Journal of Other Forum Analysis (Volume II, Issue 2)

[simiansmarts]

https://www.polygon.com/street-fighter-6-chun-li-costume-outfit-swimsuit-4-august-update-fan/
Street Fighter 6 nearly doubles active players after adding 'gooner' Chun-Li costume
BY PATRICIA HERNANDEZ

Street Fighter started its year 3 content this past week with the release of Sagat, discounts during the EVO tournament and the costumes. To attribute this all to costumes is really dumb but polygon is a clickbait site after all. The game regularly goes through spikes in active player count whenever a new character is released, it’ll happen again with C Viper in the fall.

[Eric Cartman]

Uh, I think the former EIC of Kotaku knows a little bit more about gooner-bait than you

[Ethan]

Buttigieg is an excellent of example of the type of democrat that needs to be run out of the party immediately in order to reform it into something actually good and also electable. He's just pure stands-for-nothing trash.

Or, you know, you could simply start another party and stop imposing your view on everyone.
Let's see how it polls.

[Snoopy]

I'm not one to give Trump any credit but these idiots think his plan to go after the cartels is just something he's come up with as an Epstein distraction.

https://www.resetera.com/threads/trump-directs-military-to-target-foreign-drug-cartels.1265634/

I remember him talking about this years ago. It was one of the few things he's said which sounded pretty good.

[Boredfrom]

point is, you're allowed to read something like that and say "this seems to move in the right direction," and more to my point it likely will induce minor panic in a subset of people whose personalities hinge on full opposition to everything originating from trump

People are also allowed to tell you that you are wrong and overly optimistic in something just because you want to see ERA squirm.

your retort was "this is trump, bro. TRUMP!!!"

trump is not part of the equation, I don't care who would've introduced this for any reason

like I said, if the EO doesn't do what it says it do, that is due to the way it was written or how it conflicts with other laws, built into my assessment of this is the possibility that it accomplishes nothing

however, just it existing is better than it not existing, because it shows how prominent the issue has grown in everyone's eyes, gets more heads turned toward the problem

even if it doesn't do anything, it's a step toward alleviating the issue

But Trump is totally part of the equation, my dude…

[Eric Cartman]

Buttigieg is an excellent of example of the type of democrat that needs to be run out of the party immediately in order to reform it into something actually good and also electable. He's just pure stands-for-nothing trash.

Or, you know, you could simply start another party and stop imposing your view on everyone.
Let's see how it polls.

they don't want to do the stuff that actually takes work in building up a viable political party, they want someone else to do all that work, and then hand over the keys to the extremist fringe idiots that nobody in their right mind would ever let near any kind of actual power.

[Eric Cartman]

https://www.resetera.com/threads/mobile-suit-gundam-overtakes-dragon-ball-and-one-piece-in-ip-sales.1264080/#post-143602518

A Certain Someones Bluesky eBegging pays off!

[Eric Cartman]

At that point you sue the organizations and take it to the courts, yes?

You kind of need the government to pass laws protecting you from discrimination before you can succeed in the courts on matters like this.

no... you don't? thats literally why supreme court rulings matter

[Ethan]

Oh and trust me, I am in no way saying we should trust the NCAA of all things (god no, jesus...). I do feel like a lot of the panic surrounding this is almost designed to keep trans athletes from having their Jackie Robinson moment, where that one unignorable figure takes the stage and changes everything. Even Lea Thomas' moment will be more about the legal battles and the decisions made by governing bodies than her actual achievements, almost design.

Trust me you don't want that. Although highly unlikely now outside of disc golf or, I don't know, hot dog eating, the day a trans woman wins a major sporting event or beat a long-standing record is the day you can finally stick a knife for good in the whole idea of MTF taking part in women's sports.

[Eric Cartman]

Honestly, I think we need a dark horse candidate at this point. The Democratic party has spent too long training themselves to be ineffective and civility politics minded for anyone prominent in the party to be able to do what needs to be done to shut down our slip further into fascism. I think bare minimum the Republican party needs to be outlawed and I can't see any mainstream Dems being willing to do that

yeah, NO FUCKING SHIT anyone who wants to win an election isn't going to put "make my political opposition illegal" on their manifesto

[HaughtyFrank]

Honestly, I think we need a dark horse candidate at this point. The Democratic party has spent too long training themselves to be ineffective and civility politics minded for anyone prominent in the party to be able to do what needs to be done to shut down our slip further into fascism. I think bare minimum the Republican party needs to be outlawed and I can't see any mainstream Dems being willing to do that

yeah, NO FUCKING SHIT anyone who wants to win an election isn't going to put "make my political opposition illegal" on their manifesto

Trust me, brothers, to prevent slipping into fascism we need to outlaw the opposition

[Steven Snell]

None of the Resetera trans people are into sports anyways.

