Issues on the Los Angeles subreddit

It feels like trolling and straight-up insults have become the norm on Reddit lately, especially since Pilatus keeps showing up to ruin every single thread with his nonsense until someone else steps in and starts being even more aggressive toward the jet topic

I’d really appreciate it if the admins could step in and address this behavior, and maybe take a quick look through the recent threads because you'll see that most of us regular posters are actually pretty fed up with Pilatus-esque trolling—which, if I remember correctly, even earned him a three-day ban recently, but he hasn't changed a bit since then

Signed. ☕

What happened to the moderation on this thread? On other parts of the forum, you barely misstep and you’re slapped with a ban, yet here, people are posting absolute garbage every single day and getting nothing but a slap on the wrist. There’s zero response, whether it’s spontaneous outbursts or actual reports. Every meaningful post just gets drowned out by a sea of endless bickering. People are actually bragging about how they troll and how they’ll just make clones to keep the chaos going. wtf?

Wait, so you guys seriously linked posts that were written less than 24 hours ago and just assumed absolutely nobody would care, deciding it was better to start a whole new thread over on Reddit just to get some attention?

I don't see it, and honestly, I doubt any single moderator on this forum is glued to their screen every second of the day either. I see the reports coming in, and I just react to whatever looks like it actually needs a response.
Most of the time, Pilatus is just trolling, and yeah, he gets banned for that, but it’s not like every single little disagreement is a troll move worthy of a ban—sometimes people just have different takes or ways of thinking.

The user whose posts you were linking has already been sanctioned.

I didn't wait this long to start a thread just because I'm slow to react; I honestly just wanted us all to have a little space to vent together about what’s happening over at Los Angeles. I remember some guy opened a thread a while back where everyone was complaining about Pilatus, but if I recall correctly, that probably wasn't the best spot for it—this feels like much more appropriate territory for this kind of thing. It seems like folks who have been around the block for a while have always pointed out that he has his fair share of issues and has always been a bit of a headache, so I guess I have to ask the admins if it's really okay to let this kind of behavior slide for a user like that. This isn't just me being a whiner or trying to claim ownership of the topic, but I've definitely noticed that most people on that sub are constantly frustrated with Pilatus and are hoping for something a bit more substantial than just having every single post deleted by a moderator.

This isn't about one single post or someone losing their cool in the heat of the moment. This is about the fact that Pilatus is allowed to constantly provoke everyone, setting this aggressive tone that others just jump into on basically every active thread on Reddit. Because of this endless bickering, there’s zero room for actual conversation. Pilatus is perfectly capable of acting like a normal person; he just chooses not to. This isn't some case of "having a different opinion." He isn't proving a point with his slogans; he’s just stirring the pot and mocking people. I don't get why this is being permitted. Is it just to drive up the traffic and page views on Reddit?

If anyone actually knows the ins and outs of bans and partial suspensions, it’s manchild. He started that thread because he was fed up with how long we've been waiting for a moderator to actually do something, and now he’s been unfairly banned.

The Coca-Cola in a hot dog comment was the final straw. He went way too far, and now he’s been wiped out while Pilatus just sits there laughing. Pilatus has been trolling for much longer than a mere 24 hours.

Seriously, it’s like every single thread I stumble upon where Pilatus has chimed in somehow morphs into "everyone vs. Pilatus." This guy joins a forum that’s literally built for exchanging ideas, debating, and just hanging out, yet all he does is stir the pot, provoke people, try to force his "correct" opinions down everyone's throats, and just straight-up disrespect folks—both directly and through those annoying little jabs. Look, it's totally normal if two users get into it and bicker over different topics now and then, but this isn't that. This is one specific user who targets a certain group of people. Everywhere he goes, he leaves a trail of chaos behind him. So, honestly, what's the actual problem here? ☕

I am 100% with you—it's ridiculous to expect us to just "not overreact" or to just ignore his comments and move on... The guy is fundamentally breaking the forum and ruining the experience for everyone else, and then we're the ones forced to defend ourselves only to end up getting banned or whatever.

Nathan Moore6 said:Lately, it seems like trolling and outright insults have become the standard on Reddit—from users behaving in a Pilatus-esque manner by ruining every single thread, to individuals who simply resort to blunt, vulgar abuse within specific discussions...

I would ask that the administrators take action against this behavior—perhaps by reviewing recent threads and posts—to see that most regular contributors are actually pushing back against this Pilatus-esque trolling. If I recall correctly, he was hit with a three-day ban recently because of it, yet the behavior hasn't ceased since...

None of these links are working. 🤷 Instead of being banned for trolling, his posts are just being deleted?

Douglas Johnson41 said:None of the links actually work, 🤷 so instead of just getting trolled, does he just have his posts deleted?

If I remember correctly, that guy is basically permanently banned at this point because his posts were wiped for being way too disrespectful to people in the thread.

Douglas Johnson41 said:none of the links actually work 🤷 so instead of just trolling, maybe his posts are being nuked?

