227. Continued... continued... feedback on new forum

Alex

Administrator
thx for everyone's feedback re new direction for the forum. lotta good input. here's where I think we're headed.

1. I like the idea of having different forums groups, but I think what I'm really saying is there ought to be forums that have "more moderation" and forums that have "less moderation". I like having a variety of different viewpoints around... as long as we can all abide by the basic forum rules and not totally annoy one and other. I also think (after reading 1000s of posts on this forum) that there is a style of debate that stifles certain conversations. Andy has excellent posts on this (link needed). Most of us realize that you can't join in on a conversation/thread about the differences in OBEs reporting in the early 1900s versus present day with a comment about how OBEs have not been proven to your satisfaction. This is just kinda jerky... then again, we've all done it in one way or another so we gotta have some patience.

So, if you want to join forums designated as "more moderated" you gotta get past the mind=brain thing (again we got 50-100 shows on this topic). If you can't get past it, then move over to the "less moderated" forums. If you're in the wrong place, we'll let you know :)

2. Same goes for the "Associate" versus "Member" versus other designations. I don't think there's anything wrong with giving out these designations so folks can understand that certain people established a reputation withing the Skeptiko forum. You're not branded for life, but you oughta be able to live by our accounting of the sum total of your contributions.

If you think you have the wrong designation, or you desperately want me to other designations that fits you, let me know.

3. Bug fixes... still working on them. Let me know what the top priority items are.
 
So, if you want to join forums designated as "more moderated" you gotta get past the mind=brain thing (again we got 50-100 shows on this topic). If you can't get past it, then move over to the "less moderated" forums. If you're in the wrong place, we'll let you know.
I note the use of scare quotes around "moderation," since you are actually talking about belief requirements.

Anyhoo, when posting in the Skeptiko forum, I will assume mind /= brain.

~~ Paul
 
3. Bug fixes... still working on them. Let me know what the top priority items are.

Please check out my response on the forum use forum. You've fixed everything except the image issue and I've tried to explain what that is (see below). You've also fixed the problem of having no preview post function. Hurrah!
1. Background image causing flickering on scrolling for some members. Could we use instead a flicker-free pattern of the type seen here: http://inspirationhut.net/inspiration/20-beautiful-seamless-patterns-for-your-website-background/ ?
Near as I can tell, the actual background of all pages consists of tiny tesselated images (only 3x3 pixels)--see Typoz's post here:

http://www.skeptiko.com/forum/threads/using-the-features-of-this-new-forum.82/page-4#post-410

Unfortunately, the one being used here may lead to flickering for some when the page is scrolled. Typoz might be able to tell you more.
 
I note the use of scare quotes around "moderation," since you are actually talking about belief requirements.

Anyhoo, when posting in the Skeptiko forum, I will assume mind /= brain.

~~ Paul
you don't get it... correction... you get it, but you want to pretend like it's something else in order to make your point. I want you to stay around, but I'm almost certainly gonna dis-invite you from "moderated" discussions.
 
1. I like the idea of having different forums groups, but I think what I'm really saying is there ought to be forums that have "more moderation" and forums that have "less moderation".

maybe I can do this at the thread level, rather than forum?
 
thx for everyone's feedback re new direction for the forum. lotta good input. here's where I think we're headed.

1. I like the idea of having different forums groups, .

This may be a little off-topic but the one rule I hope to see enforced is keeping the materialism vs consciousness debates, nay-saying and pseudo-skepticism in the BvS forum. I can only speak for myself but I'm enthusiastic about all discussions of the whats/hows/etc within greater realities. On the other hand I've had my fill of arguing with those who don't get it. I don't think everyone is, or most people are "supposed" to get it - yet. When that happens it will be the norm and sites like this won't be as important.

One thread that I see as already being about the above-mentioned debate is the "Is materialism dead?" thread. Based on my understanding of the rules and intent, it is more appropriate to the BvS forum.
 
Unfortunately, the one being used here may lead to flickering for some when the page is scrolled. Typoz might be able to tell you more.
Just a brief summary of my previous comments. I'm not referring to the forum, but to the main http://www.skeptiko.com/ page. My very blunt way of dealing with the undesirable background was to block all images, which then of course affected the forums too.

