Philosophy Discussion Forums | A Humans-Only Club for Open-Minded Discussion & Debate

[value]

Sy Borg Since a week or so my posts are put in moderation and are only approved after a day. Is there a specific reason for that?

I can start to suspect intimidation for low intelligent motives due to posts about the US war in Libya and corruption by the International Monetary Fund. I could let it pass - leaving the forum if needed for which I never saw a reason before - but I decided to ask about it after having ignored it for about a week.

A detail: the block started after a user from Venezuela commented critically to a post about the US war in Libya on February 25th.

NATO's role in Norway's bombing of Libya
viewtopic.php?f=5&t=18539

What would be the basis for distrust of my posts since none of my posts have ever been officially questioned?

Forum block
Screenshot 2023-03-03 at 05-48-00 Let's talk consciousness. - Page 5.png (46.92 KiB) Viewed 4458 times

[Sy Borg]

I have noticed posts from established members coming up for moderation.

I just approve 'em and don't question it these days. I am just a mod, not the forum owner or administrator who controls what happens.

Most likely it's just a glitch. You are the second person in recent weeks to come up with - dare I say it - a "low intelligence" conspiracy theory.

[value]

My apologies. I did initially intend to respect it and don't think anything of it but since I did not notice any other users complaining about it + the timing with regard the post to the sensitive topic I decided to ask.

No problem. I hope that it doesn't cause a burden to your volunteer contribution and that of the other moderators! Since you once mentioned that you were assigned the admin role apparently at random, would it be an option to consider other users for a moderator role?

For completeness, I sent the following to @Scott (admin) in response to the question whether I would want to moderate the forum.

Thank you for the offer to manage the forum, however, since I am not a philosopher and recent events have put a question mark with regard neutrality of my position, I believe that it is best that others will perform the task and as it appears, you and Greta's management is perceived as very good by all users.

I sent the following to you:

I do not have a philosophical background and am originally merely a guest and passer-by.

I am interested to help but it may be best that control would remain in your hands (and perhaps other new moderators/admins).

I suggested Terrapin Station and Sculptor1.

Who may be interested and would provide quality are Sculptor1 and Terrapin Station. They are active daily so they may be a reliable party for long term management of the forum. There may be more users.

You replied that you were provided with the admin role apparently randomly at some point in time, and didn't know whether you wanted to continue on the long term (you mentioned that you were originally also merely a 'passer-by' and that forum administration costed considerable time).

As it appears, quite an effort is made to administrate the forum.

[Eckhart Aurelius Hughes]

It's hard if not impossible to tell without seeing the full post in the queue, but my best rough guess would be that the post contains a link, or something that was picked up by the automatic software as a link. If you are concerned, and another post gets held for moderation, you can send me a PM with the link to the post, and I can advise further.

[Consul]

Sy Borg Since a week or so my posts are put in moderation and are only approved after a day. Is there a specific reason for that?

I have the same problem since yesterday.

[Consul]

It's hard if not impossible to tell without seeing the full post in the queue, but my best rough guess would be that the post contains a link, or something that was picked up by the automatic software as a link.

I just noticed that the two posts of mine in question do contain a link, so you seem to be right.

[Sy Borg]

You replied that you were provided with the admin role apparently randomly at some point in time, and didn't know whether you wanted to continue on the long term (you mentioned that you were originally also merely a 'passer-by' and that forum administration costed considerable time).

As it appears, quite an effort is made to administrate the forum.

It used to take a long time but my responsibilities have shrunk and, being unpaid, I'm happy to coast now. I no longer have to deal with rule-breakers, other than detecting and banning spammers. So I don't feel like a mod these days, just another member who does some tasks daily.

If you wish to moderate, good luck. There is a lot of paranoia these days. People are always expecting skulduggery in high places. What they forget is the modding a philosophy forum is not a high place. People can misbehave when there is much at stake, eg. politics, real estate, commodities and the like.

All that matters here is for mods is to try to maintain the integrity and credibility of the forum. I think about how a person seriously seeking answers to the questions posed in threads would respond to the material? Is the material relevant to the questions? Is the material useful or just bickering? Is the material objective or politically driven?

[value]

I personally believe that the forum is managed quite well and when I shortly became administrator to recover a domain expiration in January 2021, I noticed that quite an effort is made to administrate the forum, meanwhile with almost no conflicts about moderation and almost all users feeling welcome. It seems to be a great accomplishment that deserves gratitude from the users. (I have been owner of bigger forums myself)

It seems that for the most part how users in general ('the public') have perceived the forum has been your role as admin with the help of the moderators. It seems logical that users look at you and Scott as the only admins to determine the nature of the whole forum and since you have been the only admin that was actively participating in discussions most users will have looked at you. I must admit that I did that also for quite some time with at minimum the basic reservation that you might have a quite more comprehensive view on matters than I could have in some discussions, therefore withholding comment and maintain a position as a passive reader in some occasions.

The forum serves many purposes of which some could be quite important in my opinion - and which might deserve some attention for longer term preservation, like the protection of ancient books.

I noticed that some users wrote extensively in some topics and when that content would be lost, it would be like complete books to be lost forever. I also noticed in a topic that someones grandfather was active on the forum and that his posts were a memorabilia to his family. It might be nice that in 50 or 100 years time a grandchild that decides to study philosophy would have access to the views of his grand-grand-grand father.

To give an example of the content on this forum.

The author of the following topic might be Robert Pirsig (IQ 170), the author of the book Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance: An Inquiry into Values (1974), the most sold philosophy book ever (5m copies).

Logic is it's own fallacy.
viewtopic.php?f=1&t=4253

While his account is deleted, his posts are still accessible.

User: @ChaoticMindSays
search.php?st=0&sk=t&sd=d&sr=posts&author_id=35658

The user introduced the website for Metaphysics of Quality www.moq.org on this forum and asked for feedback on the website, which provided a hint: viewtopic.php?f=2&t=4285

Robert M. Pirsig's Metaphysics of Quality
Screenshot 2023-03-04 at 04-58-57 Home Robert M. Pirsig's Metaphysics of Quality.png (141.9 KiB) Viewed 4414 times

[Sy Borg]

I must admit that I did that also for quite some time with at minimum the basic reservation that you might have a quite more comprehensive view on matters than I could have in some discussions, therefore withholding comment and maintain a position as a passive reader in some occasions.

I often hang back in discussions for the same reason.

[Samana Johann]

Algorithmic justice - end of ethic and moral