EDIT: This post has been edited to remove the persons name that I mentioned because of all of the horrible comments Laura made. The person I mentioned should not have their reputation effected by how Laura acts.
Today I tried to put a one star rating on a video on YouTube and could not. Instead the ratings are at 4 stars and are disabled.
What??? Someone on YouTube is keeping a high star rating without letting anyone else rate their opinion on the video… Bad etiquette. It seems to me like this is a way to game the ratings and make a videos rating look good.
So I figured I’d ask about it in the comments if they will allow ratings and my comment is now stuck in moderation. Lets see if I get a response. Well, here is the video I tried to rate:
6 Now Is A Good Moment, Suffering Is In Mind, Monkey Mind
I did not like the video. I wanted to click my opinion by rating the video. I was denied that chance. Unfortunately this is the way YouTube is set up and this user seems like they are gaming the system to keep a high star rating. I call attention to this because I think it is a bad practice.
Even more bad practice, it looks like all of her videos have the same rating scam on them:
Of all the videos of hers I clicked on none let me rate them. All had 5 stars and as you can see only a few ratings on each.
Bad bad bad.
Haha, what’s sad is that the system allows this. It’s just as bad as Twitter allowing you to change usernames. Now I’m totally gonna go try this, because I have to see it first hand, heh.
I can tell by the title that I will not like that video. Maybe everyone should comment on the same video asking for ratings to be open I’d do it. This is dishonest and deceitful.
This reminds me of record companies “buying” their own product to boost their SoundScan numbers. It’s all very sneaky!
Even though YouTube’s system allows for it, however, this kind of cheating won’t necessarily propel anyone into stardom. Locking in three 5-star ratings won’t do anything, because you have to log actual numbers in large quantities to earn any kind of honors on your video.
Locking your ratings to present a false image is definitely sketch. But hey, at least “nobody is mugging you”.
Yeah, that’s garbage. 4,000 views and 3 ratings, all of them high. :/
All of her ratings would be closer to ONE star if she had let the other 3,997 people vote.
A better design for YouTube would be to drop the current rating all together for those that turn off ratings. I would hope their current algorithm at least takes into account the ratio of ratings to views when it decides what’s highly rated. But at least no one is mugging you.
I don’t even look at the ratings. There is so much social networking confetti on YouTube that I don’t even see it anymore. I watch videos that I’m searching for or that friends like you suggest.
The rating system is irrelevant.
Dude, seems as though she’s not quite as free spirited as she wants to be seen.
You better watch your back!!!! Those images you used for this discussion are copyrighted!!!!!!
test
Chuck Smith is testing comments.
Wow, is this for real?
tesing comments now, since they have been disabled and people with differing views have not been able to post
Thank you, this is more like it. I have been trying to post for days and your website has consistently not allowed any other posts besides ones you have allowed. Only after three emails to you requesting that you open this discussion up to the true public so we can have a real conversation about ratings instead of the one sided manipulation you have attempted to accomplish with this posting. I constantly received a flag every time I tried to post since you shut it down after all the one sided views were posted and then you were afraid to let other differing views in. This is what I got every time I tried to post since you closed it: “The post you are trying to comment on does not currently exist in the database.” Notice that all the posts were made within a few hours on Dec 24th, and then nothing. This smacks of an email sent out to a bunch of friends who you encouraged to come comment who agree with you, and then you closed it tight so no one else can post or “rate” your discussion. That is bogus, especially since you are addressing that issue with some youtube channel who didn’t allow you to rate or post a comment, which is their right as per youtube. Then you let your friend John post something on Dec 26th and again it was shut tight. So have you not done exactly what you are accusing others of? Many people who we have encouraged to come to your site and post have experienced the same flag, so don’t try to play innocent like you didn’t manipulate the conversation by closing it to differing views. We have lots of proof that you made it impossible for anyone to post after John did, and you also made it impossible during the time period between the 24th and the 26th, and now the posts are going to come pouring in. So what does that say about you? You have manipulated your “ratings,” you disabled comments, and didn’t allow a true conversation or public opinion to take place, which is the very thing you are complaining about with people on youtube who don’t allow you to rate their videos or make a comment without approval. So therefore, you are guilty of the very thing you accused the youtube channel of. Hello! You’re busted!
Laura, I’m sorry you think I closed the comments. I did not and have never and never will close comments on my blog.
Please do not accuse me of something I did not do.
Right, sure. There are a lot of people who have tried to post and the site was closed to all posts. Yeah, sure. Well I’m glad you opened it up again so we can have an honest conversation and you aren’t guilty anymore of the very thing you are accusing others of.
Damn, where’d all the tinfoil come from?
