Posts by cosmictinker21

hollowtrucker77 said:I’m pretty much on the same page as Michelle Alvarez8, though I’ll skip the unnecessary fluff at the beginning and end of her post.

Leaking private messages is a double-edged sword. If someone gets hit with a barrage of insults, their immediate instinct is to warn everyone else about what kind of jerk they're dealing with—especially if the mods refuse to shut down the guy despite being asked. It's just human nature... that first impulse is basically: "Screw this idiot, let everyone else know he's a loser so they can stay away."

Still, it’s definitely rude to take something completely private and blast it publicly just out of spite or because you misread the room.

I guess I just wonder who gets to be the judge of what counts...🤷

Megan White4 said:Then what are they?

You know, Megan, when someone sends me something nasty or starts leaking other people's private info, and I tell them it’s out of line but they just keep going... well, that’s when you have to report it. You have to find a way to stop that person from harassing you. When someone takes your personal business and spreads it to people who have no business knowing, you should use every tool available—alert the admins, the mods, whoever is running the show. On other sites, it really just depends on whether the management allows that kind of behavior or not. Here, message privacy is actually somewhat regulated to protect people from malicious harassment. It happened to me once where some idiot hacked one of my old accounts and started sending stupid messages. Honestly, that part was fine, but they were sending those moronic messages in my name to other people. You can imagine how much I hated being provoked by people or having them write nonsense about me... stone-faced, truly. I also dealt with some harassment from those weird clone accounts, and when they finally got banned, they spent all their time whining about how the moderators were being unfair.

It’s honestly pathetic when people stoop to this level of public internet bickering because they don't have the guts to face someone in person. If you actually know someone—if you have their number or see them in real life—those kinds of conflicts get settled one-on-one. Whenever anyone sends a private message here that becomes an issue, there's every right to report it and defend yourself publicly. Nobody wants the rest of the community living under a delusion just because someone is spreading lies about them. Sorry, but no. Personally, I wouldn't want people judging me based on things that aren't true. They have every right to judge me based on my public posts, sure, but not based on behind-the-scenes whispers and smirks... though, I suppose one should stand by everything they write, even the private stuff.

And the moderators, good grief, they're all over the place. It's strange, for instance, how a single forum can be ruled with such a narrow mindset, even when the topics are so broad that a decent mod would need to understand actual science rather than just acting like some little social studies professor. Having a general education is a rare commodity these days, mostly found in circles of genuine intellectuals. And being an intellectual is a state of mind, not something you get from a specific degree. It's about having knowledge and the ability to think broadly—being open-minded, instead of being a slave to petty, small-minded local interests or sucking up to anyone who claps for you. Ah well. There's injustice, there's stupidity. Don't worry. It'll all pass...

You end up hating someone simply because they’re the direct reason your plans fell through, leaving you feeling frustrated and totally powerless to shut them down with any kind of grace or speed. Eventually, that frustration morphs into this targeted resentment, fueled by a petty desire to just... neutralize them somehow.

Or, you just pick a target—anyone or anything that fits some arbitrary pattern of blame you've cooked up in your head—and you go after them just to feel a momentary spark of satisfaction. It's a way to vent all that internal chaos by harassing someone who hasn't actually done a single thing wrong, just so you can stop feeling unsuccessful or unsettled for five minutes.

It’s typical behavior for people who lack the backbone to look someone in the eye, yet somehow find the courage to act out when they're safely tucked away in a mob. I suppose it's how they convince themselves they're actually important, powerful, or capable... 🤷

silverjackal said:So, why isn't Morgan Hernandez5 a mod anymore?????????????????🤷What's the deal with dustyharbor18 still holding down a moderator spot while Morgan Hernandez5 got the boot?😕
Are we living in some weird alternate reality where the good guys get flak and the biased, shady ones get all the respect???🤷😲
It’s honestly ridiculous👎