[HardcoreRetro]

Some of em might be into watersports.

[Besticus Maximus]

I was a quidditch champion, you've got no idea what I've sacrificed just so I could finally be me 

[HaughtyFrank]

Oh and trust me, I am in no way saying we should trust the NCAA of all things (god no, jesus...). I do feel like a lot of the panic surrounding this is almost designed to keep trans athletes from having their Jackie Robinson moment, where that one unignorable figure takes the stage and changes everything. Even Lea Thomas' moment will be more about the legal battles and the decisions made by governing bodies than her actual achievements, almost design.

Trust me you don't want that. Although highly unlikely now outside of disc golf or, I don't know, hot dog eating, the day a trans woman wins a major sporting event or beat a long-standing record is the day you can finally stick a knife for good in the whole idea of MTF taking part in women's sports.

They still don't seem to understand the problem people have with trans athletes. A trans woman getting absolutely crushed by cis-women would actually do more for their reputation.

[Jansen]

https://www.resetera.com/threads/does-the-original-robocop-fail-in-both-its-message-and-satire-due-to-being-copaganda.1265526/#post-143661042

I kind of agree, although there is nuance to it on top of being very obvious with some of it's themes. 

I always liked this analysis, for example.



I don't think that Verhoeven literally intended RoboCop as a trans icon, but I do think some of the aspects of how gender roles, perception of masculinity, and nature of platonic and romantic relationships as depicted in the movie stand up to this kind of analysis, and are intentionally subversive.

Likewise, I think having RoboCop as a cop that is literally programmed to do things by the book, and is unwilling and unable to compromise, does work as a contrast to actual police officers who in reality will bend the rules even to the point of outright corruption at times. 

It doesn't entirely fit into the notion of Copaganda for me because part of it's thesis is that human law enforcement fails in part because it's corrupted by capitalism, but also in part because it is operated by flawed humans.

That it managed to invite these discussions whilst also being an entertaining action movie and an engaging character study is really a testament to how good a movie it
 is.

Jesus fucking wept

[BIONIC]

B-Cunts has spoken:

It would be nice if the Policy update thread would ever get updated.

In the last discussion thread, I asked for the updated rules around the C word to be added to that thread, it was said it was going to happen and then never did? And something like the speculating on mental decline and 51st state jokes would be good to have there as a reminder.

Otherwise sometimes some rules feel like a gotcha and a "Well if you read literally every thread you'd know" moment

This has pretty much cemented for me that I'm much better off putting my time and energy elsewhere other than here. If you can be banned for mentioning topics that aren't outlined officially anywhere and the justification is that you just "should have known", we've slipped into a power dynamic that just closely mimics the exact failings we have with modern democracy, in that the moderation team operate as they see fit and we're given avenues to voice our concerns only for those concerns to not matter at all because what the mods say goes and there is zero room for dialogue or rocking the boat.

I do not make that comparison to modern politics lightly either, especially with the slow march towards autocratic control we're seeing across much of the West. It's why this recent debacle has sickened me enough to actively post in this thread for the first time, despite the fact that a lot of these feelings have been creeping up on me for a year or so already. It sometimes feels here like you're posting with a corrupt cop peering over your shoulder just waiting for the first opportunity to nab you. I've joked before that you need legal rep to post here sometimes because you don't know if using a word or talking about a topic will get you banned for reasons you literally would never have conceived of, and the fact that the rules aren't clearly outlined is very convenient for shaping discussions in ways you do or don't want them to go.

There is no reason the letter of the law should not be posted clearly and concisely for everyone to see. It's a god damned web forum. We aren't dealing with state secrets and infohazards.

And for anyone who reads this and feels like I'm over-politicising things here, yeah I'm full aware of that. Frankly it's quite hard not to.

