Posts being deleted with no explanation

My posts seem to vanish precisely when the moderator ego is active on this forum. No explanation provided, nothing at all...

I am uploading a PDF regarding the coronavirus where I present a reasoned argument that vaccines aren't without risk. My points are backed by a scientific paper from Israel, the sudden spike in adverse event reports in the VAERS database, and the excess mortality data seen in the US during the weeks following peak vaccination rates in Israel.

By acting this way, the moderator likely thinks they are promoting vaccine uptake, but when people witness this kind of censorship, it only fuels conspiracy theories and drives vaccine hesitancy.

The truth is always preferable to lies, regardless of how difficult that truth might be to swallow.

I am not an anti-vaxxer—I got vaccinated myself—but everyone deserves to be fully aware of both the benefits and the risks before making their own decision.

The way the moderators are running things over there is an absolute joke. The sheer number of complaints against the admin team says it all.

They act like they own the place, shutting down actual arguments with one-liners because they can't be bothered to engage, constantly teaming up with their buddies to call people out, and deleting or banning posts that don't deserve it just because they feel like it.

I still remember when ego tried to act smart and posted something along the lines of: "Yeah, sure, that's just a cute side effect of the vaccine—my colleague's kid has eight legs and they all work perfectly," or some nonsense like that. When a bunch of users complained or called him out on it, every single one of those replies got wiped, while his original post stayed right where it was. It’s a complete circus.

Look, I get it. If a moderator belongs to a group that feels targeted (based on what's been publicly posted here), then COVID probably seems a lot more terrifying to them, and I respect having that opinion as a regular user.

What’s totally unacceptable is when they use that moderator status to slap bans on anyone who disagrees with them. That’s how they’ve been operating lately, and it’s pathetic.

On top of that, you’ve got a few people constantly trolling, but they never get touched because they parrot the moderators' views. I could easily find over 100 fake posts from that specific inner circle that haven't been flagged, even after being warned a hundred times. Their responses are always just "OK" or some sarcastic smiley face. There are maybe four or five of them doing this systematically, and now a few new ones have joined in. It completely dilutes the discussion; fights break out, and the mods just sit there and watch.

I really think the superadmins need to take a look at this subforum if they haven't already and actually have some internal discussions about it. If you honestly don't find this suspicious and you're okay with this kind of moderation, then we know exactly where you stand. I don't see the point of this subforum if this keeps happening; you're just creating backlash, and you're definitely not going to convince anyone of anything by acting like this.

Btw, hats off to Gerald Chavez7. The guy has an answer for everything, handles disagreements like a pro, and I've even seen him hand out a few deserved bans on both sides, so at least there's one sane person left in the mix.

I had no idea he was under the weather. Generally speaking, someone managing a PDF moderator role should be someone who isn't overly preoccupied with the whole situation, rather than someone as emotionally invested as ego.

boldcanyon14 said:The way the mods are running things here is an absolute disgrace. The sheer number of appeals against the site rules proves it.

They act entitled. They shut down actual arguments with one-sentence replies just because they can't be bothered to engage. They constantly mock other users, call people out, and delete or ban posts that don't deserve it, purely based on their whims.

I still remember when ego tried to act smart and posted something like: "Yeah, sure, side effects from vaccines are great—my colleague's kid now has eight working legs," or some nonsense like that. When a huge group of us complained or commented on it, every single one of those posts was wiped clean, while his original post stayed up. It’s a joke.

Look, I get it. If a moderator belongs to a certain group (based on what’s been publicly stated on this forum), then COVID is a much more terrifying disease to them. I understand why they feel that way, and that's fine if they're posting as a regular user.

What is absolutely unacceptable is when they post as a user and then hand out bans to anyone who disagrees with them. Lately, that's exactly how they've been operating, and it's shameful.

Furthermore, there are a few people constantly trolling, yet they never face consequences because their views align with the moderators. I could easily find over 100 fake posts that went unpunished from a very well-known clique that we've warned about a hundred times already. Their responses are always just "OK" or a sarcastic smiley face. There are maybe 4 or 5 of them, and they operate this way constantly. We've even seen some newcomers join in on the systematic trolling. It completely dilutes the discussion and turns everything into a fight, while the mods just sit there and do nothing.

