SoylentNews is people
SoylentNews
Happy New Year!
As the final hours of 2021 here's wishing everyone a Happy New Year!
In light of the holiday, I am inviting the editorial staff to post stories on a weekend/holiday schedule. Thank you for all your hard work in 2021. Here's wishing for a better year to come! Enjoy!
We did it! [*]
([*] I think).
Current Status:
Thanks to a VERY generous subscription of nearly $1,000, we reached our fundraising goal for the second half of the year THANK YOU!: $4,132.81 on a goal of $3,500.00 (all amounts are estimates):
mysql> SELECT SUM(payment_net) AS Net, 100.0 * SUM(payment_net) / 3500.00 AS GoalPercent, MAX(ts), MAX(spid), NOW() FROM subscribe_payments WHERE ts > '2021-06-30' ;
+---------+-------------+---------------------+-----------+---------------------+
| Net | GoalPercent | MAX(ts) | MAX(spid) | NOW() |
+---------+-------------+---------------------+-----------+---------------------+
| 4132.81 | 118.0802857 | 2021-12-30 17:36:36 | 1744 | 2021-12-30 23:45:49 |
+---------+-------------+---------------------+-----------+---------------------+
1 row in set (0.00 sec)mysql>
And for those of you interested in the details:
mysql> SELECT spid, ts, payment_gross, payment_net, payment_type FROM subscribe_payments WHERE ts > '2021-12-29 22:06:03' AND payment_gross > 0 ORDER BY ts ;
+------+---------------------+---------------+-------------+--------------+
| spid | ts | payment_gross | payment_net | payment_type |
+------+---------------------+---------------+-------------+--------------+
| 1728 | 2021-12-29 23:16:21 | 20.00 | 18.81 | user |
| 1729 | 2021-12-30 00:15:05 | 100.00 | 96.80 | user |
| 1730 | 2021-12-30 01:08:02 | 20.00 | 19.12 | user |
| 1731 | 2021-12-30 01:13:58 | 30.00 | 28.01 | user |
| 1732 | 2021-12-30 01:45:50 | 50.00 | 48.25 | user |
| 1733 | 2021-12-30 02:35:54 | 40.00 | 38.54 | user |
| 1734 | 2021-12-30 03:12:48 | 20.00 | 18.81 | user |
| 1735 | 2021-12-30 04:24:07 | 924.43 | 897.32 | user |
| 1736 | 2021-12-30 07:05:37 | 20.00 | 18.51 | user |
| 1737 | 2021-12-30 07:50:05 | 20.00 | 18.51 | gift |
| 1738 | 2021-12-30 09:23:14 | 20.00 | 19.12 | gift |
| 1739 | 2021-12-30 12:22:42 | 20.00 | 18.51 | user |
| 1740 | 2021-12-30 12:24:24 | 20.00 | 18.81 | user |
| 1741 | 2021-12-30 13:59:52 | 40.00 | 38.11 | user |
| 1742 | 2021-12-30 17:33:36 | 20.00 | 19.12 | gift |
| 1743 | 2021-12-30 17:35:13 | 20.00 | 19.12 | gift |
| 1744 | 2021-12-30 17:36:36 | 20.00 | 19.12 | gift |
+------+---------------------+---------------+-------------+--------------+
17 rows in set (0.00 sec)mysql>
That's great news! So why the equivocation?
Looking Closer:
Actually, it's more of a stepping back to look at things over the course of the entire year:
mysql> SELECT SUM(payment_gross) AS Gross, SUM(payment_net) AS Net, ts, max(spid) AS SPID FROM subscribe_payments WHERE ts > '2020-12-31' ;
+---------+---------+---------------------+------+
| Gross | Net | ts | SPID |
+---------+---------+---------------------+------+
| 6916.61 | 6611.75 | 2020-12-31 21:47:25 | 1744 |
+---------+---------+---------------------+------+
1 row in set (0.00 sec)mysql>
The fundraising goal for the first half of the year was also $3,500.00. So... (2 x $3,500.00) is $7,000.00 but we have a total of... $6,916.61?
The Crash:
And then I remembered. Early this year we had a server (fluorine) crash. We had backups (yay!), but they were borken (Boo! Hiss!). We lost over a day's worth of activity, including a number of subscriptions. I *was* able to manually reconstruct people's subscriptions (time) based on information displayed on a window I just happened to have open at the time. But that was in a table separate from what is used to generate these numbers. After 3 days' effort, I'd patched things up as well as I could. Thankfully the official numbers (on which income and taxes are calculated) are kept on a completely separate server. Whew! One that I DO NOT have access. I'd concluded that we'll just have to sort things out at the end of the year. And that time has draw nigh.
tl;dr:
We're probably all set for the year, but there is also the matter that (unknown to me) we had previously been running at a deficit for a couple years. So anything additional you can contribute will go to replenish our funding base. (NCommander and Matt_ each put up $5,000.00 of their own money that to get us started.)
