Official Off Topic Discussion Thread #1

[Ogertron3000]

My daughter loves the cat one. I dont believe they make $100K a month.
Its weird how one channel will become huge and another one will be lucky to get 100 views like our old mate Alex.. There must be some way to tweak the search algorithm or something so your site comes up first if someone searches "cats" .
Really the amount of pointless crap on youtube makes it very annoying.

 

[skjl47]

My daughter loves the cat one. I dont believe they make $100K a month.
Its weird how one channel will become huge and another one will be lucky to get 100 views like our old mate Alex.. There must be some way to tweak the search algorithm or something so your site comes up first if someone searches "cats" .
Really the amount of pointless crap on youtube makes it very annoying.

Hello; Never did look at any of the videos Wolf posted so cannot say about the content. I grew tired of so many times he posted a video that i eventually put his posts on ignore. He became the only member i have on ignore.
I think there must be a way to "tweak" the algorithms, but I am thinking such tools are available only to the moderators/bosses of a site. I have been hearing more about this lately since Twitter changed hands. I have never used twitter myself but seems lots of folks have.
I hear about shadow banning and some other terms. Seems there are several ways a member's tweets can be maneuvered. There is outright banning so no tweets show up at all.
There is a way a person's tweets only show up to a limited audience of followers. Not sure the term for that. Guess that makes you think you stuff is getting out but actually only a few can see it.
There are other ways I do not yet understand but appear to have happened. An example is some of the talking head celebrities on some TV shows saying that after twitter changed ownership, they suddenly had many thousands more followers all of a sudden. Guess somehow that was a tool the mods had.

A mod on this site wrote to me he can do anything he wants with this site. May be some of you have been around a few years back and can recall some things that happened. One was a test of some sort which was designed to allow only one group to respond/post for a while and then later only another group to post /respond.

I think the mods of search engine sites can fix it so favored responses wind up first in line and others are buried or even suppressed.

But to your point I doubt a user such as Wolf has ability to use such tools. Seems the web is indeed rigged at top levels.

 

[jjohnwm]

I dunno...when you go onto a website like MFK...or Twitter...or any other social medium...are you not essentially visiting someone else's house? Those websites are private property, and the people or organizations who pay for them and maintain them also exert control over what is allowed to be said or shown on them, and to whom. What's wrong with that? Don't like the way we do things? There's the digital door!

I want control over my property...I don't allow free access to anyone off the street...and the people I do invite or allow to visit are expected to adhere to the rules of conduct which I arbitrarily set. I monitor what goes on here at home, I watch visitors to ensure they behave, and I have no problem "suspending" someone (maybe it's time for you to leave now), "banning" someone (get the hell off my land and don't come back!) or exerting perhaps more subtle control (maybe you've had enough...how about a cola without rum this time?).

I sure don't believe those other folks should have access to the "tools" I might use to enforce the rules on my own property...just as I don't expect to have free access to their tools.

If you think this means the system is "rigged at the top", it appears as if you are assigning a very nefarious-sounding name to a simple fact of life that should be obvious to all.

The solution is simple: set up your own public medium, set your own rules...as many or as few as you wish, you can always change your mind about the details later...and let chaos reign. I wonder how long it would take before you are forced to take a step back and start to consider exerting some control; maybe ask Elon Musk for some pointers on the steps to take?

 

[pacu mom]

My daughter loves the cat one. I dont believe they make $100K a month.
Its weird how one channel will become huge and another one will be lucky to get 100 views like our old mate Alex.. There must be some way to tweak the search algorithm or something so your site comes up first if someone searches "cats" .
Really the amount of pointless crap on youtube makes it very annoying.

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[skjl47]

I dunno...when you go onto a website like MFK...or Twitter...or any other social medium...are you not essentially visiting someone else's house? Those websites are private property, and the people or organizations who pay for them and maintain them also exert control over what is allowed to be said or shown on them, and to whom. What's wrong with that? Don't like the way we do things? There's the digital door!

