What is it like to be the Fluther minority?

Are there any other minorities you would care to hear from?

As a liberal Republican, it is rather amusing at times to see how ugly & rude some people are, and how they try to ‘bully’ you out of believing in God or your brand of politics.

I do feel like there have been some attacks and spiteful Q’s asked, and anything about God always elicits tasteless jokes and demeaning posts.

Interestingly enough, all they do is make me glad to be who I am, and perhaps a little sad for them and the fact they were raised with no manners.

I put my viewpoint and opinion on things out here for no other reason than that I am not ashamed of how I feel about anything, and really don’t care what anyone anywhere thinks about it.

With intelligent and classy people, I am always happy to debate, but alas, it’s all too rare. I grew up with half my family hippies and half Christians, and half Dems and half Reps, so I’m used to legitimate debate.

@burntbonez Sure!

I am in the minority who doesn’t like the way moderation occurs here, and I concur with @KNOWITALL. I get bullied and told if I don’t like it I should leave and that expressing my point of view is pointless because nothing will be done and nobody agrees with me. It seems to get the majority really riled up and they don’t believe I have any business stating my opinion. Maybe once, but after that, it’s just complaining and don’t I understand everybody hates me for it?

It’s very unfriendly. I don’t know how it compares to what religion believers and conservatives get. I’d like to think that people use reason when talking about religion. But reason seems to have little to do with it when talking about how this website is run. Love it or leave it. Change is not an option. People seem to take it personally. I don’t really get it. But it is odious and if people who are religious feel like they are being attacked personally (as opposed to having their logic attacked), then I understand how awful that can be.

@wundayatta And I know you and I don’t believe the same about everything, but I still like you a LOT because you have never attacked a person for their beliefs that I’m aware of. I also love that you feel able to communicate about mental illness openly, which is all too rare.

Stating how you feel on an opinion site or in life in general is what makes the world such an interesting place. Imagine how boring it would be if we all believed the same way about everything!

And as I’ve stated, I’m not the most religious person and I drink and maybe cuss every once in awhile, but I’ll never be ashamed for loving God or following the directives that make sense to me, which is generally to treat people as you would be treated.

@KNOWITALL Thank you for the feedback.

I know there are people here who feel I have attacked them. Or disrespected them. It’s been about religion and about parenting issues, mostly. Sometimes I get pretty passionate about things. I try to stick to issues, but people don’t always interpret it that way. And I’m sure I’ve lost it on occasion. Gotten angry. Said things in a way that may have come across as mean or disrespectful. Sometimes it’s hard for me to separate out the person from the issue. Anyway, I apologize if people have felt disrespected.

I do think some ideas are stupid, but that doesn’t mean I think the person is stupid for having the idea. Now, if the person attacks, then I’ll likely think they are stupid. Just because that’s how it seems like my brain works. When it gets personal, it’s hard to remain respectful. I try, but I can’t always do it.

And one thing I love about fluther is that it does make it safe to talk about mental illness. It’s like my support group in that way.

I’ll admit, the dumb blonde jokes are getting a bit tiresome.

@wundayatta Right, I know you don’t share my religious views as we’ve discussed before, but you’ve never called names or attacked me, and I read your posts more closely because of that.

Which is really my point to the haters, just chill and address the issues or subject, no need to grill Christians or anyone else, it is what it is and more than likely you won’t change us, so unless it’s a bridge to understanding better, then it’s pretty pointless and makes you look like a bunch of jerks.

Well, I’ve been attacked and I have attacked. Generally I don’t attack unless attacked first but I will concede that sometimes that be be a misinterpretation. I really don’t see much point in using a site where everyone agrees. I don’t mind being in the minority but it would certainly make it better for me if people stuck to the issues rather than the personalities. It’s hard to have a conservation when the argument is that conservatives are evil, wicked, mean, and bad and nasty.

I believe the vast majority of users here are American, being English, I guess that puts me into minority territory…it feels just fantastic.

I feel like a minority on here in terms of religion. I can understand many of the criticisms that people level at organized (usually Abrahamic) religion, but the widespread knee-jerk anti-religious attitudes get tiresome.

And I’m one of two or three active users on here who are trans, that I know of. The vast majority of questions about sex, romance, etc., are posed as if trans people do not exist. Sometimes I’ll answer them if I feel up to it but usually reading them just makes me feel alienated. I’ve never been attacked on this topic, but I have been the subject of flippant attitudes and jokes that people apparently feel they have every right to make, because trans people fuck up their schemas.

