Look, the 8 series is easily a step above the Note series. Right now, the Note 7 is sitting at around $200, and honestly, I think a phone like that is an absolute steal for the average user. It’s such a great value for the money! People just throw money at stuff out of pure spite sometimes. I was talking to a guy at work recently—I asked him why on earth he’d drop all that cash on a laptop with an i7 processor if 90% of what he does is just browsing the web and binge-watching shows. His answer? "If I can afford it, why wouldn't I want the best?" I mean, you can't really argue with that logic, but I have a feeling he’d get the exact same level of satisfaction out of an i3. But hey, whatever makes him happy!
Jessica Gonzalez said:I honestly find it a bit surprising when people actually go out and buy their own phones. I haven't personally bought one since maybe 2010, because my company usually offers me a new model every couple of years if I want one. Even with entry-level jobs these days, they seem to hand out work phones with data plans included.
Man, they just keep throwing phones at me; I can't even defend myself! At least they aren't taking away the ones I actually bought for myself!
Matthew Young35 said:I'm honestly at a loss here. In the past, they seemingly offered the best value proposition if you were aiming for the high end. Of course, you had to completely write off any hope of meaningful support. To be perfectly honest, I have no idea how much has actually changed since then. What I do know is that they still produce devices that are comparable to flagships from much more powerful companies.
Yeah, from what I've seen, they don't really bother with a mid-range series anymore; they just push their flagships. Last year, some people were even calling the OnePlus 6 the best phone out there and all that. Plus, they hold their resale value pretty well.
Anyway, I'm looking at getting a new phone right now, and my decision will most likely land on the Mi 9. It's comparable to flagships from "premium" brands (I mean, comparable, not necessarily better, though maybe in certain areas!), and all of that for nearly half the price. I'm not a super demanding user, truth be told, and Xiaomi has proven to be reliable for me so far (any issues I had were entirely my own fault!).
I honestly can't wrap my head around why anyone would still label HTC, LG, or Sony—especially Sony—as "premium" brands when you compare them to Xiaomi, or even Huawei for that matter.
restlesssurfer97 said:Man, I’m telling you guys, the mods are totally icing me out and won't let me use my permanent account, so if you see me getting quoted again, don't go coming for me, just blame the admins because I'm really not the one causing the drama here. 🤣 I’d totally jump in on that thread if I could, but since my ban finally wore off, I can't actually post there anymore, so I just drifted over here instead only to find out a massive debate has already kicked off, which is honestly pretty great because a good argument always keeps things interesting.
To kick things off, brightpilot6 basically said exactly what you’d expect him to say, which is pretty much his whole thing every single time we do this.
Honestly, man, I’m just completely fed up at this point because for months now, we've been letting certain people absolutely trash this thread with jokes that have the intellectual depth of a ten-year-old who just got his first vaccine, and it honestly only got way worse once those guys caught a little bit of a winning streak and let that whole dopamine-fueled adrenaline rush go straight to their heads. And then, out of nowhere, suddenly everyone starts acting like they're the freaking moderators or something.
Look, Walter Grant5, you really shouldn't be judging everyone else based solely on what you've been through personally, because if I hadn't been constantly popping in and out of this forum, I honestly wouldn't have any clue who was actually doing that. And honestly, this kind of doubles as my response to that little comment from ruggedjackal46 about why I’m even bothering to look for a permanent spot here instead of just walking away for good. There was this stretch where I just completely vanished for like a full year, you know? But honestly, looking back at the last decade or so, it feels like the gaps where I don't post are actually getting longer than the actual times I'm hanging out here and typing stuff up. Look, I’m asking for a permanent transfer for actual reasons, not because I’m throwing a tantrum or acting out, and I even went ahead and laid everything out clearly in my post, so let’s get one thing straight right now—what happened with Bryan Adams6 and his three disciplinary cards has absolutely nothing to do with why I'm looking for a move. Man, I think my username has actually become cursed by its own reputation at this point, which is just wild because it feels like I’ve officially become the Sergio Ramos of this entire forum, if you know what I mean. Like, first off, I ended up racking up more red cards than anyone else here—and I don’t even mean lately, I mean just looking at my track record in general—but then I turn around and read all these haters claiming I’m getting special treatment from the mods, and finally, I’ve gotta pull a parallel like the one ruggedjackal46 always brings up regarding that whole Suarez vs. Ramos drama. You remember how it went with them in the big leagues where they used to punish Suarez so hard they basically kicked him off the pitch, while they punish Ramos by just leaving him out there to run wild, and honestly, that’s exactly the kind of sentence I feel like I’ve just been handed. 🤣🤣
Bryan Adams6, you asked me earlier why I spend my time trolling, and honestly, I’m not even sure if we’re using the same dictionary for that word, because in my book, "trolling" covers a massive spectrum of stuff, so when you look at people who don't troll at all—like Noah Roberts46 over there—they actually end up being the most boring ones around, just totally uninteresting, whereas most of everyone else here is out here trolling. There’s a whole crowd of them out there who are just straight-up terrible at trolling, like that guy yellow-flagging everything, which is honestly just pathetic because at that point you aren't even being clever, you're basically just spamming the feed and wasting everyone's time.
