(2017-09-03, 04:59 PM)Sciborg_S_Patel Wrote: [ -> ]I'd say Alex figuratively hooked himself up to an IV of Kool Aid, not just that he took an interest in CTs. He supported, at least tacitly, outright dismissal of criticism and supported poor evidence - what else do you call claims of proof derived from Google Image Search? - to the point of swallowing a story where someone claimed to have witnessed the crimes via an OBE.
The disagreement was not simply along the lines of PK lab research or Philosophy of Consciousness, but his inability to take criticism that was incredibly mild compared to the accusations he was making sans evidence against others. And at least from me that criticism came after repeatedly mentioning the moral failure of accusing Lt. Aquino and others of crimes without evidence and not bothering with - AFAIK - the request to have Lt. Aquino on the show to defend himself.
I think I felt disappointment that after enjoying Alex's forum for so long, so many people here felt so ready to abandon him after a few mistakes. I mean none of us know what may have been going on in his life - people sometimes become upset and make mistakes.
A lot of things have become hugely exaggerated in all this, for example, anyone would think I had been banning people right left and centre. I banned two people in the run up to the trouble, and I notice this forum has already banned two members - presumably because they were trolling the forum in one way or another!
If either of those individuals I banned decide to come here, I'll bet they end up being banned here too!
Don't forget that the dividing line between CT's and ψ is always blurred. For example to believe in ψ is to believe that there is a scientific conspiracy to dismiss the evidence for ψ - we probably all believe that is the case.
David
(2017-09-03, 09:10 PM)DaveB Wrote: [ -> ]For example to believe in ψ is to believe that there is a scientific conspiracy to dismiss the evidence for ψ - we probably all believe that is the case.
What - do you mean something like a group of influential scientists, secretly believing psi exists, but conspiring to convince the world at large that it doesn't? I very much doubt that many people here believe that!
(2017-09-03, 09:10 PM)DaveB Wrote: [ -> ]I notice this forum has already banned two members
No, there's been only one. An impersonating account set up to troll only.
(2017-09-03, 09:10 PM)DaveB Wrote: [ -> ]If either of those individuals I banned decide to come here, I'll bet they end up being banned here too!
That's unlikely, I'd say.
(2017-09-03, 09:10 PM)DaveB Wrote: [ -> ]I think I felt disappointment that after enjoying Alex's forum for so long, so many people here felt so ready to abandon him after a few mistakes. I mean none of us know what may have been going on in his life - people sometimes become upset and make mistakes.
Hm. I'm not sure 'a few mistakes' covers it. It looked more like swathes of posts being removed, followed by a rather confusing (to me) batch of messages, then threads disappearing and moving, some reappearing with a time limit - manoeuvres that wouldn't have looked out of place in Harry Potter. Add to that disparaging remarks about the 'stuff' Alex wasn't involved in and I have to say I decided not to waste much more effort participating in threads with little confidence they would remain for very long. It has rather put me off Skeptico.
I can't comment on the moderating decisions because I don't have any insight into the rationale behind most of them (or interest) but I would say that I haven't missed quite a few that got booted. I'd say the moderation overall on Skeptico is definitely less tolerant than many sites I visit but I wouldn't say it had been draconian.
Anyway thats my two pen'orth.
(2017-09-03, 09:10 PM)DaveB Wrote: [ -> ]I think I felt disappointment that after enjoying Alex's forum for so long, so many people here felt so ready to abandon him after a few mistakes. I mean none of us know what may have been going on in his life - people sometimes become upset and make mistakes.
A lot of things have become hugely exaggerated in all this, for example, anyone would think I had been banning people right left and centre. I banned two people in the run up to the trouble, and I notice this forum has already banned two members - presumably because they were trolling the forum in one way or another!
If either of those individuals I banned decide to come here, I'll bet they end up being banned here too!
Don't forget that the dividing line between CT's and ψ is always blurred. For example to believe in ψ is to believe that there is a scientific conspiracy to dismiss the evidence for ψ - we probably all believe that is the case.
David
This is my final attempt to elicit a response from you, David
Are you not capable of acknowledging that your arrogant (IMO) and petty style of moderation (In my opinion and possibly the opinion of some others) was one of the biggest reasons for the exodus from Skeptiko ?