Yeah, I’d love some answers on that too. dustyharbor18 vanished for months—right around the exact time that entire thread about psychopathy got locked by a bunch of pointless trolls... It was a mess. For days, Morgan Hernandez5 was stuck fighting off those weird clones all by herself, with absolutely zero backup from the staff, except for maybe a little help from Noah Myers8. And now, without any explanation or real reason, she’s just gone. Meanwhile, we suddenly have moderators popping back up after being totally MIA for months. Of course, their sudden reappearance immediately triggered a wave of backlash from the community, mostly because the moderation has been so subpar lately. Interesting...🤷

hollowtrucker77, look, I don't have anything against you...😍

hollowtrucker77 said:Honestly, this whole Alternative subforum is just like any other corner of the internet
As for the final resolution, I’m asking you all to hang in there just a little bit longer
From what I can gather, we’re basically in the home stretch now

Thanks for putting the thread about Psychopathy back on the main list. Honestly, I still haven't heard a single word about why it was taken down—or hidden, for that matter.😁

A final solution?😲

Noah Myers8 said:Look, listen to me.
Say I translate book xy for some publisher like Z. and I end up loving the book so much that I come on here and tell everyone, "Hey guys, this is an awesome book!" Am I making money off that? No, my publisher might.

I don't see what the big deal is. Seriously, I don't. People promote the companies they work for or the services they provide all the time, bragging about a job well done. You're nitpicking over a translation where nobody is gaining anything by promoting it.

You've definitely got a point there. But then again, is the person who bans someone based on nothing more than a suspicion—claiming they're selling their own products on a forum without any proof—actually doing the right thing? Or are they just giving people a blueprint for how to skirt the rules...

Anyway, I think we're getting off track. This whole discussion is supposed to be about the ban over at Alternative...

Noah Myers8 said:cosmictinker21, look, there’s a strict rule on this forum against doxxing anyone or leaking private info. Why on earth would you think that doesn't apply to the moderators? Seriously, how would you feel if I just slapped your full name right here for everyone to see? Yeah... exactly what I thought.

Fair enough, I messed up by citing that. I admit it and I regret it. I was being pretty careless there. My main point was just whether it's actually okay for moderators to promote their own work. That's what I was really getting at.

I'll be humbly accepting the penalty for this, obviously. I'm not joking, I mean it...😢

Noah Myers8 said:First off, cosmictinker21, you basically broke about twenty different forum rules just by posting this. Secondly, 🤦 it’s just a suggestion. Inside a thread.

Aha. Fine. Thanks. A "recommendation." In the style of: "Please read this work I personally translated." Which rules, exactly? I'm terrified you'll ban me for making a massive blunder. I'm truly embarrassed by my own ignorance here. I'm not a moderator, so I don't exactly have a PhD in interpreting the forum guidelines... but please, enlighten me. I'll follow them to the letter.

Noah Myers8, sine ira et studio. Toward anyone at all.🤷

steelskipper5 said:Technically speaking, advertising anything whatsoever should be off-limits. But let's be real—we all know some people on this forum play by the rules a little more strictly than others...

Of course, I’m always happy to hear a solid book recommendation, a thought on a specific healing method, or even just advice like, "hey, check out this particular source for info." Or when someone asks about Bach flower remedies and where to find them locally. It's fine. But is it actually ethical to promote your own product? You know, like how certain folks here have been busy pitching their own forums or selling their own goods? This isn't the classified section of a local newspaper... or am I just being overly pedantic about morality?...🙄

So, I’ve been wondering... are moderators actually allowed to run free ads for their own projects, whether they wrote them or just translated them? Because if they are, they probably caught a massive amount of heat for it. It's funny, really, because we all know how strictly the rules against self-promotion are enforced here—remember that whole unproven uproar over that one single article a while back?