Michelle Palmer6, look, I wasn't even trying to start any drama or report anyone, honestly, I just noticed that the moderation tools were feeling a bit more streamlined lately and decided to drop a post that fit the current vibe perfectly, only to end up getting hit with an instant ban. 🤦 I'm not exactly looking to be a total hall monitor like Walter Grant5 and go running to the mods to report every little thing, honestly. 🤦I mean, honestly, I think James Anderson5 really hit the nail on the head there.
So you actually went ahead and reported brightpilot6 and restlesssurfer97, and now you’re sitting here posting these massive essays like you're some kind of judge? Honestly, man, it never even crossed my mind to flag that absolute circus of a VB16 clone situation to the mods, I just sat back and watched to see how far that whole psychiatric meltdown would actually go.
I mean, look, if I see someone actually being straight-up abusive or hateful, I’m definitely going to report them, but honestly, reporting every single troll is just a waste of energy because then I’ll end up burning through my report credits way too fast and ruin my whole streak for when it actually matters.
Well, hey everyone, looks like we’re destined to cross paths here again because that’s just how the universe works, I guess, but I'm actually gonna head out for a little vacation for a bit, so let's just see where everything lands when I get back. I’m honestly only gonna break my vacation if Real Madrid pulls off another Champions League title, because if they actually win the big one again, I'll just have to jump back online and vent about it, but man, looking at them right now, they seem like they're in such a massive slump that I wouldn't be surprised if we see a total blowout on the scoreboard, maybe even something like 1-3 after they face Ajax.
And yeah, just to wrap this up, I actually find myself agreeing with Robert Torres—which is wild because I rarely see eye to eye with him, though not regarding his little accusation that I’m just whining, since we both know that’s total nonsense, but rather on his point to Noah Roberts46 about how banning anyone who doesn't fit a specific mold is basically killing the soul of a forum, leaving nothing behind but a bunch of bland, boring drones. It’s something that Walter Grant5 and even Andrew Hayes2, which was a pleasant surprise if I'm being honest, pointed out too, and honestly, once you let those dry personalities and internet trolls take over the conversation, the whole vibe goes south fast, and it feels like that’s been the direction everything has been heading for the last few years.
Take Patrick Martin, for instance; the guy straight-up tore into me here, but he’s basically a staple of this community at this point, so you just have to give him a warning when he starts going off with those heavy-duty insults, which probably only happens when he's having a rough day at his job in Chicago, because usually, about 80% of what he does is just pure trolling. I mean, there’s no way someone can be that biased toward the Lakers without it being a deliberate joke.
Anyway, enjoy yourselves, everyone; I guess I’m officially the drama queen now, but whatever, someone’s gotta stand their ground every once in a while, just like how Coach Tomlin showed us during that intense matchup against the Steelers.
Now, look, don't get mad at me, but I've been hearing this exact same thing from you since back when we were just kids—we're talking about a decade ago! So, please forgive me if I'm not getting overly worked up about it right this second.
Guys, you’re really blowing this out of proportion and turning it into a caricature. Nobody ever said we had to write these posts like dry, academic papers—and let’s be honest, nobody actually intended to! We had two classic personalities clashing right next to each other, and, frankly, it was almost predictable that things would spiral out of control and hit a breaking point. It’s happened before, and it’ll happen again; someone steps in, things settle down, and we all move on. Look, Walter Grant5, I know exactly who is being genuinely constructive and who is just "constructively trolling." I’ve been on this forum long enough to recognize that specific kind of lukewarm nonsense. My issue is that when these situations erupt, the people who troll just for the sake of trolling jump in, making the whole thread unreadable for everyone else—especially those just dropping by to read something smart or funny. And then, the "good guys" keep feeding the fire, getting themselves caught up in the crossfire. We are all adults here (I hope!), and I truly don't think a one (1) day ban for a total of three (3) users warrants this much drama.
Walter Grant5 said:The stuff nobody likes and "isn't allowed" to say—venting about the mods. ☕
I’m guessing I’ll probably get hit with some ban or whatever, but maybe the mod could check if anyone else is calling out management before just nuking me. 😉
First off, I’m not backing restlesssurfer97’s call to action (been there, done that, got the permanent ban), and I’m not trying to screw over the mods. The guy basically said that with everything going on offline, he can't catch every single idiot posting garbage. That’s fair. It’s human. You’re gonna mess up, and you should be able to point it out.
