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TomcatViP said:
@overscan (PaulMM) :

Once again some among your admins drove their moderation duty like a tank erasing the creation of the Vortex/Dassault thread and reappropriating it to another user, playing with Zulu time, including copy pasting the thread name.

If those among your team of admins were in anyway logical (I mean not with what looks increasingly like a despicable, and unlawful, agenda) they would have noted that the first post on Vortex/Dassault was mine on the 16th of April, and specifically for that contract... Last Tuesday.

Then I created this thread as none were exiting then and the conversation around this project was gathering interest.

Can we have a forum free of those that want to instigate a narrative in the innocent minds of browsing boring kids? Wouldn't that be the right of everyone in your, mine, and everyone's country? Can we simply bypass the derogatory way everything that touch Dassault or Airbus is allegedly administered? Can't we simply be fan across the world reaching to other fans across, maybe one day, the worlds?

Since, we are there, man to man, I don't understand how you would want to compromise your legacy with this S***.
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Frankly, you sound deeply paranoid here. None of the moderators have a secret agenda regarding Airbus or Dassault topics, or even 'your' topics.

As Flateric indicated above, he simply missed the Tuesday post you made earlier in the relevant thread when moving the offtopic posts to the new thread you had made. The forum software assigns "first post" to the chronologically earliest post, not the one which 'created' the thread, so moving posts older than your original "first post" in the new thread, of course made them the new "first post" instead of yours. When your Tuesday post is moved, if it was indeed the first post on the topic, it will become the new "first post".

This is just how Xenforo software works. It happens to many users that they lose "first post' in a topic if and when older posts are moved into it. First poster doesn't own a topic.

Any malicious intent was entirely in your mind.
 
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Im not sure i am getting more sensitive to 'chaff' as i get older or if it is a sign of the forum evolving beyond its 'Secret Projects' roots nearly 20 years ago ?

Increasingly and over the past year or so i have noticed a marked increase in off topic, irrelevant comment, deliberate thread 'hijacking' and intentionally belligerent postings

Over the years I have directed some of my students to the group as a useful information repository and knowledge sharing base (as i understand its original intention ?)
Imagine if you are a student from China studying aeronautical engineering finding some of the ill hidden belligerent comment expressed on some of the threads, or likewise same from Iran and more recently Turkey ? seeing constant negativity toward your countries endeavours? (and, let's face it the lauded 'game changing' next generation US. stuff is still yet vapourware until its 'real')

I have had students working on a wide range of studies over the years, the gamut ranging from the 'mundane', to folding lunar rover concepts (China), autonomous UCV.'s, & drone studies (various), airport infrastructure (EU.), folding flow control surfaces (Turkey) and even a 'spaceplane' (Iran)

I'm not saying we accept everything we see from emergent players as wonderful and the 'next big thing' but we should perhaps be aware as to how such posts denigrating same and the nations thereof may be perceived by those looking in ?
(It is easy to criticise, and even positing an ill-conceived engineering design study paper is possibly more than many of the group will realise. As my old professor used to paraphrase, 'opinions are like buttholes, everybody's got one' and 'if you can't walk the walk don't talk the talk' !)

Many of our SP. group are themselves from an aerospace, military, engineering or research background building up their knowledge base over decades of experience, a resource to be valued and encouraged, otherwise such membership will fall off to be replaced with this all becomming just another 'opinion' site !
Let's face it some of these students may well (and some are) end up working on some of the stuff we will be posting about tomorrow !

To be clear, i am not against the influx of 'new blood' posting seemingly endless irrelevant social style 'chat forum' type comment (which really doesn't progress the threads in any meaningful way other than to 'guide' the discussion onto the posters track !) just maybe we should practice some self-censoring, such as, 'why am i posting this ?' which might go a long way to creating a more equitable and less belligerent environ for all ?

Cheers, Joe
 
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Now, the site seems to be responding and loading slowly. AI scouring for material?
 
Its a bit slow for some users, though the averages are looking okay. I'm already stopping a vast amount of requests from Vietnam (number 2 source of traffic after US, which is CLEARLY not user traffic).

