A few comments against the guidelines removed. Please do not call other users trolls. But more importantly: Speak for yourself, not others: Let's avoid downplaying the importance of race, specially in a thread about Black representation. As the guidelines say, avoid speaking on behalf of other people and discussing their experience like an academic topic; invite them to speak for themselves instead!

One comment deleted. Please avoid arguing with other people's answers, ask MetaFilter comments should address the main question being asked.

No comments deleted but let's avoid picking a fight with specific members. This is a personal subject where everybody has a different lived experience so, please allow others to express themselves.

Added 99_'s candidate statement to their post.

Added 99_'s candidate statement

One deleted. Double comment.

Two comments made by DeepSeaHaggis have been removed and the user placed on an indefinite ban. The comments celebrated Kirk's death and also advocated for the death of Kirk's family and friends. That violates several parts of the Content Policy and possibly laws, so we're skipping warnings in this instance and going straight to a ban. It's only indefinite due to a single moderator being on duty and making the decision, I'll confer with the other moderators over the next couple of days about whether the ban should be permanent (I firmly think it should be, but it's best if there's agreement for permanent bans). If folks wish to discuss this action further, please make a post in MetaTalk or you can ask the Moderation Oversight Committee to review this mod action.

infinitewindow: "what happened to Lemkin? Fuuuuuck"

His account was suspended after trollish behavior regarding AI/LLM posts. We communicated to him that certain behavior regarding AI/LLM posts and arguments needed to stop in order for his account to be reinstated.

phunniemee: "Well, posts to the blue require a link. I assume that the link that has apparently been removed (used to be we changed those to example.com, guess that changed) had something more obvious in it."

Yeah, the usual procedure is as phunniemee described, change the url of a spammy link to example.com. But in this case, the link was just raw unlinked html (https://metafilter.com as opposed to metafilter). So removing that unlinked html text removed any indication of where the link was.

In those situations in the future, we'll leave a note indicating the html/link was removed

Here's a link to the Election Timeline MetaTalk post, which outlines and gives dates for the various steps in the election process.

AlSweigart: "Sorry, I didn't notice the headline got cut: "AI-generated 'minister' appointed to tackle corruption" would fit." This has been done!

automatronic: "Did they actually pay $5, or just make up a really good story?"

They actually did pay $5!

Comments opened, pulposus

Comments opened, phunniemee

Comments opened, Previous username Jacen

Comments opened, 99_

Comments opened, Kybard

Comments opened, jimw

Comments opened, Joakim Ziegler

Comments opened, creatrixtiara (formerly divabat)

Comments opened, DarlingBri

Comments opened, chasles

Comments opened, adrienneleigh

Comments open, main thread

GeckoDundee: "The "deep fear" link is borked. Maybe intended to be this one?" Link fixed!

intermod: "I'll ask mods to add "newyork" as a tag."

Done!

To me it sounds like someone realizes that they created more of problem for themselves than they intended and are now asking for the discussion to move on without them. Seeing at they've cited fears of harassment, it would be totally fine to do that. There's no need to demand that they must participate, nor that we focus on them.

Finally, it's important to note that harassment of another member is strictly forbidden and anyone experiencing should let the mods know and we'll deal with it.

The Pluto Gangsta: "Brandon, as long as you're here do you want to comment on why, when other comments were modded out of that thread, the mod didn't name the poster even when they quoted the comment, but you decided to reproduce not only my comment but to put me on blast specifically? Kinda feel like you put a target on my back there."

There are 5 official mod comments in that thread (1, 2, 3, 4, 5), 4 of them by me, 3 of which use the MeFi Quote feature to name who made the comments. You are not specifically being called out, it's just a function of being on the internet and the convenience of using MeFiQuote.

Otherwise, am going to leave the mod comment as is and request that everyone avoid bringing up The Pluto Gangsta anymore in this thread. It's not a command, just a request on their behalf.

About larger questions:
Mods should moderate comments and situations as they normally do on the site, with little regard as whether a person is a board member or not. There are probably hypotheticals where board status might matter, but I view that more as sending a message with advice or about some site history, but that's about it. Moderation should proceed as on escalating scale that starts with talking and requests and only moving on to ban if nothing else works. Definitely worth considering how to work out a such a situation if things go that way. But having to go that route will be a rare thing is my guess. Still worth considering ahead of time, IMO.

the north sea: "I am pretty nervous about posting this"

Thank you so much for taking the time and making the effort. You points are non-American thoughts 💭 and necessary for the community to be reminded of.

i used to be someone else: "just want a little more clarity on this mod decision

Removed a comment saying "The only good nazi is a dead nazi" because site's Content Policy discourages calls for violence.

