Why is the "Question" section being closed?

fadedsailor932 said:Yeah... true... bans aren't really the issue anymore. Now it’s all about shady accounts just trolling or posting off-topic crap. Though even that isn't a guarantee if you've got family connections on the site.

That’s just your take on it.
My take is that they were actually being incredibly careful with how they handed them out, and I think they deserve credit for that.

Besides, you can't even put those little "off-topic" or trolling penalties in the same sentence as an actual permanent ban...

Alex Watson said:I'm certain you're capable of checking registration dates, so I'm honestly surprised you're pushing these inaccuracies.
Can we please stop derailing the discussion with these minor distractions?

The most trivial thing here is your eight posts so far—not just your blunt opinions, but the frequency. You haven't said anything of substance; you just seem intent on acting as a shield for every single post and "accusation."

I honestly wouldn't be surprised if the admins lock this thread if people keep posting nonsense like this... and then you just know someone else will start whining about how they're always shutting stuff down.

To get back to what we were actually talking about, I think closing that massive, bloated thread was a smart move. It honestly seems way more efficient to tackle each specific issue in its own separate thread instead of having everything lumped together.

Alex Watson said:That’s just your take on it.
My take is that they were actually being incredibly careful with how they handed them out, and I think they deserve credit for that.

Besides, you can't even put those little "off-topic" or trolling penalties in the same sentence as an actual permanent ban...

Yeah... sure they were... let the debate run for a couple pages and then just start handing out cards left and right. They definitely watched the thread, though. If that counts as being "careful"...
Look, yeah, warnings for trolling and a permanent ban aren't the same thing... but when everything is based on whatever mood the mods are in and there's zero transparency, what's the difference? It’s the same deal as the bans. One person gets a month and another gets three days for the exact same thing. Someone gets a permaban for using an alt while their main is locked, and someone else suddenly becomes a moderator... you get the idea.
I'm not saying Sash was some saint—not even close—but at least with him, you knew where you stood. Nowadays? You could be a mod in some random corner of the site today, and tomorrow you're stuck managing a thread you haven't even read. All it takes is showing just the right amount of... "understanding"... toward the higher-ups.

Alex Watson said:I honestly wouldn't be surprised if the admins lock this thread if people keep posting nonsense like this... and then you just know someone else will start whining about how they're always shutting stuff down.

To get back to what we were actually talking about, I think closing that massive, bloated thread was a smart move. It honestly seems way more efficient to tackle each specific issue in its own separate thread instead of having everything lumped together.

If only they had done things this way from the start. But look, when an admin claims to be here "for the users" yet loses their cool at the first sign of actual criticism—even after a bunch of mods (myself included) warned them against it—it just shows this admin team isn't ready to lead a forum like this.

fadedsailor932 said:Yeah... sure they were... let the debate run for a couple pages and then just start handing out cards left and right. They definitely watched the thread, though. If that counts as being "careful"...
Look, yeah, warnings for trolling and a permanent ban aren't the same thing... but when everything is based on whatever mood the mods are in and there's zero transparency, what's the difference? It’s the same deal as the bans. One person gets a month and another gets three days for the exact same thing. Someone gets a permaban for using an alt while their main is locked, and someone else suddenly becomes a moderator... you get the idea.
I'm not saying Sash was some saint—not even close—but at least with him, you knew where you stood. Nowadays? You could be a mod in some random corner of the site today, and tomorrow you're stuck managing a thread you haven't even read. All it takes is showing just the right amount of... "understanding"... toward the higher-ups.

Well, if all this bothers you so much, how come it didn't bother you back when the former admin was uselessly banning and permabanning high-quality members over nothing, leading you to, say, step down from your position because of those kinds of actions?

Alex Watson said:It’s pretty obvious when you look at the endless pages of scathing reviews posted by hollowmason64 and her little group of allies, which somehow, miraculously, still haven't been scrubbed from the site...

