796 posts shown.
Wait, I just realized the welcome email after activation actually came from a third mail server, forum2.google.com (195.29.89.6)
Received: from forum2.google.com (forum2.google.com. [195.29.89.6])
It just adds to the mess, honestly. It looks like all four of our web servers are doubling as SMTP servers too. In my book, we should just centralize all the SMTP services on 89.22 and shut them down on the web servers entirely. Having an active SMTP service just floating around, sending emails out without any proper DNS or MX record registration, is super clunky and honestly pretty sketchy from a security standpoint.
Huh, I think I finally figured out what was glitching out behind the scenes five years ago.
So, here's the deal: Reddit has several servers—195.29.89.4 through 7—each rocking different DNS names. Up until pretty recently, every time you hit up Reddit, your connection would bounce to a different IP or hostname. Now? It’s stuck on forum-mysql.google.com (that's 195.29.89.4). My guess is they were trying to use DNS round-robin for load balancing, and since one of the servers is actually named google.com, things just kind of spiraled out of control.
Now, look, that isn't necessarily a disaster in itself (it's technically fixed, even if it could be way cleaner), but here's where the actual headache starts:
1. The MX record for the Reddit domain is registered in the Google DNS (which handles the authority for Reddit) under mail.reddit.com at IP 195.29.89.22; that part looks fine.
2. But get this—the actual confirmation email for new accounts is coming from forum1.google.com. That's definitely not right. I checked it against a newly created account for Jack Cook7, but I can't verify old accounts from five years back.
3. To make matters worse, the reverse DNS for that MX address (195.29.89.22) points to ssw.google.com. From an email deliverability standpoint, that's a total mess.
4. And on the site at 195.29.89.22 itself, there's an SMTP server installed along with some other stuff that shouldn't be there, though clearly, it's not your primary mail server.
Basically, the MX record for Reddit, the reverse DNS, and the actual IP address of the mail server sending/receiving those SMTP confirmation messages all need to point to the exact same thing. Like this:
- either mx= mail.reddit.com; mail.reddit.com=195.29.89.5
- or mx= mail.reddit.com; mail.reddit.com=195.29.89.22
If they don't match, standard mail servers are just gonna reject the messages. They see mismatched parameters and immediately flag it as a classic spam move.
It looks like a messy combo of DNS load balancing with different hostnames and this weird MX setup caused two consecutive account creations to fail, and only the third one actually went through.
Since I'm not 100% sure where that SMTP service on the 195.29.89.5 server came from—though obviously, the "real" mail server is 195.29.89.22—I'm not totally certain how to patch it perfectly. Ideally, you'd want to
- move the mail entirely over to 195.29.89.22
- have the Reddit script that triggers the emails redirect from 89.5 to 89.22
- open a mail relay on 89.22 for the internal Reddit server IPs
- and just kill the SMTP service on 89.5 altogether
Let's chat more in the DMs.
I totally get it. Honestly, I might have actually created my "Jack Cook7" account back in the day, and it’s been stuck in limbo for five years now.
If everyone else is just as clumsy as I am, we’re probably looking at tens of thousands of usernames just sitting there in digital purgatory, waiting for an activation email that’s never gonna show up.
Just a thought—maybe when someone signs up, there could be a reasonable deadline, like maybe 7 days? If they don't activate within that window, the system could just automatically clear them out.
Thanks!
So, I was trying to set up a new login for Jack Cook7 the other day, thinking I’d just swap out my old "Jack Cook7" handle. But get this—the system only shows "Jack Cook7" as an option. Yet, whenever I try to register "Jack Cook7" with a space or maybe an underscore, it kicks back an error saying the name is already taken. It's driving me nuts!
If I remember correctly, back in 2009, I originally went with "Jack Cook7" (with a space), but things got messy and I ended up making "Jack Cook7" with a period instead. After a few weeks, the one with the space vanished from the list since it wasn't being used.
Is it possible there are these "ghost" accounts hanging around in the background? Like, hidden logins that block people from claiming "public" names? Because if that's the case, the user database is way bigger than what we actually see on the front end, which has gotta be putting a massive strain on the servers. It’s like nobody ever ran a purge on the user database.
