Why am I blocked from commenting on a folio?

ashmedi · October 18th, 2021 11:23 PM

I just tried commenting on Today's contributor... Nothing was wrong with the comment but it didn't post...
I tried again and this time I copied the content of a comment that was already there which was not blocked or flagged for any reason, and that comment was also blocked...

So, please explain why both of my comments were flagged and blocked when neither violates any rules and neither comment could be considered as objectionable...

Miss_Katia · October 19th, 2021 08:38 AM

Hi Ash, I had a look into this and did some testing on my end however no issues arose. I would give it 24hrs to see if it resolves itself behind the scenes as sometimes there are technical glitches that randomly show up. If problem still arises after 24hrs let me know and I will investigate further.

Following up:
What folio was is? This issue could be localised to that one particular folio.

And what was the comment? If there was use of the word girly it would have been blocked, if that's the case please refer to this: https://ishotmyself.com/punbb/viewtopic.php?id=3290

Last edited by Miss_Katia (October 19th, 2021 08:46 AM)

ashmedi · October 19th, 2021 10:53 AM

Earlier this year I had 2 comments flagged and blocked about a week apart... It only took Viva a few minutes to check the dbase record for my posts, and determine which word triggered the Artificial Intelligence had a problem with... AI can not read and is actually stupid... In both cases, Viva told me the word in each, turned the flag off, and my post was posted exactly as I had typed it because there was nothing wrong...

BTW, I was a computer tech since 1985 until I retired 26 years later so I understand and taught beginning users how to use the hardware and software so I have a working knowledge of many aspects...

The 2 posts were to Piper's folio...
The first comment that was flagged said "Very Nice..." Which of those words is so offensive or insulting that the AI would react...
The second comment that was flagged said "AMAZING - All of it." Same question, which word is the offensive one?
The simple answer is that none of those 6 words are in the list so AI did not flag me, somebody else did...

And dbase info does not disappear so I am real confused why you can't see those 2 dbase records with the data field and an unknown number of additional fields to record any flags that were set etc... Viva had no problem locating the previous 2...
Now if somebody tried deleting the records, they would disappear from sight, but an admin with higher permissions than you could find those records and determine exactly why my posts were flagged, blocked, and are mow missing...

Miss_Katia · October 19th, 2021 11:23 AM

ashmedi wrote:

Earlier this year I had 2 comments flagged and blocked about a week apart... It only took Viva a few minutes to check the dbase record for my posts, and determine which word triggered the Artificial Intelligence had a problem with... AI can not read and is actually stupid... In both cases, Viva told me the word in each, turned the flag off, and my post was posted exactly as I had typed it because there was nothing wrong...
BTW, I was a computer tech since 1985 until I retired 26 years later so I understand and taught beginning users how to use the hardware and software so I have a working knowledge of many aspects...
The 2 posts were to Piper's folio...
The first comment that was flagged said "Very Nice..." Which of those words is so offensive or insulting that the AI would react...
The second comment that was flagged said "AMAZING - All of it." Same question, which word is the offensive one?
The simple answer is that none of those 6 words are in the list so AI did not flag me, somebody else did...
And dbase info does not disappear so I am real confused why you can't see those 2 dbase records with the data field and an unknown number of additional fields to record any flags that were set etc... Viva had no problem locating the previous 2...
Now if somebody tried deleting the records, they would disappear from sight, but an admin with higher permissions than you could find those records and determine exactly why my posts were flagged, blocked, and are mow missing...

Like I outlined - I looked into it. The comments you said you posted did not come through on my end so I can not tell you exactly why it was flagged and could only assume.

Someone with a different user name to yours commented "AMAZING - All of it" did come through. So unless you have two accounts, I am putting it down to a glitch, as another comment you posted just now worked fine.

Thanks Ash.

ashmedi · October 19th, 2021 11:59 AM

As I posted in my original post, as soon as my first comment was flagged and blocked, and my system behavior told me it was blocked, my second comment was a deliberate copied Logstrp's post because his 4 words had already posted meaning AI had no problem, and when those same 4 words were flagged when I tried to post them, it proved AI was not the culprit playing games with my profile... Basic problem solving...

No, I do not need a second account, I already have accounts at every Feck site and none ever lapse...
I am already doing my part to keep Feck up and running...

redbird · October 20th, 2021 12:46 PM

Ashmedi I can assure you that your comments have not been blocked. I also checked to see if I could find what the issue is, and there's no indication that your comment has been quarantined or deleted etc. Short of getting our IT person to look into the code of the website, there's not a lot we can do on our end for this particular issue unfortunately. Hopefully it will sort itself out and you can comment on the folios with no issue. I can see that your "Red is your colour..." comment on Piper_R's folio was successful so perhaps the issue is resolved?

