Hi, I’m Rob-S, and I’m a Moderatorholic
{Audience} Hi, Rob
{Rob} I’ve come here to confess I’ve been a heavy handed, two fisted moderator for over two years.
{Audience} Tell us more, brother Rob.
{Rob} It all started when I wandered in off the street one night into Sister Arianna’s temple of Liberal Love. How was I to know that it was a trap. I feel so ashamed. {awwwwww} Well, the high priestess sat me down, gave me a cup of strange tasting coffee, and before long, I was an acolyte. {Praise Arianna!} But then she started asking me to do all these things, and I found I had no resistance to doing them. And then one of the Investor brothers brought me this Kool-Aide, and said “drink”, and, being a good acolyte, I did. {Blessed Be, Blessed Be} He told me I must follow the new regimen to the letter, even when being contradictory. And it was good.
{Audience} Oh, no, brother Rob!
{Rob} Yes, and before long I had a score of bright eyed followers doing my bidding for the good of the high priestess. Our mission was simple. Expand the base of the visitors to the temple. Yes, and every click was like another donation. It was a miracle!
We have our standards. Consistency, not an issue, though. No use of words on THE LIST. No information of what THE LIST consists of. THE LIST shall be updated continuously in any manner we choose. No attacking the Trolls. Sorry, you can’t say Trolls. Against the rules. Absolutely no mentioning the temple in your posts. Certainly not the high priestess, for her name is sacred. And many proper names, including those mentioned in the piece you are posting to, they too shall be forbidden words. Do not fear, there are good words we always accept. “Barry” is a loved word. Don’t ask why, but it has been granted blessed approval. And if you can sneak in a reference to economics, no matter how ignorant it is, we will accept it, for the high priestess is well versed in it and loves to hear the word. And racism, while we deplore it and accept no direct references, is always welcome from our troll friends in their pursuit of their truth.
But do not bash to Trolls. We love them. They bring us multiple clicks. And no words they may use, unless of exceptionally scurilous nature, shall be removed from our sight. (or site). We will punish those who question the trolls and mock them, for it is forbidden in the laws. The laws are all. And if you speak in a foreign tongue, beware, for we have excrutiating punishments in the infamous time-out box waiting for you.
For those sinners who come and speak of forbidden things, or mock the creator {blessed Arianna}, we shall cast you out into the darkness. For it is said that even those who wore the vestments of a holy Monk may be cast out if they carry the seed of descension and question the holy relics.
Now I have digressed. I came here to seek absolution for my sins and to walk the path of righteousness. Am I welcome among you, as a repentant Moderaholic, I ask?
{Audience} GO FARK YOURSELF. We’re sorry, brother Rob, we find you to be undeserving. Be gone from among us!
{Rob} How dare you ingrates speak thus to me! Off with your heads. I have the power. Beware!
Thus ends my little morality play. It is only fiction. No persons, either living or dead, were represented by this piece. There could not be any people like this, now could there?
Look, ROB S., HOW DARE YOU FOLLOW ME HERE YOU FUCK. Just what are you threatening with these emails?:
Hello:
No,those emails are not that common & reviewing your recent activity, you still seem to be doing so in spite of being warned. I have bigger fish to fry, and so I will simply tell you that you really should stop, now.
If I find myself looking at this account again for this issue, you won’t like the results.
Thanks,
Rob S.
Moderator
Huffington Post
Hello,
Please understand that consistently trying to subvert our word filter or helping others to do so could endanger your account status.
Thank you for your cooperation,
Rob S.
Moderator
Huffington Post
Here is one for you ROB: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y66OupWR_nk
(Thanks FM)
I’m thinking of doing a sock sometime soon just to have access to the feedback system and leave a really long comment that tells them what a bunch of limp dicks they all are. Won’t help anything, probably won’t hurt, but I’ll get a good broadside in. And, of course, I’ll include a draft copy of the above for his reading “pleasure”!
Haha, Just give me some sake from Escribats barrel and I am your Kamakazi! You have my permission.
I was figuring on one more of my Gringo socks, I was BingoGringo and GringoFlossy so we were discussing “GringoVitus” but my cohort in crime didn’t favor it. Oh, well, they pulled my “MembersOnlyNxxxxKitchens” one almost instantly this morning (see, I already forgot one word in it) (acryonym MONK). But I still have a handful and have good luck bypassing their “system”.
Sorry, imus. It’s only tea now.
?? or ???????
as in green tea will be fine for now
Nice to see your gravatar again!
finally took the time, thanks FM
Hilarious. Rob S seems to have a bit of a complex.
