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Meet the Mods: Part X

12:01 am

It’s been quite awhile since we’ve posted an update introducing our mod team. We know that there’s a tendency for members to think of “The Mods” as some dark cabal ruling Fluther from a citadel, but in fact we rule right out of our own homes. We’re really not so different from you. If you knew what we know, you’d be just like us.

So, without further ado, meet your mods!:

Longgone adds a refreshing international flair to the team (you’ve probably already guessed that she’s not from around here because she writes English better than you do). She mods from her thatched cottage in Moldova, where her internet connection consists of semaphore signals to a Gypsy on a nearby hill with a dial-up connection, so please keep that in mind if the modding seems slow at times. In her leisure time, Longgone trains the little forest animals to march in formation and carry her sedan chair. Favorite quote: “The new ruler must determine all the injuries that he will need to inflict. He must inflict them once and for all.”

SavoirFaire brings an impressive list of academic credentials to our humble little operation: Top third of his class at Pemboken High School, ’82; Most Improved Freshman at Biloxi Community College, ’83; Outstanding Hygiene award at University of Phoenix, ’85, and recently appointed to the L. Ron Hubbard Chair of Philosophy at the City Colleges of Peoria. He originally came to Fluther to fulfill his academic publishing requirement, but he fell in love with the high level of intellectual discourse here and made it his online home. As a mod, he uses his cerebral firepower to identify and eradicate fallacies, faux pas, ad hominims, malapropisms and other unsmart stuff. Favorite quote: “Yesterday is history, tomorrow a mystery and today is a gift. That’s why we call it the present.”

“Thorninmud” is actually a composite identity created by two fun-loving fraternity brothers at Ohio State University. Chad (known to his Kappa Kappa Mu brothers as “Thorn” or “Prick”) is now in the 6th year of OSU’s pioneering “Basic Life Skills” program, and dreams of starting his own video rental business upon graduation (ask him about his Kickstarter campaign). He has a pet roach, Roachy XVIII, and is a member of the OSU Companion Insects Club. Favorite Quote: “The Ultimate Answer to Life, The Universe and Everything is…42!”

The other 1/3 of Thorninmud is fellow Kappa Kappa Mu-er Mike (aka “Mudster”). Mudster is a pica survivor, but chooses not to let his disorder define him. His main role in the Thorninmud partnership is the random selection of moderation targets, and generating pithy comments by running Bible passages through Google Translator twice. He and Thorn originally met at Companion Insects Club, but Mudster’s pet caterpillar Bruce was tragically eaten by a butterfly over spring break. Favorite quote: “Sick transit, Gloria”

PhiNotPi is a beta version AI program (sorry, ladies) created by Fluther founder Ben Finkle when he should have been upgrading the site’s servers. Several Fluther members have been kind enough to point out recurring bugs in Phi’s code, such as the fact that “he” has claimed to be 15 years old for, like, three years now. Please keep those bug reports coming. We hope to initiate the actual Turing test sometime in the fall. Oh, and favorite quote: “The net change of a smooth and continuous quantity over a given time is equal to the integral of the rate of change of that quantity.”

Mariah (who goes by the pseudonym Rachel in real life) has been a member of the witness protection program for most of her adult life, so we’re not at liberty to divulge too many particulars about this latest addition to the mod team. Her interests include toxicology, ballistics, tracking, and taxidermy. Since becoming a mod, she has volunteered to take on the tedious task of organizing personal information about Fluther members into an easy-to-use database (don’t worry, it’s encrypted). Favorite quote: “Go ahead. Make my day.”

The State of the Tide Pool

2:44 pm

As most of you know, Augustlan, our intrepid Community Manager for so many years, has moved on in her career, and stepped down from her position. The Moderation Team has been managing Fluther for a several months now, as Auggie’s active involvement had already diminished considerably months before she officially announced her departure.

During some of the controversies and complaints that have recently arisen, some people have said that the Mod Team is too strict and that we’re not handling things the way Auggie did. That is, however, untrue. Augustlan selected and trained each member of the current Moderation Team, and most of us worked behind-the-scenes with her for year or more. We have been privy to her opinions on the different guidelines and have continued to moderate the site the way she taught us. We have archives of behind-the-scenes Moderation Team communications that go back a few years, so we have records of discussions about most issues that have come up on the site that we refer to when a question arises.

When Fluther had paid staff monitoring the site, moderation was part of their job duties, and thus was done promptly – which made it much less noticeable to the average Jelly. Site moderation now is done voluntarily, and has been for quite some time since the Community Manager’s salary was substantially reduced and then cut altogether. There are six of us on the current team, all of whom have personal, familial, and work and/or school responsibilities that leave us little time to spend on Moderation at Fluther, and we simply cannot comb through every Question and Comment that is submitted to the site. This is why we emphasize the value of user-input via the flagging system. You Jellies are the eyes and ears of Fluther, and we rely on you to call our attention to anything that appears questionable by flagging it with a brief note telling us what you see. We greatly appreciate all the Jellies who have been supportive and patient during this time of transition.

