Posts by Rachel Phillips3

hollowtrucker77 said:Look, I'll be blunt, but people have every right to decide what works for them, even if they end up making a mess of things personally.
The only thing you shouldn't be doing is trying to steer someone away from legitimate medical science.

But what happens when a licensed professional—an actual doctor—is the one doing exactly that?

That’s because this forum hasn't seen a software update in years. Modern platforms actually bother to include RSS feeds. They automatically pull in news threads from selected sites into a PDF format, and then they just auto-lock after a while.

I’m seeing some actual progress here. It feels like leadership is finally stepping up to deal with the people poisoning this community—those shameless, dishonest trolls. I honestly appreciate how Mandragora is handling the "cleanup" over on the alternative board; it’s giving that PDF some much-needed breathing room. It was about time we barred those clueless types from accessing the site and sent them off to wander the deeper reaches of the internet where they belong. 🙂
I also have to say, I dig how ZgSash manages the banned users and appeals corner. Instead of just slamming threads shut and handing out bans like candy, they actually bother to meet people with logic and arguments. It shows they aren't ashamed of their calls; they actually stand by them. 👍 The thing is, the loudest voices in that corner usually lack the backbone to admit when they're wrong—they'll lie straight to your face—but at least there's no impression that anyone is being kicked out without cause. They get dismantled with facts, not just a blunt instrument. 🙂
There’s still plenty of work to be done, but you’re definitely heading in the right direction. 👍

I honestly don't understand why some of you think "Alternative" means just scribbling down whatever nonsense pops into your head. It’s as if I could start a thread claiming the moon doesn't even exist and then spend all day trying to prove it. That isn't an alternative perspective; it's just plain garbage. Frankly, people should be penalized for posting this kind of stuff because you've completely trashed a perfectly good subforum 😉

It’s about time we started seeing some actual positive shifts over at Alternative 👍
Alternative shouldn't be turning into a sci-fi novel, but a mountain of mindless topics and trolls has basically turned this subforum into fiction, when it really ought to maintain some connection to actual science.

Kudos to you 🙂

over the last three months, our forum's traffic has slipped by 3%. Even worse, the time people are actually spending on the site has dropped by 8%, and search engine referrals have cratered by 16%. That’s a direct hit to our Alexa and Google rankings. It’s a pretty pathetic way to run a forum 👍

It’s pretty obvious to me that Anderl doesn't give a damn about any of this.🙄

slywolf45 said:Bell, come back already 🙂

😬

👍 she can jump in too, if there isn't anyone else new around here.

feraltrucker5 said:Which current or former mod are you supposed to be a clone of? 😁

👍

Well, at least now I know whose clone I am not 🤣

It's all just in your head. 🤣 Everything is perfectly fine. 😂

Especially since it’s become impossible to even ban this particular nuisance. 🤣

I'm not some moderator's clone. 😁 I just actually care about this forum, so I offer my thoughts and a little advice from time to time. 😛😁

Susan Brooks83 said:I agree. 🙂
It isn't that simple; there are too many moving parts. 😉 A plan can exist, rules can be drafted,
it all looks great when you read the forum rules. It’s much like how we draft legislation back home,
whether it's constitutional, criminal, or civil law. We have all of that,
whether it's written down or exists in some digital space. The real question remains whether those laws and rules
are actually enforced and applied equally to everyone, whether in the U.S. or on this forum.
In daily life, we see a very different reality. Most of us notice it.

It’s not just the media that gets chaotic; anything can turn into chaos depending on what's being implemented—
law and order, or total disorder. Disorder breeds chaos, and in chaos, those who
created it are usually the ones navigating it best. And let's call it what it is: it's not "creative chaos," it's just disorder. People don't solve the consequences;
they should be tackling the root cause that led to them. But those "causes" are,
almost always conveniently hidden within the chaos, often by citing and quoting laws
(while ignoring them entirely or cherry-picking them to suit a specific agenda). The result is
a bunch of miserable people surrounding us, fueled by anger and helplessness.
The same goes for corporate management. You can't just run a company into the ground and
expect to be excused for it. If people are going to invoke a "Western work ethic," then they should also embrace
the Western way of thinking and how that work is actually valued. That applies to management
or any other position in a corporation. Unfortunately, looking at our local indicators, the results are often depressing.
We are still a long way from actual professionalism; instead, a certain "every man for himself" mentality prevails.
🥳

The same thing happens here. Some people quote the forum rules, but they only apply them
when it suits their whims. They hold moderator authority, yet they are the ones creating the mess and the chaos.

