Posts by northernpilot2

Richard Sanders7 said:Is there any chance at all?

Nah.

Yeah, you should probably reach out to rustydrifter10.

Alright, look.
So, here’s the deal. Things have escalated quite a bit, and honestly, we can't really go back and fix what's already happened, but I guess the silver lining with this whole appeal is that moving forward, both the Alternative moderators and—if the mods don't step up regarding rule violations and stuff—me as a supermoderator, will be able to jump in sooner to stop this kind of mess from happening again.

In this entire appeal, I think both sides actually have valid points in certain areas, but they're also both wrong in others. As I kept digging through the thread and reading the actual appeal to make sure I knew exactly what was going on, I came to the conclusion that the whole situation was just poorly moderated. The biggest blunder made here by moderator Carol Lopez23, who is the main focus of this appeal, was inconsistent moderation. I actually warned Carol Lopez23 about this uneven approach before, and I suspect this kind of thing happens because a moderator tries to "play both sides" or give one side a pass here and the other there just to try and be fair with warnings, but it ended up doing the exact opposite. Like, some posts that definitely deserved a warning slipped right through, while other people got flagged for things that probably didn't even warrant it.
I mean, obviously, posts like 'your mom is an idiot' or 'where are you losers' and stuff like that shouldn't be allowed to slide without a warning, because those are straight-up insults, and we can't tolerate that from anyone, regardless of how a moderator might feel about keeping the subforum from becoming too sterile.

At the same time, the users getting involved in these kinds of threads were, to put it mildly, taking advantage of that lax moderation style. I actually warned the moderators a few months back that the standards needed to be tightened up.

Anyway, let me wrap this up so we aren't just spinning our wheels and dragging this out forever. The moderator in question has spoken and clarified a few things, and I’ve had a talk with them about the whole situation. I'm posting this publicly now so you all can see it; I don't want anyone thinking this thread is just being shut down without a proper explanation or feeling ignored.

As a supermod, I don't think Carol Lopez23 needs to be stripped of their moderator status over this, but I do think it would be a good move for the Alternative section to have another moderator join Carol Lopez23 and Ryan Gomez4. I'll be talking to them about it in my capacity as supermod to figure out what's best for the subforum right now.

Nice said:Just a quick heads-up before I dive deep into the specifics here—any kind of insults or nasty ad hominem attacks should be penalized, no matter who’s throwing them. And look, we aren't about to defend anyone's moderation based on their credentials or whatever, so let's not even go down that road.

Exactly this.
I just went through the whole thread, looking at all the quoted posts and the explanations for why people were or weren't banned.
Honestly, it sucks that things got this out of hand, especially with all the personal insults flying between users.
Moderator Carol Lopez23 mentioned earlier that the alternative section was never going to be "sterile," and suggested that some insults shouldn't result in bans for either side, and I think that's exactly where the wheels fall off.
Any blatant insult needs to be dealt with, period. It should apply to everyone equally. There shouldn't be any fear that enforcing rules will make the subforum too "sterile"—if anything, it's the opposite.
After reading back through everything, I totally agree that there are definitely posts that should have been flagged, but they weren't because Carol Lopez23, acting as moderator, decided to turn a blind eye to both sides. That tendency to look the other way is precisely why we're seeing inconsistent criteria and uneven moderation, which is what everyone is complaining about, including the person who started this appeal.

I know I'm probably repeating myself here, but since I don't want to go hunting for the specific posts where I publicly argued on the PŽK board that the standards for the alternative section need to be tightened up, I'll say it again right now: we need to start applying this kind of moderation immediately. It’s the only way to maintain the quality of the discussions and to make sure people realize that direct insults won't fly anywhere, regardless of how much people worry about making the forum feel too "sanitized."

I’ve been looking over everything you’re complaining about, and honestly, I think you've got a point. This whole thread is a mess and isn't being handled right at all, so I’m just gonna say it—I really hope the moderators step in and clean this up properly.

