Dear friends,
Today my webmaster has informed me that we posted our 300’000th moderated comment, which is quite a remarkable milestone! And at this occasion, I want to thank all the moderators, past and present, for the absolutely *crucial* service they have provided us.
Dear moderators,
Your job is both an extremely important one and an extremely difficult one. I know because before you came to help me, I did it myself and I remember how hard and often exhausting this work was. The best proof of how difficult your job is can be found by simply looking what is happening elsewhere on the Internet. We have two basic models:
Model 1: no moderation whatsoever. These are the websites/blogs which don’t really have any moderation. Some of these will block clearly illegal posts, calls for violence, etc. but short of posting something truly over the top, your comment will be posted, no matter how stupid, illiterate, nasty or otherwise unhelpful. In my experience these websites/blogs *always* end up being hijacked by the worst of the worst of the trolls (paid or not), nutcases and otherwise nasty characters. Frankly, the Internet is the ideal place for the expression of all sorts of nasty sentiments because of the relative anonymity and impunity even the nastiest of trolls can usually hide behind. Furthermore, there are a lot of bona fide nutcases, truly insane people, who seem to believe that a comment section is the ideal place for them to post even the most idiotic or nasty things. We have one such troll here who continues to try to post his crazy racist rants (mostly directed at the UK for some reason) in spite of being banned for years already. Either he/she never checks his/her posts, or he/she is truly completely insane, or what we are dealing with is some computer-generated “commentator” which is programmed to flood the comments section with silly posts. Whatever may be the case, it is my belief that an unmoderated comment section rapidly turns into the worst can of sewer where intelligent conversations simply become impossible.
Model 2: no comments section. That is often found on website/blogs whose authors are so fed up with the constant stream of nastiness and stupidity that they decide to pull the plug on the entire concept rather than having to deal with it. Were it not for you – our wonderful moderators – this is probably what I would have done a long time ago. But thanks to you, I did not have to do that. And so, thanks to you, we can enjoy what many believe is one of the best comments section on the blogosphere. Now I want to address one very important issue here.
We have all seen the accusations: This is censorship!! The Saker blog is censored!! The Saker only allows sycophants and groupies but any dissenting opinion is immediately censored!! In fact, there are quite a few folks out there who were moderated here and who were infinitely offended by that and who now spew anti-Saker hatred in many comments section elsewhere simply because they cannot do that here :-) Furthermore, since the Saker Blog is one of the very *few* blogs out there without a clear ideological allegiance (just check the amazing diversity of opinions and guest authors we have!) these accusations are outright funny.
In truth, this is all baloney. The reality is these folks are absolutely furious because they have been told 1) to behave or, if not 2) to leave. Somehow, they feel that they are entitled to write anything and everything and God forbid anybody would tell them to “can it”. The sense of entitlement and even outright narcissism of these characters never ceases to amuse me. Both Herb and myself (yes – in spite of moderation rule #0) have had to deal with many emails of outraged folks who *demand* that their comments be posted “or else…”. The “or else…” is usually limited to them whining about being mistreated on the Saker blog (especially on blogs which dislike me or what I write, for whatever reason).
What you – the moderators – never see are all the emails I get expressing gratitude and admiration for the way the moderators keep policing the comments section and fostering intelligent discussion. But I get these emails all the time. Furthermore, in my experience, for every one person being really angry and slamming the door with a parting “if that is so then I am leaving” there are typically many more who are deeply grateful to see the nasty character being shown to the door. They also seem to believe that if they leave in a fit of rage, millions will follow them. They don’t :-) and, in reality, for all the accusations, the truth is that our blog is booming and that it does so thanks, at least in part, to the superb performance of the moderators!
Finally, what most people forget is that the choice is not between “no moderation” and “perfect moderation” because the latter simply does not exist. We all are humans, with our individual weaknesses and biases, and no form of moderation is truly perfect. The real choice is thus between “no moderation” (which leads to chaos and what I call the “sewer”) and “imperfect” moderation. I challenge those who complain about our moderation to volunteer and do better!
[Important sidebar: for those who are not aware of this, here is how moderation works on this blog: the moderators never “censor” a comment by themselves. What they do is this: when they see a comment which looks obviously fine, they clear it for posting. Any other comment, including dubious ones, are placed in a special category where I, the Saker, personally review every one of them before taking the final decision. This means that IF your comment was intercepted, two things happened: first, a moderator flagged it and, second, I then agreed with the decision of the moderator and sent that comment to trash. Furthermore, at least two people, the moderator on duty and myself, agreed that your comment was a problematic one. So you can say that the moderators are like cops: they only intercept comments and bring them to me; I act like the judge and pass the final sentence on each flagged comment. In other words, if your comment was intercepted, blame only me and not the moderators. ]
In conclusion, I want to express here my immense gratitude to all the moderators: you have done an absolutely superb job and the only reason why we have a comments section to begin with (and a very good one!) is you! If you were not here, I would have to close down the comments section as I simply don’t have the physical time to moderate anything myself. I know that you get a lot of flak from “unhappy customers” but I promise you that there are many, many, more who also share my deepest gratitude for you and your superb work. As to those who are angry at us, they probably don’t realize the kind of stuff which we – you and I – have to deal with on a daily basis and the many tens of thousands of fantastically nasty, rude, stupid and otherwise nauseating comments we have kept away from our comments section.
