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We are aware there are some issues (dead links) where indicated by links to "here" in the story. It seems to be a long-dormant bug in the code. Will address this issue when addressing any other issues raised here. In the meantime, try using the links that appear in the liked-to article, directly, at: ( https://soylentnews.org/faq.pl?op=moderation#spam . Yes, we are aware that those are not the best examples and we are aware that those examples may need to be updated to point to better ones. --martyb
I've been made aware of some discussions about the permitted use of the "Spam" moderation. This has spawned a great deal of discussion among Soylent staff.
What's The Point?
The whole purpose of comment moderation is for an (early) reader of a comment is to provide guidance to later readers. Like "breaking trail" for others when hiking through deep snow. The "Trail breaker" makes it eaier to navigate the path for those who follow. Before we dive into the Spam, it is important to note that it is encouraged to "upmod" more than one "downmods". I receive an e-mail each day that includes the number of each that were performed on the preceding day. I am happy to report that I generally see 2x to 4x more upmods than downmods! YAY!
Where to start?
Start at the at the top of the Left-Hand side of the Main page. There one can find a link to the FAQ. Click that link and scroll down to
the link about our Moderation System. Click that link. Located there is a list of items including one on the Spam Mod.
There it states:
Spam Mod
The spam moderation (spam mod) is to be used only on comments that genuinely qualify as spam. Spam is unsolicited advertisement, undesired and offtopic filth, or possibly illegal in general. Spam can come in many forms, but it differs from a troll comment in that it will have absolutely no substance, is completely undesired, is detrimental to the site, or worse.
The spam mod is special in that is removes 10 Karma points from the user that posted the comment. This mod is meant to combat spam and not to be used to punish commenters (when in doubt, don't use this mod). Our goal is to put a spammer in Karma Hell and for them to not be able to get out of it easily. As we do not want this used against non-spamers, we monitor all spam mods to make sure moderators are not abusing the spam mod. If we find a moderator that unfairly applied the spam mod, we remove the mod giving the poster back the Karma points, and the modder is banned from modding for one month. Further bans to the same modder add increasing amounts of ban time. If you inadvertently applied a spam mod, mail the admin and we will remove the spam mod without banning you. Even though we have updated the interface to physically separate the spam mod from the other mods, unintentional modding may still be an unfortunate occurrence.
Examples
If you are unsure of whether a comment is spam or not, don't use the spam mod. Here are some examples of spam:
- Proper spam. Anything whose primary purpose is advertisement (unless somehow relevant to the discussion/article).
- HOSTS/GNAA/etc... type posts. Recurring, useless annoyances we're all familiar with.
- Posts so offtopic and lacking value to even be a troll that they can't be called anything else. See here, here or here for example.
- Repeating the same thing over and over. This includes blockquoting entire comments without adding anything substantial to them.
These examples cannot cover every type of Spam that you might encounter. Please exercise common sense. We expect all comments to be on-topic or following a clearly defined thread that has developed as part of the discussion. Raising personal complaints or starting completely new discussions unrelated to the main story are certainly off-topic and also possibly trolling. Remember: if in doubt do not use the Spam moderation.
"Sock Mods" and "Mod Bombs":
You may ask: "What's that?". Simply stated, when a logged-in-user, uses one (or more) account(s) to "updmod" other account(s) in unison. This is similar to using other account(s) to "Downmod" one (or more) account(s) in unison. Both practices are Forbidden. As always, when such activity is discovered, Admins notice and discuss it to confirm the observation with other admins. Actions taken can range from a ban on moderations (for increasing durations for repeat offenders) to an outright ban on use of the accounts(s). We have observed such activity happening recently and are preparing to take action. Similarly, when several accounts can be shown to have repeatedly cooperated to prevent someone from expressing their opinion or have given other accounts an unfair advantage then that can also be a form of 'bombing'. My advice is: stop right now. We do not like taking such actions, but it would be unfair to those who DO follow the rules for us to ignore such activities.
