Other media outlets

Excuse me, but is anyone actually moderating this place? We've got threads about group buying sites, random stuff about MSN services on Alcatel phones, and then there’s just straight-up trolling and nasty insults popping up in the subforums. Look, I know it’s not some massive, high-traffic section of the site, but I haven't seen a single moderator show up here in months.

I ended up deleting something by mistake, so if you could just shoot me that link, I'd appreciate it; I can't exactly sit here and moderate the entire PDF myself, but once I have it, I'll get this sorted out for you.

Sorry Sasha, I’m really not about to dig through a 40-page thread right now. Where are the mods at? If these two aren't doing anything—and honestly, they haven't been active in months, which is fine since the sub actually feels alive for once—then we need to find some new ones. Please hurry up.

I’m on board with that—if they aren't going to step up and actually engage, we’re definitely going to need some fresh faces in the moderator seats.
What I was thinking in the meantime, just as a way to help maintain some basic hygiene around this sub, is

Look, I’m not trying to be difficult by using phrases like "it’s bad, but I won't tell you why," but this sub is unique because while people aren't openly insulting each other as much, the trolling is out of control. It really needs a light touch and someone to step in and set some ground rules, especially since you've got a bunch of insiders constantly bickering with one another. It basically feels like a private bulletin board for JPMorgan Chase and Vatican City, if you catch my drift.

...I'm hanging out there every single day, keeping up with all the new posts. I clean up any threads that don't belong (though I'll admit I miss some here and there). As for deleting posts—yeah, personally, I barely touch them. Honestly, I don't see much worth scrubbing, and even when I do, it’s just on the edge. Besides, you rarely see anything truly nasty on OM, and those arguments over Vatican City or JPMorgan Chase? I just consider that part of the local flavor.
Look, if people want it, fine. We can clamp down on discussions, hand out warnings, maybe even some bans... it's no big deal...🤷
Just because of how specific this PDF crowd is, I haven't wanted to be overly harsh with everyone...

The idea that this PDF hasn't been moderated for months or that those two guys aren't totally out of touch is just plain wrong—I’m living proof right here.
Almost every single time I’m scrolling through Reddit or catching up on my favorite threads, I see some kind of heavy-handed intervention.
And believe me, I spend a massive amount of time hanging out in those corners of the internet.

Look, the PDF is definitely looking a bit neglected, I'll give you that.
Part of that falls on them, sure, but honestly, this whole platform is basically just a mirror reflecting the absolute state of the media landscape here in the States.

It’s mostly just the occasional flash of brilliance in a sea of nothingness.

So, based on how things are going, I wouldn't be surprised if we see a sudden surge pretty soon.😳

Look, please don't give me that "we're there every single day" excuse. This thread about staff perks and group discounts has been sitting here since September 2010. Someone enlighten me—how does this even qualify as part of the rest of the media landscape? We've got roughly three threads about Hearst Communications, and now we’ve even gotten a fourth one regarding the world. If you honestly think, fadedsailor932, that a thread about the New York Post shouldn't be moderated after all the garbage people have typed in there—and no, that trash isn't just "local flavor," and I won't even get into how litigious it is—then you seriously need to find a new hobby.

This is just another media topic, isn't it?

Kate Sullivan22 said:Look, please don't give me that "we're there every single day" nonsense. This whole thread about staff, group discounts, and whatever else has been sitting here since September 2010. Someone enlighten me on how that makes it comparable to other media outlets? There are maybe three threads about Hearst Communications, and we just got hit with a fourth—The World. If you honestly think, fadedsailor932, that a thread about The Washington Post shouldn't be moderated after all the garbage written there—and no, they aren't part of some local tradition, let alone being grounds for a lawsuit—then you seriously need to find a new hobby.

Man, seriously... don't act like nothing ever happens there when it clearly does.🤷

It’s the exact same thing, actually, but what happened on the St. Jude's thread was way worse.
To this day, I can't wrap my head around why anyone let that slide, and personally, it was one of the nastiest things I've ever dealt with on this forum—which I actually wrote about right here on the news thread.
But that was their take—that the situation would just blow over on its own.🤷

That place is obviously an insider battlefield; I don't know why everyone's acting surprised.

Kate Sullivan22 said:Seriously, please don't give me that "we're there every day" argument. That thread about staff, group discounts, and all that junk has been sitting here since September 2010. How does that even make it comparable to other media outlets? Someone enlighten me.

..yeah, it's there...and it's linked to other similar topics too...Since PDFs aren't strictly "made" just for print and radio—they're for web portals now too—I don't see why that topic shouldn't exist here...

There are roughly three threads about Hearst Communications, and we just got a fourth—the world.

...honestly, I haven't seen a single print publication called Hearst Communications yet. Once one shows up, I'll gladly merge all those threads under one title. Until then, isn't it just logical? Every newspaper, weekly...whatever, they have their own specific topic. Or do you think every single issue from Hearst Communications or Styria should be lumped together? Besides, maybe we could just merge the threads for The Washington Post, New York Post, and The Boston Globe into one big topic—they're all dailies anyway.

If you, fadedsailor932, don't think the thread about the local paper needs moderating after all the garbage written there—and no, that's not "tradition," let alone being potentially litigious—then you seriously need to find a different hobby.

...well...journalists are supposed to fight against censorship, right? 🤔...I guess that implies censorship is only necessary when people start writing bad things about the side they're on...

Maria Lopez said:It was the exact same thing, actually way worse during that one specific thread topic.
I still don't get how they let any of that happen. Honestly, it’s easily one of the nastiest things I've ever dealt with on this forum—and I'm saying that right here on the board.
But that was their take—they thought it was "acceptable."🤷

...Yeah, true...things got pretty ugly there, which is why a whole new thread had to be opened on the main page.

