Posts made by surreality

@insomnia “What better people to have this happen to than a couple of scientists,” she told me. “We can go forth and science.” <-- I almost died right there. Thank goodness there are no crows around.

@bobotron All the hugs in the world. I am so sorry.

(Here's hoping that we live good enough lives to get to go to cat heaven, y'all. Sunbeams and yarn to play with and naps and piles of purring flopsy fluff and headbonks for eternity. <3)

@jibberthehut OH MAH GAWD HER TINY BELL OH MAH GAWD!!!

<is now dead of cute>

@goldfish I love documentaries for inspiration, too. The previous game I ran was sparked from an off-hand comment in one, decades ago.

Since, when I'm playing, I'm usually playing on horror or supernatural games, all the cheesy paranormal shows and bigfoot shows and all that ilk are great idea food for plots and such. Same with just about any crappy horror movie. I rarely have time to properly watch anything, since I'm working or otherwise doing stuff at the same time, so there's something of a bonus there that I don't feel bad if I 'miss' part of any of those while distracted by work or other things.

Question: does nodeBB allow 'forum-section'-based bans? As in, if someone consistently demonstrates they can't abide by the rules of the constructive areas of the forum, they can be removed from that area of the forum? Confined to the pit, if they're treating the whole forum like the pit?

Otherwise, is there a means of making a default opt-in to the constructive groups that can be forcibly revoked if someone can't behave like something other than a shrieking gibbon in those spaces?

I mean, I wouldn't ever want people to not be able to casually guest-browse the constructive threads, but if the only way we can have constructive threads is an approach of this kind, well.

@bored I think it may be in the difference between 'attack' and 'constructively criticize', in the end. 'Criticism' is more or less where it is now, and that can be interpreted as either of the previous things, even when the previous things are very different in practice. It sounds trivial, but isn't.

'Your idea is the dumbest piece of shit I have ever had the misfortune to witness' is criticism... but it's an attack without any constructive value whatsoever.

@bored Part of the problem is that once it gets ugly, the whole thread goes to the pit -- which means civil discussion ends.

I'm totally chill with the offending posts going there if people want to have that slapfight, or them being deleted with a 'if you want to yell at each other about this make a new thread in the appropriate space'.

The current 'just move the whole thing' destroys the chance for any future productive discussion on the topic in which people are expected to act like mature adults. It's not like the usual suspects won't derail a second attempt at the thread in the same way much of the time, or that it won't just stall because 'we already talked about that why do we need a new thread'. Well, if we want a constructive space to discuss that topic, now we need a new thread.

This essentially punishes the people who are engaging as appropriate, and rewards the people behaving badly, since in many cases, the worst offenders just want to watch the world burn. The worst fights may come from decent people arguing fervently about something they feel strongly about, but the worst offenders are repeat offenders who give none fucks about the grey line Arkandel describes, or gleefully riverdance over it for fun.

@haven Asshole works, and everyone has one.

Some of us still chose to change 'don't be a dick' to something else in our files regardless.

@bored It didn't help that the post served no other purpose. It's not like it was one comment among many being singled out in a lengthy post. Other than the insult, it was completely content-free.

@arkandel said in MSB, SJW, and other acronyms:

Is there a gray line folks on forums are happy to strand or just plain cross?

Then do something other than quarantine the thread when people cross them.

Seriously, man, you know I you, but other than moving threads from productive territory to 'abandon all hope for productive discussion on this subject all ye who enter here'? Not much going down. Not going to generate productive or constructive discussion.

I'm more than happy to drop that discussion; I have no idea who this person is or why they're intent on playing games or persisting in their nonsense behavior.

@friendlybee said in MSB, SJW, and other acronyms:

I'm still unsure what is compelling you to continue reading a thread that seems to be causing you such emotional strife.

Assuming a lot, again.

I was specifically concerned with one aspect of the forum moderation argument - words like that are definitely disrespectful and intended to harm.

Then say so if you wish to.

It's ok to moderate those kinds of words.

Then say so if you wish to.

The person I was talking to was explicitly saying it's not ok to censor those words. I poked at their argument for why it was bad to censor those words.