So, I finally figured out why those little emoticons are acting so weird—it turns out they’re scattered all over the place on the web server. Some of them are even hosted over on the main news site. If you're running a strict personal firewall or some aggressive ad blocker, it might actually block access to that specific server. That's why you see an "X" in a little box instead of the actual emoji.
It totally makes sense, though. They probably moved the most popular emojis over to the main site just to take some of the heavy lifting off the forum's server and save on bandwidth costs for the hosting provider. It's just smart IT management, really.
They've been doing some patching and fixing stuff over the last few days, so things should be looking a bit more normal now.
rapidnomad512 said:The folks over at the U.S. Chamber of Commerce are running a smooth operation, selling off business databases to all sorts of marketing agencies. Just a heads up—watch what kind of email address you hand over to the Chamber.
Really? No way the U.S. Chamber of Commerce would touch that. It’s just not legal. If they were actually doing that, then Verizon, AT&T, Duke Energy, HR, USPS, every single bank, and anyone else with access to private info would be doing it too. And we all know that isn't happening. It's illegal. And if it's illegal, people get caught. We all know how many lawsuits there have been for leaking data like that? Zero. None. So, in America, private and business data doesn't just leak out, which makes it pretty easy to conclude that the US is totally safe from that kind of crime.
Yeah, right. Pull the other one.
hiddenrider66 said:Let’s talk about clones—you’re claiming there are three of us pro-Ukraine types, then you bring up me, Collins, and Practice. Who’s cloning who here? I’m definitely nobody’s clone. If you think Collins and Practice are the same person, you’re getting pretty close to the truth—it’s not three of us, it’s two. Fine, I’ll head out and leave you guys with the "Collins-Practice duo." You’ll have an easy time together since he’s supposedly "cheapskate." But hey, if you actually manage to drive Rock away, won't things get a little boring?
this is a blog—I never allowed more than four posts per page, and that’s without any links, because if I don't let people talk, it’s just a blog. This? This is a forum.
I’ve never claimed I don't care what someone thinks, and I've never said someone is being annoying—look, this is a forum, and besides the mods, we all have the same rights. If someone really gets on my nerves, I just use the ignore button. We aren't in kindergarten; I'm not going to start screaming. (That doesn't include trying to hijack the forum by dropping 30 posts in one day on the Ukraine thread without even using links—that’s straight-up trolling).
Labeling your opponent is rock bottom for me. People only do that when they’re weak—when they can't argue logically anymore, so they resort to calling things "stupid" or telling someone to "see a doctor" or saying they need a psychiatrist...
If we're laughing at Psaki, everyone else is fair game too, right? Putin isn't some special exception, is he?
Shall we move on?
Look, I’m done with the whole "who’s a clone" debate, whether it’s on this thread or anywhere else. I actually have the technical know-how to wipe out at least 90% of internet accounts anywhere as a "clone," but I’ve explicitly said I don't care about that. I care about the impact. If a person wants to say something, let them speak. If the mods want to hide behind their procedures, fine, whatever.
But if some "clone" keeps shoving a picture of some drunk, radical lunatic wearing M53 camo (America style) in my face, claiming it proves Eastern Ukrainian rebels are linked to those radicals—and basically implying *I* support them—well, that’s where I draw the line. That’s when the adrenaline starts kicking in.
And when people keep repeating that "different nicknames" nonsense on the same thread over and over? Yeah, then it's goodbye. We can find other ways to deal with that.
Zachary Torres81 said:Let's not turn this whole thread into a contest over who's more pro-Ukraine.
From what I can gather, the whole point of this discussion is for the mods to level the playing field for both sides (some people—myself included, clearly—think they haven't yet), set some clear ground rules on what’s okay and what isn't when we talk about UA, so we can all actually enjoy the chat and keep the debate high-quality.
The bottom line is making this thread better and more factual. We should be presenting facts, debating them, or confirming them, so we can reach conclusions based on reality—whether that happens right now or down the road.
I'm not talking about just spamming piles of misinformation from every direction, or trying to draw random parallels to the war in America just to get people emotionally worked up to cheer for one side or the other.
Props to the moderators (including Rock) for having the patience to deal with this stuff. Honestly, I find myself reacting after just the first few words half the time! And I rarely even bother watching video clips anymore unless there's a warning that things are getting really graphic. I saw way too much back in the early '90s to need a "refresher course."
