Proposal to abolish PDF PŽK

I’m honestly not sure if I’ll be able to get this poll to actually work—I’ve never messed around with setting one up before.

If it fails, just go ahead and cast your vote in the comments.

Basically,
what is the actual point of this subforum?

If we set aside the threads used just for congratulating people on every little thing—we’re left with the core issue here, which is how certain threads are moderated.

I’ve been watching several topics where users have been complaining about moderation.

Some of them were total jokes, some complaints were completely baseless, and others were entirely justified.

So, when it comes to how people present their grievances, there’s a massive range of perspectives.

Where there isn't any variation, though—is in the admins' responses.
They seem to be totally uniform, and they all seem to lean toward doing absolutely nothing at all.
At most, they might ban some troublemaker who dared to call out a beloved moderator, and that’s about it.

Think about it: has a single complaint against a moderator ever actually resulted in any real consequences for them?
Have you ever noticed anything actually changing after you filed a complaint?

Not really, right?

The only moderator I’ve heard of being disciplined wasn't even someone the users were complaining about—quite the opposite, word is they were punished specifically because they actually took the users' side.

Look at the current Google scandal—that’s exactly what happens when "collegiality" is based on the principle of "protect and cover your buddy, even when he’s screwing up."

The exact same thing is happening on this forum—the bond between moderators and admins is placed above the rights of the users (and probably, by extension, above the interests of the owner, whose goal should logically be keeping the user base satisfied).

So, what is the purpose of this specific subforum?

I’ve noticed in a few places how the admins seem to amuse themselves by mocking the users who complain about their dear colleagues. (Mockery is pretty easy to pull off when you know the solution is entirely within your control, yet you have zero intention of fixing anything, while some poor idiot keeps asking you for help, not realizing they're wasting their breath.)

Therefore,
I am opening this thread to invite everyone to vote on whether we should scrap this thread, which exists solely to mock the community.
At the same time, having this thread will serve as a warning to new or uninformed users so they don't embarrass themselves by coming here looking for solutions that aren't coming.

Anyway (if I can't get the poll to work),

Are you in favor of shutting down this thread?

a) Yes (I am a regular user)
b) No (I am a regular user)
c) Yes (I am a moderator or admin)
d) No (I am a moderator or admin)

I’m separating the moderators from the general public in this poll just to make it crystal clear whose interests are being served here.

I wouldn't shut down the entire subforum; I’d keep the posts and the suggestions, but the complaint threads, the banned users section, and all that nonsense just don't make sense since everything ends up being handled through a DM to the moderator anyway (just asking for a friend, based on my experience). For the most part, I’m not even going to vote because none of these options actually work for me.

Go ahead and vote however you want—I already made it clear in my opening post that this poll doesn't cover the part about holiday cards, well-wishes, or any of that stuff.

It’s specifically targeting the section that’s supposedly meant to be a way for the site to actually accommodate its users (which is exactly what you just listed here).

I voted for because I’ve realized this PDF doesn't actually serve the purpose it was designed for—a fact I've confirmed more than once now. There's really no point in it even existing.

I totally agree. It’s not like the world is going to end if mods just admit when they messed up and fix their own mistakes once in a while.☕

I feel like I've been way too active on here lately 😁

darkseal15 said:I’m honestly not sure if I’ll be able to get this poll to actually work—I’ve never messed around with setting one up before.

If it fails, just go ahead and cast your vote in the comments.

Basically,
what is the actual point of this subforum?

If we set aside the threads used just for congratulating people on every little thing—we’re left with the core issue here, which is how certain threads are moderated.

I’ve been watching several topics where users have been complaining about moderation.

Some of them were total jokes, some complaints were completely baseless, and others were entirely justified.

So, when it comes to how people present their grievances, there’s a massive range of perspectives.

Where there isn't any variation, though—is in the admins' responses.
They seem to be totally uniform, and they all seem to lean toward doing absolutely nothing at all.
At most, they might ban some troublemaker who dared to call out a beloved moderator, and that’s about it.

