Staff Feedback Staffers abuse their roles here

[DeathIndustrial88]

Say something a staffer doesn't like? They'll issue you a "warning" & remove your shit. Yet they're allowed to talk to people however they want. It's their only way to feel "powerful" when you call them out on their condescending bullshit. Basically the Reddit Mods of Bluelight.

This site has prejudiced people giving out "harm reduction", which is ironic since anyone giving out harm reduction should not be prejudice.

Why are there are no options to ignore or block staff members? That gives them a free pass to harass whoever they want.

I've been attacked on the site, not only by staff members but various people in general & these people never receive warnings or have their comments removed.

More than once I've had staffers intentionally try & start shit with me, so that when I let them have it, they can turn around & give me warnings & points.
Call out some one for being transphobic? Instant "warning" and points issued.

Ya'll have some serious issues if you're employing transphobes to give out harm reduction.


I've also noticed that it seems to be okay to ask where to get drugs if you're an attractive/hot chick, but anybody else gets in trouble for "sourcing".

Clearly rules are not enforced consistently or equally here.

 

[helpingout]

I think that’s a fault of moderation being human beings.

I recently had a problem with a 7 day ban for using three words that were interpreted as insult when they were used as moral rebuke.

The mod felt it was insult. Senior moderators wouldn’t touch it with a ten foot pole. No one could tell me what was insulting about my statement.

I don’t think issuing a warning was the right thing to do especially with the sites big push right now being support don’t punish.

I think I’m not going to participate much here anymore.
Or at least stay the fuck away from the “we’re so neutral” crowd on pc and e

Every interaction I have with that crowd goes terribly.

 

[PtahTek]

not to play devils advocate but when ative mod i was given reprimands for being too harsh sometimes. i get it. no prob there a learning curve.
but somethin obviously not in line with blua there is the possibility that action is taken. including some of my own posts....
not sure specifics and dont really have the time/energy to do that dive but do the mods make mistakes or overwatch at rimes? sure maybe i did myself. whateva, right?
some thing are not tolerated or encouraged. some things get misinterpreted (we cant see social cues or body language so...).
not everything gets "caught" immediately but the tax man doest come.
hope it all gets sussed and ya get the feeling of justice its rare in our world and has been a joke globally from millennia.

 

[helpingout]

I got my warning for calling someone out for suggesting eugenics was normal (unofficial” when the warning was issued for insulting someone by saying fitting name when rebuking their arguement.

It’s all popularity, slant, and bias.

Shhh mods are asleep post without fear of being censored for your opinion

 

[Shady's Fox]

Bro this is fun

 

[ageingpartyfiend]

perhaps people would prefer to have machines as mods

 

[alasdairm]

Say something a staffer doesn't like? They'll issue you a "warning" & remove your shit. Yet they're allowed to talk to people however they want. It's their only way to feel "powerful" when you call them out on their condescending bullshit. Basically the Reddit Mods of Bluelight.

This site has prejudiced people giving out "harm reduction", which is ironic since anyone giving out harm reduction should not be prejudice.

Why are there are no options to ignore or block staff members? That gives them a free pass to harass whoever they want.

I've been attacked on the site, not only by staff members but various people in general & these people never receive warnings or have their comments removed.

More than once I've had staffers intentionally try & start shit with me, so that when I let them have it, they can turn around & give me warnings & points.
Call out some one for being transphobic? Instant "warning" and points issued.

Ya'll have some serious issues if you're employing transphobes to give out harm reduction.


I've also noticed that it seems to be okay to ask where to get drugs if you're an attractive/hot chick, but anybody else gets in trouble for "sourcing".

Clearly rules are not enforced consistently or equally here.

please report specific examples of each or any of the transgressions you list here and we'll take a look.

if you'd prefer to provide the examples privately, send links to each example to the senior moderator and admin who oversee the forum in question.

thanks.

alasdair

 

[alasdairm]

i deleted a couple of off topic posts from this thread.

alasdair

 

[tryptakid]

I think that’s a fault of moderation being human beings.

I recently had a problem with a 7 day ban for using three words that were interpreted as insult when they were used as moral rebuke.

The mod felt it was insult. Senior moderators wouldn’t touch it with a ten foot pole. No one could tell me what was insulting about my statement.

I don’t think issuing a warning was the right thing to do especially with the sites big push right now being support don’t punish.