I feel awkward saying this considering you’re complaining about rules not being available and transparent but comparing mods to cops will get you banned.

Thanks for the warning and it is genuinely appreciated.

Ironically it isn't like that didn't cross my mind also. At this point to me it would feel like a reinforcement of what I'm talking about. That criticising the opaqueness and the unpredictability of the forum's moderation, even just through an analogy that I think is fairly warranted and is not imo logically fallacious, would not be tolerated. That itself is a very large part of the wider general problem I feel is worth raising.

I would however think that this thread would be the safe place to say this, though, especially when the intent isn't to be inflammatory but to highlight that I think a lot of work needs to be done to a place I enjoy coming to but increasingly feel uncomfortable taking part in.

Moderation has always been a moving target, at no point was there an exhaustive list of all the things that could get you into trouble. It has also always greatly depended on context. It is entirely unreasonable to expect us to write all this down in a neat jurisprudence way.

There's basically two guidelines, where if you follow them you will never get banned:

1. Don't be a jackass
   
2. Don't be a bigot
   

Those basically sum up the expected behavior in the FAQ in broad strokes and most of what we do falls under one of those two categories. Most users easily follow these guidelines and have never received so much as a warning, let alone a ban. Heck, most of the people that post the most have never even been reported, let alone actioned. One of the major problems is that a lot of people feel like, so long as they are on what they view as the correct side of an issue, regardless of how inconsequential that issue is, that it gives them the right to break one or both of these rules. We might give a little bit of leeway when it comes to calling out bigots, but a lot of people take it way too far and as a result we wind up having to step in.

As for why we aren't actioning the suicide posts, it's because those are just examples of black humor and not making light of suicide. Most of the posts being talked about are a Spider-Man reference or a Simpsons reference or a reference from The Office. Trump wasn't on that roof because he was having a mental health emergency, he was up there because he was mapping out locations for that stupid ballroom he wants to build. As such, the posts weren't making light of suicide, but joking about how the scene closely mirrored scenes from popular media and how much people hate him because of all the horrible things he does on a daily basis.

If anyone does actually make light of a mental health emergency, that would obviously be actionable because it falls under the "don't be a jackass" category of moderation, but that isn't what was going on there.

[Boredfrom]

There's basically two guidelines, where if you follow them you will never get banned:
Don't be a jackass
Don't be a bigot

Asshole, you know this is not true.

[Boredfrom]

As for why we aren't actioning the suicide posts, it's because those are just examples of black humor and not making light of suicide.

 

Hypocritical cunt.

[Venice]

Embiid knows it's only a matter of time before his perma ban:

https://www.resetera.com/threads/james-cameron-%E2%80%98i%E2%80%99ve-justified%E2%80%99-only-making-%E2%80%98avatar%E2%80%99-movies-for-the-last-20-years-on-the-basis-they-%E2%80%98can-do-some-good-%E2%80%99-not-just-make-money.1265238/#post-143645844

🤣🤣 my man I just got effectively called racist for praising avatar that made a zillion dollars, "enjoy your racist movies"… nigga I'm gonna be real, I don't got much time left here. This last one was a month, I'm cooked

This whole slapfight got funnier and funnier   Gonna screencap it.

The tl;dr is super, mega, ultra director James Cameron, who has made 3 of 4 highest-grossing films of all time, says 'My Avatar films have done some good in the world'

This is enough to drive 'Segata Sanshiro' abso-fucking-loutely crazy. He screeches again and again that both James Cameron and his blue alien movie are racists, racist, racists (in bold below for easier reading)

https://www.resetera.com/threads/james-cameron-%E2%80%98i%E2%80%99ve-justified%E2%80%99-only-making-%E2%80%98avatar%E2%80%99-movies-for-the-last-20-years-on-the-basis-they-%E2%80%98can-do-some-good-%E2%80%99-not-just-make-money.1265238/#post-143644299

Unreal.


Not much else to say. This man gives zero fucks about the concerns of native people. He not only doesn't see the problem, he thinks he's doing good? Fuck this racist asshole and his racist-ass movies.

Embiid comes to the defence of the Na'vi:

I love how it's always so cool to hate on shit that's popular. Avatar is pure escapism. Everyone that enjoys these films (in the theater) makes that point, that it feels like it takes you out of the stress of the real world and transports you into some insanely gorgeous 3D alien fantasy world for 3 hours. So yeah, he's done some good imo.