Summary:
(1) simply follow Wheaton's Law:
Don't Be a Dick
(2) "Say what you mean, mean what you say, but don't say it mean."
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- 147 comments
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.)
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- 144 comments
You guys are GREAT!
Previously:
In our last Fundraising Update we had raised $1,808.21 (net) towards our goal of $3,500.00 for the 2nd half of the year. (And five days earlier we stood at just $1,510.49).
Currently:
And where are we now? Hold onto your seat...
mysql> SELECT SUM(payment_gross) AS Gross, SUM(payment_net) AS Net, ts, max(spid) AS SPID FROM subscribe_payments WHERE ts >= '2021-07-01' ;
+---------+---------+---------------------+------+
| Gross | Net | ts | SPID |
+---------+---------+---------------------+------+
| 2435.06 | 2307.23 | 2021-07-01 02:15:00 | 1727 |
+---------+---------+---------------------+------+
1 row in set (0.00 sec)mysql>
In that time, we had 4x $50.00 subscriptions and a $100.00 subscription (flagged by an "*" below):
mysql> SELECT ts, payment_gross, payment_net, method, submethod, payment_type FROM subscribe_payments WHERE ts > '2021-12-28 13:01:56' AND payment_gross > 0 ORDER BY ts ;
+---------------------+---------------+-------------+--------+-----------+--------------+
| ts | payment_gross | payment_net | method | submethod | payment_type |
+---------------------+---------------+-------------+--------+-----------+--------------+
| 2021-12-28 22:28:09 | *50.00 | 47.76 | paypal | NULL | user |
| 2021-12-28 22:48:32 | 20.00 | 18.81 | paypal | NULL | user |
| 2021-12-28 23:33:57 | *50.00 | 47.76 | paypal | NULL | user |
| 2021-12-29 00:54:44 | 20.00 | 18.81 | paypal | NULL | user |
| 2021-12-29 02:47:41 | *50.00 | 47.01 | paypal | NULL | user |
| 2021-12-29 03:08:48 | 20.00 | 18.51 | paypal | NULL | user |
| 2021-12-29 04:50:49 | *100.00 | 96.02 | paypal | NULL | gift |
| 2021-12-29 07:01:43 | 20.00 | 18.51 | paypal | NULL | user |
| 2021-12-29 10:58:54 | 10.00 | 9.16 | paypal | NULL | user |
| 2021-12-29 12:46:04 | 25.00 | 23.26 | paypal | NULL | user |
| 2021-12-29 13:32:12 | 20.00 | 19.12 | stripe | CC | user |
| 2021-12-29 13:37:36 | *50.00 | 48.25 | stripe | CC | user |
| 2021-12-29 14:16:35 | 20.00 | 18.81 | paypal | NULL | user |
| 2021-12-29 14:24:29 | 40.00 | 37.51 | paypal | NULL | user |
| 2021-12-29 21:11:32 | 12.00 | 10.91 | paypal | NULL | user |
| 2021-12-29 22:06:03 | 20.00 | 18.81 | paypal | NULL | user |
+---------------------+---------------+-------------+--------+-----------+--------------+
16 rows in set (0.00 sec)mysql>
Yes, the larger subscriptions are attention-getting, but $220.00 of that $527.00 came from subscriptions of $20.00 or less.
Remaining:
Since I started writing this, we received two more $20.00 subscriptions! All told, we need just $1,173.96 to make our goal and only 2 days to go. Can we do it? We Can Do This... Please Subscribe!
Ahem. Got carried away there. But seriously, every bit makes a difference; please help.
--martyb
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- 21 comments
I hope this reaches you after a safe and healthy holiday!