Haha... if you look closely at those "strong points," you can definitely see some trolling from the admin, but honestly? There isn't much in the way of actual, concrete answers to be found there. 😁

Alex Watson said:So, when you run out of actual arguments, you resort to ad hominem, huh?

Under this administration, I haven't opened a single clone account, so your little accusation is completely off base.

I haven't used my original handle—which is actually older than yours—in a very long time, so there's zero point in me reactivating it now.

The only account I use is this one.

Can we please get back to the topic at hand?

We can certainly do that... as long as you're Nica, then you'll be the one answering my questions.

Alex Watson said:I don't know.
I honestly don't even know how a forum this massive works.
Maybe you've got a point.

But the fact that we can even sit here and debate this without worrying about getting banned suggests things are actually looking up compared to how they used to be...

Go ahead and ask Xena what she thinks about that kind of freedom.

fadedsailor932 said:If only they had done things this way from the start. But look, when an admin claims to be here "for the users" yet loses their cool at the first sign of actual criticism—even after a bunch of mods (myself included) warned them against it—it just shows this admin team isn't ready to lead a forum like this.

Look, I don't want to get dragged into the specifics of the moderator drama...

Alex Watson said:I don't know.
I honestly don't even know how a forum this massive works.
Maybe you've got a point.

But the fact that we can even sit here and debate this without worrying about getting banned suggests things are actually looking up compared to how they used to be...

Lately, the drama on here feels like a cheap daytime soap opera. Everything starts out totally normal, then suddenly it devolves into who’s sleeping with who, who’s best friends with whom, who wants to grab coffee, who won't share pics of their kids, whose dad is tougher, who's better in bed... And to make sure there's a predictable ending—everyone just gets told their complaints are baseless, they're all just trolls, this is pointless, case closed.

How many actual appeals have been resolved lately in favor of the users?
That's if we ignore the moderator complaints and just accept the assumption that they're all invalid because we never get to see the "real story" behind them. 😬
And what about the people who specifically asked to be permabanned just so they wouldn't have to deal with the stress, only to be denied? Not a single explanation for that has ever made any sense.

There have been permabans and threats of partial bans for anyone who thought they were right, especially when admin decided the conversation was over. Same goes for those month-long, highly questionable bans where the discussion just ends because admin decides they've heard enough, regardless of whatever arguments the banned users actually had.

hollowmason64 said:Haha... if you look closely at those "strong points," you can definitely see some trolling from the admin, but honestly? There isn't much in the way of actual, concrete answers to be found there. 😁

We can certainly do that... as long as you're Nica, then you'll be the one answering my questions.

Go ahead and ask Xena what she thinks about that kind of freedom.

Wait, is Xena actually permabanned?

My bad, I had no idea. Honestly, that changes everything... if that's the case, I am officially lodging a formal protest against the admin team.

Joshua Hughes4 said:Lately, the drama on here feels like a cheap daytime soap opera. Everything starts out totally normal, then suddenly it devolves into who’s sleeping with who, who’s best friends with whom, who wants to grab coffee, who won't share pics of their kids, whose dad is tougher, who's better in bed... And to make sure there's a predictable ending—everyone just gets told their complaints are baseless, they're all just trolls, this is pointless, case closed.

How many actual appeals have been resolved lately in favor of the users?
That's if we ignore the moderator complaints and just accept the assumption that they're all invalid because we never get to see the "real story" behind them. 😬
And what about the people who specifically asked to be permabanned just so they wouldn't have to deal with the stress, only to be denied? Not a single explanation for that has ever made any sense.

There have been permabans and threats of partial bans for anyone who thought they were right, especially when admin decided the conversation was over. Same goes for those month-long, highly questionable bans where the discussion just ends because admin decides they've heard enough, regardless of whatever arguments the banned users actually had.

Look, I wasn't the one who started turning this thread into a mess of "who knows who" and weird personal drama; it was the people constantly running to the mods for every little thing!
And then later on, they’ll complain that the topic has been completely diluted.

