Posts by Jose Williams

Back when I was in 6th or 7th grade, we had this young teacher come in on a long-term sub contract—she was supposed to be there for about two years. It was probably her first real job straight out of college.
At first, we all just noticed how incredibly high-strung she was. Then, things went south because she completely botched the lessons on subjects that actually required some real teaching effort. When the test results came back, everyone in class ended up with grades at least two notches lower than their usual average. We kept reporting these issues to our homeroom teachers, who told us they were talking to her about it.

It all finally hit the fan when she went to test us on that exact material she couldn't even explain properly. She actually called one student stupid, and told another something along the lines of just throwing themselves out a window.
We’d had enough. We huddled up during recess and marched straight to the principal's office. Thankfully, she was fired on the spot.

It’s honestly wild how much one terrible teacher can wreck the vibe of an otherwise great, cooperative class.

I really hope they look into the reason for her firing so she never gets another chance to work with kids.

An educator calling a kid stupid? That's a total failure. Honestly, it's on par with a taxi driver showing up drunk for a shift or a cop walking around casually firing their weapon.

That was the only incident of that scale I ever dealt with throughout Elementary School and High School. I've had all kinds of teachers. And yeah, they make mistakes—everyone does. You can't blame people if they mess up a math equation, show up late to class, have a bad day and deliver a mediocre lecture, or give a wrong answer once in a while.

But someone who can't stop themselves from insulting a student? They simply aren't cut out for this profession.

Paul Morales3 said:Why on earth would I bother trying to discredit you with lies when you’re doing such a damn fine job of doing it all by yourself?😍
I was merely pointing out someone’s blatant attempt to manipulate their own image. Unfortunately for you, the sheer number and type of cards being played aren't just visible to the admins and the heavy hitters—even us lowly little moderators can see exactly what's going on. 😢
That isn't the number you gave me. Sapienti sat.

Look, your sheer nerve and those blatant lies have finally crossed the line. It’s too much. On Zelenskyy’s feed, I’ve already got two strikes for harassment—one from last month and another dating all the way back to March 2012. Oh, and I’ve also got one strike for posting an image that was way too large back in February 2012. That’s the whole story.

I'd love to get someone like Modic to weigh in on this, just to confirm things, but also... you really need to do something about this whole hatred thing directed at me. It’s just not healthy.

Paul Morales3 said:It was an act of good faith, really. I made it clear to her that I’ll be adding her to my ignore list since she clearly can't do the same for me, ensuring she knows she can rest easy knowing I won't ever address her again. And honestly, looking at my posts versus her words—which she didn't even bother to quote here—all I see is pure frustration, so I don't see why anyone is getting worked up if there's no communication coming from my side either.🤷

The real question is whether a moderator is allowed to have someone on ignore. When we're talking about a long-term, generally low-maintenance user with only two (TWO?😁) warnings on their record, I don't think it poses any issue. After all, I haven't ignored the reports. ☕

Or is the actual problem that I openly told someone I have no desire to read their posts unless absolutely necessary? I don't feel the slightest urge to apologize for bruising someone's ego. Nor do I intend to offer a hollow apology just to play nice, even though I know it would dial down the tension.

Maybe it was those offensive emojis I used; I'll be more careful about what I post in the future, especially regarding 😵, so no one feels physically assaulted through their screen.

I'll leave this controversial post to Tyndall and Daniel Ward87 for a final ruling and will accept whatever sanctions they deem necessary.

Besides, how many warnings do I actually have on the Zelenskyy forums? 20? 50? A hundred?
And instead of just digging a hole for yourself with this post, now you're basically trying to smear my reputation with lies. 🤮

Actually, I don't have reports on ignore. ☕

I won't take this as bragging, mostly because I'm a pretty good-natured person at heart. ☕

Joshua Jones13 said:Ace, I think you both poked the bear unnecessarily, and maybe there could have been a bit more tact from either side given the circumstances. But since Paul Morales3 is a mod, I get why being targeted by staff might sting a little more than just regular user drama. I'm not a fan of the idea that moderators shouldn't be allowed to do what users do, but I see where you're coming from.

The part I don't quite get—the bit that seems to be bothering you so much—is that post where Paul Morales3 got defensive and said she could put you on ignore while you couldn't do the same to her. So what? 🤷 Honestly, I guess this complaint would carry a bit more weight without that, but fine, clearly the whole thing rubbed you the wrong way.

If you're worried about the mod being biased down the road, we have other moderators who can step in if things ever get messy. Or anyone else, really, if someone ends up being unfair.