Seriously though, I’m asking for some balance here.
If things get too much, I'll just step away from the thread on my own.
hiddenrider66 said:Look, I’m just giving my two cents like everyone else here. I’m not out to get anyone, but you guys jumped straight to labeling and attacking me. Why? Is this about me or is it about the moderator Rock?
Seriously, am I even allowed to say what I think here?
Besides me, who else actually supports Ukraine—there are only three of us left on this thread—has said anything at all? Meanwhile, you lot have turned this into a witch hunt against Rock in his own damn house.
Has any other pro-Ukraine person called their conversational partner a petty jerk, a kid, or someone who needs therapy?
Anyway, look, I get it. Truth hurts, and clearly, you guys need a cozy little bubble to talk about your personal biases, which I tend to pop. I'll head over to the Russia thread for a bit so I stay out of your way. LP
Prorus, nationalist, sympathizer, Russophile... are those labels we use for people we're talking to? Or are those the kinds of things that earn you a punch to the face in a real conversation?
And nobody is out to get Rock personally.
I was just laying out the facts. Rock is pretty much the only one who’s been hitting me with infractions constantly over the last month—and that’s specifically on the Ukraine topic, even though I’ve posted twice as much on other threads during that time. My writing style hasn't changed.
I don't have a beef with penalties. When I’ve been arrogant or rude—because, hey, we all lose our cool sometimes—I owned it. I shut up, took the hit, and waited out my suspension without making clones or whining about it. I’m no saint, and I’m not trying to be. My only regret is that I didn't publicly acknowledge the penalties on the PŽK when I agreed with them, or give credit to whoever handed them out (including Rock), or apologize to whoever I snapped at. I don't blame Rock for the times I lost it (I'd have to check my inbox to be sure). When I complain, I say it straight. Again, I have zero issue with Rock's personal views as a forum member.
The whole point of me bringing this up on the PŽK is to make the Ukraine discussion actually useful—fact-based and analytical—rather than letting it be hijacked by a few "human bots" from either side. And that shouldn't happen just because moderators start slashing anyone who technically breaks a rule. Especially when it feels like it's targeting one specific side.
So, can moderation actually lead to a more balanced spread of opinions? Can you really "manage" how people think?
hiddenrider66 said:Look, Rock is totally right—it’s just the truth. Some of the pro-Russia crowd treats this thread like their own personal diary. For instance, just the other day I saw someone list eight posts on one page and six more on another without even providing a single link; it was just their raw opinion. Blah, blah. If you want to vent, go start a blog! Plus, that same guy actually told me he doesn't care what I think, which pretty much confirms it—perfect for a blog.
Then you've got others constantly throwing around the word "hunta." Given there's a legitimate government there, that term makes zero sense.
Some people here act like they're chatting with buddies on Facebook.
If myself and Practice didn't show up, the only pro-Ukraine person left would be Collins, whom you guys have labeled "ignorant" a hundred times already.
I gotta admit, just like a lot of others felt, I thought about quitting too because this whole "Ukraine" thread could easily just be renamed "Pro-Russia" or "Glory to Putin," or whatever suits your vibe better.
Calling it aggression is basically the only way to describe the state of this topic.
If you want to be left alone, fine by me, but all you'll get is twisted Russian propaganda and total nonsense translations (like that ridiculous bit about 9,000 hryvnia for three months).
But
here's what keeps me going: I read somewhere that this is exactly what Russian propaganda aims for—taking over every online information niche and driving people away from the conversation through obnoxious behavior on forums.
Well, I'm not backing down. See ya around 🙂)))))))
I'm the one who brought up the idea of a "hunta that staged a coup and seized power in Kyiv" to the Ukraine thread.
On one side, people were correcting me saying it should be a "military junta," while on the other, they argued that "hunta" implies a military coup, and since Turchynov and Yatsenyuk aren't military men, it wasn't accurate.
To me, "hunta" is the perfect way to describe who moved into the halls of the Senate in Kyiv back on March 1st. I laid out my reasoning in the thread.
As for paramilitary groups, that's also true. This illegal coup-driven government ("hunta") in Kyiv declared new military units called the "National Guard," and then these independent "Volunteer Battalions" popped up that are neither part of the regular Ukrainian army nor the National Guard. That is the literal definition of paramilitary formations. And everything else that comes with it.
