Three Year Anniversary

Hey, I understand the compulsion, which - if I might suggest - in some sense feels like a responsibility: to publicly present a counterpoint to a political position with which one disagrees on a public platform both to which one has access and on which one has regularly participated. In a sense, it feels that remaining silent on such a platform would be tacit endorsement of the alternative position, right?

In any case, that suggestion matches my frame of mind in the days and weeks (months even?) in which I engaged in "political warfare" on Skeptiko, however, I withdrew on principle when it became clear that the moderation "team" (a team of one, essentially) was so utterly biased that I was banned for purported offences which didn't come close to the offensiveness of the offences committed by those whose political views were more favourable to the moderator. I am not willing to participate on a forum whose moderator is so twitchy on the ban hammer towards folk like me who disagree with his views whilst turning a blind eye to the worse behaviour of those with whom his political views align.

Several others with a similar perspective left around the same time, for similar reasons, and so, Skeptiko has become, and is becoming, more and more of a haven for those with "conservative"/"right wing" views. Even if I were in no danger of being banned again for frivolous and biased reasons, I would still not return there simply for that reason. Its moderation team (of one) has shifted the political balance of the forum to the right, and I don't care to engage on a forum with that right wing a bias.

David's moderation there is a clown show.  Straight up.  I knew others had clashed with him before, but I've had my recent bouts with him over those largely right-wing political threads.  He seems to think moderation includes the moderator's own views on what's right/wrong, biases, etc.  He's scolded me in the past there for aggressive tones I'd taken with posters yet when I am straight up insulted by a few of the more loony loonies there, he does nothing.  He's even piled on in public threads when I've been mocked.  Its comical actually.  Sort of an SNL skit on moderation.

Worst moderator I've seen on any internet forum on the internet.

But, yes, for whatever reason I keep going back. lol

Several others with a similar perspective left around the same time, for similar reasons, and so, Skeptiko has become, and is becoming, more and more of a haven for those with "conservative"/"right wing" views. Even if I were in no danger of being banned again for frivolous and biased reasons, I would still not return there simply for that reason. Its moderation team (of one) has shifted the political balance of the forum to the right, and I don't care to engage on a forum with that right wing a bias.

I have to say that I was itching to wade in and point out what a bunch of idiots they are but I resisted. I just don't get it because they are not idiots - they are clever people, some of whom I used to think were like-minded with respect to my own worldview. I don't want to get into politics here either but, for God's sake, Trump is damned by his own words and actions, not by some left-wing media conspiracy. He lies constantly and everyone who has known him for years confirms that. The media don't put words in his mouth or in his tweets.

I don't know what it is about matters of spirituality and psi phenomena that tends to attract the right-wing elements but I began to notice that not long after I subscribed to Skeptiko about 9 years ago. Perhaps it is the fringe nature, perhaps it is the perception of some anti-establishment movement but it worries me that it is assumed that I would be in sympathy with those cultural and political views. People I talk to are not at all surprised by this because they too assume that my interest in these subjects is somehow religious and they associate religion with right-wing values. I am horrified to be associated with those views. I am a life-long liberal/Liberal, voting for a party of the centre in the UK but which would be considered radical left in the USA. I am also not religious - I abandoned my religious faith at about 12 years of age although I am still interested in the history surrounding religious movements and some of the philosophy at the core of all religions.

So my remaining hope for this forum - and I hope it (and I) will be around in another three years - is to resist the pressure to turn this into another right-wing, conspiracy theory promoting platform.

[Laird]

Oops, I thoughtlessly brought up politics in a thread outside the opt-in forums. That was mistaken of me. If folks want to continue the more political element of the discussion, then let's move that element of the discussion to the opt-in forums.

My goodness, has it really been three years already!?

Oops, I thoughtlessly brought up politics in a thread outside the opt-in forums. That was mistaken of me. If folks want to continue the more political element of the discussion, then let's move that element of the discussion to the opt-in forums.

I thought about that too. Feel free to move any of my posts as you see fit.

Skeptiko these days is basically Sandy B and her thinly-veiled, racist video posts, over and over and over and over again, Jim Smith doing his best impression of a right-wing, self-referential bot trapped in a feedback loop, and Malf, either on a senseless humanitarian mission or living out some kind of sadomasochistic fantasy in plain view.

What is Sandy B's handle over there?

Worst moderator I've seen on any internet forum on the internet.

Agreed. David ruined that forum, supported by Andy.

Actually the problem with Skeptiko is much more nuanced than that. In fact for me it's quite an interesting case study in online forum culture. The core issue was Alex's capricious nature. The move from mind-energy.net signaled a shift in his attitude toward the forum, that eventually escalated into his decision and ultimate backtrack to delete everything but the show threads. That anyone who even infrequently visited the forums could view this as anything less than the psychopathic destruction of a real community is beyond me. We were a contentious but caring group of individuals engaged in spirited discussion and at time bawdy taunts. There was yeast there. Bubbling life. Energy. Sparks flew. And sometimes even real ideas were discussed in great depth. People revealed themselves, or were revealed. After all those years, Alex evidently didn't know or care a whoot about any of us. Fucked up.

At it's height, Skeptiko was a crowded smoky barroom on a Saturday night. I have a deep affection for everyone here on psiencequest, but the atmosphere here is more luncheon following fellowship. I think that's very sweet and I think that important topics are still discussed. It's important to maintain this place as a sane place for discussion. But I do miss the days of black eyes and keeping track of 5 different puppet acounts. I suppose I'm too old for that now. I really do miss some folks from that time who dropped out and never came to this space. I think MU was here for a while, but his brand of chaos is a little raw for this space. There is truth and value sometimes in ribaldry or in what may at first appear to be personal attacks that cut a little too close to our protective ego zones. But this place is not the place for such behavior, and unfortunately for me, it is less of a place because of it. The clown , the jester, the trickster--these are important roles that stir the pot of complacency and cut like a hot knife through well caked layers of "make-up". Not always pleasant and not appropriate behavior for every online forum.

After all those years, Alex evidently didn't know or care a whoot about any of us.

This sentence was the reason why I gave your post a like, it brought back memories of exactly how I felt.   

He’s still the same imo.