Am I not welcome here?

I want you here.
What were the comments? Were you not given a reason?

@chyna No reasons given…just modded.

I want you here.

I won’t always agree with you, but I’ll always respect you.

I may not agree with your political views but other than that I have no problem with ya.
People seem to have a bigger problem with me than you.

^^^ I have no problems with you whatsoever.

I don’t know…Fluther seems to be going through a lull time. To be honest, I’ve been spending most of my time at Quora; I find the website to be vibrant and a good place for honest, animated, and civil discussion.

Waiting for a mod’s explanation.

Hint: I probably saw one of the modded answer in the Flat Earth thread.

Huh, been there myself bro. Never got an explanation either.

I feel your pain. I’ve been modded several times for what I consider to be no good reason.

Don’t go. We have our differences, @Cruiser , but that’s no reason to de-Fluther

That happens to me sometimes, too. Just shrug it off! Consider yourself not one of the popular kids in town. I do.

Don’t you remember the days of warnings, two week suspensions and bannings?

You’re good.

The mods modded me constantly until I got a little more politically correct.
Doesn’t mean I think differently, I just say it differently to make them think I am one of them.
They imagine they have won the argument, I buy more time…

Squeeky and I are the only two without great answers. We aren’t welcome. :(

define “reasonable”.

You’re beyond welcome. In view of your positions, you’re priceless to this place. I appreciate you and urge you to repeat whatever tasteless comments the gods have expunged.

This has prompted me to skim through all my answers and none seem to have been modded.

Why don’t you contact the mods and inquire with them directly as to the reasoning? There is a button at the top of the screen.

I’m curious to know, however, for future reference:

Do you receive any kind of notification that it happened?
Is it typical for there not to be an explanation?
What was the subject matter of the answers that were modded?

I’m not familiar with you but to have just a couple of moderations out of the amount of time you’ve been here as suggested by the amount of lurve you have, it’s unfounded to consider yourself unwanted or as being targeted.

Regardless, don’t stop expressing yourself. If you do have to be banished for your honest opinion then so be it. This place doesn’t deserve you.

@Cruiser
You are a victim of the Fluther elites shock that they gave away an election that they should have won hands down, but fucked it up. They cant blame themselves, so they blame contrarians like you.
Hang on, at least until they come to terms with it.
As for me, the question about restricting veterans on airplanes pretty much made me lose interest.
Hold the position as long as it is tenable and good luck.

What? Of course we want you here. I’ve been modded more times than I can count. At least 10% of the time I think I was modded unjustly. Half the time I think it’s borderline, but eh, whatever.

Ask the mods why you were modded if you feel it was unfair.

Why didn’t you contact the mods to ask them about the moderation? What possible reason would you have to ask the site at large? It’s not like we can answer for the mods.

@Cruiser I can only find one answer of yours that has been moderated recently. It was both off-topic and flame-bait, and was flagged as such by multiple jellies. That’s why it was removed. (And for the record, I moved this question to Meta because that’s where it belongs. I’m not trying to drive you off.)

@ARE_you_kidding_me Did you ask? The only time I’ve seen you complain about an act of moderation, I offered to explain it and you declined.

@josie You were never modded for not being politically incorrect. You got caught up in the rule against a certain type of question—the same rule that caused a well-known and extremely liberal jelly to leave (because he was moderated so often—about three times as often as you). Furthermore, only two of the current mods are Americans, at least one of those two is neither a Democrat nor a Clinton supporter, and the other one isn’t responsible for removing @Cruiser‘s answer. I would recommend not making such broad claims when you lack the data necessary to back them up.

Sounds like a discussion to have with @SavoirFaire or the other mods. As you know, I value your presence here and have no knowledge of what or why your posts were modded.

@Cruiser, stick around. It’s like a bee sting, it might hurt like hell for a little while but then it goes away.

And remember: we may refer to them as the “Fluther gods,” but they’re really only human, and they’re volunteers.