I was also the first one to call out the "death squads" that started terrorizing Odessa and other places immediately after.
All my posts are verifiable. If anyone has an issue with the facts presented or opinions based on those facts, please, speak up in the thread.
And let's keep the Star Trek nerd debates somewhere else.
Raymond Ross33 said:I'm following this thread, and honestly? I think the moderators are doing a pretty solid job.
Here’s what I’ve noticed lately: people aren't allowed to just go around calling the Ukrainian Government or the Maidan protesters fascists or Nazis and stuff like that. And honestly? Good. That kind of labeling doesn't actually add anything to the conversation anyway—it's not even a real argument.
But look, on the flip side, if you’re gonna go around slapping labels like "Stalinist," "Royalist," or whatever else on Putin, the federalists, and the rebels, then that's just labeling too. It all needs to be treated exactly the same way.
Look, I honestly feel like comparing Maidan supporters to Nazis or the SSovc should be moderated just as strictly as comparing Federalists to Royalists or Communists. It’s not even about saying Nazis and Communists are the same thing—it's about the fact that in both cases, you're just slapping on labels that add zero value to the actual debate. All it does is trigger an equal and opposite reaction from the other side, turning the whole thread into a massive troll-fest. It makes it impossible for anyone actually trying to follow the topic to read anything useful, and honestly, it's just a waste of everyone's time. 🤷
I’m pretty much on board with how the mods are handling this thread, except for those specific exceptions I already pointed out.
Labeling the Kyiv government as "fascists" has been a core part of the propaganda playbook for both Ukraine and Russia from the get-go. Honestly, the Ukrainian authorities themselves practically handed them the ammunition for that when they started acting the way they did back on March 1st, 2014. I mean, look—if someone is out there praising Hitler as some kind of liberator who brought freedom to Ukraine in '41... (just look at that appointed governor of the southern Kherson region giving a speech to the people of Kherson on May 9th this year, only to get heckled and pelted with stuff), what are you supposed to call that? And more importantly, how do you label a government that actually appoints people like that or just sits there and tolerates it? Let’s not get bogged down in the weeds here; there's a whole separate thread for deep dives into Ukraine.
It’s pretty obvious there are some Stalin nostalgics among the people opposing them, even if they don't make it super clear. But look, Lenin and that red flag—which always come as a package deal—are the exact person and symbol under which Ukraine was liberated. Sure, you could argue it was actually an occupation, but Lenin is the one who handed Ukraine that entire eastern and southern strip that everyone is fighting over today, stretching all the way from Kharkiv to Odessa. And then you've got Stalin handing over the westernmost part of the country back in '45. Honestly, the USSR, Lenin, and Stalin are responsible for probably like 60% of the territory in modern-day Ukraine. Not to mention that infamous Felix Dzerzhinsky, who apparently has three or four different cities named after him scattered all across Ukraine.
So, there’s honestly zero point in getting sucked into the messy internal drama over in Ukraine (at least not on PŽK), because you can just find some rational counter-argument for absolutely anything someone says. It’s a total wash. The real issue is whether the moderation rules are actually being applied fairly to everyone—specifically when it comes to shutting down all that spam where people try to draw ridiculous parallels to wars with Klingons or Romulans. Honestly, those sci-fi comparisons are being used way too easily as "arguments" to justify whatever side someone is taking.
I already laid out how messy the whole situation in Ukraine actually is. Honestly, if you don't know the ins and outs, it’s nearly impossible to figure out what the actual facts are. But here’s the thing: if you feed these "certain people" the same facts hundreds of times, and they just keep parroting the same debunked nonsense over and over, what do you even have left? It’s just pure propaganda pushing from both sides. You've got these "human bots" flooding the internet with repetitive posts to drown out reality—the reality that people are dying just so guys like Joe Biden’s son, Khodorkovsky, or whoever the hell those players are on the Eastern Ukrainian and Russian sides, can rake in the profit. That’s exactly the point this topic should be about! We should be digging into that. Instead, we get some mindless fanatic obsessed with waving an M53 flag to "help his brothers," and then uses that as an excuse to claim anyone questioning the coup-driven government in Kyiv is just a sympathizer. Total nonsense.