/smirk
So why are these comments not on your front page anymore so that people can see the whole conversation instead of just your point of view? These comments were all on your front page yesterday, now you have relegated them to some back page and left only your opinion on the front page. That seems like a manipulation of the conversation, doesn’t it? What are you trying to do in the search engine with that. It seems like you are trying to do something sneaky, huh? Would it be your version of manipulating ratings and search engine results based on your intent to harm the site you are trying to slam?
I see you have also removed the copyrighted images you were using, since your friend John warned you about it on the 26th. He has also used our videos without permission and is in the process of trying to launch a slanderfest through you and other sites because he is being asked to honor the Fair Rights Act appropriately and refrain from copyright infringement. Let’s just get right to it. That’s what this is all really about. You posted this on your PR 5 ranking page so that you can slam someone who asked your friend to honor copyrights, otherwise, this wouldn’t be on your front page, would it? You seem to be about photography, right? So what is all this junk about some youtube channel doing on your front page with a PR 5? What exactly is it you are trying to do? John has said he was going to enlist his friends to start a slander fest, and here you are in this post and other posts within hours of his threat beginning the slander. You are definitely friends, given the nature of your posts together, so what’s in it for you to slam some youtube channel your friend is mad at? You must be getting somehting out if it to disrupt your biz and put some negative garbage on the front page, right? Let’s get right to the heart of the matter. This isn’t about ratings. This is about you and John Holden getting all up in arms about someone requiring him to honor copyrighted videos. And no, the Fair Use Act does NOT cover use of an entire video, the rule of thumb is 3 second clips, not five minutes worth of video that you simply mix yourself into. So let’s talk about that since that is where your post about ratings is really coming from.
Eric, you nailed it. I must have manipulated the database to show errors only for people who want to leave negative comments!
Laura, again I must refer to the ducks. Please place them in a row, line them up, them come to me with your comments.
To address your concern with comments on my front page, please go to the bottom of any page on my website and you will find a link to the wordpress theme I use. If you take that and install it on any wordpress website you will find that the front page never shows comments. Oh and neither do most, if not any, wordpress installs and themes. A little bit if duck herding would have shown you that I never have had comments visible on my front page.
I’ll try to figure out what PR 5 is and get back to you about that…
You are the first person on my website to relate this post to John. What are you trying to pull here? I never mentioned him on my blog, this post has nothing to do with him.
I will repeat myself, this post has nothing to do with John.
I’ll say it a different way, John has nothing to do with this post.
If anyone has any proof of this post dealing with John please leave a comment, otherwise I will ignore any discussion regarding John on this blog post.
Yeah, right, sure it has nothing to do with John, sure you don’t know what a PR 5 is, sure you didn’t have it on your front page. I have a screen shot of it, dear! Our ducks are lined up because you posted the comments on your front page by copying and pasting them, and that is why there was no way anyone can post to them. Now you put it back in the place it was supposed to be so that people can post. So here we are, proof in the pudding. You are guilty of what you accuse others of hands down.
You know what Page Rank 5 is so don’t give me that. No one gets their homepage to PR 5 by accident, it takes a lot of effort and knowledge to get there. We all know what Google Page Ranking is. It gives you the upper hand in search engine results because you managed to get a lot of links pointing at your site. Your site is way too internet saavy and well built with source code and such for you to pull off some innocent little “I don’t know” thing. I wasn’t born yesterday.
As for John, hmmm… let’s see. You and him dialoguing about his pending situation with copyright infringement issues and what he should do about it, you supporting him and encouraging him to fight with us, mentioning our names in your blog with him, and then wihtin hours of his threat to sic his friends on us who he blogs with, there you are with your dig about ratings on the front page of your site using copyrighted images you don’t own, even as you gripe about Podcast using your copyrighted images and not paying you or asking permission. You are guilty of your own accusations there again. Did you realize that there is plank in your eye? Did you ever hear the saying “Pull the plank out of your own eye first before trying to pull the splinter out of someone else’s?” It all adds up, Lan, you can’t hide it. You can repeat it all you want, but the proof is in the pudding in other posts where you and John are pow wowing and in the sheer dates of activities of what you are doing.
So let’s get real. What is it you’re trying to pull here? And how long are you going to devote your precious front page to some manipulative move on your part even as you accuse others of the very thing you are doing?
I’m not exactly sure how to phrase this, but uh, crazy cat lady, what the fuck?
Are you listening, Eric? Open your ears, or use your eyes to read, whatever. Follow the facts, just the facts, and you will find that all that I say is true. You can defend your friend, but he is definitely guilty of all I have described, and you just calling me names makes no difference. It is what it is whether you want to believe it or not. Feel free to remain blind if you want. Or you can see the truth for yourself if you are willing to be objective. However, you are Lan’s friend, obviously, so you’re not willing to know the truth. So be it.