Think about it: has a single complaint against a moderator ever actually resulted in any real consequences for them?
Have you ever noticed anything actually changing after you filed a complaint?

Not really, right?

The only moderator I’ve heard of being disciplined wasn't even someone the users were complaining about—quite the opposite, word is they were punished specifically because they actually took the users' side.

Look at the current Google scandal—that’s exactly what happens when "collegiality" is based on the principle of "protect and cover your buddy, even when he’s screwing up."

The exact same thing is happening on this forum—the bond between moderators and admins is placed above the rights of the users (and probably, by extension, above the interests of the owner, whose goal should logically be keeping the user base satisfied).

So, what is the purpose of this specific subforum?

I’ve noticed in a few places how the admins seem to amuse themselves by mocking the users who complain about their dear colleagues. (Mockery is pretty easy to pull off when you know the solution is entirely within your control, yet you have zero intention of fixing anything, while some poor idiot keeps asking you for help, not realizing they're wasting their breath.)

Therefore,
I am opening this thread to invite everyone to vote on whether we should scrap this thread, which exists solely to mock the community.
At the same time, having this thread will serve as a warning to new or uninformed users so they don't embarrass themselves by coming here looking for solutions that aren't coming.

Anyway (if I can't get the poll to work),

Are you in favor of shutting down this thread?

a) Yes (I am a regular user)
b) No (I am a regular user)
c) Yes (I am a moderator or admin)
d) No (I am a moderator or admin)

I’m separating the moderators from the general public in this poll just to make it crystal clear whose interests are being served here.

Yeah, I can think of an example, so yes. It’s hard to pull off, but believe it or not, it happens.

darkseal15 said:I’m honestly not sure if I’ll be able to get this poll to actually work—I’ve never messed around with setting one up before.

If it fails, just go ahead and cast your vote in the comments.

Basically,
what is the actual point of this subforum?

If we set aside the threads used just for congratulating people on every little thing—we’re left with the core issue here, which is how certain threads are moderated.

I’ve been watching several topics where users have been complaining about moderation.

Some of them were total jokes, some complaints were completely baseless, and others were entirely justified.

So, when it comes to how people present their grievances, there’s a massive range of perspectives.

Where there isn't any variation, though—is in the admins' responses.
They seem to be totally uniform, and they all seem to lean toward doing absolutely nothing at all.
At most, they might ban some troublemaker who dared to call out a beloved moderator, and that’s about it.

Think about it: has a single complaint against a moderator ever actually resulted in any real consequences for them?
Have you ever noticed anything actually changing after you filed a complaint?

Not really, right?

The only moderator I’ve heard of being disciplined wasn't even someone the users were complaining about—quite the opposite, word is they were punished specifically because they actually took the users' side.

Look at the current Google scandal—that’s exactly what happens when "collegiality" is based on the principle of "protect and cover your buddy, even when he’s screwing up."

The exact same thing is happening on this forum—the bond between moderators and admins is placed above the rights of the users (and probably, by extension, above the interests of the owner, whose goal should logically be keeping the user base satisfied).

So, what is the purpose of this specific subforum?

I’ve noticed in a few places how the admins seem to amuse themselves by mocking the users who complain about their dear colleagues. (Mockery is pretty easy to pull off when you know the solution is entirely within your control, yet you have zero intention of fixing anything, while some poor idiot keeps asking you for help, not realizing they're wasting their breath.)

Therefore,
I am opening this thread to invite everyone to vote on whether we should scrap this thread, which exists solely to mock the community.
At the same time, having this thread will serve as a warning to new or uninformed users so they don't embarrass themselves by coming here looking for solutions that aren't coming.

Anyway (if I can't get the poll to work),

Are you in favor of shutting down this thread?

a) Yes (I am a regular user)
b) No (I am a regular user)
c) Yes (I am a moderator or admin)
d) No (I am a moderator or admin)

I’m separating the moderators from the general public in this poll just to make it crystal clear whose interests are being served here.