There might be other ways for me to deal with this, using some sort of browser plug-in, but I know the issue affects at least one other user, so fixing the problem at source (which would be a trivial change) might be better.

This is what I refer to. It causes flickering when I scroll the page. I think the exact appearance may depend upon the monitor hardware.
http://www.skeptiko.com/wp-content/themes/kelabu-gray/images/bck.gif
 
you don't get it... correction... you get it, but you want to pretend like it's something else in order to make your point. I want you to stay around, but I'm almost certainly gonna dis-invite you from "moderated" discussions.
Why are you being so coy? I don't understand it. What is "Associate" supposed to mean and how are Associates supposed to behave?

~~ Paul
 
I note the use of scare quotes around "moderation," since you are actually talking about belief requirements.

Anyhoo, when posting in the Skeptiko forum, I will assume mind /= brain.

~~ Paul

Why are you so desperate to post on the Skeptiko forum? I really don't get it. I've been busting a gut making posts on this new site because I want to pitch in and do my bit to help Alex and Andy get it up and running--but I'll never be able to keep this pace up indefinitely, yet here you are, having made as many posts as me, and soon, I'm sure, will be the leading poster here. How come this place seems to mean so much to you when you've been so negative not only in the past, but in this particular discussion? I can't weigh you up. You're like poo in the swimming pool, yet insist you have a right to be here and that everyone and everything should bend over backwards to accomodate you. You've got a lot of brass nerve.

Personally, I don't want to see you in the Skeptiko forum. If you are there, I'll put you on ignore. You're so negative and seem to enjoy behaving like a complete prat: matter of fact, I think that's why you're here. Somehow, some way, you'll manage to pollute Skeptiko discussions: you'll enjoy finding some way to dance on the edge and screw it up for everyone else. People will start getting annoyed and will stop contributing and we'll be back to square one.
 
Why are you so desperate to post on the Skeptiko forum? I really don't get it. I've been busting a gut making posts on this new site because I want to pitch in and do my bit to help Alex and Andy get it up and running--but I'll never be able to keep this pace up indefinitely, yet here you are, having made as many posts as me, and soon, I'm sure, will be the leading poster here. How come this place seems to mean so much to you when you've been so negative not only in the past, but in this particular discussion? I can't weigh you up. You're like poo in the swimming pool, yet insist you have a right to be here and that everyone and everything should bend over backwards to accomodate you. You've got a lot of brass nerve.
If it's a question of my right to be here and you don't want to grant it, then just say so.

What you people are doing is trying to appear fair while being discriminatory. Stop! Just do what you want to do. Otherwise you look like a bunch of disingenuous dicks who won't admit that you want to wall off your belief system.

Personally, I don't want to see you in the Skeptiko forum. If you are there, I'll put you on ignore. You're so negative and seem to enjoy behaving like a complete prat: matter of fact, I think that's why you're here. Somehow, some way, you'll manage to pollute Skeptiko discussions: you'll enjoy finding some way to dance on the edge and screw it up for everyone else. People will start getting annoyed and will stop contributing and we'll be back to square one.
Then have the balls to enforce your beliefs about me by simply disallowing me from posting in Skeptiko.

~~ Paul
 
If it's a question of my right to be here and you don't want to grant it, then just say so.

What you people are doing is trying to appear fair while being discriminatory. Stop! Just do what you want to do. Otherwise you look like a bunch of disingenuous dicks who won't admit that you want to wall off your belief system.


Then have the balls to enforce your beliefs about me by simply disallowing me from posting in Skeptiko.

~~ Paul

Make no mistake: I want to appear discriminatory and limit your contributions to BvS. Discrimination is when you discern a difference between someone with good intentions and someone with bad intentions and act appropriately. I don't care if people challenge my beliefs as long as they're constructive in the way they do it, and that doesn't apply to you. I note your phrase "you people": that says it all, really. It's poor old Paul against the rest of the world. It's not up to me where you are allowed to post, but if it were, I wouldn't let you anywhere near the Skeptiko forum.
 
Make no mistake: I want to appear discriminatory and limit your contributions to BvS. Discrimination is when you discern a difference between someone with good intentions and someone with bad intentions and act appropriately. I don't care if people challenge my beliefs as long as they're constructive in the way they do it, and that doesn't apply to you. I note your phrase "you people": that says it all, really. It's poor old Paul against the rest of the world. It's not up to me where you are allowed to post, but if it were, I wouldn't let you anywhere near the Skeptiko forum.
I don't see myself as "poor old Paul." I just want people to be straightforward. Thank you for being so.