I think the superadmins should take a look at this subforum if they haven't already and have some internal discussions. If you truly don't find this suspicious and you support this style of moderation, then it's clear what's really going on here. I honestly don't see the point of this subforum; as I said, you're just creating a backlash, and you certainly won't
convince anyone of anything by acting like this.

Btw. Huge props to Gerald Chavez7. The guy actually has arguments for everything, debates people with opposing views normally, and I've even seen him hand out a few deserved bans on both sides, so there's at least one sane person left in there.

I won't bother commenting on ego's moderation; you only need to look at what's written under his avatar.
Same goes for Aleta; I think she became a moderator by pure accident, through circumstances known only to the admins.
But I will say, all my respect goes to Gerald Chavez7. 👍

boldcanyon14 said:The way the moderators handle things here is honestly an embarrassment. The sheer number of complaints regarding the COVID subforum makes that pretty obvious.

They act entitled—consistently shutting down actual arguments with one-sentence replies just because they can't be bothered to engage, playing favorites with certain users, calling people out, and deleting or banning posts that don't deserve it, basically whenever they feel like it.

I still remember when ego tried to play the genius and posted something along the lines of: yeah, sure, a great side effect of vaccines, my colleague’s kid ended up with eight legs and all of them work—paraphrasing, obviously. When a huge chunk of users complained or commented on it, all those posts were wiped, while the original nonsense stayed up. It's a complete joke.

Look, I get it—if a moderator belongs to a group that's particularly vulnerable (based on what's been publicly shared here), COVID might seem like a much more terrifying threat to them personally. I understand why they'd have that perspective, and that's fine if they're just posting as a regular user.

What's absolutely not okay is when they post as a regular user and then start handing out bans to anyone who disagrees. That’s how they’ve been operating lately, and it's pathetic.

Plus, there are a few people who constantly troll, yet they never face consequences because their views align with the mods. I could find easily over 100 fake posts that went unpunished from that specific well-known clique, despite being warned a hundred times already. The responses you get are just "OK" or some sarcastic emoji. There are about 4 or 5 of them acting this way constantly. We've even had some newcomers join in on the systematic trolling. It completely dilutes the discussion, sparks unnecessary fights, and the moderators just sit there and do nothing.

I think the superadmins should really take a look at this subforum if they haven't checked in lately, and maybe have some internal conversations. If you truly don't find this suspicious and you actually support this style of moderation, then it's clear where everyone stands. I honestly don't see the point of this subforum; as I said, you're just creating a backlash, and you certainly aren't going to convince anyone of anything by behaving like this.

Btw, kudos to Gerald Chavez7. The guy has an answer for everything, debates dissenters normally, and I've seen him hand out a few well-deserved bans on both sides, so at least there's someone sane left in the mix.

There is so much spam, incredibly low-quality content, and just plain creepy posts on this subforum. We're constantly cleaning it up on a regular basis. There's a massive amount of posting, making it nearly impossible to maintain any kind of decent discussion using an "ultra-precise laser scalpel" approach that targets only the worst offenders.

Regarding that PDF—I've been a mod on that forum since day one (aside from a six-month break this year because cleaning up this trash is just exhausting), and nothing has significantly changed in terms of "strictness" since ego became a moderator back in late 2020, or since Aleta started about six months ago. Personally, I haven't had any disagreements with them regarding moderation, and I think they do a great job. I haven't seen any issues with the site administration either.

If they need to, I'm sure they'll talk to us, and they'll always react if they feel something hasn't been "handled" correctly.

wearypilot34 said:I had no clue the guy was dealing with health issues. But honestly, the moderation for a document like that PDF should be handled by someone who isn't personally drowning in all the drama—not someone as emotionally tied up in it as ego.

I’m totally on board with that. 👍
That suggestion wouldn't just fix things for this specific PDF; it would be a massive win for the whole community at large.

🤦 What are you guys even talking about?!
After listening to that suspicious nonsense being read aloud earlier, I’d say you should be grateful the moderators haven't lost their cool and hit you all with shovels yet.
Dionysus knows damn well I wouldn't have been able to hold back.