Sure, the full comment was "He was a nazi. The only good nazi is a dead nazi." That comment was in reference Charlie Kirk and went a little over the line, in terms of advocating for his death. I should have made that clearer in the deletion note.

warriorqueen: "I can't express strongly enough my appreciation for the committee members who have stuck through that, but I personally have found that really wearying - to a degree that I know I am not leading it right and am a bit jumpy."

Thank you and all the members of the MOC for the work y'all have done.

FInally, candidate statements will be live in in the A.M. of Friday, September 12, starting after midnight. It'll probably take an hour or two to post and link everything, but it's happening!

Made this a Rewatch by OP’s request!

darkstar: "Arg. That first para should end “…behavior may warrant moderation.”"

Fixed!

The Pluto Gangsta: "Why is a candidate for the board being allowed to drag this thread into a bunch of derails? Is it because they're a board candidate? Is that why they're getting the kid gloves treatment?" Hey, this is major derail, so we've removed the comment. But here's a few notes about the concerns that you've posted, emailed, and left flag notes about: To wit: Candidate statements for 2025 Board election of the MetaFilter Community Foundation (MeFiCoFo), will be posted on this Friday, Sept 12 in the a.m. (ET). You (and anyone else) are encouraged to bring up this concern with the candidate at that time. Otherwise, the flags on their comments in this thread have been reviewed and found to be ok in the context of a larger discussion about political violence. For here you're welcome to take this MetaTalk or file a request for review with the Moderation Oversight Committee . Otherwise please refrain from continuing this derail as it may cause further comment removals and/or requests that you leave this thread.

mecran01: "Kirk was sitting on a chair when he was shot. My wife and I had just left the parking lot at UVU when we saw the UVU police screaming down the road on the north side of campus. Thanks for sharing that with us mecran01 and glad that everything is ok with your family.

Removed a comment saying "The only good nazi is a dead nazi" because site's Content Policy discourages calls for violence.

HearHere: "^ mods, can you please italicize the top portion of the above comment (missed edit window)"

Original comment edited, comment requesting change removed.

cooker girl: "At least he died doing what he loved: Demonizing transgender people. posted by chasing at 5:23 PM on September 10 Fixed that for you." chasing: "> cooker girl Thanks for the correction. Didn't realize the other spelling was considered offensive and obviously wasn't intended that way. (If a mod wants to edit my other post or something, go for it.)" These two comments have been removed after cleaning up the original comment to change 'transgendered people' to 'transgender people'

One deleted. Let's keep this thread on topic please and refrain from making sweeping generalizations about populations of people doing horrific things/violence against children. Thanks.

One deleted, user's request.

Yup, definitely Newsfilter.

Okay, added the threshold to the post text.

Couple of comments removed for not answering the question and instead making a joke, which violates the Content Policy. Edited to note that a couple of comments were removed and to make this comment an official moderation comment.

The self nomination period for the election of the MetaFilter Board has ended, so this thread is now closed.

The next stage in the election timeline will be the Campaign Period, which begins on Friday, Sept 12 at 12:01am ET, 2025 and ends on September 26th, 11:59pm ET, 2025

During the Campaign Period the candidate statements will be posted in MetaTalk, allowing the community to interact with the candidates.

Two comments deleted. Please avoid going back an forth with other users and remember that Ask MetaFilter comments should address the main question being asked.

Eastern timezone, post updated

One comment removed for not answering the question

No need for apologies, it's not spamming! Something seems to be up server side, have tagged frimble to look into.

I ended up emailing you to your gmail with the statement to verify things! Sorry for all the tech issues!

Hey chasles, was just about to email you, as we got three emails from you with your statement. I'm going to take one of them and toss it in a Google Doc for your to verify it's correct, will send the link to that Google doc in a few minutes.

Moved bulk of above the fold text to below the fold

One comment removed for veering off into a recommendation about whether to use AI/Chatbot in general, which did not answer the question.

Please help keep AskMetaFilter threads on topic by addressing the question asked, thanks!

paduasoy: "I suppose what I meant about where to report this is more, is there any point? Is this useful to the site?

Screenshots of the error would be best, but lacking that, a note would be fine, be it email or a MeTa post, just so we can tell if something is going on for a lot of people or just a few. I don't see an error recorded for the glitches you mention paduasoy.