As a general note: the mods don’t send personalized explanations every time something is moderated. That said, most answers that are removed have an explanatory label attached to them (including the answer @Cruiser is asking about here, which was removed as “off-topic”). Anyone who wants a more in-depth explanation is free to ask one of the moderators.

Of course we want you here, but we all have to follow the rules and sometimes we all fall foul of said rules. I don’t think the mods would remove your posts to entice you to leave. I really don’t think any of our mods are so small-minded.

I don’t like you. I think your politics are gross. I would totally flip the fuck out out if one of my sisters kids wanted to marry you. Pretty sure that would go both ways. But I have no real problem with you being here. I wish you weren’t here but it isn’t like I try to get you the boot or anything. Not that I even could. I have no influence.

Check out your comments to see why they might have been modded. I wouldn’t personalise it.

@johnpowell a little harsh man

I so rarely notice when I’ve been modded that when I do I just figure that there was probably a reason. Your politics, @Cruiser, are not mine, but you are neither the most extreme nor the most offensive (in my view, anyway) person here.
It surprises me you ask this, as you are never one that I associate with this type of Q.

I like your advice on yoga and meditation and stuff.

Become immune to the bullshit & thou shalt prosper, that’s what works for me.
I mean, the site is what each of us make of it at the end of the day, learn to live with it’s little foibles.

Homeboy asked and I gave a honest response. They were asking for criticism. I gave it.

Why are the mods making me a victim?

@johnpowell I don’t have a problem with your answer. I respect you being honest about it. Now I think I will stick around just because I now know how much my presence here means to you.

I’m surprised you’re taking this so hard. We’re gonna get dinged. It’s just a matter of time. This place is like life itself. Justice can be elusive.

What? Of course you are.

I usually feel a little stung when I get modded, but sometimes I know I was asking for it. Happens to everyone. Don’t take it personally, please.

@stanleybmanly Being the odd man out is not an easy place to be. I would love to sit around the camp-fire and sing Kumbaya songs with ya all but I am here for the conversation and hate to be cut out of the conversation for no clear reason. My life is foreign to most here and the modded comments of mine were both peppered with my flavor of politics and easy for me to assume I was being censored more than modded and why I asked this question.

Queen of being modded here. Why even ask? I don’t even care anymore. I’d say in many respects you and I are on opposite sides of the spectrum. (Except I also ran successful businesses and spent many years in the commercial /capitalist world. )

@Cruiser I’m sure we all react to the vanishing of our posts as blatant censorship, but you don’t want to fall into the snare of railing against omnipotence.

I get modded because I use British English instead of American English and that seems to upset Americans.

@Lightlyseared Only some.

@janbb true. But the one who it does upset it really upsets.

Modded for using British spelling? Or, was it the arrangement of a sentence? Vocabulary? That’s shocking to me that fluther would mod that.

@JLeslie The last time it was to do with plurals on collective nouns. So in British English I’d say Microsoft are doing something (plural) and American English would go with Microsoft is doing something (singular).

@Lightlyseared: Like “maths” instead of “math?”

@jca good example you would believe how annoying math sounds to a British speaker. well.. you might… I mean it probably sounds as annoying as maths to an American… :)

“Maths” is bloody annoying y’all.

It is short for “mathematics”. So “maths” is the correct way to spell it.

@Lightlyseared Was it a Q you wrote that was bumped for editing? I can’t imagine that “mistake” getting modded in an answer. That’s pretty extreme.

I don’t know whether I want you here or not. I don’t know you. But I do know that mods have reasons for doing their often thankless jobs (voluntarily, by the way).

I’ve been here for years as have many, many others, and so far as I recall I’ve been properly modded only a few times, once for having my Social question in General, and a couple of times for making comments that had misspellings or were deemed “unhelpful.”

Perhaps you need to take some responsibility. Re-familiarize yourself with Fluther rules and see if possibly the kind of questions and comments you’re making truly are “reasonable” in light of those those simple requirements.

One thing for sure—calling modding “bullshit” is certainly not a reasonable way to start looking for a solution to your issue.