I don't know if you remember, but at the end of 2019 there was an odd bug where if Mori91a commented on a post in the forum, that thread would then be unusable. I know this is a different issue, but it could just be that your comments on those specific folios just wouldn't register or something. It sucks, and it's annoying for sure, but it doesn't appear to be something that is just a quick fix like the previous instances you mentioned wherein Viva could just go into admin and sort it out.

You have indeed been a long term and vocal supporter of the sites, and it is with due respect that I please ask you to have a closer look at how this post could come across as somewhat rude. It's unfair to bring up that - "It only took Viva a few minutes to check the dbase record for my posts, and determine which word triggered the Artificial Intelligence had a problem with..." when Miss_Katia has done the exact same thing as Viva can and would do in the situation and has given you a reply informing you of what she has found. Again, I'm really sorry that you couldn't post on the folios you wanted to, and I understand your frustration, but please consider the fact that we are indeed people with feelings who are trying to help sort out your issue as best we can.

You are very respectful towards the contributors and I ask that you extend the same courtesy to the admins. This is a personal request, as I've known you around these parts since I was very first on here in 2008, and it breaks my heart a little to see this from you if I'm being honest.

I hope you're doing okay during these difficult times.

ashmedi · October 22nd, 2021 10:01 AM

Hey Redbird…
Sorry to be so late responding, it’s been a bad few days, and I was trying to decide how to answer, also sorry you got dragged in…

For my complete life, more than 6 decades, I have always tried to be courteous and supportive to my female friends, acquaintances, neighbours, work mates etc… For that entire time I have used the word girl in thousands and thousands of verbal and written comments which were meant to be uplifting and feel good comments which were supposed to put a smile on the face of the recipient and create a warm feeling in her heart… At no time was there any type of offensive or insulting message being delivered…

I have posted those same types of messages containing that same word on the Feck sites for around 17 years… At no time was I ever advised by any Admin, staff, or contributor that my comments were offensive, and at no time have any of the thousands and thousands of female friends from work, web sites, numerous forums, neighbours, school, and or relatives ever told me the words were offensive or insulting… Hundreds of female Facebook friends have responded with hearts and virtual hugs to comments containing the offensive girl word…

It is a sad irony that those same words I always felt were uplifting, positive and doing good things are returning as the final nails in my coffin…

Two days ago this site posted a thread called Girl vs Woman which made it crystal clear how they viewed anybody who referred to adult females as a girl… Suddenly my own feel good memories of thousand and thousands of my platonic interactions disappeared in a cloud of smoke and were replaced by thoughts as to how many of those female friends were offended or insulted or damaged, and said nothing…

I have no hard feelings toward the site or the author, they have the right to do what they think is right, but it certainly has caused me to evaluate my life and wonder if it was all just a waste of my time, and my useless future with a shattered reputation, assuming I even had one for starters… and I need to determine what Ashmedi’s future will be…

Miss_Katia, I have been admonished by Redbird for my curt attitude and rude remarks, and of course she is absolutely correct, My behaviour was wrong and not called for, and I do apologize, it will not happen again…

Redbird, You are one of the thousands I may have offended and insulted with my comments containing that word, please believe me, there was only complimentary and feel good thoughts that were intended…

I am not planning on commenting any further on this thread and am letting it die a natural death…

Edited addition made Oct 24...
-----------------------------------------

Redbird: I said I would not post any further on this thread so this is the only way I can answer you, but unfortunately, unless someone tells you this is here, you probably won't ever see it...

I did read your response of Oct 21st, many times in fact, and I understand what I did to you and where you are coming... I deeply regret the negative effect I had on you, and I know that that can never be undone...
As I age, so does the ages of the women in my dreams and thoughts, and for the record, this year I posted four separate threads on the BA Forums to laud Rosalie, #5210, who is 70 years of age because she is remarkable and magical... Never have I posted more than one thread before about any other artist...

I am sorry for the hurt I caused, and I wish you, and all the others, the best... Have a good life Redbird...

End of Edited additional information
--------------------------------------------------------

I hope somebody does notice this and let Redbird know so that she knows her answer was read and respected...