I've turned on "are you human" detection for US traffic so I can identity sources of bulk bot-type requests. This is a temporary measure.
 
The last day or two the site has started verifying that I'm human, regardless of where I access from. Is that normal?
 
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First, Rafale was mentioned simply because it was specifically a point in the quote he (Galgot) choose to include on his post... The news report revolved around: "should Switzerland drop their F-35 order for Rafale given Tariffs".

So I think mentioning Rafale was perfectly in line with the posting.

Secondly, nations with a large contingent of drafted men&women tend to pay a peculiar attention to the hardware ordered. Suppress conscription and the majority of the people would rapidly lost interest in the what is ordered, focusing only on the How much. This is what happened to France for example.

That is why, noticing the reader that a non Swiss is lecturing us on Swiss internal affairs and their view on defense (Remember the stupid take on Swiss don't need any army etc...) is a rational thing to do.

Then thank you for acting swiftly on my own request. Appreciated1
.
 
TomcatViP said:
First, Rafale was mentioned simply because it was specifically a point in the quote he (Galgot) choose to include on his post... The news report revolved around: "should Switzerland drop their F-35 order for Rafale given Tariffs".
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Part of the original German text of which galgot presented a translation:
Als letzte Option dürfe man «nicht ausschliessen, einen Rückzieher zu machen und stattdessen auf die in Frankreich produzierten Rafale zu setzen», sagte Andrea Gmür, Luzerner Mitte-Ständerätin und Präsidentin der Sicherheitspolitischen Kommission des Ständerats, gegenüber Radio SRF.
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Galgot's translation:
As a last resort, “we cannot rule out backing down and opting for the Rafale produced in France instead,” said Andrea Gmür, Lucerne Center Councilor and President of the Council of States Security Policy Committee, on Radio SRF.
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Andrea Gmür is the author of 'cannot rule out backing down and opting for the Rafale´.
Andrea Gmür is President of the Council of States Security Policy Committee, a Swiss Federal politician who has the right and duty to express her views on these matters. Galgot was not lecturing the Swiss, not cherry-picking the watson.ch piece, he gave a full translation of it in which Stefan Hollenstein's opposing view was spelled out at length.

I was totally mystified by your reply to galgot.
 
Sferrin said:
The last day or two the site has started verifying that I'm human, regardless of where I access from. Is that normal?
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Yes, if you are in the US. Have a lot of bad traffic emanating from the land of the free.

Only 1.85% of US originated traffic to the site appears to be actual real humans. So more than 92% of the server resources consumed (bandwidth, cpu, etc) are being 'stolen' by bots, AI training etc. And I've actually excluded several reputable search engine bots like Google and Bing from this check, so that's not even including those (both of these index less aggressively and respect robots.txt etc).

I'll turn it off again at some point.
 
Love it when a post is deleted with a useful comment.

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Would be nice if I could even see what it was so I could at least guess why it was "non productive".
 
Frankly, if moderation is going to tackle the "non productive" posts, this will be a huge undertaking. Welcome, but huge.
Maybe as a prophylactic measure the guidelines should include a paragraph for discouraging wisecracks, silly gifs and memes.
Frankly, the signal-to-noise ratio is NOT improving with the recent newbies and "kewl" kids joining in with their subculture, or maybe sub-"culture".
 
Stop being disingenuous - this is not a social media company with a turnover of millions of dollars employing a team of underpaid Africa or Asia-based moderators, this is a niche nerd forum run by aviation geeks in their spare time.

Of course if Paul wants to give us moderators a wage, plus a 35% annual bonus and 24-hour mental health care in return for putting up with all the hissy fits and random crap that we have to clean up on a regular basis then I'm sure we wouldn't say no.
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TomcatViP said:
Still, moderators here are deleting posts w/o advance warning or w/oproviding a safe copy. This isn't in line with European guidelines for forum moderation.

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Last time I looked, I wasn't a tech mogul running a social media company. Certainly, my bank balance would be larger if I was.

If you really want the contents of a post back, it's perfectly possible. Posts deleted are not actually "deleted" but merely hidden and can be undeleted or the contents retrieved.

