This site is rapidly closing that gap. If you could see what is REALLY going on here, you would be shocked. I've invited the mods to open up my backroom to the public, but they do not take me up on my invitation. By using censorship to conceal censorship, it slows down public awareness to what is really going on.
There is a lot of Stockholm syndrome here, where people wrongly sympathize with the people who are doing the massive censorship. It's too hard for a lot of people to digest the notion that the intent of the government here might not be as altruistic they think.
Well, I wouldn't lose too much sleep over it, it is still a pretty good place to talk and debate, lots of good people here including all of the mods I've had the chance to get to know a little and still looks better than any other places I've looked at. One mod here actually left for another place then came back because they liked it here so much better. Like I've said many times, while I think many things could be made even better, simpler and easier for all, it's THEIR show and if the owners don't care, why should anyone else?
Remember that: You and I are just members here. It's not our show so if you really don't like it, the door is wide open. But I would hope you'd stay.
USMB is TOPICS-based (whatever that means or why) but not QUALITY or ACCURACY based. Don't take my word, go read the rules and look for those words ANYWHERE. There is no reward here for investing great effort into posts and reports and a person doing a 5 second 2-word guessing game gets the same credit as if you or I do a 10,000 word exposé on government corruption taking an hour to research and put together! NO ONE CARES!
All that is cared about here is to just shut up and do your best to abide by the rules, so DO IT! Nothing hard about that! I don't think anyone is out to get you.
Even if a few members here really are gigantic, despicable flaming a-holes. No one cares about what lurks in your backroom, simple as that, so why belabor it? Make what YOU want of the place--- as little or as much as you care to do--- When the integrity of the content is not your first (or any) concern, yet you claim to want
strictly vigilant civil discourse in certain areas that look like anywhere else, demanding people act like civil adults while not having any filter in place to exclude people who are obviously NOT civil, rational adults, all I can say is good luck with that. Lies, falsehoods, exaggerations, circular game-playing and misinformation are the Number One cause of most social arguments.
I used to get paid big money for my critical analyses, but no one is paying anything here much less cares, like talking to the wind, so,
just RELAX, EM, its a pretty great site often full of good information and I thank those that created it for making it available and hope it lasts another 20 years and doesn't just become another nest of leftwing hate and suppression as many places are. I mean, maybe USMB isn't everything you'd like, EM, but the last place I belonged to (sort of a specialized niche social media) banned me for asking a simple question about a movie! In a thread ABOUT movies!
So, quit yer belly-aching and enjoy the site for all that it is (or create a better one of your own to go up against it) and appreciate the great effort and time that mods like Flacc put into replying to questions, even if some replies don't always bear up well under critical analysis--- I'm sure it ISN'T a job requirement they do that. Just post your threads and replies, try to be mindful of the rules where they really count best you can, and live and let live and roll with the punches when things don't quite go your way and try to LEARN something from your bad experiences as a pattern to set down for improved future behavior. Life will go much easier for you.
Oh and, BTW, maybe no mod here ever told you this, but THANK YOU for at least caring enough to GIVE us your feedback and complaints! If no one here cared, there'd be no FB or complaints.
Food for thought.
