Posts by Melissa Stewart6

Christian Myers said:Fair enough. You've been around here longer, so maybe you caught things I missed—you probably have a better eye for it. Personally, aside from the off-topic stuff, I didn't think anything was particularly out of line.

The ideological divide and the lack of actual philosophy discussions aren't exactly great signs.

Kenneth Cruz67 said:Well, I certainly feel a bit slighted myself! Though, I guess you could argue whether that feeling stems from the perceived insults or just the bluntness of the facts being presented.

It reminds me of something Ricky Gervais might say—just because your feelings are hurt, it doesn't necessarily mean you're in the right.

What exactly do you mean?

Christian Myers said:That’s exactly my point. It sounds utopian, I know—but even just having someone step in to nudge a thread back on track would help. Looking at what I went through on that philosophy pdf, the issue wasn't even people being rude (I didn't see any insults there, at least)—it was all the off-topic rambling. That's what totally kills threads—take that whole discussion about moderation, for instance; it felt completely pointless.

Actually, there is plenty of insulting going on. Not every insult has to involve a swear word to count.

Larry Walker24 said:Reading this just makes me want to smash my TV because there’s way too much mindless garbage on lately 🤦 🤦

In that case, you should just head over to the Philosophy forum. Nobody will bother you there since there isn't any moderation, lol.

Just kidding, but honestly, it's pretty close to the truth.

Christian Myers said:Well, we could just pick someone to moderate—just enough to nudge the threads back on track so we don't drift too far off-topic. Someone who’d give us a heads-up when things get wild. We aren't dealing with insults here, just way too much off-topic chatter. I know, without actual moderation tools, it sounds a bit idealistic—but even just having someone point out when we've gone overboard would help.

Are you talking about an unofficial moderator? Anyone can issue a warning, but who’s actually going to listen if they don't have any real authority? lol.

Unspoken agreements are always tricky because the community ends up split and argumentative over them.

Christian Myers said:I know we don't, but I was thinking we could maybe work something out informally.

How so?

Christian Myers said:And what exactly are these criteria?

We should just pick a moderator among ourselves and call it a day.

The thing is, "we" don't actually have the technical tools to make that happen. Plus, a moderator really ought to be someone from outside this group to ensure they stay impartial. Why can't we just have moderators from other subforums who aren't as busy take over this one too?

hiddenhound3 said:The current state of affairs has reached a point where, in my estimation, a moderator would no longer be able to remedy the damage. We have been pleading for a moderator for months now. One has to wonder why we were permitted to let things deteriorate to this extent. As far as we are aware, there were several forum members eager to step up as moderators, yet they failed to meet the necessary criteria :jebote:

The number of high-quality contributors is dwindling, and even those remaining are beginning to show signs of frustration.

Perhaps the philosophy here requires an inquisitor, given that silence has completely taken hold.

And let us be perfectly clear: I place the blame solely on the administration for failing to act in a timely manner.

Then the big boss showed up on the Philosophy board and claimed everything was just fine, implying we don't even need a moderator. I don't get it; why is appointing someone so difficult?

A certain group of users would actually behave if there was some actual oversight; otherwise, they just run wild. A few bans and red cards would change the whole dynamic.

hiddenhound3 said:You know, I honestly believe the best course of action regarding all this philosophy would be to simply put it on ice entirely.

Wouldn't it be easier just to appoint a moderator?

I’m not saying he’s particularly good at playing the role of the local barroom joker. It’s just that his jokes aren't actually funny.

hiddenhound3 said:I support this sentiment.

Pars, my advice to you is to refine your style, shed that wounded ego, and cease targeting other members, and everything will settle down perfectly.

Philosophy would surely miss 🙂

Furthermore, I appeal to everyone to stop badgering Adis Sabovic; he is incredibly lucid and witty, posing legitimate questions and contributing uniquely to the dynamic of this forum. If he begins to overstep, then inappropriate posts should simply be sanctioned, and that should be the end of it.

A great deal goes unnoticed here in our philosophical discussions. Neither Pars nor Adis are the primary issue, nor are they the only ones involved.

And please, let us find more moderators so this entire ordeal can finally reach its conclusion.

I don't recall him ever writing anything particularly smart or witty.

Christian Myers said:But honestly, that's kind of the whole point of a forum—and philosophy itself. I was talking about those mindless arguments that have absolutely nothing to do with the actual topic at hand.

If everyone actually followed the rules, every debate and disagreement would be handled with a calm, polite tone. Of course, there are always people who find that fake and just prefer to shout everything in your face. But those are usually the first ones running to their moms or the moderators the second someone talks back to them.

Christian Myers said:I only pop into the Philosophy PDF section every once in a while, so I didn't catch all the drama surrounding the lack of a moderator. All the topics seem totally fine—no insults or anything like that. The only issue is the moderation thread itself, since it's turned into a bunch of people bickering. And I agree with hiddenpuma75—it’s smarter to break up a massive wall of text into smaller, easier-to-read posts. Just because someone drops a few posts at once doesn't mean it's a bad thing; maybe they just want to reply to a few different people. Also, yeah, I'm with hiddenpuma75 on this—I'm generally against banning users (unless they're being abusive, which I haven't seen hiddenpuma75 do). Besides, hiddenpuma75 is a solid member who started a ton of threads; without him, this Philosophy section would've gone totally dead.