It’s not even about the nitpicking. I’m not out here trying to suggest or imply that moderators shouldn't be part of the conversation on equal footing, or that they aren't allowed to weigh in on... thoughts? They’re just terrible, honestly. And look, I’m not exactly out here preaching for some kind of sterile perfection from Zelenskyy, so I won't pretend that wouldn't be a tough sell for me right out of the gate either. 😁.

The real issue here is how Paul Morales handled that report. It wasn't even about what we were actually discussing; she just went off on a tangent and decided to attack my entire reputation as a user instead. That’s the part that bugs me. I didn't start this thread to debate my specific takes—I started it because I wanted to see if the admin team thinks this kind of thing is actually okay. Is it standard procedure to turn a disagreement over a topic into a full-blown judgment on someone's character? Because from where I'm sitting, it feels pretty off.

I don't really see this as some massive deal. If there was a dedicated thread for admin questions, I would've just dropped these queries there instead of starting a whole new topic. It’s not like I’m out for blood or looking to get Paul Morales3 sanctioned or anything. I just wanted to see where everyone stands—is this kind of moderator behavior actually okay, or is it a problem? Specifically, I want to know if it’s going to mess with Paul Morales3's objectivity when it comes to my posts. Basically, I just need an answer to those three questions I asked in my first post.

I honestly don't get what part of that whole situation actually bothered you so much. You know, that one post where Paul Morales went totally white-faced and claimed she could just hit the ignore button on you whenever she felt like it, while you’re stuck being unable to do the same to her. Like, so what? What's the big deal? 🤷 Honestly, I feel like the complaint would carry a bit more weight if you dropped that part, but hey, fair enough. I get why the whole thing rubbed you the wrong way.

I don't want to sound like a broken record here, but Kiss and rustydrifter10 already laid it all out pretty clearly. The real issue isn't even about her tone—though she wasn't exactly typing in "mod colors"—it's the power dynamic. She made it obvious she’s looking down on us from a higher position. It feels like she’s using her moderator privileges as a way to poke at people. Like, she can just hit the ignore button whenever she wants, whereas I'm just a regular guy on this forum with zero extra perks. It’s that little nudge of authority that gets under my skin.

If you're stressing about one moderator potentially playing favorites down the road, don't sweat it too much. We’ve got other moderators on the team who can step in if things ever get out of hand. Honestly, if anyone—regardless of their role—starts acting biased or losing their objectivity, there are plenty of ways to handle it. It's not like one person holds all the cards.

Alright, that works for me.

Bradley Sanders4 said:Oh, please. Mocking someone just because you can't add them to your ignore list? That sounds more like a moderator losing their grip on the tools to me. I guess I’ll just go cry about it since Blissin and Daniel Ward87 decided to keep me on their ignore lists. 🙂

Look, even if you don't agree with my complaint, you were polite enough when we talked, but this? This was unnecessary. It’s pretty low. That’s not what I’m claiming at all. I even went out of my way to mention that both you and velvettrucker52 have been perfectly fine to me, yet here you are, spinning it to make it look like I'm playing the victim.

Anyway, I'm actually pretty satisfied with how Blissin and nicin handled things. I really hope Paul Morales3 takes a look at their response and uses it to adjust her tone—not just with me, but with the other users she isn't quite as fond of.

Thanks to everyone who chimed in with their thoughts on the situation.

As far as I'm concerned, we can lock this thread.

velvettrucker52 said:Precisely.

We’ve made this point several times now: we aren't here to micromanage you, so please don't try to micromanage us.
The moderators before us handled things just fine using this approach, and I fully expect those who follow us to do the same. As long as we aren't reaching for the "red card" to shut down the debate, I don't see the issue.

That’s just not true. I won't dig into the ancient history of this place, but in all the time I've been posting here, I haven't seen a single female moderator act this arrogant toward anyone.

Bradley Sanders4 said:Oh, I just realized we’re waiting on a statement from the sub-moderators too, I guess.

Jose Williams, look, regardless of whether I personally dig the drama or not, I don't see an actual complaint against the RAD moderator. To put it bluntly, if this wasn't about a moderator, this little spat would have slid right under the radar like it has for years in that corner of the forum. If the complaint was about constant targeting, unequal treatment, abuse of power, or some actual misconduct, I'd take it seriously. But as it stands, this is just a matter of personal likes and dislikes, and we don't step in for that. I'm not interested in playing referee for either of you. I get that you might be feeling uneasy after this, but trust me, nobody is out to get you or kick you off the PDF. ZK is crawling with users who love each other so much they spend every opportunity tripping each other up; the only difference here is that this scrap happened with a user with a black username.