I think I’m not going to participate much here anymore.
Or at least stay the fuck away from the “we’re so neutral” crowd on pc and e

Every interaction I have with that crowd goes terribly.

I think you contribute well to discussions and I hope you continue to participate in discussions within ceps. Reach out if you run into issues.

 

[Deleted member 585202]

Say something a staffer doesn't like? They'll issue you a "warning" & remove your shit. Yet they're allowed to talk to people however they want. It's their only way to feel "powerful" when you call them out on their condescending bullshit. Basically the Reddit Mods of Bluelight.

This site has prejudiced people giving out "harm reduction", which is ironic since anyone giving out harm reduction should not be prejudice.

Why are there are no options to ignore or block staff members? That gives them a free pass to harass whoever they want.

I've been attacked on the site, not only by staff members but various people in general & these people never receive warnings or have their comments removed.

More than once I've had staffers intentionally try & start shit with me, so that when I let them have it, they can turn around & give me warnings & points.
Call out some one for being transphobic? Instant "warning" and points issued.

Ya'll have some serious issues if you're employing transphobes to give out harm reduction.


I've also noticed that it seems to be okay to ask where to get drugs if you're an attractive/hot chick, but anybody else gets in trouble for "sourcing".

Clearly rules are not enforced consistently or equally here.

Your opinion is spot on and valid, dont let anyone tell you otherwise. You are an OG member and have seen a lot. The mods will try to gaslight you and convince you otherwise instead of acknowledging any wrongdoing. Just watch

The problem has gotten worse over the last few years, no?

A website like bluelight is inherently difficult to run. It was a beautiful thing for 20 years + until it fell. The ONLY reason it worked it because staff was incredibly diverse, both ideologically and politically. There were 3-4 owners at all times. Several admins, multiple senior staff, and dozens of regular staff. THATS WHAT MADE THE WHOLE THING WORK. It was a beautiful little democracy.

Then the owners all left and Monica took the reins. The admins left. @arral introduced identity politics. Mass infighting ensued for years. This ultimately culimated in several staff being unduly fired, and the rest of the good ones left themselves after that because they disagreed with them being fired and the general direction of the website.

The website was already going downhill fast, but that was the nail in the coffin. Now those staff walk around celebrating like they won the war, but its so sad because they dont realize they pushed out the remaining users of this website. It is effectively dead now, and they staff do whatever they fucking want. Its sad.

I frankly dont even know why I still login. Muscle memory I guess. This website lost its way when the staff purge occurred. Now this website has lost its soul. Frankly it should be shut down and turned into a database to preserve the HR info @Tronica

I already know @alasdairm is going to post a cute snidey little retort to try to invalidate my perspective. I don't mind, thats what forums are for. I've always respected and liked you ali, really, but your main flaw is you believe your opinion matters more or is more valid or intelligent than other's. You refuse to believe other opinions matter, and that is why you can't run this website by yourself. Its done.

I loved all the memories with you guys, this might be my last post.

Inb4 this thread gets closed because the mods refuse to talk about it

 

[Deleted member 585202]

It also didn't help hiring an 18 year old kid as an administrator. Who doesn't even do drugs, has zero leadership skill or experience, who claims be be friendly but is actually one of the most dishonest and manipulative people I've ever met, and who sneaks into your bedroom at might amd reads your PMs and diary. I think he did more damage to this site than anyone. I do give him kudos for building the discord, except I helped create it but I am banned from it. Nobody can tell me why. Oh and they allow hate speech towards women and refuse HR advise to law enforcement. Thats not very BL missiony is it?

 

[Shinji Ikari]

I might have thoughts. I might not.

Rain check.

Good thread to keep open though.

 

[Tronica]

@Quasimoto interesting to hear your thoughts. You’ll note Arrall is no longer on staff and hasn’t been for around a year.

We do want diversity of views and perspectives both in the community and in our staff group. But we also have to adhere to basic standards. And that won’t please everyone.

What we are trying to do, which I don’t has ever changed over the 26 years Bluelight has existed, is be fair and transparent. And as Ali mentioned, any community member is always encouraged to report specific instances of issues to staff so we can review them.

 

[Deleted member 585202]

One interesting thing this site taught me is that I can get along and agree better when it comes to running a place like this with conservatives such as TLB, moreso than with liberals like ali, even though I am democrat myself and agree with Ali on most political and sociological things compared to TLB. This website has taught me a few valuable lessons about life in general.

