Announcement about RDF Part 2.

[CJ]

Avatars have been removed from the front page comments now

Not all of them. I think that the specific post has gone.

[Paula1]

Avatars have been removed from the front page comments now

Not all of them. I think that the specific post has gone.

It was like they disappeared briefly then were back, I even scrolled through, how strange!

[ficklefiend]

Avatars have been removed from the front page comments now

Not all of them. I think that the specific post has gone.

It was like they disappeared briefly then were back, I even scrolled through, how strange!

They just take a while to load sometimes.

[Ilovelucy]

I'm still looking to see anywhere on the internet where someone is saying "I hate those mods for getting the forum shut down" No-one seems to have swallowed that bit of bullshit at all.

[Flora]

Re: the admin update

The announcement that the forum was shut down because some staff posted the letter sent to them and made some public complaints is complete and utter bollocks. They removed the letter and they could have also removed the staff's permissions as they didn't trust them anymore. They didn't have to make the forum read-only for everybody in order to gag the staff.

Now that none of the staff have permissions to do anything over there, and it's the staff that they are blaming for the shut down, there is no reason whatsoever why the site admins can't restore the forum and permit people to post and send PMs as before. There are another 28 days before the forum is taken down so what possible excuse could there be for keeping it "read-only" now other than preventing the membership from posting their comments?

The fact is that without the staff around the forum would become a shit fest for disgruntled ex-members and fundies getting their last shot in. Without the staff the forum is a non-starter now.

Yes, they needed the staff to deal with all the possible crap & abuse that would inevitably have been thrown at the forum for the next 30 days. In other words, they expected the staff to give up their free time to act as police and lavatory cleaners for a month, without a word of dissent themselves, and then just stand aside and watch the forum they'd worked so hard for be deleted. Not much to ask was it.

That's why they won't restore the forum because NOBODY would be able to control the flood of angry / upset comments from the membership in addition to all the usual spammers, trolls and sockpuppets. The only way to stop the tide of dissent from members was to make the forum read-only and that's why they did it but it sounds better to blame it on the staff doesn't it.

If as many people post their complaints on the front page as they would have done on the forum, I don't know how they'll manage it because there are only a few people with admin permissions there. They'd have to keep 24 watch on the comments and then just keep deleting people's accounts until there was nobody left to complain.

[klr]

I'm still looking to see anywhere on the internet where someone is saying "I hate those mods for getting the forum shut down" No-one seems to have swallowed that bit of bullshit at all.

I'm taking bets on how and when RD will first comment on this, as he plainly must. Surely he can't toe the party line? He must be getting enough feedback at this point to know that the official story line is about as reliable as the Book of Genesis. If he comes out in support of them, he's going to get creamed.

[Ilovelucy]

Re: the admin update

The announcement that the forum was shut down because some staff posted the letter sent to them and made some public complaints is complete and utter bollocks. They removed the letter and they could have also removed the staff's permissions as they didn't trust them anymore. They didn't have to make the forum read-only for everybody in order to gag the staff.

Now that none of the staff have permissions to do anything over there, and it's the staff that they are blaming for the shut down, there is no reason whatsoever why the site admins can't restore the forum and permit people to post and send PMs as before. There are another 28 days before the forum is taken down so what possible excuse could there be for keeping it "read-only" now other than preventing the membership from posting their comments?

The fact is that without the staff around the forum would become a shit fest for disgruntled ex-members and fundies getting their last shot in. Without the staff the forum is a non-starter now.

Yes, they needed the staff to deal with all the possible crap & abuse that would inevitably have been thrown at the forum for the next 30 days. In other words, they expected the staff to give up their free time to act as police and lavatory cleaners for a month, without a word of dissent themselves, and then just stand aside and watch the forum they'd worked so hard for be deleted. Not much to ask was it.

That's why they won't restore the forum because NOBODY would be able to control the flood of angry / upset comments from the membership in addition to all the usual spammers, trolls and sockpuppets. The only way to stop the tide of dissent from members was to make the forum read-only and that's why they did it but it sounds better to blame it on the staff doesn't it.

If as many people post their complaints on the front page as they would have done on the forum, I don't know how they'll manage it because there are only a few people with admin permissions there. They'd have to keep 24 watch on the comments and then just keep deleting people's accounts until there was nobody left to complain.

It would be especially tricky if all the members jumped in and commented at the same time

[Bella Fortuna]

I'm still looking to see anywhere on the internet where someone is saying "I hate those mods for getting the forum shut down" No-one seems to have swallowed that bit of bullshit at all.

I'm taking bets on how and when RD will first comment on this, as he plainly must. Surely he can't toe the party line? He must be getting enough feedback at this point to know that the official story line is about as reliable as the Book of Genesis. If he comes out in support of them, he's going to get creamed.

He's always turned a blind eye before, and taken the high road of supercilious arrogance. I imagine he thinks the most effective and cutting thing he could do would be to not acknowledge any of it.

[fredbear]

Re: the admin update

The announcement that the forum was shut down because some staff posted the letter sent to them and made some public complaints is complete and utter bollocks. They removed the letter and they could have also removed the staff's permissions as they didn't trust them anymore. They didn't have to make the forum read-only for everybody in order to gag the staff.

