Posts by Michael Vaughn2

It’s getting pretty uncomfortable to walk around with this thing—it really hurts—and I'm on my feet quite a bit during my shifts at work.
Usually, I can just tough it out for a week or two without needing to call in sick, but honestly... I think I might actually need to request some medical leave this time.

Hey there, I’ve been dealing with some of the same issues mentioned in this thread, so I was wondering about how the whole doctor visit actually works...

If I head over to my primary care physician, is he going to handle the exam himself, or will he just hand me a referral for a specialist—like a proctologist?

Also, is it even possible to get taken off work—you know, get medical leave—for hemorrhoids?

thanks

Hey, no hard feelings—everyone’s entitled to their own take.👍

The thing is, an opinion is basically like... well, let's just say everyone's got one.🙂))
So, you don't really get anywhere with these opinions since opposing views just end up canceling each other out... nothing gained.
But calling someone an idiot? Now, that's a straight-up insult.

I think it's pretty clear how to report Private Message. If it isn't, my bad if I wasn't being direct enough. You report a Private message by clicking the triangle icon (report Private message), exactly like you would with a regular comment. The only difference is that reported comments go to the moderators for that specific sub-forum, while reports for private messages go straight to the administrators. From there, the admin will handle it or reach out via private message to get more details from you.👍

Got it now, thanks.

Since you're saying this after we've gone back and forth through several comments:
I don't see much point in repeating myself, since I'm clearly not getting through to you. Regardless, I've stated my position, just like the other participants have, and the administration will make the final call on the matter.👍

Why be so self-centered about it? Because from where I'm sitting, it seems I'm not getting through to you either.
It's like watching some political talk show on CNN...
One side tells the other, "You aren't listening, we can't reach you," while completely missing the obvious fact that the other side feels exactly the same way. It's just two sides of the same coin.

Not quite.🙂

Actually, yes.
How am I supposed to wrap my head around that without an argument? If your answer is "not quite," then explain why it isn't.
If you don't provide a reason, it's as if you didn't say anything at all...

crimsonsailor7 said:Just because we stepped in more often by reacting early, 😁 you aren't the only one cranking up the tension here—though it’s certainly not like you have a reputation for keeping things chill and civil.

That isn't accurate at all. You actually reacted less often than people think.
And I'll go a step further—sanctioning someone for something that *might* cause tension with another group just doesn't hold water.
Telling a woman she can't speak—under the assumption her husband might lose his temper—is just nonsense.
As long as the conversation stays free of insults, everything is fine. If someone actually follows through on that tension and starts hurling insults, then yeah, they get sanctioned.

Anyone can claim, "I feel like this might escalate into a fight," and then suddenly, poof—their post gets deleted.
We should be punishing actual violations, not the mere possibility of them. 🙂

It's like throwing someone in jail just because they bought a handgun. It doesn't matter if they actually shot anyone; the logic is that they *could* have, so we better lock them up now. To me, that feels fundamentally wrong... it undermines the very core of democracy and free speech.

If someone insults you, you have legal recourse for defamation. But punishing someone simply for raising the temperature of a debate? That’s a slippery slope toward infringing on democratic principles.

crimsonsailor7 said:Does everything have to be taken so literally? Should we just sit here and count every single warning, every deleted post, and every strike you’ve picked up? For all we know, if you tally it all up, there might even be 25... 🤷
If that’s really the crux of the issue for you, then this whole debate is pretty much pointless. Honestly, the way you're carrying yourself right now just reinforces exactly what Brian Edwards6 and I have been saying...

But why is it that whenever something "isn't literal," you always seem to twist it in your favor? Every time things get vague—suddenly, by some stroke of luck, you're exaggerating things to suit your own narrative.
And why didn't you just say "one" when I first gave you a warning? No, instead you went with "fifteen" just to tilt the scales in my direction.

It was never 25, from you or regarding those specific incidents. We are talking about warnings for "tone" here...

I used to write direct insults before—things that actually earned me deletions and strikes. Those were justified, which is exactly why I changed my approach and don't do that anymore. So, you can't just throw those old strikes into a discussion and claim, "Well, you've already been warned 15 times for your tone."

