Foodies & Food Lovers

So, my initial complaint is right here.

But I’m not just here to harp on about grievances; I started this thread because I have some serious thoughts on how things are moderated over on the Foodie subreddit.

It’s an open secret that Polly and Dlap are actual friends in real life. Doesn't that make her win in that last "contest" look a little—just a tiny bit—sketchy? Especially since she straight-up broke one of the main rules by leaving a Reddit watermark on the photos.

Of course, that's just the tip of the iceberg when it comes to how she treats people on the food sub. You can see the fallout right now—nobody even wants to participate in the contest.

She spends her time tearing people down in the threads constantly. She isn't subtle about it either, and yet, I've never seen her get banned once. It happens several times a week where she just insults someone. It's blunt. ☕

Can someone please explain why she’s being protected like Sanders, and how much longer is this going to last?

Yeah, let’s be real—calling her lack of accountability "what's the point of an upvote?" isn't quite right. Half the people over at Gastronomy practically live on those upvotes just because of what she posts, but honestly, it’s all pretty much pointless anyway.

This isn't even really about the original thread, but it's got everything to do with how the food sub is being moderated and that whole friendship situation. I actually caught this post before the mod stepped in to edit it. They wiped out this specific part, which was just my own comment that some user clearly realized way too late she was quoting—and let’s be real, everyone in the foodie community knows she can't stand me, plus apparently I'm on her block list too.

Is it even possible to ask a mod to fix a mistake that's purely personal like this? If you look at the posts, they're both just regular people talking about aronia berries and whether or not they're actually good for you. There’s no off-topic nonsense, no insults, no trolling, or any other random drama that would ever justify a moderator jumping in to delete things.

How many times did she use her comments to talk down to people?
And how often was she dropping links to her own blog? Honestly, at this point, she should probably be paying for advertising space.
Not to mention how they used to tear her apart over the little things on the food forums—all those tiny details about chocolate or some fancy cookbook.🙄
Normally, if you posted a massive photo on the off-topic boards, you’d get slapped with a warning card immediately. It was always handled properly there. But apparently, rules don't apply when it comes to her on the foodie threads. You really see someone's true colors when things get messy. Of course, she eventually smoothed everything over.
Actually, all of this—and then some—was debated extensively in that one legendary thread. I can't remember the exact title, but it had something to do with foodies being total snobs.🤔
Something along the lines of "High-End Gourmet Culture."
I won't even get started on the criticism she faced regarding that egg cake.
Or the pancakes and muffins.
Look, it's not like I particularly like her, but that has nothing to do with culinary standards or having to tolerate her condescending lectures.

Just my two cents.

According to the "polite" lady—and this is her favorite way to address me: calling me muck, sludge, a swamp, filth, and the absolute trash of this forum.

Sophia Clark68 said:This isn't directly related to the first post, but it’s got everything to do with how the food sub is being moderated and certain friendships within the group. I saw this post before the moderator stepped in to edit it. They went ahead and wiped this specific part—which was my own reply. It seems another user realized a bit too late who she was actually quoting. Look, it's an open secret in the food community here that she doesn't have a kind word to say about me, and apparently, I'm on her block list too.

Is it even possible to ask a moderator to fix a mistake like this? It's purely personal. If you look at both posts, they're just normal people talking about chokeberry products and the best ways to eat them. There's zero off-topic rambling, no insults, no trolling, and nothing else that should trigger a moderator to jump in and start deleting things.

I honestly don't buy it. 😲
How did everyone miss this??

Deal. But what's the plan for my cardboard box 🙂

Olivia Murphy24 said:.....

It’s common knowledge that jadesailor14 and Dlap are actually close friends in real life. Doesn't that make her win in the last contest look a little bit suspicious? Especially since she totally ignored one of the main rules—you know, the part about including a note that says "Forum" in the photos!

.....

Even though we've chatted online, I don't think Jonathan Gray75 and I have ever actually met or even spoken in person!
I have no idea what she looks like, and she doesn't even know my name or what I look like!
So, you're calling that "common knowledge" of yours just a plain old lie? That's a bold claim!