Notwithstanding the attacks that are frequently leveled against those of massive intellect and who structure arguments of cold, irrefutable logic with humor and aplomb, and look crazy-good while doing it, I wouldn’t want to be in the other camp.

Oh, and I’m not a comma-abuser, either. Or a misspeller or language abuser, very often.

I don’t approve of swear words, so I get teased a lot, and I have to do a lot of ignoring.

Like @ucme, I am also part of a small group, being Dutch and all.
It feels great.

As one of the very few snowbacks at Fluther, I feel that my people are a virtually invisible minority. So few jellies understand our struggles to adjust to a warmer climate and to learn a new accent. ;-(

@Brian1946 I had to google “snowback” – I love it. :)

I’ve lost count of the topics that I’ve started to answer and then remembered that my opinion here on many subjects are not in agreement with the majority, and are not appreciated. Although I don’t much care for what people think of me, I’m simply not into flaming, drama, negativity, endless debate etc. It’s not worth it as far as I’m concerned, so I PM people if I think they might be interested. I also pray for folks.

It is sort of like being married, when you are wrong, promptly admit it, when you are right, shut up!

Naw, I don’t really care until the name calling starts. I don’t understand why any one of the giant intellects who reside in the pool resort to ridicule and abuse of those they disagree with. (I know don’t end a sentence with a preposition, but hey bfd!) But it happens with boring frequency.

Now how long will it be before someone jumps in and tells us if we don’t like it to get the hell out. That is another one of my favorite responses. You know who I mean, the group who always get all whizzed off if anyone dares to be critical! Get ready to duck all you nay sayers!

Yes, I notice the main offenders are not commenting thus far, weird.

Oh, please. I’m a minority because no one likes me. I feel just fine about it.

I…..have absolutely no idea if I’m in a minority. If I am….I shall make like grumpy cat and not be bothered by it. If I am not, that’s fine too.

@tinyfaery – you strike me the same as just about everyone else in this world. When you try to be annoying and unlikeable you succeed, when you are not in that mode, you are likeable. All people are like that. As long as you can carry on a discussion or even an argument without resorting to name calling, you are okay in my book.

I try to respect other jellies views, but I have screwed up badly from time to time on the religious views. I usually avoid those questions now unless I can make a clearcut answer. I think the diversity on fluther is great.

go figure, everyone’s a minority :p

That is true, @Symbeline, and no minorities were ruled out.

Being in the political and religious minority has gotten pretty tiresome, so I usually avoid those questions. Occasionally I’ll still wade in, if I’m in the mood.

@WillWorkForChocolate I apologize for all the times I offended you.

Ditto. I’m really tired of it too, @WillWorkForChocolate. Hypocrites and bullies.

You know, @Adirondackwannabe, I’m pretty sure I’ve offended some people here with my passion in what I believe to be true. More than a few of us jellies are pretty damned hotheaded, and don’t often care that we’re being assholes, until we’ve hurt the feelings of someone we really like. That’s why I try to just skip those questions now, unless I’m already feeling numb anyway, so the jabs don’t hurt as much.

I apologize for what I did. I’m sorry.

<pats @Adirondackwannabe on the back>

pretty fuckin great

I’m a conservative Republican Baptist. That’s several Fluther minorities I fit into.

I know myself well enough that I stay away from political or religious debates when I don’t have much time or when I’m already stressed enough.

I’ve come to the point where I know what I believe, and I don’t need to convince other people of it to keep my belief up. I know that if I get into a discussion on here, my every point will be picked apart. I’m used to this. I won’t be shaken by that. You might think I’m just being stubborn and blind. Maybe I am. But I’ve seen the difference that Christ makes, and if living for Him means I’m stubborn and blind, I guess I’m alright with that.

Yes, I do. I could explain why, but I’ve decided it isn’t worth it to speak your mind up here because I am not well suited to deal with the name calling, the invitations to leave, the defensive reactions from the mods, etc. So, yeah…I’ve been silenced.

The victim shit is getting real old real fast. I know you have what you believe is true and is in no way grounded in reality. That is fine and I am partially OKAY with that.

A overwhelming majority of Americans are down with Jesus. But you are the victim here. You aren’t the victim. You just provide shitty arguments and never back shit up with credible sources.

I’m neither a conservative nor would I consider myself particularly religious (I think that having a belief about and interest in spiritual concepts does not automatically make someone religious). However, I don’t shy away from the classification of Theist for myself either.