You are making no sense. Lan’s got some post here about some chick on Youtube who figured out how to screw with the ratings. Then, out of the blue, comes your amazing run-on sentence about a half dozen topics, that’s so out of context, some of us are having a hard time following. You don’t have a link on your name, so you could be some hairy troll named Bob.
Who the fuck is John? Who the fuck are you? How the fuck is anyone supposed to know what PR5 is? (And who the fuck haha cares about that broken-ass system anyway?)
What EXACTLY, in a few words, is your issue? Did Lan take something? Did he poison your kitty cat? WHAT?
Talk in concrete terms, not saying such stuff like ‘obviously this and obviously that’.
And where did you see me ‘defend’ my ‘friend’? I think I believe my exact words were ‘what the fuck?’, to which I’ve repeated several times.
What the fuck (exactly) are you talking about? Why don’t you blog this?
Laura,
I am going to open myself up to attack, since that’s what I expect from you after reading your comments so far. I fail to see where anything in this post referred to John up until you mentioned him. I also wonder where you saw comments on the front page of this blog, since it’s set up through WordPress just like many other template based blogs and there isn’t the ability to display these comments there, at least not without some programming. This is how these blogs work, there’s no trickery involved no matter how much you want to see it.
I ALSO wonder how you think Lan was able to corrupt the database for it to give errors to those wishing to post negative comments. You seem to be of the belief that he was doing the same thing that he accused [that person] of, having his “friends” comment on his side, then he closed the discussion with his “database error”, opened it back up for John to post a comment, then closed it again… only to open it up and allow you to freely post anything you wish here. Sounds like he’s a manipulative genius! He held you off until you were really upset then let you come and do as you please… just like every other post he’s made here on this blog. Hold off negative comments for a few days, that’ll teach ‘em!
If you would do your research, you’d see that he has posted on other topics on this blog in the past, and has received negative comments on some of those posts as well. Perhaps he hadn’t learned how to perform his database error trick back then.
You are attacking with no target, and spewing forth accusations… but for what? What is the point? You haven’t addressed AT ALL the issue Lan posted about… but instead brought an entirely separate discussion having to do with John.
Since I honestly and genuinely don’t think you would have any reason to know this… the database error you were getting is somewhat common, from what I’ve seen. I have two blogs, and one of them has problems with comments all the time, with that same error. People have emailed me about it but I can’t reproduce it and can’t fix it… so while I can’t say for sure that whatever problem Lan had with his WordPress blog comments is the same as what I have with mine… I can say with full confidence that he would not be closing discussion on something to not allow negative comments towards him while accusing someone else of the same practice. Especially not to just open it up to those negative comments after a few days.
As for PR 5, “You know what Page Rank 5 is so don’t give me that.” are you kidding? Even after you explained that it means Page Rank 5 I’m not sure I know what it means. Oh look out for the deadly PR 5!!! It’s a master blogger’s most deadly weapon!
This statement, “No one gets their homepage to PR 5 by accident, it takes a lot of effort and knowledge to get there.” by you is either a flat out LIE or is a mere result of your igrorance. I know Lan, I am his brother (there’s the conspiracy disclosure for you), so if he managed to “get there” it didn’t take a lot of effort and/or knowledge on his part.
This whole thing reminds me of a story I heard on the radio last week about Scientologists apparently all using the same tactic when questioned by others who do not follow their beliefs/views. Their response is to accuse blindly, grabbing at anything, randomly calling people child molesters and murderers to steer away from the real conversation. I have no idea if that story is true about them… but it sure seems like you’re putting that tactic to good use here.
I’m sorry if I come off as though I’ve been laughing the whole time I’ve typed this… it’s because I have been. This is a joke. Also… this post isn’t TRULY for you… I don’t expect you to understand/believe anything I’ve said here… it’s for others who might stop by and mistakenly think that you’ve got a point somewhere in there…
And Lan, dude, you should be more careful with your PR 5, you are supposed to use your powers only for good!!!
Whoa, wait hold the phone, PAGE RANK FIVE takes effort? I could sneeze on my monitor and the snot would have that, because well, you know, it’s an IDIOTIC SYSTEM.
I hope you have the receipt for the internet so you can return it to the store.
I am willing to be open to the idea that he has had a database failure, but how come it took three emails and days before he finally opened it back up or even tested it, as he says? How come I have a screenshot of copied and pasted comments on a front page using copyrighted images? You can say whatever you want, the facts are the facts. I know what has happened, so you can be in denial all you want. However, that doesn’t change the facts.
That’s ridiculous about the Scientology people. I’m not even going to address that silly stuff. This has nothing to do with that.
Yes Lan, why don’t you use your powers for good instead of being harmful? Why is it so important to you to slam someone your friend is mad at on your front page when you’re supposedly a photographer looking for work?