I will admit, some of the user complaints probably could have been handled a lot better by the staff.

Maybe things will actually improve now that every single individual dispute is going to get its own separate thread.

Sure, whatever, thanks for nothing. 😉

Alex Watson said:Well, if all this bothers you so much, how come it didn't bother you back when the former admin was uselessly banning and permabanning high-quality members over nothing, leading you to, say, step down from your position because of those kinds of actions?

Come on, Alex Watson, stop talking about things you clearly don't understand.

The former admin banned me personally, along with my entire circle, and the current admin just sat there and let it happen.
One of the few people who actually had the backbone to act like a real moderator—to say this wasn't okay and refuse to let us be persecuted on his board—was Mirror.
It’s not because he knows us, or thinks we're friends, or whatever bullshit people want to claim... it's because he was loyal to this community and actually valued the stuff we brought to the table.

I'm not going to let Mirror get dragged through the mud, especially not with these low-class insults about his personal life or where he was back in the day. He stood his ground then, and he stands it now. He was right then, and he's right now. 😍

You’ve got the wrong guy.

Out of nowhere, Miror started bringing up godparent stuff...

Alex Watson said:You’ve got the wrong guy.

Out of nowhere, Miror started bringing up godparent stuff...

That simply isn't true.

The whole "godparent" nonsense has actually started bleeding into discussions regarding the moderators close to this administration—specifically Nica.

It was an incredibly low blow and completely unprofessional on their part, especially considering that Miror is quite possibly the last person on this entire site you could ever accuse of letting private friendships dictate their moderation style.😵

I won't let them pin this on Miror. 🙂

Alex Watson said:You’ve got the wrong guy.

Out of nowhere, Miror started bringing up godparent stuff...

Look, if you’re such a stickler for how things should be, why didn't it bother you back when the old admin was handing out useless bans and permanent bans to some really solid users over nothing? Why didn't you step down from your role because of that kind of behavior?

Go back and read what you actually wrote. ☕

Why on earth would the admins lock a thread started by Anderlon, especially since that was supposed to be the whole vision for the new forum changes?
His whole pitch was about having admins actually serve the users—answering questions without being jerks, instead of just shutting down discussions. He wanted to make sure people who used to be active could actually participate again, without all the baggage... none of those weird background stories, nobody posing with books on shelves, no months of baseless bans, and definitely no random accusations that someone is some kind of clone. No, no, and no...☕

Joshua Hughes4 said:Lately, the drama on here feels like a cheap daytime soap opera. Everything starts out totally normal, then suddenly it devolves into who’s sleeping with who, who’s best friends with whom, who wants to grab coffee, who won't share pics of their kids, whose dad is tougher, who's better in bed... And to make sure there's a predictable ending—everyone just gets told their complaints are baseless, they're all just trolls, this is pointless, case closed.

How many actual appeals have been resolved lately in favor of the users?
That's if we ignore the moderator complaints and just accept the assumption that they're all invalid because we never get to see the "real story" behind them. 😬
And what about the people who specifically asked to be permabanned just so they wouldn't have to deal with the stress, only to be denied? Not a single explanation for that has ever made any sense.

There have been permabans and threats of partial bans for anyone who thought they were right, especially when admin decided the conversation was over. Same goes for those month-long, highly questionable bans where the discussion just ends because admin decides they've heard enough, regardless of whatever arguments the banned users actually had.

That’s exactly it—you already know how this is going to play out.
That’s why I posted over on the "Questions" board, just to see if the admin was getting ready to lock it down. As soon as I noticed how much leeway they were giving certain people, and seeing how part of the admin team is basically playing favorites right alongside them.

Man, it’s so obvious how this whole thing works. I could practically smell it coming weeks ago on a thread that's been dragging on for nearly two years now.🙄
And of course—they deleted that post too. I’m assuming they flagged it as "uncomfortable" or "provocative" as well.☕

How many appeals have actually been resolved in favor of the users lately?
If we set aside the complaints against specific mods and just accept the idea that they're all baseless—since we never actually get to see the background info.😬

Zero.
It’s honestly pretty hard to believe that absolutely everyone is complaining for no reason, every single time.

