I'm your Moderator, and there are no other Moderators besides me

Tyler Grant76 said:So, I’ve finally had enough 😁
I’m asking someone to please rein in the hysteria from the moderator slybison8, and I really think the discussions they participate in should start being moderated properly.
In a recent thread about San Francisco, the moderator slybison8 basically allowed insults, trolling, and anyone holding an opinion different from their own—including people who actually agree with them—to be targeted with all sorts of unprovoked, baseless names. And when asked to fix it? They just doubled down with more insults.
A few days ago, hollowtrucker77 and I were having a discussion on the main board about how slybison8 communicates in other threads, hoping that you, as the admin, might actually step in and do something about it. But since slybison8 just keeps acting out against anyone who disagrees, I guess I'll just move the conversation over here. Honestly.

It really shouldn't come as a surprise, given that our esteemed moderator Powerlock sent me a PM labeling my posts about the 'Pride Parade in San Francisco' as 'sick.' So, now I have to ask: is it actually acceptable for a moderator to use that kind of adjective when commenting on other users?

Because, as we all know, that particular word is strictly off-limits in any topic—especially when discussing a certain group whose name I won't even mention, because frankly, mentioning their name on the same page as the word 'sick' would probably trigger yet another ban. But apparently, it’s perfectly fine to use if the target is just a fellow user. 👎

Kevin Gonzalez79 said:PL has abandoned all standards and is handing out warnings based on nothing but personal vendettvas... It is glaringly obvious that PL cannot handle even the slightest hint of criticism regarding his conduct. Specifically, he opened this thread under the guise of asking what we would do if we were handed $185 million...

And... Dear Kevin Gonzalez79,

You have received an infraction at Forum.hr.

Reason: Violation of forum rules
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Commenting on moderation outside of official channels
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This infraction is worth 30 point(s) and may result in restricted access until it expires. Serious infractions will never expire.

Original Post:

Quote:
I would call Anderlon, buy Forum.hr, and resolve some issues with the political moderators. The rest would be invested in developing renewable energy sources.
All the best,

The politics section has gone completely to hell alongside Powerlock. If you haven't noticed, all the veteran users—from Revke to MC Ozzy and Adler—have migrated to a different forum...

So, is this the definitive list of names whose absence leaves a massive void in the discussions? Look, I could rattle off dozens of other people who stopped posting in Politics, and it’s not because they were wiped out by the Democratic Party's hand, so how am I supposed to draw any conclusions from that? Honestly, I don't even agree that Politics has gone to hell. In fact, there are certain threads I wouldn't even touch if I didn't know a few specific people would show up to say something actually intelligent. PL is one of them. Though, I have to admit, he's the only mod I've ever managed to rack up that many warnings from in a single day. 😬 Fair enough, though.

As someone who's constantly lurking in the World PDF, I can say with total certainty that the whole thing would have been a massive pile of garbage for months if PL wasn't moderating it. Worse than that, it would have turned into some monstrous hybrid of a close politician and an alternative site. Word.

Richard James2 said:So, is this the definitive list of names whose absence leaves a massive void in the discussions? Look, I could rattle off dozens of other people who stopped posting in Politics, and it’s not because they were wiped out by the Democratic Party's hand, so how am I supposed to draw any conclusions from that? Honestly, I don't even agree that Politics has gone to hell. In fact, there are certain threads I wouldn't even touch if I didn't know a few specific people would show up to say something actually intelligent. PL is one of them. Though, I have to admit, he's the only mod I've ever managed to rack up that many warnings from in a single day. 😬 Fair enough, though.

As someone who's constantly lurking in the World PDF, I can say with total certainty that the whole thing would have been a massive pile of garbage for months if PL wasn't moderating it. Worse than that, it would have turned into some monstrous hybrid of a close politician and an alternative site. Word.

I honestly feel like that's exactly what's happening most of the time.

Walter Jones4 said:I honestly feel like that's exactly what's happening most of the time.