Where We're At:
In our last fundraising update on 2021-21-20 we stood at $1510.49 towards our goal of $3,500.00 for the second half of the year. I am happy to report that we have since collected additional net subscriptions totaling $279.72. Thank You! You Rock!
mysql> SELECT SUM(payment_gross) AS Gross, SUM(payment_net) AS Net, ts, max(spid) AS SPID FROM subscribe_payments WHERE ts >= '2021-07-01' ;
+---------+---------+---------------------+------+
| Gross | Net | ts | SPID |
+---------+---------+---------------------+------+
| 1908.06 | 1808.21 | 2021-07-01 00:41:45 | 1711 |
+---------+---------+---------------------+------+
1 row in set (0.00 sec)
mysql>
There were a total of 81 (YAY!) subscriptions purchased in the second half of this year (click to see):
mysql> SELECT ts, payment_gross, payment_net, method, submethod, payment_type FROM subscribe_payments WHERE ts >= '2021-07-01' AND payment_gross > 0 ORDER BY ts ;
+---------------------+---------------+-------------+--------+-----------+--------------+
| ts | payment_gross | payment_net | method | submethod | payment_type |
+---------------------+---------------+-------------+--------+-----------+--------------+
| 2021-07-01 00:41:45 | 20.00 | 19.12 | paypal | NULL | user |
| 2021-07-01 02:15:00 | 20.00 | 18.82 | paypal | NULL | user |
| 2021-07-01 02:20:50 | 20.00 | 19.12 | paypal | NULL | user |
| 2021-07-01 02:34:13 | 20.00 | 18.82 | paypal | NULL | gift |
| 2021-07-01 03:26:34 | 20.00 | 18.82 | paypal | NULL | user |
| 2021-07-01 14:19:33 | 20.00 | 19.12 | stripe | CC | user |
| 2021-07-01 16:35:50 | 22.34 | 21.39 | stripe | CC | user |
| 2021-07-01 18:36:56 | 20.00 | 19.12 | stripe | CC | user |
| 2021-07-02 10:49:17 | 20.00 | 19.12 | paypal | NULL | user |
| 2021-07-02 14:43:16 | 20.00 | 19.12 | paypal | NULL | gift |
| 2021-07-02 21:06:24 | 20.00 | 19.12 | stripe | CC | user |
| 2021-07-05 21:59:27 | 40.00 | 37.94 | paypal | NULL | user |
| 2021-07-05 22:07:16 | 400.00 | 388.10 | stripe | CC | user |
| 2021-07-06 14:07:24 | 5.00 | 4.55 | paypal | NULL | user |
| 2021-07-18 14:27:40 | 5.00 | 4.55 | paypal | NULL | user |
| 2021-07-19 15:13:31 | 20.00 | 19.12 | stripe | CC | user |
| 2021-07-22 12:14:55 | 4.00 | 3.52 | paypal | NULL | user |
| 2021-07-25 07:14:27 | 20.00 | 19.12 | stripe | CC | user |
| 2021-07-29 11:57:17 | 10.00 | 9.41 | paypal | NULL | user |
| 2021-08-06 12:30:41 | 5.00 | 4.34 | paypal | NULL | user |
| 2021-08-13 10:28:11 | 20.00 | 18.51 | paypal | NULL | user |
| 2021-08-18 11:54:17 | 5.00 | 4.34 | paypal | NULL | user |
| 2021-08-22 12:11:44 | 4.00 | 3.31 | paypal | NULL | user |
| 2021-08-29 13:03:40 | 10.00 | 9.16 | paypal | NULL | user |
| 2021-09-03 12:33:49 | 20.00 | 18.81 | paypal | NULL | user |
| 2021-09-06 10:20:14 | 20.00 | 18.81 | paypal | NULL | user |
| 2021-09-06 13:35:17 | 5.00 | 4.34 | paypal | NULL | user |
| 2021-09-10 18:30:22 | 20.00 | 18.81 | paypal | NULL | user |
| 2021-09-11 23:56:46 | 20.00 | 19.12 | stripe | CC | gift |
| 2021-09-18 10:37:19 | 5.00 | 4.34 | paypal | NULL | user |
| 2021-09-22 10:12:38 | 4.00 | 3.31 | paypal | NULL | user |
| 2021-09-29 14:37:56 | 10.00 | 9.16 | paypal | NULL | user |