After mistakenly assuming that the atheists and agnostics of Fluther would be as cordial as the ones I’ve encountered in real life, I realized it was far far different here online. Im not quite sure why, but it is what it is.

Therefore, I decided to limit my participation in most of the threads regarding God and religion since the questions being asked turned out to be mainly for the purposeof denigrating any and all who are stupid enough to believe in any type of God at alll

Since ive done enough study of the more accurate translations of certain critical Bible passages and realized that the entire nonsense of a literal eternal burning hell has much more to do with Dante than God, I have no big urge to save anyone from it.

If someone chooses to view all of life through a strictly scientific viewpoint, that’s fine by me and I’m not interested in changing their mind..

I just choose to make allowances for possibilities in the unseen and unprovable. That’s a deliberate choice on my part, not because my parents forced it upon me .

It would be nice if they could grant me the same courtesy which I extend to them, but I get tired of being told over and over again that anyone having a faith belief is akin to believing in unicorns, leprechauns and a flat earth..it is willful ignorance, according to them. (In case you think I’m exaggerating, those words and phrases are verbatim quotes.)

So, since I have no overwhelming urge to convert anyone else to my viewpoint, I basically don’t bother participating in questions obviously designed to bait Theists. I’m not a masochist why would I want to sign up for more of the same? Whatever their reason for that degree of hostility, it was there long before I came around and will remain long after. It’s their problem.

To be fair, there are a few jellies who don’t have that type of attitude (too few imho) and are genuinely interested in discussing differing viewpoints for mutual benefit. If one of them posts an interesting Q, I’ll generally chime in.

But I’m not interested in converting Fluther. I’m here to enjoy myself not to get in religious debates or to constantly have my intelligence and motives questioned. I have plenty of agnostic and atheist friends in real life to discuss these matters with when we feel like it so I can bypass this stuff on Fluther with no problem at all.
.
.BTW: I almost skipped this Q entirely because of how it was worded. I really don’t FEEL like a minority and don’t spend a whole lot of mental time dwelling upon the whole us vs. them setup because that’s not the way it is in life.

For the most part I just ignore it and let it pass by. Every website has it’s unique character and atmosphere but no one will be a hundred percent match for anyone. Just like in life :)

I wonder who @jerp is when he/she isn’t being @jerp ???

@rooeytoo

Ha, I was thinking the same thing…but then realized I didn’t really care.

If they’re a veteran jelly who doesn’t have the guts to stand up for their opinion, why should I ?

And I can think of a more apropos substitute for that last letter of the SN

:D

I’ve come to the conclusion that more than half the members here are really just one person, most likely a mod, using different names.

ahahaha. I think someone hiding behind an alternate account to tell us how they really feel is a coward. how lame

@jonsblond I agree. Get some balls jerp.

Although in my case, I am a collaboration of about three people, not all of whom have balls.~

@burntbonez Balls is a figurative term. It just means guts. Women can have balls. My sister in law has a major set of balls. :)

@Adirondackwannabe Balls is also a literal term, referring to genitalia that women don’t have. My sister in law doesn’t have any balls. The deployment of the tilde was a gesture meant to clue you in to the difference between figurative and literal. Actually, I shouldn’t have even needed the tilde, but you know how it is on the net. People are literalists, even when being figurative. Go figure. Or literal. Whichever makes more sense. ;-)

Point taken. I’ll behave.

Anyone who has to see a tilde to recognize sarcasm is pretty dense~

@woodcutter You guys are playing rough today.:)

@Adirondackwannabe I see what is there :)

@jerp “The victim shit is getting real old real fast. I know you have what you believe is true and is in no way grounded in reality. That is fine and I am partially OKAY with that.
A overwhelming majority of Americans are down with Jesus. But you are the victim here. You aren’t the victim. You just provide shitty arguments and never back shit up with credible sources.”

Thank you so much for providing such a great example of the idiotic comments we deal with on the daily!

We deal with idiotic comments daily? It’s really that often?

@woodcutter Pretty much. Any question that deals with God, religion or anything related goes on and on and on until believers give up out of lack of interest or from being worn out with it. It’s really ignorant.

I try to learn from people of other beliefs, which is not the same as being disparaging.

Frankly I’ve never seen a Christian or believer of any kind bash a non-believer here on fluther (or at least not in my recent memory), so to me, that proves a pretty big point about moral values and how we treat each other.