It depends. Topics that draw massive crowds—like anything involving bin Laden's legacy or the fallout from the former America era—are much harder to moderate. Those subjects are absolute minefields of historical revisionism and constant provocations. You have to walk a fine line to ensure the discussion doesn't become sterile, while still allowing for a diverse range of opinions without spiraling into total trash. But looking at the big picture, the quality of this PDF section stays above the rest of the forum, at least for now. So, if I ever get that impression, I’m just glad it hasn't happened often. As for the Democratic Party, I'll just say that a solid selection of high-quality threads has saved me from the usual endless flame wars, spam, and clone accounts. I'm honestly really grateful for that; instead of just packing up my things and walking out, I actually get the chance to participate in a balanced debate. That said, there's always room for improvement, right?

I’d like to take this opportunity to point out that the primary—and I mean the most substantive—objections raised on the first page of this thread don't actually pertain to the World subforum.

So, I’m gonna take this chance—even though I’ve already dropped hints about it—to point out that my beef was also directed at the Pedef world

That’s where I first caught onto his, to put it mildly, blatant cluelessness and bias, and honestly, it's pretty dangerous stuff 🙂

James Diaz8, my apologies. I mistakenly assumed your critiques regarding the global landscape had remained on that other thread; I see now they've followed us here.

It would have been more precise to put it this way: the specific grievances stayed on the front page. While I certainly don't mind wading through these broader—albeit complimentary—observations, and I suspect there is some truth to be found there, I much prefer getting into the granular details, given that we’ve already gathered here.

Sam Green73 said:Do you actually have any idea how many of your own posts—and everyone else's, for that matter—slip right past without a single consequence, even when they clearly break the rules?

Look, I don't just hand out bans just because I feel like it.

That’s exactly where the problem lies.

And let's be real, none of you guys are saints... I'm not living in some fantasy land.
I get it... I'm fully aware of how much of a nightmare it is to moderate this place.
Everyone slips up now and then.
And everyone definitely has their favorites.

But with Powerlock, the issue is that way too often—especially lately—we see people who just happen to disagree being kicked out of a massive, heated thread almost immediately.

And they do it in such an obnoxious way, honestly, it’s just like the pattern I laid out earlier.🙂

It’s the same old cycle repeating itself, you know?
And that's not how it should work.

Anyway, that's my two cents and I'm done talking about it.

This is just unbelievable. If we’re talking about the general interest boards where political leanings don't matter as much, he’s great. Even his ideological opponents admit he’s top-tier. But when it comes to domestic politics? Suddenly, he’s "not good enough." Meanwhile, on other parts of this site, moderators handle some of the most heated political topics—like the situation with Mexico and the rest of the ex-America region—perfectly fine.

The only shame is that we can't just clone him and drop him into the other political sub-forums. Maybe then the protectionism would stop, and they'd quit only moderating right-wing views. Then the Politics board could actually be a balanced, truly free forum where any user can decently express their opinion on a topic, instead of having an article about the President's advisor from America deleted six times only after someone finally tracks down the admin.

And don't even get me started on those "protected" Revolutionaries and others who think they're so interesting—until they run into the KGB and get hit with a permanent ban. Because apparently, there's a whole different set of rules here, and they’re out immediately. For some of the people who have been permanently banned, those of us without access to the CP mod team know exactly whose clones they are, but the mods stubbornly refuse to even check certain IP addresses.

So, just let the man moderate. If someone has a problem with a warning they received, there's a specific thread for that. Let the admins and super-mods decide if the moderation or the warning was justified. Likewise, if someone gets banned, they can always start a thread in the KGB section, and the ban will be overturned just like it has many times before. And please, spare me those optional attacks claiming he's only good for one specific sub-forum where he doesn't interfere with the established cliques and power structures. I hope we're done with that old story.

Politics is crying out for another moderator like him—someone who ensures equality among users, where you aren't punished for your opinions, but only for breaking the rules. I’d love to see at least one place in this country dealing with politics that actually measures everyone by the same yardstick. Honestly, I'm just glad that over at Powerlock, that's actually the intention.

Zachary Gomez2 said:James Diaz8, my apologies. I mistakenly assumed your critiques regarding the global landscape had remained on that other thread; I see now they've followed us here.

