Are the MADmods Censoring Sig Lines?

[_Trinity]

My guess:

A senior mod deleted them at the request of someone. The junior mods are throwing their hands in the air and saying "They just disappeared....like all that Book of Mormon evidence...it's a mystery....The critics are evil and will talk about us for not knowing....wait for the conspiracy theories on this one." I'd bet one of the junior mods is biting the bullet for the actions of a senior mod.

My guess: a senior mod deleted them without anyone's request, simply because he/she thought they were an example of bad critic behavior. Nobody was complaining about me on Monday when Chaos(?) started singling out my comments and use of emoticons (!) as unseemly, and suggested I leave MAD. Nobody was complaining about Fortigurn yesterday when a moderator told him he was on his last leg for complementing somebody. At least one moderator is swooping in on threads, reading things out of context and misinterpreting them, and then threatening critic posters with expulsion. Things have changed over there.

Indeed. It would appear all the mods have PMS.

[_harmony]

My guess: a senior mod deleted them without anyone's request, simply because he/she thought they were an example of bad critic behavior. Nobody was complaining about me on Monday when Chaos(?) started singling out my comments and use of emoticons (!) as unseemly, and suggested I leave MAD. Nobody was complaining about Fortigurn yesterday when a moderator told him he was on his last leg for complementing somebody. At least one moderator is swooping in on threads, reading things out of context and misinterpreting them, and then threatening critic posters with expulsion. Things have changed over there.

What did you expect? Juliann's moderating again. Sounds like the bloodbath has already begun.

[_Mister Scratch]

Several weeks ago Charity asked me, in a post in a thread, if I would remove a quote from my sig that I had from her that showed her in a somewhat unfavorable light. I didn't realize the policy on the board required people to remove a quote from someone if they asked. Just a few minutes later she posted again, this time with a threat. Rather than satisfy her demand immediately, because I don't like being demanded this way, I decided to think about it for a while, but intended to remove it later that day. Well, within a very short time the sig line from Charity was gone. A mod had gone in and removed it. I was upset that this was done with no PM telling me it was done or any kind of message in any way, so I started a thread and explained that this had been done, and complained about it. Well, complaining about the mods acting in this way got me suspended for a week.

So, today, when all of my sig quotes from Hammer and Kemara just spontaneously disappeared, leaving only my quote from Bertrand Russell, I was curious, as neither Hammer nor Kemara had ever said anything to me about them. I figured the mods, who have been really cracking down hard the last few days, had decided to ban sig quotes that would cast another poster in an unfavorable light.

So I posted the thread that is the topic of this thread over here. I specifically stated that it was not a complaint, and asked not to be suspended, because it was a thread I started to inquire about why some mod ninja-edited my sig line, and the last time I did that, where it was obvious that I was in fact complaining about it, I got suspended. I didn't want to get suspended again, but I did want to know what the heck was going on with regards the sig quotes.

That's it, really. I'm not sure how I feel about the comments made about me in this thread over here. Was I "groveling" to the MADB mods? I personally don't really give a shyte. They've got different mods, who will play their game how they will play it. It's really not my problem. I wish to continue posting over there, and if that means I have to play the game by their rules, then so be it. It's their football. No part of my ego requires that I not play by the rules some TBM sets up and enforces. I don't feel oppressed or anything like that. In fact, to be honest, I post over there quite a bit, and state that the Book of Mormon and the Book of Abraham are fairy tails, Joseph Smith made it all up and was not the virtuous guy TBMs grow up thinking he is, etc., and this is on a mormon-controlled bulletin board.

So they can dictate their rules, and I'll do my best to follow them, and in the end some TBM owns a board where I'm allowed to tell the world what I think about the LDS church, which is that it's an organization of well-intending individuals who unfortunately are teaching for doctrines the precepts of men, mingled with scripture. It's man made. Joseph Smith made it up. Brigham Young kept it alive when it should otherwise have fallen apart, and now it's taken a life of its own, just like the JWs, the 7th Day Adventists, Islam, Roman Catholicism, and all the rest. The Book of Abraham is a farce. Seriously, who's really taking it up the tailpipe here?