(Score: 2) by janrinok on Sunday January 02 2022, @10:48AM (22 children)
You cannot have the same discussion with me on #soylent
... and expect me to believe that you are Aristarchus on #soylent but an AC with no account in these comments:
Spam mods are illegal - who knew?
(Score: 2) by aristarchus on Sunday January 02 2022, @09:54PM (21 children)
Is it too much to expect you to notice there are multiple spam mods, janrinok? One of them against me, another against some poor AC who the spam-modder evidently thinks is me, which it is not. You are not helping with your wild speculations about who might be a sockpuppet. Perhaps some decorum, and professional ethics?
(Score: 3, Informative) by janrinok on Sunday January 02 2022, @11:57PM (8 children)
Perhaps it is also too much to expect you to send an email as requested?
Professional ethics, decorum? Go back and look at which one of us lost his temper. Who resorted to vulgarities? You cannot even remember which of your characters you are pretending to be, or who is supposedly using which VPN. If Frigatebird gets blocked why would Aristarchus be complaining?
Email or shut up.
(Score: 2) by aristarchus on Monday January 03 2022, @02:34AM (7 children)
I was only pointing out that I was spam modded. I know nothing of Frigatebird's situation, since (s)he is a different user. Your AC persona is waxing rather verbose, janrinok. Perhaps you should reign it in, until this blows over. I also am not the AC who was illegitimately spam modded, but everybody knows who AC really is.
(Score: 3, Touché) by janrinok on Monday January 03 2022, @12:01PM (6 children)
From IRC: [aristarchus] And, to report on the "landing place" of SN, there has been illicit, illegal, and illegitimate spam mods lodged against me. This injustice must not stand, man!
Oh, have you only just realised that you are making contradictory claims and statements, and forgetting who you are supposed to be at any one time? Yet you are not prepared to tell us which comments you are referring to and which belong to an AC that you know nothing about other than you state that they were illegitimately moderated . What is 'illegal' or 'illicit' about a Spam moderation?
I am sure that it is just a coincidence that Aristarchus and Frigatebird try to use the same banned IPs from a VPN in the Philippines - banned because of the associated criminal activity not because you are using it - and that nobody else ever has used that VPN to connect to this site. But coincidences can happen I suppose.
Your attempts at using alternative accounts are blatantly obvious to many in this community. It has nothing to do with anything that you imagine I am doing. Just play by the rules or leave. I don't suppose many of us care any more which option you choose.
If you wish to continue this discussion contact us on admin@[the usual address]. This thread is now closed.
(Score: 1) by khallow on Monday January 03 2022, @06:39PM
I have to say, that's pretty exotic cloak and dagger just to rant on SN.
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Tuesday January 04 2022, @12:24AM (4 children)
You seem to be taking this entirely too seriously, janrinok. Entertaining, if you were not an editor.
(Score: 1) by khallow on Tuesday January 04 2022, @02:18AM (3 children)
I imagine it doesn't seem so to janrinok.
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Tuesday January 04 2022, @07:13AM (2 children)
The problem, exactly.
(Score: 1) by khallow on Tuesday January 04 2022, @08:33AM
(Score: 3, Informative) by janrinok on Tuesday January 04 2022, @09:45AM
Many in our community are complaining about the number of spurious off-topic comments that appear in threads and are asking why we do nothing about it. The stories are there to generate a discussion and some are more successful than others. However, trying to change the subject under discussion by hijacking the comments and raising one's own personal objections and complaints about spurious matters is one of the things that quickly drives people away from a thread. Repeated occurrences could result in a temporary comment or moderation ban.
Raising complaints about moderation is ALWAYS off topic and there are procedures detailed elsewhere on the site [soylentnews.org] explaining how to alert staff when you think that specific types of moderation abuse have occurred. The sending of an email is by far the most efficient method to use as there is no guarantee that comments on IRC will be seen immediately. You MUST include the comment identity number (CID) in ALL complaints.
A lot of work might have gone into the preparation of a story - from the moment somebody decides to make a submission to it appearing on the front page. Spoiling a discussion is disrespectful to other community members and a cause of some annoyance to all of those involved, and particularly to those who wish to hold a sensible discussion about the topic in hand.
There are plenty of alternative ways to raise personal complaints and we do not object to anyone raising genuine concerns and issues. But some use thread hijacking as a means of keeping their own visibility and personal issues in everybody's face. This is unacceptable and we will do our best to prevent it where possible. If in doubt, an email to admin@[the usual address] will get the most timely response from staff. It is important that a complaint provides sufficient information for us to identify and act on the issue in a timely manner.
(Score: 0, Disagree) by Anonymous Coward on Monday January 03 2022, @12:03AM (11 children)
That quote was posted by you [soylentnews.org] on September 5, 2020.