Harold King6 said:Hey, can you do me a favor, Harold King6? Small change, ditch the numbers 😁 , almost

Sure thing, just hit up rustydrifter10. 🙂

urbanranger26 said:rustydrifter10...
Can the porter just suffocate me already?
Pretty please.

Look, I can't tell if you're straight-up trolling me right now or if you're actually just playing dumb, but honestly, either way, it's not allowed on this board.

Look, we’ve already got a massive thread going about this whole thing, so I guess it makes sense if we don't just keep dragging it out across a bunch of different places.

So, I guess you just reach out to the moderator of whatever specific subforum that ad popped up in and ask them to scrub it, assuming that’s actually how they handle things in that particular corner of the site.

Larry Sanchez30 said:That doesn't really change the fact that the post should've been flagged.

Look, I'm not about to turn this into some massive, drawn-out drama that drags on for days.

The user filed a report, the moderator stepped in and basically said they don't think the post warrants a ban or a strike. I've gone over the whole situation and looked at the context of the thread, and honestly, I'm on the same page as the mod.

If someone actually posts something totally idiotic, we can't just go around banning people for pointing out that it was, well, idiotic.

As for the signature issue, the guy already scrubbed the part that was breaking the rules, and whatever is left is just quotes from you—which you wrote yourself on the forum anyway—so I don't see what the big deal is with the signature anymore.

As far as I'm concerned, this case is closed.

It’s being said that this applies if we're talking about someone who's, like, super inactive on the forum. But look, regarding your guy silvertiger11, his last actual post was way back in 2007, though his last login activity shows up as 2011, which you can see for yourself, so I guess that means the profile is still active—maybe he just uses it for private messages or something. It's not really old enough to justify stripping him of his handle.

I don't think there’s any real need to go back and start handing out punishments retroactively or anything like that. I mean, I'm pretty much on the same page as the mod here—starting with just a warning seems like the way to go, I guess.

Larry Sanchez30 said:I mean, I guess you have to wonder if that user's signature actually follows the forum rules or whatever, right? Like, I don't know, maybe it does, maybe it doesn't, but honestly, it feels like it might be pushing it a bit too far, so I'm just sitting here wondering if someone's actually going to step in and say something about it.

So, I was thinking about this one thing... and honestly, I feel like our textbooks are just straight-up lying to us about how the Sun actually works. Like, they give you this whole setup about thermonuclear fusion happening in the core, but if you really sit down and look at it, that whole explanation feels kind of forced, you know? It doesn't quite click for me. To be honest, it might make way more sense—and feel a lot more natural, I guess—to think of it as some kind of massive, giant crystal oscillation happening right at the center of everything. Just a huge, vibrating crystal structure. I don't know, maybe I'm reaching, but the standard science just feels off.
2.)I guess there’s actually a Law of Stupidity out there somewhere, and it basically says this: the sheer amount of idiocy being pumped out by Rocky and Larry Sanchez30 is a total constant. It just doesn't fluctuate, you know? It stays exactly the same level of nonsense, day in and day out. "

I mean, isn't that just constant disrespect at this point? It feels like they're basically just taking shots at us non-stop, you know? I guess it’s getting pretty hard to ignore when it's happening this frequently, though maybe I'm just being overly sensitive or something. But honestly, it feels like a straight-up insult, plain and simple.

Is this actually allowed in a signature? I mean, I guess I should probably check the rules first, but I was just wondering if someone could tell me if this kind of thing flies here. Maybe it’s fine, maybe I’m totally overstepping, but I can't quite tell.

I mean, I don't know, not really.
I’m probably gonna have to tell that user to just scrub that part from their signature, because honestly, it’s such an obvious provocation and it's just stirring up unnecessary drama for no reason.

Well, that’s just how it stands. You didn't actually specify which username you want to switch your current one to, so that's kind of the whole issue here, I guess.

Well, I guess you're gonna have to actually figure out what you want to switch over to first.