One of mine actually worked, but only because someone with enough time and willpower stepped in to get them removed. Or maybe they just quit on their own, who knows.
And yeah, once again—it wasn't even a formal complaint, just a casual request during a different thread. We almost came to blows over something, but they ended up being reasonable and fixed it.

The worst part about all this isn't even whether complaints get resolved positively—because hey, I get it, there are circumstances, and I won't get too deep into that right now... what makes this corner of the forum look so bleak is the ignoring, the total silence, the lack of response to well-explained complaints or requests...
There's a mess brewing in two specific threads right now, and there's absolutely no sign of anyone stepping in.
I really can't say my concerns are unfounded.
So...

Now, I'm not calling for anyone to be fired; I don't even have a vote 🤷
Eventually, someone is going to reach their breaking point. Besides, there are decent moderators and admins out there, or whatever they call themselves. I just have no clue where they've been lately. Did the others just overshadow them?

Sandra Parker3 said:I feel like I've been way too active on here lately 😁

Yeah, I can think of an example, so yes. It’s hard to pull off, but believe it or not, it happens.

One of mine actually worked, but only because someone with enough time and willpower stepped in to get them removed. Or maybe they just quit on their own, who knows.
And yeah, once again—it wasn't even a formal complaint, just a casual request during a different thread. We almost came to blows over something, but they ended up being reasonable and fixed it.

The worst part about all this isn't even whether complaints get resolved positively—because hey, I get it, there are circumstances, and I won't get too deep into that right now... what makes this corner of the forum look so bleak is the ignoring, the total silence, the lack of response to well-explained complaints or requests...
There's a mess brewing in two specific threads right now, and there's absolutely no sign of anyone stepping in.
I really can't say my concerns are unfounded.
So...

Now, I'm not calling for anyone to be fired; I don't even have a vote 🤷
Eventually, someone is going to reach their breaking point. Besides, there are decent moderators and admins out there, or whatever they call themselves. I just have no clue where they've been lately. Did the others just overshadow them?

So, that’s probably the exact same guy I brought up in my opening post (I never spoke to him directly, but I heard from a few people on Reddit that he was one of the good ones—the kind who got kicked specifically because being decent doesn't fit the vibe here).

Sandra Parker3 said:I feel like I've been way too active on here lately 😁

Yeah, I can think of an example, so yes. It’s hard to pull off, but believe it or not, it happens.

One of mine actually worked, but only because someone with enough time and willpower stepped in to get them removed. Or maybe they just quit on their own, who knows.
And yeah, once again—it wasn't even a formal complaint, just a casual request during a different thread. We almost came to blows over something, but they ended up being reasonable and fixed it.

The worst part about all this isn't even whether complaints get resolved positively—because hey, I get it, there are circumstances, and I won't get too deep into that right now... what makes this corner of the forum look so bleak is the ignoring, the total silence, the lack of response to well-explained complaints or requests...
There's a mess brewing in two specific threads right now, and there's absolutely no sign of anyone stepping in.
I really can't say my concerns are unfounded.
So...

Now, I'm not calling for anyone to be fired; I don't even have a vote 🤷
Eventually, someone is going to reach their breaking point. Besides, there are decent moderators and admins out there, or whatever they call themselves. I just have no clue where they've been lately. Did the others just overshadow them?

That’s actually the ultimate humiliation.
You constantly see the admins and mods ready to drop a "haha, you're hilarious" comment on someone whose appeal is baseless, or telling the people who actually start acting like trolls, "Don't blame the mod, you're the one causing problems!"
Because in both scenarios, they have a perfectly valid reason to do absolutely nothing.

But when you actually present a logical argument? As a rule, they WON'T respond to you.
Because even for them, it would be embarrassing to show up and say it publicly.
"Look, the mod can do whatever they want, so just deal with it!"

... look, sure, there are plenty of decent, well-made mods out there, but having some good ones doesn't magically fix the mess caused by the garbage ones.

It’s really up to the admins to step in and handle this kind of thing.

But they just aren't doing it.

