Should HA mods be stricter on trolls, shitposting and low-effort content?

[Lucas88]

For the longest time HA has been notoriously lenient towards trolls and shitposting. This has resulted in the forum becoming a haven for even the most disruptive trolls as well as shitposters who spam the forum with their low-effort content. @Winston doesn't seem to care at all. At this point such trolls have become part of the forum's culture.

However, various esteemed long-time members have voiced their opinion that the customary lenience with regard to trolls as well as the almost complete lack of quality control have served to drastically bring down the quality of the forum and alienate some of the more serious contributors. Among these are @publicduende and @Yohan. But those guys are certainly not alone in their opinion. Even some more recent members have expressed the same sentiment. @Natural_Born_Cynic, for example.

It's no secret that moderation has been largely lacking. This is a large part of the problem.

How would members here like moderation to be implemented? Would you like to see a more hands-on approach in which trolls and disruptive members would be firmly dealt with and inane shitposts that offer nothing of value to the forum would be swiftly removed? Or do you prefer the current Wild-West, anything-goes mentality?

Of course, the stricter moderation option does not mean an end to free speech. People would still be able to express whatever opinion they like, no matter how unconventional or extreme, so long as their posts are substantial and their arguments are serious ones. Only consistently disruptive trolls and worthless, low-effort, repeatedly spammed garbage would be targeted for removal. Free speech undeniably forms the backbone of this community and I'm sure that most of us here would like it to stay that way.

Please comment on how you would like HA to be moderated. What kind of behavior do you think should and shouldn't be allowed? At what point do you think action should be taken?

Admittedly @Pixel--Dude can't guarantee that your suggestions will be implemented. The forum's policies with regard to moderation ultimately depend on what Winston wants. But this is a good opportunity to bring the matter to Winston's attention. Pixel--Dude is in contact with Winston and frequently speaks with him by phone.

PS – On the topic of trolls, maybe we could recognize a category of "HA sanctioned trolls" which would be allowed to operate in light of the comedy that they bring to the forum (some of the trolls are actually pretty funny ) and with the condition that they aren't too disruptive.

[Natural_Born_Cynic]

It's ultimately up to Boss man Winston Wu.
I mean the site is a reflection of it's creator.
It's up to Winston to bring change to this site with a new vision or go down with it.

[MarcosZeitola]

As a long term contributor I say ban the fuckers, and do so far sooner before they disrupt threads and drive off people of value. Winston probably allowed trolls to reign freely because the flame wars and petty little pissing contests kept forum activity high... I can sort of see his point in doing that but in the long run it appears to be backfiring. You can only afford to lose so many quality members before the situation turns terminal.

[Lucas88]

As a long term contributor I say ban the fuckers, and do so far sooner before they disrupt threads and drive off people of value. Winston probably allowed trolls to reign freely because the flame wars and petty little pissing contests kept forum activity high... I can sort of see his point in doing that but in the long run it appears to be backfiring. You can only afford to lose so many quality members before the situation turns terminal.

Yes, I agree with this point. Winston might think that the flame wars and drama serve to spice up the forum and keep forum activity high with the assumption that all activity is good no matter how low-quality it may be, but I suppose that most people – both long-time members and potential new users – don't care about some legendary flame war that took place years ago and remains in the HA archives. Nor do most people care for the inane shitposts that have flooded the forum and seem to be on the rise. I'm sure that most would prefer high-quality content about living abroad, foreign travel and exotic women as well as serious discussions on deeper topics. That would probably attract more new members than any pathetic flame war or whatever troll garbage happens to be in vogue.

I too would prefer for HA to prioritize high-quality content and cut down on the troll posts and worthless shitposting. Freedom is great but there also has to be responsibility and demand for at least a minimum of quality.

[GerardButler]

You are all of relatively low caliber, so you cannot get to the root of the matter. The administrator no longer cares about this forum because it has been blacklisted as a hate site by Google and others and will never generate revenue. Now it is a drain on administrative resources. You should prepare for the day when he pulls the plug, particularly in the coming days when I begin investing significant resources into happier abroad dot ORG and legal action causing Google and Service providers to completely remove this website. The administrator was instructed to alter his behavior, and he requested your assistance years ago, as he refused accept my superiority, but you had nothing to add. Just like now. You just don't have the business acumen or technical expertise to assist. It's now over.