| 2021-10-05 00:31:51 | 20.00 | 19.12 | stripe | CC | user |
| 2021-10-06 10:58:25 | 5.00 | 4.34 | paypal | NULL | user |
| 2021-10-14 11:33:56 | 30.00 | 28.46 | paypal | NULL | user |
| 2021-10-16 09:38:51 | 13.72 | 13.02 | stripe | CC | user |
| 2021-10-18 11:21:58 | 5.00 | 4.34 | paypal | NULL | user |
| 2021-10-21 13:29:39 | 20.00 | 18.81 | paypal | NULL | user |
| 2021-10-22 12:00:55 | 4.00 | 3.31 | paypal | NULL | user |
| 2021-10-24 19:27:39 | 20.00 | 18.81 | paypal | NULL | user |
| 2021-10-26 19:43:45 | 40.00 | 38.11 | paypal | NULL | user |
| 2021-10-29 12:01:11 | 10.00 | 9.16 | paypal | NULL | user |
| 2021-10-30 18:22:11 | 50.00 | 47.01 | paypal | NULL | gift |
| 2021-11-06 12:28:43 | 5.00 | 4.34 | paypal | NULL | user |
| 2021-11-08 15:02:34 | 20.00 | 18.81 | paypal | NULL | user |
| 2021-11-09 19:14:31 | 20.00 | 18.51 | paypal | NULL | user |
| 2021-11-10 06:40:55 | 50.00 | 47.76 | paypal | NULL | gift |
| 2021-11-10 11:47:46 | 20.00 | 18.81 | paypal | NULL | user |
| 2021-11-12 03:08:14 | 30.00 | 28.46 | paypal | NULL | user |
| 2021-11-17 01:01:32 | 12.00 | 11.35 | stripe | CC | user |
| 2021-11-18 12:22:21 | 5.00 | 4.34 | paypal | NULL | user |
| 2021-11-21 14:54:31 | 20.00 | 18.81 | paypal | NULL | user |
| 2021-11-22 12:28:08 | 4.00 | 3.31 | paypal | NULL | user |
| 2021-11-27 18:53:45 | 20.00 | 18.51 | paypal | NULL | user |
| 2021-11-29 10:45:50 | 10.00 | 9.16 | paypal | NULL | user |
| 2021-12-03 15:58:30 | 20.00 | 19.12 | stripe | CC | gift |
| 2021-12-04 02:20:36 | 20.00 | 18.51 | paypal | NULL | user |
| 2021-12-06 11:29:58 | 5.00 | 4.34 | paypal | NULL | user |
| 2021-12-11 04:02:13 | 4.00 | 3.31 | paypal | NULL | user |
| 2021-12-11 12:38:48 | 20.00 | 18.51 | paypal | NULL | user |
| 2021-12-12 11:08:54 | 20.00 | 18.81 | paypal | NULL | user |
| 2021-12-13 20:52:42 | 12.00 | 11.09 | paypal | NULL | user |
| 2021-12-15 09:21:39 | 20.00 | 18.51 | paypal | NULL | user |
| 2021-12-15 16:00:03 | 20.00 | 18.81 | paypal | NULL | user |
| 2021-12-16 10:32:40 | 20.00 | 18.51 | paypal | NULL | user |
| 2021-12-16 13:42:40 | 100.00 | 96.80 | stripe | CC | gift |
| 2021-12-18 10:16:24 | 20.00 | 18.81 | paypal | NULL | user |
| 2021-12-18 10:52:56 | 5.00 | 4.34 | paypal | NULL | user |
| 2021-12-20 23:21:01 | 20.00 | 18.81 | paypal | NULL | user |
| 2021-12-21 02:21:21 | 40.00 | 38.11 | paypal | NULL | user |
| 2021-12-21 05:25:20 | 20.00 | 18.51 | paypal | NULL | user |
| 2021-12-21 17:14:58 | 20.00 | 19.12 | stripe | CC | user |
| 2021-12-21 21:00:59 | 50.00 | 48.25 | stripe | CC | user |
| 2021-12-22 10:26:01 | 20.00 | 18.51 | paypal | NULL | user |
| 2021-12-22 10:45:00 | 4.00 | 3.31 | paypal | NULL | user |
| 2021-12-23 05:17:16 | 20.00 | 19.12 | stripe | CC | user |
| 2021-12-23 18:26:06 | 20.00 | 19.12 | stripe | CC | gift |
| 2021-12-23 20:05:03 | 20.00 | 19.12 | stripe | CC | gift |
| 2021-12-25 12:02:11 | 40.00 | 38.11 | paypal | NULL | user |
| 2021-12-26 01:32:21 | 20.00 | 19.12 | stripe | CC | user |
| 2021-12-28 13:01:56 | 20.00 | 18.51 | paypal | NULL | user |
+---------------------+---------------+-------------+--------+-----------+--------------+
81 rows in set (0.00 sec)
What's Next?