Of course, I voted for the first option... personally, I don't think the mods are even going to weigh in on this one, because if they vote "no," we’ll just end up tearing them apart again anyway..

darkseal15 said:I’m honestly not sure if I’ll be able to get this poll to actually work—I’ve never messed around with setting one up before.

If it fails, just go ahead and cast your vote in the comments.

Basically,
what is the actual point of this subforum?

If we set aside the threads used just for congratulating people on every little thing—we’re left with the core issue here, which is how certain threads are moderated.

I’ve been watching several topics where users have been complaining about moderation.

Some of them were total jokes, some complaints were completely baseless, and others were entirely justified.

So, when it comes to how people present their grievances, there’s a massive range of perspectives.

Where there isn't any variation, though—is in the admins' responses.
They seem to be totally uniform, and they all seem to lean toward doing absolutely nothing at all.
At most, they might ban some troublemaker who dared to call out a beloved moderator, and that’s about it.

Think about it: has a single complaint against a moderator ever actually resulted in any real consequences for them?
Have you ever noticed anything actually changing after you filed a complaint?

Not really, right?

The only moderator I’ve heard of being disciplined wasn't even someone the users were complaining about—quite the opposite, word is they were punished specifically because they actually took the users' side.

Look at the current Google scandal—that’s exactly what happens when "collegiality" is based on the principle of "protect and cover your buddy, even when he’s screwing up."

The exact same thing is happening on this forum—the bond between moderators and admins is placed above the rights of the users (and probably, by extension, above the interests of the owner, whose goal should logically be keeping the user base satisfied).

So, what is the purpose of this specific subforum?

I’ve noticed in a few places how the admins seem to amuse themselves by mocking the users who complain about their dear colleagues. (Mockery is pretty easy to pull off when you know the solution is entirely within your control, yet you have zero intention of fixing anything, while some poor idiot keeps asking you for help, not realizing they're wasting their breath.)

Therefore,
I am opening this thread to invite everyone to vote on whether we should scrap this thread, which exists solely to mock the community.
At the same time, having this thread will serve as a warning to new or uninformed users so they don't embarrass themselves by coming here looking for solutions that aren't coming.

Anyway (if I can't get the poll to work),

Are you in favor of shutting down this thread?

a) Yes (I am a regular user)
b) No (I am a regular user)
c) Yes (I am a moderator or admin)
d) No (I am a moderator or admin)

I’m separating the moderators from the general public in this poll just to make it crystal clear whose interests are being served here.

You have no idea what you're even talking about.☕ Moderators make mistakes—they often admit to them, too—and the admins step in to fix things. A lot of those pathetic complaints from trolls sent to the FBI usually don't even tell half the story, so it becomes easy to just assume the poor forum user is right and the admins and moderators are the villains in this whole saga.

This forum serves its purpose, and there's really no need to tear it down.☕

feraltrucker5 said:You have no idea what you're even talking about.☕ Moderators make mistakes—they often admit to them, too—and the admins step in to fix things. A lot of those pathetic complaints from trolls sent to the FBI usually don't even tell half the story, so it becomes easy to just assume the poor forum user is right and the admins and moderators are the villains in this whole saga.

This forum serves its purpose, and there's really no need to tear it down.☕

Well, I'm throwing that "you have no clue" right back at you. Cheers.

Give me one single example of a resolved (justified) complaint against a moderator.

Fine, I'll give you a few examples of ones that were never resolved instead.

Look at , this isn't even a direct complaint against a mod, it's just a straight-up request to get a thread restored.

Now, go ahead—try to argue why this specific complaint is "pathetic" or "unfounded," or point out where exactly it was ever resolved.

(feraltrucker5, honestly, there isn't a single thing in your comment that could actually be called an argument. It’s nothing but condescension toward your opponent and a bunch of baseless claims)

darkseal15 said:Well, I'm throwing that "you have no clue" right back at you. Cheers.

Give me one single example of a resolved (justified) complaint against a moderator.

Fine, I'll give you a few examples of ones that were never resolved instead.