I could lob your own words back at you as insults, but I don't think that's helpful. Instead, I hope you see that you've become exactly what you despise. Along the way, you've driven away many people who agree with your views but not your tactics.
You've been given clear instructions about how to properly lodge a complaint about the spam mods. Continuing to complain about it here without going through proper channels is disingenuous. You might as well post a journal about this, which is another common tactic of yours, just to draw more attention to yourself. If you were serious about lodging a complaint about the spam mod, you'd send an email to the admins and wait on a response before publicly fussing about this more. Instead, it looks like you're doing this just because you want to draw more attention to yourself.
(Score: 0, Troll) by aristarchus on Monday January 03 2022, @07:03AM (10 children)
No, you cannot. You are not competent to do so. And, driven away who? Hemo? You make me laugh, you pathetic excuse for a Soylentil! You did not even explain,
Until you master that, you have no standing. And you suck at spotting sockpuppets.
(Score: 2, Insightful) by Anonymous Coward on Monday January 03 2022, @11:02AM (9 children)
Your continued denials of running sock puppets and AC trolling is as asinine as the alt-right insisting that Trump lost the 2020 election because of massive fraud or that the insurrection on January 6 was done by Antifa. The evidence is abundant and clear, but you continue to lie and fabricate this fictional narrative that you're being persecuted. I suppose you believe that if only you could run as many sock puppets as you want, you'd be able to Make Soylent Great Again.
Nemo est supra legem. The English translation is that nobody is above the law. That includes you, aristarchus. The rules clearly state that sock puppets are forbidden. Just as the alt-right's efforts to overturn the 2020 election are an affront to the rule of law, so is your continued use of sock puppets. It seems that you think you're special and that the rules about sock puppets shouldn't apply to you. Aristotle would be very disappointed in you.
You also posted as an AC and threatened to bring SN down if you didn't get your way. Is that your version of January 6, that if you don't get to break the rules and run sock puppets, you're going to destroy the site?
My point is simple: you're a hypocrite, but you're too arrogant to realize it.
(Score: 0, Troll) by aristarchus on Tuesday January 04 2022, @07:20AM (8 children)
You poor, poor AC! Refugee from the world of real, are we? You expect people on line to be who they say they are? You think that the White supremacists behind janrinok and Runaway are on the level? Do you know what it is you are carrying? Your protests are as farts in the wind, mere hemo objections, a conservative screen with no substance, a paper tiger, if you will. You do not understand me, if you think I am the hypocrite. But then, I have come to expect such stupidity from my opponents on SN. You would rather I just go away, instead of persistently pointing out the bankruptcy of your worldview. I pity you. Spam away, AC!
(Oh wait, ACs cannot mod, so you are an actual user, too cowardly to Spam mod the Mighty Aristarchus to his face? Thought as much. Coward.)
(Score: 3, Informative) by Azuma Hazuki on Tuesday January 04 2022, @07:41AM (7 children)
This is fucking dumb. You make some big threats, so let's see you follow through with them. I personally have no problem with you taking SN down if you're actually capable of that, but I doubt you are. And I'm getting really, really tired of your stupidity. Put up or shut up.
I am "that girl" your mother warned you about...
(Score: 0, Flamebait) by aristarchus on Tuesday January 04 2022, @07:44AM (6 children)
Shirley, 'Zumi, you of all soylentils realize it has already happened, Just check the comment count. Dead, really dead. And an attempt to discuss actual issues ends up with Runaway comments. Dead.
(Score: 2) by Azuma Hazuki on Tuesday January 04 2022, @07:49AM (5 children)
Nope. You said you can take SN down. Go ahead and do it.
I am "that girl" your mother warned you about...
(Score: 1, Troll) by aristarchus on Tuesday January 04 2022, @07:53AM (4 children)
Missing my point, my dear Hazuki; it already is down, just doesn't know it yet.
(Score: 2) by Azuma Hazuki on Tuesday January 04 2022, @07:54AM (2 children)
Do it, or forever quit threatening to do it. I am so sick of your bullshit. Go on, drop the dox and bring down the hammer of the law. I dare you. I dare you to follow through on your threats.
I am "that girl" your mother warned you about...
(Score: 1, Troll) by aristarchus on Tuesday January 04 2022, @08:53AM (1 child)
Perhaps you missed the real drama that attended to the departure of the Buzzard? One who could threatened to pull the plug. Wasn't me. I am just a pawn, or lowly philosopher, in the game of SN.
(Score: 3, Informative) by Azuma Hazuki on Tuesday January 04 2022, @05:17PM
Then stop making threats. Don't write checks your ass (which people are saying is prehensile now...?) can't cash.
I am "that girl" your mother warned you about...
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Tuesday January 04 2022, @06:34PM
If you had a point, you could have made it years ago. Give it up, fool, your existence is pointless.