That’s Rob, alright.
What a small man he is, and with such an ax to grind.
Thunderclap! Good to see you here. Yes, he is one of our favorites. Probably the epitome of short man syndrome. Notice the right wing occupants at HP seem to be crying in the wind today. Such a shame. 🙂
Welcome to the Planet ThunderclapNewman!!!!!
Yes, welcome Thunderclap. It is good here.
Well done FM!
Hope you and your many socks are pointing folk at HuffPo to this article, they will be rolling in the aisles!
Thanks adlib. I woke up early this AM and had the concept. And was exceptionally lucky with the graphic I found.
BTW, why is it that if I try to load a graphic into the library first it sometimes becomes inaccessable? I have one that’s unattached and I can’t even open it, last I checked. Irritating.
I love the graphic too. It’s cute and is so apropos.
Oh, alright, I’ll offer one more comment on this one:
Funny! Rob really is a little Napoleon.
Somebody half-a-year ago – and I was too new to realize it was prob a sock, posted the funniest satire ad on how to become a mod. I still have it on my comp, but lost the url link…
I’m just sayin’; this was maybe too cute to do justice! 😉
May I ask a question? Why do you people go on that site and comment?
Fun, game, sport or abuse? Does anyone think they are going to enlighten anyone there? If one needs to bitch, I would think it may be best to write to MSNBC and point out HuffPo faults. How many clicks are you adding to her total numbers everyday? Jeebus, AH is on KO right now.
Bito: I do write MSNBC over issues like Huffpo. Regularly. Arianna fits into the same catagory as Pat Buchanan in my books. Tits on a boar.
As for why visit the dark side? Like allowing those tiny black ants we have down here have multiple nests in your yard and get stung all the time, sometimes you just got to get out and fumagate them. And frankly, the ants serve more of a purpose than the trolls.
OK monk , anyone else like to help me out on my question?
Hi BITO:
I think the draw is the instantaneous replies, regardless of the substance of those replies.
Satisfies the trolls, the sheeple, the peeps, and the nubies.
You have to walk through the gauntlet to get to the other side and see how ridiculous it becomes. Then get a drawer full of socks and go at it with reality in your mind.
HITO, No thank you, I have been through enough “gauntlets” to waste anymore time there. It (hp) adds nothing of value to my life. I will leave that fun to you.
If it’s any consolation, bito, I don’t get any amusement or entertainment out of trolls, either. I don’t think any of them means a word they say, so I rarely feel an impulse to answer them. But to each his/her own.
AH now has a new article up about the economy being “Obama’s Katrina.” I’m not sure what’s the point of that article, except to garner some more anti-Obama sentiment. I’m getting more and disgusted with that site, which is why I’m looking for alternates.
You are most welcome here. I saw the article and moved on quickly. Her propaganda pieces aren’t worth reading and with essentially closed commentary, why bother?
If you have any desire to write here, do so. Topic choices are individual, and everyone has varied interests.
Welcome.
Hey, Gretel! I had a feeling I’d be seeing you over here sooner or later. Good to see you. I suspect we’re on the same wavelength.
Welcome Gretel. A warm welcome to PPOV
Welcome the The Planet, Gretel1or2! Might take a bit of getting used to here, not self-censoring to avoid mods or the word filter but I think you’ll get the hang of it.
WELCOME!
Hello Gretel.
Welcome to the better place/planet. Give it some time to get used to the relevancy and lack of hostility you may have become used to. The thread here moves slower and you will not have that instantaneous gratification you have experienced over at hp…but most times those responses were abbreviated, lacked a sign of thorough reasoning, and were just for laughs.
We like to laugh here also, but we keep our eye on the serious issues and engage appropriately.
Feel free to ask any questions…someone will reply.
🙂
Thanks everyone for such a warm welcome! I’ve been lurking here for some time, and this seems refreshing. Absence of unnecessary snarkiness, trolling, anti-Obama propaganda, and the presence of more mature & thoughtful discussion of relevant issues. I look forward to posting/writing/discussion/laughs, etc.!
I am very glad to see you here. I’ve been feeling kinship with your hp posts for quite awhile.
Welcome Gretel. I thought Aryanna last week told me last week that Afghanistan was Obama’s Katrina. Face it the president has inherited a steaming pile of shite. It’s ridiculous for people the think he can fix all our ills in such a short time. The fact is most Americans already know this and are being patient. Not just ills from of the last 8 years but from almost thirty years.