If you were paying closer attention, you'd see that most threads eventually devolve into bickering. That’s especially true for topics that actually deal with philosophy—it's mostly due to the ideological clashes between users.

hiddenpuma75 said:The issue I am fully aware of is this: it’s simply the price one pays for the good stuff I find on this forum.

1) Occasionally, or even quite often, I write "provocatively" by intentionally praising Parsifal.😬

I know that rubs people the wrong way, so I'm curious to see how they react.
People just don't like folks who brag too much.🤣
I certainly don't act like that in my actual life.😉

2) But since I'm anonymous, I figured it was fair game. I'm not selling anything, I'm not running ads, and I'm certainly not trying to threaten anyone's standing or push them off the forum.

3) Then there's the deeper philosophical and spiritual challenge. I've written about this in more detail over in the philosophy section, so I'll risk being brief and potentially misunderstood here.

4) For me, life—and especially this forum—feels like a dream and a playground.
It's like an interactive novel, half reality and half dream, where I am simultaneously the writer, the character, and the audience.😲
It's my own creative workshop.

5) I'm sure many users here are making friends, looking to meet people, or keeping in touch privately. For most people, both the forum and their lives feel incredibly, deeply, intensely REAL. It's a blend of the private and the public.

That’s usually just called trolling. 😁

hiddenpuma75 said:I don't see any major issues at all.
The PDF philosophy section has basically turned into a free association PDF.
Samerhil.
It’s essentially a random experiment with its fair share of pros and cons.😉

I suspect that because I tend to post more than others, some people assume I'm trolling more than anyone else.😁

In the process, people seem to forget

a) that we're all trolling and going off on tangents from time to time.

b) that hiddenpuma75 starts the MOST creative and engaging threads.👍 (way to go, hiddenpuma75 😁)

c) that Volter, Neo, and flying haven't even managed to open four threads together in two years—meaning they barely post or contribute—yet, miraculously,

hiddenpuma75's Herculean effort🙂 somehow manages to be an issue.

Haven't you heard the saying that quality matters more than quantity?

Kenneth Cruz67 said:And honestly, I think Jaran's dad is even more intense—he registered after Sabovic was banned from the forum, yet somehow, by some strange trick, he seems to know the entire history of everything Sabovic ever did😁

What I mean to say is, are you suggesting I was just arguing with myself?

Kenneth Cruz67 said:I wasn't just referring to that one specific person, though. There are others too. For instance, take this user who writes:

I would honestly love it if one of the moderators could just wipe all of Parsifal's posts from this thread—and maybe even from other threads as they relate to me—and just give him a PERMANENT BAN FROM PHILOSOPHY.
Please, I'm begging!

But apparently, Sabovic's clone hiddenpuma75 didn't bother anyone, lol

Casey Bennett said:The user who pointed out that hiddenpuma75 was spamming wasn't actually asking for his permanent ban. Quite the opposite, really.

That one didn't, but there are certainly others who have. Or more accurately, they were just looking to get someone kicked off the PDF philosophy group.

rowdyangler said:Instead of just explaining how you're going to follow the rules like everyone else, you just went out of your way to find an excuse for why you shouldn't have to.🤷

I've been looking over the poll, and it’s pretty obvious that none of you—considering you're all just part of the "inventory"—should be in that position. Honestly, I wouldn't be up for it either.

The subforum finally got a shot at running without a moderator, and we all saw exactly how that played out—it just allowed the guy with the biggest ego to step up and act like the ultimate gatekeeper. Of course, that’s just a metaphor. Honestly, this kind of power trip would probably happen in pretty much any other subforum too.

I don't know who it would be. It’s pretty obvious that nobody would actually want that—spending 85% of their time dealing with Parsifal.

You guys seriously have a massive problem here, and honestly, I’m not even sure if it's fixable. How on earth did they handle this back in ancient Greece? 😁
Since you guys are clearly the smart ones, do some thinking. I'm just a spectator watching this from the sidelines.

Maybe we should swap the moderator with the spirituality guy; he doesn't seem to have much on his plate anyway.

rowdyangler said:When someone who’s been a member of this forum for 20 years carelessly breaks one of the most basic rules—spamming a thread with 10 or 15 posts sent within five minutes instead of just putting everything into one single post—you really have to wonder how many decades it would take for them to grasp something so incredibly simple.
Or maybe it’s just the type of person who thinks the rules simply don't apply to them. Given how much he prides himself on his intellect, I’d say that’s exactly the case.

To be clear, I’m not advocating for banning hiddenpuma75 because, despite all this, he actually is a high-quality member. He’s just gotten a bit too carried away, and since we're talking about philosophy, there isn't anyone here to clip his wings. It's all metaphorical, of course.

Don't think I'm just some random interloper; I read this subforum constantly without posting, but I believe we seriously need to appoint a moderator. As we can see, even the best among us aren't immune to deviant behavior when given the chance—especially when they are given the chance.
The lack of a moderator has clearly created an opening for one member to dominate the space and fire off over 40 shots during a game. If this were LeBron James and he actually hit 20 of those shots, I wouldn't even complain, but 90% of hiddenpuma75's shots are landing straight in the well. As it stands, the playing field isn't level for the rest of the users.

So, who do you think would make a good moderator? Would you step up to the plate yourself?