It would have been more precise to put it this way: the specific grievances stayed on the front page. While I certainly don't mind wading through these broader—albeit complimentary—observations, and I suspect there is some truth to be found there, I much prefer getting into the granular details, given that we’ve already gathered here.

I already touched on this before
I've sailed through much rougher waters than this

I'm not just talking out of thin air🙂

@Paul Green31..I saw it..just pure cluelessness..and honestly, it’s pathetic how they miss the mark on so many different things.

my bad.

James Diaz8 said:@Paul Green31..I saw it..just pure cluelessness..and honestly, it’s pathetic how they miss the mark on so many different things.

my bad.

Oh, you saw bias from other people?

By the way, what does "targeting" even mean here? Is it when a major newspaper like the New York Times swipes your text and publishes it?
Or is it when hordes of forum users, who think they know everything about current events, stalk you and read your posts just because they want to dig deeper into certain topics?

Well, he's being stalked, and his writing is being stolen and published. When you can actually match your own post to an article in a mainstream paper, then come talk to me about being targeted.

Also, I honestly think the admins should protect the dignity of the moderator role and just shut this thread down. According to the rules of this site, this whole thing is prohibited anyway. They haven't provided a single link showing any questionable moderator action. All they've provided are links to his opinions—opinions that clearly rub the left-liberal crowd the wrong way. If you hate his views, deal with them using arguments in the debate. If you have a problem with moderation, use the official channels this forum provides. The admins will fix any actual injustice, so rest easy.

So, either provide links to suspicious moderator decisions, or stop this ridiculous witch hunt. It's getting pathetic.

Bottom line: I hope Loki settles this, and a huge shoutout to Boki.

👋

Paul Green31 said:Oh, you saw bias from other people?

By the way, what does "targeting" even mean here? Is it when a major newspaper like the New York Times swipes your text and publishes it?
Or is it when hordes of forum users, who think they know everything about current events, stalk you and read your posts just because they want to dig deeper into certain topics?

Well, he's being stalked, and his writing is being stolen and published. When you can actually match your own post to an article in a mainstream paper, then come talk to me about being targeted.

Also, I honestly think the admins should protect the dignity of the moderator role and just shut this thread down. According to the rules of this site, this whole thing is prohibited anyway. They haven't provided a single link showing any questionable moderator action. All they've provided are links to his opinions—opinions that clearly rub the left-liberal crowd the wrong way. If you hate his views, deal with them using arguments in the debate. If you have a problem with moderation, use the official channels this forum provides. The admins will fix any actual injustice, so rest easy.

So, either provide links to suspicious moderator decisions, or stop this ridiculous witch hunt. It's getting pathetic.

Bottom line: I hope Loki settles this, and a huge shoutout to Boki.

👋

Look, I can tell you personally that the same people reposting his stuff (😲🤣🤣) could end up having some serious copyright issues on their hands. 😁

And yeah... looking at the PDF, the world was full of absolute nonsense back then. Just facts tangled up in chaos. Amen.

Take it easy. 👋

James Diaz8 said:Look, I can tell you personally that the same people reposting his stuff (😲🤣🤣) could end up having some serious copyright issues on their hands. 😁

And yeah... looking at the PDF, the world was full of absolute nonsense back then. Just facts tangled up in chaos. Amen.

Take it easy. 👋

Here are just two recent posts. These are exactly why people come to this forum—they’re so packed with info that you don't even need to bother reading the entire thread.

Powerlock said:I honestly doubt we’ve seen the worst of this yet. For us to actually reach a point where we can say the storm has passed, something massive has to happen to fix the underlying issues that triggered this crisis in the first place. Look at the situation right now: within the Eurozone, there's still zero consensus on issuing common bonds. On top of that, the political will for any further integration—let alone syncing up fiscal policies—is basically evaporating. So, what’s the only response they have left? Just more and more drastic austerity measures across various Mediterranean countries. Sure, maybe those cuts make sense on a spreadsheet, but politically? It's total madness. The people in those countries—especially the public sector workers who are getting hammered by these cuts—don't even realize they were part of the problem. They don't see that their own spending helped trigger this mess, so why on earth should they be the ones forced to carry the entire weight of the crisis on their backs?