Ultimately, you have to wonder if this is some new forum plan
that the admins aren't aware of yet? 😬 Or maybe they don't want to know, or perhaps someone is trying to usurp
the admin role from within the moderation team, masking their behavior as "zealous enforcement of the rules." 🙄 😉

Everyone else is left just trying to keep their heads above water in these murky depths.
And the architects of this disorder, armed with their tanks of "oxygen," drag down those who are
still struggling to stay afloat. They pull them under using the very rules they refuse to follow themselves. 😁

You make some good points, but I can't quite connect some of your thoughts to the forum itself. I don't think this forum is a federal agency where every single movement needs a rigid, established protocol. A little creativity and thinking outside the box would actually be a good thing. BUT! There have to be boundaries. Those boundaries are set by the administrator through the rules, and he's responsible for protecting those limits and guiding moderators back onto the right path. Look at the moderator list. There are probably 150 of them. It's simply impossible for everyone to think exactly alike, for everyone to be identical, or for no one to ever make a mistake. That's why the administrator has to keep them in line, like a shepherd tending to his flock (forgive the comparison, but it's the only one that comes to mind).😁). With moderators this perfectly aligned, possessing such a crystal-clear vision for the forum, they can easily herd regular users like sheep 😁

Noah Fisher15 said:In my few years here—and I've clocked about 7,000 posts—I've never felt some massive, driving force behind this forum. It’s always been chaotic, and honestly, it always will be. That's just how it works when you give this many people a microphone. You can't expect anything else.

The Admin doesn't hold that much sway. It's really just the moderators, and even they don't always need to be front and center.

I think you're mistaken. The Administrator actually wields significant influence. Think of the forum like a major corporation. The Admins are top management; they set the long-term strategy and the overarching policy. The moderators, whether they like it or not, have to align with that roadmap. If there isn't a plan, then the moderators are essentially running wild. It's precisely because the medium is so inherently chaotic that someone needs to teach their team how to swim through it. We need creative chaos, not just mindless disorder. 😉 That’s just my take on things. No offense intended.

I know the headline makes it sound like I’m about to start throwing shade, but that’s not really my intention 😁 I just want to offer one single observation, a bit of advice 🙂
There’s always been someone acting as the main organizer on this forum—the head administrator, if you will. We’ve all noticed it; you can feel that person's presence and their specific style of politics. From what I recall of this place, it started out with Mr. Pes, though back then I was just a lurker and didn't really feel her influence. After her, we had Cats. A solid admin. It felt like she managed the moderators best; there was actual order. You got the sense the mods actually respected her—maybe even feared her a little. Regardless, she knew the job. Then came Bellwether. At first, I thought she was just a clone of Cats. She acted similar enough. But then I realized she wasn't, because she brought something different to the table. She actually joked around with the regular users, something Cats never really did (unless it was with her inner circle). Either way, Bellwether defined an era, and she wasn't bad at it 🙂
But now? Now we hit the point of my headline. Desiree and Axmi24 aren't the head admins. So, who is? Nobody 🙂
And you can tell. There's this sense of total anarchy here. The forum is crawling with trolls and spammers, which isn't surprising given that the moderators have started trolling themselves. I won't take sides against them right now 🙂
I think I've made myself clear enough. When are you going to bring in a new boss to get things under control and put this site back on the map? 👍

vividpilot5 said:There’s a massive difference between calling someone a fascist and calling them a patriot. Did you even read what I wrote? I consider myself a patriot. If you think being one means I’m a fascist, then you’re just being insulting.

I didn't say any of that in my post.🙄 I make a very clear distinction between patriotism and fascism.

And honestly, I have to say, the moderator gave an excellent response here.☕

vividpilot5 said:If I were running the show here, I’d have shut this thread down immediately. You ask a question just so you can force your own conclusions on everyone else—which, let's be honest, is basically a veiled insult to anyone who disagrees. Thread closed. User banned.☕

But I'm not the one in charge, so why nothing happened remains a mystery to me. From what I can gather, trying to predict the "creativity" of an American web moderator is a losing game.🤷

Anyway, just to make things crystal clear.
http://www.google.com/search?ie=UTF-...E+FA%C5%A0IZAM!

The whole point of an opening post is to pose a question and then offer your take. That's how this works.
I don't think it's an insult to tell a Black man he's Black. Nor is it an insult to call a fascist a fascist. Nobody was called out by name here. But if you see yourself in the description, then you're the one with the problem.
You love yourself and nobody else. Simple as that.

🙄