I'm leaving and this is why

Hello, fellow posters

For quite some while now, I have been considering to leave this platform, but for some reason, I have never followed through and done so. Until now, that is. This thread is my last good bye and an explanation to why I have decided to leave.

Ever since joining, there have been quite a few things that have bothered me and the most annoying thing of all are the rules and moderator's arbitrary interprations of them. Many times posts that are on topic are being editet and warnings are handed out almost on random. There seems to be no consideration of context an absolute zero sense for sarcasm and irony. If someone reports a post, mods will punish it (or so it seems).

Furthermore, most topics on here are about day-to-day-politics and about party politics. For someone like me, who is more interested in the philosophical, theoretical and metaphysic aspects of politics, it gets boring really fast (which is the main reason I have spent so much time in the music, culture and pet forums lately). Even threads that are not intended to be about party politics, quickly turn into such discussions due to the high density of fanboys/girls on here.

Lastly, most discussions on here are about American events and the number of European users is way to small to have interesting discussions about what is happening on my side of the Atlantic. For someone who does not live in the US, this gets boring very fast.

I have had some good times on here and even many intellectual debates (even with people whom I disagree with). Most posters are great people, however the situation is becoming unbareble and I see no other solution than a "Rixit" - Bye to y'all

Sincererly
Ritter The Flying Cat

 

Best of luck to you and all that...

 

Why do people feel compelled to post that they are no longer going to be following an internet forum? Just curious, as I've quit internet forums, and unless I plan to come back, I don't tell people I've left.

 

Probably wants people to say, don't leave, we love you.

 

Hope you find what you are looking for @Ritter .

 

After many years on a forum, with time spent, an explanation of leaving is appropriate. Ridiculing those who leave, for whatever reason, is not.

Even people with lame jobs get 'goodbye' parties, or some kind of recognition for their contributions. ..but not on forums.. you leave, you are dead to everyone, & your past contributions are forgotten.
c'est la vie... or at least internet forums.

 

I'd say that's pretty close to the mark. Too bad the owner is evidently oblivious to the poisonous effect such staff conduct has on the stated PF mission.

 

Ditto. Ritter is and always has been one of my favourite posters with a really great SOH. All the best from me too, Ritter, if you read this before you go.

 

I've been annoyed about one or two warnings too, but the moderators here are far more lenient and, more importantly impartial (I daresay some of my opinions on a couple of subjects might have aggravated them) have than some others I've encountered on various boards over the years.

 

There's no such thing as a perfect forum.

Stay, Ritter; stay.....

 

'Shane, Shane . . . come back!'

 

It is impossible to remove bias from the moderation staff. And the criticism of context is valid. I know i have boycotted the forum at times, for infractions received for returning insulting fire. It is like a 'personal foul', in sports. The second guy gets caught. But in a forum, it should be easy to see the context, & the provocation for the return insults.

IMO, there are some in the forums who live to provoke & needle.. they seldom, if ever, post anything topical, but follow posters around, demeaning & insulting them, hoping for a response, which they report.

Perhaps i am just getting too old & cranky.. my patience wears thin, more & more, & i find the hecklers & disrupters very tiresome. It is just not worth it, to try to have a reasoned, intelligent debate or discussion, with shrieking poo slingers disrupting things. Life is too short to waste it bickering with irrational fools. Maybe the insulting polemy has appeal to some.. others just like to fight. Some are True Believers in their Cause, & defend it with jihadist zeal. But the ANTIFA-like tactics of shouting down anyone who presents an alternate perspective from the True Believers is impossible to overcome with civility or calm reason. So if the forum encourages this kind of tactic, it will degenerate into an echo chamber.. with only the preferred views of the hecklers given air time.. the rest being shouted down by the Enforcers of the Faith.

I have always enjoyed a spirited debate.. with different views & perspectives. Open Inquiry & critical thinking are the historical hallmarks of a classically educated person. But the New! Improved! system of education seems to be cranking out activists, not thinkers. They can parrot their indoctrination, but they cannot reason or defend their positions with logic. It is maddening to point out fallacies, all the time, only to be dismissed, & the fallacies repeated with more intense dogmatism, as if that takes the place of sound reason.