The Euro has basically proven itself to be nothing more than a political currency through this whole crisis. It’s clearly just a project driven by political agendas rather than any actual economic logic. Honestly, the situation looks a lot like... September 16, 1992. It led to the UK pulling out of the ERM—basically a precursor to the euro. Back in 1990, in the lead-up to what we now call "Black Wednesday," the pro-European wing of the Conservative Party decided to drag the UK into the ERM. Why? Mostly just pure politics. They could smell Thatcherism dying and were already scrambling to grab whatever was left of her legacy. They also made a massive miscalculation regarding German reunification. They thought it would strengthen the Deutsche Mark "overnight," completely ignoring the staggering costs Germany was about to face during the unification process. And they missed something even more obvious: most British foreign exchange reserves and securities were tied to the US dollar. Then there’s the issue of the economy itself. The UK runs on a boom-bust cycle, which just doesn't mesh with the economic cycles in mainland Europe. Over there, heavy government intervention in the economy tends to smooth out those wild peaks and valleys. In the UK? We've never had the political will for that kind of intervention, and frankly, we don't even have the legislative framework to make it happen. How did they miss all of this?

Once the markets catch onto these blatant inconsistencies and logical gaps in the political framework governing economic and monetary relations, anyone with enough sense is free to bet against them. People start moving their money to protect themselves from the inevitable collapse of such flimsy political deals. Back in 1992, George Soros was the guy who realized the United Kingdom had no business being in the ERM—and certainly shouldn't be part of any future single currency. If the British government thought they were right, he decided to prove them wrong in the most painful way possible. On September 16, 1992, the pound sterling's exchange rate against the German mark absolutely cratered. It went from somewhere north of 3 marks and maybe 4 pence per pound, straight down to 2 marks and 10 pence. That’s a massive 30% drop in value, all while the rigid ERM rules only allowed for fluctuations of about 6% per year. The UK as a nation lost over 800 million pounds in cold, hard cash that day, but even that number barely scratches the surface of the actual damage. It doesn't account for the massive opportunity cost—the profit the state could have banked if they'd just pulled out of the ERM and devalued the pound on their own terms before Soros launched his market assault. We're talking about a missed profit of roughly 27 billion pounds. And how much of that ended up in George Soros's pockets? About 10 billion. Just think about that.

It’s worth noting that George Soros saw through the nonsense of the UK joining the ERM back in early '91. He went out on a limb and warned everyone publicly. It’s the exact same story we're seeing today. You've got a whole line of investors—both individuals and massive institutions—sounding the alarm. They're all saying the same thing: the Euro is fundamentally broken. How can you expect countries like Greece and Germany to share a single currency and pretend everything is perfectly fine? It isn't. It just isn't.

The problem we faced back in '92 was nothing compared to what we're dealing with today. Back then, the solution was simple: the UK just pulled out of the ERM. They were kicked out, or they walked away—either way, they were done with it.

We all know that back in 1992, just like today, the United Kingdom had an economy that was incomparably stronger, faster, and wealthier than Greece or Italy. So, you have to wonder—has anyone actually learned anything in the meantime?

The best way to handle this crisis is to have a handful of countries ditch the European Central Bank immediately. Seriously, the faster the better. It’ll actually be a win for them in the long run. If you look back at 1992, staying out of that mess was ultimately what saved the United Kingdom's economy and its people. Sure, there was a brief period where traveling from the UK to Europe—or even to a war-torn America—was insanely expensive, but looking at the big picture? It paid off.

That would be the end of the political fantasy: turning the European Union into one massive, centralized superstate, with the European Central Bank serving as its ultimate symbol. Right now, the bureaucrats aren't quite there yet. They’re still perfectly happy blowing everyone else's money to chase this dream of a single empire stretching from Gibraltar to Leningrad—with themselves sitting right at the center of it all. And that dream? That’s exactly why Greeks and Italians are losing their jobs while Germans are stuck footing the bill for their debts.

This second guy hit the nail on the head. He provided a perfect cross-section of the whole situation. Honestly, he included so much info that I couldn't find anywhere else, even after digging through plenty of local and international news coverage on the topic. The man deserves nothing but... 🙏🙏🙏.