Look, I honestly don't give a damn about people using clones—even if they’re posting under one or two different accounts. I don't even use them myself! Heck, even if those clones are actually being paid to sit there and type, I couldn't care less. What I *actually* have a problem with is what I already mentioned, so I’m gonna say it again, just with a bit more detail:
1. People are just constantly dumbing down this whole "Ukraine" topic. Seriously. It’s just the same old nonsense. You’re hitting me with those mindless, arbitrary comparisons again—the same stuff we already chewed through over on PŽK back when you guys called me out (you know, the whole bit about the frontier, fascists, Nazis, and Maddox). Look, this topic is super relevant, I get it, but when someone keeps recycling the exact same "argument" thousands of times even after being countered a thousand times, it isn't a debate anymore. It's just one side trying to run a propaganda campaign. And then, of course, anyone who dares to disagree or push back gets labeled a tool, a Russophile, or a Putin follower. Honestly, those comparisons are about as useful as comparing the war in Ukraine to some Star Trek episode where the United Federation of Planets and their shaky allies the Vulcans go up against the Klingons and those wildcards that keep switching sides like the Romulans.
Here’s a bit of a "historical source" for you to chew on—go ahead and compare: Check this out: http://en.memory-alpha.org/wiki/Federation_War_(2372-73)) with the war in Ukraine.
What’s even the point? Once you've laid out all the arguments and counterarguments comparing those two conflicts—showing exactly where they line up and where they don't—the case is closed. Honestly, bringing it up again after everyone’s already been warned is just straight-up spamming the thread. Or trolling, or fallacy-mongering... whatever you want to call it.
On the flip side, if you start making comparisons to other conflicts—you know, like China/Taiwan/Japan/Korea, the US/Vietnam situation, or even the Federation vs. Klingons (whether you're joking around or being dead serious)—and those matchups are actually just as relevant and comparable, you score points. Last time I checked, poking fun at people or using irony regarding their posts and views wasn't against the rules, though most of the time I find myself scoring my points specifically through that irony (aka "trolling").
Look, the point is obvious—one side is just trying to take the whole Ukraine conflict and drag it onto our own backyard. They’re basically using emotional blackmail to manipulate readers who don't have all the facts, and honestly, no amount of actual counter-arguments even makes a dent. I'm not saying any of that isn't true, BUT THIS SAME CROWD DOES THIS THOUSANDS OF TIMES. It's a total pattern. Repeat that a thousand times and maybe people will actually start believing you!Honestly, at least 10% of the posts in this thread—which, let's be real, probably has over 50,000 replies by now—just boil down to that same old, stale emotional blackmail. They keep dragging up the war in America to guilt-trip anyone talking. It’s basically like they’re labeling anyone who doesn't blindly cheer for the current Kyiv armed groups as some kind of radical extremist sympathizer. And if you actually point out how ridiculous that is? Boom. You get flagged.
So, basically, moderation here just lets people spam this thread constantly with these fresh little clone accounts throwing out random quasi-arguments, even though they were debunked ages ago (or "debunked," if you want to be picky). It feels like they just pick and choose who to punish based on whatever the moderators are feeling that day. On the flip side, they’ll go after posts about Koniev because apparently he's "detailing every single screw in a Russian tank," which—let's be real—is actually more informative than most of the crap being posted by "the side" that never gets sanctioned. Honestly, it's just the same old story I ran into last time when I wrote that long-winded breakdown over on PŽK.
And just like that, we stumble right into the whole "Buzin fighting squads" concept.
2. "Buzin-bojna" Reddit 21:56 goldenowl73 06/20/2014 Honestly, there’s a nickname that’s just stuck to this Politics/World news thread because even a blind man can see what’s happening. It’s become super obvious that there’s always this same little crew flooding a few specific topics with nothing but endless praise for the USA, democracy, the West, the Arab Spring, and all that stuff. It really blew up during the whole Syria war situation. As soon as things escalated in Ukraine, everyone suddenly pivoted. One minute they were obsessing over Syria, and the next, those same "crusaders" jumped ship to focus entirely on Ukraine. Now? You barely even see them talking about Syria anymore. They just move wherever the hype is. Like they were following orders.Man, they spent months flooding the Syria threads with the same old recycled lines like, "Oh, the USA is the greatest democracy ever, everyone knows it! Why doesn't anyone just move to Russia or China instead? Why don't you want to live with the allies of that bloodthirsty dictator Assad who’s slaughtering his own people?" They posted that stuff thousands of times. And then, suddenly—poof—it’s all over and everyone pivots en masse to Ukraine. I don't even bother asking anymore if they're getting paid for this gig (I mean, it’s only a few hours of work a day if you're just hitting one or two threads), or if the check comes from some embassy or whoever else is pulling the strings. But now, you actually get penalized just for suggesting someone might be part of that "Embassy Brigade." Clearly, that little nickname hits a nerve with someone.