From where I’m sitting, it looks like you’re just as much of a troll and a provocateur as anyone else here. So, I’m basically calling on the mods to tighten up the rules a bit—and I mean apply them equally to everyone, because it’s pretty obvious that you guys are being way too hands-off with how this thread is handled and how you're moderating things in general.

I mean, you should probably just hit up rustydrifter10 again with that same request. 🙂

Kate Martin9 said:Could urbanranger26 please change my handle to Neve in the system? I have a perfectly valid reason for this request, and frankly, I’d rather not deal with the hassle of creating an entirely new account since I've been a member here for ages.
Changing it from NeveCro to just Neve—and all that other stuff—isn't actually fixing anything on my end. Thanks.

Look, Neva, the whole reason you've been around so long is that people actually know who you are, so if you go and pull a complete 180 on your handle, you're gonna be totally unrecognizable to the regulars who have known you by this name for years. That's why we can't just let you make these kinds of massive, sweeping changes.
Maybe try coming up with something that still feels a little bit like what you have now, just so the folks around here can still tell it's you.

urbanranger26 said:Is it possible to make some changes to the piglet count??

Nenad, man, you gotta just make up your mind on which nickname you actually want. We already cleared your first request, so if you didn't get back to Nica about it, you should probably reach out again. But just a heads up, constantly bugging us isn't going to magically get you a new approval.
So, what's the final call on the change? Prasonja is a no-go.

placidharbor8 said:Oh man, my bad, I totally misread the opening post, sorry about that!
In that case, would Centurion007

Hmm, well, looking at your profile, you aren't exactly some brand-new user who just joined yesterday; you've been hanging out with us for a few months now, so people actually recognize you by your current handle in these threads. Changing it completely would be a massive shift, and honestly, nobody would even realize it was you—like, they wouldn't connect it to the name placidharbor8.

Don't you have some other handle similar to this one that you could just tweak instead?

Sorted.

darkcrane2 said:Thanks 😁you're the real deal
didn't see this coming 👍

No worries. 🙂

darkcrane2 said:Yeah, I figured. But seriously, who’s actually tracking people by their usernames? I don't really get these approval schemes.
I mean, I get searching for a specific name to make sure someone isn't catfishing, but come on.
The whole point of having a handle is to stay anonymous, right?
I'm not trying to be tracked here like I'm being followed by Google.
So what, am I supposed to grind out a hundred honest posts just so I can change my name later because apparently low post counts don't qualify for approval? That sounds like a trap.
Could darkcrane2 use 221B then? I doubt anyone else would bother putting 221B in their handle anyway. If someone's gonna track me, they can use that... 🙄
If it works, maybe I'll just smash it all together without spaces.

The idea is that the new handle you're asking for should be somewhat similar to your old one. And looking at it now, you're a pretty fresh member, so you wouldn't really be losing any established identity with a big change anyway.
That rule about needing a minimum number of posts was scrapped ages ago, so you didn't actually need to 'grind' out posts just to earn the right to fix your name. 🙂

Since you're still basically an 'unknown' user, you could try darkcrane2, or maybe reach out to Nico to double-check with her, but as far as I'm concerned, it's fine. It's better than those strings of numbers and a cramped-up handle.

placidharbor8 said:Hey there, could I please get a little help changing my username from placidharbor8 over to Centurion? (And yes, definitely include that exclamation point at the end!)

Thanks so much 🙂

Special characters like '!' aren't allowed in handle changes.

darkcrane2 said:Hey, I’m looking to swap out my Don Michael handle—the one from the movie. Checked, and it looks like it's wide open.
SHolmes221B, if anyone else wants it, feel free to grab it once the change goes through.

I don't think that'll work. The names aren't even close. Maybe Don Holmes would be an option instead. 🙂

urbanranger26 said:I’m still just sitting here waiting on that change... haven't seen anything move since December

Well, like you said, if the request was approved and you already reached out to rustydrifter10, but she hasn't gotten to it yet... I mean, she probably just got swamped with other stuff, so it might have just gotten pushed back on her plate. It happens, I guess.
You should probably just shoot her another DM anyway.