Wobbie etc.

Look, aside from the fact that this guy is condescending, rude, and (my favorite—you’ll remember if you grew up in the 90s) unreliable, he's impossible to argue with—and honestly, in certain situations, he’s earned every single insult he's taken on this forum.

The fact that someone like this is still posting and hasn't gone gray and silent forever is thanks to God knows what (we actually know why, but I'll keep quiet for aesthetic and safety reasons)—basically, we're looking at the literal definition of a troll, and a pretty successful version at that, because somehow, despite his "talents," he manages to rile people up, piss them off, and maybe even drive some more sensitive commenters to the brink of madness, which leads to an equally effective total wrecking of any discussion.

This intro is mostly just for show—the real point of this post is to issue a "Harassing Forum Members" card, worth a "45-point" mod penalty for the next post:
"Alright, we all know you're an unredeemable troll, but you can still choose not to be a complete jerk. Are you seriously trying to act like Reddit or something? >

If we assume (correctly) that moderators are beings who have evolved enough to have actual brains, there are three possible responses: "troll," "...choosing not to be a jerk," or "acting like Reddit."

The first one is proven, both in theory and practice—just look at this easy Wikipedia definition:
In internet slang, the term troll refers to a person who enters online communities such as forums, chat rooms,[1][2] newsgroups,[3], or blogs with the sole purpose of sending inflammatory,[4] mocking, rude, offensive, or off-topic messages to intentionally annoy other participants, stir up conflict, or disrupt the flow of conversation. >

The second point about choosing not to be a jerk comes from my irresistible humanistic instinct to give someone the benefit of the doubt before labeling them a jerk, and the third is just my sense of humor kicking in.

Back when all those COVID threads were being moderated exclusively out of Indianapolis😁, I used to rack up 500 (or 100, 200, whatever) points just for posting way more harmless stuff. So honestly, you got off easy with only 45 points for that string of insults—can't really complain, right?

Anyway, I don't get why the "COVID is fake" crowd gets so aggressive and loses their cool so fast. It was exactly the same way when I was following those threads, and it feels like absolutely nothing has changed.🤷

I don't think I’ve ever actually posted in this sub in my 10+ years of being on this forum, but the stuff they tolerate here is honestly unheard of. If I really wanted to, I could dig up over 100 trolling posts from this guy in ten minutes, and they’re still sitting there. It’s wild to me that he hasn't been institutionalized yet. He’s got a few other users backing him up who are also going way overboard (on both sides of the aisle, too).

There have already been complaints about him, and when you bring it up, the moderator just says, "Well, look, he has the most warnings," but that’s a pathetic excuse. Of course he has the most warnings when he’s dropped something like 3,500 posts—more than anyone else in their 13-year tenure—just in the COVID subforum. If you actually looked at the ratio of warnings to total posts, he’d be near the bottom of the list.

Plus, he and the crew that agrees with the mod constantly get slapped with maybe 10-20 warning points, while the people holding the opposing view get hit way harder for the exact same things.

The guy will comment on five different threads with the exact same canned response (literally writing, "Do we really have to talk about this in every single thread?"), constantly plays dumb, and responds to counterarguments with the same repetitive nonsense or by cherry-picking parts of a post that don't suit him. He’s basically doing the opposite of what a discussion should do; he’s actively driving people out of the debate. He derails every topic, pulls quotes out of context, and uses partial quotes just to steer the conversation into some irrelevant direction. If your goal is to kill any meaningful dialogue and scare off participants, then mission accomplished.

He is the textbook definition of a troll who’s playing it halfway smart, riding the coattails of the moderators because they let him slide.

Seriously, just look at his recent post history. It's just random comments that have nothing to do with the topics, mocking people, and massive 20+ post rants "explaining" basic corporate concepts to "stupid" people—claiming such things even exist and that he's personally experienced them—all while completely hijacking the debate with the kind of partisan intensity you'd expect in a fever dream at a COVID ward.

boldcanyon14 said:I don't think I've even posted on this sub in over 10 years, but honestly, the stuff they tolerate here is insane. Give me 10 minutes and I could find 100 troll posts from that guy still sitting there—it’s wild he hasn't lost his mind yet! And he’s not alone; there are a few other users who really take things way too far, no matter which side of the argument they're on.

There have already been complaints about him, and when the mod steps in, they just point out he has the most warnings. But that’s a weak excuse! Of course he has the most warnings when he’s dropped over 3,500 posts just on the pandemic subforum (that’s more than anyone else's entire 13-year history here!). If you looked at the ratio of warnings to total posts, he’d actually be near the bottom.

Plus, he and the crew that agrees with the mod constantly get hit with 10-20 warning points, while people with opposing views get penalized way more for the exact same stuff.