The evolution of Fluther and the Guidelines

The Moderation Team’s basic functions remain the same – removing spam and upholding the site’s guidelines and rules. Fluther was created as an educational site where the goal is to maturely and respectfully share knowledge and experience on various topics. While we neither limit the topics nor censor language within discussions, the Question Titles must be ‘safe for work’ to allow Jellies from the age of 13 years and up to scroll through the lists of Questions safely. Beyond that, the basic requirements of the site are: that people use correct English, that they are considerate of each other, and that they do not use the site for promotional purposes – whether a business, product, cause or agenda.

When the site started, it was only one section with the strict guidelines of the current General section, where the comments must relate to the question asked in the original post (OP). As the community grew, some expressed a desire to be able to have a little fun and let conversations wander and flow a bit. This was when the Social section was added, which allowed for some joking and sarcasm relative to the topic, and for conversations to evolve and broaden a bit beyond the OP. Meta was then added as a place to discuss Fluther itself, and to celebrate Lurve milestones.

For some Jellies, even the Social section was too strict, as it does not allow for chit-chat or off-topic banter. Since the creators never intended Fluther to be a ‘social network’ site, they still want the sections to stay true to the Q&A format and for comments to be respectful and not derail the discussion. They created the chat rooms, and encouraged their use as well as Private Messages (PMs) as the place where the various members of the collective can communicate more freely and share more casual conversation. As the site and Guidelines changed over time, the content from before any rule change was not moderated based on new rules. We have never retroactively moderated posts, except to remove spam we might have missed, or if a Jelly has concerns about personal information they revealed.

Although our founders have moved on to other career opportunities and now have families of their own, they have allowed the site to remain up, and free for members to use. Many of us have experienced the disappointment when other sites that have closed, so we owe it to the founders of Fluther to uphold their vision of what they want the site to be out of respect for what they created (which still bears their names), and out of appreciation for them allowing us to continue to use their servers and site. We have been in touch with them regarding this transition, and there will be no changes made in the Guidelines at this time.

The current moderation position on recent complaints

As previously mentioned, there are times when there is a gap in the moderation coverage on Fluther, which results in some items that are in violation of our guidelines to remain in view. People may have responded to a post and then it suddenly “disappears” because something in the OP needs correcting. Since, like our Mod Team, the members of the collective are in different parts of the globe and have various schedules and responsibilities of their own, it may be a while before corrections are made and the post reinstated. We have pondered whether there might be more efficient ways to handle this situation to minimize Question down-time, but there are no better logistics within the framework we have. PhiNotPhi has done a great job making some tweaks within the framework, like the Profile Flag, and we are so glad to have him on the team!

Since there was once a time when paid staff responded to violations almost immediately, but now we volunteers sometimes respond promptly, yet other times hours later, or maybe never if it hasn’t been flagged – people complain about our inconsistency. Again, we are doing the best we can with what we have, and we really do appreciate and rely on the flags from the collective – you are our “Neighborhood Watch” and your input is valuable to us and the site as a whole.

Several Jellies have complained about a “lack of transparency” while others want our moderation interactions with them to remain private. This is a difficult balancing act for Moderators. We have agreed to increase our communications with members involved about moderation actions – something that we’ve not been as diligent about because we are trying to do so much in what little time we have. Respecting the privacy of others is why we also prefer that people do not make mentions of other Jellies, unless it is in a positive light.

Most recently, the issue of keeping Question Titles safe for work (SFW) has come up. We have reviewed the previous discussions in the Mod archives and on the site itself, and we have also checked with the founders, who have again stated that we will not be revising the Guidelines at this time. Proper medical terms for body parts are allowed, as are proper names. Words with double meanings that are being used in their SFW form must be clearly placed within an SFW context in the titles, and the Topics must also reflect the SFW context. If the Question is of a more sensitive topic or mature nature, or if the responses are likely to contain such content, the Question Title must be phrased in a format that is safe for work and contain the [NSFW] disclaimer.

Controversial subjects and debate threads

One of the greatest challenges for moderators, and one that caused a big problem while Augustlan was still at the helm, is the issue about controversial topics. For some members, this is the most interesting aspect of Fluther. They thrive on the rough and tumble confrontation of ideas. There is most definitely a place for this here. Part of keeping debate alive is making sure that the rules and moderation provide a space for it; another part is maintaining a population where diverse views are represented and respected. However, the aim of debate shouldn’t be to run one’s opponent out of town, or to have members with opposing views leave the discussion in frustration or anger. That is harmful to the discussion and the community. The purpose of debate is to present your points and counterpoints in order to convince others (anyone observing, not necessarily your ‘opponent’) that your view is the most sensible.

The Guidelines and Terms & Conditions of Fluther state that we do not allow: trolling or propaganda; ego-centric or attention grabbing content; deceitful or deceptive information; hateful, abusive, bigoted content or harassment of others. They also state, “Feel free to ask questions on controversial topics; all we require is that you don’t just do it purely for the sake of it. Asking a question on a controversial topic because you genuinely believe in the question and want an answer is acceptable, whereas doing so solely because you want to spark off a touchy discussion is not.” And let us not forget the directive to “disagree without being disagreeable.”

Determining a poster’s intent when posting a question is a judgment call. All the moderators have been on Fluther for at least four years, and we do get a sense of people based on their actions on the site and interactions with us. In addition, we have their history of all content they’ve posted to the site – those that are visible to the public, and those that have been removed for violation of the Guidelines – and we can see patterns when some users repeatedly ask questions on particular topics or themes.