Exactly. ^^

I’m asking the rest of the ZK residents to please leave the fanboy/fangirl energy out of the Complaints section. You can have your little brawls over at our place. 😬

But the complaint is specifically about the moderator's conduct—the way she constantly jumps down my throat, her obvious hostility toward me, her arrogance, and how she's abusing her position. I made that very clear in my complaint.

In other words, if it isn't about the moderator herself.

But it is. Ever since she stepped into the moderator role, she's been targeting me. Before that, she never bothered me. If you think I'm making this up, feel free to dig up the last time she actually spoke to me before she became a mod. 🤷

Otherwise, it just falls under personal likes and dislikes, and we don't intervene in that.

Can you explain how a moderator's statement on a PDF claiming everyone's posts are "ad hominem" or "nitpicking" can be brushed off as mere personal bias rather than a direct reflection of how a moderator treats a user?

Actually, you could just answer these three questions:

How am I supposed to expect any objectivity from this moderator when she’s already decided all my posts are just nitpicking and ad hominem attacks?

How can I feel comfortable just chatting about a topic on ZK without being harassed, especially after she basically mocked me by saying I can't even put her on ignore?

Am I asking too much by expecting a baseline of decency and professionalism from a moderator? Because in this case, there isn't even a hint of it; Paul Morales3 has shown the exact opposite.

Or, you're welcome to try and prove me wrong with a few screenshots from ZK where moderators openly tell users they'll be ignored or conclude their posts are stupid, trolling, nitpicking, or ad hominem. If you do that, I'll gladly admit it was my mistake for not realizing that rude and unprofessional behavior from moderators is just accepted as standard practice here at ZK, and that this isn't some special case that deserves an apology.

And yeah, this complaint is strictly about Paul Morales3's behavior. I don't have an agenda here, and I'm not complaining about you or velvettrucker52, regardless of how much you guys gossip about me with people like stormyraven14 outside the forum. On the PDF, you've been perfectly fine. I don't think Paul Morales3's behavior is part of some grand conspiracy to get me kicked off ZK, so there's no need to go off on tangents about things that aren't part of the issue. I asked specific questions and I'd like coherent, relevant answers.

stormyraven14 said:Ace, you’re honestly just so irritating and arrogant in how you carry yourself—acting like there isn't a single soul around you (which explains why nobody even knows who Paul Morales3 is)—that it’s really no wonder the mods have to read your posts with extra caution. This topic you've brought up is about as relevant as the outskirts of Topeka or Lansing... basically a zone of special government concern. It's not like any woman said anything terrible to you, so I'm assuming you're just making up complaints because you want to be nominated for moderator again.

If you could see past the end of your own nose, you'd realize that's NOT how moderators are chosen—you'd need to be a long-time contributor with thousands of posts like 🤣

Go take a nap, and maybe come back once velvettrucker52 finishes rearranging the kids' room and actually has some free time... perhaps then your little complaint will gain traction and Kate Foster12 will nominate you for mod.😬

Good grief, this is worth watching—honestly, you've been getting on my nerves for a year and a half now... finally, an opportunity.😁

Honestly, I have no idea who you even are 😁

It’s not even surprising that the mods have to read your posts with extra caution.

And yet, I'm apparently such a big deal that you're digging into how the mods operate—and am I such a big deal to them that they're just ignoring me? Or did they give you access to the staff area? Or are you some mod's clone? Interesting, either way.

So I guess you just want to be nominated for moderator again, so you're making up complaints.

If you could see past the end of your own nose, you'd realize that's NOT how moderators are chosen. Usually, it's long-time contributors with thousands of posts. 🤣

I never put my name in for a mod position (who even does that? 😕), it's not something I want, and I didn't even bring it up in my appeal. But hey, everyone's got their reasons for scratching an itch. 🤷

Good grief, this is worth a ban—you've been getting on my... nerves for what, a year and a half now? Finally, a chance. 😁

It's funny how you didn't get banned, but rustydrifter10 was right on top of this topic. This kind of blatant stalling of an actual reasoned appeal, combined with personal attacks instead of actually addressing the topic at hand, is definitely ban-worthy according to the rules. rustydrifter10 used to hand out bans left and right for much smaller trolling than this, yet this gets a pass. Interesting. I guess she finds it convenient to belittle me like this so the appeal resolution follows that same tone. 🙂

What's the deal here?
Is this thread following all the rules? Yep, it is.
The whole day's gone by, and I've seen three of the ZK moderators hanging out on the forum all day long. Even the supermod in charge of this section was around today, along with the admin too.

