Journal of Other Forum Analysis

[Hap Shaughnessy]

What actually happened with AsianERA?

They were white adjacent, so they were never given minority status, similar to Jews now. Unlike most of the other groups that left in droves, a lot of Asian era actually left.

[Besticus Maximus]

https://www.resetera.com/threads/israel-begins-bombing-of-southern-gaza-following-collapse-of-ceasefire-see-staff-posts-for-posting-guidelines.772478/page-304?post=121806918#post-121806918

only lurk the thread so first post. totally with you always, and you'll be missed

theres things that i can say but hope losing such a valuable member of the community can at least cause some introspection of how this topic is moderated. the rush to ban was nothing short of embarrassing. do better

lol search "AsianERA"

What actually happened with AsianERA?

They were out power-posted by the other minorities in morality thunderdome

[Venice]

And again, B-Dumbs prove how grossly incompetent he is at the very simple job of being a moderator.

A "job" he spends 60+ hours a week on, for the annual salary of $0 

[Uncle]

they actually had an "asian era summit" thread where asians got to talk about how they were feeling marginalized and dismissed and I think it was spearheaded by the black culture community thread, who are the most oppressed and get to be dismissive toward asian concerns

[books]

Richter wrote a fucking essay lol

[Hap Shaughnessy]

Reply instead of edit.

[Uncle]

asianera summit thread

b-dubs, july 24, 2020:

Hello everyone, and welcome. The purpose of the meeting today is for ResetEra staff and Asian members to meet and discuss concerns and issues that the Asian community has, so that staff can work to create a more welcoming and safe environment for all Asian members on the forum.

Guidelines and info:

First of all, we'd like to let everyone attending know that this meeting, while invite only, is viewable by all members who are logged in. This means that posts here will not be private. If you have a sensitive concern, you can PM a staff member about it directly. There is also the option to use the HIDE tags, like below:

Code:
Hidden content
You need to reply to this thread in order to see this content.
We must clarify though that this will still be viewable to anyone who posts in this thread. While we have done our best to make sure that only active members of the community take part in this meeting, it is still not entirely private.

Secondly, we ask that no one uses this meeting to single out specific members. The purpose of this meeting is to discuss specific concerns related to the Asian community, and come up with solutions with you all to address them. It's more than fine to bring up examples of the kind of posts you'd like to see moderated more harshly or that you see as a problem that isn't currently addressed, but we'd kindly ask that you do not attach names to these posts. More specific concerns about users can be brought directly to staff, or reported. This also has the benefit of not bringing unwanted off-site attention to said users, as well as yourselves.

Thirdly, we ask that no one bring up generic staff actions or policies they disagree with if they have nothing to do with the issue of handling Asian-specific issues (i.e. don't try to re-litigate unrelated bans). The scope of this meeting will be large enough as is, and the purpose is to address as many issues affecting the Asian community as possible.

Lastly, we'd like to request some patience in regards to staff responding to posts. The thread will stay open until all concerns are addressed, for as many days as it takes. But due to the number of people attending versus the staff on hand, sometimes replies may take a little while.

With that said, we're here to listen and have a constructive dialogue, and we're hopeful that this meeting will lead to positive change. Thank you to everyone attending today.

first reply, septimus prime, verified EA developer:

I'll be frank. Your moderation process is broken.

You're doing all these segregated community discussions, but the root of the problem is you. I'm not saying this to be confrontational, so please don't take this the wrong way.

I believe the cause is your way of moderating by committee. I get it; you want to make sure you're doing things right. But this approach fails because it's slow, and it makes your mods unaccountable. Decisions come way too late, and there's no transparency on how they were made. Yeah, there are ban messages, but what we've seen is that they can be as descriptive as the mod wants, and usually they are just blanket messages that reveal nothing.

There is no way for us to hold mods accountable for their actions because most of the time we don't even know which mod acted, and often this leads to frustration and people imagining the worst. It doubly doesn't help that when people think they've figured out which mod acted and then try to call that mod out, they more often than not just get banned for flimsy reasons. Again, when this happens, it makes the ban messages untrustworthy.

So what do I think can help? You need to ditch the committee management. Empower mods to act on their own—they were ostensibly selected because they can be trusted, right? So trust them!—and let them make mistakes. Let users call them out without retaliation (so you have to be extra harsh on retaliation), and let them be able to reverse their decisions. Act fast, fail fast, learn fast. It might also be helpful to ask mods to actually chime in and post their reasoning for when they do things. At the very least you want to avoid the nebulous ban message on a locked thread.