I'll certainly never forget my time with this site, but its also certainly the time to move on for me.

 

[Tronica]

As for me “taking over”, we were faced with a life or death situation on the site. Someone who could identify themselves publicly with the site and its mission, had to be found, to ensure our bills could be paid - as our funds needed to formally deposited somewhere real. Luckily I already work in the drugs and harm reduction world, so had no reputational concerns, unlike the others. I took on the role because I didn’t want the site to die, basically

 

[Tronica]

One interesting thing this site taught me is that I can get along and agree better when it comes to running a place like this with conservatives such as TLB, moreso than with liberals like ali, even though I am democrat myself and agree with Ali on most political and sociological things compared to TLB. This website has taught me a few valuable lessons about life in general.

I'll certainly never forget my time with this site, but its also certainly the time to move on for me.

I really appreciate @TheLoveBandit and like that this site helps me see multiple perspectives - while my politics are of the left, I’ve never had an issue getting along with TLB. I love that about this site as so much of the internet these days just polarises us into separate political groups.

Sorry that you are considering fully leaving @Quasimoto as I know you’ve contributed much over many years.

Strategically I just want to continue to find ways to build Bluelight up so it can continue to have relevance in harm reduction into the future. It’s a work in progress and for anyone that does leave, I hope you check back in years to come and see something worth revisiting

 

[tryptakid]

I joined this site 20 years ago this month - I've seen this site evolve from a nexus for random people from around the world who shared a common interest in MDMA, raves, and related shenanigans, to a space where luminaries in the drug world rubbed elbows with folks who were on the fringe of society, and everything in between. Academics, harm reductionists, health care professionals, and even former an Anti-Virus giant turned MDPV holy-grailist... this place has always been greater than the sum of its parts.

Like all things in our increasingly interconnected world - the culture of this site and the internet at large has changed in ways that can feel troubling, scary, and can make any of us nostalgic for a time that once was. I was talking with @Skorpio about this recently - about the days gone by when this site hosted some incredibly high-level drug discussion when few other spaces could compete.

I joined staff amidst significant tumult. There was an exodus of some staff and tension remained between others. There hasn't been a time since I've joined as a volunteer moderator that frustration about things changing haven't been simmering as a topic du jour.

As a moderator, I do my best to grow and learn from my mistakes and make efforts to change when users voice concerns. I don't always get it right - who amongst us does? I am a believer in the ethos that we should invest in what we want to see more of in the world and in the spaces we inhabit, while focusing less on the things that bother us. If you are frustrated with bluelight, perhaps considering how precious it is that we have this space to connect. How many other places online exist with a community like this? How many spaces exist with nearly 3 decades of drug user and harm reduction history that is available for us to engage in freely? The shroomery is probably the closest analog I can think of.

Every scene or community I've ever been a part of has suffered from the nagging feeling of 'it isn't as good as it used to be' - the nostalgia for when something is new and one's connection to it is is pure and unbiased. As time goes on, that thing changes as we also are changing ourselves. When I started raving in 1999, I heard from the old heads about how much the scene had changed, how much better it used to be. It bothered me to hear that stuff over and over because to 17 year old tryptakid it was a lifeline to realizing that the world could be so much more open and vibrant, that things didn't have to conform to the cookie-cutter vision of society that I'd been raised in, and that I could connect with people from all walks of life who united in search of the beat. I see bluelight in much the same way, that's why I volunteer here.

It's hard sometimes - many of you have known one another for much longer than I have. You have years of shared histories and have a deep relationship with this space that I respect and appreciate. I recognize that sometimes I can be part of the change that hurts because I don't know some of you as well, and because I have stepped into this role amongst some difficult years.

From my perspective - some of the changes that have occurred are simply reflections of an ever changing global society and web of ideas that we are all connected via. As time has gone on, our ideas about the world have grown, evolved, and changed. Some of that change has been revolutionary, radical, and some of that change has been painful. Bluelight is a mirror of those changes, but it is also a sanctuary for many of us who find connection here. A family, a network of friends, and a community. Sometimes we don't see eye to eye, but if we try to work it out I believe we can.

@DeathIndustrial88 @helpingout @Quasimoto - I hope you continue to participate here and help keep bluelight alive and contributed to by your thoughts and ideas.