This is enough to make Segata Sanshiro mad 

All at the expense of native people, but fuck us I guess. Keep enjoying your racist movies, glad they give you a break from the real world that they make just that little bit harder for us.

Embiid sees the writing on the Na'vi's asshole for his Era future:

🤣🤣 my man I just got effectively called racist for praising avatar that made a zillion dollars, "enjoy your racist movies"… nigga I'm gonna be real, I don't got much time left here. This last one was a month, I'm cooked

Segata Sanshiro is still so, so mad  

Oh sorry, I forgot natives are just supposed to shut up and let the Avatar fans enjoy their movie. Sorry sir!

You're definitely a gonner, now that Nepenthe has entered the thread, Embiid.

You basically called me a racist for praising Avatar, and it went unchecked. Yeah I'm 100% cooked 🍲

Segata Sanshiro, you didn't directly call him a racist. You're just beginning a dogpile, so Mod's can ban him:

I didn't call you racist. I said the movies are racist, and they are. And frankly I get tired of seeing criticisms of them being such get handwaved away by fans as "haters gonna hate" or shit like that. You wanna enjoy them? By all means, enjoy. But being flippant about their problems and those who bring them up is not very cool.


I doubt you're cooked, either. I hope you're not.

Embiid sees through his shit:

Bro you used this line: "enjoy your racist movies" not "those are racist movies". There's an obvious implication there and if you can't see it you're being mad disingenuous. Folks gotta walk on eggshells to say what they wanna say here, which is actually good to a certain extent as it keeps out the riff raff, but it doesn't take a genius to see between the lines when you drop something like "enjoy your racist movies". Come on man

But Segata Sanshiro is... sooooo tired...

Buddy, I'm just tired. And you were pretty much mocking the criticism of these movies, so yes I was a little pissed off. None of the Avatar fans around here ever seem to want to acknowledge any of this shit, and when they do they usually do it the way you did there. Making it seem like it's some kind of fanboy war shit, laughing it off. It's not funny, man. No one ever fucking listens to natives, and it's to a point where I generally stopped saying anything because it just wasn't worth it.


And here we are now, where I am thinking yet again it wasn't worth it. I genuinely don't want you catching a ban for this, I'd just like to see people stop ignoring or clowning on this. I'm not going to press any further on this with you because again, it is not my wish to see you get in shit over it. That's where I am at.

Veteran cunt El Bombastico knows what's going on, gets a kick in and throws in more bait to try and enrage Embiid:

And fuck the people that continue to excuse and defend this trash.

But Embiid wisely bows out at this point. Screenies:





























Embiid about to be banned in a couple of days time, when the thread is on Page 5 and nobody's looking. Inevitably for 'dismissing concerns of racism'.

The worst thing about the Avatar movies (even worse than the alleged racism) is that they're 3 hours long and the Na'vi are ugly as fuck!

These people are just utterly insane.

[Potato]

1754616548[/url]']

1754344019[/url]']
https://www.resetera.com/threads/street-fighter-6-costume-4-trailer.1261239/page-4#post-143509980

this is about swimsuit costumes in street fighter btw

Yeah, I was fucking flabbergasted when I read this.

Deranged piece of shit literally tried arguing "if we have too much exposure of Chun-Li's thick round booty, girls will start crying to their daddies that they're not good enough to live, and then incel population will murder them"

1754345119[/url]']
Aren't male suicides higher? Not that it matters much, what an insane argument.

Also there have been studies showing that videogame characters don't affect a woman's self image, because guess what? They can tell that they're FICTIONAL. https://www.psypost.org/playing-as-a-sexualized-video-game-character-does-not-increase-womens-body-dissatisfaction/

If you want to talk about distorted self image then look at tiktok, Instagram and popidols

Yup. Exactly why these pieces of shit are completely disingenuous on all fronts. He takes an extreme moral high horse stance (i.e, "if you like sexy bikini costumes, then you are complicit in teenage girls feeling suicidal and incels murdering women") but isn't "moral" enough that he'd talk outside of the cult's acceptable targets. He'll take the ultimate browbeating stance, but is too much of a pussy to confront the actual conversation. Because his ideological brainrot won't allow him to criticize real women, which would be the only logical contender possible, so all this insane moral posturing is just fake bullshit.

