Is anybody moderating the “New Members” forum?

[markofp]

For nearly six months now the New Members page has been mostly ads for casino games, sports betting and other nonsense, a great deal of it in another language. Is anybody moderating? It’s hardly a good first impression for folks wanting to join.

[AlohaPens]

I don't think anyone is moderating anything here.

[dneal]

No part of the forum is moderated.

The spam is predominately due to one member whose goal is to ruin the forum. He has been at it for years. See the "dogs eatin' homework..." thread in this section.

You can "ignore" the accounts, "report" them, post spam memes or whatever you like. I choose to openly mock him (David Jackson / Empty_of_Clouds is) for it, and every spam post is simply him making a declaration of what a petty and malicious human being he is.

Also be aware that he has several accounts that he posts under. "Carpio" is a recent example where he inadvertently outed himself.

TLDR: An adult toddler is having a years-long tantrum.

[Chrissy]

No-one moderates any forum on this place. The only moderator we had during the last few years was Eric the administrator but he's disappeared.

[Brilliant Bill]

Funny, and yet it's still far better than that other place that's strangled with moderation BS. Maybe it's better, but I haven't been there in years.

Looks like a win for anarchy to me!!!

[Niner]

Anarchy might be okay if it wasn't for the anarchists.

[Jon Szanto]

Just so we're all on the same page: Eric, the owner of this site, the only person with administrative privileges, and therefore the only person who can deal with the many ways this forum is getting spammed on a daily basis...

... appeared again, this past Sunday, in another Anderson Pens TV video presentation. By all accounts, he is happy, healthy (those are good things), and still does not GAF about this place or any who have a connection to it through posting. It's all down to him, and nothing anyone here can do about it.

[Brilliant Bill]

I have to question the he doesn't "GAF" as he apparently pays the bills. Every time I visit this forum I wonder about him and why he pays to keep this going. It's one of the more fascinating things going on in this crazy world. He must get something out of it, even if only entertainment.

[Jon Szanto]

I have to question the he doesn't "GAF" as he apparently pays the bills. Every time I visit this forum I wonder about him and why he pays to keep this going. It's one of the more fascinating things going on in this crazy world. He must get something out of it, even if only entertainment.

Question all you want. Figure that there is backstory that you are unaware of, the owner's background and fiscal situation. The indisputable fact is that no reputable owner of a site would sit by and let automated spam run rampant without doing a single thing, not to mention an owner with any amount of ethics never addressing the members of this forum who have done so much regarding content development and interest. If, as you posit at the end, the owner is only behaving this way to watch the monkeys dance, that is hardly a glowing attribute for anyone maintaining a public service. Frankly, it's fairly misanthropic.

[Chrissy]

There must be someone on here who visits Anderson Pens in person. Has anyone actually asked him?

[Jon Szanto]

There must be someone on here who visits Anderson Pens in person. Has anyone actually asked him?

I don’t think he works there in any capacity, he just takes part in the occasional video segment. I wouldn’t expect to run into him at the store.

[FredRydr]

Who can say? It's been years! https://www.reddit.com/r/fountainpen...der_vs_orozco/

[Sailor Kenshin]

I have to question the he doesn't "GAF" as he apparently pays the bills. Every time I visit this forum I wonder about him and why he pays to keep this going. It's one of the more fascinating things going on in this crazy world. He must get something out of it, even if only entertainment.

Question all you want. Figure that there is backstory that you are unaware of, the owner's background and fiscal situation. The indisputable fact is that no reputable owner of a site would sit by and let automated spam run rampant without doing a single thing, not to mention an owner with any amount of ethics never addressing the members of this forum who have done so much regarding content development and interest. If, as you posit at the end, the owner is only behaving this way to watch the monkeys dance, that is hardly a glowing attribute for anyone maintaining a public service. Frankly, it's fairly misanthropic.

Is he the one who runs the InCo site? Because there's contact info there.

[Jon Szanto]

Is he the one who runs the InCo site? Because there's contact info there.

This person is not un-contactable, this person does not respond.

[Brilliant Bill]

I'm sure, Jon, there is much I do not know, and that's part of what makes it so fascinating to me. I met the guy once, briefly, at some pen show. He seemed like a nice guy, and in his videos he seems like a nice guy. He seems to have the best interests of the fountain pen world at heart. And yet, that's all "seems," and the unsettling reality is that I really don't like him. There's something about him that sets me off a bit. I guess that also adds to the fascination.

By the way, your watching monkeys dance comment reminded me of one of my favorite philosophers, E.M. Cioran, who wrote:

This world was created from God’s fear of solitude. In other words, us, the creatures, have no other meaning but to distract the Creator. Poor clowns of the absolute, we forget that we live dramas for the boredom of a spectator, whose claps have never reached the ears of a mortal.

I have to question the he doesn't "GAF" as he apparently pays the bills. Every time I visit this forum I wonder about him and why he pays to keep this going. It's one of the more fascinating things going on in this crazy world. He must get something out of it, even if only entertainment.

Question all you want. Figure that there is backstory that you are unaware of, the owner's background and fiscal situation. The indisputable fact is that no reputable owner of a site would sit by and let automated spam run rampant without doing a single thing, not to mention an owner with any amount of ethics never addressing the members of this forum who have done so much regarding content development and interest. If, as you posit at the end, the owner is only behaving this way to watch the monkeys dance, that is hardly a glowing attribute for anyone maintaining a public service. Frankly, it's fairly misanthropic.

[Jon Szanto]

This world was created from God’s fear of solitude. In other words, us, the creatures, have no other meaning but to distract the Creator. Poor clowns of the absolute, we forget that we live dramas for the boredom of a spectator, whose claps have never reached the ears of a mortal.

The spirit of the phrase, well-captured. It is my fault, if you will, to not enjoy the "fascination" aspect of this all; indeed, by any standard definition, I can see how it would be fascinating. For me, having been here well over a decade, and having lost many friends who no longer would put up with it, and therefore a true shrinking and diminishing of the community, any said fascination long ago turned into despondency and non-directed anger. The owner long ago lost any claim to a reason for all this to be as it is, just as a slumlord has no excuse for their inattention to the residents of their building.

[Farmboy]

What if the “lack of moderation” was in fact a grand experiment as was in fact closely watched?

[INeedAFinancialAdvisor]

What if the “lack of moderation” was in fact a grand experiment as was in fact closely watched?

Well. He was (at least at one time) good friends with a psychologist… but personally i think Steven has better ethics than to do that…But then again. This isn’t Steven’s site. It’s Eric’s.

[Jon Szanto]

What if the “lack of moderation” was in fact a grand experiment as was in fact closely watched?

You say that all the time. I didn't sign up as a subject for an experiment. You always land on the concept of "moderation", which may or may not be something that people want or don't. But the administration of a public site is the responsibility of the owner, and attending to spam attacks, fixing broken parts of the site... those are basic duties one simply expects.

No, an owner doesn't get a pass because they view this kind of enterprise as an "experiment". Frankly, that's a rather loathsome concept.

[dneal]

It's amazing how much someone owes for something they provide at no charge.