In the past 48 hours, it has become very clear to me why so many moderators have left this forum.
Posts made by ben_lubar
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RE: Administration/Moderation Changes & New Admin Team Nominations
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RE: Administration/Moderation Changes & New Admin Team Nominations
@Polygeekery said in Administration/Moderation Changes & New Admin Team Nominations:
@Mason_Wheeler said in Administration/Moderation Changes & New Admin Team Nominations:
Sigh. I just got an unsolicited PM from Ben stating that he's requesting to have all his data deleted from this forum under the GDPR, and subtly encouraging me to do the same. I can't imagine any reason why he would have sent this to me personally, which means it's almost certainly not personal, but a message being spammed to multiple high-profile users.
@apapadimoulis I believe this attempt to be in bad faith, as an attempt to cause damage to this forum:
- As a former admin, he's fully aware of the havoc that deletion wreaks on the community by deleting not only posts but entire topics. And he's started some pretty significant ones!
- Being from America, Ben has no rights under the GDPR, which makes his invocation of it fraudulent.
- Being from America, I have no rights under the GDPR, and I've always been an outspoken critic of it, and particularly of the RTBF which he's attempting to invoke here. And yet somehow he's attempting to incite me to fraudulently invoke it.
- The fact that he's doing this in private messages rather than openly speaks of a campaign of sabotage.
I strongly recommend that any such request be summarily denied.
I agree with Mason, and this even furthers my suspicion that Ben "resigned". That might have happened, but I have a suspicion that he was ousted suddenly and before he could nuke the forums. I was suspicious enough of that happening that I sent messages to Alex and others suggesting that they make sure they have good backups before they do anything because as far as I know the only backups were on Ben's machine. I sincerely doubt that he would not have nuked everything on his way out if he were given the choice and it's always best to cover your ass.
I still have root access to the server. Which I am not using to cause harm because I'm not an incompetent asshole, no matter how much someone who sent me death threats and indeed has a reference to that in their forum signature claims otherwise.
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RE: Administration/Moderation Changes & New Admin Team Nominations
@TwelveBaud said in Administration/Moderation Changes & New Admin Team Nominations:
@ben_lubar Your argument is a fair one, but the tool provided by the software for that purpose is far more destructive than it would first appear. And to be blunt I don't trust Alex or Boomzilla to be able to find every topic you've created, split off the first post, and create a substitute (if needed), among all 27,203 threads on this forum. This is the kind of thing we'd need to commission @julianlam, @barisu, or yourself to do, and that will take more time than I think you would want to give us.
Edited to add: If you want something done today, right now, this instant, the best we can offer is reattributing your posts to be from "Guest". Your content will still be here, but neither it nor the site will be associated with you.
Here is a list of topics I have created: https://what.thedailywtf.com/user/ben_lubar/topics
You may choose to immediately start going through those and splitting out the OP if you see fit.
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RE: Administration/Moderation Changes & New Admin Team Nominations
@TwelveBaud said in Administration/Moderation Changes & New Admin Team Nominations:
There's a button to delete an account without deleting any of its content. It's not what Ben wants, but it's the closest that we can give him without wrecking the place, and he's not entitled to anything beyond that.
I do not wish to have my content associated with a website run by someone who would reverse my actions against someone who sent me death threats without asking me a single question, and also claim that my actions caused irreparable harm despite them all being reversed within a period of six minutes.
There are buttons to split and merge threads, which can be used to disassociate my threads from other users' posts within them.
I highly encourage anyone who's confused about this to read @Weng's posts in the discussion thread. I do not feel the current administration is acting in good faith.
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RE: Discussion of NodeBB Updates
@Polygeekery I have resigned as administrator because the other administrators of this forum would rather side with someone making death threats towards me than "upset the decorum" or some other nonsense.
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RE: Discussion of NodeBB Updates
@Gąska that's correct
we're a tech forum
we laugh at mistakes people make
we don't call people mistakes
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RE: NodeBB Updates
Because there has been some confusion, I would like to clarify: arguing is not banned. making jokes is not banned. you can absolutely be an asshole without being a bigot.
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RE: Bug Bites
Starting a new chat with anybody in one tab causes all other tabs to blink their page titles with the message "X has sent you a message". Even before a single letter is typed by either person. I believe that's new.
