Rules and stuff...

Frank Reed4 said:Well, I am formally submitting my demand that my username be changed to Shadow Valley. ☕

I told them that we aren't doing any more nickname changes for the time being. Honestly, even if we were, I doubt this specific change would fly since the original "Shadow" account was active on the forum just the other day.

I’m going to need you to define exactly what you mean by "recently." And tell me precisely how many posts have to pass before you decide to scrub someone's handle from a thread. 🍿
🙂It seems like a fairly straightforward request to me.

And by the way, Frank Reed4 hasn't posted since October 12, 2006—it's not like he's been dropping messages here every single day since then. 🤣

I am attaching some evidence here to show that moderators, or whoever else is running the show (be it super-mods, admins, or some third party altogether), are logging into other people's accounts:
Take this thread that ZgSash started back when Cordelia passed away. If you look at the timestamps, the thread was opened on December 25, 2010, yet according to my records, Cordelia wasn't active after January 13, 2011.

If Cordelia wasn't logging into her own profile—which, let's face it, she couldn't have been—then who was? Once again, I am calling on the administration to speak up, specifically Tyndall, who continues to ignore us completely. I have no intention of letting this go until we get some actual answers. 🙂

If I were to kick the bucket right this second, my profile could easily stay active for days, maybe even months...
On Tuesday, or whenever, someone would just fire up my work computer, pull up a browser, and land right on this forum where I’m perpetually logged in.
Eventually, someone would grab my laptop and do the exact same thing.
As for my boyfriend's computer, it might take a few months before he ever bothers to open a different browser and find me still signed in here.

I hope that clears things up, and hopefully you won't feel the need to keep dragging out some tragic drama about a dead forum user.

Frank Reed4 said:I’m going to need you to define exactly what you mean by "recently." And tell me precisely how many posts have to pass before you decide to scrub someone's handle from a thread. 🍿
🙂It seems like a fairly straightforward request to me.

And by the way, Frank Reed4 hasn't posted since October 12, 2006—it's not like he's been dropping messages here every single day since then. 🤣

I am attaching some evidence here to show that moderators, or whoever else is running the show (be it super-mods, admins, or some third party altogether), are logging into other people's accounts:
Take this thread that ZgSash started back when Cordelia passed away. If you look at the timestamps, the thread was opened on December 25, 2010, yet according to my records, Cordelia wasn't active after January 13, 2011.

If Cordelia wasn't logging into her own profile—which, let's face it, she couldn't have been—then who was? Once again, I am calling on the administration to speak up, specifically Tyndall, who continues to ignore us completely. I have no intention of letting this go until we get some actual answers. 🙂

Maybe an admin jumped in to switch her role from moderator back to just a regular user.

Look, that isn't something you can just toggle on your own profile or anything; it's actually the admin handling everything through the backend control panel, so it really has zero to do with your most recent activity or whatever you were just doing.

It honestly baffles me how people manage to turn such trivial matters into massive, unnecessary dramas. I mean, seriously—WTF? Everyone is obsessing over usernames as if they were some sort of cosmic, life-altering issue.

The solution is actually quite simple: just implement a rule where any account that’s been inactive for three years and has fewer than 100 posts gets renamed to "zzzUsername," and then the whole problem is solved.

And what if someone decides to "wake up" after three years and actually wants to participate in the discussion again? Well, nothing. It's that simple. Just go ahead and create a new account and call it a day. Using a new handle isn't going to make you any more important, anyway.

Frank Reed4 said:I’m going to need you to define exactly what you mean by "recently." And tell me precisely how many posts have to pass before you decide to scrub someone's handle from a thread. 🍿
🙂It seems like a fairly straightforward request to me.

And by the way, Frank Reed4 hasn't posted since October 12, 2006—it's not like he's been dropping messages here every single day since then. 🤣

I am attaching some evidence here to show that moderators, or whoever else is running the show (be it super-mods, admins, or some third party altogether), are logging into other people's accounts:
Take this thread that ZgSash started back when Cordelia passed away. If you look at the timestamps, the thread was opened on December 25, 2010, yet according to my records, Cordelia wasn't active after January 13, 2011.

If Cordelia wasn't logging into her own profile—which, let's face it, she couldn't have been—then who was? Once again, I am calling on the administration to speak up, specifically Tyndall, who continues to ignore us completely. I have no intention of letting this go until we get some actual answers. 🙂

At this point, any semblance of a productive conversation should probably just end right here.

What exactly gives you the right to be making these demands? Just because you paid your monthly subscription fee to use this forum doesn't mean you get to dictate terms based on some perceived clause in the user agreement, I suppose.

Nicholas King said:It honestly baffles me how people manage to turn such trivial matters into massive, unnecessary dramas. I mean, seriously—WTF? Everyone is obsessing over usernames as if they were some sort of cosmic, life-altering issue.

The solution is actually quite simple: just implement a rule where any account that’s been inactive for three years and has fewer than 100 posts gets renamed to "zzzUsername," and then the whole problem is solved.

And what if someone decides to "wake up" after three years and actually wants to participate in the discussion again? Well, nothing. It's that simple. Just go ahead and create a new account and call it a day. Using a new handle isn't going to make you any more important, anyway.