Some people call pro-choice believers ‘baby killers’, some say “you don’t believe so you’re going to Hell, thus your opinion means less than nothing to me”.. but really, what’s the point of being ugly and negative?! I mean people kill abortion doctors and blow up clinics, people are crazy on both sides if you ask me, but that’s not the fault of religion, it’s their brains and instigators like Van Impe.

Loving and learning about each other and how we think and respecting each other’s beliefs is much more positive and worthwhile pursuits in my opinion.

Since we are getting all testy here, I will throw in my testiness. I don’t care whether it is meant literally or figuratively, I and a lot of other women, have guts, ovaries, great courage and determination but I don’t have balls and never wanted them. They are the weakest point on males, one little tap and you are bent over heaving and moaning. Besides that they are funny looking, so keep your balls and give credit with another choice of words.

@rooeytoo My friends always say “wow, you’ve got ovaries sister!” Nothing wrong with strong women, I think that’s why @jerp‘s ‘victim’ comment was offensive.

I’ve never seen anyone get worked up over that particular use of the word “balls.” What’s the flippin’ big deal about someone using a figure of speech – a very common figure of speech at that? I seriously doubt anyone really thought it was meant literally.

@livelaughlove21 Ha you forget, this is PC Central

@woodcutter Read below, seeking to minimalize offense…..not fluther at all. :)

Definition: denotes language, ideas, policies, and behavior seen as seeking to minimize social and institutional offense in occupational, gender, racial, cultural, sexual orientation, certain other religions, beliefs or ideologies, disability, and age-related contexts, and, as purported by the term, doing so to an excessive extent

But that is life in a free country. After all, none of us have any rights to not be offended. We can be unhappy with what we hear all we want. Plenty of freedom there. The trick is not letting them see your veins through your skin.

Of course it is, but it’s not politically correct here at all. But to really communicate you have to be honest, not PC right?! I’m down, just because I mention God or that I’m a Christian shouldn’t incite people to madly attack though, it’s nuts. Jesus drank wine, now we know why….lol

I have seen it way more vitriolic here with religion then what we have had recently. This is the off season I guess. And I see some of the more extreme agitators have moved on so all is quiet in the village. Hater fade ,I call it.
We have gotten the elections behind us so we can chill a bit now. This place fuckin sucks balls, see what I did there?, in the run up to elections.

@woodcutter Yeah, you’re funny.

No one here really cares about other people’s religion much, either you believe or you don’t, but we don’t butt into each other’s business much, I didn’t know it was such a big deal.

It also makes much more sense in politics now. If all liberals think all conservatives are religion filled idiots it’s no wonder they have no respect (I know those are broad generalizations which I hate, but the vitriol here has surpassed what I could have imagined honestly.)

@woodcutter – to me it has nothing to do with pc. I just think that women are every bit as strong, courageous, smart, brave, whatever as men and to be compared to the weakest part of a male when one shows those characteristics is simply no compliment. I am more than happy to be lumped in with males if you want to say we are all humans and equal, but it sounds more like a pat on the head and means something like saying you are almost as good as I am! So use it if it pleases you, but I still don’t get why a male’s weakest point is what makes him a man?????

I am a proud Fluther theist. The questions I savor most are the questions about believing in God. Frankly I am confident in my beliefs and very willing to share them and how I came to feel the way I do. I am secure with what I believe and no matter how many times I called ignorant for believing it, I still believe it. I find it amusing that people who claim to be so forward thinking and wise have no problem bashing other people for what they believe. It also tends to amaze me how invested they all seem to be in helping me see the light and let go of my beliefs. Seriously, there are some atheists here on Fluther who try as hard to convert me as the fellows who knock on my door. When I am called ignorant out right (which has indeed happened), I stand my ground and fight back. @KNOWITALL, you have missed many very intense religious discussions full of personal attacks.

I am usually in the majority when it comes to political questions and on the mod’s side in mod bashers (that might go without saying).

Kind of like in real life, I don’t mind disagreements, it is just when things get personal that I am inclined to bow out. I see no reason we can’t disagree without being disagreeable. If one cannot debate without resorting to ad hominem attacks, that person is not worth debating and their argument is obviously not sound.

@tinyfaery, I will come right out and say it – I like you quite a bit.