Alex Watson said:You’ve got the wrong guy.

Out of nowhere, Miror started bringing up godparent stuff...

So what are you actually doing in this thread, besides attacking those two? Why are you even here? Just to stir the pot? 🤷

To feels more like a personal vendetta to me. People keep bringing up these "phantom" users, but there are really only about ten people involved in threads like this... and it’s always the same crowd.

There are tens of thousands of active commenters out there.
Those ten or so folks who flood these specific topics with dozens of posts—making it look like a huge group—are just venting their own personal grievances. It's nothing more than a reflection of bruised egos...

Not a great look.

Honestly, everyone should just meet up at a Starbucks, get into a massive brawl, and pull each other's hair. Then, just say goodbye and head back to the forums to debate exactly who pulled whose hair or landed the low blows...

Sam Alvarez4 said:To feels more like a personal vendetta to me. People keep bringing up these "phantom" users, but there are really only about ten people involved in threads like this... and it’s always the same crowd.

There are tens of thousands of active commenters out there.
Those ten or so folks who flood these specific topics with dozens of posts—making it look like a huge group—are just venting their own personal grievances. It's nothing more than a reflection of bruised egos...

Not a great look.

Honestly, everyone should just meet up at a Starbucks, get into a massive brawl, and pull each other's hair. Then, just say goodbye and head back to the forums to debate exactly who pulled whose hair or landed the low blows...

Oh, really? So whether an injustice actually happened just depends on how many votes it gets?
If one single user gets screwed over, and nobody else complains about it, it's still an injustice.

Sam Alvarez4 said:To feels more like a personal vendetta to me. People keep bringing up these "phantom" users, but there are really only about ten people involved in threads like this... and it’s always the same crowd.

There are tens of thousands of active commenters out there.
Those ten or so folks who flood these specific topics with dozens of posts—making it look like a huge group—are just venting their own personal grievances. It's nothing more than a reflection of bruised egos...

Not a great look.

Honestly, everyone should just meet up at a Starbucks, get into a massive brawl, and pull each other's hair. Then, just say goodbye and head back to the forums to debate exactly who pulled whose hair or landed the low blows...

I'll work on being more likable. 😬

Sam Alvarez4 said:To feels more like a personal vendetta to me. People keep bringing up these "phantom" users, but there are really only about ten people involved in threads like this... and it’s always the same crowd.

There are tens of thousands of active commenters out there.
Those ten or so folks who flood these specific topics with dozens of posts—making it look like a huge group—are just venting their own personal grievances. It's nothing more than a reflection of bruised egos...

Not a great look.

Honestly, everyone should just meet up at a Starbucks, get into a massive brawl, and pull each other's hair. Then, just say goodbye and head back to the forums to debate exactly who pulled whose hair or landed the low blows...

You gonna pay for my trip from Mexico to here? 🤦 😳
🤣

Let’s just set the record straight regarding my ties to Sasha and my own promotion while he was running things.

I stepped up as a mod back in 2004, and then got voted in as SM by my fellow mods in 2006—no backroom deals or private messages involved.

ambermason16 first joined the mod team in 2004, then came back for round two in 2009.

Sasha took over as admin in 2010 (not totally sure when his mod stint started, though).

Look, I didn't quit being a mod or SM because Sasha lost his job. I quit because of *how* they handled it. Honestly, the way they kicked an admin out was shady as hell and totally unprofessional. I told Anderlon exactly that when he asked me to come back and handle modding and super-modding again.
I explained my second resignation, too.

If you get it, you get it.

So where am I supposed to ask if I can just tell people "what the hell is your problem..." without getting slapped with a ban? Is there a spot for that? 🙂

It’s honestly ridiculous that you have to start a whole new thread for every tiny little thing.