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posted by martyb on Monday January 11 2021, @03:28PM   Printer-friendly

It's been one heck of a week:

Against the backdrop of record-setting numbers of COVID-19 deaths and infections in the US and around the world, there was turmoil in Washington, DC. As court cases surrounding the presidential election were filed and dismissed, a close race in Georgia was coming down to the wire and with it control of the US Senate. While the US Congress was completing the Electoral College tally and certification, a mob formed outside — and eventually broke into — the US Capitol. This resulted in a 4-hour lock-down. Eventually, the intrusion was repelled, and the Electoral College count was completed: Joseph Robinette Biden Jr. was confirmed as the 46th president of the United States of America.

Conspiracy theories have flourished. Propaganda has streamed forth across multiple platforms. Tempers have flared.

And SoylentNews has been there for you. And have you ever spoken up! Two of the most-commented stories in the site's nearly seven-year history were posted in just the past week!

Insomuch as the activities in the US Capitol were far from the US' most shining moments, neither were things all unicorns and rainbows on SoylentNews. Tempers flared. People were attacked and called names. I even accidentally deleted a story and the 17 comments attached to it! [NB: Problem addressed: the delete button no longer appears by default for our editors.]

IRC (Internet Relay Chat):

Even our IRC service was not free from controversy. We had a spate of nick (nickname) impersonations. Going forward, IRC users are free to use whatever nick they like with the following caveats:

  • Prefix / suffix of a nick is fine for practical purposes (e.g. ${nick}_laptop)
  • Impersonation or misrepresentation will not be tolerated
  • The use of another user's website nick or derivative thereof on IRC will be subject to sanctions up to and including perma ban.

Further, we understand conversations can easily ramble from subject to subject, but there are separate channels for different topics. (Use the /list comand to see what is available.) As #soylent is the default landing channel, we want to keep the discussions there civil. Name calling and personal attacks are grounds for a timeout. I have had discussions with deucalion (the site's CEO and also IRC-maintainer) about these activities.

NOTE: we are NOT going to sit there watching every discussion, poised to take action. But, if such activity is seen by staff on IRC, they are free to take such actions as they deem necessary.

Aspirations:

As I approach posting my 10,000th story(!) to SoylentNews, I think back to when it all started. How a group of people got together. They shared freely of their expertise, of their free time, and of their hard-earned funds. They tried to create a place free from corporate overlords where people could engage in discussions that focused primarily on technology, but with a dabbling in other areas and current events.

SoylentNews provides a forum for discussion. It also provides tools so the community can express themselves in the comments and moderate those comments, as well.

This got me to thinking. What are our aspirations today? What are our guiding principles? I will list some of my guiding principles, and I encourage the community to share what guides them in the comments.

  • "Explanations exist; they have existed for all time; there is always a well-known solution to every human problem—neat, plausible, and wrong." --H. L. Mencken (cite)
  • "People who think they know everything are a great annoyance to those of us who do." -- Isaac Asimov (cite)
  • "If you speak when angry, you'll make the best speech you'll ever regret." -- Groucho Marx (cite)
  • "Say what you mean, mean what you say, but don't say it mean."
  • "Don't get furious, get curious" -- Miley Cyrus (cite)
  • "Humiliation is when someone points out my shortcomings. Humility is when I confess them myself."
  • "I need not participate in every fight I am invited to."
  • The most difficult behaviors to observe in another person are the ones I dislike in my own.
  • "You have not converted a man because you have silenced him." -- John, Lord Morley (cite)

How about you? What sayings guide your aspirations?

Thank You!

Lastly, I thank all of you for supporting me as Editor-in-Chief. I have no formal background in writing or management. I've made mistakes, but I've tried to own up to them as they happened. I strive to be fair, impartial, and open-minded. Under the watchful gaze of the community, I have grown. It is my hope that I may continue to earn your respect and continue in service for many years to come.


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  • (Score: 3, Informative) by DannyB on Monday January 11 2021, @09:34PM (4 children)

    by DannyB (5839) Subscriber Badge on Monday January 11 2021, @09:34PM (#1098589) Journal

    > democrat-stolen election [citation needed]

    This was thrown out of over thirty courts, many by Republican judges, some of which were appointed by Trump. For lack of evidence.

    Trump loudly and repeatedly claimed the election was stolen, he had evidence, the facts were on his side. Etc.

    Yet in Trump fashion, he never produces even a shred of proof.

    There were minor irregularities in this election, as in every election. Every county, then every state, certified their elections. This was the most scrutinized election ever.

    I've head the most outlandish things said about the ballots, the machines -- things that should indeed be troubling -- but without a shred, not even the tiniest bit of proof. Nothing ever produced. Zip. Zilch. Nada.

    Democrats couldn't handle democracy, and proved that in 2016. Hell, they kept rioting for 4 years.

    Please provide evidence of Democrats trying to overthrow the 2016 election in a riot.

    If you're talking about impeachment, this is a legitimate government function, peacefully done within the halls of congress, by elected representatives. Whether you like the outcome or not. And the Senate, following its own rules, did not hold a trial on the impeachment proceedings, and thus they went nowhere.

    --
    People today are educated enough to repeat what they are taught but not to question what they are taught.
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  • (Score: 2) by DannyB on Monday January 11 2021, @10:15PM (2 children)

    by DannyB (5839) Subscriber Badge on Monday January 11 2021, @10:15PM (#1098614) Journal

    So it's now a Troll to ask for evidence. And to point out facts.

    --
    People today are educated enough to repeat what they are taught but not to question what they are taught.
    • (Score: 2) by helel on Tuesday January 12 2021, @01:19PM (1 child)

      by helel (2949) on Tuesday January 12 2021, @01:19PM (#1098837)

      I've noticed this trend recently. Used to be any time you asked a conservative for evidence they'd slink off quietly but the last week someone's been troll-modding such requests...

      • (Score: 2) by DannyB on Tuesday January 12 2021, @03:24PM

        by DannyB (5839) Subscriber Badge on Tuesday January 12 2021, @03:24PM (#1098882) Journal

        It is fun to watch.

        --
        People today are educated enough to repeat what they are taught but not to question what they are taught.
  • (Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Tuesday January 12 2021, @04:23PM

    by Anonymous Coward on Tuesday January 12 2021, @04:23PM (#1098908)

    That you believe the cases were thrown out for lack of evidence is reflective of the state of propaganda of the media.

    They were primarily dismissed for lack of standing. This is not only very different, but something that should be deeply disconcerting to anybody who cares at all about anything besides 'orange man bad'. Dismissal for standing does not involve any consideration of evidence whatsoever - only a consideration of whether the alleged act, if it occurred, would have materially harmed the person filing the suit. So for example you can't sue Bob for breaching his concert with Joe if you're not Joe or some other party that can somehow prove harm.

    Some of the cases dismissed for lack of standing include the ones that Trump himself filed against states where without observed irregularities he likely would have won. Think about what this means. The courts have said that even the president, the party who elections most directly affect, does not have standing to sue for practices that led to irregularities. This effectively means that the courts are stating that *nobody* has standing to sue states for how they conduct their elections. And so there is no longer any meaningful oversight of elections beyond state commissions. And if those state commissions are corrupt? Well, then democracy dies in those states. At least so longer as voters restrict themselves only to recourse as provided for by our legal system.