So, dear friends, THANK YOU for all you have done and for all you are doing!!!
Hugs and cheers and tons of thanks,
The Saker
Definitely, great moderators and interesting comments overall. Blessedly free of ‘la folie furieuse.’
May I join hundreds of Vineyard pilgrims in thanking you all esteemed moderators. This site invariably cuts across many “no-fly zones.” It is such a relief to read intelligent, positive and not-so-positive comments from a readership with immense experience and apperceptive background on the tricky subject matter at hand.
I would like to congratulate Saker and staff on this milestone and on your foresight and patience in continuing to host a comments section. The concept of a diverse, intelligent and well-read group of commenters that contribute in the right spirit has the potential to develop into a very important think-tank and can be a great learning experience for readers and contributors. This has the potential to enhance and expand on the excellent original articles.
The world is in one hell of a mess and a forum like this can greatly assist readers in ‘seeing the wood amongst the trees’. I believe the man on the street now finally has the weapon [the web] that can defeat the Neocon agenda and begin to give Mainstreet a more equitable deal. As the great Leonard Cohen said…”There is a crack in everything, that’s how the light gets in”.
Well, this is no a crack that we witness, this is a huge chasm and the light is absolutely pouring in…this awakening is a worldwide phenomenon and we all can actively participate in a peaceful revolution that will be eventually a landmark in the evolution of humanity and society. Knowledge is power and this knowledge is at our finger tips like never before. This is a game changer and I believe that the PTB, at their peril, have totally underestimated its potential.
I believe Ross Ashcroft said it best…
“To really understand something is to be liberated from it. Humanity’s greatest ally is the self-educated individual, who has read, understood, delays their gratification, and walks around with their eyes wide open.”
I believe that The Sakers eyes are absolutely wide open!
Cheers and regards from down under
Col
Wow, Ashcroft put it very well in words and you as well.
BTW, are you the same that was hanging around Greg Hunter web site for many years ? I used to write there as well until Hunter started to justify all the crimes commited by Israel. I never went back.
Cheers
Alejo
Yes, I followed Hunter closely until it became apparent that his site was deteriorating into an intolerably partisan and xenophobic echo chamber.
The unwritten rules of US Watchdog in order to contribute and comment are:
1 you must be a Trump supporter/sycophant and support everything he does no matter how bazaar or misguided his actions happen to be
2 you must bash Russia and China at every available opportunity
3 you must hold the view that Iran is the most evil country on earth
4 you must idolize Israel and everything it does no matter how heinous its actions are
5 you must support the complete disenfranchisement of Palestine
6 you must bash Islam at every given opportunity
7 you must hold the view that no matter how delinquent Washington and its leaders become the US still knows what is best for the whole world and it needs to continue its role as global policeman
If you don’t adhere to the above-prescribed narrative then you are by definition a commie/Marxist/atheist whose opinion is worthless and you will be barred from commenting. A common reaction, if you don’t adhere to the above rules, is you are told by Hunter [a devout Christian] to ” get out of the way and go away and play on the road or the railway tracks”!
The very name ‘US Watchdog’ has become almost farcical. When a site is this partisan the inevitable result is an insidious slide into becoming yet another asset of the PTB. One of the elites most valuable weapons is to use religious fundamentalism to divide people. This fits their playbook perfectly… it is the old ‘divide and conquer’ trick. Ironically, Watchdog has been recruited to a degree by the very powers that it naively thought it was fighting.
Cheers and regards from the south seas
Col
PS Hunter is very busy at the moment supporting interventionism in Venezuela and is completely mute on the subject of the warmongering lunatics [Bolton, Pompeo, Abrams] that are helping Trump in is what guaranteed to be another humanitarian and diplomatic disaster.
I am fine with this setup. I try to act within the rules realizing that I am just an infrequent (limited net access) commenter in majority of the cases and this site is one of a kind with lots to offer from many astute people.
I keep my comments shorter and out of respect to the readers i avoid acronyms that I made in my head.
Live to learn even at my advanced age.
One may ask, what is a final fruit of our mutually aspired efforts in the shadow of the horned monster, I don’t know lol
Thumbs up to the moderators!
Exzellent approach and Implementation.
To all involved in this blog
absolutely brilliant read …… !!!! all round
thank you !
Good work mods and everybody else! Let’s go for one million comments!
Kuddos to Saker and moderators… just keep doing your excellent job.
I was so touched to know Katherine Austin Fitz complimented dearly on the quality of your Blog, Saker, and on the quality of the comments. Thanks to this incredible moderation, we get “depth” in the articles/topics.