Also you started a completely empty chat with me that was marked as unread somehow.
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RE: Discussion of NodeBB Updates
@Gąska It was a coincidence. The "be a decent person" rule applies to all subforums.
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RE: 📧 The Official Spam Emails Thread™
Dear Team at lubar.me,
Not sure if you knew this but your website lubar.me has some problems that you
might want to consider looking into. I spent 2-3 minutes looking around and
found:- It doesn't work properly on Mobile Phones, at all (which is how people browse
the web these days). - It doesn't adjust properly when you resize the screen (Google recommends
RESPONSIVE Websites rather than ADAPTIVE) - It's hard to read on larger displays
- The design looks really, really dated compared to some of your competitors.
I actually do web design as a living so I figured I'd reach out and let you know
there's serious room for dead easy(and affordable) improvement. If you would
like, I can send you some of my previous work samples.For reference, here's the entirety of lubar.me:
- It doesn't work properly on Mobile Phones, at all (which is how people browse
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RE: Discussion of NodeBB Updates
@PJH said in Discussion of NodeBB Updates:
@Zerosquare said in Discussion of NodeBB Updates:
Is that a bug, or is it something new I'm not aware of?
WOMM...
It's a very appropriate error message for that topic. Are you sure NodeBB isn't becoming sentient?
Edit: anyway I'm going to pull a Jeff Atwood and call it a "temporal bug"
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RE: NodeBB Updates
3-day bans have been issued to several users who ignored repeated warnings that bigotry is not permitted and that the alt-right playbook will not work.
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RE: Discussion of NodeBB Updates
@izzion your argument is "the trans girl we bullied out of the forum is actually the one doing the bullying"?
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RE: Discussion of NodeBB Updates
@Dragoon said in Discussion of NodeBB Updates:
@ben_lubar said in Discussion of NodeBB Updates:
Look, I told all of you that the alt-right playbook wouldn't work here.
Hitler ate sugar.
I literally just told you that wouldn't work.
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RE: Discussion of NodeBB Updates
Look, I told all of you that the alt-right playbook wouldn't work here.
You can stop trying to make it work.
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RE: The Official Funny Stuff Thread™
@hungrier the tautological society? in canada?
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RE: Discussion of NodeBB Updates
@Gąska I don't know if users deleted their own posts (they definitely edited them, as seen upthread), but no content was changed by someone other than the person who originally posted it.
Edit: (it's not tomorrow yet for me. there's not some technicality here. I haven't deleted or edited anyone else's content.)
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RE: Discussion of NodeBB Updates
@Gąska no content was deleted or hidden via any administrative action today
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RE: Discussion of NodeBB Updates
@Gąska said in Discussion of NodeBB Updates:
So this is what happens when you flag admin's post for moderation.
I'm hoping there's far less transphobia, homophobia, and racism from you in the future.
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RE: Discussion of NodeBB Updates
@Tsaukpaetra said in Discussion of NodeBB Updates:
@ben_lubar said in Discussion of NodeBB Updates:
@TwelveBaud said in Discussion of NodeBB Updates:
PSA: The ability to self-service account deletion has been disabled. Deletion requests have to go through the Administration.
that's not a recent change
in fact, I'm not sure if that setting has ever been changed
So @levicki was approved to delete a nice large swath of forum topics and discussion then? Curious.
I was not part of any decision on this matter.
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RE: Discussion of NodeBB Updates
@Benjamin-Hall I already told you those tactics won't work. You can stop using them.
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RE: Discussion of NodeBB Updates
Do you think this is an intended bug or one of those unintended ones?
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RE: Discussion of NodeBB Updates
@TwelveBaud said in Discussion of NodeBB Updates:
PSA: The ability to self-service account deletion has been disabled. Deletion requests have to go through the Administration.
that's not a recent change
in fact, I'm not sure if that setting has ever been changed
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RE: Discussion of NodeBB Updates
@abarker said in Discussion of NodeBB Updates:
@ben_lubar said in Discussion of NodeBB Updates:
@topspin said in Discussion of NodeBB Updates:
@ben_lubar said in Discussion of NodeBB Updates:
@topspin autism is not a disease.