When making an especially ‘borderline’ judgement call, we do refer to the input provided by members via the flagging system as well as conferring with other moderators. We have all been chosen as moderators by Augustlan for being level-headed, and on the rare occasions that find our objectivity wavering on a sensitive subject, we will admit it and take a step back from moderating the thread. That is one advantage of having a team approach, there are checks-and-balances – and while the need for us to discuss issues amongst ourselves might prolong the process, it is better for the community that these tough calls are being considered from various perspectives.

The team has discussed this issue at great length and we feel that the ideal way for a Jelly to pose a ‘genuine’ question on a controversial subject is to phrase the OP in a way that is relatively neutral and open to hearing diverse opinions on the topic. We especially discourage the use of language that is demeaning to those whose views might differ from the OP’s. Similarly, whether in the OP or within the discussion, we will not allow ridicule to be used as a debate tactic.

Whether or not one judges a particular idea to be ridiculous or stupid, simply calling it ridiculous is not a strong argument and is disruptive to the community. What do we mean by ridicule? The etymology of the word is instructive: it comes from a Latin root meaning “to laugh.” There are many subtle ways to hold up someone’s idea as an object of mockery or derision.

Please note that pointing out the flaws in someone else’s commentary, or offering a critique based on reason is not the same as ridiculing that view, either in substance or effect. We can accept that not all ideas have equal merit. It is the nature of debate that arguments and counter-arguments will be presented. Those arguments might even include demonstrating how a particular idea would lead to absurd conclusions.

But ridicule is not an argument; it’s an assault on the dignity of one’s opponent, even if it appears to be directed at his or her point of view. The effects of ridicule can persist long after the substance of the debate is forgotten. We would ask, then, that members forego the use of ridicule in its various forms. If you see instances of ridicule, please flag it and the mods will take a look (we will not, however, be revisiting old threads).

We would much rather that you politely question, refute, and/or discredit ideas by exposing the conceptual flaws, rather than just declaring them irrational or some other derogatory adjective. It can be done without being aggressive or belligerent, and debate is usually more effective when it is clear that each party is listening to the other and contemplating their points, and not just coming in with a closed mind to attack the opposing views and push their own agenda. If you are joking with someone in a Social or Meta post, please remember to use the sarcasm tilde ~ to help reduce the chances of misinterpretations of your intent.

Expanding the moderation team

Please be assured that we Moderators truly have the Fluther Community’s best interest at heart. We love this site as much as anyone and want to see it thrive as a place where everyone feels welcome, respected, and can enjoy lively conversations. We recognize that the best way to serve the needs of the community is to have more moderation coverage — keep an eye out for another post in the near future, looking for new recruits!

Why Auggie is Both Happy and Sad

6:16 pm

Towards the end of last year, I took a little business trip related to my freelancing work, but it wasn’t all business. Austin, Texas turned out to be full of great food and fantastic people! I ate some of the best food I’ve ever had in my life there, and am still dreaming of the delicious empanadas. (But what do you think my dream means?) More importantly, I met some really interesting people in Austin — from the politically engaged cab driver to the wonderful people at the association I’d been freelancing for, everyone I encountered was a joy.

While I was there, I even got to have lunch with two jellies! Picante and Pachy were every bit as lovely as you’d imagine them to be: warm, witty, wise and whole lot of fun. What more could you ask for in a human being jelly? That’s us in the picture below, left to right: picante, pachy and augustlan.

The ‘business’ part of the trip had a very successful outcome for me: I was offered a full-time position as an employee of the company. With an actual salary and, gasp, benefits! Having been self-employed for a very long time — spending the last several years struggling to make ends meet — I immediately accepted. In addition to the obvious financial reasons for my decision, it’s also a fantastic organization to work for. From the top down, everyone is committed to their mission and they truly care about their employees. I started the job in January, and couldn’t be happier about it!

There is a downside, though. As you might have noticed, I haven’t been around much. For the last two months, I’ve attempted to manage Fluther while working full-time elsewhere and it’s been quite a challenge. Between the new demands in my life and my ongoing health issues, I just can’t keep up with it. After much reflection (and many, many tears), I’ve come to the sad conclusion that it’s time for me to step down as community manager. It’s been a difficult decision, but I take comfort in the fact that the mods have been running the site without my direct input for some time now, and they’ve been doing a great job! It’s just time to make it official, so I’m turning over the reins (and my whip!) to them.

At this time, we don’t plan to name a new manager. The mods are a fantastic group of jellies and they’ll be managing the site as a team. I am confident that they are up to the task. They are going to need your help, though. The overall tone of the community is in your hands, so please do your best to make it an enjoyable one! The mods will rely on you to be somewhat self-governing — flagging inappropriate behavior rather than returning it in kind. If you all pull together, it will make the mods’ jobs much easier. Please remember that they are all volunteers and can really use your support!

Please don’t panic. For the foreseeable future, Fluther will remain as-is. We know this community is important to you, and you are important to us! The site is self-sustaining and there are no plans to shut it down. If it ever does become necessary to close up shop, I have Ben’s assurance that everyone will get plenty of notice. None of this ‘slinking out in the middle of the night’ business, I promise. You deserve better than that.