You haven't posted anything constructive in the food forums or anywhere else since before I became a moderator; you only showed up to stir the pot!
Man, you've been insisting from day one that these contracts were rigged since we first started bidding!
Even now, we’re hitting the ground running from day one of this new round! I'm ready to go! Just send over the posts you need me to rewrite, and I'll get to work turning them into fresh, authentic American English. You already know who won, even though the rules clearly say the winner will be decided by a public poll!
Oh, don't worry—we’ll make sure to get that public survey set up too!
Could you please walk all of us through the process—mods and admins included? I would honestly love to learn how it's done!

Olivia Murphy24 said:Oh, for sure! Calling her lack of accountability "what's the point of a thumbs-up icon?" just isn't right. Half the people in the food industry use that little icon constantly because of her posts, but honestly, what's the use?

Aside from the moderators and myself, there are two other people receiving all the post reports. Both the super-mods and admins see them, so they’re well aware of just how many "triangles" we're dealing with and exactly what's being built out of these reports!
Or maybe not!

Sophia Clark68 said:....
Is it actually possible to ask a moderator to fix a typo like that? I once had a similar mix-up on a message board back in Chicago, and it was such a relief when they cleared it up!

What exactly is bothering you about this? I'd love to hear what the specific issue is!
Hey, don't take it personally! That quote wasn't actually aimed at you, so there's really no need for all that.

I just love seeing these kinds of discussions pop up! It’s always such a breath of fresh air to see everyone sharing their thoughts. kaže:
...

According to that lady with the nasty attitude—you know, the one who loves calling me names like "sludge," "mud," "swamp," "trash," and "this whole messy forum"—she’s really on a roll today!

Did you end up reporting the post? I’m just surprised that none of us—the mods, supermods, or the admins—actually jumped on it!
Could you please send me the link for that?

hollowtrucker77, I’m going to forward all the jury votes over to you so you can look through those PMs and see if my scoring was rigged at all
please reach out to the judges personally to confirm whether their messages were original or if they were tampered with
I’d really appreciate it if you could post the findings here, because honestly, I’ve had just about enough of these lies

We originally started these contests to fix the vibe in the culinary section. It used to be such a fun, lively community, but lately, it's become the exact opposite
The whole goal was to bring some fresh faces from other forums into our circle
But ever since day one, there’s been this constant drama in the off-topic section; it feels like every good idea gets dragged out forever

edit:
Also, please take a look at the second round comment thread regarding the deleted posts
and check out the main culinary moderator thread

jadesailor14 said:dlap and I have never even met or spoken in person
I don't know what she looks like, she doesn't know what I look like, and she doesn't even know my real name
so that whole "it's common knowledge" thing you're pulling is just a straight-up lie

That isn't true at all.
And honestly, I don't see the issue. Why does someone's friendship have to be kept a secret?

jadesailor14 said:you haven't posted anything constructive in the Foodie section or even before I became a mod; you just showed up to cause trouble

See, there it is. Another lie. I post in the Foodie section from time to time (just like everywhere else on this forum), mostly sticking to the "Latest Dessert..." thread.
So, tell me, what exactly qualifies as a "constructive post" in your book? Please, don't try to make fools out of everyone on this board.

jadesailor14 said:ever since we started these contests, you've been hinting in the off-topic section that they're rigged

That is a blatant lie and you should be embarrassed. I didn't say a single word until after the second round was finished.

jadesailor14 said:even now, since day one of the new round, you already know who the winner is, even though the rules clearly state the voting will be done through a public poll
but we'll just rig the public poll too
please, explain to all of us—the users, the mods, and the admins—how exactly that works, because I'd love to learn

Give me a break. Stop playing the innocent victim.

If everything is so legitimate, why don't you answer this: how can a dish win when it fails a major requirement—like not having the Forum name tag in the photo?

jadesailor14 said:What exactly is bothering you here? What’s the actual issue?
The reply wasn't directed at you, so the quote was totally unnecessary.