Seriously, what does Yohah know? He is merely an individual with mental illness who was released from a mental institution more than a decade ago. He does not have a wife or a natural or fostered daughter. He receives government assistance and resides in a small, one bedroom flat.



Public D? Some verbose low-quality tech swindler who overcharges mom-and-pop parlors for brochure websites in a mud shack in the middle of nowhere. Are these people suppose to be valuable? Who else is there? These individuals only offer defamation and nothing of value.



Here's value





Good bye

[Yohan]

As a long term contributor I say ban the fuckers, and do so far sooner before they disrupt threads ..

@MarcosZeitola

Too late, even this very new thread is already disrupted by PAG with his nonsense comment.

Of course the man in this picture is NOT me, the story is untrue - and if this other picture is PublicDuende I don't know.

No question about, troll-profiles, their sockpuppets and all their comments/pictures should be quickly removed from this HappierAbroad Forum.

But will this really be happen?

--------------

When I complained just a few days ago, these are the answers I received:

Banning and Warning Announcements

Post by Outcast9428 » Tue Apr 04, 2023 2:34 am
@Yohan PAG may be annoying but he is not constantly mentioning users here and insulting them.

Post by Lucas88 » Wed Apr 05, 2023 12:31 am
@Yohan, you're full of shit. You come on here to show your fake concern .....
you shouldn't be taken seriously and that you're probably already senile anyway.

Post by Pixel--Dude » Wed Apr 05, 2023 12:46 am
Exactly. Couldn't have put it better myself (Yohan, you're full of shit) - PAG has been warned already for slanderous remarks. Since then he's called a few people idiots and behaved rudely. Unfortunately good manners are not a prerequisite for participating on HA.

----------
Further:
Tsar » Wed Apr 05, 2023 11:29 am (Truly a pitiable seriously misguided individual)
PAG is a King and I think that people need to show him some extra respect.
His status is far above the status of any of the possible halfwits who may or may not be on the forum.

Some members of this forum are obviously very supportive to trolls like PAG, so I doubt anything will change.

[publicduende]

You are all of relatively low caliber, so you cannot get to the root of the matter. The administrator no longer cares about this forum because it has been blacklisted as a hate site by Google and others and will never generate revenue. Now it is a drain on administrative resources. You should prepare for the day when he pulls the plug, particularly in the coming days when I begin investing significant resources into happier abroad dot ORG and legal action causing Google and Service providers to completely remove this website. The administrator was instructed to alter his behavior, and he requested your assistance years ago, as he refused accept my superiority, but you had nothing to add. Just like now. You just don't have the business acumen or technical expertise to assist. It's now over.

If you look down on HA so much, it beggars belief that you keep coming back, always under different monikers, uninvited and, as it's been amply demonstrated, unwanted. Vice-versa, I don't think any of us is even remotely interested in joining your Culture Jizz. It's quite clear that it's a one-man effort with no traffic and no real Users.

Seriously, what does Yohah know? He is merely an individual with mental illness who was released from a mental institution more than a decade ago. He does not have a wife or a natural or fostered daughter. He receives government assistance and resides in a small, one bedroom flat.

How do you have all this information about him? Did he share it to the world?

Public D? Some verbose low-quality tech swindler who overcharges mom-and-pop parlors for brochure websites in a mud shack in the middle of nowhere. Are these people suppose to be valuable? Who else is there? These individuals only offer defamation and nothing of value.

Oh well, compared to "the inventor of ChatGPT" and polymath genius that is you, I might indeed pass as a "low-quality tech swindler". Too bad it's just your mind movie and you're the only one watching.

Funny you blame those people for being low value but it's only you, or your umpteenth forum persona, who offers nothing but defamation. You truly are a despicable individual with nothing to show for in his life, but his phonery and regret.

Good bye

Hoping this is for real...but won't put my finger on it.

[Yohan]

Seriously, what does Yohah know? He is merely an individual with mental illness who was released from a mental institution more than a decade ago. He does not have a wife or a natural or fostered daughter. He receives government assistance and resides in a small, one bedroom flat.

How do you have all this information about him? Did he share it to the world?

It's an untrue story out of fantasy with a fake picture by a mentally disturbed individual trolling the internet.

Similar to the story of MarcosZeitola
https://culturewhiz.org/users/marcoszeitola

or Winston
https://culturewhiz.org/users/winstonwu

-------------------------------------------------------------

What is new however is that PAG is now allowed to publish his nonsense (about Yohan but others will follow) directly in the HappierAbroad Forum, up to now he did it only within his own CultureWhiz site.

