I need clarification on why a post was pulled and a topic closed

A few days ago I posted an article from Next Avenue* about older people, which it seems like many on this board are, overdosing on cannabis. I labeled it as off-topic, but there are many OT posts about health on this board. Others followed up with posts cannabis related to health issues as well. When the post was pulled I made a joke about plants that make bees happy, another OT thread on the board, being okay on TMF but plants that make people happy not okay. The comments continued and today the thread was closed and archived.

Why?

There have been many more heated discussions here. There have been protracted discussions of various dietary health issues. There have been many prescription drug and OTC drug topics here. What made that one get singled out by TMF for censorship? Are all discussions of cannabis, which is and is likely to be going forward a growing industry, going to be censored here and on other TMF boards?

I do not like getting my post pulled and threads closed. I would really like an answer.

  • Next Avenue is a nonprofit, digital journalism publication produced by Twin Cities PBS (TPT). As public media’s first and only national publication for older adults, we are dedicated to covering the issues that matter most as we age.

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You need to become more opaque in your posting.

I had a post that got flagged about a week ago on Norway, Ireland and Spain recognizing a Palestinian State. Smooth sailing once I changed “Palestine” to “a small stateless area in the Middle East”.

I would change “cannabis” to “a controversial Class III drug”

We’re all starting to learn how to co-exist with our AI robot overlords.

intercst

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FWIW, my 76-year old MIL has a number of compression fractures in her back, which are not fixable and cause her extreme pain. She does not respond well to opioid-based drugs, but does get relief from a balm made from a controversial Class III drug. She also has difficulty sleeping, which has not been helped by conventional pharmaceuticals, but gummies derived from the same drug have worked well.

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It’s off topic and the original post was pulled but people kept responding so it was closed. Feel free to report all off topic posts, we’ll close those too.

Question: By board vote, off topic posts are allowed on METAR as long as they are labeled OT.

Are you saying that off-topic posts are no longer allowed?

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I think what is happening here is they are trying to close down the Free side of the Motley Fool. Off topic or on topic.

Andy

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Pretty sure that’s the case.

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Welp, it would be nice if they could get the pick scoring corrected. Getting people to pay money for censored content and crap analytics doesn’t seem like a good business decision.

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I just got a TMF email about that Loundon County VA Tech firm. I changed it to a “Light Shade-Only” job posting.

intercst

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Maybe we can start a TMF Reddit Group after TMF closes down? I noticed that Reddit has a thriving DirtyDave group that critiques Dave Ramsey. {{ LOL }}

intercst

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I flagged your post with this comment.

“This post by some one in authority does not address the questions raised and is off topic. Please pull it.”

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Had I not labeled it as OT, it would have been fine?

Are health issues of an aging population a macroeconomic issue?

Please clarify.

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It’s still off topic and would have been pulled when/if reported or seen.

I’m saying off topic posts will be pulled when reported or seen, yes.

Please define acceptable topics, and explain why health issues affecting an aging population are not a macroeconomic issue.

Am I speaking with a human or an AI? I am getting very AI feelings, ELIZA.

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Nice job of newspeak.

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My post on this thread was taken down -

“This could include profanity (including masked profanity), politics or insulting other members.”

I wish they’d actually describe the exact reason topics and posts are taken down. Lots of OT posts remain up, other are taken down. No room for cannabis talk on this thread.

https://www.reddit.com/r/macroeconomics/
https://www.shrewdm.com/MB

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I wouldn’t knock the Fool on this. It is endemic on the internet. Standard forum protocol. There’s another forum I visit that will arbitrarily ding you. You ask “Why?” so like maybe next time you know what not to do and they crank it up and refer to “terms” without citation. So, it’s a way to not answer the Q. Then they accuse you of trolling. Different sites have sightly different temperments but the rule is the same.

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So lemme get this straight…

  • a discussion board
  • ostensibly about macroeconomics
  • deems content related to a drug
  • that is legal in a majority of states
  • and has created state/local dependency on sales for tax revenue
  • and is now exhibiting unexpected public health consequences
  • as off-topic?

For the life of me, I cannot follow the thinking behind this. And I’m not sure it’s worth my time pondering it before posting.

WTH

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I am pretty sure you have attacked me or Insulted me in some sort of way. Let’s just see how long your post stays up.

Andy

1 Like