But I am currently just using the free version UptimeRobot, the paid version of Cloudflare no doubt has more robust monitoring. I don't have access to that yet, frimble is working on getting me access, not current eta on that.

One deleted: duplicate comment.

Posting about server errors is fine here or folks can make a MetaTalk post or email mods via the Contact Us form. Thanks!

Geez... Several comments deleted. Left some of the responses for context. Please refresh if needed. kschang, please take a step back and stop commenting on this thread. Genocide-denial doesn't have a place here on Metafilter, so please stop.

Two comments deleted as requested.

Multiple derailing comments removed. Folks stick to the subject and avoid starting side arguments about issues not relevant to the post.

One comment removed and Press Butt.on to Check suspended for 24 hours for continuing to argue with another member after twice being asked to stop.

Several comments deleted. As Brandon pointed out, name calling goes against the Content Guidelines but moreover, Press Butt.on to Check and Pseudonymous Cognomen please take a step back and let the conversation move on without your participation, this is not a thread for you to pick a fight with one another.

Pseudonymous Cognomen: "
lol a turd calling the kettle shit

Oh look, one of MeFi's resident genocide apologists has something to say! (you can fuck off, btw.)"

Press Butt.on to Check: "lol a turd calling the kettle shit"

Both of you need to knock off the name calling right now, it goes against the Content Guidelines. If y'all continue that line of behavior, you may be removed from the site.

This thread is about one of the most hated people in the world, y'all have a big target in him if dislike needs to expressed. There's no need to turn that on other members of the site.

No comments have been removed at this point.

One deleted. Poster's request.

Two comments removed. Ask MetaFilter comments should address the main question being asked.

Accidental duplicate answer removed.

One removed at poster's request.

One double posted comment removed.

An anonymous poster asked us to pass the following along:

If you ever make it to Olympia, WA, there is a Secular Men's Support Group that meets twice a month to talk and offer support. It is a very DIY model if you end up starting your own group. Link to see their flyer: https://www.reddit.com/r/olympia/comments/1lt2j9i/mens_group_this_afternoon/

One comment removed due to simply writing "Lots of opinions on this".

The way AskMe works is that people ask concrete question and get (hopefully) concrete answers or suggestions about a problem they're having. Writing "lots of opinions on this" does not help the OP by offering any actual advice or solution, it's just a vague opinion. It's true, sure, people do have various opinions about the question, but that's not the sort of answer we want to encourage on AskMe.

So please try to help the OP by sharing your knowledge or information about the specific question they're having, thanks!

Derailing comment and several responses to it removed.

Yes, that was dumb mistake on my part.

The original comment has been restored, left a comment in the thread noting the mistake, and sent a note with an apology to the person who originally made the comment.

memoryindustries: "was I supposed to lie or omit the fact Cha t found it? Come on."

Indeed, the deletion of your comment was wrong and a mistake, for which I apologize. The original comment with the cite that proves it came from Atwood has been restored. Thank you for taking the time to make sure what ChatGPT output was correct.

rpfields: "Yep, the story of Jila Tolentino's "family's slave" was one of the more shocking ones I've read over the past few years." Author's name corrected to Jia and broken link fixed.

Candidate list:
Updated 12:40am ET 8/30/2025
Updated 11:30pm ET 8/31/2025
Updated 11:51pm ET 9/1/2025
Updated 09:19pm ET 9/2/2025
Updated 03:00pm ET 9/3/2025

Ryvar: "If your personal commitment to truth lies well below your anger and need for easy answers... then you may not be a Nazi yet but you've placed yourself in a state of mind where you can be manipulated in a similar fashion." Ryvar, this is the type of comment, where you essentially call people stupid or easily manipulated, isn't conducive to discussion, so don't do that. You are not being forced to participate in these discussions obviously (no one is). So please consider whether your comments add anything to the discussion as name calling overrides any point you are trying to make and brings the level of discussion down. Case in point: TheWhiteSkull: "You know what, Ryvar? Having just re-read your last comment, particularly the bit about "truthiness," actually just fuck off." Calling people names just devolves the conversation till it becomes about fighting or telling people to fuck off. Which MetaFilter actively discourages, so please knock it off, it usually just starts a fight or makes it worse. To everyone, remember you're talking to people, so aim to be respectful, even in heated conversations or when disagreeing. It's ok to walk away from a discussion that's turning ugly.

phunniemee: "I'll be going back through the comments that did misgender them to change the pronouns.