@JLeslie I believe the last time it was a question (and given how few questions I’ve asked it probably would be too hard for me to find)

^^You don’t have to look for it. I completely believe you. When I said I can’t imagine, I didn’t mean I didn’t believe you, I meant that it was ridiculous a mod did that.

@Cruiser modding IS always censorship. Motives behind it are immaterial to that fact. Personally, I think there can be scant few legitimate excuses for depriving us of your views, and we are all left wondering what exactly you wrote that drove the mods to flip the switch. Reword it, and show us.

That I do agree with @stanleybmanly unless it’s blatant spam, leave the answers alone and just continue the drive for perfection to the questions.

@stanleybmanly My frustration that prompted this question is exacerbated both by the reason provided for the modding of my comment being off topic and the inconsistent application of this “rule” here by the mods. The comment I made was a direct reply to another Jellies comment, so IMHO it was on topic and further my comment was in a Social thread where we typically enjoy freedom to spout off about pretty much everything. So again I would argue the justification of why my comment was modded because it was “off topic” is a paper thin excuse reason. Now I would like too offer another recent example of where I fully expected my very obvious and intentionally off topic answer was going to be modded chiefly because it is on a General question and is still there.

I would also expect emloying the metric that was used to justify my comment’s modding on a social question should easily qualify yours and @johnpowell comments to be modded as off topic and or unhelpful on a General question and removed as well. Not holding my breath.

And this, ladies and gentlemen, is what is called a “persecutory delusion”.

@Cruiser: I, too have had comments modded off a Social thread, and I’ve seen comments modded off a social thread. I’ve even gone to Meta and discussed it (and had that modded off, being told “issues with the moderation should be discussed directly with the mods). It is inconsistent, for sure, and any discussion about it is often met with people vehemently defending the mods.

Yes the mods are volunteers and yes they are not perfect and yes we are all grateful the site is up. However, discussions about that in private are less likely to be productive than discussions about it on a thread.

https://youtu.be/Ww4v2cP-MDo :D

@Cruiser I think I understand now and thank you for the example. It’s a pretty clear example of the arbitrary nature involved with the mods in determining where to draw the line. It’s also a splendid demonstration of the necessity for mods. When my stuff disappears, and I swear it often happens while I’m in the midst of writing it, I usually let it go. The mods have an unenviable but vital job, and there’s no way in hell that I would allow myself saddled with the load.

I read the OP, and I have skimmed the thread, reading a few of the answers in full.

I have written two full answers to this question and deleted both. I’m having trouble forming an answer. I’m going to try to be terse.

1. Moderation is necessary.
2. Moderators are knowledgeable about the rules of the site, but they are human, nor are they omnipresent.
3. Users often have objections to the actions of the moderators.
4. In my experience – when questioned, the moderators seldom give full answers to their actions.
5. There is no further recourse.

@Cruiser I can only say that I understand your frustration. I truly do. I left the site for good after my answers in a homophobic thread on Social were modded as if it was a General question. I was given no explanation. I only returned when Gail died, and my participation now is extremely limited. I give no thought to this site, unless I’m bored. It is that inconsequential. I’m happy to get answers to my few questions. I’m elated to answer questions about mental health matters. Otherwise, I never think of Fluther. I hope you can find some way to continue to interact here without the frustration.

Moderating is not censorship. Censorship is the systematic suppression of material expressing a particular view or ideology. Responsible moderation is necessary to the health of the community, just as responsible editing is essential to good publication practices.

A private concern (as this is) does not owe anyone a platform. And no one on Fluther can prevent anyone from saying anything they want in the world. How on earth could Fluther people stop you from saying anything you like?—reach out through your screen and throttle you? Come on.

You just doesn’t necessarily have a right to say it here. Fluther doesn’t owe you the use of its resources. But that’s about access to this platform and not about silencing you.

By the way, when anyone says something like “we are all left wondering” or any other reference to “all of us,” that person is presuming too much. Kindly do not include me in your generalizations. Nobody knows what all of us think. We can speak for ourselves.

Wow, @Jeruba. Et tu?

