You know what I do?

[mentalgongfu2]

You know what I do with threads in which I'm not interested, or posts that offend me?

I do my best to shrug them off and ignore them, or, if I feel the overwhelming urge to comment, I try to at least keep my comments brief and to the point. Not to attack individuals, or write sarcastic plays about imagined behind-the-scenes machinations.

But that's just me, I guess.

I know I said I was taking a break from here. I'm trying. RI has been part of my daily habit so long, it's hard to break.

I'm not qualified nor prepared to suss out who is right or wrong on the many personal animosities that have grown here, so I won't pretend to be. I am smart enough, however, to know that every wasted comment on this interpersonal bullshit posturing is a waste of energy that could matter more if directed more carefully at a target that matters.

With no personal offense meant, fuck AD, fuck SLAD, fuck JackRiddler, fuck MacC, fuck Rory, fuck mentalgongfu2 and everyone else who has allowed themselves to be drawn into this angry wasteland.

We all have faults as posters. AD is "busy" anytime anyone calls him out. SLAD takes everything so personally these days it's hard to interact. Jack is so goddam pompous and righteous it's a wonder he and AD aren't better friends. Rory, well, I ran out of ammo, but fill in the blank with your own pet peeve. Me, I'm so fucking uninvolved and busy with my own bullshit that whenever I do check in here, this personal whiny fighting bullshit is all I can see. It's fucking sad, frankly.

All this sniping is idiocy. If someone ever did try and destroy this board from within, I would say they have succeeded by making 99 percent of threads about all this crap between these and other posters. If any of you really care about this place, step up, bite your fucking tongue for a bit, and try and focus on what you keep saying really matters. Be a bigger person. Maybe set a goal to make 5 posts in a row where you don't talk shit about someone else. Wouldn't that be nice?

I'm probably wasting my proverbial breath at this point. I can imagine the replies already. All I can say is - this site mattered once. There was important stuff here, and still is. If you don't want it to be buried in a bunch of in-fighting and leveling of accusations, now is probably a good time to consider changing course.

I hope someone will take my words to heart. Otherwise, feel free to make me the next RI scapegoat, as so many are wont to do these days. I don't intend to come back defending myself. Can't promise I won't, like I said, part of my daily habit, but it's not on my agenda. Whether I remain here or not, someone needs to clean up this shit, and that isn't the job of the moderators. It's on you folks. If you want to stir the shit, don't be surprised when it rises to the top, and enjoy the taste of your skim.

***Mods, if any of you read this, please lock this thread if and when it gets out of hand with people making unnecessary defenses. I'm pointing the finger at all of is, not just the posters I mentioned by name. Or delete if you have to. But please don't let it become just another place for all the things I've complained about to be compiled.

Constructive comments can and should be taken to the collaborative discussion thread.

Thank you in advance. Good night.

[seemslikeadream]

Thanks for the thread mentalgongfu2


Just last night I posted this time and date 7:59pm Dec. 21

It’s my RI New Year ....I can not change the past and I only have control of my posts in the future and I am absolutely determined that at least on my part things will change I can guarantee that....I have one new simple rule for myself and I will not break it

[peartreed]

Your perspectives on this place reassure me that there’s hope for a return to adult discussion and civil exchanges of news and views and political opinions without the recent arrogant and obnoxious spewing of rancor, personal insult and rhetorical ranting about other members’ imagined faults, flaws and fixations. That turned the forum into an immature playground for fight club fans of cruel bullying bullshit.

It stunned me that otherwise intelligent intellects could stoop to such stupid antics. When the focus became the sadistic joy of scoring points to hurt other members personally with insult and invective, I realized such arrested social development prevailed almost as prolifically as egocentric, self-absorbed, pretentious posturing.

It will be refreshing to restrain the infection of arrogant idiocy with more self-control, more sophisticated social awareness and more empathy for others.

Meanwhile I’m returning to the joy of family festivities and fun as my focus, with only occasional visits to the forum. It is too disheartening to add its daily stress. And I've already paid the personal price of trying to help reform it, only to be attacked.

[Heaven Swan]

Yea, don’t we have important things to discuss here? This infighting is sucking all the air out of the room. Where are the moderators?

[seemslikeadream]

Hi Heaven and peartreed

I am going to do a reset.....I will no longer reply to a couple members here. I hope my friends will ignore any disparaging comments made about me in the future ...we don't need to engage with that behavior. I think that would be best. We only have one mod at the present. If you guys see some rule breaking just alert on it, replying in public only makes it worse. When my kids were little and having a hissy fit about something I always found walking away and ignoring them was the best medicine

Love you guys

[peartreed]

Thanks Slad. 'Tis the season to exercise our better angels and give them wing. I wish you and the other kinder consciences here a merry Christmas.