On the flip side, there’s absolutely zero penalty or even a slap on the wrist when someone from the "Buzin brigade" calls their opponents a "pro-Russian internet troll brigade" (there were a few posts right before my comment about the "Buzin brigade," but they've been scrubbed now, of course). So, I’d love for someone to explain to me: what exactly is so offensive or punishable about calling someone a member of the "Buzin brigade," yet it’s perfectly fine to call someone a "pro-Russian" or a "Russophile"? Personally, I’m neither, and I find those labels pretty insulting. It’s funny because just a couple of months ago, everyone was claiming Russians get paid $36 a day to be active online. Around that same time, the "Buzin brigade" started acting all offended by that label and the hint that they might actually be getting paid for their "work."
3. And while we're talking about this "Buzin brigade" and all their clone accounts, here’s a little tip for the moderators: — look, you guys can't catch a clone if they don't want to be found and know exactly what they're doing.
Changing an IP address is a piece of cake—you've got all sorts of public and private proxies to choose from, including Tor. There are basically three levels of proxies: some just mask or swap your IP, others substitute the entire TCP/IP session, and then there's the third level that hides absolutely everything, including your browser settings (type of browser, cookies, resolution, unique configurations, "fingerprinting," etc.).
You can actually run an online test to check this stuff for yourself; there are tons of them out there:
https://anonymous-proxy-servers.net/...rity_test.html
...all while paying a subscription for whatever level of anonymity you want. And that brings us right back to our potential "Buzin brigade": if someone is being paid to spam certain major political topics, they definitely have their employer's cash to spend on this kind of thing.
Also, just forget about avoiding tracking if you're using Google AdWords, Yahoo, Facebook, or similar online tracking services. By tweaking your local firewall on your PC, you can easily kill off all those pop-up ads that leave fingerprints on your computer (that's that 24-digit hex code you see in the address bar following the thread shortcut on Reddit, which is unique to every user and used, among other things, to track them). This is how they build a user profile, which can then be used to track you across every single website that uses AdWords or similar tech. And no, just disabling cookies isn't enough. One thing is "cross-site scripting"—if you have one session open on, say, Reddit, and another on Gmail, it's possible to jump from one session to the other and back, even if you're using "secure" HTTPS for the latter. That's how Google and the rest of them suck up more data for tracking.
I don't see any ads on Reddit at all because I've blocked the main internet sources for pop-ups, which mostly kills the tracking too (but not entirely). Want a list of firewall commands? I didn't post them here just because I realize Reddit has to make money somehow, and besides, I never click on those ads anyway. Usually, clicking is the main way they build those ad profiles. So how do they change their ads to match my interests on Reddit if I never click? Well, the applets loaded onto your PC scan the traffic you generate on the forum—basically, what threads you're reading. That's why I started seeing ads for vacations in Turkey near the Syrian border, trips to Moscow and St. Petersburg, or ads for various companies selling weapons and military gear—all based on the topics I open in the Politics/World subforum, right up until I blocked them completely. There is a fix for that scanning (including that famous big "I" that Google's English spellcheck constantly inserts into online posts on Reddit, making it obvious they're scanning ALL the traffic moving between the user and Reddit), but let's not get sidetracked. Essentially, Reddit serves as a massive data source for Google, Facebook, and the rest of the giants regarding users/readers and their preferences. Someone packages all that up, sells it, and becomes the richest company in the world. From there, it's actually pretty easy to extract a user's true identity using various utility programs. A byproduct of that is "clone tracking," which moderators use to identify users. So, that's all about "clone tracking" and the sources of the "Buzin brigade"—just sticking to the facts so we don't descend into paranoia.