He’ll spam the same comment across five different threads at once (literally writing, "do we really need to talk about this in every thread?"), acts totally clueless, and then hits back at counterarguments with the same canned response or just ignores the parts of a post he doesn't like. He’s basically killing any actual conversation and driving people away. He derails every topic, pulls quotes completely out of context, and drags discussions off on random tangents. If your goal is to lose participants and kill all debate, mission accomplished!

He is the literal definition of a troll hiding behind a mask, riding the coattails of the mods because they let him get away with it.

Seriously, just look at his recent post history. It’s just random comments that have nothing to do with the topics, mocking people, and massive 20+ post essays "explaining" things to "stupid" people—like lecturing folks on corporate hierarchies or acting like he was an expert on hospital protocols during the height of the crisis, totally hijacking the vibe.

Back in February and March of last year, you were basically risking a 500-point penalty just for suggesting a global pandemic might actually happen, otherwise the mod would just label you a "panic-monger." It was straight-up North Korean level censorship. That Wobbie wasn't even posting back then, so maybe the moderation just swung too far in the other direction.

That’s an entirely different subforum (politics), which means a totally different set of mods and a completely different set of rules still in play over there (you can see people are still venting about it). What went down back in February and March last year under that other mod has zero connection to what's happening here, so I don't really get why you're even making that comparison.

Btw, if you ask me, despite a few hiccups, TikTok did a decent job moderating that subforum. They actually needed to be super strict because we were seeing a massive influx of people every single day, dropping millions of posts that had absolutely nothing to do with the topic, and things were just spiraling out of control. That’s exactly why this new subforum was opened—to take the pressure off the old one and let the discussions branch out into different topics and directions.

neonpuma30 said:Back when the COVID threads were being moderated strictly out of Indianapolis😁, I used to get slapped with 500 (or 100, or 200, whatever) points for way more harmless posts than this. So, honestly—you actually did pretty well getting off with just 45 points for this string of insults; you really can't complain about that.

Besides, I don't get why the whole "COVID is fake" crowd gets so aggressive and loses their cool so fast. It was like that whenever I checked those threads, and it looks like nothing has really changed.🤷

There isn't a single insult in my post. That's literally why this thread exists.

Make up your minds. Is moderation failing because we're too strict, or is it failing because we aren't being strict enough? 🤔

When do you actually decide to tolerate trolls who keep replying to you?

Let’s not get ahead of ourselves; Wobbie remains unproven until you actually present the evidence. 😁
One really ought to be more judicious with their choice of words.
His methodology simply follows the path of Socrates, and that is all there is to it.

Best regards,

Chris Myers said:Can we get some consistency here—is moderation bad when it's strict, or is it bad when it isn't? 🤔

Look, moderating me isn't even the main issue—the real headache, way bigger than that, is that I can't post a single damn thing on The Search without some Wobbie telling me I'm losing my mind.
And it's not just me, either—it's been happening to plenty of others for months now, and we all know deep down it's nothing but pure trolling.
I think we're all aware that if I actually decided to go gloves-off and start calling out the provocateurs as untouchable idiots, I'd be the one facing the hammer.

Chris Myers said:Can we get some consensus here? Is moderation bad when it’s strict, or bad when it isn't? 🤔

Since you’re the mod for the subforum being complained about, you could have at least provided some actual context for this thread.

Fine, I'll give you my two cents, even though it looks like everyone else has already weighed in:

Both heavy-handed and light-touch moderation have their place. Depending on the specific subforum, the vibe of the debate, and the crowd involved, it shouldn't matter which style gets used.

The bottom line is that the rules need to be clear from the jump and applied equally to everyone.

If someone is trolling, they need to be dealt with, regardless of which side of the aisle they sit on.

If there's someone who’s been systematically poisoning a subforum since day one—someone who shows up in every single thread just to kill constructive discussion and drag everything off-topic without actually adding anything useful—that person needs to be handled.

And if they keep doing it after getting warned, you hit them again, harder this time.

It’s totally fine for a mod to jump into a conversation and post as a regular user.

But if a mod starts using their power to punish people just because they hold an opposing view—that’s a massive problem.

Or if you're letting people who agree with you slide while cracking down on dissenters—that's also a problem.

The distinction is pretty obvious, and we talked about this extensively back in that COVID moderation thread—which, coincidentally, was shut down by "miraculous" circumstances. By the way, anyone want to guess who had the most posts in that thread? Mr. Wobbie, with about nine times more posts than the top moderator.

boldcanyon14 said:...

It’s interesting how both sides basically think we’re being unfair to them while being way too lenient with the other side.

Mostly wrong. Deletions and bans happened on both sides, I guess.

A diplomatic response 👍

boldcanyon14 said:That’s a totally different subforum (politics), which means different mods and a whole different set of rules still in play there (you can tell because people are still complaining about it). What went down back in February and March last year on that other board under a different mod has zero to do with what’s happening now—I honestly don't get why you're even comparing them!