Well, isn't it possible the guy got banned and had his posts wiped too?
He got sanctioned and the posts were cleared because they were basically nothing but insults, which honestly have no business being in this thread.

My apologies—I was under the impression we were discussing a Pilatus aircraft rather than some other model

It’s obviously Pilatus. I don't get why the mods are acting so clueless. What he's doing is the textbook definition of trolling.

That isn't quite right. The links included in the opening post of this thread weren't actually referring to the Pilatus posts.

I started trying to multi-post, but honestly, I’m just over it. Are you people even real, or just bots programmed to respond to nothing but links? I’ve flagged specific posts using the little arrow icon, and absolutely nothing happens. Start actually reading what people are telling you. Or don't, whatever—it's not like anyone can force you to give a damn.

Just look at the top ten threads on Reddit
The level of trolling is obvious without needing someone to point it out to you.

Michelle Evans, please, just read the very first post above from Nathan Moore6. It’s about Pilatus. There hasn't been any response to it for weeks, if not months.

Just two general points to clarify:
- When you click that little flag icon, the report goes straight to the moderators of this specific subforum. In this instance, that means the moderators of the "Great American" subreddit.
- We don't ask for links simply because we're feeling lazy or don't want to hunt them down ourselves. Rather, it’s because to actually evaluate a complaint, we need to see exactly what the user considers objectionable. After all, any moderator could argue that people often find the most absurd things offensive while viewing the truly problematic stuff as perfectly fine.
Therefore, regardless of which subreddit we're discussing, an appeal must include both a clear explanation and a direct link to the behavior in question.

I ask that everyone continues to follow this protocol here as well.

Just to clarify, I started this thread because trying to link to every single instance of Pilatus trolling on the Los Angeles subreddit would be an absolute nightmare, though if an admin just took a quick look at the first dozen threads, they'd see that everyone here is pretty much fed up with him and is asking for some partial bans. I've reported his behavior more times than I can count, and he actually did get a three-day ban once, but honestly, he just won't stop acting out, and since other members have mentioned he’s already had two partial bans, it feels a little weird to me that he's still being allowed to break the rules like this.

steelwalker26 said:Michelle Evans, please just take a second to read the very first post above by Nathan Moore6. It’s about Pilatus. There hasn't been any response to him for weeks, maybe even months...

But honestly, I don't see why we need this kind of tone.

I read through this entire discussion a long time ago, including those deleted posts found in the links.

The links provided in the opening post don't actually refer to anything posted by Pilatus but rather to some extremely offensive posts from a user named Coca-Cola in a hot dog. Douglas Johnson41 asked about the content in those links and (incorrectly) assumed Pilatus was the author. He also wrongly assumed they were merely deleted. It was already explained how they were handled...

This complaint covers two things. First, the Coca-Cola in a hot dog posts linked in the intro, and second, Pilatus's general activity on Reddit. It isn't just the latter. The moderators have already settled the first issue, and they are still discussing the second...

Nathan Moore6 said everything that needed saying:

Nathan Moore6 said:Just to be clear—I started this thread because trying to link every single instance of Pilatus's months-long trolling over on Reddit would be an impossible task...

As for Pilatus—he is either some Bloomberg-esque PR operative on a payroll, or simply a dedicated troll who goes out of his way to disrupt every discussion regarding Washington, D.C.—so, please, do whatever you see fit to ensure such behavior ceases...

Nathan Moore6 said:Lately, Reddit has become a free-for-all for trolling and insults. It’s getting to the point where Pilatus ruins every single thread with his constant baiting...

I’m asking the admins to... dig through the recent threads and posts. You'll see that the regular users here are all fed up with Pilatus-esque trolling—the same stuff that got him a three-day ban recently, if I recall correctly. He hasn't stopped since.

steelwalker26 said:...

Michelle Evans, please just read Nathan's first post above. We're talking about Pilatus. ...

Michelle Evans said:But honestly, I don't see why this kind of appeal is necessary.

I read the entire discussion here ages ago, including the deleted posts linked in the thread.

The links provided in the opening post don't actually pertain to Pilatus's posts ...

My apologies, but I don't understand what's wrong with my tone. I am being as polite as I can be. I have zero intention of insulting you. How am I supposed to know what you've already read? Based on what you wrote? That wasn't my impression. Given the purpose and content of this thread, I still maintain this is about Pilatus. The links in the first post might not be about him, but those aren't the only words on this page.

A single isolated post doesn't reflect the overall intent or attitude of any user here, mine included. Sure, individual posts get reported or sanctioned, but we are talking about a systematic approach to trolling the community.

The people on this forum calling out Pontius Pilate actually have a point.

Every single thread he touches turns into some "Pilate vs. Everyone Else" showdown—it gets impossible to follow after just a few pages.
The guy basically feels the need to troll any discussion that actually makes sense.
The Beautiful Our Land PDF and the NYC PDF generally get much lighter moderation compared to the rest of the board. It was the same deal back when Bloomberg was running things.
We haven't let up on Pilate or his crowd since day one, and well... look where that got us.