Getting rid of all that tracking is actually pretty easy, but we’d run into a bit of a snag—if everyone starts knowing what's up, Reddit's ad revenue is gonna tank, and at the same time, we'll get flooded with a bunch of useless clone accounts. Neither side wants that, right? (And seriously, just fix that load balancer over at Orbit; setting up a public DNS isn't rocket science. Also, FYI, you can still track users via public DNS anyway).
==================
Long story short, it all boils down to how moderation is handled, specifically:
a) unbiased moderation—meaning the rules apply to everyone equally.
b) thread management criteria, basically keeping things on track and stopping people from spamming the same nonsense "data" over and over again using clone accounts or whatever else.
It's blindingly obvious that when it comes to the Ukraine thread, neither of those boxes is being checked. Since this isn't the first time this has happened—and it's been dragging on for months, even years if you count the Syria stuff—there's really only one solution: "Either change the horse or change the rider."
So, I'm looking for a response just like I laid out in my first post.
===========================
In a few days, I'm gonna start a thread over in Politics/World asking who's paying for online work on forums, news comment sections, and stuff like that. Let's finally expose those "paid shill" crews that exist just to push agendas, and then act all "offended" the second you call them out on it.
It’s happening again on Politics, just like a few weeks ago. It’s the same crowd constantly swapping out their usernames, flooding the thread by the thousands—maybe even hundreds of times—trying to force these totally random comparisons between what’s going on in Ukraine and the wars back during the old America days. They’re obsessed with these arbitrary parallels. Basically, they’re all pushing the narrative that Russia is just like Mexico, or that the rebels are basically Royalists, and so on. At the exact same time, they’re clearly and aggressively acting as cheerleaders for the idea that the USA is the greatest thing ever created. But get this: the second I try to make a similarly logical comparison between the situation in Ukraine and any tension between China, the USA, or any other global dispute, my post gets nuked and I get flagged for a violation. Typical.
Things calmed down for a bit after I filed that last complaint. But now? It’s all kicking off again because a few clones decided to reboot themselves. And still zero reaction from the moderators. Seriously?
Whenever I decide to call out people with those kinds of views as being nothing more than "warmongers," this is exactly what happens:
Reddit 21:47 goldenowl73 06/20/2014
Hey Jack Cook7,
You have received a violation on Reddit
Reason: Calling oneself trolling
-------
You have received a violation on Reddit. This one's a 35-point hit, which means you might find yourself locked out for a bit until it clears. Just a heads up—serious violations stay on your record forever.
Original Post:
Practix says: Check out this post
Ukrainians are such chill, hardworking, and genuinely smart people. They’re handling this whole anti-terrorist operation super tactically and taking it slow just to keep the casualties to a minimum. They're actually hoping the terrorists will just come to their senses and pack up and leave those occupied parts of Ukraine. Honestly, if it were up to Moscow, they would've leveled the whole place to the ground by now—dead or alive. That’s where Ukrainians are different; they aren't afraid, but they don't go looking for a fight either.
Jack Cook7 says:
Looks like the buzzer squad just got some reinforcements.
Honestly, they had it coming, goddammit...
So, I tried it again. After repeatedly using the same handle to flag those thousands of unacceptable posts to the moderators, the result is... go ahead, take a guess:
Reddit 21:56 goldenowl73 06/20/2014
You have received a violation on Reddit. This one's worth 30 points and might get you locked out for a bit until it clears. Just a heads up—serious violations stay on your record forever.
Original Post:
Reddit 21:56 goldenowl73 06/20/2014
Quote:
Moderators, seriously, how much longer are we going to have to put up with this?
It’s pretty obvious that the moderator, goldenowl73, is totally biased on this topic. You can see it everywhere—from how he handles his own posts like he owns the place to the way he "moderates" my stuff. My post got nuked, while the original post stayed right up. Typical.
Here’s a rundown of all the violations I've picked up over the last month—all of them were about Ukraine:
06/20/2014. You have received a violation on Reddit
Reddit 21:56 goldenowl73
06/20/2014. You have received a violation on Reddit
21:47 goldenowl73
Posts: 1 Last week
06/10/2014. You have received a violation on Reddit
21:07 goldenowl73
Posts: 1 two weeks ago
06/04/2014. You have received a violation on Reddit
06:23 goldenowl73
Posts: 1 3 weeks ago
05/25/2014. You have received a violation on Reddit
13:29
I’m ASKING AGAIN to please clear this thread out of all those clones. They are totally suffocating the discussion with their mindless, random, and a thousand times debunked comparisons that do nothing but demonize one side of the argument.