Now that none of the staff have permissions to do anything over there, and it's the staff that they are blaming for the shut down, there is no reason whatsoever why the site admins can't restore the forum and permit people to post and send PMs as before. There are another 28 days before the forum is taken down so what possible excuse could there be for keeping it "read-only" now other than preventing the membership from posting their comments?

The fact is that without the staff around the forum would become a shit fest for disgruntled ex-members and fundies getting their last shot in. Without the staff the forum is a non-starter now.

Yes, they needed the staff to deal with all the possible crap & abuse that would inevitably have been thrown at the forum for the next 30 days. In other words, they expected the staff to give up their free time to act as police and lavatory cleaners for a month, without a word of dissent themselves, and then just stand aside and watch the forum they'd worked so hard for be deleted. Not much to ask was it.

That's why they won't restore the forum because NOBODY would be able to control the flood of angry / upset comments from the membership in addition to all the usual spammers, trolls and sockpuppets. The only way to stop the tide of dissent from members was to make the forum read-only and that's why they did it but it sounds better to blame it on the staff doesn't it.

If as many people post their complaints on the front page as they would have done on the forum, I don't know how they'll manage it because there are only a few people with admin permissions there. They'd have to keep 24 watch on the comments and then just keep deleting people's accounts until there was nobody left to complain.

topsy, is that really you?

[life]

If anyone wants to sign, I've just set it up...

http://www.rationalskepticism.org/rdf/

Done, although have I now technically put my name to whatever you write to go with it?

As in? I'm not going to write anything on my own and let the comments speak for themselves.

Oh, I thought it was going to be attached to an open letter. Perhaps there should be a basic, factual account of events accompanying it, so that Josh Timonen can't get away with bullshitting and disposing of the evidence, and the whole thing does just come across as a load of bitter ex-members objecting to the changes?

That is correct, open letter it will be. I'm just not going to "stain" it with my personal/emotional opinion.
I'd like someone to volunteer and write a factual summary on the events, if possible.
Maybe a mod here can make it sticky. All I want to make clear is that everything that is going to be send/showed to RD will be completely open and transparent for everybody to see prior to submission, once everybody is content we can move on... Peter Harrison's blog sounds like a reasonable summary, perhaps?

[fredbear]

Re: the admin update

The announcement that the forum was shut down because some staff posted the letter sent to them and made some public complaints is complete and utter bollocks. They removed the letter and they could have also removed the staff's permissions as they didn't trust them anymore. They didn't have to make the forum read-only for everybody in order to gag the staff.

Now that none of the staff have permissions to do anything over there, and it's the staff that they are blaming for the shut down, there is no reason whatsoever why the site admins can't restore the forum and permit people to post and send PMs as before. There are another 28 days before the forum is taken down so what possible excuse could there be for keeping it "read-only" now other than preventing the membership from posting their comments?

The fact is that without the staff around the forum would become a shit fest for disgruntled ex-members and fundies getting their last shot in. Without the staff the forum is a non-starter now.

Yes, they needed the staff to deal with all the possible crap & abuse that would inevitably have been thrown at the forum for the next 30 days. In other words, they expected the staff to give up their free time to act as police and lavatory cleaners for a month, without a word of dissent themselves, and then just stand aside and watch the forum they'd worked so hard for be deleted. Not much to ask was it.

That's why they won't restore the forum because NOBODY would be able to control the flood of angry / upset comments from the membership in addition to all the usual spammers, trolls and sockpuppets. The only way to stop the tide of dissent from members was to make the forum read-only and that's why they did it but it sounds better to blame it on the staff doesn't it.

If as many people post their complaints on the front page as they would have done on the forum, I don't know how they'll manage it because there are only a few people with admin permissions there. They'd have to keep 24 watch on the comments and then just keep deleting people's accounts until there was nobody left to complain.

It would be especially tricky if all the members jumped in and commented at the same time

hi ilovelucy. i've done my bit with a somewhat cryptic reference to hubris. my posts weren't worthy anyway.

[hackenslash]

I just posted the followiing to the homeopathy topic on the front page:

Yes, spelling mastake, but feeling better is not the same as being better. These quacks are dangerous, because they give people the false illusion that they are in some way cured, while the underlying illness is not addressed. Homeopathy is quackery, and it cures nothing.

Much the same as when the Nazis went through their book-burning exercises, hoping that by such means they could silence dissent and rewrite history. Unfortunately the authors of those books were still around, and other people had gone to great lengths to preserve those books, so that the lies and deceit did not go down as the true history. All attempts to silence the truth ultimately end in failure, as long as there are people who actually care about what's true.

Too subtle?

[ozewiezeloose]

Too subtle?

Yes and no. Any less subtle, and you'll be barred for trolling, as I was (even though there wasn't a single offensive word in post).

S

[Heresiarch]

Oh, cool! I've been called a troll now. After 2500 posts on the forum. :pissed:

You're doing it wrong. I had close to 1,000 posts on RD forums with around 80% of them being trolling and never got called a troll.

[ozewiezeloose]

Oh, cool! I've been called a troll now. After 2500 posts on the forum. :pissed:

You're doing it wrong. I had close to 1,000 posts on RD forums with around 80% of them being trolling and never got called a troll.

I had about 2500 on the forum, and I wasn't called a troll even once. One post on the front page fixed that for me.