No, I haven't, because since then I've been careful specifically to avoid insults—I've actually adjusted how I behave.

Fine, let it confirm whatever it may. But I'm not insulting you, and I'm not insulting Brian Edwards6. If you respond to this discussion of mine—let's call it a "high-tension debate"—with something derogatory, then *that* is when you deserve a strike or whatever else. That's my point...

Essentially, tensions can rise however they want, as long as nobody is being insulted or anything similar. If someone, because of those tensions—say, if you suddenly told me to "go join the CIA"—then that would be your mistake, your inability to deal with a piece of text that remains POLITE.

If you open Pandora's box and start sanctioning "potential rising tensions," then you could practically hand out a warning for every other word spoken...

As long as people aren't insulting one another and are writing politely, there shouldn't be an issue.
The day I actually call someone "clueless" in any context—fine, sanction me then.
As long as I am making the effort—based on what was previously written—to adjust my opinion and write, "please be more specific," and yet I still get sanctioned while trying my best... well...

Since you’re the only one here hitting those kinds of numbers—it really does set you apart from the rest of the crowd... And just to be clear, this isn't some personal vendetta against you. You clearly have the expertise needed to hold your own in these debates, but sometimes it feels like you get a little too defensive—almost aggressive, actually—when you're pushing back against others, regardless of how much they might actually know about the subject at hand...👍

You’ve got the logic backward on why we even started this conversation. You claimed that based on your experience, you were betting on a bad outcome—but that doesn't actually hold up. If we look at the data, things have gone south only a handful of times, while most of the time, they've turned out just fine. So, if you're really going to base a prediction on past experience, the logical assumption should be that it'll end well...
I guess it all comes down to how much experience I have under my belt—it’s probably going to be the deciding factor in whether this whole discussion ends up being a total disaster or actually goes somewhere...

Unfortunately, you missed the part about subjective impressions—so I guess I’ll have to walk through my own just to prove that airing those kinds of feelings isn't exactly helpful...
I have to disagree—it feels like you’re being a bit too aggressive and confrontational here. That’s just my take on it, anyway... just as this is yours.

If you take a quick look back at my previous comments, you'll see that I pointed you in the right direction the very moment I realized what was actually tripping you up...👍

Take a look at the response to those comments... you'll see that you basically just told them not to do it, without actually offering any real solutions—like where they should go or how they’re supposed to handle it...

Just waiting on the word from the administration...👍

I’m really hoping this arrives in a way that clarifies things—specifically whether I'm actually allowed to use these kinds of words moving forward, rather than turning into some endless debate about who's feeling tense or who's being aggressive... 🙂

Feel free to just start a new thread if you think there's actually an issue here—we can dive into it then...👍

That’s what you need to do. I asked a perfectly clear question about whether those words were acceptable, but instead, you just drifted off into some old argument about previous issues...

Not really...👍

So, you’ve run out of actual points to make—so now you're just retreating into that classic "it is what it is" territory... typical.

You see, what really matters isn't necessarily how something was originally sent—regardless of how many times you go back and edit it—but rather how it’s actually received...

No, you’re still missing the point entirely—you haven't actually laid out an argument here. You need to explain *why* the way something is perceived matters first, and only then can you jump to that "see, I told you" conclusion. Until you bridge that gap... well, nothing is "evident" just by sitting there on its own.

crimsonsailor7 said:Context is everything—that's why you can't just say a word is "accepted" or "banned." For instance, the word "crap" is perfectly fine in a vacuum, but using it to label someone? That's an insult. Besides, you're pushing for something that has absolutely nothing to do with our conversation... I'm sorry if I offended you, that wasn't my intention.

Edit: I was going to address that other post you put up in the meantime, but I see there's really no point. Brian Edwards6 tried to explain it to you, I tried to explain it to you, and honestly, I don't know what else I could possibly say to make you get the point...

My context is perfectly valid. Here’s how it went down: I asked how the appraisal process works and added, "well, just be specific if you're actually experienced."

