The user I banned was crackiswhackexcept. I only did it because he spammed the same comment like a million times and when i asked him to stop he called me a skinhead and told me to die in a fire four or five times i tried to warn him without banning him, but he made that impossible Your welcome if he actually stays banned.

[deleted]

Yes it was, I recall telling him to point out flaws in your post, instead of attacking you. For my trouble I was called "a fucking retard too".

Nothing but personal attacks and abuse from this user.

He attacks everyone here.

I think you were justified in it, this person either isn't entirely sane or is about 14.

The reason I asked to become a mod was to prevent the spam filter from arbitrarily removing posts, I was hoping the mods I selected would do the same and not work to remove content but instead to free it up. You were removing a lot of posts. I agree that crackiswhack is annoying but he has a right to speak like everyone else. That is the whole point.

I admit that the question of "what is good moderation?" is debatable, but that is the intended purpose of the voting mechanisms, even though they are sometimes abused by sockpuppets.

he has a right to speak like everyone else

Yeah, but no one has a right to spam. The design is abrasive and ugly, and it makes the sidebar hard to read and obscure. I like the 'serious redditing' link, though.

no one has a right to spam.

Very true in light of the fact that crackiswhack stalks some people and repeatedly posts the same one-sentence aspersion, over and over and over, contributing nothing to discussion but a stalker comment. At some point an adult has to take a firm stand on this because this is no longer free speech of benefit to society, but spam. If the comment varied and were of worth, sure it would be suppression, but when something is volume spam and harassment, it drops below free speech.

Yeh, and it's no secret that reddit is heavily gamed. There are always people that have no intention but to fuck things up (colloquially: trolls)

I removed threats and racial slurs. Nothing else. That is what a mod is supposed to do, right? I did also free up quite a bit of content as well. If you were going for freedom then why did you make an approved submitter list? You have to be on a list of like 25 people to even be able to post here now since you became mod! Is that the freedom you wanted?

That isn't true at all, anyone can post here. The approved submitters list was my attempt to stop the automatic filter from getting the posts of those users- it isn't an "only these people can submit here list" ..

Weren't you the one who started an invite-only conspiracy sub?

Wrong. I checked the settings and it is set to only approved submitters can post.

That is not the current settings, I assume you mean this, a message from LLLLLL_ to mod mail: "FYI mods, subreddit type was set to 'restricted' -- have reset to 'public'. This should allow anyone to post, not just approved submitters. I may have been the one who accidentally set it to restricted 2hrs ago... if so: oops, sorry."

It was not me who set that and it was not set for very long.

No I never saw that message. I dealt with 4 or 5 users telling me they couldn't post here and the only solution was to add them to an approved submitter list. Next to the approved submitters list there is the setting for a private, limited, or open sub. It was set to limited when I saw it 3 or 4 days ago.

Interjecting here; I posted recently with no problem (I'm not an 'approved submitter' in this subreddit AFAIK) so it was most likely a short term problem

Most of the regular submitters here had no issues because there was already (conviniently) an approved submitters list with about 25 names already on there. You were on the list.

Mmm, fair enough.

I made that list based on the names I found in the spam filter on the first day I became a mod.

Can you even have an approved submitter list on an open sub?

I assure you anyone can submit here. I was under the impression the approved submitters list is a "posts from these users are definately not spam" list as opposed to "only allow posts from these users" .. If you don't believe me make a throwaway to test.

Oh and yes I did start an invite only conspiracy sub. Is something wrong with that? The reason I did so was there is entirely too much verbal abuse, threats and blatant racism on this sub for my liking. If I could control that a little more I would. That is why I wanted to moderate, was to stand up to abusive users like crackiswhackexcept and facehammer, and also to regulate some of these habitual offenders of racist propaganda. These things hurt our community much more than a mod who is a little heavy handed with abusive users.

Don't leave because of a shitty design (IT IS SHITTY). Reddit mods have been fucking up for a while now, but this community is getting on the right track. People are pushing to expose the web of power and lies that is above any religion or bloodline; I would say that acceptance that something is wrong with the way things are going is at an all time high.

This community's ideals boil down to everyone having a fair chance to prove a point or display unheard of facts and no poor moderation can shift that. Only if the community is subverted can there be drastic change

If by the "right track" you mean, "Ron paul" "REP PAUL" PAULPAULPAULPAULPAUL PAUL PAUL PAUL PAUL PAUL PAUL PAUL PAUL"

Then yes, if that's your definition of the "right" track, we certainly are on it.

The words 'topical' and 'relevant' need not apply?

Conspiracy used to be really big about a year and a half ago. It often got frontpage submissions.

This place is now a festering pit with too much focus on Jewish this and Jewish that. Too many literal racists and white priders on here to actually sit through the limited data and find unbiased conclusions to relevant theories.

Conspiracy used to be really big about a year and a half ago.

?

