Does it seem to you that this very PROGRESSIVE website has its own hidden agenda?
It does to me. I'll break it down like this.
Why is it that the HIGHEST RATED blogs are only for a select few? no need to name names, but these TWO or three bloggers are not pulitzer prize authors, nor are they even in control of their ratings. Which brings me to this point. Are the Pro-U moderators looking for those who choose to stand out from the mainstream, or simply is Pro-U a haven for people who all think the same way? Which would not be very progressive.
Also why is it that Pro-U faculty are the biggest proponents of certain topics. Shouldnt they MODERATE. Or at least, because of their experience, be able to stomach different views without labeling a person a BIGOT, or RACIST, or HATER.
I came to Pro-U because I felt that alot of my ideas were going on deaf ears among mainstream conservatives, but I have come to the realization that "THOSE IN POWER" determine what is heard, and what is brushed to the side. Now I am going to lay out what gets heard.
ANYTHING GAY.......Here on Pro-U most people are advocates of gay rights or gay themselves. This is not a problem, but when those who disagree are LABELED by the progressive voice, it is no different than mainstream America labeling YOU.
ANYTHING PERSONAL.......Here on Pro-U if you recount personal times of struggle, then you are loved and everyone tells of their similar experiences, almost in a "cum-by-yah moment". What about those who are fine with themselves, and have no sob stories.
Non-GOVERNMENTAL......When I first heard of Pro-U, I thought one of the main topics people would want to debate would be the current structure of our government, and legistlation. I have found this to be on the contrary. Aside from election babble, there are no real debates on Libertarianisn, the looming National ID Cards, or even the Patriot Act which chips away at our civil liberties every day.
A word for the Gay.....If you think I am the "devil" for being against homosexual marriage/relationships keep pushing aside libertarian debate points. By the time you have run out of "gay hate" speeches the country will be run by John McCain aka BUSH the SEQUAL, and it might be illegal to walk hand in hand down the street, let alone setting up a trust in order to share your wealth with your partner after death (a point I agree on).
Finally.......On the Pro-U Agenda is to rid the site of those for whom the LEADERSHIP does not agree with. Blogging is basically about letting your words be heard. When a person works long and hard to present logical/factual blogs about real problems America is facing they recieve no remarks. However when certain bloggers write about some fictional "doomsday party" that offers no real ANYTHING to the OVERALL progressive movement every MOD/FACULTY member chimes in. Though it may not be a concious attemt to stifle other bloggers it sends a message to new bloggers here.
That you must first get along, Then you message will be heard and respected.
The Ironic thing is that Mainstream America sends the same conservative message.
There aren't that many moderators. We can't determine what gets on the highest rating post unless nobody else votes.
And, there are a few moderators with different political opinions. Some of them seem to have left, though. Here's the basic fact. The pro-U membership is highly liberal. Therefore, the moderators reflect that. (By the way, I'm a libertarian, at least for now.)
Take a look at the highest rated post. Take a look at the featured blogs on the homepage. How many are personal at all? Not a lot. And those that are tend to have a non-personal point.
If you want to get some debates going on governmental issues, blog on them. One of the reasons that there tends to be a lot of blogs on the same issues is because issues seem to catch.
As to moderating, I do moderate. I am also a member of the site and participate in the debates as a user. The overwhelming majority do that. Why, because if all we did was moderate, that would be dull.
And, no, we have no secret agenda. We don't want people to leave the site, period, whatever their beliefs are.
"Don't blame me. I voted for Kodos."
Homer Simpson
well judging from your responce you clearly do not unbiasdly browse the site because there are many governmental blogs. Most notably, I recently Blogged directly about Libertarianism.....did you read it?
I bet if you do you will see alot of newer links on those topics...If you care to
"my first name must be, "He aint sh@t", cause everytime I come through, yall be like "He aint sh@t"!....I'll be dat" --Redman
"Anything that can go wrong, Will go wrong"----Murphy's Law
One, please use the reply button.
I do not see a lot of blogs that people put up. Why? It's scholarship time and that means that the recent blog list gets flooded and it's all too easy to lose track of some blogs, especially if you're in a hurry. I shall, perhaps, check out your libertarian blog.
I'm not exactly sure what you're talking about in the last paragraph...
"Don't blame me. I voted for Kodos."
Homer Simpson
exactly.....I mean as a libertarian....I would think that you would search by topic, instead of what is most recent......It may not be ANY individual, but as an entity Pro-U "Likes" and "Dislikes" certain issues.