So, the context here is simply trying to figure out how the job gets done.

And if you're claiming that only context matters and not the actual words used, then tell me—in what context is it okay to tell someone, "you're an idiot"? The point is, the words themselves matter just as much as the situation they're in.

Furthermore, it seems like you're eager to jump in because Brian Edwards6 already took a crack at it and failed.
He definitely didn't spend his time explaining those "15 times I've explained this" claims of yours.

It feels like you're skipping over the parts that don't work in your favor. You're exaggerating—or lying, really, since that "15 times" thing never happened—and now, instead of directly addressing it and admitting, "Yeah, it wasn't 15 times," you're avoiding the response altogether because Brian Edwards6 already tried... which isn't even true, since he couldn't possibly know how many times you've actually written something.

EDIT: I appreciate the apology. It was my mistake if I took offense, especially since you didn't intend it as an insult. What matters is what you intended when you sent it, not how I perceived it... if I misinterpret something, that's on me, not the person who sent the message. 😉

Speaking from experience... 👍

Well, obviously not. In the few debates I’ve actually had that turned sour, it was much less frequent than the ones that went fine. If we're splitting the difference, let's call it 50/50.

Because that isn't how you report it—not on this thread, anyway. You missed several steps here, so I was just trying to explain the proper way to handle it. There's really no need for that kind of reaction. 👍

You "wanted" to, but you didn't. If I filed the report incorrectly, why wouldn't you just tell me how to do it right? It doesn't exactly feel like your intention was to educate me on the actual procedure if you aren't going to share it... hmm.

There's also the matter of intent. 👍

That isn't a question you can just extract an answer from. The point is, it depends entirely on how it was sent, not how it was received. If you take offense at something that wasn't actually sent as an insult, that's on you. Even basic sociology teaches that what counts is the delivery, not the reception—if you don't believe me, well, that's your call.

Since you're complaining about the mods, we have to wait for a final decision from administration; what I wrote was just my personal and moderator opinion. As for you, saying "you're acting stupid" to me won't be taken as an insult, but if you said that to another user, it probably would be—more like a provocation, really—given your tendency to escalate tensions in discussions, whether you mean to or not.

I don't think I have that "tendency"... 🙂 So where does that leave us?
Let’s just stop you judging my tendencies, because otherwise, you're essentially giving me permission to judge yours. And then we're just spinning our wheels.

Let's drop these "subjective" impressions and stick to the actual words used.
Specifically, "be more specific" can't possibly carry a more negative tone than "you're being stupid."

With "you're being stupid," it's very easy to assume someone will get offended, so a sender might choose to avoid that phrase altogether.

But "be more specific"? It's safe to assume that *won't* offend anyone, which is why I write that way.
If someone chooses to escalate the tension after that and responds with insults, then that's on them, not me.

This whole "escalating tension" argument is exactly how domestic abusers defend themselves.
A husband hits his wife and then claims, "she provoked me."

So the woman is the one at fault? She's responsible for the words, while he's responsible for the violence.
Basically, until the other person crosses that line into higher levels of tension—responding in kind without using insults—everything is fine.
If they are the ones who ramp things up, then they're the guilty party, not the person who kept the conversation at a reasonable level without a single slur.

crimsonsailor7 said:For the hundredth time, it’s not about the specific words you choose—it’s about your delivery. Maybe it doesn't come across that way in your own head, but posts have a certain 'tone' to others. And this isn't just about one single post... it's been happening for a while now.
What else am I supposed to say besides stop playing dumb? I've explained the exact same thing to you fifteen times, yet you still insist that the words themselves are the only issue... 🤷 I know you're smart enough to grasp what I'm saying, but for some reason, you're just refusing to...

Look, I'm asking about MY words here. So, is your little "playing dumb" comment actually acceptable?

It’s honestly mind-boggling—you’re telling me my words don't matter, only my "delivery"? What exactly is my delivery? Am I waving my arms around? The only way anyone on this forum can perceive my "delivery" is through the words I type...
So, clearly, the words are all that matters.
It feels a bit ridiculous coming from a moderator to claim that words aren't the point when they're literally the only thing we have here... I don't even use many emojis.

