The Oil Drum

My request for Super G is to add an "Ignore" flag that a reader could select for a given poster. Any comment by that poster (or reply thereto by others) would be omitted from display for a user who chooses to ignore said poster. This would achieve Alan's goal but also cut down on the clutter.

Hello Alan,

A couple of days ago I posted that I would no longer read any of his posts.

It's alright, it's ok. If Alan doesn't want to read my posts that is fine with me. All that I care about is that he keeps on thinking about me. My name in on his mind, his thoughts are a unsettled, maybe he's a little angry, and certainly he has heard some things that he really didn't want to hear.

Such is life.

I'd feel terrible for anyone who actually did read every post on a blog such as The Oil Drum. There's got to be more to life than this.

I don't read every post nor do I read every poster. For example, Westexas original presentation of his ExportLand model was enough to convince me. The argument on behalf of Exportland are imminently reasonable. But after I have read one presentation of that model I could safely ignore every new post from Westexas which was repeatedly presenting the same model.

Here is another example, Robert Rapier and Westexas happen to get into the same argument virtually every day. The first time that they engaged in their argument, Robert Rapier's viewpoint was successful. I agreed with his argument and believe that it is still valid. But since that time these two people have engaged in the very same argument dozens of times and -- it is worth noting -- Robert Rapier has won each and every time. So I can safely ignore the arguments that they engage in because I already know the subject matter, the two viewpoints, and who will win.

Then there are a whole set of posters who seem to exist and also seem to not really exist at the same time. These phantom individuals also have a habit of engaging in the same arguments about the same subjects every day. There must be a set of three or six arguments which people at The Oil Drum argue about every day. These phantoms serve to provoke the argument and sometimes what they say have merit and other times they appear to engage in arguments simply out of boredom or fun.

Finally, there are a set of anonymous posters who apparently use The Oil Drum's forum as a means of venting their most obscene, perverse, offensive or otherwise passive-aggressive thoughts. In some cases these individuals seem to possess more than one identity and some have said as much.

So, Alan, if you are spending your time reading all of these posters instead of my own, suit yourself. It is your life and your time. I really don't particularly care what you do or do not do.

But it is evident that plenty of people have listened to what I have said and that people do remember my comments from long ago & far away.

And we must pass away, forsaking all.
But I, devoid of understanding,
have, for the sake of friend and foe alike,
provoked and brought about so many evils.

My enemies at length will cease to be;
my friends and I myself
will cease to be;
and all is likewise destined for destruction.

All that I possess and use
is like the fleeting vision of a dream.
It faded into the realm of memory;
and fading, will be seen no more.

And even in the brief course of this present life,
so many friends and foes have passed away,
becaue of whom, the evils I have done
still lie, unbearable, before me.

The thought never came to my mind
that I too am a brief and passing thing.
And so, through hatred, lust, and ignorance,
I've been the cause of many evils.

Never halting, night or day,
my life is slipping, slipping by.
And nothing that has passed can be regained --
and what but death could be my destiny?
The Way of the Bodhisattva by Shantideva

Leave alone those
who take their religion
to be mere play
and amusement,
and are deceived
by the life of this world.
But proclaim to them
this truth: that every soul
delivers itself to ruin
by its own acts ...
The Qur'an 6 Al An'am:70

There's more to life than oil, automobiles, consumerism and nationalism. That much is certain. There's more to life than yesterday, today, and tomorrow, too. The Universe is very large and very ancient, Homo sapiens are a transient phenomenon of the present moment. A tregedy is unfolding upon the Earth but in the long run everything will turn out fine because Nature still remains in control over life's destiny. Humans dream of immortality but Nature actually possesses eternity. So much for humankind.

As a reply to the issue of disruption I am posting here what I posted on the Drumbeat of the 23rd but was at the absolute bottom and the thread had grown stale and dated.

It was a reply to Seadragon on the same subject.

**********************************************************************
Seadragon,

You can only successfully ban someone who plays by some standard of fair play and rules. Its obvious that a disrupter or poser(one who assumes others identities) is not going to play fair. They just come back with another ID and continue on. Sometimes they assume many IDs, each backing up the others.

If the owners of a site choose not to invoke moderation, as is their right, then its usually up to the membership to use peer pressure to deny the disrupter the usage of the site. This can work since the disrupter has essentially lost his audience.

If something is not done eventually the website is destroyed and most worthy folks will have left in disgust.

Sometimes fighting fire with fire works and sometimes other means works, like ignoring the disrupter. Eventually they move on. If they don't they tend to attract others of their kind.

Any successful website will find itself subject to this kind of activity since it affords them a ready audience. Soon enough their agenda is recognized even by the most lenient of members. Members who say that they(the disrupters) have the RIGHT to express themselves only gives them then the opportunity to foist their rather obvious views on the others or else make ridiculous debates and destroy decent dialogue by the other members. Whole threads are hi-jacked just so the disrupter can cause dissension and create angst thereby satisfying his desires. He feels important then and might bring in other cronies by feeling successful at his tactics.

Threads should stay on topic but name calling and disruption is their game. Sarcasm reigns supreme. The content is lost and in disarray.

I realize Drumbeat is different. I assume it was set up so members could express themselves. If its worth having then its worth fighting to keep. And to keep civil and within bounds , by the members if no one else.

Moderation is very time consuming. Its very contentious. It does not always work. It can drive good members away. Sometimes a disruptive poster will respond and clean up his act. I myself have many times wandered far afield and had to be reminded to not do so.

The owners of the site have the ultimate authority. Sometimes thay can direct the way the site is operated without ironclad rules. Ultimately the quality of the membership is what makes the difference. Once it starts downhill though its hard to stop or control.

I have created many websites for communications purposes. I no longer do that. The payback was finally not worth the effort. Even watching and tracking the Apache logs became tiresome. Having paid the costs in both time and money I finally had to close the site/s. Many with large numbers of members.