This has been such a hard decision to make. I have loved Fluther from the moment I found it and being your community manager has been an honor and a privilege. While I will still be a member, I will miss serving the best little community on the Web. You fine people have my deepest respect and all my lurve. Always.

Meet the Mods: Part IX

3:29 am

As you know, we use real live jellyfish human moderation to maintain the environment that’s such a big part of the Fluther experience. We thought you’d like to get to know your mods a little better, so we’ve been featuring them here over the last year or so. In this, Part IX of a series, we introduce you to the two most recent additions to the mod team, downtide and PhiNotPi.  Thanks for all you do, mods!

In case you missed the previous entries, be sure to check out the whole series here.

_______________________________________________________

downtide

Downtide is 45 years old, and lives in the ‘wet bit’ of England along with his partner, their adult daughter, and one very lucky dog. His interesting username comes from an ancestor of his from about 100 years ago, who was a fisherman.

Favorite quote: “I never panic when I get lost. I just change wherever it is I want to go”. – Rita Rudner. I live by this in all things, not just travel-related. If I don’t get where I want to be in life I don’t worry about it, I just make new goals.

Pets: Xena, a black Labrador-cross, who I adopted as a rescue when she was four months old. Someone had tossed her out of a car on a busy road in the city. She’s now twelve years old, my grand old lady.

Education: The School of Hard Knocks and the University of Life. I have a degree in “Make-it-up-as-you-go-along”.

Hobbies/Interests: I do watercolor painting, mostly landscapes. I’m active in my local LGBT community, especially the transgender community and I’m on the committee for my local trans-men’s support group. I am also a big fan of the online virtual world of Second Life, and my Fluther avatar is a picture of my main avatar from there.

Day job: I work in the back-office of a major UK company, mainly dealing with customer queries and problems by letter and email. I’ve been there nearly ten years, but the first seven years were in sales. I’m rather glad to be not doing that any more in the current economic climate.

Dream job: To run my own art shop and studio, and just paint all day. I actually did do this for a couple of years but didn’t make enough money to support it.

Why do you volunteer your time to Fluther? I’ve been a Jelly for over two and a half years, and I think it’s an awesome community that we have here. I felt that it was about time I became more active in supporting the community and giving something back to it.

Is there anything else you’d like the community to know about you? Most of the community already knows this (because I never shut up about it!), but for the benefit of new Jellies, I am a trans-man and I’m part-way through sex transition from female to male. It’s a long and difficult process and I’ve waited a long time to start, but it’s wonderful to finally be who I should have been all along.

_______________________________________________________

PhiNotPi

Matthew is one of our most talented resident math whizzes, and you may be surprised to learn that he is only 15 years old. (I know we were!) He lives in South Carolina with his parents, a sibling, and many pets. His catchy username refers to his preference for abstract math.

Favorite quote: “People who eat dirt are smarter.” -My dad, as he explains how the immune response stimulates the nervous system.

Pets: My family has several pets, including a cat by the name of Bonnie and a bearded dragon by the name of Newton.

Education: I have not yet graduated from high school, but I plan to do so within a reasonable amount of time. I’ll then go to a university (but I haven’t decided which).

Hobbies/Interests: I play clarinet in my school’s concert and marching bands.

Day job: School. And Fluther. But almost always school.

Dream job: I haven’t decided yet, but surely something involving math and science. I might become an engineer or go into a medical field that involves technology.

Why do you volunteer your time to Fluther? I already spend a considerable amount of time on Fluther. I became a mod because I like to actively help fix this place. I could either complain about stuff or actually help with stuff. I choose the second option.

Is there anything else you’d like the community to know about you? My favorite areas of expertise are mathematics and science. If you ask a question about math, then I’ll be there, lurking in the background. I like to compose music (for the classical instruments only; I don’t write songs), although I have not yet written an entire piece. In my spare time, I do things that many might consider math, but which I view as a mental challenge assigned to myself, from myself.

_______________________________________________________

Thanks, mods, for helping us all get to know you better!

 

 

And the Winner Is…

2:03 am

Thanks to all of you who participated in asking and answering questions during the T-Shirt contest… it was fun! And now, without further ado, we present our winner:

This is so exciting!

Drum roll, please.

And the winner is… WillWorkForChocolate!

Congratulations, WillWorkForChocolate! Please contact me so we can get your prize to you. Enjoy!

UPDATE

Our winner was gracious enough to provide photographic evidence that she looks great in her Fluther tee. See for yourself:

Thanks, WillWorkForChocolate!

Win a Fluther T-Shirt!

12:56 am

See that fantastic t-shirt on the right? Well, you could win one!

To enter, simply ask 8 questions between now and midnight on Sunday, July 15, 2012, then post your username in the comments section below.

Winner will be selected  from qualified entrants in a random drawing, and will be announced on Tuesday, July 17, 2012.

Good luck to all of you!

And now for the not-so-fine print: All questions must meet our Quality Guidelines. Fluther employees, moderators and their families are not eligible to win.

Fluther is in Danger! Along With the Rest of the Internet.

4:29 am

Fluther has a long-standing policy of not helping people commit illegal acts, and Internet piracy is certainly no exception. But a much larger problem than piracy is on the horizon: extreme censorship powered by corporate interests. And it could become perfectly legal in the very near future, right here in America.