By the way, I WILL be addressing the ratings issue, which is what I wanted to do in the first place before Lan manipulated posts and “ratings” to his accusations on the youtube site, shifted his front page around, juggled copyrighted images onto and then off his page, and now has finally opened discussions to people who don’t agree with him. I will put it in my next post, which is all I wanted to do in the first place so that he could understand why spiritual sites aren’t open to being cannon fodder for negative people who just want to rate videos badly or post negative comments just to be mean. Obviously you have places like these to do that instead of right onw someone else’s work. Those videos are there to help people who are hurting or need help or reassurance on their spiritual path. They are not there to give poeple like Lan a place to get his rocks off posting negative stuff just to be mean. That is not their purpose. There are plenty of places people can go to trash someone’s site, and they provide videos for that purpose. Other poeple dont’ play that game. So go and enjoy the sites that allow you to trash them, and leave the ones alone that don’t let you, since that is their right and their perogative. I mean really… what other reason would you have to say something bad or rate a video badly that you didn’t like except to simply be mean? It doesn’t make any sense to piss all over someone’s video, especially if there are lots of people who like it, unless there is the ulterior motive to simply be negative and hostile to someone’s work.
So Laura, you’re saying that it’s these spiritual sites’ right to not allow negative comments but not Lan’s? It’s sorta besides the point I guess, because although you repeatedly mention that Lan “opened discussions” here even AFTER you say you’re willing to be open to the idea that he had database issues… the fact remains that here we are discussing whatever it is we’re discussing, on his blog… if he didn’t want it then it wouldn’t be happening.
You do a lot of assuming things and stating them as fact. You ASSUME Lan is friends with John, with Eric… with anyone who supports what he was saying. You ASSUME that he is using his internet prowess and knowledge to PR 5 the situation. What do you actually know??? It’s not that he had comments enabled on his front page, because that’s bull. Post the screencaps so we can see the proof! I have proof too, proof that you are actually my sister. We should be reunited, you and I, and I have the proof, right here on my desk. But no, I won’t show it, that doesn’t make any sense.
In your 3 emails to Lan that you keep mentioning, did you mention the copyrighted images? And if so, what did you say?
Laura, I don’t know who you are and I have no idea what you were talking about in most of your comments, however if I made a negative comment on that video it wouldn’t be “just to be mean”, it would be because I don’t support false teachings, and I don’t see how it helps anyone to keep people from giving counter opinions. I don’t know about you, but I can defend everything that I believe in. There are reasons besides “being mean” to give something a low rating or state why you don’t like it. That’s not just “trashing”.
I don’t know how you can claim that lots of people like the videos if nobody besides the creator has rated them; are you taking your own survey or something?
He didn’t have the comments POSTED on his front page, he had them copied and pasted. Whatever. I’m not going to argue with you anymore on it, believe what you want. I know what I know, and so do the other people who saw it. And the reason Lan is letting this happen here is because he likes the drama and he realizes he has to put his money where his mouth is if he wants to complain about someone else’s site. He better leave an open discussion or it rather blows his point, now, doesn’t it? It was quite obvious that he was putting out a one sided conversation to anyone who came cruising by, and he looked bad exposing that. Very bad etiquette, Lan. Moving on.
Here are some of the things I wanted to say about the subject before we had to go off on this tangeant.
The rating system is flawed and we will not allow the system to have impact on videos just because there are people who do not understand spiritual teachings, or express hatred or negativity just for the sake of it. There is nothing fair about rating a video badly just because you don’t like the teachings, or you can’t understand it. There is nothing fair about making nasty comments or even cursing or being lewd just because you have nothing better to do than slam other people who are different than you. There is nothing fair about rating videos badly just because you can’t understand what someone is talking about, or you simply don’t agree. Our videos are not mainstream (no spiritual videos are) so it is unrealistic to subject these videos to the larger secular mainstream market that doesn’t like spiritual messages by giving it the opportunity to create a distorted ratings system with “trolls” getting all their friends to gang up on the videos. Spiritual videos are a small niche group of people, and we don’t need the mainstream group barging in and trying to ruin a beautiful thing just because they think its fun to trash spiritual videos. Let the spiritual people have their little tiny corner of youtube in peace. Can’t you do that and live and let live? Why do you feel the need to barge in and piss on other people’s beautiful experience?
These videos are meant to help people, not provide cannon fodder for people who don’t understand spirituality. These videos are not here for the purpose of negative people’s entertainment. Spiritual people tend to be fodder for “trolls” on the internet because spirituality is a small group compared the large group that likes to be negative. The negative sites receive far more visitors and views than any spiritual video channel. Check it out for yourself. Notice the numbers. The spiritual community is very small (not counting the Christian community, of course, they have their niche as well and protect themselves from trolls too). It is a small group that is interested in spiritual stuff. Many people have lots of nasty things to say about everything just because they are negative people. We would rather they just all go and enjoy their favorite negative sites and let the spiritual people have their corner of youtube in peace without spewing negativity all over their videos. They have no idea what spiritual people are talking about because they themselves have never explored spirituality, and if they have, then they don’t get it if they are still practicing harmfulness toward others.