[Pixel--Dude]

As a long term contributor I say ban the fuckers, and do so far sooner before they disrupt threads ..

@MarcosZeitola

Too late, even this very new thread is already disrupted by PAG with his nonsense comment.

Of course the man in this picture is NOT me, the story is untrue - and if this other picture is PublicDuende I don't know.

No question about, troll-profiles, their sockpuppets and all their comments/pictures should be quickly removed from this HappierAbroad Forum.

But will this really be happen?

--------------

When I complained just a few days ago, these are the answers I received:

Banning and Warning Announcements

Post by Outcast9428 » Tue Apr 04, 2023 2:34 am
@Yohan PAG may be annoying but he is not constantly mentioning users here and insulting them.

Post by Lucas88 » Wed Apr 05, 2023 12:31 am
@Yohan, you're full of shit. You come on here to show your fake concern .....
you shouldn't be taken seriously and that you're probably already senile anyway.

Post by Pixel--Dude » Wed Apr 05, 2023 12:46 am
Exactly. Couldn't have put it better myself (Yohan, you're full of shit) - PAG has been warned already for slanderous remarks. Since then he's called a few people idiots and behaved rudely. Unfortunately good manners are not a prerequisite for participating on HA.

----------
Further:
Tsar » Wed Apr 05, 2023 11:29 am (Truly a pitiable seriously misguided individual)
PAG is a King and I think that people need to show him some extra respect.
His status is far above the status of any of the possible halfwits who may or may not be on the forum.

Some members of this forum are obviously very supportive to trolls like PAG, so I doubt anything will change.

@Yohan why have you altered my reply and added: "(Yohan, you're full of shit) I didn't say that! Don't misrepresent what I said and tell lies you old fool! I agreed with the main point Lucas88 made, but not once did I say you were full of shit. You've misquoted me and told a complete fabricated lie in your quote from the banning and warning board.

[Pixel--Dude]

I'm getting sick of all this bullshit. @Winston has already said in the banning and warning board that he is not for or against PAG being here. So this is what is going to happen in this regard:

@GerardButler is going to receive a warning for his disruptive behaviour and for being a git in general and threatening the admin with his garbage threats. GerardButler, go back to posting about philosophical stuff like Nietzsche and disengage from this petty shitslinging contest with other users. Also stop making threats against the admin. Continuation in this behaviour will result in a ban.

Be warned other users. @Yohan, @publicduende, @MarcosZeitolaand @Voyager1: Winston has said PAG can stay if he behaves. So far he is receiving a warning for the disruption he's caused since his return. If he goes to minding his own business and you guys target him then you guys will get a warning instead. If PAG continues acting like a jerk I will ban him.

Now hopefully people can go back to posting things of substance like about travelling abroad or philosophy, religion or anything else that doesn't involve people shitslinging. That's all that's been going on here lately so I'm putting an end to it in a way that I think is fair and impartial.

GerardButler, you HAVE been a disruptive member since you came back! Your warning is justified. If you behave you can stay! But don't keep engaging in petty behaviour or I'll remove you from the forum like I did with Mercer.

Free speech is not licence to act like an asshole with impunity.

Thanks everyone.

[Tsar]

As a long term contributor I say ban the fuckers, and do so far sooner before they disrupt threads ..

@MarcosZeitola

Too late, even this very new thread is already disrupted by PAG with his nonsense comment.

Of course the man in this picture is NOT me, the story is untrue - and if this other picture is PublicDuende I don't know.

No question about, troll-profiles, their sockpuppets and all their comments/pictures should be quickly removed from this HappierAbroad Forum.

But will this really be happen?

--------------

When I complained just a few days ago, these are the answers I received:

Banning and Warning Announcements

Post by Outcast9428 » Tue Apr 04, 2023 2:34 am
@Yohan PAG may be annoying but he is not constantly mentioning users here and insulting them.

Post by Lucas88 » Wed Apr 05, 2023 12:31 am
@Yohan, you're full of shit. You come on here to show your fake concern .....
you shouldn't be taken seriously and that you're probably already senile anyway.

Post by Pixel--Dude » Wed Apr 05, 2023 12:46 am
Exactly. Couldn't have put it better myself (Yohan, you're full of shit) - PAG has been warned already for slanderous remarks. Since then he's called a few people idiots and behaved rudely. Unfortunately good manners are not a prerequisite for participating on HA.