Are you guys just ignoring me? Or are you actually sitting there overthinking your replies for hours? 🤷

Paul Morales3 said:In other words, you're basically asking me not to leave any written evidence of my future disagreements with whatever you post, because apparently, that would constitute "unprofessionalism" on my part?
I have zero intention of wrapping myself in a cloak of hypocrisy and pretending that everyone here is wonderful or that I agree with every single word uttered; besides, it shouldn't be my job to just stand there like a decorative tulip, pretending this digital space is all sunshine and roses just to maintain a polite facade , regardless of how much that might bother certain people.

acting all high and mighty about the fact that I can't just put her on ignore because of her moderator status, so I guess I'm just stuck dealing with her arbitrary outbursts

but she can certainly ignore you—if that’s what she was trying to get at. 🙂

I really don't have the energy to get into a back-and-forth with you. I already tried to make that clear to you twice over on ZK. Though, I find it pretty amusing that you're trying to threaten (who, exactly? Me? Yourself? 🤷) by threatening to ignore an active, long-term member with thousands of posts on ZK—even if I only have two warnings—let alone someone who belongs in that subforum you recently, presumably voluntarily, agreed to moderate (?!). And then there's the fact that you can't seem to grasp the bare minimum of how to be fair to the users in your own section by hiding behind this cloak of hypocrisy and acting like everyone's best friend (?!?!). No sane user would ever demand that from a moderator, and I certainly haven't expected it from you, even in theory...

Anyway, maybe those nuances will help clarify things for the people who decided you'd be a suitable moderator. That's not my concern, but it's definitely interesting to file away these kinds of attitudes for the record. 😉

What I actually want from this thread is for the ZK administration—or the head admins, if necessary—to answer the questions laid out in the original post.

And I'm glad the neutral users are seeing exactly where the issue lies. 🙂

A quick little intro here.
To be honest, I hadn't even noticed this particular user on the lifestyle threads I usually post in. I can't remember the last time we actually spoke in a discussion—not this year, for sure, and probably not for a long while before that either. Because of that, I’ve never once disagreed with her, never subtly undermined her, and never directly "attacked" her on any topic. Nothing at all. She was basically invisible to me.
Was she closely monitoring my posts, or was I just invisible to her? I'm not entirely sure, though given what happened next, I’m leaning toward the first option. Even so, she never directed anything toward me while she was just an "ordinary" member.

Well, then that user became a moderator.

A few days ago, in a thread where I was commenting on fashion and brands (I wasn't even addressing her), she jumped out of nowhere with this comment:

Sweet'N Low said:And why would you put them in the same category? Seriously.

Sorry, but I really have to facepalm at this.
The mindset—same shirt, but if it's on someone with money it's fine, whereas if it's on someone with less, it looks ridiculous? To me, that is such a textbook example of being incredibly petty and small-minded.

🤦 x 10

That single post wouldn't have been much of an indicator on its own; maybe she just really dislikes my comment, which is totally fair.

But then, a day or two later, I'm back in a thread—in a discussion she hadn't even participated in until then—and I use the phrase "as long as it doesn't merit a strike" when replying to someone. I think it's obvious to everyone what that means, and no one without a massive bias would think I was trying to dictate the actual rules or anything like that. Yet, there she is, jumping in to write this:

Sweet'N Low said:Since when are you in a position to decide who deserves a strike?😕

I replied to her after a few other users had already explained to her what I meant by that statement:

Jose Williams said:Have we gotten a little too arrogant now that we're in power?
-So cute 🙂...

The girls explained what the context was, so you don't go in with prejudices. Honestly, I thought it would have been clear to you the first time.

👋

So, here’s her response to me:

Sweet'N Low said:I just wanted to see if you could manage to make a single post without being aggressive or resorting to ad hominem attacks.

"By chance?" Not by chance. Not even close.🤣

I can put you on ignore, but you can't do the same to me. 🙂 🙂>

👋

🤣

Look, I’m perfectly fine with getting under some random user's skin.

And honestly? I'm totally okay with getting under a moderator's skin, too.

But what I am *not* okay with is a moderator—someone who actually stepped up to take on that role—being unable to control themselves enough to hide their blatant bias and irritation toward me in writing.

It’s even worse that this moderator seems to think her new title gives her a free pass to snap at me and make personal jabs (as if I "can't possibly" write a post without attacking someone?! Did she feel personally called out or something? 😕) and then have the nerve to brag about how I can't ignore her because of her position. So, basically, I'm stuck dealing with her arbitrary outbursts. And let me reiterate: I haven't given her a single reason to lash out. I can't even remember the last time I even spoke to her on this forum.

