A Modest Proposal

[Replay]

I have seen people here referring to "ignore" functionality; if it has indeed been added, I propose one simple way to keep the peace here:

Allow me to set Kali to ignore.

I can get along with just about everyone else here, whether or not they can with me; but Kali and I are always going to be oil and water. I don't like his board moderatorship style, the way he libels me by repeatedly calling me a Nazi who hates gays and Jews (and he wonders why I get angry at him?), his tendency to split threads and use demeaning titles.

I never will, and never am going to.

Out of sight, out of mind; and the board should be a peaceful place after that.

[kali o.]

No one cares about you or your inability, as an adult, to control yourself.

The board and it's "peacefulness" is also not hostage to your desire for an ignore function or any of your drama.

Here is a modest counter proposal: Grow up, ignore on your own and stfu.

[Replay]

Oh, the irony. You talk about how I "can't control myself" then end by telling me to "shut the fuck up" in a fit of rageahol.

Quit calling me a Nazi, a "fag-basher", and an anti-Semite and I will.

Otherwise own the consequences of what YOU say.

[Replay]

I'm doing my best to offer a solution. But I'm also not going to let a career bully like you lie about me over and over again because YOU can't control yourself.

Make a choice. I want what's best for the community, but I really won't sit by and let someone accuse me of Naziism, anti-Semitism, or homophobia in public - particularly when you've also proven you don't care if SEO bots harvest transcripts here. You want to talk shit; fine - then accept that I'm always going to defend my reputation and counter the lies about me.

[Replay]

So far two solutions to the discontent here have been proposed, both by myself and others - neither one is all that hard. I could have implemented either in under a day, back when I was running the site, and would have, for the benefit of the community.

*bringing back Ruminations for politics, keeping the arguments out of general discussion.
*and me asking you to allow me to ignore you, which would certainly keep fights between us to a minimum.

You have turned both down because meh, and too much work, and I should "grow up" before you lift a finger to help the site - so, fine, the status quo will persist; I doubt you will even take the time to read my responses.

That means every time you talk about me behind my back, I'm going to call you out on it so transcripts of YOU calling me a Nazi Jew-hating fag-basher don't flood a bunch of Internet archives.

And THAT has a lot to do with the way YOU also proved to me, the last time we had some huge argument, that plenty of people out there will participate in an Internet witchhunt; as when you tried to provoke against me when you went looking for "other sites calling me a Nazi and anti-Semite". You didn't find any, and you fail to notice the ironies there in your own behavior - the real Nazis, we may recall, constantly went looking for "proof" about their neighbors that amounted to nothing more than whispering campaigns, but rarely did the Gestapo care - but that still doesn't stop you from doing it over and over again.

So I feel compelled to play "watch-the-shit-talking-moderators-of-the-community-I-handed-them-so-they-don't-call-me-a-terrorist-Nazi-fag-bashing-Jew-hating-mentally-ill gay-Jew", which is just about my least favorite game in life.

Trust me, I'd rather be gardening.

[Eric]

I actually ran out of memes at this point, don't hate me.

[Replay]

Sure. I could code the board a "block" function that worked universally, no problem. It's one extra field in the database and one line to strip ignored posts from the viewer on show.

[Replay]

Since Kali is rejecting numerous suggestions on how to appropriately moderate this board or its topics, I'll bring up what I most want to see reformed about the Shrine:

The toxicity here.

Believe me when I say that I understand I have been one of the worst offenders over the years.

At the same time, it's also not wholly on me. I don't usually lose my temper unless badly taunted or provoked.

I'd nominate this image here as the low point of the site; the day Kal decided to fend off questions about his piracy habits by threatening to tell a judge that I was a "traitor and a terrorist" with "inside connections to people behind 9/11 and spies".



So, in short -

1) What do I do about this kind of harassment? Kali won't institute an ignore feature and he's genuinely, legitimately near the legal line on what separates free speech from criminal false accusation.
2) How on Earth do we get this site back to what I started it as - a place where people respect each other and treat each other well, without the homophobia and the racism?

[Shrinweck]

[Julius Seeker]

I know you guys take a lot of digs at each other, but I personally don't take much issue with anything that's going on here; it's between you guys, and you'll get bored of it eventually!

I don't think it's hurting the community nearly as much as you may think. In fact, we've been a little more active over the last year than we have been in the last 4 or 5 years.

[kali o.]

Keep your craziness in one thread please, you litigious, dramatic, nazi, gay basher

[Replay]

Wow boy, God forbid we actually have a top-level discussion about the problems here, right?

For those who don't know, Kali has moved several of my posts to their own threads recently, and moved at least one new thread I was trying to start to this thread. Why he's so afraid of legitimate free speech where he can't put words in my mouth or alter what I say, I don't know.

My only hope is that you never work in public office, Kali. What is minor harassment and ball-busting bullshit by an apathetic liar and bully here will Chris Christie you in the public sector in no time.