Anyway, i suppose i will be joining Ritter, in the archives of Lost Posters. I just don't have the energy or desire to bicker with hostile ideologues, whose only 'arguments' are insults & fallacies. And, after several years of posting, it is kind of sad to see people leave, especially if it is mostly because of intimidation from hostile 'debating' opponents. But the old saw, 'if you can't take the heat, stay out of the kitchen', seems appropriate. I know i get tired of the 'heat', so the only option is to leave the kitchen. The crap being cooked doesn't look or smell that good, anyway..

 

This site has the least amount of Russian trolls that ive seen.

 

Not ridicule, just curiousity.

 

Oi, don't forget me and Jeannette?

 

You need to get out more. This place has more than its fair share and some of them are very active. I've definitely seen better. What I haven't seen is the persistent and seemingly unchallenged (by officialdom) anti-semitism. Not just one or two nutters, but a whole bag of them....and persistent too.

 

Anyone who has the temerity to criticise 'America, right or wrong' automatically becomes a Russian troll!

 

Whenever a prominent member decided to leave an internet forum it is helpful to staff to understand why. The reasons listed in this case are generally not controllable by staff and more a result of demographics and membership. Ritter will be missed and his contributions are appreciated, likely he posted his "Goodbye" out of an honest desire to address friends found here.
We should all spend a moment to think on our own contributions and appreciate what we have here as he departs.

 

It's been a very long time since I've been active here but I do recall being in disagreement with you on what I consider the most important issues. But I am in complete agreement with you on this subject. You put it right .... "Many times posts that are on topic are being edited and warnings are handed out almost on random." It seems to me that this forum has entered the realm of "cult" that so many special-interest forums have degraded themselves into. 'HE KNOWS' You know nothing.

 

Although my warnings have been for retaliating against insult from others, I've always assumed that they got warnings as well, seeing as they initiated it.

 

You clean missed the point.

That's the problem. They're every bit as zealous in protecting the sensibilities of idiots as they are in protecting the sensibilities of the rest of us, who not only don't need any such protection, but are hampered by it just as gun restrictions hamper the ability of responsible people to defend themselves. Thus, they create a safe space for idiots, with whom it's impossible to have respectful debates.

I can't imagine why.

 

IMO it is not the mods, but a small segment of posters that like to rile others and then report them instead of accepting the reactions they provoked themselves. --as someone above also pointed out.

IMO the mods do not usually have the time to go back through an entire thread seeking instances of initial provocations, so it is up to the rest of us to report anyone that appears to be engaging in this pattern of behavior. If enough of us do that, the mods will be able to recognize them as trolls and mete out appropriate consequences.

I have been on other websites where rabid feminists and gays practiced this aggressively obnoxious behavior to provoke responses that they could then use to get posters that did not agree with their agendas to get banned. I imagine some members of other belief groups probably do it as well. IMO it is being done quite consciously and politically, not innocently, and the mods need to be helped to see this. They put in a lot of time here, and could use immediate feedback about these jerks. So--report them. I have begun to do this after providing a warning or two.

 

Well I don't see anyone posting about much of anythign else. I post in the pet, garden forums and it is like a ghost forum down there.
So that is everyones fault I guess.

 

I left for about a year, does the body good. Also, I can only take political forums in small doses. I never run into the extremist on the streets, at work or play as I do here. Heck, just a day on a political forum one expects to walk out the front door in the morning and see millions of casualties littering the streets and triage taking place.

Also with the Mods in mind who really cares at the end of the day? Some good, some petty and some who wear their ideology on the sleeve.....no different than the people you interact with each day.

I do find that on gun forums, prepper forums and garden forums I get a much better return and experience with people from all walks and ideology.

Op, I enjoyed your comments. Take a break, have a beer, starts some rumors and find stupid.....comeback refreshed with a new saddle and 6 shooter.