Fine. Since we're playing this game, I'll send over a list of my own posts that I'd love to tweak for some reason. Why don't you go ahead and fix them for me? There's nothing wrong with that, right?

jadesailor14 said:Did you report the post? And did absolutely none of us—the mods, supermods, or admins—respond to that report?
Send me the link, please.

To be specific, I reported a post where Dlap wrote exactly what I quoted in those comments. You didn't react. And let me tell you, it was way more than just some "passive-aggressive" insult.

And regarding that thing about you setting up a contest to "fix the toxic atmosphere" on the Foodie Forum—did you ever once stop to ask yourself why the atmosphere is like that in the first place?

jadesailor14 said:so what's your beef with me? like, what's actually the issue here?
my reply wasn't even directed at you, honestly the whole quote thing was just totally unnecessary

My post

Last year we ended up planting some stuff near our neighbors. I know they were talking about wanting to plant some chokeberries the whole time. They finally tracked some down and now they're fruiting. They were exactly like the ones you're describing. I see these trees loaded with berries and I ask how they taste. My neighbor goes, "here, let me give you some to try," while acting all smug and grinning under his mustache. He handed me a handful of berries, and the second I put one in my mouth, the taste was just straight-up inedible. My husband saw the look on my face and decided he wasn't even gonna touch them. The neighbors just laughed at us, saying they tried them too and thought they tasted gross. They didn't even know if the fruit was ripe, when to harvest it, or what the flavor profile was supposed to be either.

Her response to my post

actually people don't really eat them fresh or just use them as a salad topper.
They're best when blended or used as a syrup or juice.
We have one little tree, and we're actually harvesting part of the crop for juice right now.

It seems to me she was replying specifically to the bolded sentence.

And hey, major props to you for spending your time correcting supposedly "unnecessary" quotes on top of dealing with RL and your regular moderator duties.

Olivia Murphy24 said:That’s just not true at all.
And honestly, I don't see why it matters—why should anyone have to hide a friendship?

Wow, are you some kind of psychic now? Can you see the future? Look, I’m not saying that Dlap and I won't eventually grab a coffee together one day, but that hasn't happened yet.
I'm pretty picky about who I hang out with in real life, and Dlap isn't on that list right now.
If we actually were hanging out, I wouldn't be hiding it any more than I would hide anything else!

Olivia Murphy24 said:Come on, if everything is totally legit, then how do you explain how they can win a contest when the food doesn't meet the main rule—having a little note that says "Forum" in the photos?

Okay, fine, my eyesight is terrible—I practically need night vision goggles just to function.
But if you say so, then I guess this photo is just fooling me!🤷

Dlapek said:Let's not get bogged down in whether there was a sign or if it was Dlapek or not...
Anyway, I put together this little brunch spread today:



...

Olivia Murphy24 said:And regarding you posting that contest to try and fix the bad vibes in the Foodie section—did you ever stop to wonder why the atmosphere got like that in the first place?

I used to be a moderator back in the day,
back when things were much more fun and the vibe was great!
But some of you probably don't remember because you weren't even on the site back then.

I haven't seen you posting recipes, joining discussions, or giving advice in the foodie threads... so please excuse my comment about not seeing your specific posts.
I thought I knew everyone in the foodie community pretty well, but clearly, I was wrong!

Sophia Clark68 said:.....

I actually think she was responding specifically to that bolded sentence.
.....

Personally, I don't deal in "it seems to me." I don't spend my time guessing intentions; I just take what people say at face value.
I'm not really built for reading between the lines—that's just not how my brain works! 🤷

Sophia Clark68 said:....
And honestly, kudos to you for fixing those useless quotes on top of managing real life and all your regular moderator duties.