Powerlock said:I honestly wanted to just ignore this whole mess with News of the World entirely—just like I’ve ignored that rag for the last 20-plus years living in the UK.

The scandal just keeps getting bigger. Now we’re seeing new allegations hitting two more daily papers owned by Murdoch's News Corp. It’s getting ugly. The editors over at The Sun—the biggest tabloid in the UK—are being accused of straight-up fraud to get their hands on the medical records of former Prime Minister Gordon Brown's young son. We're talking about a four-year-old kid at the time. They took an unconfirmed diagnosis of cystic fibrosis and ran with it. And it wasn't just that. Five years earlier, they published stories claiming Gordon Brown's newborn daughter was dying from brain hemorrhaging during birth—back when he was still the US Treasury Secretary. Can you believe that? Now, the police are looking into private investigators who were allegedly working hand-in-hand with the newsrooms inside Murdoch's media empire. Is anyone actually surprised?

Another bombshell dropped this afternoon. Abbey National—which is owned by that Spanish giant Banco Santander—just put out a statement raising some seriously shady suspicions. It turns out journalists from the high-profile Sunday Times (yeah, the one owned by Rupert Murdoch) allegedly pulled a fast one on Abbey National’s telebanking staff. Get this: they reportedly posed as Gordon Brown himself. They used the standard telebanking features to trick employees into handing over sensitive details about Brown’s accounts, his debts, credit card spending, and all sorts of private info. Can you believe the nerve? The bank even named a famous TV and stage impersonator who was identified in an internal investigation as being involved in one of those calls. And because this guy actually holds an account at Abbey National himself, the bank noticed a massive chunk of change landing in his personal account from the Sunday Times corporate account just a few days after the call. Talk about suspicious, right? Abbey National says they’ve handed over the entire file and all their investigative findings to the police this morning. This whole thing is a mess.

More arrests are coming, it's practically a given. And if things keep going this way, heads are going to roll at the top of the British intelligence agencies. I mean, they’re supposed to be the ones looking out for security when it comes to the Prime Minister and the Cabinet, right?

Between today's chaos and the Government's decision to push back NewsCorp's takeover of the remaining 40% of SKY News by at least six months, it looks like we're watching the final collapse of the biggest media empire on the planet. This whole thing is a total train wreck waiting to happen—especially if the FBI decides to jump in. There's talk this week about opening an investigation into whether other Murdoch-owned outlets in the US—like the NY Daily News or even the high-brow Wall Street Journal—were also caught up in illegal info-gathering. We're talking about hacking the voicemails of victims from the 2001 Twin Towers attacks. Can you imagine?

Look, Rupert Murdoch has always been a polarizing figure. He was a relentless Rottweiler in the media landscape, a guy who never gave a damn about old-school traditions or professional standards. But let's be real: he's also the man who turned the media industry into a massive, cutthroat corporate machine. He purged idealism from newsrooms, kicking out anyone who actually wanted to "change the world." Instead, he brought in the big bucks. His top journalists and editors were making bank, getting paid just like Wall Street sharks, bankers, or Hollywood stars. No less, no more.

So, what did that transformation cost us? In a nutshell: it cost us everything. It meant completely ignoring the civil and human rights of anyone who happened to catch the eye of Murdoch's tabloids. Whether it was members of the Royal Family, a fallen soldier in Afghanistan, or even the Prime Minister's own kid. They just wiped out every sense of decency and privacy in their path.

The logic behind that kind of ethics was simple when they were just chasing celebrities and the Royal Family: They’ve got money, so they can afford to suffer. We follow them, we pry into their private lives—that’s supposedly the price of success in a free society. But now that we know Murdoch's journalists were wiretapping the phone of a murdered underage rape victim, and even deleting messages from the grieving family's inbox just to make room for new ones—messages the parents and police thought were proof their daughter was still alive—there are no more excuses.

The Guardian commented today that it will be incredibly hard to erase the legacy of Murdoch's actions. Thanks to him, the media has become much more ruthless. For the first time in history, public shaming has evolved from mere scandal into the total destruction of a person—like what happened to Princess Diana—or at least driving them into complete financial ruin.