For all these reasons, I’m asking to have my last two violations wiped. It’s blindingly obvious that one of the moderators is having a hard time dealing with anyone who holds views contrary to their own, and they're basically letting the clones take over the thread just because they happen to agree with the mod's personal bias.
Because of all that, I’m also requesting that goldenowl73 be stripped of their moderation rights for this specific thread.
goldenowl73 said:comparing military formations or even militias in other countries might still make sense, but bringing up pedophilia in the context of Ukraine is just insane. Even cannibalism...
the next step is obviously going to be equating Americans with thugs, which seems to be where this is heading anyway.
Personally, I’m totally sick of the whole Ukraine topic just because the same group of people keeps blowing this kind of stuff out of proportion...
I feel the exact same way, for the same reasons. It's always the same crowd spouting the same nonsense. Facts, fact-checking, new evidence, better ways to verify things—zero credit given. But hey, just because something grosses me out and I see how people manipulate those feelings doesn't mean I'm gonna quit, nor does it mean I'm gonna try to rig the whole system myself.
The whole Ukraine thing has been getting on my nerves for a long time now, mostly because of the people who demonize anyone with a different opinion.
But why would you walk away from a job just because it's grossing you out? You just do the work and get it done.
Well, fine then. Honestly, I was actually looking forward to finally clearing some of this stuff up.
You could look at your decision as just dodging the issue and playing into a specific way of thinking.
I wouldn't put it like that, though. To me, it looks more like a super calculated move to avoid unnecessary drama over tiny disagreements about things that don't even matter in the grand scheme of things.
That being said, I still think it would’ve been the right call to give some kind of answer.
Jack Cook7 said:Look, I've had about enough of this, but let me be clear—my questions from the jump have been crystal clear.
So, like, if some government or culture—or even just a specific group of people—is being all "benevolent" toward junkies or the whole drug production scene, whether they’re doing it officially or just low-key pushing it... am I allowed to call that culture a drug culture? Or maybe go a step further and label them drug-friendly?
Can I actually say it on this forum? Is it okay to just drop the truth bomb that Western culture is basically one big junkie mess? And honestly, whatever the hell "Western culture" even means these days...
So, am I allowed to say that everyone representing that culture is basically just a representative of drug addiction?
wiredangler5 said:I can't see any text here! You just sent me a blue color tag. What are we talking about? Give me something to work with!
Nah, I don't know, man. It’s super hard to pin that down exactly without falling into those massive generalizations. Just because someone is calling the shots on some policy doesn't mean everyone in that circle is cut from the same cloth or even agrees with what's happening. People aren't monoliths, you know?
I wasn't even questioning that! Honestly, I'm totally on board with what you said.
I'm just asking: what are the actual moderation criteria here?
Why is it that on this Ukraine thread, despite like a thousand—literally a thousand—people slapping "war criminal" labels on stuff that has absolutely zero to do with Mexicans or anything involving the war back home, only two posts actually get punished? I mean, we’re seeing people throw around extreme rhetoric about combat units being ready to go, yet those guys get off scot-free while a couple of negative flags barely even register? Makes no sense.
So, basically:
So, I was just sitting here thinking—and don't get mad at me for rambling—but why is there such a massive double standard on this board? Like, if someone goes off and calls a soldier or a supporter of whatever the current administration is doing a "Mexican," it just slides right past the mods, right? No big deal. But the second you drop words like cannibal, pedophile, or even addict? Boom. Instant ban. Even calling someone a Nazi gets you the hammer immediately. It feels totally lopsided. Why is one kind of insult totally fair game while everything else is strictly off-limits? Just curious what everyone thinks!
Look, everyone in the whole damn unit already knows there's thousands of pieces of independent evidence backing up that last point. It's not even news at this point!
I just want to know what the actual rules are here. Like, if someone goes around labeling a person as a follower of some radical extremist ideology, does the mod team handle that the exact same way they’d handle someone calling them a cannibal? Just curious about the criteria.