The term “balls” can be substituted for “moxie” because depending on the context they have the same intended meaning. If somebody insists on splitting hairs in the middle of a discussion or even a compliment, over a single word they don’t like , they would be later known as what we call a “buzzkill” Nobody wants to be around a person like that for the worry of accidentally pissing them off during casual talking. You ask too much to expect everyone else to change their lexicons for your benefit unless you make yourself a very invaluable friend beforehand.

I will also come out and say @bkcunningham I strongly doubt any of the mods would feel the need to hide behind a second alias. They all have enough balls or ovaries to tell the community what they think out in the open using their usual accounts.

And I like you too @tinyfaery. You call it as you see it.

Cant the mods look to see if the suspected doppelganger has the same IP address as one of their colleagues?

Oooooh the plot thickens

We can look at IP addresses @woodcutter but people can use proxy servers (or whatever they do) and the like so it tells you nothing. Not that I’m an expert when it comes to IP addresses. Really though as long as people aren’t using another account to breach the guidelines, that’s up to the individual concerned. In this case obviously someone wanted to make a point without being identified. That’s their choice.

I don’t think they do it as a means of hiding to express themselves. There would be no need to do that. I agree. My theory is that they do it to increase the membership, ask questions and keep the site alive when it is slow.

I can assure we are all too busy to do that @bkcunningham. Every one of us has work and families away from Fluther. I certainly don’t have time to keep Fluther alive by posting under multiple names. It also isn’t why I agreed to be a mod.

How could you possibly know what every moderator is doing at any given time, @Bellatrix? Unless you are really…naw…maybe…hmmm. Never mind @Augus…er I mean @Bellatrix. ~

I’ve never had a major issue with the mods, so I often don’t understand why people complain about them.

However, I think it’s fair to hold them to a higher standard than a standard member. I mean, they help run the site, should know the rules better than anyone, etc. It drives me crazy when a regular member answers a question and it’s obvious they didn’t bother to read the details, but when a mod does it? Ugh!

Sorry for that random mini-rant. I just experienced this a few moments ago.

Mods are just members @livelaughlove21. We make mistakes like anyone else.

@bkcunningham if you really want to believe the moderators have multiple accounts and post answers here under those accounts, you go right ahead. Obviously I am not going to be able to convince you of how absurd that suggestion is.

@Bellatrix The suggestion really isn’t absurd. Just take a look at this question from a former mod

I am not suggesting any of the current mods have multiple accounts to stir the pot anonymously, but it has happened in the past.

@jonsblond you know that whole thread was not serious. I know you do. To suggest mods are pretending to be members and posting responses and questions to keep the site busy is just ludicrous. I am sure some mods do have other accounts. Many members do. I sincerely doubt they are using them to keep Fluther activity up or to make jibes against the community. I can say with certainty, if they did the latter they wouldn’t be mods for long.

@jonsblond do you really think mods are posting here either to cause trouble or even more ridiculously to keep the site busy?

Anyway, I’m not responding to anything else in this thread. I have to go and post some questions as… oops slipped up there.

@Bellatrix do you really think mods are posting here either to cause trouble or even more ridiculously to keep the site busy? Not at all, that’s why I said I wasn’t suggesting any of the current mods were doing this. I’m not sure what you mean about that thread not being serious. A lot of users lost respect for the mods involved in that thread.

Wasn’t there some piss take question about naming a cactus?
Some prick thought they were being inventive/creative.

@Bellatrix If mods are indeed “just members” then that must mean I can flag them for being off-topic or unhelpful and their response will be modded, correct? Ha, I seriously doubt it.

@jonsblond, thanks for the link. That was eyeopening to say the least. The disturbing thing, to me at least, is that others in authority were obviously in on the entire thing.

Jeez guys, be nice. I wouldn’t have posted the balls comment if I knew it would stir up trouble.

@livelaughlove21 yes, you can absolutely flag the mods for being off topic or anything else. I have been flagged and modded during my time as a moderator. Mods are expected to follow the rules just like everyone else.

@bkcunningham I have to back up @Bellatrix and say that, regardless of how “eye-opening” you found the thread linked by @jonsblond, I very highly doubt that any of the current mods use alias accounts to “keep the site alive when it is slow.” It is just not realistic for any of us to do as all of us have pretty busy lives outside of our work on this board. We do our bit to keep the board alive by trying to help keep up the site quality by volunteering to serve as moderators.

@jonsblond I am disappointed that you would post a link to a two year-old question that stirred up so much trouble at the time. It makes no sense and it really feels like selling the entire team of mods down the river. Major bummer.