A girl crying into her pillow and tearfully bemoaning if she's ugly would be due to bad real world interactions, like other girls bullying her for her looks, not a fucking random video game swimsuit costume. Dumbass even brings up porn actresses, and porn actresses are always said to embody an "unrealistic beauty standard".

There is an actual discussion to be had about how social media distorts the body image across genders but you’ll never find that on RE because that’d be considered misogynistic. It’s such a strange dichotomy, these people looooove sex work so much because it’s a empowered woman getting paid for it at the end of the day but absolutely despise the male consumer base of it all.
 
The main reason as to why RE types hate fictionalized material like Street Fighter costumes is because it cuts out the real woman entirely in their mind which makes it the ultimate evil that must be extinguished. That’s why that user fearmongers about pornography of fictionalized characters while strategically ignoring the real-world equivalent.

The reason they have this distorted view is because THEY are the customer base for all this sex work and pornography and they despise THEMSELVES. 

I've never seen a bigger bunch of self-loathing people in my life. They hate themselves so much they change their gender to try to escape. 

Whenever I see some cam whore talking about making $100k a month, I really wonder who they fuck is spending that money to watch mid bitches online. It's Resetera and the Bluesky trans gooner parade.

[Hap Shaughnessy]

https://www.resetera.com/threads/pete-buttigieg-doubles-down-on-transphobic-comments-regarding-trans-women-in-sports.1265247/page-2#post-143657841

I do not see why it matters if trans women can compete better at stuff than cis women, like every sport is dominated by people genetically good at the those sports by being tall, short, left handed, having big lungs etc. Like are we gonna ban everyone in basketball over 7 feet because they have an unfair advantage lol

[davepoobond]

https://www.resetera.com/threads/pete-buttigieg-doubles-down-on-transphobic-comments-regarding-trans-women-in-sports.1265247/page-2#post-143657841

I do not see why it matters if trans women can compete better at stuff than cis women, like every sport is dominated by people genetically good at the those sports by being tall, short, left handed, having big lungs etc. Like are we gonna ban everyone in basketball over 7 feet because they have an unfair advantage lol

Women without a Y chromosome in women’s sports have the inherent advantage of not being criticized for being in women’s sports

[Hap Shaughnessy]

https://www.resetera.com/threads/switzerland-presents-special-toilet-for-cows-to-cut-emissions.1265925/

But how would a cow poop in a toilet you ask?

Sadly, the cow toilet does not look like an actual toilet and instead is just a contraption.

[Potato]

https://www.resetera.com/threads/pete-buttigieg-doubles-down-on-transphobic-comments-regarding-trans-women-in-sports.1265247/page-2#post-143657841

I do not see why it matters if trans women can compete better at stuff than cis women, like every sport is dominated by people genetically good at the those sports by being tall, short, left handed, having big lungs etc. Like are we gonna ban everyone in basketball over 7 feet because they have an unfair advantage lol

Women without a Y chromosome in women’s sports have the inherent advantage of not being criticized for being in women’s sports

Take away the women's category in all sports and this is what these morons are arguing:

I do not see why it matters if trans women can compete better at stuff than cis women, like every sport is dominated by people genetically good at the those sports by being born male, tall, short, left handed, having big lungs etc. Like are we gonna ban everyone in basketball over 7 feet because they have an unfair advantage lol

[Boredfrom]

I do think the people being lampooned are generally doing a good job of mitigating the damage, unfortunately. They know not to give South Park air and when you take it in stride it is generally beneficial to the person getting roasted.

[Besticus Maximus]

There are only two rules to follow if you don't want to get banned, it's super fucking simple.

1. 
2. 

[Shecky Fragbaum]

https://www.resetera.com/threads/james-cameron-%E2%80%98i%E2%80%99ve-justified%E2%80%99-only-making-%E2%80%98avatar%E2%80%99-movies-for-the-last-20-years-on-the-basis-they-%E2%80%98can-do-some-good-%E2%80%99-not-just-make-money.1265238/

Unreal.

Not much else to say. This man gives zero fucks about the concerns of native people. He not only doesn't see the problem, he thinks he's doing good? Fuck this racist asshole and his racist-ass movies.