I get that not all censorship is denial of 1st Amendment rights. That goes without saying, if you’ll pardon the irony. But when even a private entity decides to pluck out an idea and delete it, even inconsistantly, it is a form of censorship. It is someone over lording their judgement on the group and making decisions for the group. You even expressed a dislike of being spoken for in the group, but yet you abide having issues modded on your behalf. That seems somewhat of an oxymoron.
I understand the mods here are not invisible overlords, but are actual long standing members and friends and they have earned respect of members, but deleting ideas is censorship. They have their right to do it, but don’t call it by something it isn’t.

Thank you, @Jeruba. Unfortunately, no matter how often you post the real meaning of censorship, those that get modded will not listen or remember. No matter how brilliant and erudite some might think they are, being modded here is not censorship. The whole thing is explained all over the place. No one is being prevented from expressing their opinion. They just don’t get to spew it all here. There are many places to say anything.
Or, to put it more simply, get over it. If you fall off that high horse, you’ll likely hurt yourself.

Believe it or not, @Cruiser, I want you here, too. You’re a good guy.

I believe it @Espiritus_Corvus You are a good guy on my list as well. And I know I am not the only one here that appreciates your insight and reasoned comments.

Sings:♪ ♫ ♬ Kum- ba- ya…

Alright, Strauss. I refuse to talk to you further until you lose the gun and put some clothes on.

Maybe you supporting Trump and the GOP leaves a bad taste in their mouths as me supporting Christ and God.

Ahem @Strauss Bongo and flute music is strictly prohibited on all my threads….only washboards and slide whistles are allowed.

Since the music has started, can I order some nekkid pancakes?

Too soon?

The mood has definitely lightened! Must be the full MOON!

@Hawaii_Jake It is never too soon for nekkid pancakes. I’m in.

“Pancakes with neks”, which is botanist slang for for toadstools. ;-p

Okay, now there’s popcorn everywhere !

See what you started @Hawaii_Jake

Lol if moderation was censorship, half the shit we post here every day would be gone.

Anybody want to see my moon?

I think photos like that breach the rules here @janbb!

Someone pays @Cruiser a little lurve please?

@janbb let’s you and me just slip away from the party and talk about moons.!

@Strauss When the moon hits your eyes like a big pizza pie that’s amore…..

@janbb That’s a moray!

Eelly?

@johnpowell “Homeboy asked and I gave a honest response. They were asking for criticism. I gave it.”

Just in case you haven’t noticed, your answer was restored. The person who removed it originally read it out of context. We apologize for the error.

@Lightlyseared “I get modded because I use British English instead of American English and that seems to upset Americans.”

I vaguely remember that. The mod in question (who is no longer on the team) was not a native English speaker and was corrected. I also seem to recall that the British spelling was allowed in the end, though I can’t confirm this since I can’t seem to find the question either. Like I said, though, I’m going on vague memory here.

@Cruiser “Being the odd man out is not an easy place to be.”

Everyone feels like the odd man out sometimes. (Even the guy with nearly 40K in lurve and an entire thread of people asking him to stay, apparently.) It’s all a matter of which responses you choose to focus on.

“my comment was in a Social thread where we typically enjoy freedom to spout off about pretty much everything”

From the Social Guidelines:

Responses <strong>must</strong>:

• Relate to the discussion
• Be respectful; you can disagree without being disagreeable
• Adhere to the writing standards

Responses <strong>must not</strong>:

• Disrupt the discussion

Although a wider spectrum of activity is allowable in this section, quality responses are still required. It’s equally moderated, just with more relaxed regulations.

Social is not a free-for-all. If you have been laboring under a false assumption to the contrary, then your confusion is certainly understandable. But there is such a thing as too off-topic for Social, and flame-bait is never okay.

“Now I would like too offer another recent example of where I fully expected my very obvious and intentionally off topic answer was going to be modded chiefly because it is on a General question and is still there.”

