PDF: Social Science in Chaos

I’ve noticed that the Social Science section is being moderated quite poorly. This lack of quality control leads to frequent, awkward situations where the moderator bluerider2 acts in a very biased and unprofessional manner. To improve things here, I suggest appointing an additional moderator, assuming more radical changes aren't feasible on this forum—which, based on my experience so far, seems likely. Thanks for listening.

First off, I want to express my sincere gratitude to God and all the saints that we have finally figured out the proper way to open a discussion here. Secondly, because I would hate to present anything in an inaccurate or one-sided manner—regardless of how much that might affect things—I would kindly ask you to precisely

• what actually constitutes poor moderation;
• and what those frequent, uncomfortable situations look like, perhaps by providing some specific examples.

bluerider2 said:First off, I want to express my sincere gratitude to God and all the saints that we have finally figured out the proper way to open a discussion here. Secondly, because I would hate to present anything in an inaccurate or one-sided manner—regardless of how much that might affect things—I would kindly ask you to precisely

• what actually constitutes poor moderation;
• and what those frequent, uncomfortable situations look like, perhaps by providing some specific examples.

If you’re so eager to start with thanks, try thanking me first instead of God and the saints; trust me, they had nothing to do with opening this thread. 😉

Poor moderation stems primarily from the fact that, as a novelist, you aren't even remotely qualified to moderate a sub-forum this demanding and expansive. I'll just copy the list of core topics listed under the sub-forum header: Linguistics, Sociology, Anthropology, Ethnology so hopefully you'll finally realize you lack the depth of knowledge required for such broad fields—btw, aside from linguistics, you barely moderate anything at all, which is why we see various threads and posts that have zero connection to the sub-forum you oversee. That is the foundation of your poor moderation. You only need to look at other sub-forums—take some with much narrower themes, for instance, where they employ at least two, often three or more moderators. Honestly, it's a shame you aren't aware of this yourself; you clearly overestimated your own expertise and capabilities.
The next thing I'd point out regarding bad moderation is that certain spam posts manage to linger on the sub-forum for two or three days, which many people find repellant. To avoid rambling further under this heading, I will also include bias and lack of objectivity as forms of poor moderation, which leads directly into my next point. Yes, you are biased. You allow certain acquaintances, colleagues, or friends to get away with things that are not only utterly disgusting but explicitly forbidden by the forum rules. I don't think I need to be explicit here; everyone who reads or writes in Social Science knows exactly what I'm talking about. 😉

👍 Sarah Morgan2 🙏

@ Sarah Morgan2

Before you rush ahead and drift away from the actual point of our discussion, I thought I might gently nudge you back toward the essentials.

First off, you haven't actually addressed the two questions I posed, both of which were rooted directly in the claim you made in your opening post. I really think it would be best if we could establish the reasoning behind those claims before we try to move any further along. Honestly, just throwing out empty words doesn't get us much anywhere, and while I've spent years honing my ability to play with language—and believe me, I can certainly hold my own in a battle of wits if I truly felt like trying—I simply don't have the energy for it right now.

Secondly, you don't actually know anything about my professional background; all you know is what I choose to share here on this forum, specifically the bits and pieces I want people to see. Based on everything I've shared thus far, I'm quite certain there isn't enough evidence to support your assumption that I am merely a novelist.

Thirdly, we have been looking for at least one co-moderator for the Social Science section for quite some time now, so while I appreciate the sentiment, please don't feel like you need to worry about the management of this sub-forum.

So, if you wouldn't mind being a bit more direct, please tell me exactly where you see the issue. If you're feeling stuck, by all means, lay it out.

Edit: I wasn't intending to quote anyone, but since Jerry Roberts15 replied in the meantime, I'm adding an "address" here just to make sure there isn't any confusion about who I'm speaking to.

bluerider2 said:@ Sarah Morgan2

Before you rush ahead and drift away from the actual point of our discussion, I thought I might gently nudge you back toward the essentials.