Blah, blah, blah. 🤣
It isn't about changing names; I don't know how you can't see that. I opened this thread specifically to demonstrate that rules apply to certain relationships while others—in this case, Spectre—can just bypass them. Understand that the username isn't the core issue here. 🙂

Nicholas King said:At this point, any semblance of a productive conversation should probably just end right here.

What exactly gives you the right to be making these demands? Just because you paid your monthly subscription fee to use this forum doesn't mean you get to dictate terms based on some perceived clause in the user agreement, I suppose.

🤦
No, I haven't paid any kind of monthly fee. 🙄 But look, it stands to reason that if they are going to discuss it, they should define the post count and the last login timestamp. It's basic logic. 🤷

Frank Reed4 said:Blah, blah, blah. 🤣
It isn't about changing names; I don't know how you can't see that. I opened this thread specifically to demonstrate that rules apply to certain relationships while others—in this case, Spectre—can just bypass them. Understand that the username isn't the core issue here. 🙂

🤦
No, I haven't paid any kind of monthly fee. 🙄 But look, it stands to reason that if they are going to discuss it, they should define the post count and the last login timestamp. It's basic logic. 🤷

And look, that’s exactly what’s going to happen. Actually, Anderlon has already run some rough numbers—the same ones used to adjust Spectre's status—but like I mentioned before, we've decided to set those calculations aside for the moment.

I’m asking you all to please just bear with us on this one; I really don't see any reason why we need to be rushing through it. 🙂

No, there’s absolutely no need for that. It just looks foolish—don't take that personally—when you tell us it was some sort of experiment, claiming you were changing Spectre's handle and then suddenly just stopping. It isn't that I'm confused; it's that I am genuinely, truly baffled. 😵

What am I even supposed to believe here? 🙂

This might be out of place, but it reminded me of something I’ve always wondered about and just didn't know where to ask 😁
Basically, sometimes when I'm scrolling through a thread, I'll run into a post where the author has "no nickname"—it's just text in the standard post font rather than a clickable link, and the post count says n/a. I can't quite remember which specific threads I saw this in to dig up the links for you guys... though I do recall one of those "names" was Enigma (and no, I don't mean Enigma)

So, I guess I'm wondering, what actually is that? Is it a deleted account? Or maybe someone requested it? :confused:

EDIT: Okay, I found an example:http://www.forum.us/showpost.php?p=506098&postcount=29

Peter Doyle2 said:This might be out of place, but it reminded me of something I’ve always wondered about and just didn't know where to ask 😁
Basically, sometimes when I'm scrolling through a thread, I'll run into a post where the author has "no nickname"—it's just text in the standard post font rather than a clickable link, and the post count says n/a. I can't quite remember which specific threads I saw this in to dig up the links for you guys... though I do recall one of those "names" was Enigma (and no, I don't mean Enigma)

So, I guess I'm wondering, what actually is that? Is it a deleted account? Or maybe someone requested it? :confused:

EDIT: Okay, I found an example:http://www.forum.us/showpost.php?p=506098&postcount=29

n/a You'll see "n/a" popping up around here from time to time. It’s just the standard American shorthand for "not available." In the context of our community, you'll usually spot it next to the usernames of members whose profiles have been deleted.

Glossary — A breakdown of the specific terms we use around here. Posted by moderator Wrbhhh Quote

Frank Reed4 said:No, there’s absolutely no need for that. It just looks foolish—don't take that personally—when you tell us it was some sort of experiment, claiming you were changing Spectre's handle and then suddenly just stopping. It isn't that I'm confused; it's that I am genuinely, truly baffled. 😵

What am I even supposed to believe here? 🙂

Believe what you want, but that’s just the reality of the situation. I actually reached out to Sasha to see if I could merge my username into a single word, but it was a no-go. Apparently, someone else already snagged that specific handle, and they wouldn't even let me use capital letters to differentiate myself from the existing account. So, for now, I’m stuck with this version until they make a final call on the policy.

Wait, can you actually delete a profile? I always assumed that wasn't an option... I guess you have to submit a formal request or something?

Peter Doyle2 said:Wait, can you actually delete a profile? I always assumed that wasn't an option... I guess you have to submit a formal request or something?

No, no, that didn't happen normally. It happened once when the whole server crashed or something went sideways, and profiles just vanished by mistake. But, as you can see, their posts are still sitting there...

Peter Doyle2 said:Wait, can you actually delete a profile? I always assumed that wasn't an option... I guess you have to submit a formal request or something?

Not just by asking... if you check the terms of service, it's all laid out there.

What actually has to happen—aside from the whole server crashing—for a user to get their profile deleted? Is that supposed to be a specific type of penalty, like some extreme version of a permanent ban, or what?

I mean, I’m just asking out of pure curiosity here. I don't have any desire to change my handle, let alone see a profile wiped, so don't worry about me.🙂

Peter Doyle2 said:What actually has to happen—aside from the whole server crashing—for a user to get their profile deleted? Is that supposed to be a specific type of penalty, like some extreme version of a permanent ban, or what?

I mean, I’m just asking out of pure curiosity here. I don't have any desire to change my handle, let alone see a profile wiped, so don't worry about me.🙂

The apocalypse, probably. That’s about it. 😁

redmarlin3 said:The apocalypse, probably. That’s about it. 😁

Man, 2012 is right around the corner 😲 🤣
not really—it's just that those deleted profiles have always weirded me out, so this thread kind of brought it all back..