How exactly did this turn into an anti-mod anti-metaphor thread?

As the manager here, I’m in a minority of one. It’s not easy sometimes, let me tell you. Overall, though, I love the job and the people on this site (including you, @tinyfaery).

@bkcunningham If I found out a mod were using an alternate identity to do anything shady, they’d be fired on the spot.

The lady doth protest too much, methinks. Did an alarm go off and call all of you to this question at once? ~

@bkcunningham not an alarm per se. One of the Mod Squad projects an image of Dr.J in the sky, when we see it we all race to the Jelly Cave, jump right on line site and take turns composing responses to outrageous Fluther Conspiracy Theories. Drats, now that you are on to us we are going to have to adjust our operating procedures!

Seriously it is human nature, when one is attacked, one defends.

LOL, @SuperMouse. Good one. I don’t think anyone was being attacked though. @Adirondackwannabe apologized for the comment. I don’t think it caused an attack in any event.

@bkcunningham you – among others – are attacking the integrity of the moderators on this site. IMO @WillWorkForChocolate had nothing to apologize for. I know, I know it took a lot of balls for me to say that.

<runs through the room, naked and screaming>

Sorry, it seemed like everyone could use a break from the tension.

@SuperMouse I’m sorry it upset you, but I was only correcting @Bellatrix. It can’t be an absurd idea if it’s happened before.

@jonsblond it is an old thread and linking it did nothing but add fuel to the fire. @Bellatrix was surely speaking about the current mod team, many of whom have changed since that thread was current.

Fire? That’s not a fire. That is @WillWorkForChocolate. She’s smokin.’ Run, girl! Run!

@bkcunningham Get off the mods back, now

Umm, @bkcunningham ‘scuse me, but could you please out out my ass?

Did y’all see my first response, I paste and copy the relevant part here in case you missed it, “Now how long will it be before someone jumps in and tells us if we don’t like it to get the hell out. That is another one of my favorite responses. You know who I mean, the group who always get all whizzed off if anyone dares to be critical! Get ready to duck all you nay sayers!”

I knew it was going to happen, although I don’t think anyone was told to love it or leave it yet, but hey, the thread isn’t dead yet.

There is nothing, repeat NOTHING in this world that I think is beyond reproof, criticism or improvement. That includes, myself, my dogs, my husband (but don’t tell him I said that) and omg…... even fluther and mods. Who by the way are only human so I assume capable of the same sort of bs and subterfuge as the rest of humanity.

I’ll out out your ass if you say, pretty please with sugar on top, @WillWorkForChocolate. Or get off your ass, or kiss your ass or whatever you want my little sweetie.

@rooeytoo, Super Great Answer.

I don’t see anyone telling anyone to love it or leave it. I do see @bkcunningham casting aspersions on the mods, and mods responding to that.

@SuperMouse The only person adding fuel to the fire is @jerp. @bkcunningham woudn’t have thought the mods would have multiple accounts until @jerp answered. I said twice that I was not suggesting the current mod team was responsible for shenanigans. I think we have a good group of mods at the moment.

@rooeytoo I am not claiming to be “beyond reproof, criticism or improvement” nor have I heard any other mods make that claim. We regularly consult and have decided to adjust moderation decisions when the need arises. We work hard to enforce the rules as fairly as any group of human beings is capable of.

What I see is a small group of people consistently attacking the moderators and moderation for enforcing the site guidelines that are set by the site’s owners. It is always the same old thread rehashing the same old stuff. This thread has a new twist in that it directly attacks the integrity of the moderation team. I guess it makes those who vent feel better, but other then that it add no value to the site, it really isn’t that interesting, and I just don’t understand the it.

Just for the record, @jerp doesn’t appear to be a current member with an alias. If I had to guess, it’s a former member back with a new name. Either way, @jerp‘s reply wasn’t a helpful comment, that’s for sure.

I put squigglies beside the majority of my comments. I was attemting to be silly.

@bkcunningham Your original posts on the mod topic here and here had no tilde (~), so I assumed you were serious about your suppositions there, and all my replies were based on that.

Yes, @augustlan. They are just comments based on observations. That isn’t an attack. Just comments about behavior. I don’t think it is against the rules to make comments about behaviors I’ve observed. Since you guys don’t seem to want to let it rest, I’ll say this. The previous thread that was posted where you and others were in on a situation where a mod was posting under different names did nothing to relieve my suspicions.

Does anyone else think it is hilarious that this is happening on this particular thread?