Youtube has provided the right for people to allow or not allow ratings and comments if they find that they don’t want to give people a forum for saying lots of nasty things, and that’s a good thing. Otherwise Youtube would be unbearable for a positive person who isn’t interested in seeing or reading a bunch of nasty comments or ratings when they are trying to find something beautiful to watch. If you don’t like a video, then simply move on. You don’t have to be harmful to the people who made the video. You don’t have to leave nasty ratings or comments, do you? There’s no reason. What’s in it for you? What do you get out of it if you get to leave a nasty comment or nasty rating? Does it make you feel puffed up and proud of yourself? What’s the point except to be a jerk? The world is a great place for all kinds of people, and people who relate to the video will enjoy it, and the people who don’t should just move on and find something they do like.
I personally think youtube should do away with the ratings thing altogether, actually. It isn’t an accurate representation of a person’s work. What one person likes might be something another person doesn’t like, so ratings don’t really work. If you flip around on the TV channel, you just keep flipping to another channel if you don’t like the program. You don’t have the opportunity to trash the program you don’t like, you just move on. That is how youtube should be, I think. I feel that the ratings thing is flawed and doesn’t work. I have watched many videos that I thought were terrific, but other people have totally trashed them and ruined their ratings and ruined the ambience and atmosphere of a good video that was really sweet. Another thing that can happen is that people who don’t like a particular person or video can get their hundreds of friends to gang up on them, and that happens all the time to undo the hard work someone else has done. It really is unfortunate about the ratings system, and thank God youtube has given us all the option to opt out of the whole thing and remove unkind, lewd or rude comments by people who simply don’t resonate with the video and disable ratings. So if you don’t like a video, just move on. You don’t have to hurt the person or people who made it. If you like a video, then enjoy it. If you want to post nasty comments and give bad ratings, then find the people who put their vids up for that purpose. The others who protect themselves, well, you just can’t do anything about that now, can you? Better take it up with Youtube if you have an issue with it. Personally, I think youtube should just get rid of it. It is only a way to be vicious. It is a flawed system, especially when nasty videos tend to always be rated high and kind videos are fodder and get rated low. There’s something wrong with that.
Shannon,
Go look at the pages of comments from people who like the vids and get something great out of them. That’s how you can know if people like them or not. It has nothing to do with ratings. The comments and discussion are the true ratings, not the red stars in the upper left.
And who decides what false teachings are? Who put you in charge of deciding what a false teaching is? Are you special somehow that you are privy to what is a true teaching and everyone else has no idea? I think that would be a bit arrogant to assume that you know what a false teaching is and other people don’t. Rather, more accurate to say is that would be your opinion about something, but that doesn’t mean it’s not true for someone else. So what if it’s not true for you? That’s fine. Just live and let live and move on. Let other people have what they think is the truth. You can have your opinion, but do you have to ruin it for people who do like the teachings and find them to be true, even if they’re not for you?
We do allow people to post who have differing views, as long as they present them politely and sincerely, and it is good for the conversations around the videos. However, we do not allow “trolls” to just spew negativity just for the sake of spewing because that is their form of entertainment. We are very fair and we do allow posts that are politely put and aren’t slanderous. If it is a true and sincere inquiry or differing opinion that is not meant to be harmful or said in a mean way, then those are welcome and we post them. That is the true way a video is rated, which is the conversation around it. We post everything that isn’t mean or slanderous or outright lewd or rude. Anything that is sincere, we allow the comment because we WANT people to talk about the concepts in a mature and open fashion. We don’t allow swearing, just like Lan said he doesn’t allow it on his site, although I do see he let one of his friends on here say the F word to me without rebuke. So much for that.
Here is a spiritual teaching that is definitely not a false teaching: Do unto others as you would have done unto yourself. Would you like to have someone trashing your videos, or your beliefs in a nasty way? What kind of teachings do you live by if you feel you have to trash someone’s video that has a differing opinion than yours? It’s a good thing there are so many religions and different teachings. There are so many different types of people on the earth, no one religion is going to fit them all. That way, everyone will be able to find a belief structure that fits for them and they can shun all the others. There are plenty of vids you can watch that you agree with, so just enjoy those. Dissing someone else’s beliefs just because they are not yours does not have any merit, no purpose but to be unkind. If you want to tell everyone what YOUR true teachings are, then do it on your own channel, not tear someone else’s up on their channel. That’s the way of freedom and you are free to expound on your own beliefs at any time on Youtube or any other site, that’s the way it works.