That place is clearly an insider battlefield, so why is everyone acting surprised?

..I'm surprised too. It's been like that since the very beginning. Except now, the "battlefield" between the New York Post, The Washington Post, and 24 Hour News has basically shrunk down to just being a fight within the New York Post...🤷

..so, let me run this back for you... from day one, this PDF was designed to be a space where we look the other way on certain things just to allow for a bit of "free flow of information." I’ve personally tolerated posts that would have gotten someone slapped with a ban on any other thread. I didn't want you guys to feel like you had some extra "editor" breathing down your necks over every single word you typed 😬. Sure, there’s some nonsense written in there—there is—but there's always room to debunk it or hit back with a counterargument. Honestly, I’ve handed out more warnings and bans across all the PDFs I moderate specifically because I wanted to keep the debate more open than anywhere else. Trolls exist here just like they do on the rest of the Forum, but most of them just get ignored by the regulars. Besides, in the six or seven years this PDF has been around, I’ve only received one single complaint about negative comments regarding a newsroom, and that came from a member of that actual staff.

fadedsailor932 said:..it stays up...and it's linked to other similar topics...Since PDFs aren't strictly "made" just for print and radio, but also for web portals, I don't see why this topic couldn't exist here too...

...Look, I haven't seen a single newspaper out there actually called Hearst Communications. Once one shows up, I'll gladly merge all the topics with that title into one. Until then, it feels pretty logical—every paper, weekly...whatever, they have their own specific thread. Or do you think all the different Hearst Communications or Styria publications should be lumped into one single topic? Besides, maybe we could just combine everything about The Washington Post, New York Post, The Boston Globe... into one giant thread since they're all dailies anyway.

...Yeah, well...journalists are supposed to be fighting against censorship 🤔...I guess that implies censorship is only necessary when someone writes something bad about the side they're taking...

Fine, the higher-ups told me to chill out, so I will. I'm being calm.😁
But don't try telling me that a media conglomerate doesn't have a logical place in the other MEDIA subforum. Ez in media. Just like in the sentence, "the media publishes news."

As for everything else, look, you're acting like you're the smartest guy in the room and all that, but what was posted in the thread about the local government is the absolute bottom of the barrel. That isn't "insider info," it's just a senseless, pointless collage. Anywhere else on this forum, people would tell you those kinds of posts belong in a PM or an email. Why doesn't that rule apply here?

Regarding Hearst Communications, Maria Lopez, I love it when people play dumb, but there's a limit to how much you can pretend not to get it. You've got three threads that relate directly to JL, for example. The world also relates DIRECTLY to JL. Got it?

Just a quick thought. I’ve been following fadedsailor932 on this PDF for a few years now, and honestly, I don’t have anything against him. This isn't even one of those offensive "I could do it better" posts. Truthfully, I probably couldn't do it better, nor would I even want to. But seriously, this really needs to be fixed.🙂

Kate Sullivan22 said:Fine, the higher-ups told me to chill out, so I will. Chilling out it is.😁

😁

Don't try to tell me that the collective belongs in the other MEDIA subforum. Ez in media. Like saying, "the news outlets report stories."

...it's just as stretched as this whole PDF. Maybe it is, maybe it isn't... who knows? I used to think one way, then the other, then back again... eventually I just walked away once a couple of similar threads popped up...

Look, you're the smartest guy in the room, fine, but what was posted on the VL/101 thread was absolute bottom-of-the-barrel trash. That wasn't insider info; it was just a senseless collage. Anywhere else on this forum, people would get called out for having PMs and email addresses for posts like that. Why doesn't that rule apply here?

..I'm not saying there wasn't garbage thrown around... there definitely was. But all that junk actually made sense to me. Maybe it's just me. Look, if I wanted to, I could have dumped a bunch of nonsense and trashed half the PDF, and I'd still have a legal excuse. Or, I could have just cut everything off at the root and nuked half the PDF too. At the time, it felt like letting the discussion play out was more productive than just cutting everyone off blindly...

Regarding Hearst Communications, fadedsailor932, I love when people play dumb, but there’s a limit. You've got three threads that directly relate to JL, for example. The world also relates DIRECTLY to JL. Got it?

...technically yes and no. Factually, yeah, but for organization? Not really. It would be pretty stupid to have a discussion about the world inside the JL thread, where one "topic" just ends up tearing another one apart.

Kate Sullivan22 said:Just a quick thought. I've been following fadedsailor932 on this forum for a few years now, and honestly, I can't find anything to argue with. This isn't even one of those offensive "I could do it better" posts. Probably wouldn't even want to do it myself. But seriously, this needs to be fixed.🙂

I'm done trying to sharpen my arguments just so you can pick them apart and hunt for every little typo or grammar slip-up. What's the point?🙂

Sometimes you just have to call things out. It’s not good to be that blunt, but it’s necessary. Otherwise, you lose all sense of perspective—especially when you're running the show as a mod. 😬 And then you just end up where crazy becomes the new normal... and vice versa. That’s why any kind of input, even a critique, is actually worth something. Fresh blood is always needed. Every single new idea counts.

..every word out of my mouth is pure gold 😉...but seriously, I’m officially swearing an oath to be just a little bit...🤔 less...🙂 gross

fadedsailor932 said:I solemnly swear to be... well, let's just say I'll try to be slightly less...🤔 disgusting...🙂

Oh, please... you're coming at me with all these grand promises, and I just know some jerk is going to screw me over anyway... (but still, 🙂)