The House’s Stop Online Piracy Act (SOPA) and the Senate’s PROTECT IP Act aim to curb online piracy, but in reality will end up censoring the Internet in ways that would devastate sites with user posted content (like Fluther), and change the very nature of the Internet itself. Trying to get a handle on piracy is a legitimate concern. This is not a legitimate way to do it.

These bills shift the burden of copyright protection from the holder of the copyright (where it currently rests and rightly belongs) to sites like ours. If these measures come to pass, it would require us to be certain that none of our members ever post anything that infringes on a copyright. Not only that, but posting a link to any other site would require that we first be certain that there is not one instance of copyright infringement anywhere on that site as well! Should we miss something, Fluther could be immediately shut down, our finances frozen, and our domain name confiscated. A few rogue links could result in the swift demise of an honorable site.

It’s not all about us, though. It’s about you, too. Websites you frequent may be blocked in the US. Your email provider may be forced to censor links you send or receive. Anything you post on social networking sites will be closely monitored, and subject to censorship. Want to post a video of your toddler singing a pop song? Your distant family will probably never see the adorableness, and you might even be sued. Trying to get the word out about human rights violations by reposting videos and news articles? The world will likely never know.

There is a little bit of good news: The bills are on hold at the moment. But the corporate interests behind them won’t give up. We can’t give up, either. Take action now!

For more information, and other ways  you can help, click here.

Lisa A. Noll

1/16/2012

Meet the Mods: Part VIII

6:59 am

Welcome to Part VIII of our ongoing series. This week, we introduce you to the two most recent additions to the mod team, Seaofclouds and Bellatrix. Thanks again for all you do, mods!

 

 

 

In case you missed them, be sure to check out parts one, two, three, four, fivesix and seven.

 

______________________________________________________

Seaofclouds

Stacey is 30 years old and leads a busy life in Pennsylvania with her husband and their two boys, an almost 10 year old and an almost 6 month old. We will have to speculate on how almost-old her husband is. ~

Favorite quote: “Shoot for the moon. Even if you miss, you’ll land among the stars.” – Les Brown

Education: I received a diploma in nursing in 2006, which allowed me to become a LPN. In 2007, I received my ADN and became a RN. In 2010, I completed my BSN.

Hobbies/Interests: I love reading and spend a lot of my free time doing just that. I also love playing games of all sorts. My husband and I are participating in a table top D & D campaign right now. We also play numerous board and card games when we can. We actually met at a game weekend, so I guess it’s a pretty big thing for us!

Day job: I am a registered nurse at a long term acute care facility. I’m also a preceptor there (which means I train/orient the new staff, in addition to my normal work.)

Dream job: I would love to work on a pediatric oncology unit, preferably at a hospital like St. Jude, CHOP (Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia), or Johns Hopkins Children’s Center.

Why do you volunteer your time to Fluther?: I volunteer because I love helping people and I have come to value what Fluther has to offer everyone. I joined Fluther while my husband was deployed overseas, and I found so much support and encouragement from fellow jellies during that time. I only hope I can help others the way I’ve been helped so far. I also love the quality aspect of Fluther when compared to other Q&A sites and look forward to helping keep Fluther from going downhill as some other Q&A sites have.

Is there anything else you’d like the community to know about you?: Hmm. I feel like I’ve shared so much over the time I’ve been here. I love how many celebrations we’ve shared. Fluther was the first to know when I got pregnant with my youngest, because we wanted to wait a bit before we told family. Fluther celebrated with me when my husband came home from a year in Iraq. I was posting about the birth of my youngest the day he was born! So, I guess what I’m getting at, is Fluther is like a family to me. We’ve shared so much with each other, and although we remain mostly anonymous, I know there are people out there that truly care. I hope they know the same about me.

______________________________________________________

Bellatrix

Bella is our second mod from the land down under. She lives in a house surrounded by trees in Brisbane, Australia, along with her beautiful, intelligent and funny husband and three wonderful children who keep her on her toes and learning. She hopes she’s in the middle of her life, with a lot of the journey left to go.

Favorite quote: I have to pick one? I don’t think I can. I try to live by…

“If you want your life to be a magnificent story, then begin by realizing that you are the author and every day you have the opportunity to write a new page.” – Mark Houlahan

and definitely…

“Most people I know think that I’m crazy…” – Billy Thorpe

However, tomorrow it could be something completely different, since “When you’re finished changing, you’re finished.” – Benjamin Franklin

Pets: Two mad schnauzers, one cat with an over inflated ego, one bold, blue and beautiful betta fish. We call them Siamese Fighting Fish here, and his name is Genghis or G3.

Education: Formal education – I have my PhD. Informal education – I learn something new every day.

Hobbies/Interests: I love to write, but consider myself to be wearing training wheels. I write in my work setting every day, but I have this burning urge to write a novel. I am also a student of photography. An informal student. I take photos when I can. I want to take more. I like to draw and paint, but rarely get any time to do that these days. I love films, music, reading and travel. I want to go everywhere! I like gardening, but am not good at it. I like to cook, as long as it is something new.

Day job: I am an academic.

Dream job: I am one of those lucky people who have their dream job!