I find this an odd choice of moderation."

Understood, feel free to create a new MeTa about it or bring it up to the Moderation Oversight Committee in terms of how comments that misgender a person should be handled.

Hi folks, just noting that the OP specifically uses "they" as the pronoun for Sawyer, so please avoid designating Sawyer as a "he".

I'll be going back through the comments that did misgender them to change the pronouns.

One comment deleted. As per the content policy: do not query ChatGPT or other LLMs and then post the output unless the discussion itself is about those types of tools

Text in post adjusted as requested. Please carry on.

One deleted: poster's request.

One answer removed at the poster's request.

One comment removed, AskMe has a firm policy about posting ChatGPT output. We’re interested in human answers, not what LLMs “think”.

Working through thread, removing derailing comments about who should be shot and reactions to that. If you can’t resist such comments, we may need to give you some time off.

Link added!

One double comment deleted

Changed "partner" to "husband" as requested.

Two comments from bombastic lowercase boatshoes are being flagged, the second has been removed as wishing violence on other people goes against our guidelines, so let's avoid proposing assassinations. That being said, there are legitimate forms of protest that involve violence against property (just not against other people) so the first comment has been left up.

Note that after talking it over with NotLost, staff is requesting candidates include their username in the subject line of the email in the following format:
"Candidate Statement: Username"

The original post has been edited to reflect this change in verbiage.

NotLost requested that a comment of theirs be removed and that was done.

This is a staff comment that is tracking who has declared their candidacy and who has sent in their statement. It'll be edited by staff as we move forward.

Nominated candidates:
creatrixtiara at 10:57 PM ET on August 26
chasles at 11:14 PM ET on August 26
adrienneleigh at 11:18 PM ET on August 26
Joakim Ziegler at 8:50 PM ET on August 27
DarlingBri at 1:51 PM ET on August 29
pulposus at 2:45 PM ET on September 1

Candidates who have submitted statements:
Creatrixtiara candidate statement received Tues, Aug 26 at 11:02pm ET
adrienneleigh statement received Wed, Aug 27, 7:08 PM ET
DarlingBri statement received Sun, Aug 31, 9:10am ET
puplposus statement received Monday, Sept 1, 3:05 PM ET

ashbury: "Why is MetaTalk so lightly moderated? Why does this policy, such as it, exist? Does it have to exist the way it currently is used? Can't it change? Why hasn't a mod stepped in here to tell everybody to cool it?

I'm not just shouting these question into the void - these are real questions and I would actually like some answers from a mod."

MetaTalk has a long tradition of being lightly moderated, with the belief it's the place for members to say exactly what they want. I think this policy and MeTa were put in place to give members a place on the site to truly vent as opposed to doing so in threads on the front page or Ask.

I believe we talked briefly in a past MeTa about moderating this subsite more like the main site and at the time people were heavily against it is my recollection. But there's no reason why things can't change and if someone wants to make a new MeTa about that, go for it. Talking about it here at the bottom of a thread with a different subject (declining stats) probably won't get as many eyeballs.

kittens for breakfast: "I'm sure Jacqueline is a very nice person and I am sorry that she buttoned; however, it is my belief that someone who would button over what I said was of a mind to leave the site regardless."

Yeah and that's the point. People are stressed in general these daysand may have other things going on in their lives and someone's comment on the site comes off as an attack might be their final straw. Sure, it wasn't intended, but that's besides the point now. It's been said and regardless of intention feelings were hurt.

We could all do with taking a moment to breath and consider what we want to do with our comments on the site. Because like it or not, they can hurt or come off the wrong way, even when someone doesn't mean them to and that just adds more anger to a situation.

We could all use less anger in our lives and on the site.

One answer deleted at poster's request.

99_: "Sorry, I was copying and pasting from an old draft. Revenue drop month over reduction of 20%.

And I munged some HTML: third bullet under expenses should read: All other expenses comprise less than 2% of our monthly spend and are basically flat relative to June."

Post updated with these corrections and added the tag 'financialupdate'

Link changed at OP's request, one comment removed.

Rash: "Tumtetum's account has been banned.

Their profile indicates their only activity here site-wide, this one comment, upthread. I don't get it; seems like a mighty harsh reaction to a first comment. UNLESS this MeFite is/was actually somebody else, with another history? How do you know?"

As hinted at by their comment, that new account was made a by a person who had previously been banned for being transphobic.