We seem to ONLY "like" devisive issues, or those written by certain authors no matter the topic.....
"my first name must be, "He aint sh@t", cause everytime I come through, yall be like "He aint sh@t"!....I'll be dat" --Redman
"Anything that can go wrong, Will go wrong"----Murphy's Law
So one should be closed minded and ignorant of all other issues, except those pertaining to themselves only?
So everyday when I check in here I should just search for issues that only I want to deal with and forget about the others?
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Respectfully,
Adam
I dont even know where you are coming up with this stuff.
When browsing this site you should feel free to read ANY thread you want to, but realize that the threads you do not read will go unheard.
so refering back to the libertarian jsaj (or something like that) who claimed to be a libertarian, it seemed odd that she would not be present in libertarian discussion
"my first name must be, "He aint sh@t", cause everytime I come through, yall be like "He aint sh@t"!....I'll be dat" --Redman
"Anything that can go wrong, Will go wrong"----Murphy's Law
That tends to give you a bunch of really old blogs, which I don't like commenting on.
"Don't blame me. I voted for Kodos."
Homer Simpson
I don't personally see a hidden agenda here on ProU. I see an opportunity for everyone to speak their mind. There are a lot of people here that are gay. There are a lot of people here that are not Christian too. We all have lots of things to talk and debate about. The problem I see is that we discuss the same dead horse over and over. I would love to see more discussion about National IDs and such. As far as the faculty and directors.... we are all here for discussion also. We aren't here to just moderate this site. We are just as passionate about our thoughts and beliefs as anyone else. I agree that we get carried away sometimes when we should be setting the example.
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Respectfully,
Adam
Jokes happen. And I invited everyone. You could have RSVP'd and it would have been ten points for you. But thanks for referencing my blog, because even bad publicity is still publicity.
For those who don't know what Mr. Warbanks is on about, here's a link to the offending blog:
http://www.progressiveu.org/133508-you-are-cordially-inited-my-doomsday-...
You're all invited, so please RSVP and tell us what post-apocalyptic song you want on Wombels' playlist (he's DJing).
http://www.progressiveu.org/blog/ediblewoman
I am glad you decided to respond, because although your blog was humorous.......it was not of anything substanative.......progressively.....
ediblewoman.....people on this site "like" you. You are a popular person on this site. And I think it has to do with your personal views, which is no fault of your own. However it does bring to light the way people interact with each other.
So ediblewoman, the next time you feel as if those in the "REAL WORLD" do not understand your plights as a homosexual, it is not because you are a bad person or the others are bad people, but because there are no politically popular "gay" people.
Hence, Pro-U's hidden agenda
popularize homosexuality
"my first name must be, "He aint sh@t", cause everytime I come through, yall be like "He aint sh@t"!....I'll be dat" --Redman
"Anything that can go wrong, Will go wrong"----Murphy's Law
I don't like ediblewoman because of her personal views. I like her because she is interesting, a gifted writer who cares about helping others (like children), and can be really funny sometimes.
Nothing wrong with a humorous blog, even if it isn't some big issue. Just, not all the time.
"Don't blame me. I voted for Kodos."
Homer Simpson
Ok.
I need to point out a few things to you. As a moderator here, who has only been around since the last contest, I can honestly say that the moderators do not, "have a hidden agenda."
It's the responsibility of the users to vote for blogs. The moderators have the same weight for their votes as anyone else does.
Also, I think if you read my blogs you'll find me to be practically an anti-liberal. The moderators here have just as much right to speak their mind as anyone else; you can't be unfair and expect us to have no opinions of our own. Simply because many of us have similar views does not mean that we are trying to push them, use our 'power' on the site to force them upon others, or that every moderator has the same views on every topic. Many other moderators could strongly disagree with my views, while some agree with many of the things I say.
Here are some of the blogs I wrote, which are most decidedly NOT liberal, and yet I was still invited to join the faculty at the end of the contest:
http://www.progressiveu.org/103818-i-do-not-support-the-jena-6
http://www.progressiveu.org/102850-universal-healthcare-is-a-sham
http://www.progressiveu.org/015719-if-you-do-not-support-the-iraq-war-yo...
http://www.progressiveu.org/031426-fiscally-responsible-sex
http://www.progressiveu.org/142605-stop-discrimination-against-the-poor
http://www.progressiveu.org/221625-the-women-of-iraq
In addition, blogs on the site which are not progressive may be posted, but we will not count them towards the contest. For example, if I blog about my boyfriend and omg how he totally bought me flowers the other day and he's sooooooo hot, and then I am one of the people with the highest points, when the moderators go through every one of my blogs and comments before they announce the winner, they will take points out for that blog. I probably wouldn't get even close anyway.