I believe Cameron is white enough, and rich enough, to truly believe that.

how white of him to share that with us

If he was sincere about his desire to do good he would actually listen to native people about the issues with Avatar. But he doesn't, because he thinks he's always the most correct person in the room. A white savior, if you will.

I love how it's always so cool to hate on shit that's popular. Avatar is pure escapism. Everyone that enjoys these films (in the theater) makes that point, that it feels like it takes you out of the stress of the real world and transports you into some insanely gorgeous 3D alien fantasy world for 3 hours. So yeah, he's done some good imo.

All at the expense of native people, but fuck us I guess. Keep enjoying your racist movies, glad they give you a break from the real world that they make just that little bit harder for us.

I guess to elaborate a little more - this is part of what is so frustrating with Avatar. If Cameron would just actually listen and respond appropriately, there could be a lot of good in these films. But it's all thoroughly tainted by his pigheadedness. I know the town he comes from, the native population is big there. I know he knows what's wrong with these movies. I know he knows what he should be doing here. What I don't know is why he doesn't - he can still have his vision and it would be better for it. We would be able to appreciate those good aspects without the baggage.

Sounds about white.

I enjoy the movies from a technical standpoint, but the movies are pretty much just another variation of the white savior trope. Black, brown, and native people can't solve big problems without a white savior in some capacity. The movies do not inspire me at all on a deep level. In fact the only way I can enjoy the movie is by not thinking too hard and just keeping things very surface level like watching a movie from the 1940s.

🤣🤣 my man I just got effectively called racist for praising avatar that made a zillion dollars, "enjoy your racist movies"… nigga I'm gonna be real, I don't got much time left here. This last one was a month, I'm cooked

Oh sorry, I forgot natives are just supposed to shut up and let the Avatar fans enjoy their movie. Sorry sir!

Related threads:
https://www.resetera.com/threads/it-appears-that-ghosts-of-hiroshima-will-indeed-be-james-cameron%E2%80%99s-next-film-cameron-describes-his-approach-as-%E2%80%98unsparing%E2%80%99-and-may-shoot-it-in-3d.1263135/#post-143565258

I'm sure he'll give just as much care and consideration as he did towards indigenous cultures with the Avatar movies

Cameron is the type of juvenile edgelord to walk away from Oppenheimer, a movie better than anything he's been able to put out since the George H.W. Bush administration, thinking "man I'd really love to SHOW how horrific those bombs were…in 3D. I've spent a lot of time in Japan, I could really do it justice!"

I'm sure the mind behind Avatar will do a great job not appropriating culture

I don't know. I feel like it might be better for him to take a producer role in this project and find a Japanese filmmaker to direct it instead.

This was my exact takeaway. Maybe this isn't a story you need to adapt, my dude.

And considering how he's handled problematic topics in the past, I'd actually rather him not make the movie at all.

Ah, yes, especially considering how culturally and socially aware he's been with Avatar and telling Patty Jenkins how she should have done Wonder Woman properly to empower women.

Go get em, Jim.

All of this is completely offensive, referring to cultural appropriation as a "concept".

https://www.resetera.com/threads/james-cameron-says-he-doesnt-want-to-deal-with-all-the-sociopolitical-aspects-of-the-bomb-in-his-hiroshima-movie.1265271/#post-143646669

Jesus Christ. Shut the fuck up and stay in your lane, Jim!

Nothing like some apolitical war crime survival drama.

I'm sure he will consult heavily with Japanese experts and storytellers on this matter and not just take a book written by an American to tackle this very sensitive matter.

Right?

Also don't post the Terminator 2 nuke gif please:

I would also like to get away from the Terminator 2 gifs when this is about actual fucking people getting burned up. That gif is not entertaining in this context.

Respect Indigenous. Also, speaking as someone with, allegedly, 1/32thvBlackfoot heritage, it's heartening to see the horrors visited upon my people brought to the forefront of social discourse for completely  organic and altruistic reasons every time James "MOTHERFUCKING MONEY" Cameron opens his fucking mouth, I
 am compelled to share. Especially by displaced Marvel stans in a time of "Marvel might not be shit anymore breh" reckoning. 

But never anytime esle? Just wondering aloud really

[Boredfrom]

https://www.resetera.com/threads/if-you-are-black-you-should-get-a-priority-pass-to-play-as-blade-in-marvel-rivals.1265922/

Shout out to some of the replies taking this shit post seriously

"oh so you want us to upload our pictures for verification?"