Well at least we’re all having an honest conversation about it now. That’s good. I hope by the end of this you can all see the wisdom in just living and let live and leave people who are different than you unharmed. If you have a differing opinion, then so be it. Make your own video and teach your own teachings rather than tear up someone else’s stuff. It’s the more mature thing to do. People who enjoy those teachings are not going to see your negative comments as anything other than a nuisance, and vice versa if people were to come and trash your teachings. So if you have an issue with people protecting themselves from “trolls” on youtube, youtube is the one you should take it up with, not some channel that is only protecting itself from negative people who don’t understand it.
So Lan, why don’t you go and find the other 10 million channels that do the same thing and put them on your front page? That project should keep you busy for a while. Maybe some of them might even be unprotected and you can make unkind comments on their site since you probably won’t like their videos.
Waaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaait a second. I didn’t actually WATCH the video (as the original post is about Youtube’s stupid rating system). Now I see ‘false teachings’ sprinkled about. (And triple word score for whomever brought up ‘scientologists’)
Hell, why didn’t someone say this from the beginning?
(still not gonna watch the video, but at least it puts some light on Laura a bit)
“And who decides what false teachings are?”
Apparently it’s the states of Oregon and New Mexico:
“According to the Oregon State Office of Degree Authorization, “University of Metaphysical Sciences” is operating illegally in New Mexico.”
http://answers.yahoo.com/question/index?qid=20071009123923AAL3VVU
(I feel so out of it for not being hip to the PR5 lingo)
Eric,
No offense, but you’re not really contributing anything smart to the conversation, so whatever you say can’t be taken very seriously by me, you just like to spew now and then. I have a feeling you are probably one of those negative people who posts nasty things to people’s sites becuase that is how you entertain yourself. At least Shannon brought up a real point. Do you have any real points, or are you just spewing on words that trigger you? If you haven’t watched anything, you don’t really know what the conversation is about, then what are you here for except to indulge in negative drama? Try to see if you can actually find out what’s really going on here and say something smart, ok? When that happens, then maybe there can be real communication. Good luck with that.
Hello Markus Sandy
Actually, you are misinformed about the posting in Oregon. Read carefully. It says Metaphysical STUDIES in New Mexico, which was shut down. That is not us at all, and the person who posted that in Yahoo answers didn’t read the information carefully enough. It would be good if poeple could actually READ these days and determine the difference between the two words. Goodness, does no one have any brains these days? Can anybody read? Go look for yourself. We are neither in Oregon or New Mexico, and that is a completely different school. Use your brain and do your research. As Lan says, line your ducks up in a row, and get your facts straight. We are from California, not New Mexico or Oregon. That school was definitely bogus and it is a good thing that it is gone. Did you read the COMMENTS on that Yahoo Answers post?
Hello Markus Sandy
Actually, you are misinformed about the posting in Oregon. Read carefully.
It says Metaphysical STUDIES in New Mexico, which was shut down.
That is not us at all, and the person who posted that in Yahoo answers didn’t read the information carefully enough. Did you read the COMMENTS on that Yahoo Answers post with that link? It shows by the poster themselves that they stand corrected and got it wrong and they publicly apologized for reporting erroneously.
It would be good if people could actually READ these days and determine the difference between the two words. Can anybody read? Go look for yourself. We are neither in Oregon or New Mexico, and that is a completely different school. Use your brain and do your research. As Lan says, line your ducks up in a row, and get your facts straight.
We are from California, not New Mexico or Oregon. That school was definitely bogus and it is a good thing that it is gone because it was practicing without integrity.
Do your homework. People are so quick to think they know what is going on and they think the internet, Wikipedia, and yahoo answers is full of facts when it is all just a bunch of heresay by a lot of people who think they know laws, facts and things that they have no idea what they are talking about.
You got it wrong as to which school it is. READ before you leap.
It says S-T-U-D-I-E-S, Markus Sandy. Totally different school that is no longer there.
Thanks for the clarification, but you’re still on the Oregon State list of unaccredited institutions. Bogus is as bogus does
The important thing is READ THE COMMENTS underneath the post in that Yahoo Answers post. The poster openly confessed to getting it wrong and that it is the word Studies, not otherwise, so they got is wrong AND they fessed up to it.
I kinda messed up the post by posting accidently incompletely the first time, it doubled. oops. if Lan wants to delete the first version of this answer, go ahead, I hit submit before I was ready. The second one right above this one is right.
Actaully, no you’re wrong. We’re not on the list. I have verified it myself.
Laura, on behalf of all christians in the whole universe I thank you for this tirade of yours against Lan, it makes us seem tolerant and understanding and peaceful….
You talk of spirituality and understanding and in the next breath you call people trolls. Your very act of coming in here like you did, closes all hope for any meaningful dialogue….you come in and accuse, badmouth, call people liars and now you expect a conversation? Really?!?