electricangler22 said:Now they’ve even started spamming messages on the Democratic Party pages. Honestly, you have to be out of your mind to do that. It’s always those same "FEEL FREE to go wherever you want" type of messages—give me a break, someone clearly isn't playing with a full deck. In the end, driftinggull13 hit the nail on the head when he said the Alternative is exactly what he described it to be. driftinggull13👍

Has it really come to this...?😲
Democratic Party types like that? Oh my god, I honestly thought I was the only one... I used to get those mindless, nonsensical messages sent to me constantly. If I were the kind of idiot who actually took them to heart, I might have even viewed some of them as threats. But instead, I just choose to see them for what they really are—a desperate little cry for help from people who clearly feel threatened by everything around them...☕

So, what’s the deal with this whole Alternative thing???😲

Morgan Hernandez5, Noah Myers8,,, where did everyone go???

We went from having this dynamic PDF where different perspectives—hypotheses, theories, practical applications, spiritual insights, scientific data, mystical views, you name it—actually clashed in a meaningful way, to this absolute mess of senseless bans. It's just devolved into personal vendettas now. Honestly, just leave that stuff alone and deal with it in your actual life. I don't doubt that most people here are rational and well-intentioned; they don't usually let their frustrations manifest through smugness or by deleting posts and handing out bans without any real argument. Looking back at the last few months, sure, the debates were intense, but nobody felt personally attacked by a post or someone else's opinion. Usually, when communication breakdowns happened publicly, they were resolved publicly too, with a decent amount of mutual respect between the people on either side of the screen. Or, at least, they weren't dragged into the spotlight through other users who had nothing to do with the private spat.

I’m asking this publicly: why was the psychopathy thread pulled from the forum? The topic was thoroughly covered; interest in it had naturally tapered off. Fine, it dropped down a page. Whatever. It was still accessible to anyone interested in reading about it, just like any other topic. But now, it’s nowhere to be found in the space visible to the average Joe. And I actually really need some links to illustrate certain types of antisocial behavior...🤷

Look, it isn't cocaine, but it is amphetamine. It’s on the controlled substance list for a reason. Doctors only prescribe it for a handful of very specific indications, and honestly, your doctor has every right to refuse you if they don't think it's necessary. Sure, it hits fast, numbs fear, and gives you that temporary boost of confidence, but at standard medical doses, it shouldn't act like a massive stimulant for your autonomic nervous system or trigger hallucinations like high doses might... though that's a slippery slope. Still, there are consequences. We're talking heart strain, blood vessel issues, dehydration, rapid breathing, insomnia, jitters, and tension. And then there's the euphoria... which begs the question, what happens when you're coming down from it? Regardless, the biggest concern is the potential for psychological dependency. Medical doses are generally too small to cause physical addiction or completely drain your energy reserves like chronic abuse does, but still... I wouldn't recommend it to anyone. Even if it helps with social anxiety by making you feel more decisive or upbeat, most professionals agree it's not a long-term solution. Since social anxiety is usually a chronic issue, using a quick fix like this doesn't really solve the underlying problem... it just masks it.🤷Aside from meth, amphetamine shares all the same street names: speed, white, benzedrine, uppers, ice, zip...

just some guy getting baptized by a priest🙂☕

Donna Wood52 said:You can find all sorts of characters on this forum.

Haha, it would be pretty interesting to meet these people in real life... just to see how the persona they project here stacks up against their actual day-to-day existence. For most of them, I suspect there’d be some very telling discrepancies. And I don't mean the curated versions people try to sell you; I mean the actual vibe they give off vs. who they really are.

Lisa Hernandez3 clearly put some effort into that one.

What was even the point of all that?🤷 Are you feeling more at peace and actually happy now?

lonegardener said:Was that some sort of private study, or is there a paper trail on the forum somewhere? I'd love to look into this...

I tend to agree, though. This whole trend of oversharing feels wrong to me. Even with the "anonymity" factor, whenever I feel like someone is dumping raw, intimate details right in my face, I just end up feeling deeply saddened by it.