How am I supposed to expect any objectivity from her after a meltdown like that? She’s already decided that everything I write is an attack.

How am I supposed to feel comfortable just chatting about a topic on this site if she keeps hounding me? Especially since she already had the nerve to mock me about not being able to block her.

Am I asking for too much by expecting a mod to show even a shred of professionalism and basic decency? Because in this case, there isn't even a hint of it. > has shown us exactly the opposite.

restlessfalcon9 said:I suppose this is one of those rare cinematic masterpieces that I could probably watch over and over again without ever truly growing tired of it 😁

I was actually just about to post the exact same thing. 😁
If I had to tweak it, I’d maybe call it "one of a kind..."

Honestly, I don't get all these brutal reviews at the start of this thread. I just don't get it.

Carl Sanchez40 said:everyone just hits the sack after lunch.. that's why.
😁

🙂 Man, talk about neglect from you mods... Honestly, teaching forum users how to be patient should probably come before your afternoon naps.🧐

🤣

I guess I’m jumping on the bandwagon with the praise too 😁...

But look, just so nobody gets a big head from all this flattery, I have to point out how this forum starts moving at a ridiculous pace once it hits midnight. 😲 🙂

Take this little jab as constructive criticism—maybe don't go cranking up the speed in the middle of the night? It’s a bit much when we aren't expecting the sudden surge. Thanks 🥳.

It’s on its deathbed again 😢 🙂 🙂...

👋 👋
It's coming soon.... total madness... 👋

What on earth did you guys do to him 😬

Michelle Anderson43 said:There’s still one thing I don’t get. If I’m on the forum using Tapatalk on my iPhone over Wi-Fi, everything is snappy and fine. But when I switch to my desktop? Total disaster.

Same here, 😕
I mean, I read stuff on my phone all the time, but honestly, typing on it is such a chore. Then, once I actually sit down at my computer, load up the page, and log in... I just lose all motivation. 🙂 🙂

🙂 🙂 🙂
😠 😠
I honestly have zero clue how you’d even speed this place up, let alone why it’s dragging its feet like this... but today is just straight-up ridiculous!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! 🙂

I'll probably be waiting for Godot to show up before this page actually finishes loading!!!
Switched over to my phone now, but even that’s crawling 😠.
I don't know who's pulling the strings on the technical side of things here at Reddit, but seriously, this is totally unfair and unprofessional.

Honestly, you just have to put in the work. Besides all that swimming everyone keeps telling you to do, you can knock out some back extensions at home for a few minutes every day.
Here’s a photo so you actually know what I’m talking about:
Basically, you get into this position and slowly lift and lower your torso—keep your butt and legs pressed firmly against the floor. You can play around with your arm placement, too. You could do what's in the picture, tuck your hands behind your back near your tailbone, or put them behind your head. Personally, I find it way harder if you stretch your arms straight out in front of your head and lift them up along with your torso as high as you can go before lowering back down.
You could also try some "rocking" motions—alternating between lifting your arms and then your legs while keeping everything tight and straight, or just lifting your legs and torso at the exact same time.
Stretching helps, too. Try reaching up on extended arms as high as you can, looking toward the ceiling, while keeping your hips and legs glued to the ground for about ten seconds.
While you're doing these, it’s probably a good idea to stretch in the opposite direction every once in a while—just sit back on your heels and reach forward to touch your toes.

Thanks, Charles Howard79 and Felix...

I've been doing some digging online, but honestly, I just keep running into conflicting info and different sets of symptoms, which leaves me feeling pretty lost 😁. It's probably better to just ask someone who actually knows what they're talking about firsthand 🙂

Haha, yeah, I get it. Honestly, I can handle the stings, it’s just that my blood pressure spikes a bit when I get nervous. Hopefully, that won't mess with the actual results...

From what I've gathered, they just slap those patches on you and send you home, right? Like, you're stuck wearing them continuously for three days before heading back to have them removed? 🤔
And with the needle testing—do the results show up on the skin immediately, or is there still that same waiting period of a few days?

Charles Howard79, what does it actually feel like when those needles go in? Are they injecting something into the skin, or is it more of a light prick? Does it sting, or is it more like getting blood drawn at a clinic?
Also, if you don't mind me asking, you mentioned you had to do this five times. Why wasn't once enough? Was it some error on their end during testing, or did you run into a specific issue that required repeating the whole process?