Personally, I'd also like to see you lose the staff posts. Mods can steer conversation implicitly by just participating, rather than acting like they are above everyone else and putting in conversation rails.

jayc3, era administrator, reply to the above post:

Hi Septimus Prime, thanks for your feedback. One of the changes we've made in the last few months is that we've been giving mods with relevant perspectives more latitude in handling threads, and we'll definitely look at ways to empower them more in the future. However, we're not immediately sure that changing the committee approach is the way to go. Often times, we'll find that our Asian mods disagree with each other on what action might be appropriate in a given situation. And that's not even considering cases where there might be an intersectional issue, where we'll have to consult mods from a variety of different backgrounds.

As for naming specific mods, this is something we've thought about for a long time, and the conclusion we come to is that this would open up mods to harassment, which is something we don't want happening. A lot of times, even when bans are justified (like for bigotry), the person being banned often won't agree with that (because they're likely bigoted). So that just leads to targeting over time.

As for your comment on staff posts, that's really interesting to us because from what we've heard from various minority members, they're often an intervention that's most appreciated. For example, if a bunch of people are being dismissive of Asian members' opinions in a thread, we find that adding those "guard rails" really helps to focus the discussion on what those Asian members are saying. Because even if I, a mod of Chinese descent, posted in a thread, sometimes people might miss stuff. And also, since Asians aren't a monolith, I wouldn't want my opinion to become the de facto line in the thread anyway. Do you have more thoughts to add on to this?

representative post from user chopchop:

I'd say as a whole, responses have improved over time as people have become more aware that vitriol towards the Chinese government can easily skirt a little too close to just plain anti-Chinese sentiment. I think a year or two ago, basically every thread about the Chinese government doing something had a fair amount of posts that contained some variation of "China don't care" meme spam, and that was worthless to the conversation at best and just plain racist at worst. That seems to happen a lot less these days.

Having said that, I think it could still use a lot of improvement. A lot of reactionary angry blanket statements like "fuck China", which may be meant to be directed toward the Chinese government, can be hurtful to anyone of Chinese descent who reads them. I don't think people generally don't seem to check the nuance of their criticisms well enough in this way.

Second, I feel like posts with anti-Chinese sentiment is still there, but just more subtle these days. Usually in the form of posts expressing distrust towards anything related to China. This is a delicate topic because in some cases there are established reasons to distrust some things from China (such as various news related to Huawei), but I do feel like the expressions of distrust can be a little too automatic and all-encompassing at times.

As for what you mentioned about identity, I think how you feel about the Chinese government has nothing to do with your ethnicity. It's not a slight against your ethnicity to disapprove of the Chinese government's actions. There are plenty of Chinese people living in China who do exactly that.

another post from purplemonkey111:

I feel alot of anti asian/chinese posts are disguised as anti CCP posts and when I report them, sometimes it doesn't seem to be deleted, and there are still alot of racist dog whisles going on. Things have gotten better but I feel there are still rooms for improvement, especially with sinophobia, and people using COVID-19 or anti CCP sentiment as a cover to be a racist asshat.

and I'm taiwanese, I have lived in taiwan, Hong Kong, and Japan. Came to United States in the late 90's with my mother and brother, but I still keep in touch with families and friends back home.

that's generally what the thread is like, basically covering "sinophobia" from the covid era

[Gameboy Nostalgia]

Resetera, a "Ban an Arab, Ban a Jew" Economy.

[HaughtyFrank]

https://www.resetera.com/threads/israel-begins-bombing-of-southern-gaza-following-collapse-of-ceasefire-see-staff-posts-for-posting-guidelines.772478/page-303?post=121794870#post-121794870

I remember back when Ukranian war was ongoing you had people posting fucking Fox News as a source and they were not actioned for it

Uh...

[HaughtyFrank]

asianera summit thread

that's generally what the thread is like, basically covering "sinophobia" from the covid era

Honestly not much sympathy for them if they were mad about "Fuck china" posts something that's okay to say about literally any other country. I also remember that when people started saying "Fuck the CCP" they still didn't like it.

Still, hilarious that the complaints toward moderation were exactly the same four years ago. It's almost like the mods are shit

[Gameboy Nostalgia]

https://www.resetera.com/threads/israel-begins-bombing-of-southern-gaza-following-collapse-of-ceasefire-see-staff-posts-for-posting-guidelines.772478/page-303?post=121794870#post-121794870

I remember back when Ukranian war was ongoing you had people posting fucking Fox News as a source and they were not actioned for it

Uh...

Who's gonna tell him? 

