Textbook example of always needing to have the last word I didn't reply because I went to bed to try to get a good nights sleep, I for one don't need to have the last word. Ratings, anyone can add them or remove them, there is no system log in XenForo on the admin site that would track those kind of micro changes I would have to look at the database and I'm not sure its relational structure is designed to track this, anyway I would not be about to embark on even trying that before the weekend nor would I be about to go and do a detailed analysis of every thread posted in the political section in the last 5 years before the weekend. I am not here at the beck and whim of your stampy foot, it's a forum and I will reply to posts when I see fit.
I could equally and respectfully point-out that the above is a textbook example of someone attempting to closedown a dissenting voice. As is your wont, you don't address the issues but rather you attack he who raises them, i.e. me. The irony contained in your assertion is obviously lost you! Not just "anyone" but anyone with a certain permission set - possibly a group permission. That is one of the flaws of this rating system. My suggestion was posted half-seriously: if such changes aren't logged, then no matter, I'm not asking for a forensic investigation but merely pointing out that there is some tampering going on. I didn't ask you to, did I? You were the one to make an astonishing claim in an attempt to belittle and silence me whilst hiding behind a staff badge which, whether you acknowledge it or not, adds some weight to whatever you say. What a totally over the top and uncalled-for outburst but unfortunately not uncharacteristic. If you want to be hostile and confrontational, that's up to you, I am not playing.
I have found this forum to be wonderfully helpful when I was trying to negotiate my way through the process of bringing a Filipina lady and her son to the UK and getting them settled here, but I have noticed that the advice that I have been offering recently is very often out of date. So, a big thank you to everyone who helped me through the process, but I think I should in fairness stop offering advice which is probably going to be wrong. I posted that I would stop posting about politics for a week and somebody thought that was funny. That response has made me think about whether I want to continue posting here on other matters, and the answer is that I am probably enough of a figure of fun in real life not to need to add to it here. Internet bulletin boards are addictive but they are not real life. I am therefore going to be posting here only when I need advice or when I am sure that the advice I am offering is correct.
On the contrary, you have a very experience set on which to draw. You have successfully applied for a marriage settlement visa for a fiancée, brought her here, married her, successfully applied for FLR, NHI, GP etc. You may not be up to date on the application procedures but you will be able to assist others with other related facets. Figure of fun? I would disagree completely with that, but then I know you better than others here do. We may differ politically and we have had some hum-dingers of exchanges of views but even so we have remained friendly and respectful and, I hope, remained good friends. How sad and two highly regrettable-decisions, one I am certain is a direct consequence of the other, earlier one. Hence my dislike vote which is a reaction to your decision.
Again, how sad. How many regular contributors does this forum have to lose before those with "Admin" beneath their names take notice? As with Andrew, my vote is reflective of your possible "holiday".
Unlike other forums, I like to think we are tolerant here and allow people to express their views, left wing or right wing without the forum owner hitting the ban button every 5 minutes. It's just a bit sad that any political discussions invariably ends up in personal insults, but I suppose that is the nature of the beast. If a certain member winds you up, you can always use the IGNORE function. Long may it continue. I don't always agree with some of the stuff some members come up with, but I know the moment I start acting like a little Keef from the other side forum, we'll lose all credibility FAST. We don't often have to ban people on here, but its a last resort option if all else fails.
Unfortunately the IGNORE feature isn't good enough for some (surprisingly ) , it has been said as much in the past. Just getting a bit long in the tooth this petty "have to justify every morsel through a drawn out convoluted ending" . Why? I really don't get it. It's a forum and there really is a life beyond here. Andrew doesn't have to contribute to new members, that's his choice. Those that do assist newbies get the sincerest gratitude from me even if I don't always acknowledge it.
Nobody has yet answered the question: why does there have to be a politics section here? I know of only one similar Forum where politics is permitted - in fact, many Forums dissuade or ban outright all religious and political discussions because of the problems they so often cause; Tom Reid's Philippines-Expats Forum is a good case in point. Politics is permitted on Living In Cebu but it is a heavily-policed site and always has been and personal attacks and insults aren't tolerated.
You can say what you like in the Dirty Kitchen (Unless like you your banned) As for personal attacks methinks you do protest tomuch Baby
Wow! Just WOW! So the fact that he's one of the Forum's most popular and prolific posters who has started more new threads than most seems to be not worthy of even a mention? What a kiss-off.
Banned? From LinC?! Hardly! I am a member but don't post there any longer. You do realise that DanPick and Prolife are two aliases for one of the only people that have been banned from this Forum ... or maybe you don't.
Well in your other reply you had decided for me, that I only checked the first two pages and quickly thought 'yippee' I'm a programmer I checked a lot of pages and got a gut feel for the numbers, that's why I said years not months, would be a bit stupid of me to quote years when I had only checked two pages eh? I also used the word approximate and stated that I could get detailed if needed, well here ya go some detail. The first image is a specific sample using more or less the names you mention and pretty simple SQL, the post date 1368553184 is on or after 14th of May 2013 which appears to be the date you posted your first thread in the politics section. the SQL is listing the number of discrete threads started by each individual, note that Paul has never started a thread in the politics section. But for me the really interesting query is the second one which lists the thread count and reply to thread count by username, this since 14th of May 2013, and yes Dom started more threads in that period but not many more than you, however you garnered far more replies. Keith not even close, JohnAsh not even close although he was banned in 2015 might have been a closer thing if he were still here, Andrew and Timmers barely on the radar Bluebird too, me and Rob and Paul even lower Paul has Zero threads in the Politics section which is why he is not on that list. The man way out front in the replies he gets is you, and as you can see you really are way, way, out in front regards the replies to your threads, draw whatever conclusion you wish, I know what it says to me. I haven't even tried analysing the number of replies in a thread that belong to the thread owner yet, that'll be my next task.
A slightly more advanced query, just wanted to find out what proportion of people's replies came from themselves. The result is displayed in the second image, the query is too large to show it in full in the second screen grab.
Well, thank you, Jim, for proving I was right! I went back to when I joined this Forum on the basis that I probably posted in the politics section before I started any threads there. Your second set of figures produces interesting results when you divide the total number of replies by the number of threads started: Dom: 13.6 Me: 28.8 Kuya: 18.05 JohnAsh: 43.6 Oss: 61.2 And I don't top the chart in your latest piece of research either. I hope you will concede, if only to yourself, that you were mistaken. Edited to add: If you really want to further disprove your hypothesis, you should include Graham (Maharg) in your analysis. I don't think he created many threads, maybe just the one. But his General Election 2017 thread attracted 1,498 replies.
Well someone has been a busy little bee: as of 8pm UK time, my positive rating count has decreased to 1968 and that takes into account 9 that I've been given today: so a net decrease of 21. One has to wonder what kind of person would go to the trouble of checking every forum thread for positive ratings given to a particular person which they then remove. That person has to be an obsessive, insane or a bully. Or any combination.