Sethbag, how great it is to see you over here! As you no doubt are aware, I am quite a fan of your posts. So: welcome! As to remarks above---well, what can I say? It sounds like you have a very level-headed view of things, and so I wish you the best. However, I do agree with Rollo that you are probably skating on very thin ice. In any case, best wishes!

[_moksha]

They are vengeful turds.

Don't you think vengeful is a rather strong word?

[_Yoda]

They are vengeful turds.

Don't you think vengeful is a rather strong word?

No.

;)

[_moksha]

I can't believe they're claiming it was a "database error". That would have to be some coincidental database error for just Seth's sig lines to be removed. ;)

Do you remember when they also claimed there was no evidence that Pahoran and Kemara resided in the same body?

[_beastie]

My guess: a senior mod deleted them without anyone's request, simply because he/she thought they were an example of bad critic behavior. Nobody was complaining about me on Monday when Chaos(?) started singling out my comments and use of emoticons (!) as unseemly, and suggested I leave MAD. Nobody was complaining about Fortigurn yesterday when a moderator told him he was on his last leg for complementing somebody. At least one moderator is swooping in on threads, reading things out of context and misinterpreting them, and then threatening critic posters with expulsion. Things have changed over there.

Oh, gee, this is a tough one.. I gotta think hard here... what moderator could possibly have been resurrected to a more active state that has the pernicious tendency to completely misread just about every bit of text she gets her hands on???

Hmm, think, think, think.

[_Sethbag]

Mister Scratch: thanks for the comments! And yes, I realize I'm probably skating on thin ice over there. Frankly, I'd assume that anyone who doesn't believe in the truthfullness of the LDS church would sort of be on constant probation or something. A lot of TBMs are so invested in the church, emotionally, intellectually, financially, etc. that just stating that you believe it's made up will offend quite a few people. To keep saying that over and over is going to be seen as provocation and offense to some of them.

I have to admit, I've read some comments over here before, and I've thusfar been quite hesitant to register and start posting here. Part of the problem is that I could easily find myself saying things over here that would probably get me in trouble over there, and for whatever reason, I like being over there and would prefer not to get banned.

I still go to church most of the time, I'm still a member, and my wife wants me to work on regaining my testimony. I try to tell her that I can't make Joseph Smith not have made it up, and until that changes, I could never really believe it again. Still, I was raised in the church like a lot of other critics, and able to feel comfortable around Mormons, at least to an extent. How could I not, really, when pretty much all of my family on both sides are LDS? I have a family need not to get so involved with the critic stuff that I could get in trouble if I got narked on to my SP. My expressions of opinion at MAD probably already could get me in trouble to an extent. I fear if I became a regular poster over here it would only get worse for me.

Moksha: With respect to whether Pahoran and Kemara are the same individual, I must say that, although sometimes they must appear like clones, there are subtle differences. Pahoran will sometimes actually try to include some little snippets of fact or logic in his tirades and abuse, while Kemara is pretty just invective. It's subtle, but I think over time the two distinguish themselves as individuals.

[_Sethbag]

I have wondered more than once whether Charity is now a moderator.

[_moksha]

I still go to church most of the time, I'm still a member, and my wife wants me to work on regaining my testimony. I try to tell her that I can't make Joseph Smith not have made it up, and until that changes, I could never really believe it again. Still, I was raised in the church like a lot of other critics, and able to feel comfortable around Mormons, at least to an extent.

I would suggest working on the things that you do believe. There is much to be appreciated about the LDS Church on an allegorical level. Things do not need to be literally true to have symbolic merit.

I have to admit, I've read some comments over here before, and I've thusfar been quite hesitant to register and start posting here. Part of the problem is that I could easily find myself saying things over here that would probably get me in trouble over there, and for whatever reason, I like being over there and would prefer not to get banned. I have a family need not to get so involved with the critic stuff that I could get in trouble if I got narked on to my SP. My expressions of opinion at MAD probably already could get me in trouble to an extent. I fear if I became a regular poster over here it would only get worse for me.

I am uncertain of this. I suspect one can tap into their own inner sense of decency rather than rely on an external factor like fear of retribution from a MAD mod. Also, the technical staff of this board would be much less likely to ever have contact with your Stake President. One item that goes hand in hand with less stringent moderation, is a greater sense of acceptance for diversity of opinion.