The argument you were making was an assertion that 'dogpiling' was part of US political culture. It's not. The person you have issue with is not even in the US.

You've taken issue with me disagreeing with deadculture since I started doing it.

...I have?

Am I not allowed to express my opinions here because you don't like them?

Have I said this? No.
Have I reported you for some improper behavior? No. (Mods can verify 'no', they certainly seem willing to pipe up today, after all.)
Have I asked you to be silent? No.
I asked you to read the thread before you stuck your foot in your mouth, because the sequence of events you described has no basis in the actual reality of this conversation or how it came about.

I haven't been rude - I've been a little playful about it, sure, and that's a little dismissive.

Your 'playful' is someone else's rude, just like someone else's 'it's just a word' is someone else's cutting slur. That's why this is complicated.

I even admitted that I shouldn't've pointed out, in my first post, that conservatives tend to be the ones who get very upset when they get told what they're doing is uncool.

Because it's, in itself, bigoted to say. I mean, hello, irony?

No one enjoys this. No one, of any political leaning on earth, is immune to being upset by this.

I get that you want me to be quiet and go away.

Again: citation needed.

But nobody is forcing you to read this.

<fingertips lightly tapping on the edge of the desk>

If they are, please let me know and I'll be on the phone with the police immedaitely so that they can track down the man with the gun that's forcing you to read and reply here, or is preventing you from using the ignore button if you really think I deserve that.

That line between 'playful' and 'rude' you mention... ? As someone who actually has been threatened at gunpoint and assaulted, I really don't find this remotely cute or playful.

I'm having a constructive argument - it's just against the status quo.

You're really not. Certainly not here. If you think 'people who want to call each other cunts because we're super sexist' is the majority here on the forum, you'd be wrong. Hilariously wrong.

@friendlybee That's part of the issue.

This thread isn't meant for 'poking at people'. It's supposed to be constructive. Trying to rile or upset or mock people in this way to stir the pot? Generally not constructive or productive or informative.

Again... you do you.

If you're well-intentioned, read up on whatever before commenting. The situation is, unfortunately, not simple. If it was, it would have been resolved ages ago.

I didn't create the thread. I didn't ask for the thread to be created. In the thread that spawned this one, I am sighing and wincing and asking people to not do this.

Now, I'm sighing and wincing because people are doing this, because SunnyJ and Tempest were lolwhut'ing at Seraphim74 politely asking that we not use the word, and Coin explaining in simple language why the word is problematic.

We are all arguing to no good end, and the two people who spawned the conversation with their lolwhuts are nowhere to be found, and probably not even interested.

@friendlybee I'd actually prefer not to hear from you enough I'm considering ignore, so not sure where you're getting that idea. I value my time, and you seem keen on wasting it with what I consider really juvenile trolling that isn't even very good or creative.

@friendlybee I don't do requests.

@friendlybee You are assuming a lot.

@friendlybee I was telling you to read before sticking your foot any further in your mouth, actually; your words are all 'you do you'.

@friendlybee Ask Arkandel, I didn't start the fucking thread.

@auspice We're going to have to agree to disagree, then. If someone turns my description of myself into something disgusting, that's not an idea they're attacking. I'm using 'cheered it on' in the sense that last I checked, it had upvotes on it; that's encouragement and support of the statement.

I'm not talking about that and haven't been for several hours; it got one laugh and one bitchy response, unless joking around with Tinuviel and then moving on to a completely different discussion in the thread hours later counts as 'ranting and beating a dead horse'.

What is even going on here? I'm also not on anything, or drinking anything, etc. Entirely lucid and sober. Jesus, are you? What in the actual fuck?

@friendlybee I'm just going to give you the benefit of the doubt here that you just don't realize how patronizing or condescending that response is. Or how misplaced.

You're still grossly mischaracterizing this situation.

It would be nice if this was as simple as 'some naughty little children would like to use slurs willy nilly', but it's not. That would be relatively easy to solve.

Seriously. Read the thread before continuing on in the way you are. This is becoming somewhat tiresome.