Look at , this isn't even a direct complaint against a mod, it's just a straight-up request to get a thread restored.

Now, go ahead—try to argue why this specific complaint is "pathetic" or "unfounded," or point out where exactly it was ever resolved.

Look, I could probably rattle off a dozen instances where a moderator or an admin catches their own mistake without anyone even bothering to file a formal complaint, and they just fix it quietly behind the scenes, but I’m not supposed to talk about that. And honestly, what I really can't show you are the mountain of deleted posts from those users who spend all day trolling and flooding the boards; we let them slide for an eternity, but the second they finally face any consequences, suddenly the moderator is being "too harsh" or "completely unreasonable."

People reading the FBI reports only see the tiny sliver of the "case" that actually makes it into the public eye, and then they jump straight to conclusions based on that tiny fragment.

It’s honestly pointless... if it makes you feel better to keep believing that moderators have absolutely nothing better to do than pick on poor forum users, then by all means, go right ahead.😉

I’ve seen all kinds of crazy suggestions floating around here (and tossed them out myself), but this? This takes the absolute cake... 😁
Definitely something worth getting into...
But maybe we should save the debate for later... unless, you know, they shut this thread down before morning...

I am in complete agreement with the person who started this thread; I cast my vote for it, even if I struggle to see the ultimate purpose behind all this... though at least we have something to dissect since there's nothing else to do.

My most recent example involves four separate threads created over a period of about six weeks, where we were all providing reasoned arguments regarding the moderator unknown—specifically, his particular style of moderation on the platform. One day, those threads were simply locked without a single word of greeting, an explanation, or anything one might call a polite response...

As a reward for our efforts, we received quite a collection of penalties.

I truly tip my hat to the good moderators, of which there are thankfully many, but with people like that, everything should be handled right within the disputed thread itself, or perhaps through a private message.
The others, the reason we even have to be here, are simply ignorant individuals who, in my estimation, do nothing but damage the community and communication among users because they are "conflict-prone personalities"... yet, clearly, there is no way to combat that. Consequently, I tend to avoid any threads overseen by such moderators, and I am perfectly fine with that choice.

Of my three submissions to the Appeals section, not a single one resulted in a coherent response, let alone a constructive resolution.

The most significant issue with moderation seems to be the selective application of penalties, based on what I can gather from my own experiences and what I read here. There is a glaring disparity in how "veteran" users are treated—far more is tolerated for them—and I have also noticed a different attitude toward women, being significantly stricter, certainly.

So, there it is, just my humble opinion...🙂

I agree with the suggestion from 🍿

🙂

feraltrucker5 said:Look, I could probably rattle off a dozen instances where a moderator or an admin catches their own mistake without anyone even bothering to file a formal complaint, and they just fix it quietly behind the scenes, but I’m not supposed to talk about that. And honestly, what I really can't show you are the mountain of deleted posts from those users who spend all day trolling and flooding the boards; we let them slide for an eternity, but the second they finally face any consequences, suddenly the moderator is being "too harsh" or "completely unreasonable."

People reading the FBI reports only see the tiny sliver of the "case" that actually makes it into the public eye, and then they jump straight to conclusions based on that tiny fragment.

It’s honestly pointless... if it makes you feel better to keep believing that moderators have absolutely nothing better to do than pick on poor forum users, then by all means, go right ahead.😉

Well, then you completely missed the point.

The issue isn't about those decent, self-aware mods who actually solve problems via DM—or the ones who have the guts to say, "Yeah, my bad, let me fix that."

The whole point here is dealing with those specific mods who are impossible to reason with, the exact type that makes people feel they have no choice but to take things to the FBI.

So, where are you in all this? Which moderator group are you part of?

I can think of a few other moderators who clearly don't understand what the actual issue is.

(And before you claim it's "impossible to see the full story"—I actually screenshotted the deleted posts. I posted them right here so the entire context is visible.

But apparently, you couldn't even be bothered to click the link I provided.
Basically, you're checking every single box of the kind of moderator people would (fruitlessly) try to appeal against here.