If you really don't like the way the forum is run, nothing compels you to participate.
 
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TomcatViP said:
Still, moderators here are deleting posts w/o advance warning or w/oproviding a safe copy. This isn't in line with European guidelines for forum moderation.

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You don't seem to understand what Secret projects is. It is a private forum that is open to the public, made up of volunteer staff and members voluntarily contributing to the site.
SP is not a democratic country or a social media company.

As for deleting posts, you can go to our Terms and Rules link here

and in particular this sentence
We may remove or modify any Content submitted at any time, with or without cause, with or without notice. Requests for Content to be removed or modified will be undertaken only at our discretion. We may terminate your access to all or any part of the Service at any time, with or without cause, with or without notice.
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TLDR: the moderation team and site owner does not owe you anything. They can delete anything at anytime. If Paul suddenly wanted to delete all the threads in this forum and change it the forum to focus on hamburgers instead of aviation, he can.
And no one is forcing you to continue participating here either. You are free to contribute here or on another site.
 
It might be a good time to make SpaceX more open and not news only....the small blast makes me wonder if a range safety device cooked off--or does only SuperHeavy have those?

I think we all know who likes Elon and who doesn't by now.
 
publiusr said:
It might be a good time to make SpaceX more open and not news only....the small blast makes me wonder if a range safety device cooked off--or does only SuperHeavy have those?

I think we all know who likes Elon and who doesn't by now.
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indeed, there were problems with that thread between people obsessed with Elon (either pros and cons).
i'll discuss this internally first.
 
Hey guys, may I have access back to the SpaceX thread? I think it´s quite ridiculous that I was banned after alerting other members that there was another launch attempt in the middle of the night. I wrote something like, "Hey, is any body seeing this, the countdown for launch restarted with 2hrs left!"
I don´t know how this is offensive, but given the middle of the night hour for Europe, you, I, would have to be indulgent.

Now I am banned from the thread, in what I can only see as something a bit... excessive or, in other way, difficult to understand.
 
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TomcatViP said:
Hey guys, may I have access back to the SpaceX thread? I think it´s quite ridiculous that I was banned after alerting other members that there was another launch attempt in the middle of the night. I wrote something like, "Hey, is any body seeing this, the countdown for launch restarted with 2hrs left!"
I don´t know how this is offensive, but given the middle of the night hour for Europe, you, I, would have to be indulgent.

Now I am banned from the thread, in what I can only see as something a bit... excessive or, in other way, difficult to understand.
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1. When the Space X thread was News only, you repeatedly made non-news posts. Each time you were told that it was not news, yet you continued to do so anyways. Staff patience only goes so far, and you were banned.

2. Your ban is temporary and will end in a few days, assuming no more disorderly behavior.
 
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Probably the individual writing this could tune down his/her tone.
While he/she wrote this I was teleporting (yes, Scotty) the content of my post to the appropriated thread, that in a matter of... seconds.
(From Gripen C/D to Gripen E/F)

Thanks in advance.
 
TomcatViP said:
View attachment 785352

Probably the individual writing this could tune down his/her tone.
While he/she wrote this I was teleporting (yes, Scotty) the content of my post to the appropriated thread, that in a matter of... seconds.
(From Gripen C/D to Gripen E/F)

Thanks in advance.
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You posted an article about the Gripen E in a thread for the Gripen A-D, even though there is a Gripen E thread.

That's entirely on you, again.
You break rules, mods do work, and you somehow become over defensive about it. Similar to how you kept posting non-news topics in the SpaceX thread over 6 times and were warned about it 6 times, yet you still seemed surprised mods took action.

Mods only have so much patience. We are not here to coddle you.
This is a warning for you.
 
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helmutkohl said:
Similar to how you kept posting non-news topics in the SpaceX thread over 6 times and were warned about it 6 times, yet you still seemed surprised mods took action.
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I got smacked several times in the same topic for daring to think several spectacular photos from the latest Starship flight were newsworthy. Was it the lack of words in the post or "Reuters" watermark that warranted the deletion? If some random social media denizen had typed a sentence with the photo, would it have been judged "news"?
 