[nobody of note]

If I recall correctly the AsianEra exodus actually did have some lasting impact on the forum--Some poster created a protest thread, got banned, and the forum semi-revolted spamming the same thread over and over, ultimately leading to the creation of the Constructive/quarantine thread, a lot of talking about their three mod rule for bans, etc. I think this is also what sparked Nepenthe's elevation to admin, as she was tagged as one of the more empathetic/helpful mods during the issue and 'you need more of this in your staff!' and the forum has been paying for it ever since.

[Gameboy Nostalgia]

I remember those "Fox News" posts. Odd that they think the Fox News news desk is the same as the Fox News on air personalities.

Last time I checked the Fox News news desk called Arizona early for Biden to the disappointment and complaints from their talking heads.

[Polident]

Who are you fooling here? I am a Palestinian and my life have been turned into hell because of this news organization and the likes of it being complicit in hiding the Israeli and Zionist crimes against my country and my people. To call them out is now conservative? This is such a disgusting defense of your fuck up. I am so disgusted by your attempt to portray people having legit reasons to call out the media as conservatives or crazies when there is tons of proof out there about the bias and attempts of censorship of this conflict. Even by your own standards there have been proof by these same organizations that realized they can't hide the truth anymore.

I’m going to take a wild guess and say you don’t live in the Gaza Strip… or in the West Bank. 

I’m going to guess your life is hardly a living hell and the fact you said

To be fair, a Palestinian living abroad feeling that way isn’t much different than an Israeli living abroad caring about the situation. Without expanding it to the religious angle of Jews stake in Israel. The Muslims stake in Palestine is kind of odd, given the several Muslim nations, but sure. It’s complicated.

Having said that (and I don’t know what user posted that, merely speaking in generalities) whenever someone claims to be Palestinian, it’s like certain white people claiming Native American ancestry. Whether intentional or not, it’s weirdly common to adopt the identity. Guys from Egypt to Pakistan. 

And to be fair to that, you see that stuff with Asian-Americans as well. Where a Chinese or Korean guys act as authorities on Japan. Not to mention the whole Italian-American thing… Chris Cuomo saying Fredo is their n-word. We’re a confused people.

[Daffy Duck]

I love the fact a guy known as dubs just takes L after L after L

[Nintex]

I remember those "Fox News" posts. Odd that they think the Fox News news desk is the same as the Fox News on air personalities.

Last time I checked the Fox News news desk called Arizona early for Biden to the disappointment and complaints from their talking heads.

Fox News is one of the few news organizations that actually has journalists in these war zones and doesn't just have an intern with ChatGPT in New York (or an hotel in Dubai) that quotes Reuters which quotes the Gaza Ministry of Health.

The fact that we have such one-sided reporting, is largely because no one dares to report from the other side anymore.
I recall back in the 90's early 2000's we had a great Dutch reporter who would ride along with the IDF in their APCs and visit the camps in Palestine.

Closest we had for Ukraine was probably John Sweeney but unfortunately he's better at drinking these days than he is at reporting. 

[Gameboy Nostalgia]

Sorry to see you go:( Your voice will absolutely be missed. I think there are so few regular posters here that warnings need be used more. There is kind of a climate of fear and uncertainty in this thread. Like it feels ok for awhile then random shit happens. So you can't really know what you can say.

Dang.. Resetera really is just like a warzone.

[Besticus Maximus]

How does intersectionality place Muslims so high up the minority totem pole when there 2 billion of them, is quite the puzzle

[Uncle]

how are chinese a minority that need protection against sinophobia when they are the largest percentage of people on earth by ethnicity

[Polident]

Western “leftists” think everywhere in the world has the make up of America and the UK from 20 years ago. They cannot conceptualize the world because they’ve never experienced it and lack the curiosity to explore beyond their immediate perception.

[Boredfrom]

asianera summit thread

that's generally what the thread is like, basically covering "sinophobia" from the covid era

Honestly not much sympathy for them if they were mad about "Fuck china" posts something that's okay to say about literally any other country. I also remember that when people started saying "Fuck the CCP" they still didn't like it.

Still, hilarious that the complaints toward moderation were exactly the same four years ago. It's almost like the mods are shit

Yeah, a lot of them were CCP apologists, for better or worse. Still, RE has a genuine problem with Asian people when they are picked against BCT. I remember Nepenthe saying some incredible racist shit in those threads.

[Boredfrom]

If I recall correctly the AsianEra exodus actually did have some lasting impact on the forum--Some poster created a protest thread, got banned, and the forum semi-revolted spamming the same thread over and over, ultimately leading to the creation of the Constructive/quarantine thread, a lot of talking about their three mod rule for bans, etc. I think this is also what sparked Nepenthe's elevation to admin, as she was tagged as one of the more empathetic/helpful mods during the issue and 'you need more of this in your staff!' and the forum has been paying for it ever since.