I want control over my property...I don't allow free access to anyone off the street...and the people I do invite or allow to visit are expected to adhere to the rules of conduct which I arbitrarily set. I monitor what goes on here at home, I watch visitors to ensure they behave, and I have no problem "suspending" someone (maybe it's time for you to leave now), "banning" someone (get the hell off my land and don't come back!) or exerting perhaps more subtle control (maybe you've had enough...how about a cola without rum this time?).

I sure don't believe those other folks should have access to the "tools" I might use to enforce the rules on my own property...just as I don't expect to have free access to their tools.

If you think this means the system is "rigged at the top", it appears as if you are assigning a very nefarious-sounding name to a simple fact of life that should be obvious to all.

The solution is simple: set up your own public medium, set your own rules...as many or as few as you wish, you can always change your mind about the details later...and let chaos reign. I wonder how long it would take before you are forced to take a step back and start to consider exerting some control; maybe ask Elon Musk for some pointers on the steps to take?

Hello; Well, since you asked. There is a lot more to the twitter stuff as we are finding out every day. Some of the issue is the end users did not know of the various "tools" being used against them. For example, if i post on this thread my expectation is that any other member can read the post who wants to. Of course, if you or any other member puts me on ignore that is also fine. Among the problems with the "tools" seems to be they were used in secret.

I get it is a private company and private places can set up the rules any way they want sort of idea. The secret use of the "tools" is a big part of the issue. I do not know if some alphabet agency ever contacted MFK and worked in secret with the mods to stop some ideas from being posted or in other ways changed the dynamic of the site.

Asking Elon Musk might be good advice. Seems he bought a pig in a poke in a way and is now finding out just how much things were "rigged at the top". Here is the deal as far as i am concerned. If you invite me onto your property (website in this discussion) I understand you get to set the rules of behavior. If i do not like those rules, I can leave. Things under scrutiny are the hidden secret rules, players and tools being used to censor or otherwise change the experience. There is also a big deal about who the hidden players may be behind the scenes.
A bigger issue with regard to Twitter and by implication possibly other major social media platforms is the vast scope of influence these social media sites have. MFK is small potatoes in comparison. To find out that so many thumbs have been on the scale in regard to the free exchange of ideas is disturbing. Do not jump to the notion i want a wild west foul language free for all. I use civility in my posts and can express myself without being crude. The idea my civilly expressed point of view can be censored or otherwise manipulated in secret is what is objectionable.

 

[jjohnwm]

Were these "tools" used secretively? If so...how did you find out about them? How can you trust that the information source was accurate and trustworthy? And, more to the point...why do you consider that there is some obligation on the site to reveal any of this activity to users? I personally think that it should be expected that one's posts and comments would be subject to some level of moderation and control.

I have security cameras at various points on my property, both motion-activated and also "plot timer" styles, which allow me to see if anyone has been making unauthorized visits. I don't feel any obligation to notify anybody about the cameras, any more than I feel that I should post a sign indicating that my house and outbuildings are kept locked.

I agree that the influence that social media can have on so many people today is unfortunate and undesirable. But is the censorship and manipulation of expressed opinions that you describe...and which may or may not actually be happening, to unknown degrees...illegal? I don't know; and my dabbling in social media is so trivial and unimportant in my life that I don't really care. If the Great Unwashed Masses are intent upon hurling themselves under the crushing wheels of Twitter or whatever other medium is the current darling of the internet, they're welcome to do so.

I do find it curious that you would continue to frequent MFK and to post opinions if you are so concerned that some shadowy triple-initial covert spy shop is "watching" you through the site. Seems reminiscent of Bart Simpson grabbing for the rigged cookie jar...getting a shock...recoiling with an "ouch"...and then immediately repeating the cycle over and over.

You have mentioned a few times in the past that you have experienced disciplinary peepee slaps from the mods in response to your posts. You keep coming back, and I assume your posts have been self-moderated to avoid additional retribution...at least you have alluded to the need to "say no more"...but again, I wonder why? If I felt the way you seem to about the way things are run here, I'd just leave for greener pastures.