 

[Deleted member 585202]

Strategically I just want to continue to find ways to build Bluelight up so it can continue to have relevance in harm reduction into the future. It’s a work in progress and for anyone that does leave, I hope you check back in years to come and see something worth revisiting

I've always highly respected you Monica, and don't get me wrong, I may be all doom and gloomy in but I certainly don't want BL to die. I have no ill will. I have and always will deeply love this website.

Your contributions to this community, HR info general, and progressive drug science should be nothing but celebrated and lauded.

My only potential criticism is that you put way too much blind faith into @Arral. I believe he manipulated and lied to you, and ultimately I think @mal3volent was unfairly treated, based in some part on those lies. That is speculative on my part, because I dont know the full story. Also don't feel bad, he is a true narcissist and a master manipulator. He does it to everyone.

Im not sure how well you know me. You've unfortunately seen me on my worst behavior. But my point is I know more about the backworkings of this site and what goes on in secret squirrel than you probably know.

I completely understand why you wanted some of the political or off topic discussion on this site moderated a bit more for legal reasons and to protect the non profit status, I just think you understand that you gave free reigns for the staff to do whatever they want to fix that, and it ended in disaster.

I do not believe you are aware at much of the awful and ridiculous things and weird behavior from forum staff lately. They've even been spiteful and taunting members of this site.

Im not complaining that its your problem, I just dont think you are aware of it. You are incredibly busy and obviously can't babysit everyone. The site lost its ability for checks and balances within a system. Thats the thing that is the death rattle of bluelight.org. They don't see it as a problem because they're all liberals, but its actually a MASSIVE problem, because nobody keeps their behavior accountable!!

I have years of screenshots of awful things perpetrated by BL staff... I have saved convos with dozens of random new members who saw it and then immediately left the site. Would take days to unpack. But I'm done honestly and all this is water under the bridge to me.

I sadly dont even see a way forward. Purging all those mods was the dumbest thing I've ever seen. This site has been scraping the bottom of the barrel for mods for over 3 years. There has been zero in 2 years. All those mods who left certainly aren't coming back. You laid off half your work force with nobody to replace them. So we're stuck with a dysfunctional mod team who all literally hate half the users here. That is never going to work...

 

[Deleted member 585202]

@Tronica There is currently a senior staff member here who has been continuously trolling and harassing me for no reason other than he disagrees with a political view of mine. I had never even spoken or been rude towards him prior, I deserve no such behavior, especially from a SENIOR mod. I have approached him like an adult numerous occasions and asked him to simply stop messaging me. I have even brought it up with the admins and other senior staff. They just laugh it off and say there's nothing they can do. They even belittle the entire situation because they dont care.

@someguyontheinternet doesnt even mod. All he does is post in highly controversial political threads trying to constantly start drama with members. Never even posts in HR threads. All he does is start drama and continually message me even though I have approached him politely, man to man, and kindly asked him to stop on numerous occasions. He refuses to even acknowledge it because he is intentionally trolling me.

I've got mountains of screenshots if you are so inclined, but frankly I dont give a shit if anything happens. I'm simply bringing up some of the abhorrent behavior of your current staff that you are unaware of.

Im not asking you to do anything. I just am pointing out how fucked up, disrespectful and dysfunctional your skeleton crew of ultra partisan staff you have left.

There are a lot of things your staff do that I believe you would unapprove of if only you were aware of it.

 

[Deleted member 585202]

From my perspective - some of the changes that have occurred are simply reflections of an ever changing global society and web of ideas that we are all connected via. As time has gone on, our ideas about the world have grown, evolved, and changed. Some of that change has been revolutionary, radical, and some of that change has been painful. Bluelight is a mirror of those changes, but it is also a sanctuary for many of us who find connection here. A family, a network of friends, and a community. Sometimes we don't see eye to eye, but if we try to work it out I believe we can.

I think we have a fundamental disagreement on this. Bluelight has never been in sync with societal zeitgeist, societal trends, web trends, or political correctness. It's been its own little world of free speech and sharing of controversial or taboo ideas or information forever and had never changed.

I don't see why the world becoming more censored and more politically correct would be congruent with anything bluelight believes in or strives for. If anything, the opposite.

Bluelight was perfect in its execution and what it did and stood for.

Any change to that seems like blasphemy to me. The only change I DID agree with in that regard was the removal of CEPS, which to me has always had a dubious tenure here.

I think altering BL to meet those "societal changes" is defeating the entire purpose of the site and an insult to its genesis.