You seem to have no idea how depressing (at least for me) it was to see your name as a moderator waiting for the 'prey' everyday ! In my opinion, you've helped to ruin Skeptiko and now you're over here. Thankfully, or hopefully, you won't be able to get your hands on this forum. Whether or not I'm allowed to post here, or not.
(2017-09-03, 09:10 PM)DaveB Wrote: [ -> ]I think I felt disappointment that after enjoying Alex's forum for so long, so many people here felt so ready to abandon him after a few mistakes. I mean none of us know what may have been going on in his life - people sometimes become upset and make mistakes.
To be fair he banned at least a few of us and requested we eat the "humble pie" he likes to serve?
I don't know if it counts as abandoning him if we refused to do so?
(2017-08-31, 03:09 AM)Laird Wrote: [ -> ]I've been holding off on this as the forums+threads slated for deletion have not yet been deleted, and so are still available at their original location. I am hoping that somebody has managed to convince Alex to leave them up, or that he's decided to do that on his own, and that potentially he will not make any announcement, just... well, leave them up.
Has my hope been realised? Alex seems to have changed the title of his posts in the two forums from something like "This forum will be deleted on 8/21/2017" to "This forum was closed on 8/21/2017". No explanation, no guarantee that they will remain up, but at least for the moment it relieves us of the pressure of properly mirroring the content.
[Edit: I moved this post out of the Pam Reynolds thread so as not to distract from the main topic of that thread. It seems more apt in this thread]
(2017-09-03, 09:10 PM)DaveB Wrote: [ -> ]I think I felt disappointment that after enjoying Alex's forum for so long, so many people here felt so ready to abandon him after a few mistakes. I mean none of us know what may have been going on in his life - people sometimes become upset and make mistakes.
A lot of things have become hugely exaggerated in all this, for example, anyone would think I had been banning people right left and centre. I banned two people in the run up to the trouble, and I notice this forum has already banned two members - presumably because they were trolling the forum in one way or another!
If either of those individuals I banned decide to come here, I'll bet they end up being banned here too!
Don't forget that the dividing line between CT's and ψ is always blurred. For example to believe in ψ is to believe that there is a scientific conspiracy to dismiss the evidence for ψ - we probably all believe that is the case.
David
Besides making "a few mistakes" (understatement doesn't quite cut it), Alex opened the door for so many to be willing to leave by saying that the forum was going to be about his interests and following that with the dismissal of psi as 'not one of those interests' (anymore). So let's not get into demagoguery, the relationship between psi and CTs is not an issue, since half of the equation is already going to be favored over the other at Skeptiko.
(2017-09-01, 07:06 PM)DaveB Wrote: [ -> ]Hey - lets get this straight. I have banned one or two newcomers who seemed to have joined SKEPTIKO to play about. If they were SKEPTIKO regulars, then they had used a different pseudonym to cause trouble.
Did you notice when chokti was banned by Alex?
That was my point when I noted that the bannings are ongoing.
The other comment about your attitude involved coming in here and announcing the banning of someone over there, for something that was said over here. It was surreal.
(2017-08-25, 03:10 PM)iPsoFacTo Wrote: [ -> ]I'm a geezer. Yes, my humor strays very easily towards sarcasm. I hope this forum takes off. I hope this forum stays away from politics or politicized topics because that is asking for trouble. I kicked skeptiko forum to the curb because not kowtowing to its politics gets you labeled as a troublemaker or troll. And I hate that because then you're essentially calling me a liar... and no one likes being called that... because I don't troll, nor do I purposely try to piss anyone off.
I do speak as if I was in a room hanging out with a group of friends who enjoy giving each other the business and having a good laugh doing it. Admittedly, it gets me in trouble in forums that have sticks up their asses. 
I play guitar, I mow the lawn, I drive a car. 
Why accept such a binary position - SKEPTIKO has been run by Alex as an exercise in exploration - trying to get to the bottom of certain questions. I still support him in that, and moderate his site. I don't think it is fundamentally a question of politics to question if Hilary Clinton was a serious wrong doer - it is a question of fact.
David