@SuperMouse – Now the word “attack” is an interesting choice if an attack has been made why isn’t the response flagged and removed? I guess it must be on the right side of the fine line between rudeness and an actual attack. I have had that rudeness directed at me, on occasion by mods, and it remained so I guess it is a case of what is good for the goose is good for the gander. I don’t expect perfection from mods, it would be nice since they are the cops of the site and we all expect cops to be above reproach. And really all I see happening here is that questions are being asked. Is there a problem with asking questions? And if one does not agree with the answer, is it a problem to state that?

And Auggie, I said, no one has said it yet, but the thread is still alive! And really, what you linked to above sure isn’t an attack. What was done to me was a lot worse than that and was deemed NOT to be an attack. Don’t the same rules apply to all?

I think @SuperMouse was using “attack” loosely. It certainly wasn’t a personal attack (and that’s why it wasn’t removed.) So, yes, the same rules do apply to all.

@bkcunningham What observations lead you to believe that mods are using alternate accounts to increase activity/boost membership? I assure you, we aren’t. While many members do have alternate accounts, including some mods, I’ve never seen one used in such a way.

We don’t allow anyone to use alternate accounts to do things like get around the questions per day limit, or game the lurve system, or anything nefarious. They are generally used to either ask or answer embarrassing/private questions or as jokes (like the SantaClaus and SomeGhost accounts.)

Come on, my darlings! It’s the weekend!!!!! Nekkid pancake party!

It is just things I’ve noticed since being a member, @augustlan. Not one or two particular or any specific things. Just a combination of things overtime. For instance, it seems odd to me that there may be a heated conversation about a topic, say abortion, and viola, the next thing you know, a first time poster is asking if they could be pregnant. That sort of thing has always sent up little flags to me.

Listen, seriously, what I am referring to, if it is happening, isn’t anything scandalous or worth arguing about. I’m thinking it would be something anyone with any sense would do to keep a question and answer site active and alive. I’m suspicious by nature anyway. Let it go, please.

Oh, god. If I ever found out a mod was asking one of those “Am I pregnant” questions, I would shoot myself in the head. Seriously. Hahahahahahahahaha. If we were to make up questions, they’d be a damn sight better than that, rest assured.

And, no. We would never do that. We don’t even use up our own three questions a day. Why on earth would we make up some for some other identity? Ha. Really. No.

Also, I just noticed your last sentence, so I will let it go so long as others do.

I’m neither conservative nor religious, but I’m likely not the epitome of the fluther userbase regardless. I’m very liberal, but I wouldn’t classify myself as a hardcore progressive, and I vividly oppose legislation that seeks to end discrimination against one group of people (sex, race, etc) at the expense of another group of people. I’m a men’s rights supporter, and a Warren Farrell enthusiast, so this likely loses me brownie points on here. I’m more in the liberal masculist category, and there are many conservative men’s rights advocates that I’m not a fan of.

I’m not religious at all, but I do accept the evidence, both scientific and nonscientific, for various paranormal phenomena such as telepathy, dowsing, mediumship and I also believe that our minds (not brains) are immortal. I’m probably the only user on all of fluther that debates sceptics on these issues.

I suppose this is the reason why I tend to debate people responding to certain questions that I ask, because if I didn’t they would be clearly one-sided. It seems that some people have a problem with this, and I’m not sure why since I thought one of the main points of this site was to debate. I do get bored on sites where most agree with me, but I wish there was a little more support on my side pertaining to men’s rights issues and the paranormal.

haha “viola”, an orchestrated instrumental response there, was it?

Ah the wonders of modern technology. That’s half the problem with it. Only half the equation is human, the rest of it is not – and the human side of it sits behind a screen. It can be all too easy to be offended by things we should not be offended by – and I think it’s safe to say that we’re all guilty at one point or another of finding something offensive which was not intended to be so.

The problem isn’t just in technology in terms of computing. It exists in society in general, particularly in the workplace. Mechanization is worse than Information Technology because Mechanization just gets shot of a vast percentage of a human workforce, with only a nerd wearing glasses looking after it via a control panel and some random folk wielding spanners to fix the stuff if it gets broken.

Obviously there will always be subjects that will tend to involve what looks to be heated debate, but that doesn’t mean to say that it will be a minority that makes it so, Number one.

This is great! I love you guys…even you snowback, Baptist Athiest Repulico-Democrats. And cats and geese and….jerp? JERP? Did one of Coloma’s geese get loose again?