It's because that basically set the tone for all future discussions and planted the seeds for all this flat-earth nonsense that's blooming now. So many sensible folks have checked out or been pushed away, including several medical pros.

Quickly tell me how we can get them back here—we're seriously lacking that energy.

neonpuma30 said:Because it basically set the tone for all future debates and planted the seeds for this whole conspiracy theorist movement that’s blooming everywhere now. A ton of sensible people have bailed on the site, including several medical professionals.

It’s the same story over on the COVID subforum. Plenty of regulars have walked away because a handful of trolls have basically hijacked the place, and the mods just sit there doing absolutely nothing about it. I’ve already seen people mocking what’s happening in that section on other threads I follow. It’s obvious to everyone—except, apparently, those who refuse to see it.

Since when did this forum become a playground for dragging other members through the mud—especially when you're essentially complaining about a mess you helped create?

If this kind of behavior is actually permitted here, then perhaps I should feel empowered to start several highly specific threads, naming those individuals who get under my skin right in the title, just to give everyone else a clear target for their own grievances.
After all, wouldn't we all agree that targeted venting is far more productive for "healthy" communication than simply hitting the ignore button?

Took him barely an hour to contribute this much.

Jacob Williams said:Look, it's not just about that. American police have their hands full. A Rijeka resident got 30 days suspended for spreading panic and fake news regarding vaccines. Seriously—just for causing a panic 😁

https://www.riyedaily.com/61-year-old...vaccine-news/

http://www.forum.com/showpost.php?p=8...5&postcount=17

woobie said:Finally. Maybe we should just send them all to this forum. ☕

Theory is a different subject entirely.

http://www.forum.com/showpost.php?p=8...9&postcount=25

woobie said:🤦 oh sure, it's a proven fact, published right there in the New York Times 🙂

http://www.forum.com/showpost.php?p=8...7&postcount=27

woobie said:Of course that has nothing to do with previous claims that the pandemic was manufactured or that the whole thing is a scam. I mean, someone is always going to profit, whether it's man-made or natural.

You're making the classic mistake here. Correlation doesn't imply causation.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Correlation_does_not_imply_causation

Here—for the slow learners.
https://www.tylervigen.com/spurious-correlations

Exactly, makes zero sense—but for totally different reasons than the ones you're making up.😉

The article clearly states he was banned for spreading lies and causing panic. Maybe spreading lies doesn't bother you, but it bothers me. Honestly, that says more about you than it does about me.☕

woobie said:Your questions are just full of distortions and lies, so it’s hard to answer, but generally speaking? No.

Look, I'm actually doing something here—educating you guys.☕
And I see you're beyond help.

In just over an hour, he managed to mess with other forum members, troll them, call people liars, and twist the meaning of basically every single quote he used. If anyone had given him that same treatment, he would've been hit with an instant ban from Ego.

The quality of that entire sub-forum is best judged by the fact that the Coronavirus thread in Politics has almost as many posts—if not more—than the entire dedicated section created for it since its inception.

Not to mention how they were digging up two-month-old posts just to get users banned, while simultaneously tolerating his schizophrenic outbursts where he'd openly tell people he hoped they'd get sick and die without medical help.

People, just stay away from that toxic mess. Use the Politics thread instead. The moderation there is way better, and the discussions are actually civilized and high-quality.

I hate repeating myself, but I will...

That specific Coronavirus section should be viewed as a disease itself, or at least as a symptom of a sick society. It's the most glaring example of mental perversion and intellectual poverty within a certain segment of the population. I wouldn't even consider it evidence of a struggle for absolute control; it's more like a phenomenon that finally crystallized the "poorest," least capable part of society. A tumor that needs to be excised from the social fabric.

P.S. Once the Coronavirus mods forget about it for a bit, I'll head back over there and respond to him using his own quotes against him. I'll prove to you all that I won't spend a single full day on that board before getting banned. Is this really what this forum has come to?

P.P.S. On that same board, the word "lockdown" is banned, yet they allow people who resist mindless mandates and economic strangulation to be called fools or conspiracy theorists.
And just as well, here's this warning: "Note: calling fellow users 'panic-mongers' will henceforth be punished as trolling."
Panic-mongers are banned, conspiracy theorists are allowed. "Lockdown" is banned... Yeah, real fair. Real classy.

Chris Myers said:It's funny how both sides usually think we're being unfair to them while being way too soft on the other side.

Basically—wrong. There's been bans and penalties all around.

🤣🤣🤣 intermezzo, you're sweet, but we'll take the truth over you any day...☕

Chris Myers, I guess you should probably provide a definition of what truth actually means regarding COVID-19... 😉