Waiting for your 3rd book too!!!
the seagull
I would like to congratulate The whole Saker family, Mr Saker, Moderators, Contributors, Readers!, of course trolls, and shekelian warrior (if their comments ever passed moderation). I congratulate you for your 300.000 comments’ milestone. It is a big number after all!
Big number shows people love to drown their mind reading, thinking, and wandering around the Vineyard. Because, it is not only great for brain, but also for the heart. Yes, the heart. Sometimes the brain and the heart are in need of a breath of fresh air. Only by coming here, away from rubbish, false-reality and nonsensical world, both are truly being rejuvenated.
Thank you for your great contributions to this world, Long Live and Prosper!
Keep it up, RR.
Thank you moderators for keeping the “crazies” out!
Just to add to Model 2: what I have noticed is that many websites (i.e. mainstream) have removed their comments sections because many of the commenters were pointing out the contradictions, the lies, the double standards of their postings and they didn’t like it.
Keep up the good work!
Moderating seems an easy task, until you have to do it yourself ;-)
Mods, congratulations with a respectful job. Weeding out idiots -as stated above- is the easy part. The hard part starts when irritations and emotions evolve, even with long-time bloggers. We’re all human. It’s a thin and grey line towards ad hominems, as so often happens between keyboard warriors on the internet. Keep up the good work!
To all, it is really refreshing to be able to discuss things like politics and even religion in an intelligent and respectful way. On most blogs these are no-no’s or a secured paveway to digital slander. Even the most well-founded opinion can meet a slightly different angle to see things here.
I sure do hope that we realize what this all boils down to. This blog has evolved into a myriad of opinions, most of thorough in-read people, on things that happen in the world.
Now, this blog is not only read by the makers and commentators. It won’t be easy to state this with facts (multiple pageviews and IP’s can belong to the same person), but my gut feeling tells me that far more people -and not the least- are reading what we write here.
The comparison may be bleak, but I reckon that the Facebook page of Maria Zakharova is not only read by her family and friends as well.
Cheers, Rob
And Thank you Saker for your efforts on this amazing site. One thing I want to emphasise to the commentors is that you do not screen comments based on their position on any particuar subject. You screen for swearing; insults; poor grammer; unappropriate subject matter; off topic comments and porn.
The Saker strives for balanced reporting based on facts and what is believed to be the truth on any subject. Commentors are free to voice their own opinions, even if you may disagree with them, assuming you even have the time to thouroughly vet all the comments, which i`m sure you do not.
Thank you, Mods!! I’ve only posted a comment once–maybe twice–before. (I realize that I really have very little to say), But this thank-you note calls for this comment.
All of the above.
When it comes to the comments on this site, I have found, besides the quality of the posted content, the discussion in the comments section often then not is of such a diverse and intelligent level that I no longer feel the need to comment myself for someone else has expressed my thoughts and sentiments and usually better than I could, hence the first sentence of this post.
hi saker and mods. thanks for building this awesome platform and sharing it for others for free. may allah reward you all with blessing upon blessing and be guided with truth. thanks for the moderation of comment section while others have given up against trolls and bots. may your life be filtered with truthfullness and if not, may you be able to distinguish them from falsehood. and more.
question: are the comment rearranged? or at least one of them is pinned to the top? just curious
My fellow Vineyards,
I strolled around many a places for many a years since the beginning of the world wide web.. In the beginning for fun and pleasure till 9/11. Then I started asking questions? First believing the MSM narrative following every second like a blockbuster Hollywood movie. Knowing little but the eagerness to seek truth, slowly building clouds generating marvelous natural storms.. In my then innocent but adventurous heart. I mined and struggled, lost my way into infinite ways.. Only to find myself realising everyday that love only can unwind. History fascinates, especially when one find all is untrue, anger manifest and no sunset is due.. swimming through darkness finding ones way.. eyes wide shut in such strange ways. Redemption is needed I had no way out, ended up landing in HIS truthful ways. Then.. actions start working oh what a peaceful life, only to be broken like a vineyards “tak”. Let me tell you this right; where the fire is burning there is no “STOP”. Along the road of my infinite desire, my limited vocabulary can not even imagine to reach, how difficult it is to find life’s unlimited power. Many years later, thou I’m still a young man, I stumbled across The Vineyard of The Saker’s community plan. So rich with information so rich with God’s plan.. I finally found the peace of no man’s land. From Iraq to Libya to Syria to Ukraine, its all the same story continuing in vain. My heart aches, breaks and cry I only want 1 percentages to die! Humbled by knowledge from commentators endless wisdom; the Lamchopsters ( 😋) , Scott’s, Bro’s and Uncle Bob’s ect endless knowledge of this world .. their daily dosage that keeps me from this wilderness.. Oh my heart bleeds day and night, the truth that I seeked will eat adults alive. So I stroll with no comment only picking the fruits from no trollent, guiding me along the path of tolerance. Learning grasping the light that’s been handed to me.. Oh my moderates I salute you! Thank you for all your hard work and enlightenment of this grapeully filled tree.