The community has more than doubled since a year ago, hasn't it? I've found there is plenty of information to suggest that there are just as many racist Zionists/Jews as there are KKK Christians/Southerners. The only difference is not too many people will immediately jump to the defense of KKK members even though they are just as supremacists as Zionists.

What direction would you prefer it to take?

ImJulianAssange should a mod

I dont like how the sidebar turns grey either.

He was a mod until ambiversive demodded him. As far as direction for the sub? I would love to see the static tuned out. I would love to see us all engaging in conversations about anything without some jackass telling us all we are retarded and that we shouldn't be allowed to breed. I mean, it's going to happen every once in a while, so I know we all have a thick skin here, but HABITUAL ABUSERS need to be removed. Period. It hurts our image and diverts our emotional energy from focusing on the things that matter. Plus it knocks us off center having to defend ourselves all the time. This is our corner. We shouldnt have to fight them here too. Free speech is one thing, but there is a line that can be crossed and until ambiversive sees this this sub will still be a bunch more of the same.

You got everyone, from hippies to neo-nazis, that get on here to shed light on whats really going on and how we're getting fucked. You are absolutely right about how it should be a constructive place to talk about any conspiracy. Why did ImJulianAssange get demodded? He puts out up stuff from every conspiracy, from reptillian overlords to poisonous food. It can seem like spam sometimes but it is a wealth of information.

hurts our image

We don't have a single image. We are a wide and varied group of people, each with their own 'image' .. and we must take care not to set any dangerous pro-censorship precedents. Isn't it our goal to have all words permitted here, even the offensive and those we disagree with?

I removed a comment thread that seemed to me, to be a disingenuous attempt to derail the main thread. But that, in hindsight, was probably an error. Moderation should be kept to a minimum.

You are on a power trip. Period. You get to delete stuff, remake our forum so that no one likes it, and demod people but I can't ban an abusive user? You are like a girl trying on prom dresses. I really don't think you get the point about that guy. He has nothing useful to say. If you can't or won't stand up to these people you have no business moderating or being the self appointed god of r/con.

You're like somebody on jury duty fuming they don't get to judge every case.

I dunno, this sub is pretty ugly now.

Well it is good to see you all talking it out IMO. Seems like a healthy thing to do and it is out in the open for all interested parties to review.

[deleted]

Thanks man! I really want to move this sub somewhere else but I haven't found a good alternative yet. I'm always on the lookout for my next spot though.

how do you define "severaly abusive user"?

Spamming comments is one thing, but making threats, racial slurs or just spouting your hate for all things conspiracy and calling us retards is another. Like I said this would be reserved for the most extreme cases. Questioning the material posted or questioning beliefs that we believe to be false are core ideals of our community, so to hear the other side is good and very healthy and will allow all of us to make up our own minds about what to believe. I encourage debate and free thought. But there are two distinct types of abusive users I see all too often here. The first kind are the most obvious, because they simply cause trouble and talk badly to people. Now like I said earlier, we all need to have a thick skin here and tolerate this to a point, but if the same user continues this same pattern of abuse regularly and nothing actually constructive to add to the discussion ever, then this is clearly abuse. The second type of abuser is a little harder to spot and is much dangerous. These are the debaters, but not the good kind. These people should be presidential debate coaches, because some of them are really, really good at making other people look bad by quoting you out of context, equating what you say or do to hate crimes, implying that you are a racist or a homophobe or generally anything to piss of the recipient to throw them off center and make them say something truely wacky or hateful. Instead of making clear and valid points or countering what is said with references and knowledge they resort to mudslinging to invalidate your original point. Like I said, we should all tolerate this. It is allowed to debate here, and not everyone knows how to debate without being nasty or personally attacking those they disagree with. But if the behavior becomes a regular thing, then it crosses a line to where this user has made their choice to hassle us just to do it, not to make some glaring point that we all somehow missed. I hope that clarifies this a bit.

As little moderation as possible please. Don't let this be like so many other subreddits.

QQ - if he does something that is clearly against what the sub stands for then out him. As far as I can tell he's cleaned the place up a bit.

First it's bitching that Julian is a mod and you're not, now it's that ambiversive is doing what exactly?

I dont give two shits who is a mod so long as they dont infringe on anyone's freedoms (that's not to say stalking/spamming are tolerated either) and do NOT under ANY circumstances assume "no one wants to see this drivel" - silence any post or poster; relevant or irrelevant, as a matter of perspective.

When did I bitch about iamjulianassange being a mod and not me? You have me confused with someone else.

Edit: really I never bitched about that. I don't get the downvote. Also I never deleted a single post, only abusive and spammed comments.