Welcome to PPOV, Gretel — this is a wonderful site where you will find wonderful people with a lot of experiences, knowledge, and opinions to share.
Warning: this place is addictive!
Hi Gretel1or2!
Welcome to a planet where you can actually breathe! You’ll have a good time here. My only problem is that I can check in only sporadically. But whenever you write, someone makes you feel you made a valuable contribution, whether or not they agree with you.
Happy to have you join the Planetarians!
Planetarians! I like that.
I was saving that name for when we become a religion. Oh well…
Too late. We already like it!
(The religion part can always come later….)
Thanks, “Saint” Nellie! And Bito- we can always compromise on what you will need to shave………….
As far as dressing funny: I guess I already do.
Do we have to dress funny and shave our heads? (No, NO not my beard!! 😆
Uh-oh, and here I’ve been telling friends and family that I am a Planeteer. Do I have to revise that? Or can we go with either/or? At least when when we become a religion, all those millions that have been rolling in will be tax-exempt, right AdLib?
kesmarn — Planeteers sounds a bit like the Mousketeers…:)
Oh yeah, cat, you have a point. I guess I was thinking of the slightly more dignified Musketeers!
Who are you kidding?
You have already been fitted for your vestments!
I suppose you expect me to swing the goddam incense as you parade around?
Not on your nellie! (Sos to speak)
“Planetarians.” Love it. We’ll have to dress in red and wear long chains with a picture of Adlib’s avatar. We’ll have to buy Adlib a dozen cadillacs at some point too.
LOL!
I’m an Aries, so red is my color. I think we should have beer tab chains…and I hear Caddy’s are going cheaper these days. I think AdLib needs a stretch.
Welcome, Gretel1or2! The Planet is a welcome relief from Arianna’s not-so-subtle undermining of this President during a challenging time…and from a lot of other “stuff” over there, too. Enjoy!
Welcome aboard!
We do occasionally butt heads here, but we do try to keep it civil.
Some of us are more “stand and deliver” than are others. Just rock and roll.
I enjoy slapping the shit out of trolls.
Is that OK?
I approve.
Slap them hard K7, I enjoy watching meltdowns as well and will once in awhile go after one. In the most sincere way, of course.
Brilliant piece FM. It reminds me of the famous line from the scene in “Animal House” during the hazing ceremony “thank you sir may I have another.”
KQuark, me, I always identified with the scene with the horse in Dean Wormer’s office. But it’s the deep seated wiseguy in me.
I think many of us could identify with half the scenes in that movie. I even had an experience that was similar to the scene when the gang went into the bar filled with African Americans but it happened to me in NYC.
Must be a guy thing.
I grew up in the sixties going into mixed crowd bars, and redneck bars, in order to “retrieve” my father. Child does work, mother gets results. So being in such places didn’t mean much to me. But I remember the first time I took a black girl out and her friends got down on her for going out with me. She put an end to that discussion quickly. I remember her last name was Kennedy and with a little help would remember the first name. But that was 38 years ago. At a Catholic College.
FYI, I got an anonymous email from a blogger at HuffPo who shares many of our members’ sensibilities about what the problem is over there with cliques but seems to be concerned that it is happening over here too. She expressed that she felt The Planet needs to be more open and more welcoming to people.
Maybe I’m in an Admin bubble but I was really bewildered by this. The Planet is wide open to anyone to join and we have an unspoken policy here that I see members practicing all the time, of welcoming new members to the site.
Though I disagree with her perception of The Planet, cliques at blogs suck and have no home here. Just a good reminder for all of us to always be welcoming and treat all members as respected peers, as well as guard against cliques ever taking root here.
We will always be inclusive, not exclusive here…afterall we’re all on the same Planet together.
I don’t have the feeling of cliques here. Not at all. I can’t imagine what your email sender meant.
People see things that aren’t necessarily there sometimes.
I can see how it could happen though – people get all chatty at the exclusion of others
Adlib: Has this anonymous person ever came over and participated? I think we, in general, have been pretty even keeled, and when rough waves came, we weathered them and the crew has sailed on, in large part because of your management.
Anyone who knows me realizes I call out everyone that I have an issue with, even those I’m close to. It’s what real friends do. And I will question others I care about when they are being wrongheaded, because that is what friends do.
I’m sad if someone thinks we’re cliqish. But I don’t see it. There may be other underlying issues at hand, too. If you can,encourage them to come on over and give us a chance, and discover we don’t exclude folks.
I agree with you Monk.
Don’t know if my opinion counts more as one of the nubies of late, but I have never felt any HS clique behavior here.