Furthermore, why the dishonesty? Can you actually point to those fifteen instances? Because that's a blatant lie. If you can dig through all your years here and find fifteen separate messages where you've said this to me, I'll pack up my things and leave the forum immediately. But if there aren't fifteen—if there are only fourteen—then you're the one leaving. Deal?

Basically, you're intentionally inflating something that isn't even real (those 15 warnings) just to justify your insult about me "playing dumb."

And finally, regarding how my posts "sound" to everyone else... the only way to actually know that would be a poll.
I'm telling you right now, the majority—well, over 50%—will likely say my posts are fine, and only a small minority will disagree. So, this whole "how it sounds to others" argument only holds water once we see the actual data on how many people feel that way.

One more thing before you reply: am I allowed to tell someone "you're playing dumb" in the future if I've explained something to them fifteen times (even though it's actually much less than fifteen) and they still refuse to get it? Is that allowed then?

Brian Edwards6 said:We can have our doubts—and honestly, experience often tells us otherwise.👍

If you feel like a moderator crossed the line in a Direct Message, go ahead and report it... the administration will take it from there.👍

As for using a phrase like "you're playing dumb" during a debate—it’s impossible to call that beforehand, really. We never know how a conversation is going to flow or how a specific word might land with other users. The phrase itself isn't inherently offensive (at least, I don't see it that way), and it can pass in a casual chat, but if the whole point is just to bait someone... then it’s out of line.👍

P.S.: Since you edited your comment, the quote looks slightly different now, but it still perfectly illustrates my point...👍

1. We can doubt things, sure, but experience usually teaches us the opposite. In smaller instances, things turned out poorly; in larger ones, they went well. So why assume we'll see the same outcome as those smaller cases?

2. That is exactly what I just did here—reported it. You got an issue with that? I'm not sure why you're telling me to do the very thing I just finished doing...

3. Fair enough. But how are we supposed to know how "be more specific..." is going to end up in any given argument?
There's a much higher chance that "you're playing dumb" gets taken the wrong way compared to "be more specific."

Beyond that, the core issue is how something is sent, not how it's received. That's the foundation of it all.
So, if someone sends "wow, you're so smart" as an insult—that's a sarcastic jab. But that exact same sentence could be sent as a genuine compliment...
Therefore, whether something is an insult doesn't depend on the recipient, but on the sender—whether they intended it as one. That's the key.
Intent matters, not personal interpretation. Intent is singular, while interpretations... well, there can be a hundred of those.

And a question for you... I'm not entirely sure if you're a moderator or just someone whose word carries weight later on? Like, if you say "playing dumb" is allowed, does that count? Does your stance represent the forum's official policy, or are you just another user like me?...

Brian Edwards6 said:I feel like we actually touched on something similar via Direct Message recently, so it seems odd that this isn't clicking for you. Look, asking for proof isn't the issue—it’s just that you have a tendency to turn discussions into personal spats, whether you're talking to someone you know or just a stranger online... and you've been asked to dial back the tension. There are also several deleted comments (not just yours) that followed that same pattern, so the admins can easily verify what I'm saying.👍

What we talked about before doesn't really change the point I'm making here. If there's some lingering issue from that previous conversation that bothers you, feel free to bring it up again.

I honestly don't see where the confusion lies with my question, so I'll just lay it out one more time...

Is it actually acceptable to tell someone they're "playing dumb," considering that's what a moderator is saying? And am I allowed to use a phrase like that in the future without getting flagged?

Is that clear enough for you? thanks.

Hey everyone, I wanted to lodge a complaint regarding a moderator... I know this isn't technically about the rulebook, but I figured I’d just drop it here rather than starting an entirely new thread.

The moderator, crimsonsailor7, sent me a Direct Message containing the following—let me quote her:

"You can play dumb all you want and keep giving examples..."

Now, that might not seem like a huge deal on its own, but just two posts prior to that, I hadn't even received a formal warning—not a ban, just a heads-up—stating that my "tone" in my posts was off.