I don't want to act like this is some huge deal—and honestly, I don't care if people think I'm being sensitive—but after getting banned, I reported posts from Justin James10, restlesssurfer97, and brightpilot6. It pissed me off how the mod wiped my post but totally ignored all the other sarcasm and people pushing back against his warning. Like, since it's Walter Grant, he *has* to be trolling. I don't know if I'm the reason for these sanctions, but it doesn't matter; what matters is the mod's reaction was sloppy. It’s not about crucifying anyone, it’s just about accepting criticism. If you're gonna call me a troll when I'm not even trolling you better at least admit the enforcement is selective for some reason, even if it isn't malicious.
And then there's this whole "trolling" definition on this site. It's absolute bullshit. It makes zero sense. Someone gets "offended" because someone trashed Messi or Ronaldo and calls it trolling. So now it's trolling because, get this—they're offended that some random guy on the internet doesn't worship Messi the way I do. 🙂 And if someone actually gets their feelings hurt by that, they're just a total wimp. People get offended by everything these days because they're weak. I know, because I used to get worked up over the same stupid crap back when I was a wimp too. And I bet some #metoo type gets offended because the word "wimp" is used as a slur, just like any other derogatory term.
Which leads us to the supposed "real problem," which is the true definition of trolling. Not. Other users claim they can't write "constructively" because of the trolling. Not. We've heard these complaints before. What a bunch of losers. They can't manage to write a single coherent thought, so they pretend they're being silenced by some keyboard warriors from the suburbs of Chicago or Seattle. There was this one smartass who claimed he couldn't be constructive because of all the trolling, yet he didn't even make three posts about the topic during the whole season. Then he complains about not being able to "write constructively." Constructively, my ass.
What an absolute joke. 🤣 Just a total loser. 🙏 Is he gonna sell him out more? 🤦 Get him out of there already. What a scam.
Etc. Most of the "constructive" posts here are just infantile one-liners during live games. There's zero actual substance. restlesssurfer97, Paul Sanders5, brightpilot6, and ruggedjackal46 are a million times more constructive than most of the people who aren't even labeled as trolls. Those guys actually pull up a ton of useful stats during arguments, while these "I want to write constructive posts" types wouldn't even know what that looks like.
You have to look at the vibe of this place. Should we really punish people for talking trash about Barca or Real Madrid because they ruined the league and this site? Hell no. But if someone is actually trying to contribute and these trolls jump in with snarky replies to serious posts—like the ones from the Engineer or other regulars—then yeah, punish them without mercy. Otherwise, it's pointless.
I don't agree with restlesssurfer97's idea either, mostly because I once asked for and received a permaban myself. It's why I don't hang around the site much. I messed up and looked like an idiot. If you don't want to write, don't log in. Simple. How much you choose to engage is your business. You can say it publicly, sure, but it makes you wonder what your real motive is.
Look, man. You're asking for a ban because the mods didn't handle things perfectly? That's a reach. It's stupid to boil it down to that. Honestly, you can't even blame them—there aren't enough people actually trying to contribute anything useful here anyway. The vibe has been trashed for ages, so what are they supposed to fix? Whatever. Just tell them they missed the mark and leave it at that. Or don't.
And yeah, here we go with the "freedom of speech" whining. 🙂
Real freedom of speech isn't something you beg for. ☕
Oh, and let me not forget the "intellectual" users who actually know how to write a decent post but choose not to because two trolls are acting out—you guys are absolute cowards. Your excuse is probably just "don't cast pearls before swine."
A ban list for the people constantly disrupting the flow and trolling everyone else? Just throw out a few names and you could basically pick anyone at random. Nobody actually trolls the productive users, so just ban all the trolls and call it a day.
If I were facing a ban, I’d show up with every single one of my burner accounts just to feed my ego.
I think you all realize that this constant spamming isn't actually helping anyone, right? Look, we totally get it—having a chat means the world to people. It’s a place to hang out, vent, and find some empathy, and we truly sympathize with that. But we just can't support everything that’s been going on there lately or the direction things have taken. We are currently working hard to find better alternatives that will satisfy everyone. Just as you're looking for understanding from us, please try to show us a little patience too. By that, I mean please stop flooding every single thread you come across.
I actually know some of these people personally, and honestly, I can’t imagine anything funny coming out of their mouths! And even if something did happen to be humorous, my stomach would probably turn before I ever got a chance to laugh.
Hey, Robert Torres! Just wanted to let you know that all the Euro and World Cup subforums have been moved over to the Archives. They're still totally available for anyone who wants to read through them—nothing’s been tossed in the trash!