Motherfucker, you guys have said stupid shit like this before with a straight face.

[Tucker's Law]

B-Cunts has spoken:

It would be nice if the Policy update thread would ever get updated.

In the last discussion thread, I asked for the updated rules around the C word to be added to that thread, it was said it was going to happen and then never did? And something like the speculating on mental decline and 51st state jokes would be good to have there as a reminder.

Otherwise sometimes some rules feel like a gotcha and a "Well if you read literally every thread you'd know" moment

This has pretty much cemented for me that I'm much better off putting my time and energy elsewhere other than here. If you can be banned for mentioning topics that aren't outlined officially anywhere and the justification is that you just "should have known", we've slipped into a power dynamic that just closely mimics the exact failings we have with modern democracy, in that the moderation team operate as they see fit and we're given avenues to voice our concerns only for those concerns to not matter at all because what the mods say goes and there is zero room for dialogue or rocking the boat.

I do not make that comparison to modern politics lightly either, especially with the slow march towards autocratic control we're seeing across much of the West. It's why this recent debacle has sickened me enough to actively post in this thread for the first time, despite the fact that a lot of these feelings have been creeping up on me for a year or so already. It sometimes feels here like you're posting with a corrupt cop peering over your shoulder just waiting for the first opportunity to nab you. I've joked before that you need legal rep to post here sometimes because you don't know if using a word or talking about a topic will get you banned for reasons you literally would never have conceived of, and the fact that the rules aren't clearly outlined is very convenient for shaping discussions in ways you do or don't want them to go.

There is no reason the letter of the law should not be posted clearly and concisely for everyone to see. It's a god damned web forum. We aren't dealing with state secrets and infohazards.

And for anyone who reads this and feels like I'm over-politicising things here, yeah I'm full aware of that. Frankly it's quite hard not to.

I feel awkward saying this considering you’re complaining about rules not being available and transparent but comparing mods to cops will get you banned.

Thanks for the warning and it is genuinely appreciated.

Ironically it isn't like that didn't cross my mind also. At this point to me it would feel like a reinforcement of what I'm talking about. That criticising the opaqueness and the unpredictability of the forum's moderation, even just through an analogy that I think is fairly warranted and is not imo logically fallacious, would not be tolerated. That itself is a very large part of the wider general problem I feel is worth raising.

I would however think that this thread would be the safe place to say this, though, especially when the intent isn't to be inflammatory but to highlight that I think a lot of work needs to be done to a place I enjoy coming to but increasingly feel uncomfortable taking part in.

Moderation has always been a moving target, at no point was there an exhaustive list of all the things that could get you into trouble. It has also always greatly depended on context. It is entirely unreasonable to expect us to write all this down in a neat jurisprudence way.

There's basically two guidelines, where if you follow them you will never get banned:

1. Don't be a jackass
   
2. Don't be a bigot
   

Those basically sum up the expected behavior in the FAQ in broad strokes and most of what we do falls under one of those two categories. Most users easily follow these guidelines and have never received so much as a warning, let alone a ban. Heck, most of the people that post the most have never even been reported, let alone actioned. One of the major problems is that a lot of people feel like, so long as they are on what they view as the correct side of an issue, regardless of how inconsequential that issue is, that it gives them the right to break one or both of these rules. We might give a little bit of leeway when it comes to calling out bigots, but a lot of people take it way too far and as a result we wind up having to step in.

As for why we aren't actioning the suicide posts, it's because those are just examples of black humor and not making light of suicide. Most of the posts being talked about are a Spider-Man reference or a Simpsons reference or a reference from The Office. Trump wasn't on that roof because he was having a mental health emergency, he was up there because he was mapping out locations for that stupid ballroom he wants to build. As such, the posts weren't making light of suicide, but joking about how the scene closely mirrored scenes from popular media and how much people hate him because of all the horrible things he does on a daily basis.

If anyone does actually make light of a mental health emergency, that would obviously be actionable because it falls under the "don't be a jackass" category of moderation, but that isn't what was going on there.

Vex is deader than Serpico, nobody questions the Thin Purple Line without being served with some Consequence Culture™.
EDIT: My mind is blown, Frank Serpico is still alive! Maybe there's hope yet for Vexii!