There is absolutely no way
e) screw you and your suggestion too 🙏
would you guys seriously ruin the best PDF ever? 🙏

Let's look at this situation.

An attack on a subforum should really be an attack on the moderator. But that shouldn't be the case here. hollowtrucker77 is actually one of the best mods we have on this site, even if I didn't think so when he first showed up. I guess I just didn't give him a full hundred days to prove himself, but man, he’s actually surprised me.
Secondly, the fact is that some weird hierarchy has taken over the forum lately; things have gotten way more heavy-handed (someone like the Administrator or whatever).
Thirdly, people are constantly complaining on the FBI section, and it’s become this standard routine where every single complaint gets brushed off as some "unserious attempt" to overthrow the mod—attempts that never work anyway, and almost none of these complaints ever lead to anything positive. Just a heads-up: hollowtrucker77 really tries to separate the wheat from the chaff, but he isn't getting any support from the higher-ups. His job is to moderate serious complaints, not to act as the final judge in them. And that’s what he does—he keeps the thread open, cleans out the spam and the parasites, but nobody from the people who are *supposed* to respond to the complaint shows up, so there's just silence for days.
Then, the people starting these threads lose their minds because they feel like nobody gives a damn about them—which, let's be honest, is true 😁—so they start going absolutely nuclear in every language possible. Then come the warnings, the points, the bans, and it turns out the user actually deserved the ban in the first place.

Fourthly, once, an admin called my constructive argument "acting like someone's lawyer" just because I was defending a certain right, and then she shut the whole thread down. I sent her a private message asking for an apology since I didn't consider myself anyone's lawyer. She didn't reply. And when I actually complimented her, saying it was nice to finally have an admin who actually responds to DMs, she shot back that she had better things to do than answer a PM where I was being all dramatic about wanting an apology. This tells you everything you need to know: this esteemed admin has much more important things to do than deal with your nonsense. She has the power, she uses it, and she never questions her own calls because, frankly, we aren't worth her time to sit and rethink things.

So, I've confirmed my suspicions, and I'll tell you guys again, though I've said it plenty of times already.
Reddit is privately owned and, honestly, it’s technically maintained pretty poorly. Since it’s private property, the owner can basically do whatever they want. Because of that, users don't have much ground to stand on when complaining about moderators and how they behave, because every single one of them was chosen by the owner to represent his interests and protect his property. When you look at it that way, every complaint is just a waste of breath.

So, that’s how it stands. Next time you feel the urge to complain, just remember that the moderators are working for free (well, maybe not for free—I actually started a thread about that on the psychology board once) and remember that the forum hasn't been running well for years. Seriously, call up any hosting service and ask what it would cost to host a forum like this. You’ll quickly realize the owner couldn't care less about the site, and if he doesn't care about the site, he doesn't care about the users. And if he doesn't care about the users, then the moderators are just his extended arm—they get the same "don't care" impulse from him, and so they don't care about you either. It always stinks from the top down.

You can choose to accept this reality, stay true to yourself, and be who you are despite it all. Or, you can spend hours here arguing in a losing battle. Because at the end of the day, this is a private forum...

You guys are just numbers. You are nothing more than unique clicks that the owner displays to advertisers. The only thing that makes you "unique" is the statistic: "we have x0,000 unique clicks every day." When you stop clicking, someone else will take your place. And that other person won't be any different from you, even if you're clicking based on some deep philosophy about topics that need to radically change the world, while that other guy is just some random teenager opening threads like: "I've never done it..."
And both you and he are just tiny clicks, one of thousands of others that make up the "strength" of this forum.

That’s why we shouldn't abolish the FBI section. It serves its purpose. It channels the dissatisfied people so they can be ignored. That is its function. Its job isn't to resolve a potential complaint. Maybe we should just rename it: "Wishes and Futile Complaints." Description: Complain all you want, and get banned...

Rachel Sanchez11 said:Let's look at this situation.