Sferrin said:
I got smacked several times in the same topic for daring to think several spectacular photos from the latest Starship flight were newsworthy. Was it the lack of words in the post or "Reuters" watermark that warranted the deletion? If some random social media denizen had typed a sentence with the photo, would it have been judged "news"?
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hello hansel/sferrin
no, you posted a number of general comments and replies to other people during the period that thread was news only.
there was a news post that you did that you deleted yourself, which was followed by revenge reporting of other people.

Again, if a poster breaks some kind of rule and mods/admins delete it, don't take it personally.
This is a private forum open to the public. If mods cleaning up threads repeatedly offends either of you, you are free to post elsewhere.
 
helmutkohl said:
hello hansel/sferrin
no, you posted a number of general comments and replies to other people during the period that thread was news only.
there was a news post that you did that you deleted yourself, which was followed by revenge reporting of other people.

Again, if a poster breaks some kind of rule and mods/admins delete it, don't take it personally.
This is a private forum open to the public. If mods cleaning up threads repeatedly offends either of you, you are free to post elsewhere.
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"Revenge reporting"? Wow. No, it was more along the lines of, "hey, you missed a few". Seemed inconsistent, which just causes confusion.
 
Sferrin said:
"Revenge reporting"? Wow. No, it was more along the lines of, "hey, you missed a few". Seemed inconsistent, which just causes confusion.
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there's a pattern that every time where your posts are edited/deleted/etc, you often go about reporting other people in response.
This thread is for people to discuss issues with the forum. But if mods take correct action on enforcing rules/cleaning up threads and a member throws repeated tantrums about it, then don't be surprised when patience runs out.
We're not here to play mental gymnastics with adults.
 
helmutkohl said:
there's a pattern that every time where your posts are edited/deleted/etc, you often go about reporting other people in response.
This thread is for people to discuss issues with the forum. But if mods take correct action on enforcing rules/cleaning up threads and a member throws repeated tantrums about it, then don't be surprised when patience runs out.
We're not here to play mental gymnastics with adults.
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All I'm asking for is consistency. I don't think that's unreasonable. Do you?
 
TomcatViP said:
View attachment 785352

Probably the individual writing this could tune down his/her tone.
While he/she wrote this I was teleporting (yes, Scotty) the content of my post to the appropriated thread, that in a matter of... seconds.
(From Gripen C/D to Gripen E/F)

Thanks in advance.
Click to expand...

I don't think there's any problem with the tone.

However, there's no reason for moderators to delete posts simply for being in the wrong topic if the posts are interesting.

Moving of the post to the correct topic or a new topic is almost as easy and more helpful. An off-topic set of posts that are nevertheless an interesting discussion in themselves should be split to a new topic.

Post deletion should be reserved for posts breaking forum rules and posts with no intrinsic value.
 
Sferrin said:
All I'm asking for is consistency. I don't think that's unreasonable. Do you?
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It isn't unreasonable at all, but hard to deliver with multiple moderators, none of whom have the time to review every post.

Sferrin said:
I got smacked several times in the same topic for daring to think several spectacular photos from the latest Starship flight were newsworthy. Was it the lack of words in the post or "Reuters" watermark that warranted the deletion? If some random social media denizen had typed a sentence with the photo, would it have been judged "news"?
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I don't know the exact context as you didn't highlight the posts involved, but If you had included a line in the post indicating that the photos were from the latest Starship flight and a link to where you got them from, then I think that would have been allowable as "news". If there's no context in the post, the moderators had no way of knowing this post related to the then recent flight.
 
"Your post in the thread France-Germany-Spain Future Combat Air System (FCAS / SCAF / FSAC) was deleted. Reason: FCAS thread, not the Eurofighter vs Rafale, or France vs Germany thread. A notice was already placed in this thread. Repeat violations will lead to a thread ban, so the thread can focus on actual FCAS discussions"

Bit surprised by this one as I was actually addressing a point made not in the thread, but by Eric Trappier in the French parliament today, specifically whether SCAF should use the Eurofighter model of industrial partnership (or, left unsaid, the Dassault model). If we can't address the project governance issue tearing SCAF apart, because Dassault's CEO is arguing by analogy with Eurofighter/Rafale structures, then that seems a bit problematical to me. I really didn't think saying Rafale could have been built under the Eurofighter corporate structure was that controversial, and certainly didn't see it as one project vs the other.
 