The reasoning provided by the moderator for my supposed tone was this:
"Conversations using phrases like: come on, prove it, I'm listening... write back once you actually have some experience, be more specific, etc."

So, essentially, I'm being flagged for saying things like "come on, prove it, I'm listening, be more specific"—phrases I use in a legal discussion where evidence and facts are the whole point—
yet the person issuing the warning decides to tell me I'm "playing dumb."

In my quotes, there isn't a single insult to be found, whereas calling someone "dumb" is clearly derogatory and insulting.

So, I'm wondering... did the moderator make a mistake here? Or is it now acceptable on this forum to tell people "stop playing dumb" without facing any consequences, while phrases like "I'm listening, prove it, be specific" are treated as violations?

Thanks,
Michael Vaughn2

Just so I’m clear here—what’s the actual downside of starting a thread that ends up being a dud and fizzles out after maybe two pages?

I honestly don't see the issue... if a thread dies, great, just archive or delete it after a while and move on.

If it actually takes off, even better—it means the OP hit a nerve and sparked a real conversation.

It’s a WIn-WIn situation, really.

The only way anyone actually loses is if a topic clearly HAS potential, but then someone decides not to pull the trigger and start the discussion in the first place.

Am I missing something here, or am I right on the money?

Hey there,
does anyone have any recommendations for some headphones to pair with my General Motors setup? I'm looking for something within this price range that I can actually find easily here in the States.

Ideally, they’d be as $0.33

as possible.
Something along the lines of this:
http://store.razerzone.com/store/raz...oryId.35096300

thanks!

Keith Bennett38 said:Just grab this and get it installed
http://wlcalendargadget.codeplex.com...eleaseId=33200

Exactly! That’s precisely what I’m talking about...

Keith Bennett38 said:Think of that Windows gadget more like a little desk calendar sitting on your desktop... 🙂
whereas Outlook calendar is fully online—if you want those reminders to actually pop up, you've got to be logged into your Outlook account first.

I did... I set everything up over there, but now I'm stuck—I have no clue how to actually pull that calendar into the gadget itself...

Keith Bennett38 said:Unfortunately, that’s not really a reminder—it’s just a calendar. It shows you today's date, or if you click it, you get the full month view.

Well, that doesn't really serve much of a purpose then, does it?

I was looking at some Windows Live calendar stuff... could you take a closer look and see if there's any way to actually set a reminder...

I just don't get it... 😢

Hey everyone, does anyone actually know what the purpose of that Gadget CALENDAR is?

I mean, I honestly don't get it. It just sits there on the screen showing the date—and that's it? If I want to see the date, I'll just glance at the taskbar down below. Who is this even for?

I was under the impression you could actually log reminders, birthdays, and stuff like that... if that were the case, it might actually be useful, but as it stands, it feels totally pointless.

So, my question is: does anyone know if you can actually input reminders into that calendar, or if there’s some other specific GADGET out there that handles a reminder calendar?

Please don't suggest third-party apps for reminders because I already have those. I'm specifically wondering if there's a dedicated gadget for Windows 7 that supports reminders.

Thanks, and cheers

wiredmarlin5 said:Apple Magic Keyboard—you can find them used on eBay for maybe 400 bucks...$167.

I had the mouse, too. Honestly, it was a fantastic mouse for this kind of work.

So, I ended up grabbing a keyboard and MK300 mouse combo for $350
.
The keyboard works from pretty much anywhere, but the mouse range is pathetic... barely gets you 6 feet before it cuts out. Just my luck... 😢

Hey everyone, does anyone know of a wireless mouse and keyboard combo that actually holds a connection up to 3 meters?

A buddy of mine has a set that claims a 4m range, but in reality, it cuts out after just 2... which isn't great.

So, if you have any solid recommendations—I really need something that can handle at least a 3-meter gap🙂

Thanks

P.S. I don't care much about high-end sensor quality or DPI resolution here—distance is the only thing that matters.🙂 Just looking for something budget-friendly that works at that 3m mark, since it's basically just for navigating a plasma screen and watching movies from my PC...