I'm glad I'm getting downvoted. It clearly shows that people want authoritarian-style moderation. My suspicion of humanity and their ability to think is still unwavering in their complete ineptitude to acknowledge and understand the truth, even if it's uncomfortable:

SATYAT NASTI PARO DHARMAH

Also, I never said you bitched about Julian being a mod, but I know it was brought up. I suppose that was implied. Regardless, if you want to whine about how things are going with ambiversive you should talk to him first before trying to stir shit up. I dont disagree with you, particularly, on anything... but you speculating and then accusing him of doing something "bad" for the community without any proof, let alone the hint from anyone else that is a part of this sub, is extremely tacky and honestly I'm surprised you've not been flamed relentlessly. He told us exactly what he did the very first day he became a mod, which is the exact same thing he has told you in this thread, but for some reason you aren't satisfied with the answer. Go figure. (Read my first paragraph again.)

Honestly, I don't know what there is to bitch about right now. This sub has doubled in the last year and more people are posting than before. Sure, still not too many are talking candidly about these topics without the unfortunate back-and-forth "fuck you" - "no fuck you" blather.

THAT is what I want to change about this sub. Not it's form of moderation, or lack thereof, or it's look (which doesn't fucking matter anyway). Civil and factual discussion of the topics, evidence, and what type of solutions (actual, practical) can we come up with instead of gerrymandering around one until its too fucking late.

You know, for someone outside the situation you sure to know a lot about the particulars. I never bitched about iamjulianassange, and I did try to talk this out with ambiversive first before I posted this. He was dodgy and short and didn't really give me any answers which is why I brought it to the community at large. Clearly you do not want to see the abusive users go away, or you would prefer a slightly, and I mean very slight, more moderated sub. I banned one guy. Do you really have a problem with crackiswhackexcept not showing up here anymore? He never had anything useful to say and kept verbally abusing everyone here. It went on for 6 months + like this and I chose to excercise my ability to moderate wih that one user. We have plenty of trolls here, and we will hear them out but only for so long. It's odd to me that you get so confrontational about this subject. Do you feel like I abused my privlages in banning him? It wasn't automatic either. I am going to post his messages when I get back home to my pc. Overall though dude, I used to like you, but now I have my doubts. You jumped to the conclusion that I was over moderating, that I was bitching about iamjulianassange being a mod when I didn't. Didn't even imply that. I would love to see him mod again. He is one of my favorites. Ambiversive had nothing to do with the increased readership. The only thing he did was free up a few links and change the way things look. Me and one other mod did a lot of link freeing as well, but we didn't get the credit. It's okay if I don't get credit I don't give a shit, but don't make this look like something it's not.

You know, for someone outside the situation you sure to know a lot about the particulars.

I'm pretty good at using discernment.

Clearly you do not want to see the abusive users go away

On the contrary. However, just because someone says something one disagrees with, that is hardly a reason to silence them. Abusive, in the way that crackiswhackexcept is, that is unacceptable. I have no problem with him showing up and giving his opinion on a subject, but stalking people and being very narrow and short with everyone is just ignorance and, likewise, should be just ignored. I don't blame you for taking action against him.

Overall though dude, I used to like you, but now I have my doubts. You jumped to the conclusion that I was over moderating, that I was bitching about iamjulianassange being a mod when I didn't.

Like I said, I didn't say it was you that was bitching about Julian, but someone was. But here you complain about being demodded, and ambiversive going on a power trip and only letting a select few post, which is not the case. I may have implied it was you, I apologize. I didn't "jump" to any conclusion of you over moderating. On the contrary, I think it was you who jumped to the conclusion that ambiversive was on a power trip. Whatever the case may be, very little has changed in the actual moderation of this sub.

don't make this look like something it's not.

And that's what I'm trying to say to you. I don't know anyone here, you don't either. I won't stick up for someone without reason, I won't down someone for no reason. On the surface, ambiversive has cleaned things up a bit. Whether it was him that did it or you or another mod that also got demodded makes no difference, it hasn't changed anything except a few people who were previously put in the filter which, as I said, was explained why by ambiversive on the first or second day he became a mod.

As far as the look of the sub, it's "REDACTED" label, or who is moderating I could truly care less about. It's the content and reaching out to people that's important, not bickering amongst ourselves about our "own little bastion" on reddit.

Anything from here on is pure semantics and is totally unnecessary, imo.

Sorry if I sounded confrontational, but I have had to stand my ground on this subject quite a few times in the last day or so and you did kind of start into me with your first post. I apologize if any offense was taken. I just wanted to do some good for this community and I was denied the opportunity for no good reason and with no discussion. I don't know, I have a really strange feeling about this sub lately, like it's time to go.

I understand your feeling. I would likely feel and do the same. Unless you talk to him in private, and he makes you a mod again, bringing it out here where it's still a L vs R mentality, what has been accomplished? Nadda. No sense in making it a sentimental ordeal either. Shake it off, keep doing your thing.

If you feel it may be time to go, before you do, think about what you can do outside of here to spread the word to people who still remain ignorant to the vast majority of what gets spread round casually here.

In Lack'ech