As far as I can tell, it is not still there. If it still appears when you look at the question, try refreshing the page. In any case, the moderators are not omniscient. We don’t read every single answer to every single question. So if nobody flags something, it can very easily stay up even if it should not. This morning, I removed some spam that was posted in 2009 (which is before I had joined the site). These things happen.

@stanleybmanly “It’s a pretty clear example of the arbitrary nature involved with the mods in determining where to draw the line.”

The underlying fallacy of your response is that it assumes everything on the site has been reviewed and approved. This is false, and there is no reasonable way of arriving at such a conclusion. That something has been removed is evidence that it was reviewed and deemed unsuitable. That something remains tells you very little at all (particularly given some of the bugs in the site that prevent us from removing certain answers even when we want to).

“Personally, I think there can be scant few legitimate excuses for depriving us of your views”

Which way the site leans is always going to depend upon the composition of the moderation team, but most (maybe even all) of the current members could be categorized as “inclusionists.” In other words, we err on the side of leaving something up rather than pulling it. That said, there is a sword always dangling above our heads: if we don’t moderate the site to Ben’s specifications, it will be shut down. Fluther was started with a particular vision, and Ben is happy to let it continue on in his absence. But he does check in on us, and he’s not going to let it keep going if it strays too far. The site is strongly tied to his brand, after all.

@SavoirFaire I am done fretting over this.

On that other Gen Question, why did the answers get modded 2 days ago and the top three were left? Also if a comment is flagged is it always removed?

It also just occurred to me that perhaps a Jelly flagged my comment and that is why it was removed?

@SavoirFaire Don’t get me wrong. The suppression or removal of any post is censorship. There’s just no getting around it. This does not mean that it is either unnecessary nor undesirable. I agree that it is in fact required for the functioning of our forum. My use of “arbitrary” was wrong. I don’t mean to imply that the mods here randomly delete items at their whim. Quite the contrary. I’m convinced that the mod squad is very conscientious of the responsibilities involved with “disappearing” the thoughts and ideas of the participants here. My point is that the job is always a judgement call and as such the referees are in fact in the business of regulating speech. As Jeruba has astutely pointed out our status as guests conveniently renders the issue moot. I bow to the gods and the clear necessity regarding their omnipotence.

*slouches away looking for where the fun went

@Hawaii_Jake It’s here! It’s here! Look at my big cold black and white moon!

^^Hey! Keep yer moon to yerself.

@Hawaii_Jake You no like my moon?

@janbb Are you baking moon pies?

Well, they kind of melt the iceberg. (blushes)

I rarely venture far from my tropical lagoon.

Everyone gets modded, you ain’t special….

JK everyone here is special and will get a participation award when we have the milk and cookies at the end of the game.

Having let this ball of yarn unravel a bit, I believe the proof is in the evidence and lurve YOU ARE wanted here. If you have simply questioned some Fluther behavior and never mentioned it was about you it might have made a difference as people would then make it about you. Even through what some can (or what to see) as a gripe you are one away from a Gold ingot, or whatever, hardly the actions of those hating on you.

I remember people from their avatar. (When people change I lose track of people ). Unless they male a huge impact on me. I don’t remember you so I can’t judge. I’m clueless with most members. But your welcome here.

@RedDeerGuy1 You changed from Talljasperman and that threw me off for quite a while. I was the Yellow Camaro racing in the sand dunes avatar almost for ever.

@Cruiser thanks I still don’t remember. Sorry when I come back to jasper in the next 10 years (if) will change avatars back.

@RedDeerGuy1 Does this ring any bells?

I remember the Mustang, and if I remembered right there was a black late 60s muscle car Camaro SS too.

@Cruiser No. Sorry. : (

@Hypocrisy_Central You are correct….that is my dream machine.

^ [...that is my dream machine.
No, it is one of MY dream machines.

@Hypocrisy_Central You can have that one as This one is for sale and will be mine some day! ;)

OK, I will leave you that, I am not a rag top man.

Oh I’ve been flagged, I’ve had questions removed, don’t sweat the small stuff.

I want you here! I’ve had stuff modded, but I had an idea why. You can always ask ‘em.