How bout you follow your own teaching of “live and let live”, iron sharpens iron you know…..if you really want to have a dialogue allow comments on you site, even a couple of ones that disagree, who knows maybe you could then actually teach somebody something….but based on your words and actions I doubt you are interested in that…
Check it again Laura, both names are on that list, right next to each other.
Um… I tried repeatedly to post this comment for six solid months before Lan even registered the domain name, and then again for thirty-four years before the invention of the internet. And I got NO response. Not even an error message.
Undaunted, I continued trying to post this comment for three straight millennia before the creation of written language. And still nothing.
I kept at it, though, posting and re-posting for an additional sixty-five million years before the Dawn of Man. And what did I get for my efforts? Crapped on by a low-flying pterodactyl!
If this keeps up, I may just stop trying…
You check it again Markus. We are not on any list.
Besides, accreditation is for schools that teach Biology, Math, English, etc. We do not teach any of those things. Spiritual schools do not require accreditation. Accreditation is only so secular schools can transfer credits, which means that the Math course in the Florida college is equal to a Math course in Pennsylvania college. That is what accreditation is for.
Very few religious schools allow transfers of credits because their programs are completely different from each other.
I checked again and it looks to me like you are on that list.
I know, it’s SOOOOOOOO monkey mind, but maybe you should consider more English prep at your “school”. At very least, look up the meaning of “accreditation” …
Wikipedia:
Accreditation is a process in which certification of competency, authority, or credibility is presented.
Webster:
1: to give official authorization to or approval of: a: to provide with credentials; especially : to send (an envoy) with letters of authorization b: to recognize or vouch for as conforming with a standard c: to recognize (an educational institution) as maintaining standards that qualify the graduates for admission to higher or more specialized institutions or for professional practice
2: to consider or recognize as outstanding
Wikipedia? Are you quoting that as a serious source? You’re kidding right?
Just so you all know, John has asked Lan to stop igniting this situation. So I rest my case as to John and Lan being connected. Why do you think Lan hasn’t been in this conversation? His buddy has asked him to stop. I do believe that shows I know what I’m talking about.
I repeat for those of you who aren’t listening: Religious schools are not secular schools and are not subject to Accreditation. Did you not understand what accreditation is for? It is so that credits can be transferred. They make sure that one math course stands up to the competency, credibility and authority that another stands up to, otherwise they cannot be transferred.
Hahaha Laura, actually Lan and I are at a friendly poker game… and he is still in. That’s why he’s not commenting right now. There is, listen closely now, life outside of the Internet and this discussion.
While you may feel like your ridiculous claims of what is FACT (I have the proof, really I do) are getting to him and that he’s worried about what’s going on in this discussion, he’s laughing and enjoying time with our friends. And once again you’ve brought up John when he’s got nothing to do with anything here.
I was the first knocked out, so I have a little time to chat. Unfortunately my phone isn’t the best tool for this, so any “real” discussion will have to wait.
Seriously though… you are, in my opinion, completely closed minded, absolutely irrational, and possibly a little crazy.
I am playing poker. I will read the comments later. And no, John did not say anything to me.
I have a note to Laura regarding her comment suggesting that Lan closed comments on this article. You quoted this error message: “The post you are trying to comment on does not currently exist in the database.”
This is a known bug with either the Show in a Box WordPress theme Lan is using on his site, or with WordPress itself. It is a documented occurrence when using Internet Explorer 7. It was brought to the attention of the Show in a Box developers on Dec. 14 by Clint Comer, and you can read his post here: http://groups.google.com/group/show-in-a-box/msg/17c0e055a65cfa87
To date the issue has not been resolved. It is likely Lan was not even aware of the bug. We do not yet know if it is a problem with the Show in a Box theme, with WordPress, or whether there is some other interaction. We have seen it on sites not using Show in a Box.
If you were using Internet Explorer 7 to post your comment, you owe Lan an apology.
I eagerly await Laura’s brilliant refuting of the existence of your poker game.
Will she go with the tried-and-true “right, sure” or the more adventurous – if controversial – “nuh-uh”?
Maybe she’ll surprise us all and go for the one-two punch, quickly following “I am so sure” with “Yuh. And monkeys will fly out of my butt.”
One thing’s for certain though, the woman’s logic will be FAULTLESS.
It’s possible that Lan doesn’t spend every minute of every day responding to blog comments and that is why he hasn’t been involved in the conversation. As far as that goes, you might apply that to the reason it took so long to fix the comments between December 24 and December 26. Between those two days is Christmas day, so it would be reasonable to think that he might have been away from the blog.