Besides, I received a privacy/security software alert again that someone was attempting to access my private info on Rigorous Intuition forum, and the software recommended I increase my security settings and change my password and online identification name here to avoid any further attempts, I presume, at hacking. This further illustrates to me the level of anger, vengeance and viciousness some idiots will stoop to in order to feel a false sense of victory. The danger of taking on intolerant troublemakers is increased when those with arrested social development also know how to attempt cyberattacks.

[norton ash]

I read and I scroll and I absorb opposing views. I won't take stands in post-truth quicksand.

[Heaven Swan]

I read and I scroll and I absorb opposing views. I won't take stands in post-truth quicksand.

Well said Norton Ash.

Welcome back moderator Elvis, And thanks for your service.

There are important conversations and debates to be had, If this place could return to even a fraction of its former glory I’d be happy. If we stick to the issues it just might be possible.

[Elvis]

I received a privacy/security software alert again that someone was attempting to access my private info on Rigorous Intuition forum, and the software recommended I increase my security settings and change my password and online identification name here to avoid any further attempts, I presume, at hacking.

This is most likely a normal message when logging into a non-https site like RI, as the big systems take an increasingly unfriendly attitude toward non-https secured sites.

If not, it's a serious issue. Can you provide screen shots of the alert? Also, your software may indicate an IP address attempting the intrusion. Any of these would be helpful.

[Heaven Swan]

What happened to 82_28? (I hope he's okay).

[American Dream]

An Open Letter to Jeff Wells

"Rigorous Intuition", the board which you sponsor, has been going downhill for some years now. One important and integral factor is the inconsistent moderation, which has been quite a problem at times. This is an ongoing issue in the time since you left, as you once played a much more active role in cultivating a healthy culture within the community.

Never has that been more apparent than now, under the defacto rule of the unaccountable Elvis Administration, which seems intent on running the board as the personal plaything of a small group of problematic posters. It would be no exaggeration to describe them as an ideologically aligned group of serial abusers.

Ultimately this is something that must be figured out in accordance with your own inner presence. I urge you to investigate thoroughly and reflect deeply on what Rigorous Intuition is in the process of becoming. I then urge you to act according to the voice of your deepest and truest conscience.

Sincerely,

A.D. aka American Dream

[IanEye]

I know I said I was taking a break from here. I'm trying. RI has been part of my daily habit so long, it's hard to break.


.

It's not really that hard.


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_vXVoHXMaKg

[Jerky]

Depends entirely on the individual tho, doesn't it, IanEye? Mentalgongfu just told you that quitting this site is proving difficult for him. Why contradict someone expressing their personal experience? Why even bother trying?

Some people can quit smoking without much difficulty. Others, not so much. Me? I quit for two years starting on September 9, 2001. The first two days were HELL. Then, on the third day, I was... distracted. Distracted by the same distraction that probably drilled its way into the brains of every single participant on this board.

Crazy side-effect of that psychic bomb going off in my head is that I didn't suffer another nicotine fit until I replaced a non-smoking roommate for a smoker, over two years later, and the constant second-hand smoke eventually had its way with me.

Two Octobers ago I quit again, but I only made it to July of last year... 9 months.The time it takes to carry a baby to term. I never really shook the addiction that time.

In five days, on Tuesday, the 1st of January, I will quit cigarettes for the third and final time. I WILL succeed this time. Those of you who still wish to do so, please wish me luck!

Yer old pal Jerky

[peartreed]

I know the R.I. addiction is a tough habit to break. I pop in with a plan to just skim the board for updates but get sucked in to the arguments and discussions because I have an opinion I want to share. The irony is that the more I opine the more I get abuse in return. Like smoking, the addiction itself proves to be harmful. Indulging in the flames and smoke just causes the inhaled cloud of poison to linger as damage.

Yet there is a similar lift – a temporary high – and a buzz of pleasure from having briefly participated in it. That lasts only until the longer term negative reactions and malodorous, aftereffect staining sets in.

I started smoking age 15 and was a heavy smoker for many years until I finally quit two decades ago. Many attempts to quit only fleetingly succeeded until a sudden death in the family shocked my attention away from myself and my cravings, much like your 9/11 experience. Cold turkey does work.

Like the forum, the only way to put it in proper perspective is to stop taking it in so personally and habitually, and recognize it for the harm it can bring along with the temporary toxic temptations.

Good luck quitting!

[Cordelia]

Yeah, quit smoking Jerky! I know two men, each heavy smokers for 4+ decades who are now (recently) recovering from extensive, intensive surgeries and treatment for oral cancer. I wouldn't wish what they're going through on anybody. A mouth is too good a part to lose.

I started smoking at 12 and was an on-again, off-again smoker until I gave it up 30 years ago. I was very lucky in that I wasn't addicted and giving up was easy (for me) but I understand how hard it is to stop. Addictions can be bad--and we're all addicted to something(s) but the cancer industry relies heavily on the tobacco industry for profit.

Good luck & take care of yourself.