DWG said:
"Your post in the thread France-Germany-Spain Future Combat Air System (FCAS / SCAF / FSAC) was deleted. Reason: FCAS thread, not the Eurofighter vs Rafale, or France vs Germany thread. A notice was already placed in this thread. Repeat violations will lead to a thread ban, so the thread can focus on actual FCAS discussions"

Bit surprised by this one as I was actually addressing a point made not in the thread, but by Eric Trappier in the French parliament today, specifically whether SCAF should use the Eurofighter model of industrial partnership (or, left unsaid, the Dassault model). If we can't address the project governance issue tearing SCAF apart, because Dassault's CEO is arguing by analogy with Eurofighter/Rafale structures, then that seems a bit problematical to me. I really didn't think saying Rafale could have been built under the Eurofighter corporate structure was that controversial, and certainly didn't see it as one project vs the other.
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ok in that context I've undeleted your post
 
"Your post in the thread France-Germany-Spain Future Combat Air System (FCAS / SCAF / FSAC) was deleted. Reason: FCAS thread, not the Eurofighter vs Rafale, or France vs Germany thread. A notice was already placed in this thread. Repeat violations will lead to a thread ban, so the thread can focus on actual FCAS discussions"

Me too :)

Interesting, as my post was precisely intended to show that it was not a France versus Germany (or USA and Vietnam or Iran and Irak are too part of France or Germany) or a EF (like the Tornado also mentioned, not only German tool) vs Rafale (and 2000 and F1) subject, unlike the post to which I was responding, but a French AND German mess... And if the first paragraphs actually responded to the post in question, the last ones were strictly relating to the NGF/FCAS, on which I gave my opinion, for the first time in a long time, on this topic that I created 8 years ago.

But I understand that my answer could have led to others indefinitely, effectively remaining in the direction of France vs Germany and/or EF vs Rafale (what I indicated in my text at the beginning of my last paragraphs).

Good night :)
 
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Deltafan said:
"Your post in the thread France-Germany-Spain Future Combat Air System (FCAS / SCAF / FSAC) was deleted. Reason: FCAS thread, not the Eurofighter vs Rafale, or France vs Germany thread. A notice was already placed in this thread. Repeat violations will lead to a thread ban, so the thread can focus on actual FCAS discussions"

Me too :)

Interesting, as my post was precisely intended to show that it was not a France versus Germany (or USA and Vietnam or Iran and Irak are too part of France or Germany) or a EF (like the Tornado also mentioned, not only German tool) vs Rafale (and 2000 and F1) subject, unlike the post to which I was responding, but a French AND German mess... And if the first paragraphs actually responded to the post in question, the last ones were strictly relating to the NGF/FCAS, on which I gave my opinion, for the first time in a long time, on this topic that I created 8 years ago.

Good night :)
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Your post was continuing a post from EmoBrb that was trying to take it to French vs German planes, that had much less relevance than FCAS. While I did find your post interesting and informative, it's best to keep it on topic.

There are people trying to turn that thread into a French vs German thread rather than just focusing on FCAS. Don't take the bait.
We'll need to go back and clean up some of the more nationalistic posts that don't really contribute to FCAS discussion.
 
helmutkohl said:
Your post was continuing a post from EmoBrb that was trying to take it to French vs German planes, that had much less relevance than FCAS. While I did find your post interesting and informative, it's best to keep it on topic.

There are people trying to turn that thread into a French vs German thread rather than just focusing on FCAS. Don't take the bait.
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As shown by the times of my last edit on my previous post, I understood correctly. I just have to admit that seeing two hours of research disappear in an instant is a bit frustrating...

Good night again :)
 
Deltafan said:
As shown by the times of my last edit on my previous post, I understood correctly. I just have to admit that seeing two hours of research disappear in an instant is a bit frustrating...

Good night again :)
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if you want, i could move it somewhere, in appreciation of your time
 

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