First off, you haven't actually addressed the two questions I posed, both of which were rooted directly in the claim you made in your opening post. I really think it would be best if we could establish the reasoning behind those claims before we try to move any further along. Honestly, just throwing out empty words doesn't get us much anywhere, and while I've spent years honing my ability to play with language—and believe me, I can certainly hold my own in a battle of wits if I truly felt like trying—I simply don't have the energy for it right now.

Secondly, you don't actually know anything about my professional background; all you know is what I choose to share here on this forum, specifically the bits and pieces I want people to see. Based on everything I've shared thus far, I'm quite certain there isn't enough evidence to support your assumption that I am merely a novelist.

Thirdly, we have been looking for at least one co-moderator for the Social Science section for quite some time now, so while I appreciate the sentiment, please don't feel like you need to worry about the management of this sub-forum.

So, if you wouldn't mind being a bit more direct, please tell me exactly where you see the issue. If you're feeling stuck, by all means, lay it out.

Edit: I wasn't intending to quote anyone, but since Jerry Roberts15 replied in the meantime, I'm adding an "address" here just to make sure there isn't any confusion about who I'm speaking to.

Look, I'm not playing this game. 🙂 I have no intention of wasting my free time the way you're trying to bait me. Besides, I'm sure there are younger, more ambitious people ready to jump into these endless complaints because, mind you, plenty of users have been complaining about the Social Science sub-forum for ages—all while you systematically delete their posts. (Actually, if you weren't so focused on bickering—or if you actually had good intentions—you'd realize why they're appealing; after all, the forum archives hold everything you've scrubbed regarding visitor dissatisfaction.) Anyway, let them join the discussion. I have zero interest in debating someone who carries themselves the way you do. Sorry, but that's just how it is. 👋

Sarah Morgan2 said:Look, I'm not playing this game. 🙂 I have no intention of wasting my free time the way you're trying to bait me. Besides, I'm sure there are younger, more ambitious people ready to jump into these endless complaints because, mind you, plenty of users have been complaining about the Social Science sub-forum for ages—all while you systematically delete their posts. (Actually, if you weren't so focused on bickering—or if you actually had good intentions—you'd realize why they're appealing; after all, the forum archives hold everything you've scrubbed regarding visitor dissatisfaction.) Anyway, let them join the discussion. I have zero interest in debating someone who carries themselves the way you do. Sorry, but that's just how it is. 👋

If you want to speak plainly about what's actually happening, then go right ahead. If not, well, I have much more productive things to do than engage in tug-of-war with people who, much like yourself, prefer to make insinuations but conveniently dodge the question whenever asked for a specific example. It’s like that old joke about the parrot: "Oh, you know exactly what I mean." 😍

To put it bluntly, if you'll allow me to say so with a little humility, you don't actually want a debate; you just want to stall and evade. I won't participate in that. For now, you all can enjoy yourselves. It's certainly better here than over in Social Science. At least we might find a little peace and quiet there.

hollowtrucker77 said:this thread is only going to stay active if people start bringing actual, concrete complaints to the table
otherwise, I’m going to be forced to label the whole thing as spam
and just so we're clear, this isn't just about this specific thread
so, I'm asking everyone hanging around here to please try to be as specific as humanly possible

Specific complaints?
I honestly think someone who actually tracks this PDF systematically—someone with enough free time to deal with such trivialities—could pull together and document a massive amount of stuff...
As an occasional (and increasingly rare) visitor, the most glaring examples I can point to involve Stitch, who clearly knows his stuff and carries real editorial authority, but always stayed at those untouchable heights and too often resorted to mocking, belittling, or insulting people... you can find piles and piles of posts like that in the Language Advisor from a year or two ago, maybe three...