----------
Further:
Tsar » Wed Apr 05, 2023 11:29 am (Truly a pitiable seriously misguided individual)
PAG is a King and I think that people need to show him some extra respect.
His status is far above the status of any of the possible halfwits who may or may not be on the forum.

Some members of this forum are obviously very supportive to trolls like PAG, so I doubt anything will change.

@Yohan Are you the one who is referring to me as a "pitiable seriously misguided individual" because I see that you probably added that opinion to your quote?

[Yohan]

@Yohan why have you altered my reply and added: "(Yohan, you're full of shit) I didn't say that! Don't misrepresent what I said and tell lies you old fool! I agreed with the main point Lucas88 made, but not once did I say you were full of shit. You've misquoted me and told a complete fabricated lie in your quote from the banning and warning board.

I did not alter your reply, read back the original, Lucas88 said

Post by Lucas88 » Wed Apr 05, 2023 12:31 am
@Yohan, you're full of shit. You come on here to show your fake concern .....
you shouldn't be taken seriously and that you're probably already senile anyway.

and your reply to him was

by Pixel--Dude » Wed Apr 05, 2023 12:46 am
Exactly. Couldn't have put it better myself.

[Yohan]

@Yohan Are you the one who is referring to me as a "pitiable seriously misguided individual" because I see that you probably added that opinion to your quote?

Yes, I feel pity for you indeed.

PAG is a King and I think that people need to show him some extra respect.
His status is far above the status of any of the possible halfwits who may or may not be on the forum.

If you really think, that PAG (who is trolling this forum since 2014) is a 'king' and all the other members of this forum should show him some extra respect, I don't know what else I can say, you are really seriously misguided. You lost somehow the judgement between what is right and what is wrong.

[Pixel--Dude]

@Yohan why have you altered my reply and added: "(Yohan, you're full of shit) I didn't say that! Don't misrepresent what I said and tell lies you old fool! I agreed with the main point Lucas88 made, but not once did I say you were full of shit. You've misquoted me and told a complete fabricated lie in your quote from the banning and warning board.

I did not alter your reply, read back the original, Lucas88 said

Post by Lucas88 » Wed Apr 05, 2023 12:31 am
@Yohan, you're full of shit. You come on here to show your fake concern .....
you shouldn't be taken seriously and that you're probably already senile anyway.

and your reply to him was

by Pixel--Dude » Wed Apr 05, 2023 12:46 am
Exactly. Couldn't have put it better myself.

My response was in reference to the general message. Not to that particular part about you being full of shit! You interpreted it that way all on your own and then altered the message in your quote to make it look like I said that about you when I didn't! I never said you were full of shit. Not once. Earlier I said I had no problem with you, despite you always standing against me as a moderator because I'm not a senior enough member for your liking

[Yohan]

You are all of relatively low caliber, so you cannot get to the root of the matter. The administrator no longer cares about this forum because it has been blacklisted as a hate site by Google and others and will never generate revenue. Now it is a drain on administrative resources. You should prepare for the day when he pulls the plug, particularly in the coming days when I begin investing significant resources into happier abroad dot ORG and legal action causing Google and Service providers to completely remove this website. The administrator was instructed to alter his behavior, and he requested your assistance years ago, as he refused accept my superiority, but you had nothing to add. Just like now. You just don't have the business acumen or technical expertise to assist. It's now over.



Seriously, what does Yohah know? He is merely an individual with mental illness who was released from a mental institution more than a decade ago. He does not have a wife or a natural or fostered daughter. He receives government assistance and resides in a small, one bedroom flat.



Public D? Some verbose low-quality tech swindler who overcharges mom-and-pop parlors for brochure websites in a mud shack in the middle of nowhere. Are these people suppose to be valuable? Who else is there? These individuals only offer defamation and nothing of value.



Here's value





Good bye

I don't see anything wrong if I ask the admin/moderator to check out this posting from PAG and to remove from this troll posting fake stories and picture about me. I think PublicDuende will also agree that fake stories/picture about him should be removed.

Be warned other users. @Yohan, @publicduende, @MarcosZeitolaand @Voyager1: Winston has said PAG can stay if he behaves. So far he is receiving a warning for the disruption he's caused since his return. If he goes to minding his own business and you guys target him then you guys will get a warning instead. If PAG continues acting like a jerk I will ban him.