Why do you volunteer your time to Fluther?: I genuinely care about the Fluther community. I believe there are some amazing people here, and I enjoy the time I spend reading their thoughts. Like all communities though, we need people to help keep the peace, to pick up the mess and put away the toys. At times, I have expressed my frustration with some of our less splendid moments, and I believe if you are going to criticise, you should be prepared to ‘put your money where your mouth is’, or in this case, spend some time hopefully mentoring new jellies while keeping the spammers and those who upset our pool at bay. Spam sandwich, anyone?

Is there anything else you’d like the community to know about you?: I am a pretty open book. If you have more questions about me, feel free to ask. My message box is always open to you.

______________________________________________________

 

Thanks, mods, for helping us get to know all of you a little better!


 

Meet the Mods: Part VII

3:21 am

Welcome to Part VII of our ongoing series. This week, we introduce you to the two most recent additions to the mod team, laureth and SavoirFaire. Thanks again for all you do, mods!

In case you missed them, be sure to check out parts one, two, three, four, five and six.

______________________________________________________

laureth

Dawn is a 39 year old renaissance woman living in Michigan with her husband of four years and their 15 year old Manchester Terrier, Digger. Someday, she’d like to add children, chickens and goats to the mix.

Favorite quote: “Comfort the afflicted, afflict the comfortable.” – Finley Peter Dunne

Education: I’ve been going to college on and off since 1990, usually one class a semester to fit in with my work and Fluther schedules ~. I hope to have a degree someday, perhaps by the time I’m eligible to retire. Yes, I’m an English major, but I try to be gentle when it comes to picking on others’ grammar and punctuation!

Hobbies/Interests: Knitting, spinning yarn, gardening, being literate, learning about old timey skills and permaculture concepts, history, economics, politics, and I’m also a “foodie”.

Day job: Data entry in the entertainment/music/media industry.

Dream job: Being a smallholder; that is, intensively managing a minifarm of 5-10 acres in such a way as to build the soil, provide for most of our household’s food and some of our fiber needs, and generally live in a way that I feel treads lightly on Mama Earth, maybe teaching others how to do the same. I don’t believe our current wasteful way of life is sustainable, and I’d rather that the eventual correction be more of a gentle powering-down by choice, than a disastrous smackdown of epic proportions.

Why do you volunteer your time to Fluther?: I’ve been part of online fora since about 1990. I enjoy the relationships that I’ve built with people online, most of whom I never would have met any other way. Knowing different kinds of people, and learning about slivers of their lives, even relatively anonymously, helps open the mind and promotes a less insular way of thinking. Fluther is an excellent place to find reasonable conversation and people speaking openly about useful things, and I’d like to help foster that if I can.

Is there anything else you’d like the community to know about you?: If there’s ever anything you wanted to do, you’re not too old or too far away from the goal to start – even if it’s just by making a baby step in the direction you want to go. Don’t give up! After a whole life of thinking I was too weird to ever find someone, I got married at 35 to someone unusual enough to be just right for me. It just took a while to find him! And at almost 40, I’m looking into giving up the desk job for something that makes a difference. If you stop moving and learning, you get nowhere. So even if it’s scary to change, sometimes you have to consider if it’s scarier to stay the same.

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SavoirFaire

Our resident philosophical guru, Matt lives in Virginia with his wife and their four chinchillas. He claims to be 916,466,329 seconds old. You do the math, please.

Favorite quote: “Do not believe in anything simply because you have heard it. Do not believe in anything simply because it is spoken and rumored by many. Do not believe in anything simply because it is found written in your religious books. Do not believe in anything merely on the authority of your teachers and elders. Do not believe in traditions because they have been handed down for many generations. But after observation and analysis, when you find that anything agrees with reason and is conducive to the good and benefit of one and all, then accept it and live up to it.” – Siddhartha Gautama

Education: I am in the third year of a doctoral program in philosophy.

Hobbies/Interests: Primarily martial arts.  I currently practice karate, kobudo, and kenjutsu. I am also a classically trained musician, and lately I’ve been thinking of teaching myself how to play the violin.

Day job: I teach logic and ethics to undergraduates in the morning, take classes in the afternoon, and work data entry jobs in the evening or on weekends. Until recently, I had a job archiving historical documents.

Dream job: I sometimes think that I’d like to be a professor at a university with historical connections to one of my favorite philosophers, but I’m not terribly picky as long as I’m teaching philosophy. Unlike a lot of people in my profession, I really enjoy working with students. As bizarre as some of my colleagues would find this, I don’t think I’d accept a position that minimized the amount of time I spent in an actual classroom.

Why do you volunteer your time to Fluther?: I value the excellent mix of great people and great discussions that Fluther provides, so I was happy to volunteer when asked to help keep it that way.

Is there anything else you’d like the community to know about you?: I am Spartacus.

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Thanks, mods, for helping us get to know all of you a little better!



The Fluther Interview: incendiary_dan

3:40 am

The most recent member to join our 10k club, incendiary_dan is a guy with the skills to keep us all alive in the event of the zombiepocalypse, or, you know, a regular old emergency. He can find, grow, and cook foods you haven’t even heard of (not to mention some you have, like bacon!); handle a firearm; and is no slouch in the survival field. In short, he’s got our backs.