Dear Abby? A worthy successor... undeniably brilliant, but absolutely zero manners. That level of ego points to just one thing: incurable frustration... No one has the right to just lash out at entire professions, whole institutions, and especially distinguished figures and scientists who have given so much to this country and its culture (I’m thinking of Anić here, despite all his flaws)... If you want to help people with your vast knowledge, fine, great... then show some patience and tolerance toward the ignorance of people who aren't being obnoxious, but are just asking questions politely and civilly... They should be praised for that, because it’s harder to offer knowledge than to mock and insult...
A little tip: take a look at how many decent, cultured people are here—also holding degrees and credentials 🤣—who patiently and unselfishly help out and answer even the most trivial questions from the "plebs"

The moderation... given everything I just said and a whole lot more that I don't have the energy to list: it's bad... and I'm worried that the moderator herself, aside from her obvious favoritism toward certain people, is increasingly showing an intolerance and hypersensitivity to any kind of criticism

Look, I don't think this is just one person's take; it's how a lot of people actually feel,
it's just that most folks—kind of like typical Americans who prefer to keep their heads down—just stay quiet and take this kind of bullying because, honestly, they don't have much of a choice. If you want to find out...
how many people have already been burned on their very first try, right at the first question, and just vanished forever...?

Alright, let's keep this short and sweet. I am 100%—and I mean absolutely, without a shadow of a doubt—standing behind bluerider2. Honestly, there are just a few people here who are being totally malicious, twisting things around, digging for dirt, and basically weaponizing bluerider2's genuine kindness and good intentions. In my book, those complaining are really just the outcasts and the losers—you know, the ones who can't handle things and now they're trying to vent their own frustrations and failures on someone else. Bluerider2 is—well, I'd say they're truly exceptional, capable, patient, responsible, and honestly, just way more evolved than most of the folks in a discussion forum like this. So, yeah, that’s my take—this whole complaint is completely baseless, totally pointless, and just plain ridiculous.

While I wait for those two or three more mentions of bluerider2's friends, colleagues, or acquaintances—which should hopefully be packed with concrete details and constructive ideas—I’m going to keep poking around and digging into the 🤣mess 🙄. Consequently, I’m tossing out one more vague contribution just to ☕keep things interesting
.

Sarah Morgan2, honestly, this is just a losing battle from the get-go...
arguments, logic, or common sense don't carry much weight around here
just wait until the next post, then the other side will drop their ultimate trump card
(it popped up once in a Lingy-cup or a Language Advisor session, and my wife uses it all the time—she’s also a total sweetheart from FF): you're wrong!
short & sweet 🤷

Jerry Roberts15 said:Sarah Morgan2, honestly, this is just a losing battle from the get-go...
arguments, logic, or common sense don't carry much weight around here
just wait until the next post, then the other side will drop their ultimate trump card
(it popped up once in a Lingy-cup or a Language Advisor session, and my wife uses it all the time—she’s also a total sweetheart from FF): you're wrong!
short & sweet 🤷

We'll see. 😉 In any case, I've noticed that the problematic Abby, despite all the criticism, is trying extra hard to be polite now, 👍 so I still think there's some merit to this. 🙂 Then again, the whole thing stinks from the top down, so I believe the issue of moderation is vital—more important than any single problematic individual. To be honest, we haven't had a sub-moderator like Potale for over a year now, so bluerider2's complaint about needing a sub-moderator doesn't hold water. If someone actually wanted a sub-moderator, they could reasonably ask for at least another year 😉 before making a real demand. If the goal was truly to fix this current state of anarchy, a dedicated thread would have been opened, just like how things were handled in Philosophy or all the other sub-forums. 😉

I seem to recall starting a thread there where Abyssus responded to my question with such blatant rudeness, even though nobody had provoked her or said a single offensive thing. If I have any grievance at all with the moderators, it’s their tendency to sit back and tolerate idiots who treat the forum like a therapy session for their own personal drama. To be fair, I’m not a regular presence there, but that particular experience left quite a bitter taste in my mouth.

hollowtrucker77 said:this thread is only going to stay active if people start bringing actual, concrete complaints to the table
otherwise, I’m going to be forced to label the whole thing as spam
and just so we're clear, this isn't just about this specific thread
so, I'm asking everyone hanging around here to please try to be as specific as humanly possible

Specific, you say?