 

[pacu mom]

On another note, 6.4 earthquake just south of us this morning. We felt nothing here. Husband was awake and got an emergency notification on his phone to shelter in place. Usually when there is an earthquake near Ferndale, we also get shaken. Apparently, this earthquake went from west to east, as Redding CA was shaken. Historical old Fern Bridge was closed, because four cracks were noted. Pic taken from the internet.





I only remember two earthquakes (all the others were insignificant). The whole house was making loud shuddering noises, and the earthquake seemed to go on forever...enough for me to run around trying to remember what to do....stand in a doorway? No. Lie down in the bathtub? No. Lie down on the floor next to a bed, cover my head, keep away from windows. The other earthquake I remember occurred while I was at church. It seemed like the church had waves underneath it. All the other earthquakes were relatively minor "Oh, earthquake! Did you feel it?"

I grew up in Southern CA where the notorious San Andreas Fault was always a concern. Besides fire drills, we had routine earthquake drills where we had to get under our desks. Now I live in Northern CA in the southern aspect of the deadly Cascadia Subduction Zone which was discovered less than 40 yrs ago. I will be lucky to survive the next time Cascadia goes off. I'm pretty sure my house will not be standing.

 

[skjl47]

Were these "tools" used secretively? If so...how did you find out about them? How can you trust that the information source was accurate and trustworthy?

Hello; To be sure we could only guess about the secret "users" and "tools" until recently. Still secret with regard to many social media sites. What is now known came to be known after Twitter changed ownership. The new owner is 'dumping' groups of e-mails and other before hidden information. The information, some of it anyway, is now out. I do not yet know the language (terms) used to describe the various mechanisms of how individual or group accounts were affected.
We also did not know for sure that agencies ( I call them alphabet agencies) were working with the operators at Twitter to control content. We know about it now because the information is being released. Nearly every day for over a week some new bunch of such information is being released by Twitters new owner.

Twitter is the only one we know for sure about so far. As continues to be the case the other platforms can only be guessed about.

I found out about this stuff because it is now being released nearly every day. Some news outlets are reporting the dumps. Maybe others are not???

 

[skjl47]

On another note, 6.4 earthquake just south of us this morning. We felt nothing here. Husband was awake and got an emergency notification on his phone to shelter in place. Usually when there is an earthquake near Ferndale, we also get shaken. Apparently, this earthquake went from west to east, as Redding CA was shaken. Historical old Fern Bridge was closed, because four cracks were noted. Pic taken from the internet.

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I only remember two earthquakes (all the others were insignificant). The whole house was making loud shuddering noises, and the earthquake seemed to go on forever...enough for me to run around trying to remember what to do....stand in a doorway? No. Lie down in the bathtub? No. Lie down on the floor next to a bed, cover my head, keep away from windows. The other earthquake I remember occurred while I was at church. It seemed like the church had waves underneath it. All the other earthquakes were relatively minor "Oh, earthquake! Did you feel it?"

I grew up in Southern CA where the notorious San Andreas Fault was always a concern. Besides fire drills, we had routine earthquake drills where we had to get under our desks. Now I live in Northern CA in the southern aspect of the deadly Cascadia Subduction Zone which was discovered less than 40 yrs ago. I will be lucky to survive the next time Cascadia goes off. I'm pretty sure my house will not be standing.

Hello; saw that news flash this morning. Good luck.

 

[skjl47]

I have security cameras at various points on my property, both motion-activated and also "plot timer" styles, which allow me to see if anyone has been making unauthorized visits. I don't feel any obligation to notify anybody about the cameras, any more than I feel that I should post a sign indicating that my house and outbuildings are kept locked.

Hello; Hope you do not have any in the toilets. Not a very good analogy to us using a web site. I do not want the sites i visit to be able to turn on my laptop camera when i visit the site.