I didn’t say it is. Absolutely far from it. I put it in quotes, because that’s how you explained their view.
I know you’re more logical than to not understand that difference.I'm not accusing you of anything. I'm explaining that Autism Speaks is advocating eugenics.
I can't find anything about them advocating eliminating autism through selective breeding. Do you have a source we can look at?
If they are not trying to eliminate autism by selective breeding, then they are not advocating eugenics. Do you perhaps mean something else?
We must be using different search engines, because apart from Autism Speaks having a four word statement ("we don't support eugenics") on their site, every single result on Google for
autism speaks eugenics
is relevant. -
RE: Discussion of NodeBB Updates
@boomzilla said in Discussion of NodeBB Updates:
@Jaloopa said in Discussion of NodeBB Updates:
@topspin said in Discussion of NodeBB Updates:
@ben_lubar said in Discussion of NodeBB Updates:
@error Autism Speaks treats autism as a disease, and has the intention of "wiping out" autism, which is, by definition, eugenics.
That is not, by definition, eugenics.
I don’t know anything about this organization and I will take your word for it that they’re bad, so this could potentially be what they mean. But wiping out the “disease” isn’t the same as wiping out the people affected by it. It could be meant that way, but it doesn’t need to be. For example, looking for a miracle cure would fall under the same mission statement.Autism, because it's so pervasive in how it affects a person's life, inevitably becomes a large part of an autistic person's identity. Trying to "cure" that would be like trying to "cure" blackness by changing the colour of someone's skin. Just suggesting it is asking for trouble
Is it? What if you could make someone with Down's Syndrome have an adult level intellect? What about bipolar? This seems like huge jump to me, at least when you're talking about people who are severely low functioning.
It seems cruel to not want to help them. I could see refusing treatment if you are high functioning.
Autism Speaks doesn't want to help them. Autism Speaks lobbies against things that will help autistic people. Autism Speaks wants autistic people gone.
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RE: Discussion of NodeBB Updates
@topspin said in Discussion of NodeBB Updates:
@ben_lubar said in Discussion of NodeBB Updates:
@topspin autism is not a disease.
I didn’t say it is. Absolutely far from it. I put it in quotes, because that’s how you explained their view.
I know you’re more logical than to not understand that difference.I'm not accusing you of anything. I'm explaining that Autism Speaks is advocating eugenics.
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RE: Discussion of NodeBB Updates
@error Autism Speaks treats autism as a disease, and has the intention of "wiping out" autism, which is, by definition, eugenics.
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RE: Discussion of NodeBB Updates
@boomzilla said in Discussion of NodeBB Updates:
@error said in Discussion of NodeBB Updates:
@boomzilla said in Discussion of NodeBB Updates:
I went to discuss that on the staff category
I feel like these discussions should be more open (but not fully public). Lounge maybe? _TL4?
Agreed. But someone started calling people neo-nazis very publicly.
I'm not accusing you of anything, but your behavior so far today has matched exactly what my experience of dealing with neo-nazis in the fediverse has taught me to look out for.
I'd encourage people to also read the Wikipedia article on DARVO (don't worry, it's short) for context.
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RE: NodeBB Updates
None of the bans today (with the exception of the spam bot) happened due to a single incident, nor were any of them due solely to things that happened today.
Nobody should feel worried that they'll be banned for saying one wrong thing.
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RE: Discussion of NodeBB Updates
@loopback0 said in Discussion of NodeBB Updates:
@Jaloopa said in Discussion of NodeBB Updates:
@Polygeekery's comment, in the context and knowing that @ben_lubar is autistic, could definitely be seen as more than just an off colour joke.
But it was not a statement that he wanted to commit genocide, which is what he was accused of.
What was it a statement of, then?
What other possible meaning could there be to that series of words in that context?
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RE: Discussion of NodeBB Updates
@boomzilla said in Discussion of NodeBB Updates:
@ben_lubar said in Discussion of NodeBB Updates:
To everyone accusing me of calling people nazi sympathizers:
I never did that.
I posted that using the tactics that neo-nazis (whom I have banned a lot of on the fediverse) try to use to muddy the waters will not work here.