@KNOWITALL You said, ” I notice the main offenders are not commenting thus far, weird.”...I’m sorry…I just didn’t find this thread until just now. :)

Did you hear the one about the blond who couldn’t figure out how the can opener worked?

Carry on.

Oh…
@tinyfaery I do too like you! I like you a lot.

Aww. Thanks.

@Dutchess_III I didn’t mean you and I don’t recall us ever getting in an argument regarding religion. Nice to know which camp you’re in though for my mental file…lol

I know you didn’t mean me~ I was just being the fall guy girl. So clean out them mental files!
‘Sides…I take NO stand on religion.

I didn’t start as one of a minority, but I became one. It’s interesting to have others dismiss your strong beliefs as nonsense in so many ways and yet not have that persistent dismissal seed doubt in your own beliefs. The dynamic is also fuel to hone one’s own articulation of belief, which has surfaced over time as a primary reason for me to participate in debates here. It also eventually leads (for me) to a realization that it kind of doesn’t matter what I or anyone else believes to be true. It changes nothing whether I or someone else tries to dislodge or denigrate my beliefs (or vice versa). At the same time it changes everything for me when I channel the endpoint of my beliefs into my life. There’s a bit of a paradox there for which I don’t yet know how to articulate an explanation.

@jonsblond- props, baby. That was such utter bullshit.

While we are on that topic, I also think it’s happened in the past that a flurry of questions have been added to get undesirable questions off the front page. It’s water under the bridge, but I guess this is the time to surface old grievances.

@serenade I really appreciate your comment, and you did articulate nicely!

That persistent dismissal doesn’t seed doubt for me, but I also don’t think the people making those comments realize how it reflects on them as human beings. It’s not loving and not accepting, so if that’s what NOT having God in your life does for you, no thanks.

Some atheists are condescending jerks. But being atheists didn’t make them that way.

I have to second @augustlan. In truth, some of my best friends are atheist. It seems to me that many bend over backward to prove they have a solid moral compass and can and do treat people with respect despite their lack of belief in God. There are jerks in every crowd, and I have met way more jerky theists than jerky atheists.

@SuperMouse We know which group is the minority on fluther though, which was my point.

@SuperMouse do you have statistics on there being more jerk theists than atheists? I would like to see them please. JK, I realize you said you had met more. In real life I don’t find myself constantly being bombarded with questions regarding my beliefs or the beliefs of others. In fluther, it seems to happen with boring frequency and imho the atheists are the attackers and belittlers not vice versa.

@rooeytoo I agree with your assessment of Fluther and the whole atheist/theist discussion. IRL, I definitely meet more judgmental and jerky theists then atheists. Maybe it is because theists want to discuss belief (or lack thereof) more than atheists. But you are right that for the most part I am not confronted about my beliefs on the regular.

I’m in the dark. I didn’t even know there was a “group” on Fluther, much less that it was in a minority. What group am I in? Can I be president of the group? Can I name the people in my group? I start with…@Will Work For Chocolate, Rarebear, DK Dom, flo, BlueRoses, Aster, ASTRO CHUCK, Future Memory, Darwin, hearcat, hug of war, Rootytoo, SuperMouse, Auggie (duh!)…um, KNOWITALL, Dutchess_III Wait…that’s me…, um, tinyfaery, bkcunningham, McBean, missingbite, rahb, symbline, tommasi, Paradox, I’m running out of room jonsblond, BlondsJon, wundayatta, LiveLaughLove, Bellatrix, Dr. Lawrence, Hippie Central, SlicesWithThings, IMadethisUp with NoForethought, Simone, JeanPaulSartre, JCA, ETPro, -Bob, OPPM, Sunny2, PnL, Red Power Lady, resmc, Milkey Way Running out of room… Knitt Froggy, PnL, Spatzie Lover, Rooytoo Wait…I already said RooyToo Val123 Ooops. Me again, YarnLady, Lefty Space Monkey, KillthaGirl, josie, FGs, Russel D Space Poet, MissA, LILLY COYOTE, Judi, FGS, Fly, JLeslie, DownTide, AdronackWannaBe (sp), Ben, Andr…...I ran out of roo

Oh. and Dutchess_123.

I thought you were going to forget me for a while there @Dutchess_III. Glad I made the cut.

@Dutchess_III I made someone’s group? You like me. You really like me!

I have a group. It’s all jellies.

:)