He’s also got some interesting ideas about where civilization is, and where it ought to be headed. We thought it was high time we learned a little more about this Dan with a plan.

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Is there a story behind your username? Should I be worried if this interview doesn’t go well?

Well, not very worried. Although I do love to make a cozy fire, and I’m partial to the molotov cocktail imagery, the name was actually something my long time partner (hobbitsubculture) came up with when we were in college. She observed that my mere presence would instigate argument in certain groups, whether or not I was belligerent myself.

How did you find Fluther? What made you join, and what makes you stay?

Again, that was hobbitsubculture. She posted a couple questions and turned me on to the site when asking about what to look for when apartment hunting. I got really into Fluther when I started making friendships with people, and realized that the computer at one of my jobs doesn’t block it.

Your favorite question asked by you? Asked by someone else?

I sparked a pretty good conversation by asking why some men care so much about their wives taking their name. I still don’t get it, but I heard some great input and gained a bit of insight on the subject. As for other peoples’, I often like the ones Hobbes asks about culture and civilization, but they also tend to attract people waving the flag of relentless Progress.

Aside from Fluther, what are your hobbies?

I read a lot, usually about politics, anthropology (which I went to school for), and peak oil, but also some sci-fi and fantasy thrown in. I also spend a fair amount of time in my garden, or in the kitchen making delicious things (often featuring bacon). Hiking, kayaking, and other outdoor adventures are another favorite, particularly when en route to letterboxes.

You seem to be our resident expert on Gift Economies. For those of us not in the know, what exactly is a Gift Economy?

Gift economies are basically just complex ways of sharing. Societies that function primarily by gift economies have traditions that dictate ways in which essentials like food are divvied up so everyone gets some. In that respect it sounds like communism, but isn’t at all authoritarian; nobody calls the shots. The thing that keeps people giving to each other is that they know the others in their group will do the same.

What can societies based on this type of economy teach today’s societies?

I think the main thing is that high standards of living can be achieved without immense energy costs, if only greed and power are taken out of the equation. That and the fact that a high standard of living doesn’t require exploitation of others elsewhere or environmental draw-down. Marshall Sahlins wrote The Original Affluent Society about the subject, and I recommend it as a primer.

In your profile, you describe yourself as a “radical green anarchist rewilder”. Can you tell us a little about that?

I guess the best thing would be to go over the individual words, since I mashed a few together. The term ‘radical’ in this context signifies the root meaning of the word, which means “root” in Latin. My intellectual approach involves seeing what systemic factors cause present circumstances, and how those influence whether societies are just or unjust, sustainable or unsustainable, etc. An anarchist is someone who believes in having no rulers or coercive hierarchies, running society instead on mutual aid and consensus on local levels. “Green” is a fairly obvious reference to an environmental focus. As for defining ‘rewilding’, I go with my friend Urban Scout’s definition: Rewild, v; to foster and maintain a sustainable way of life through hunter-gatherer-gardener social and economic systems; including, but not limited to, the encouragement of social, physical, spiritual, mental and environmental biodiversity and the prevention and undoing of social, physical, spiritual, mental and environmental domestication and enslavement.

Some people might think you want everyone to run off into the woods with no technology. Is that true?

Yes and no. We need to reintegrate with the natural world, but it’s unreasonable to tell people to just abandon what they know to live another way. The “no technology” part is fallacious, too; indigenous hunter-gatherer-gardeners use and have used “technology”, it just doesn’t feature microchips and internal combustion engines. Rather, peoples living in place use technologies appropriate to their landbases, based on what is freely given by that land (i.e. what can be indefinitely harvested at that rate). And being social animals, running off alone would be a pretty bad idea. Our culture(s) need to change, or we need to start new ones. And using “appropriate technologies” would mean turning land currently cultivated using annual monocrops into land being cultivated using companion planting and permaculture, which produce many times more food per acre and can build soil, rather than degrade it. The focus on technology also overlooks the importance of our relational existence in respect to the land, in which our technology use is only one part.

You talk smack about civilization a lot. What do you mean when you say “civilization”?

Civilization, using writer and activist Derrick Jensen’s definition, is a way of life characterized by the growth of cities. That’s attestable both historically and linguistically. A city is a group of people living in a high enough concentration as to require the importation of resources, because they’ve denuded their landbase of that particular resource. What this means is that your way of life is necessarily violent, because trade for that resource can never be sufficiently reliable. So if you need something, and you use more than you yourself can produce, and your neighbor is unwilling to trade, you’ll go and take it from them. Historically this is also when we see empires, patriarchy, and social stratification emerge, just to name a few ills. They’re all intertwined.

What would your ideal society look like?

An ideal society would be an egalitarian group of humans making decisions by consensus on local village scales (maybe as part of larger federations of villages who cooperate for mutual protection), subsisting by mixed hunting, gathering, fishing, and gardening/permaculture. These wouldn’t be anachronisms of American Indians or some other historical group; this would both be a patronizing appropriation of indigenous culture, and entirely impractical. We’ll find our own ways to live in each of our landbases. Gender and gender roles would be radically different, if they exist at all, and groups of women would share and discuss the knowledge necessary for natural family planning. This isn’t a perfect way to live, because nothing is. It’s just stood the test of time as a better way to live on many levels.