If only it were just that!
Between my full-time job, freelance gigs, family, and everything happening out in the real world... 🥳

There are plenty of posts that have been fixed upon request,
but clearly, those don't bother you! 😬
As long as a request doesn't disrupt the flow of the forum, I'm happy to help. It's truly a wash for me either way—no biggie!
I've also helped many users fix their images before. My policy is simple: if someone obviously made a mistake, I'll provide the right card for the image. But if they're just being stubborn for the sake of it, then that's on them!

jadesailor14 said:I’ve fixed a ton of posts because people asked,
but clearly, you aren't bothered by this one. 😬
As long as the request doesn't mess up the flow of the conversation, I'll always do it—honestly, it doesn't make or break anything for me.

Look, this one isn't rubbing me the wrong way either, it just feels kind of weird that a quoted section just vanished without any drama, like trolling, spamming, fighting, or some broken link that actually needed a moderator to step in.

Following your own logic, you could have also wiped out the "useless quote" on my post in this same thread if I hadn't specifically asked you to, right?

And those other edits you mentioned on various posts were probably legit necessary, like resizing images, fixing a link, or merging two posts together and stuff like that.

jadesailor14 said:As long as the request doesn't mess up the flow of the conversation, I'll always do it—honestly, it doesn't make or break anything for me.

Good to know, might come in handy someday.

Sophia Clark68 said:....
Those other edits you mentioned in different threads were probably just necessary fixes—like resizing images, fixing broken links, or merging two posts together.
......

Alright, what exactly is bothering you about this?
What did you actually lose from it?
I’ve done the exact same thing for other members on various forums without any issues.
How is it that you didn't see those posts? There are way more edited posts than there are by DLAP.
Are you just being selective with your complaints?
Honestly, it doesn't really matter.😬

jadesailor14 said:Alright, what exactly is your problem here?
What did you even lose from it?
I’ve done this with other members on the board too, not just dlap
How could you have missed the posts? Like, seriously, there are more fixed ones than there are from dlap
Just being selective with your gripes?
Honestly, it doesn't even matter😬

Nothing bothers me.

I didn't lose anything.

The reason I noticed is because my own post was quoted, and then it just vanished thanks to your little intervention.

You didn't strip the "unnecessary quoting" from my post, so I'm just sitting here wondering if it's becoming some new standard rule where mods scrub redundant quotes, or if you're just doing it when someone asks. You don't even have to reply, I think I get the picture.

Sophia Clark68 said:... Honestly, you don't even need to reply, I totally get where you're coming from.

Of course it’s obvious! I only did that because Miller asked me to, so why was it such a big deal all of a sudden? 🙄
I still don't quite get why this is bothering you so much when you didn't make a fuss about similar things before. 🤷

I don't really get why that post needed correcting—it felt totally unnecessary, especially since I saw how the original looked. From my experience, though, you might as well just take moderator calls and infractions in stride. It’s not like you're getting banned.

The vibe in the food section hasn't been great for a while now, but constant arguing isn't going to fix anything. It's like in real life: if you run into someone who's just being difficult, you don't waste energy trying to prove them wrong; you just give them a wide berth. Why not apply that same logic to the forums?

It’s a shame this "contest" thread is mostly being boycotted just because of the person who started it. You're all making a mistake by treating this as "her" thread; she just picked out the prizes based on what most people wanted from that Asian fusion thread.

A forum is meant for discussion, and it's one of the most democratic ways to communicate—everyone gets a say. I'd like to believe there's still room for everyone in the food section, regardless of what they're cooking up 😁

stormylynx4 said:....

I'm so sorry to see this contest being boycotted just because of who started the thread! You're all making a mistake by thinking this is "her" topic—she simply picked out some groceries as prizes for whatever the most popular American cuisine theme turns out to be.

I honestly think people are skipping it because of the timing; it's peak vacation season right now, after all!
It's also being "boycotted" because those specific ingredients are pretty hard to find at our local grocery stores.

And part of the "boycott" is just because everyone feels like the winner is already decided! 🤣 🤣 🤣
I seriously need to go buy myself a crystal ball, I really do!
Does anyone know where they have sales on those?

Super deal 🥳

I’m totally with you on the whole "boycott" idea—and why people feel the need to go that route—but honestly, it feels a bit premature... things usually don't really start heating up until right near the end