moderator, will you be sucking up to me just as much?

Is this what you consider a professor? http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dean_H._Kenyon

And this? http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Michael_Denton

Or this? http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jonatha...gn_advocate%29

How about this? http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Michael_Behe

And this one? http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stephen_C._Meyer

If you don't mind me asking, how old are you?

I'm the admin. No ass-kissing required.

Those aren't professors; they're failures. The Discovery Institute 😁 Good grief, if that place exists, it’s just a massive collection of idiots.

As for having a PhD—I know plenty of people with those titles who don't have a clue about their own field, let alone anything that would actually impress someone.

I'm 13. But I'm just a really talented and precocious kid, so I probably sound like I'm 15.