Well, he never was all that bright.

zettel's profile says he was invited by Jamal.

Jamal runs the invite requests by us in the mod forum. It keeps numbers more manageable and spammers out but offers no other guarantees.

I did not mean to insinuate anything about vetting; Just curious about what looked interesting.

:up:

Fish in the sea, you know how I feel
River running free, you know how I feel
Blossom on the tree, you know how I feel
It's a new dawn
It's a new day
It's a new life for me
And I'm feeling good. — Nina Simone

Fish in the sea, you know how I feel
River running free, you know how I feel
Blossom on the tree, you know how I feel
It's a new dawn
It's a new day
It's a new life for me
And I'm feeling good.
— Nina Simone — unenlightened

:death: :flower:

I banned @Agent Smith for refusing moderation. Having deleted several of his low quality posts yesterday, I gave up and told him publicly to stop. He replied with a snickering emoji and, when I deleted that, with “Stop stalking me! :snicker:”.

Knowing that he is generally good-natured, I would not have banned him just for that had it not come after years of warnings and suspensions, and several private conversations. I had to delete many of his low quality comments every day. The staff discussed his case several times and we were generally in agreement.

We went out of our way to keep him here, but he just couldn’t do what we asked him to. I even created temporary suspensions primarily so that we didn’t have to ban him.

The forum is not a chat room. Outside of the Shoutbox and the Lounge, posts should be substantial and relevant.

A sad day at TPF. Another old timer bites the dust, and it feels bad. I respect it, though.

I can add that I even messaged him privately with some advice only a week or so ago, which he seemed to appreciate. It’s too bad, he was a very affable person. But this decision was cut and dry and I’m glad it’s over with.

We went out of our way to keep him here, — Jamal

I appreciate the effort. I don't envy you the balancing act you have to perform.

Yes, I should underline that I echo this sentiment.

:up: I'll miss him.

I will miss him too, because he was distinct and unique. I think that he probably just got carried away at times, probably as a result of not having enough outlets to express himself.

Unfortunate, was an affable member and probably a cool person in real life. Right decision, but I wish him well anyhow if he's reading this.

I think his character was a little like the one described in:

Alas, the hundred acre wood will be a quieter sadder place without Tigger. But there will be more strengthening medicine for the rest of us.

Shrouded in the exhalations from his Gauloise, he is difficult to see. He was not arrogant, however. Ever elusive but not mean spirited. He will be unique amongst the banned, hopefully guided by a friendly Virgil.

He was super nice but standards and all that.

Well said, but who's Virgil? — praxis

If Virgil was Dante's guide, Agent Smith was our Jiminy Cricket...

RIP, Agent Smith. Your enthusiasm and wit will be missed.

Who the HELL am I gonna ask if they agree (or the opposite of agree) with something now???

I had to delete many of his low quality comments every day. The staff discussed his case several times and we were generally in agreement.

We went out of our way to keep him here, but he just couldn’t do what we asked him to. — Jamal

I sometimes (but more often not) enjoyed interaction with Agent Smith. I completely agree that flagrantly causing extra work for the moderators is intolerable, and that's a principle with no exceptions regardless of the rationale.

Knowing that he is generally good-natured — Jamal

I thought his posts had some low-quality problems, but he generally had good intuitions and observations that he shared with deep honesty and curiosity.

He could be annoying sometimes, but I never saw anything with toxicity or anything like that. For that alone, I think most of us could learn something about attitudes online.

I wish him well on his future knowledge journey.

I do think that his banning will probably be more of a loss to the site than anything. Of course,I am sure that he had his bad moments, as we all do and wrote posts which are not one's best. Standards are important, but it does depend how they are seen and whether it is simply measured according to academic ones.

As it is, many users on the site are alone in rooms, reaching out to other people, so I do wonder if this needs to be taken into consideration rather than the site emphasising quality in every single post. As it was, it may be that Agent Smith did write many posts and threads which were of quality and it seems sad that such a significant contributor Is excluded forever more. I am sure that some of his posts were a challenge for moderators, but it may be that only keeping those who conform to the norms and standards are about maintaining the bland and status quo in philosophy, rather than being open to innovation and creative expression and juxtaposition of ideas.

I think the main problem is that there was an overweight of low-quality posts and just single-word / single-sentence contributions without the necessary depth required by this forum. "Low-quality" can be ok in moderate numbers, especially in a rapid back-and-forth discussion, but if the majority amount is only that, then it is understandable a ban is an outcome as it's one of the forum's main rules. As Jamal says, this forum is not a chat room, it requires a bit more effort in discussions.

I do agree with you, but it probably also remains an issue for the site in general, where many write such short posts, with one line remarks and emoticons. It isn't an academic site, but, sometimes, there seems to be so much which is shallow and lacking in philosophical depth in discussion. It is so complex on a site which is neither a chit chat one or one of formal academic philosophy, and Agent Smith's contributions may draw attention to this dilemma.

I do agree with you, but it probably also remains an issue for the site in general, where many write such short posts, with one line remarks and emoticons. It isn't an academic site, but, sometimes, there seems to be so much which is shallow and lacking in philosophical depth in discussion. It is so complex on a site which is neither a chit chat one or one of formal academic philosophy, and Agent Smith's contributions may draw attention to this dilemma. — Jack Cummins

I agree with this, but I think the moderators have done a good job making a place where the rules are not so tight or enforced so strictly that they exclude non-standard approaches to philosophical subjects but not so loose as to allow low-quality writing to overwhelm the good stuff. I don't think it's an easy balance.

I do think that his banning will probably be more of a loss to the site than anything. — Jack Cummins

I think it's more of a loss to him than anything - and I don't mean that in a dismissive way. TheMadFool/Agent was one of the oldest members of this forum (not sure if he was on its predecessor), and he spent most of his waking life here, as far as I could see. That's going to be a big hole to fill.

As it is, many users on the site are alone in rooms, reaching out to other people — Jack Cummins

Yes, that's what I was thinking. But the owner and administrators of the forum would like it to be more than just a social club (yet it is that, too). There are other places that are more suitable for that purpose.