If you're angry that I'm pointing out that tactics you want to use are the same tactics neo-nazis use when they're cornered, that's a sign that you should examine your tactics more closely.
But what tactics? I really don't know. That's a 100 percent serious question. I think I must be less familiar with neo-nazis than you are. Can you see how bringing them into a discussion where they have no place would upset people?
A common tactic they use is trying to establish a definite boundary between acceptable and unacceptable behavior so that they can brush up against the limit and accuse anyone who punishes their repeated bad behavior of overreacting.
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RE: Discussion of NodeBB Updates
To everyone accusing me of calling people nazi sympathizers:
I never did that.
I posted that using the tactics that neo-nazis (whom I have banned a lot of on the fediverse) try to use to muddy the waters will not work here.
If you're angry that I'm pointing out that tactics you want to use are the same tactics neo-nazis use when they're cornered, that's a sign that you should examine your tactics more closely.
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RE: Discussion of NodeBB Updates
@boomzilla said in Discussion of NodeBB Updates:
Ben posted some inappropriate things
If video evidence of police violence is off-topic for a thread about police violence, I'm not sure what kind of discussion forum this is, but it doesn't sound like a good one.
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RE: Discussion of NodeBB Updates
A lot of you are making assumptions about the locality or duration of the problem. Those assumptions are incorrect.
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RE: Discussion of NodeBB Updates
@blek said in Discussion of NodeBB Updates:
@error Vitriolic does describe it, but the vitriol is only coming from one side. Only one side here is banning and removing admin status from people who have been here for years for what seem to be mildly off-color jokes. The other side is just staring in disbelief and complaining. And getting banned.
So your argument is that the bigotry is too polite for anyone to take action against it?
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RE: Discussion of NodeBB Updates
@error there is a "ban reason" field but I'm not sure where it goes other than the audit log
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RE: Discussion of NodeBB Updates
@Tsaukpaetra said in Discussion of NodeBB Updates:
@ben_lubar said in Discussion of NodeBB Updates:
I really need to set up some way to allow non-staff to see ban durations.
@julianlam @barisu why is that even hidden anyways? Sensitive private information of some kind?
Probably even less harmful than knowing the downvoters...
While you're making it visible, also maybe don't show temporary bans in millisecond-precision ISO-8601 form to humans.
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RE: Discussion of NodeBB Updates
@loopback0 said in Discussion of NodeBB Updates:
edit: Another one bites the dust.
I really need to set up some way to allow non-staff to see ban durations. That one's 6 hours.
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RE: Discussion of NodeBB Updates
Since you all seem to be having trouble finding it, here's a link directly to the post: https://what.thedailywtf.com/post/1698393
Edit: of course, you're not actually having trouble finding it. you're just trying to muddy the waters. the exact way I told you wouldn't work.
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RE: Discussion of NodeBB Updates
@SlackerD said in Discussion of NodeBB Updates:
@loopback0 said in Discussion of NodeBB Updates:
WAITAMINUTE....
This is because of the topic in the Salon? Seriously?
And now Ben temp-bans people for asking questions, apparently.
I permanently ban people for saying that they would like to commit genocide.
Bare minimum, really.
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RE: Discussion of NodeBB Updates
@Polygeekery said in Discussion of NodeBB Updates:
@loopback0 said in Discussion of NodeBB Updates:
@ben_lubar said in NodeBB Updates:
Just a quick reminder that bigotry is not tolerated on this site, and using the same tactics that neo-nazis try to use when I say this on other sites will work about as poorly here as it does there.
What fuckery has gone on?
Autism speaks.
I'm not a huge fan of eugenics-based autism charities.
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RE: Discussion of NodeBB Updates
Also, just to be sure it's clear: I'm not using the Jeff Atwood definition of "temporary ban" here. The ban durations (apart from the aforementioned spam bot) are 6 hours, 6 hours, and 7 days.
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RE: Discussion of NodeBB Updates
@Tsaukpaetra said in Discussion of NodeBB Updates:
@ben_lubar said in NodeBB Updates:
banned user so far today
So there will be more bannings, and that's only "until now", indicating intent for more.
I can't make statements about the future. There are no plans to ban users, but who knows when the next spam bot will try to make a post?