In what way(s) would it benefit people over what we have now?

It’s hard for me to think of a way people wouldn’t benefit. An immediate shift to a foraging and gardening existence would improve health drastically, since we’d have not only more variety in food but wild and feral food always has more nutrient density than its domesticated counterpart. Cancer, diabetes, and a lot of other illnesses are basically unheard of in foraging societies. Foraging for subsistence only requires an average of three hours a day; traditional peoples typically spend much of their time socializing, playing, or pursuing artistic endeavors. That’s a lot less stress and more relaxation. If it were widespread, the air, water, and our food would all be drastically cleaner, even fairly soon after such a change. In the long term, I think social issues would ease, since systemic oppression is rooted in unnecessary hierarchies. As long as you don’t consider an Xbox a necessity, you benefit in every way.

Do you think it’s actually feasible in this day and age?

It’s possible. Indeed, if our species is to survive we need to do it, but whether it’s likely to happen soon is another question. Certainly, the basic nutritional and environmental needs of we humans is the same as it was in the Pleistocene. But much of the once fertile land is barren as a result of monocrop agriculture, and needs repairing. We have (mostly) men in funny outfits telling us where we can or can’t forage, hunt, sleep, etc. We have lots of (mostly) men in other funny outfits claiming to own lots of land they’ve never even seen, just because they have a paper that says so, and those first men in funny outfits I mentioned tend to back them up.

If so, how can we get there?

I think that it will take several things, each just as important as the other. It’s kind of like a multi-pronged revolution. We need to foster as much sustainable self-sufficiency as possible, particularly in terms of food and shelter, particularly in cities where resources are scarce. We need to change our concepts of land ownership, which requires a fundamental overhaul of the whole economy (or its collapse, which historically has been a positive thing for the average person). We need to support womens’ rights everywhere, dismantle institutionalized racism, and combat any sort of oppression. We need to conserve and heal the lands ravaged by our culture. I guess at the base of that, we need to stop pretending we’re anything more than a complex social ape and that we have our own niche to fill in our ecosystems.

How did you first become interested in this movement/way of life?

It sort of worked out as a merging of a few interests. I became interested in natural medicine as a pre-teen when I was fairly ill and got better through natural treatments. Herbal medicine in particular interested me. That led into foraging, and that into primitive and wilderness skills, which influenced my desire to be as self-sufficient as possible. A big moment in my life was my tenth grade history class, in which my teacher had us build a replica of a Nipmuc village. Combine that with my realizations that the industrial system is unstable and unsustainable, and my studies of anthropology and psychology leading me towards anti-authoritarian politics and radical feminism, and I became a rewilder.

I understand that you’re a primitive skills instructor. What kinds of things do you teach? Could you teach me to start a fire with nothing but sticks?

We’d need some string, too. Fire by friction is one that I teach, but I admittedly need practice in that myself. I’ve been spoiled by my fire piston, which is another means by which to get primitive fire. Besides that, I try to teach people how to take care of all of their needs. A useful guide is the rule of threes: on average, humans can last three hours in harsh weather, three days without water, and three weeks without food. I sometimes add three seconds without safety, three minutes without air, and three months without going batshit crazy from loneliness. So at the school I work at, we’ve taught friction fire, several types of shelter (both short and long term), how to get water and purify it, and how to forage, hunt, and trap.

If a jelly wanted to find an instructor like yourself in their area, where would they look?

There are a few schools around the country that teach various primitive skills, so I’d start there. I’ve taught at Great Hollow Wilderness School and Two Coyotes Wilderness School, both of which are in CT. Different schools often differ on their focus, in terms of skill sets and philosophy. Some regions might not have any schools, so finding someone willing to mentor on an email list might be a good idea. I have friends who have attended Tom Brown Jr.’s Tracker School in New Jersey and Teaching Drum in Wisconsin.

How did you learn all of the skills you teach?

I learned mostly by trial and error, reading books, hanging out with the right people, and I admit it, lots of Youtube. Wash, rinse, repeat, and you have a wilderness skills instructor.

Suppose you could teach everyone in the world just one primitive skill. Which one would it be and why?

That really depends on the situation someone is in. Someone in the desert has to worry about water a lot, so finding water sources would be an essential skill. In the subarctic evergreen forests, fire and shelter are primary needs. And everyone’s got to eat. Assuming someone has a home they live in, I think being able to find and gather wild food will be of the most benefit. I’ll count traditional companion planting in that, like the Three Sisters garden I’m growing (that’s maize-corn, beans, and squash). In particular, the Big Four plant food sources are useful. They’re acorns, cattails, pines, and grasses.

What are some good resources for learning more about rewilding and primitive skills?

Urban Scout put out a book recently called Rewild or Die, which really gets to the heart of rewilding. It’s also the only book specifically about rewilding, to my knowledge. Tom Brown Jr.’s survival books are good, you just have to disregard his likely-fictional stories. Even the U.S. Army’s Survival Guide is pretty good. Otherwise, I quite like a few Youtube channels, such as EatTheWeeds and wildernessoutfitters, and I moderate at the rewild.info forums.

One resource Dan didn’t mention (but we will!) is his own blog.

We really appreciate you sharing some of your life and ideas with us. Thanks, Dan!