I remember she saying some stupid vile shit and then playing reconciliation when called out.

Pretty sure she was one that was alluding to the idea of “white adjacent”.

[Nintex]

It was some bizarre shit from the Nepenthes like: 
"Yes this mentally ill person of color out on bail is allowed to randomly punch an Asian woman in the face and kick her baby because I don't feel sorry for dem race traitors showing off their white privilege"

When there was a bunch of Asian people who were just randomly attacked on the streets.

[Boredfrom]

To be fair, a Palestinian living abroad feeling that way isn’t much different than an Israeli living abroad caring about the situation. Without expanding it to the religious angle of Jews stake in Israel. The Muslims stake in Palestine is kind of odd, given the several Muslim nations, but sure. It’s complicated.

My problem is that is clear that Richter is living abroad but suddenly is saying that his life is a living hell or that he needs to deal to be "from cursed people", and he say all that when he killed one of the few threads that tried to be conciliatory and trying to explain why Jew people will ignore you if you drop the word "Zionism" at every sentence.

Hell, you have dude, the one person living in Israel and not even a supporter of the “colonial project and the apartheid” but he also gets ignored or thread banned because he is still not inline with ArabRE and is actually realist about the situation.

[Taco Bell Tower]

https://www.resetera.com/threads/chuds-angry-after-warhammer-40k-confirms-existence-of-female-adeptus-custodes.847125/?post=121812984#post-121812984

In the galaxy of Warhammer 40,000, the Imperium of Man is built off the backs of transhuman soldiers.

THEY'RE MAKING EVERYTHING TRANS

Fatass dog

wokehammer 40gay

[Taco Bell Tower]

https://www.resetera.com/threads/oklahoma-state-athletic-commission-warns-aew-not-to-allow-transgender-woman-wrestler-to-wrestle-other-women-in-oklahoma.847152/?post=121814124#post-121814124

Are intergender matches just banned completely in Oklahoma?

I remember Chyna was the Intercontinental Champion when I was a kid, so she just wouldn't be able to defend the belt in a scripted event because people suck?

Holy shit, he thinks Chyna was trans?  

[Hap Shaughnessy]

https://www.resetera.com/threads/oklahoma-state-athletic-commission-warns-aew-not-to-allow-transgender-woman-wrestler-to-wrestle-other-women-in-oklahoma.847152/?post=121814124#post-121814124

Are intergender matches just banned completely in Oklahoma?

I remember Chyna was the Intercontinental Champion when I was a kid, so she just wouldn't be able to defend the belt in a scripted event because people suck?

                 Transphobic rhetoric

[DocWager]

1713396820[/url]']
https://www.resetera.com/threads/oklahoma-state-athletic-commission-warns-aew-not-to-allow-transgender-woman-wrestler-to-wrestle-other-women-in-oklahoma.847152/?post=121814124#post-121814124

Are intergender matches just banned completely in Oklahoma?

I remember Chyna was the Intercontinental Champion when I was a kid, so she just wouldn't be able to defend the belt in a scripted event because people suck?

Holy shit, he thinks Chyna was trans?  

In that idiots defense, he means back in the day intergender matches were a thing, and even men would attack women in matches. When WWE went PG they dropped all that to satisfy advertisers in getting rid of men, on women violence. Only Indie wrestling still does this, and has fully embraced it.

[Potato]

https://www.resetera.com/threads/not-happy-endings-in-fiction-that-you-thought-were-great.846054/

No Vanishing Point. Uncultured swine.

Of course some retarded anume/monga crap is the first response. They are truly stunted manchildren.

EDIT: it's from Mekanos. Wasn't he permed?

[Potato]

They have to keep bringing up a guy who has been done with DC for a few years now to fight off their fear that the MCU is beyond its expiration date but doesn’t know it yet. 

All because of a few movies they didn’t like. 

Meanwhile, the former MCU director is now spearheading the DC reboot and will likely have things back on track before too long.

It's over for Disney. They're lucky that Nintendo is conservative and has so far only another Mario movie and a Zelda movie in production.

But the writing is on the wall and with Nintendo's deep bench of IPs they can make compelling movies in nearly every genre.
Not to mention they have been cultivating talent for years to come.

Iger is only now pivoting to gaming and there aren't any good options at the moment and Disney has a terrible track record in gaming. 
Disney has nothing to replace their falling super hero empire with.

Is there any golden goose that Disney hasn't killed?

• Mickey Mouse
  
• Disney animation
  
• Pixar
  
• Star Wars
  
• Marvel
  

Genuinely, what's left?

The only thing keeping Disney+ alive is all the Fox TV shows they inherited.