The public has been "trained" to demand information about others that doesn't concern them at all. Does this mean the consumers themselves have also been trained to respect their own privacy less? After the Murdoch era, will citizens actually trust the media more, or will they simply fear them?

Murdoch also brought the ethics of "snitch culture" through the front door of journalism. In the UK, eight police officers have already been arrested on suspicion of searching police files on thousands of citizens on behalf of Murdoch's outlets. They even paid waiters to report what someone ate in a restaurant, taxi drivers to recount conversations between passengers, and housekeepers to hand over trash bags to journalists instead of the garbage man so they could dig through them for info. The result of all this snitching? Alienation and the feeling that you can't trust anyone anymore.

Was Murdoch a general for the New World Order? Who knows. But we do know that the old order ruthlessly tore down anything it could wherever it went.

.

And for all the "nonsense" people post here on the forums, you can always push back. That’s the whole point of a forum, isn't it? You click reply and write a correction.

A forum is basically just one long process of correcting false statements, only without the restrictions you find in Congress.

Look, you have the floor; go ahead and correct them. You even have the right to call out insults against colleagues, so you can bring that up here too.

But as the wise Luke would say, this isn't an attempt to correct a mistake or an insult against a colleague—it's just cheap politics masquerading as an objection.

Powerlock is in a league of its own, and there will always be forum users jealous of it. It's nothing new or surprising among our local political hacks. 🙂

@Paul Green31 man please, start actually reading some of the foreign press for once

then you'll realize pretty damn quick exactly what kind of category Powerlock falls into and just how deep the rabbit hole goes🙂

anyway, peace out, it's late

James Diaz8 said:So, I’m gonna take this chance—even though I’ve already dropped hints about it—to point out that my beef was also directed at the Pedef world

That’s where I first caught onto his, to put it mildly, blatant cluelessness and bias, and honestly, it's pretty dangerous stuff 🙂

Maybe. I don't. Even though he definitely knew how to get under my skin. But what I *did* notice was the constant stream of cloned accounts, people using multiple handles just to parrot the exact same talking points. It's dangerous letting people like that in to probe into the decline of any forum or community. 🙂

James Diaz8 said:Man... you really need to read more.

Do some homework... you'll get it eventually.🙂

I am reading, despite what you claim. Look, I noticed your very first post—back before you started terrorizing everyone with those annoying little marks—where you had that classic, burning desire to crush an opponent with undeniable logic, only to end up stumbling over phrases like just get a clue and stuff like that. Honestly, you're right about one thing. It’s pathetic when moderation is so bad that it lets a bunch of people hiding behind ten different fake accounts mock anyone who actually knows what they're talking about. Namaste.

To prevent us from getting too bogged down in baroque legalistic arguments (Paul Green31), you can find direct links to the specific problematic sites on the previous page. It simply isn't possible to provide a blanket response to these issues.

Zachary Gomez2 said:No, I am referring to the very reason I joined this thread in the first place—something my own posts clearly articulate. Let’s not descend into mindless spamming, shall we?

Look, I haven't seen you quote a single moderator move from Powerlock. You've only been quoting regular users.

We already settled this during the last debate... Look, I get it, you don't like it and you aren't used to it, but as long as someone is a forum user, they have every right to their own opinion. 😉

Richard James2 said:I am reading, despite what you claim. Look, I noticed your very first post—back before you started terrorizing everyone with those annoying little marks—where you had that classic, burning desire to crush an opponent with undeniable logic, only to end up stumbling over phrases like just get a clue and stuff like that. Honestly, you're right about one thing. It’s pathetic when moderation is so bad that it lets a bunch of people hiding behind ten different fake accounts mock anyone who actually knows what they're talking about. Namaste.

Yeah, yeah, that's exactly where we are. You act uninformed, slightly less intelligent—that's a polite way of saying stupid, though she tries to play it off by saying "a little less smart"—and then you pivot to that condescending "go educate yourself" or "read the press" routine. Typical.

I'll admit it, sometimes I am uninformed. And when I want to learn something, I come here and read what Powerlock has written. He’s guided more forum users and readers than the entire mainstream media combined. 🙂