The sharp-eyed among you have already recognized something: that's not nearly enough:
We need to net an additional $1691.79 to reach our goal.
WE CAN DO THIS! 😃
Just click on Subscribe and follow the instructions! (Click the "*SPOILER* for more details.)
Select whether it's a subscription for yourself or a Gift to someone else. For a Gift sub you can provide your name to tell the recipient who the subscription is from or blank it out if you want to remain anonymous. Then choose a duration (30, 180, or 365 days). Important! You can accept the minimum amount offered (4.00, 12.00, or 20.00) OR type another (larger) amount into the field. Then click the "[Continue]" button.
NB: All transactions are processed remotely — SoylentNews sets up the transaction but does not actually participate directly. Also, if you have an Ad Blocker such as No Script or uBlock Origin installed, you may need to allow an exception for "soylentnews.org", "stripe.com", and "stripe.network" for the transaction to be entered and accepted.
You're on the Home Stretch! Click a button: PayPal (1) "[PayPal Buy Now], (2) "[PayPal Subscribe]", or (3) "[Pay with Card or BitCoin]" (Actually only "Card" is accepted at this time).
You are then taken to a form on their payment processor's site where you provide the payment information and confirm the transaction.
That's it! The payment processor then informs SoylentNews of the transaction amount and their processing fee.
Should you have a question or problem, please feel free to reach out for help on IRC (Internet Relay Chat) and/or leave a message here in the comments.
These funds pay for hosting our servers, incorporation fees, taxes, and a CPA. All income goes to paying for the site. Period. Staff is all-volunteer. Nobody here has ever been paid anything for working on SoylentNews!
--martyb
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On behalf of all the staff I wish all of you a Happy Thanksgiving!
I am grateful for all the support the community has shown us since we started SoylentNews.org on February 12, 2014. Has it really been that long? Back then, the internet was dominated by HTTP; it would take some time (years?) until we transitioned to Gandhi and then Let's Encrypt!
I have been active on the site since we started. Why? It was the spirit of gratitude I saw here to be free from having "corporate overlords"; how people pitched in trying to help. They were looking not at what they could get but rather what they could give! That spirit lives on to this day. Where? I see it in the people who submit stories and journal articles. I see it when people post (and moderate) comments. And lets not forget those who subscribe to the site which pays bills (hosting fees and accounting expenses, primarily). We are all volunteers here; nobody has ever been paid anything for their work here!
I'm taking this opportunity to thank all the editors who perform the seemingly thankless task of selecting, reviewing, editing, and posting stories to the site. I hereby invite them to enjoy the long holiday weekend.
We will be on a holiday/weekend story schedule from the start of Thursday through the end of Sunday (UTC). Enjoy the well-deserved break! Thank You!
Another story will be along presently; this story is in addition to our normal schedule. --martyb/Bytram
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