I suppose "specific" means when someone starts swearing. bluerider2 doesn't swear. The methods used to harass people here are far more insidious.

Anyone who disagrees with something or—heaven forbid—questions the infallibility of bluerider2 and her little group, gets ruthlessly belittled until they give up. They take words out of context, swap out arguments, throw in all sorts of insinuations... I've been there...

... and I gave up. Because life becomes unbearable when people twist every word you say, and then you try to correct them back to what you actually meant, and they twist it again... two, three, a hundred times if necessary... It’s just endless chains of posts.

Specifically: you have to follow entire threads just to figure out what's actually happening. But that's already actual work.

I went through the thread today and added one post where I accepted a valid criticism. Just because I spoke up. I have nothing against that kind of feedback: that's what conversation should be for—pointing out mistakes, oversights, or gaps in knowledge. After all, who doesn't have them?

Excuse me, I hear Abby doesn't have any. Excuse me, and bluerider2 undoubtedly doesn't either. I won't even mention certain mindless individuals who also lack them.

As things stand, and I doubt anything serious will change, there's no point even trying to participate in the conversation over at bluerider2's.

Paul Price34 said:Alright, let's keep this short and sweet. I am 100%—and I mean absolutely, without a shadow of a doubt—standing behind bluerider2. Honestly, there are just a few people here who are being totally malicious, twisting things around, digging for dirt, and basically weaponizing bluerider2's genuine kindness and good intentions. In my book, those complaining are really just the outcasts and the losers—you know, the ones who can't handle things and now they're trying to vent their own frustrations and failures on someone else. Bluerider2 is—well, I'd say they're truly exceptional, capable, patient, responsible, and honestly, just way more evolved than most of the folks in a discussion forum like this. So, yeah, that’s my take—this whole complaint is completely baseless, totally pointless, and just plain ridiculous.

Quite simply, clearly, and LOUDLY, we reiterate here on this sub-forum—much to certain people's chagrin, we haven't ended up at the LJES—that some members have become extremely unpleasant when communicating with others.
So, Ms. Paul Price34, we apologize for becoming outcasts and exiles, all because we chose to complain about the incredibly petty behavior and conduct of one academically educated individual.
Your enthusiasm for them doesn't surprise me, especially since your own vocabulary has, on several occasions, displayed an enviable array of colorful insults.
No one present disputes either your knowledge or the omnipotent Abby's, but it seems someone failed in their basic upbringing.
It is truly unfortunate that you view any attempt to introduce civilized and polite communication as something unfounded, senseless, and without purpose.

Jerry Roberts15 said:Look, I don't think this is just one person's take; it's how a lot of people actually feel,
it's just that most folks—kind of like typical Americans who prefer to keep their heads down—just stay quiet and take this kind of bullying because, honestly, they don't have much of a choice. If you want to find out...
how many people have already been burned on their very first try, right at the first question, and just vanished forever...?

Jerry Roberts15, part of the group endures this harassment because they feel intellectually defeated. They even go so far as to apologize for posting something foolish and disturbing the otherwise calm, polite, and helpful forum members—who happen to be the lead actors in this soap opera.

Others simply walk away from it all, following the logic that the smarter person just lets it go...

This is truly appalling.
How could she possibly take offense and lash out at my comment like this? I haven't insulted anyone, nor have I been anything remotely disrespectful...

The applause is deafening...😂
I simply cannot fathom how people can act so incredibly condescending, allowing themselves to behave in such a manner...

Ma'am, I am entitled to my opinion. I will state it a hundred more times if necessary. If you find it so unbearable, perhaps you should find somewhere else to post—somewhere where your nerves aren't quite so thin.

vividcyclist11 said:Jerry Roberts15, part of the group endures this harassment because they feel intellectually defeated. They even go so far as to apologize for posting something foolish and disturbing the otherwise calm, polite, and helpful forum members—who happen to be the lead actors in this soap opera.

Others simply walk away from it all, following the logic that the smarter person just lets it go...

👍 I sign it & I sign it, but I don't undersign 😂 👍