Last edited by ashmedi (October 25th, 2021 12:09 PM)

redbird · October 22nd, 2021 12:43 PM

Hi ashmedi, thank you for your reply. I'm sorry you're not feeling great at the moment. Existential dread (and even just musings) can take its toll on you for sure. I hope you get some clarity and relief soon though. Do you have things you like doing to help alleviate some of this? Sometimes you need to treat yourself like a close friend who's feeling shit and find nice things to soothe and distract. It's a temporary solution of course, but as someone with MANY intrusive thoughts, watching/listening to/playing something can help immensely. I get that if you're right in it though then it's a little bit more difficult.

I had a suspicion that your post was more of a response to the Girl VS Woman post, rather than the fact that you couldn't comment on some folios. Going by your latest reply, it sounds like you were somewhat blindsided by this information, which I must say is quite surprising. Even if no one has told you this before, surely it wouldn't be a stretch to imagine being a woman and feeling the condescending tone that comes from being referred to as "girl"? Especially when you haven't been one for a very long time. Would you feel comfortable with people calling you and your male peers "boy"? Outside of saying it as a joke, it never really occurs to me to refer to an adult by the word used for a child (I also absolutely detest "baby" for the same reason). I'm honestly not coming for you on this topic, but I think with anything like this, it's always worth reassessing things you say, think, or do, and putting in the time to (respectfully) ask questions or even just google things. I'm constantly doing it, and sometimes I still mess up but it's all part of the learning experience. Words and language and their meaning change constantly and something that would fly once, doesn't necessarily anymore.

ashmedi wrote:

I have posted those same types of messages containing that same word on the Feck sites for around 17 years… At no time was I ever advised by any Admin, staff, or contributor that my comments were offensive, and at no time have any of the thousands and thousands of female friends from work, web sites, numerous forums, neighbours, school, and or relatives ever told me the words were offensive or insulting… Hundreds of female Facebook friends have responded with hearts and virtual hugs to comments containing the offensive girl word…

I can say with all certainty that in my particular case, I've never liked being called girl, and especially not from strangers. Specifically pointing out "Hey, I don't like this" as a woman is a lot more difficult than you might realise though. Years of misogynistic opinions and societal expectations placed on us means that calling out things like this and objecting to it places us in a position of dismissal and derision (especially on the internet). "Uggghhhh...you can't say ANYTHING anymore without women getting offended" etc etc. Being a contributor to these sites means that if we say something to someone like - "Hey, can you please not call me girl?" it potentially affects how subscribers see us. It's not crazy to imagine someone being offended at the contributor's offense and thinking - "Well fuck her then. Precious snowflake. It's the last time I'll click on one of her folios!". Personally for me, there's also this sense of not wanting to bring the mood down on someone's comment by pointing out these things. With you in particular, I've known you for so long in these forums that it got to the point where I felt uncomfortable pointing it out, especially because I know how much this site means to you.

I know you said you would just let this post rest, and that's completely fine and understandable, I just hope you read this at least so you get where we are coming from, and that for me specifically I was primarily upset that my co-worker was being treated poorly. I understand that you never meant any offense, and to do so would upset you greatly (as it clearly has) but it's also part of growing and learning. You are a valued and loyal member of the site and I sincerely hope you are okay.

Head · October 29th, 2021 10:30 AM

Ashmedi the system is very simple and it doesn't use 'AI'. There is a basic list of key words and posts containing those are flagged for Katia to check before they go live. It's an old system, it may be buggy, though when I was moderating it it worked 100%. If your post doesn't contain those words, and I don't imagine any do, it should go live immediately and if it doesn't, there was a data dropout or something like that. Finding old comments is very difficult and time consuming and we don't have time to go backwards through 100's of comments - but if you know the artists' name it's much easier.

By the way the system sometimes gets slipped up, for eg one of the flag words is 'fat' so if your post includes say 'fatigue' or 'fate' then it'll get flagged, so it won't go up right away.

Hope this helps.

#1 October 18th, 2021 11:23 PM

Why am I blocked from commenting on a folio?

#2 October 19th, 2021 08:38 AM

Re: Why am I blocked from commenting on a folio?

#3 October 19th, 2021 10:53 AM

Re: Why am I blocked from commenting on a folio?

#4 October 19th, 2021 11:23 AM

Re: Why am I blocked from commenting on a folio?

#5 October 19th, 2021 11:59 AM

Re: Why am I blocked from commenting on a folio?

#6 October 20th, 2021 12:46 PM

Re: Why am I blocked from commenting on a folio?

#7 October 22nd, 2021 10:01 AM

Re: Why am I blocked from commenting on a folio?

#8 October 22nd, 2021 12:43 PM

Re: Why am I blocked from commenting on a folio?

#9 October 29th, 2021 10:30 AM

Re: Why am I blocked from commenting on a folio?

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