An attack on a subforum should really be an attack on the moderator. But that shouldn't be the case here. hollowtrucker77 is actually one of the best mods we have on this site, even if I didn't think so when he first showed up. I guess I just didn't give him a full hundred days to prove himself, but man, he’s actually surprised me.
Secondly, the fact is that some weird hierarchy has taken over the forum lately; things have gotten way more heavy-handed (someone like the Administrator or whatever).
Thirdly, people are constantly complaining on the FBI section, and it’s become this standard routine where every single complaint gets brushed off as some "unserious attempt" to overthrow the mod—attempts that never work anyway, and almost none of these complaints ever lead to anything positive. Just a heads-up: hollowtrucker77 really tries to separate the wheat from the chaff, but he isn't getting any support from the higher-ups. His job is to moderate serious complaints, not to act as the final judge in them. And that’s what he does—he keeps the thread open, cleans out the spam and the parasites, but nobody from the people who are *supposed* to respond to the complaint shows up, so there's just silence for days.
Then, the people starting these threads lose their minds because they feel like nobody gives a damn about them—which, let's be honest, is true 😁—so they start going absolutely nuclear in every language possible. Then come the warnings, the points, the bans, and it turns out the user actually deserved the ban in the first place.

Fourthly, once, an admin called my constructive argument "acting like someone's lawyer" just because I was defending a certain right, and then she shut the whole thread down. I sent her a private message asking for an apology since I didn't consider myself anyone's lawyer. She didn't reply. And when I actually complimented her, saying it was nice to finally have an admin who actually responds to DMs, she shot back that she had better things to do than answer a PM where I was being all dramatic about wanting an apology. This tells you everything you need to know: this esteemed admin has much more important things to do than deal with your nonsense. She has the power, she uses it, and she never questions her own calls because, frankly, we aren't worth her time to sit and rethink things.

So, I've confirmed my suspicions, and I'll tell you guys again, though I've said it plenty of times already.
Reddit is privately owned and, honestly, it’s technically maintained pretty poorly. Since it’s private property, the owner can basically do whatever they want. Because of that, users don't have much ground to stand on when complaining about moderators and how they behave, because every single one of them was chosen by the owner to represent his interests and protect his property. When you look at it that way, every complaint is just a waste of breath.

So, that’s how it stands. Next time you feel the urge to complain, just remember that the moderators are working for free (well, maybe not for free—I actually started a thread about that on the psychology board once) and remember that the forum hasn't been running well for years. Seriously, call up any hosting service and ask what it would cost to host a forum like this. You’ll quickly realize the owner couldn't care less about the site, and if he doesn't care about the site, he doesn't care about the users. And if he doesn't care about the users, then the moderators are just his extended arm—they get the same "don't care" impulse from him, and so they don't care about you either. It always stinks from the top down.

You can choose to accept this reality, stay true to yourself, and be who you are despite it all. Or, you can spend hours here arguing in a losing battle. Because at the end of the day, this is a private forum...

You guys are just numbers. You are nothing more than unique clicks that the owner displays to advertisers. The only thing that makes you "unique" is the statistic: "we have x0,000 unique clicks every day." When you stop clicking, someone else will take your place. And that other person won't be any different from you, even if you're clicking based on some deep philosophy about topics that need to radically change the world, while that other guy is just some random teenager opening threads like: "I've never done it..."
And both you and he are just tiny clicks, one of thousands of others that make up the "strength" of this forum.

That’s why we shouldn't abolish the FBI section. It serves its purpose. It channels the dissatisfied people so they can be ignored. That is its function. Its job isn't to resolve a potential complaint. Maybe we should just rename it: "Wishes and Futile Complaints." Description: Complain all you want, and get banned...

🙏
Bravo, I sign off on this word for word!
(Truly everything, but especially that part about Sash and Bell)

I honestly feel like this post belongs in a "Welcome to the Forum" guide... you know, acting as the true manifesto for this place, rather than just endless chatter about bans, signatures, and minor rules...
Abandon all hope, ye who enter here 😁