Everyone has been wonderful.
(But I have professed my love and admiration of Javaz!)
I’m jealous!
Oh, I have never complimented you and your smarts? I have never professed my undying loyalty to you?
Don’t make me copy and paste it right here!
We’ll talk, my friend. And no, you don’t have tell me here. Thanks, mom!
Speaking of the wonderful javaz…where IS she? (Have you heard from her, HITO?) I miss her spontaneous and warm comments.
But to get to the subject at hand: wow, I sure hope we haven’t seemed cliquish here to any HP people who have visited. The Planet doesn’t feel that way to me.
To AdLib: I hope that the person who contacted you will give the Planet another try. I know we’d all be happy to welcome him/her.
Any smaller site is going to have a very familiar feel that is much less anonymous than huffpo. We all are familiar with the monikers here but on any day at huffy there are dozens of monikers we do not recognize. Some people relish it and some are not comfortable with it because they may feel more exposed or they may not feel they belong.
It has nothing to do with moderation or censorship.
KQuark: I had thought about that some after I commented earlier. Here we do know most of the people, and when a new person arrives, we come over and welcome them and check them out, and I believe, attempt to make them welcome as “one of the family”.
At a large site it’s like being transferred into a large high school, no one is going to notice you unless you’re way cool, got money, or are the oddest geek out there. So the anonymity holds true.
And here we sincerely miss people, even if we don’t always remember why or what their opinion is. I can name several that don’t come by often enough, and I wish they did.
It is such in many things in our world. We are here rejecting the large and unidentifiable at the “big world” in order to have some space and security in our “little world”. And I personally like that.
I was thinking about this as well while I awaited my son’s drum lesson to finish.
There is also the fact that many of us post to one another just because we are the only ones “on” here in a given time period. I encounter this with Dey…the Eastie time zone vs. Westie.
Like this morning, You, Seek and I happened to be available and posted back and forth for awhile. Sometimes I come on here and there’s barely a soul because it’s dinner time out west, or some fabulous sports event is airing. I post, check back, check back again and then give up.
Wow, it’s like my visit here today has been really easy on me. I almost feel compelled to write a paragraph post just to keep up appearances, but there’s no need. Y’all’ve already distilled the very same observations I’ve made independently.
Khirad: Good to see you. Yes, I like things distilled to. Or fermented.
Unlike the right wingers, we shall serve no whine before it’s time. 🙂
Didn’t you just PM me saying we wouldn’t be sitting with the others while drinking our lattes at the Author’s Cafe?
Sssh! Yes! And the secret password to get into the VIP section is “swordfish”. Keep this just between you and me, don’t tell anyone!
Which is what we will be dining on!
Let the others eat fishsticks!!
Well, I don’t like swordfish anyway. 🙂
Escribacat: I suppose you’re more into a good meal of Rocky Mountain Oysters? 🙂
LOL. Gross.
Escribacat: Not really, most organ meat is really good. You just have to get over what it is and know how to prepare it. My mother could do scrambled brains and eggs like all get out, and I like sweetbreads, tongue, liver, heart, and other “parts” of meat animals. But it is a developed taste for many. Often it’s because the first time someone has it, it’s been prepared by someone else who doesn’t know how to prepare it well.
That is funny on so many levels.
I have never felt it was cliquish here but who knows what was going on when the visitor came. Maybe people were having more personal conversations. Adlib, could you respond and ask specifically what gave off that impression? I’ve always made an effort to say hello when someone new arrives here — just because that’s how I’d like to be treated in that situation. Maybe she jumped in and said something and nobody responded. That can scare people off. That’s how the “scene” on the HP main every evening often feels to me (depending on who is there).
I have witnessed many warm welcomes to newcomers on here. I remember the day I registered, at least three posters greeted me. Felt very warm and fuzzy.
The other evening when MissTraci showed up, I believe 4-5 of us greeted her personally and there was follow up info posted to her about how the site works.
We were given nothing at hp. You signed in, and you entered the hp school of hard-knocks-to-stumble around, got scrubbed due to unknown word list violations, and kept your defenses up because you never knew who was a troll, and who would attack.
I remember being quite confused the first month at hp. I still am at times.
I remember feeling confused too — and easily injured. I remember feeling attacked and piled on quite a bit. I must have grown a thicker skin or else I just learned which posters to avoid. Or maybe I got my own sabre sharpened… (or all three).