~~ Paul
 
If it's a question of my right to be here and you don't want to grant it, then just say so.

What you people are doing is trying to appear fair while being discriminatory. Stop! Just do what you want to do. Otherwise you look like a bunch of disingenuous dicks who won't admit that you want to wall off your belief system.


Then have the balls to enforce your beliefs about me by simply disallowing me from posting in Skeptiko.

~~ Paul

Just post in the BvS forum. What's the problem? You don't believe in non local consciousness. Ergo you don't belong in discussions that assume the existence of non local consciousness. I could see having you on this part of the forum if you provided good skepticism, but I haven't seen any great thinking or terrific insights on your part that would require your participation. Mostly I've just seen you do the same thing Arouet does: question things into infinity. I can't speak for anyone else, but I don't see that as a useful skeptical contribution. It just clogs the conversation up with an endless number of poor content posts.
 
I 've just tried to help a Finnish member who wanted to access the forum using a proxy. I started a thread and found out about TOR, which I used to access it to see if it worked. Then Andy closed the thread and said that anyone using TOR would be banned. Evidently, for reasons I don't understand, it's a problem. If so, I think it should be in the rules section, and an explanation of why it's a problem might help. Sorry if it's caused any problems, but it was in all innocence.
 
I 've just tried to help a Finnish member who wanted to access the forum using a proxy. I started a thread and found out about TOR, which I used to access it to see if it worked. Then Andy closed the thread and said that anyone using TOR would be banned. Evidently, for reasons I don't understand, it's a problem. If so, I think it should be in the rules section, and an explanation of why it's a problem might help. Sorry if it's caused any problems, but it was in all innocence.

In theory, as Paul mentioned, a proxy could be used to create multiple accounts, sock-puppets, etc. But a proxy could also allow someone who works in government, and who couldn't normally post about certain subjects, to post.

Ideally, if someone wanted to use a proxy, then they should be able to gain permission on a per account basis from the admins.
 
I 've just tried to help a Finnish member who wanted to access the forum using a proxy. I started a thread and found out about TOR, which I used to access it to see if it worked. Then Andy closed the thread and said that anyone using TOR would be banned. Evidently, for reasons I don't understand, it's a problem. If so, I think it should be in the rules section, and an explanation of why it's a problem might help. Sorry if it's caused any problems, but it was in all innocence.

TOR makes it impossible to ban IP addresses, which is necessary for getting rid of trolls. The best thing your friend can do is to either use someone else's computer who won't mind being traced, or get a cheap computer to use just for this purpose and keep all personal information off of it and get an anonymous hotmail email account to register. It will be possible to trace this person to the general area in which they live, but not to them specifically except by court order depending on their nation's laws.
 
In theory, as Paul mentioned, a proxy could be used to create multiple accounts, sock-puppets, etc. But a proxy could also allow someone who works in government, and who couldn't normally post about certain subjects, to post.

Ideally, if someone wanted to use a proxy, then they should be able to gain permission on a per account basis from the admins.

What's a sock puppet? And why is it a problem if, say, a member didn't want anyone to know he was posting here? One could imagine good reasons for that. I mean, the whole reason people use aliases, etc. is to protect their identity. Is it that most people who use proxies are up to no good?
 
What's a sock puppet? And why is it a problem if, say, a member didn't want anyone to know he was posting here? One could imagine good reasons for that. I mean, the whole reason people use aliases, etc. is to protect their identity. Is it that most people who use proxies are up to no good?

Sockpuppet: a false online identity, typically created by a person or group in order to promote their own opinions or views.
 
TOR makes it impossible to ban IP addresses, which is necessary for getting rid of trolls. The best thing your friend can do is to either use someone else's computer who won't mind being traced, or get a cheap computer to use just for this purpose and keep all personal information off of it and get an anonymous hotmail email account to register. It will be possible to trace this person to the general area in which they live, but not to them specifically except by court order depending on their nation's laws.

Thanks, Craig. That answers some of my puzzlement. I'll contact him and C/P your recommended alternatives.
 
Back
Top