Couldn't they at least abstract those feelings? You know, speak in generalities or hypothetical scenarios instead of being so blunt and lacking any subtlety... it's about as subtle as a sledgehammer.

well, maybe that's because even when you bring up a topic generally, people immediately project their own personal bias onto the author, whether it's true or not. You read some news story in the New York Times, you want to comment on it without using direct quotes, and suddenly you've got these "good Samaritans" breathing down your neck, suggesting things like: oh come on, you might as well just admit this is about you, stop pretending, we see right through you, at least be honest, blah, blah.

And then no matter how you write it, one way or another, someone isn't happy. Malicious nitpicking. So what, should we just stop writing and discussing altogether? If you write seriously, they say you're being too heavy-handed. If you add a little humor, they say you aren't being serious. You can't win. Honestly, it's better to just write your own way, whether people like it or not...

But, I think we've drifted from the main point. Online intolerance. That's a much broader concept than just those pseudo-witty comments. Sometimes they actually are funny, but they usually aren't exactly appropriate for the flow of the discussion...

Michelle Alvarez8 said:Actually, you can't! I ran a little experiment earlier this year and proved that there’s no way to distinguish between people who are just trolling and those who are truly pouring their hearts out.

Sorry, but legal tips or stuff like "use Tide for your laundry" don't really count as the kind of deep intimacy involved in this whole messy topic—including the US subforum.🤷

I guess that's the distinction, then... knowing when people are talking about laundry detergent versus asking things like: should I wait for them to call me, or should I be the one to reach out?

Rachel Sullivan2 said:We’re all guilty of it.🙂
I love how Kyle King4 puts it—that dealing with certain people feels like trying to play catch with someone who keeps throwing the ball right at your face. 😍
And honestly? Same. I'll follow some threads, get worked up, and my irritation just builds and builds until eventually, I just don't give a damn about any of it anymore. 🤷

I'm with you on that one.
🙂

Honestly, I think you can definitely tell the difference between someone who is genuinely struggling and actually needs support versus those who just post stuff for the sake of trolling. There’s also a huge distinction between someone discussing a topic—offering their own perspective or arguments—and someone fueled by pure spite, just waiting for an opening to jump down someone else's throat. It gets especially ridiculous when a small group starts private messaging, essentially teaming up to sharpen their knives on some third party. It reminds me of the petty office gossip you find in any corporate building or even just in a suburban neighborhood... it’s basically a microcosm of real life.

Then you have people who share their personal business because they’re going through a rough patch. Since we expect a certain level of privacy with our usernames, names and specific data aren't tossed around, but these discussions often help people clear their heads. I don't see why someone shouldn't air a burning problem, whether they need advice on a broken heart, some legal guidance, or just want to vent. Sometimes it's easier to do that behind a screen. But then there's always that one person who lives to feed off the drama. It’s that small-minded pettiness where someone thinks, "I hope your house burns down as long as mine is fine." It’s pathetic. It’s mostly ego at work; people getting a tiny, selfish thrill from feeling superior or smarter than someone else. Especially those people who don't have much else going on in their own little worlds to focus on.

Look, I’ve shared my own private struggles on forums before, too. And I haven't been met with insults. In fact, finding a bit of empathy during tough times helped me see things clearly, learn something new, or get some actually useful, practical advice. After all, none of us are lawyers, doctors, psychologists, plumbers, poets, philosophers, or single parents. We’re just humans with hearts and souls. At least, I'd like to think so... 🤷

Michelle Alvarez8 said:Look, I get where you're coming from, but didn't you miss the point about where this betrayal actually started? I mean, if you post your deepest, most personal feelings on a public platform, isn't it pretty obvious that you are the one betraying those feelings yourself? It's not really them pointing out the mistake—it's just reality hitting home.

I mean, doesn't everyone just need a little comfort sometimes? A bit of support? Some basic empathy? Regardless of whether it's being shared on a public forum or not...