Escribacat: That which does not kill us makes us stronger. Holds very true at HP. If you survive long enough, you grow tough and able to do battle. A few of us may have gotten too bold and we know there are no old bold soldiers. As I’ve said before, Felonious was the final evolution into a prime fighting machine with a wicked comedic touch. Only I let my aversion to injustice at the website (AH and censorship) get in the way and get me “removed”. Now I just do “sporting events” there. And removing socks on my own doesn’t bother me as I’m always “knitting” another pair to use in my ventures. I deal with the trolls, it’s the system and my own anger that upset me there.
Here is more reflective and exploratory.
LOL. I’m glad I’m on the same side as you!!
Hey, I haven’t made too many Eunuchs over there. I’m a decent guy, I leave them with one gonad. Of course, a number of them don’t know what they are for other than “dipping” anyway!
Hmmm, sporting events?
I like to think of them as messing around events.
Nothing drives them crazier than my overtures to Seek.
How wrong is it vs. the youtubemania?
I told you the day after my deaths, I’m done being serious there. I save that now for here…
Unfortunately, she used the site’s contact form and didn’t leave her actual email or user name, I don’t know if she is or isn’t a member and have no way to contact her.
Would like to, always like to prove my word is my bond and that The Planet is an open and welcoming place.
Nobody welcomed me – but I did not expect that. Now that I know, I suppose I could feel slighted, but I’ve enjoyed these conversations enormously. I am sort of an odd one out not because I’m conservative (definitely not a troll!) but because my work puts me into the progressive faith community center, and I think that’s not comfy for everyone. I am actually quite radical with the full support of my organization and our members and my own conscience. But that ‘working for a faith group’ thingy is sometimes startling to people.
But the discussions are totally wonderful. I got here because of KQuark who knows me not but who was the first person I fanned on HuffPo and whose writings have always been most impressive. When I found that link in one of his HuffPo posts and saw what you were all writing and thinking, I loved it. I check in as often as work will allow, and I always learn something from someone. It’s a very fine place to exchange views. Thanks to all!
Welcome, choicelady!! I’ve enjoyed reading all your posts.
Well, thank you escribacat – I’ve enjoyed yours, too!
I am sorry I did not welcome you at your entrance. I was too new…think it was a couple of days after my own registration, but I saw you come in.
Planet is a wonderful place indeed.
Glad you are here.
Me, too. I always enjoy reading your posts.
nellie, have you seen this? http://thinkprogress.org/2009/11/23/tea-heckle-woman/
Mob rule at it’s finest!!
Welcome again C’Lady, I am honered to learn from your experiences and insights
I did indeed. I believe I posted something at HP about mob rule. Weak minded people lead by the morally bereft.
I got an inane comment in response, of course.
I can always tell when people have been listening to Rush Limbaugh. His main schtick is convincing people it’s okay to be heartless.
Thank you so much choicelady. I hope you feel welcome now. I have really appreciated your posts as well. I thought you had some excellent thoughts and shared some great personal experience on the religious thread just for example.
Whoa! choicelady! How could you not have been welcomed when you first joined up!? You are an amazing commenter. Don’t leave!
I often work evenings, so, let me make up for the oversight by saying WELCOME right now…better late than ever, I hope!
After all, we theists have to stick together :o)
(NOoooo! I’m not going there again!!)
I’m suprised by this. As a new member here myself, I think The Planet is indeed, wide open. I just stumbled across it and have been impressed so far.
A place to blog freely and discuss the issues of the day – sounds great to me!
Perhaps your anonymous emailer was put-off by the many in-conversations that happen here. By this I mean the off-topic personal chats that go on here. This could seem a bit clique-like to an outsider.
Bernard, just keep on inputting like you’ve been doing and you’ll quickly be included as though you always were here. Many of us are in relatively remote locations for liberalism and so social conversation is just plain pleasant. But so is talking about the issues in a mature and intelligent manner.
BTW, welcome aboard.
I knew it was a cat, I just knew it!
LOL. C’mon! Kitties don’t give a shit what anyone says!
Escribacat: Ever see one figure out if it’s all fish or fish with grain fillers? They read the labels, and they remember when you short change them!
My cat will only eat two flavors of cat food and I’m informed in no uncertain terms when I deviate from those.
Mine, too. They know. They always know! They can even tell the difference in which store I buy the regular stuff – one has more juice than the other (don’t know why). They make clear that I’ve let them down with the dryer ones. I CAN’T LIVE WITH THE GUILT!
See, that’s what you get from cats, guilt trips. Now a nice doggie will only look at you with those eyes and go misty! 🙂
Muah.
Thank you very much for that information.
Good friend you are indeed!