It bothers me that you would post an entire blog attacking the Faculty just because you are angry that many people here support / are not outraged by homosexuals. The fact that this blog has not been deleted by us Evil Moderators With A Hidden Agenda should speak for itself.
Thank you for keeping my hidden agenda secret. You know the fact that I am the Evil Plankton and I am planning world domination. @-)
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Respectfully,
Adam
The Invisible Pink Unicorn eats Evil Plankton for breakfast. Mmmm... crunchy and salty.
: )
*takes a deep breath* This might be rather long...
I absolutely hate the fact that only 2-3 people are getting on the highest rated blogs list. So much that I'll go and vote DOWN blogs on the highest rated list, so that others will pop up. Unfortunately, so many OTHER people vote for those particular bloggers that the next ones are usually by those bloggers as well, and my vote doesn't make that much of a difference.
I also personally love a good debate. Heck, engkatiemarie and I got into some HUGE debates last contest because we're on opposite sides of the political spectrum. If everyone here agreed and thought the same thing, what would be the point in posting ideas?
If you see a faculty member personally attack someone, flag them.
Personally, I deal with about half of the e-mails that come to us, ranging from people wanting their accounts deleted to people giving us opportunities to review books and so forth. I also deal with a lot of the bonus point opportunities. For the two currently going on, I have to go through and read every single entry to make sure it fits within the rules. Then, I get the chance to attempt to go through and deal with the things people flagged. By the time I get all that done, I barely have a chance to go through the blogs I've already responded to to see what else has been said. With something like 100 new blogs per day, I just can't keep up, and many of the other mods feel the same. Thus, I browse through titles to find ones that I might find interesting. I'm not a big political person, so I tend to avoid those blogs. They might be good, but that doesn't mean I'm automatically going to read them.
Then, don't write about them. Some people can draw a ton from their own experience, especially on topics like eating disorders. Others don't have such experiences, so they focus on other things. I don't usually write about personal frustrations, but I still get a fair number of reads on each of the blogs I make (at least, on my own account... no one seems to pay much attention to the column I'm busy trying to put together).
I've actually seen a number of blogs on these topics. If you want to discuss them more, why don't you try commenting on some of the older blogs. Typically, people who have already commented will be more willing to talk to you in that case. In fact, one of my old blogs has gotten most of it's comments in the past couple days because one person commented on it.
On the contrary. We hate seeing anyone who follows the rules leave. And it is sad to see a number of blogs go by unnoticed. That's why last contest, we had a bonus point opportunity to find old blogs and comment on them. We're looking to do the same thing this contest, just in a slightly different way, as the last one we did was a mess.
Now, if you have any real suggestions for change, feel free to shoot us an e-mail - info[at]progressiveu.org.
~C
Check out the latest entry in the Between The Lines column!
Want the highest rated list to change? RATE those blogs, then!
If you see a faculty member personally attack someone, flag them.
not that I have a complaint, but I'm curious because I don't think I answered correctly on the scavenger hunt.
Who do you email to send a complaint about a moderator to?
http://www.progressiveu.org/blog/sawaboof
"...There is a crushing guilt that comes with being a Catholic. Whether things are good or bad or you're simply... eating tacos in the park, there is always the crushing guilt."
-30 Rock-
info[at]progressiveu.org, or flag-abuse[at]progressiveu.org, or editors[at]progressiveu.org. They all go to the same place...
~C
Check out the latest entry in the Between The Lines column!
Want the highest rated list to change? RATE those blogs, then!
By the time you have run out of "gay hate" speeches the country will be run by John McCain aka BUSH the SEQUAL
I've never met Bush, and I don't really want to, but I have met John McCain a few times. His kids too. They are good people. While not my candidate of choice, I am fairly certain he is not BUSH the SEQUAL. Rest easy.
http://www.progressiveu.org/blog/sawaboof
"...There is a crushing guilt that comes with being a Catholic. Whether things are good or bad or you're simply... eating tacos in the park, there is always the crushing guilt."
-30 Rock-