The Schism of October 2008

[paddy_rice]

Hello all,

A fresh, new forum for everyone, where all topics can be discussed! Hooray!

As a relative newcomer to the RDF forums, I never quite got to the bottom of what went on during October 2008, since I wasn't a member by that point. Is now the right time to discuss it, and find out what went on, once and for all, even if only for my sake? It was never clear to me whether the subject was taboo or not. Perhaps it still is...

So, it's already been mentioned by various posters who seem quite angry about what went on (here, for example), and several of those involved seem to be posting on this forum. Why, for example, would CJ say the following?

You did not, and do not have, my permission to reveal any prior correspondence between us, either it's existance [sic] or the nature of it's [sic] content.

So many questions. Can anyone enlighten me? Feel free to PM me, one and all (while obeying the rules of this forum, naturally).

[AshtonBlack]

Pretty sure there's a thread somewhere.....

[Gawdzilla Sama]

It all revolved around a dude, a chick, a snake and an apple. It's a sordid tale.

[Feck]

Before 2008 there was an Off Topic bit on RDF that was much more like here without warning it was shut and deleted . That is why we launched a lifeboat for everybody this time because when they did it to us the rescue was much harder .

[JimC]

Someone else may wish to fill in the details (which involved the closing of certain sections of the RDF of that time), but it is interesting to realise that the actions at that time lead (in a sries of moves) to the formation of Ratz, ready to be a liferaft when the whole thing went tits up...

Karma...

[Don't Panic]

Hello all,

A fresh, new forum for everyone, where all topics can be discussed! Hooray!

As a relative newcomer to the RDF forums, I never quite got to the bottom of what went on during October 2008, since I wasn't a member by that point. Is now the right time to discuss it, and find out what went on, once and for all, even if only for my sake? It was never clear to me whether the subject was taboo or not. Perhaps it still is...

So, it's already been mentioned by various posters who seem quite angry about what went on (here, for example), and several of those involved seem to be posting on this forum. Why, for example, would CJ say the following?

You did not, and do not have, my permission to reveal any prior correspondence between us, either it's existance [sic] or the nature of it's [sic] content.

So many questions. Can anyone enlighten me? Feel free to PM me, one and all (while obeying the rules of this forum, naturally).

Hi, how are you?

Welcome to Ratz.

So nice to see someone willing to jump straight into the forum, less than 40 minutes a member and you already have an interest in some of the serious threads.

So tell me, how DiD you find Rationalia?

[Tigger]

Someone else may wish to fill in the details (which involved the closing of certain sections of the RDF of that time), but it is interesting to realise that the actions at that time lead (in a sries of moves) to the formation of Ratz, ready to be a liferaft when the whole thing went tits up...

Karma...

And calmer too, which is how we like it.

[lordpasternack]

Klr covers most of the story in this thread: http://www.rationalia.com/forum/viewtop ... 21#p376235

The basic story is that once upon a time there were threads on the taste of semen and felching and such like in the off-topic section of RD.net, and eventually Richard caught wind of this (eventually being the operative word - shows how out-of-touch with the forum community he was, and how hands-off his approach was), and guidelines were drafted in a hurry to clamp down on this lest it affected Richard's PR, and potentially consequently the standing of RDFRS - which is a separate legal entity from RD.net, but has an obvious de facto connection. (I'd add that the exact level or nature of this potential threat was never quantified/proven to my mind, and so remains a type of prudence with a hearty drizzling of freshly squeezed paranoia.)

The admin told to implement this change was dead against it, and did several things in the implementing of it to rile people, and perhaps make some point or other. As I remember it, there were other general minor fuck-ups that added to upset and confusion around that time. Very little went right. Here's the lowdown from memory.

• Admin removed the whole off-topic section from public view with no notice when he was not requested to do so - though the 'urgency' implied from Richard's words might have justifiably led him to the conclude that this would be the best response in circumstances. Still, he did it without offering any real explanation, and implied that this was something that he was definitely made to do.
• Admin put a language censor on that changed swearwords to asterisks just when people were starting to lose confusion about what the fuck was going on in the first place - saying that such language was now unacceptable on RD.net. People were not happy.
• Several other minor things happened to upset various people.
• Eventually the automatic language censor was removed, and Richard Dawkins mentioned that it had nothing to do with himself or Josh.
• General clarity began to break out and there was peace again, but much of the off-topic group moved on to freer pastures away from the new guidelines that they viewed as too prohibitive.

And eventually that same admin went berserk in his running of the breakaway faction, and we were spawned as a result. This forum was created practically a year to the day before the current upheaval on RD.net. Happy schisming!

[JacksSmirkingRevenge]

^ Concisely put.

[Gawdzilla Sama]

"...and let the dead past bury its dead."

[Bella Fortuna]

The OP smells fishy to me.

[cursuswalker]

The biggest crime was the deletion of the Dambusters thread. Around that time I joined this place, but also stuck to the Old Country.

The biggest attraction around here was the pron at first...

[Gawdzilla Sama]

The biggest crime was the deletion of the Dambusters thread. Around that time I joined this place, but also stuck to the Old Country.

The biggest attraction around here was the pron at first...

I would have loved to save the 8th Harry Potter book thread.

[lordpasternack]

Oh - I forgot to add - there had already been quite vicious in-fighting between the generalised epithets of the 'prudes' and the 'rudes', which actually led to the creation of two separate off-topic arenas (one clean, one free to be 'dirty') for a brief while before Richard eventually caught wind of some of what the 'rudes' were up to. Some of the 'prudes' then took that pivotal moment to start carping and saying "told you so", and many of the 'rudes' responded such:

Richard was and might have remained eternally blissfully unaware that he was standing above such a seething, bubbling fault-line in the forum when he laid those quickly drafted guidelines on.

[Bella Fortuna]

So, it's already been mentioned by various posters who seem quite angry about what went on (here, for example), and several of those involved seem to be posting on this forum.

Were you specifically taking my post completely out of context or were you referring to the thread as a whole?

So many questions. Can anyone enlighten me? Feel free to PM me, one and all (while obeying the rules of this forum, naturally).

No.