[Replay]

I know you guys take a lot of digs at each other, but I personally don't take much issue with anything that's going on here; it's between you guys, and you'll get bored of it eventually!

I don't think it's hurting the community nearly as much as you may think. In fact, we've been a little more active over the last year than we have been in the last 4 or 5 years.

I would LOVE to get bored of it eventually. Our fearless "leader" here seems to find ways to continually astound me with the lies he manages to tell, however.

I feel even when I do take a break from this site that if I don't head back to check here constantly, I'll find another set of harassment, attacks on my reputation, and whatnot.

Calling me a "gay-basher" when he and Brendan still have "Tony Homo" topleveled on the main page here, for instance - especially when I was the only one here who ever wanted people to STOP saying "homo", that was why that whole fight erupted eight years ago in the first place - is particularly rich with bigotry and hypocrisy. Pity one cannot generate clean water from verbal abuse, or we could end the California drought in no time. (However, the screenshots I have taken of a homophobic slur existing on the front page here for literally eight years now are...useful in assuaging my fears that either Brendan or Kali will ever attempt to use site archives here to attempt to slander me in a more public way...so I guess we can call that a wash. )

Really though - as long as the community isn't terribly bothered, I won't be either.

[ManaMan]

Mental/Replay, Kali is just trying to get your goat. He thinks it's funny to get you worked up.

[kali o.]

Psst..here is a secret. People want your drama in separate threads. They dont want it derailing other threads. Me simply showing up in a thread is not, contrary to your delusions, about 'you you you' and an invitation to a party in crazytown.

Derail equals bad. All about Mental threads equals stupid but keep them to one thread.

All clear, you american hating traitor?

[Replay]

Sure. This page is a better resource on understanding you than anything you ever say here anyway:

http://www.wikihow.com/Deal-With-a-Sociopath

[Oracle]

Read above Kali's avatar. Fair warning if you ask me.

[Replay]

Read above Kali's avatar. Fair warning if you ask me.

I didn't.

[kali o.]

You know...and this just goes to show how little I read Mental's posts...I just noticed that screenshot he included (re: ratting out). I have to give him a hearty LOL for genuinely missing the point of that post...which was utter mockery and satire of his own position (potentially suing/ratting out me and the board as a whole for being a den of piracy).

I know this won't help much...but Mental...satire / mockery. You didn't create the site, you won't have anyone in trouble legally, you have no culpability, you don't know any insiders and you are not important enough for anyone to prosecute (and mentally ill, imo). Hell, I even included a mirror to your "I don't want to hurt innocents..." line. Everything I said was absurd...and it is sad that you couldn't / can't grasp that....I thought I was over the top enough in that post, even for you.

That being your "low point" to the Shrine explains so, so much. lol. But maybe the fact that you found it so offensive will lead to some introspection.......NOT!!!

Original thread, for context:
http://www.tows.cc/forum/viewtopic.php?f=2&t=17444

[Shrinweck]

Oh, wow, it's the thread that got me to give up lol

Context for those actually reading that thread for the first time, the original post was made in Now Watching and my first post was in response to it being in there. It was a completely off topic reply to kali saying that for the most part he enjoyed True Blood.

[Replay]

Context for those actually reading that thread for the first time, the original post was made in Now Watching and my first post was in response to it being in there. It was a completely off topic reply to kali saying that for the most part he enjoyed True Blood.

Indeed. Our "fearless leader" is afraid as all hell of actually allowing me to start threads at this point.

So many lessons for me to learn here; if I had to do it all over, I would never, ever, ever have given this site to Brendan in the first place.

[Replay]

You didn't create the site, you won't have anyone in trouble legally, you have no culpability, you don't know any insiders and you are not important enough for anyone to prosecute (and mentally ill, imo).

Of course I created the site. What a bunch of nonsense. The fact that Brendan RECREATED it after I gave it to him doesn't change the fact that this community would not exist if I hadn't founded it.

As for "insiders" - yes, I do, and YOU should be thankful I haven't gone to them about anything here yet.

As for legal trouble - well, we'll see on that, Kali. Every time I have considered hiring a lawyer about this place, I have run up against the many obstacles involved in prosecuting online libel cases - to wit, 1) most judges will throw out an Internet fight that doesn't involve any other criminal activity - and 2) you are in Canada, and prosecuting ANYTHING internationally requires Interpol and not local or even national authorities. Interpol is far too busy prosecuting $50m Ukranian fraud rings and other major crimes to care about any of your little annoyances, as they should be. So I have generally chosen to respect the better part of valor and save the money.

I could certainly bring suit against Brendan - he has the real culpability here anyway - but that seems like kicking a puppy in a lot of ways. He's not a bad person, when it comes down to it.

You are.

Your little stunt this morning about planning to speculate in Greece after the potential crash changes a lot of things on that front though. Just keep talking, is all I'll advise you on that one.