I realize that it’s nice to think that you can decide whatever you like is “true for yourself” and believe in something that “works for you”. In fact I’m not sure gravity works for me, since I’d like to fly. However, something that I believe is that not everything is true, not everything is ice cream. If something is true, it’s true for everyone, we don’t get to decide if we like it or not. Maybe that doesn’t work for you, but I can practice my beliefs in every aspect of my life. I don’t deny you the right to delete trolling or spam comments, but it is not simply “to be mean” or “nasty” or “trashing” to oppose a viewpoint, and it is not because I want to cause harm. I wasn’t even sure why you started this comment thread until I realized you seem to be part of this group which, by the way, you never stated. I haven’t watched the video either, but I looked at the titles and I’ve read your comments, and it seems clear that you don’t know how to take criticism. If you can’t defend your beliefs, then you might ask yourself how good they are.
As for leaving it alone as being harmless, what about my opinion that these teachings are misleading, damning* lies? That’s the short version, obviously, as I don’t think it necessary to go into a full refutation of relativism right now.
*I wasn’t swearing, I was being literal.
Hey guys,
Well, there isn’t much more going on here at this point, I have to eat dinner and move on. Flame away and have fun. I’ve said what I have to say. I know it is difficult for you to listen to logic, but that’s the nature of flamefests when a bunch of someone’s friends gang up on someone. At this point, there’s nothing left to talk about becuase from here on out it will be just mud slinging because no one has anything left constructive to say. You’re just reaching at this point. John has said he spoke with you Lan, so whatever. He just emailed me from youtube, so deny it if you want. If Lan is sitting around laughing in the background, then it just goes to show how mean spirited he is. It really makes my point. You can call someone crazy just because you refuse to listen to logic, but that’s your perogative.
So read about the ratings, read about the double standards of Lan who accuses people of exactly what he does himself concerning copyrights, pasting conversations on his front page instead of making it postable by others and hash it out amongst yourselves. Hopefully you’ll actually think about something instead of just yammering without substance. Eventually you’ll tire of not having anything left to talk about.
Good luck.
As much as I am enjoying this not-quite conversation I’m afraid of will actually get old… people expressing their opinions and declaring them as fact. And if it gets old too soon we may never get past the communications blocks that are apparent here.
There is something I’d love to try though… an experiment in new media conversation for me, it’s probably been done before but not that I’ve seen.
Laura, would you be willing to have a video chat with myself, or even better with multiple people from differing viewpoints, that can be recorded and posted for all to see? I think, or at least it’s my great hope, that some of the problem here is the miscommunication that can ensue from purely forum-based debates or conversations.
I am up for it, anyone else? It will be open to anyone, and anyone can have a voice and be heard/seen.
Maybe then we can also keep the discussion centered on the topics at hand.
I still plan on responding to some of your comments when I’m home and at a computer, but sitting here laughing and joking with friends over some tortilla chips and guacamole gave me the idea for this and I wanted to throw it put there. Especially since I was the big loser in the tournament tonight so I need to redeem myself with at least a good idea or something.
Vu didn’t say, or even imply, that Lan was laughing at YOU, Laura. There’s nothing mean spirited about him having a good time with his buddies.
As I said, Laura, and Chris is absolutely right… we are having fun outside of this conversation, our friends we are hanging out with know nothing of this, it’s not meaningful enough to bring it up. The point was that we are having a good time and don’t have time to respond to all your posts right now… this has to do with the fact that we have lives to live, and that was all I was saying.
When you return to this, IF you return to it after my last post, please let me know if you’d be willing to talk, face to face so to speak. One on one or in a group discussion. Bring anyone you like. Let’s just communicate instead of furiously pounding out words without even taking the time to understand what nyone besides yourself is saying.
Don’t forget, YOU came HERE and spewed forth accusations calling Lan’s integrity into question. Actually from what you said there WAS no question. Now that you’ve done what you condemn and “trolled” his blog it would be in VERY poor taste for you to stop here. Stand up for what you’re saying or retract it, but don’t say you’re leaving because no one is listening to YOUR reason.
Okay all you religious nutballs, Laura, contribution time:
Are you fucking with Youtube’s rating system to push your zany propaganda or no?
I could give a god damn if Jesus and Tom Cruise had an orgy in properly formatted RSS.
Are you gaming the ratings system? Yes or No?
That was the original topic.
As soon as you give me an answer, you can go bomb a country for oil, kthx.
I just skimmed through the novel that are these comments. I’ll read them tomorrow… err, later today.
All I know is I feel libeled right now.
FYI Slander is spoken, Libel is written. One of the commenters should use the correct terms in their false accusations.
From the inane, childish, and plainly negative things I have seen in most comments on YouTube, I would agree that it is fine to shut down the comments. It’s like being able to turn the channel or the television off. I don’t particularly need to hear unconstructive immature criticisms or subject others to these bizarre angry rants. Many of us could care less about the ratings game too. So, this particular YouTube video is being blasted because they have chosen not to allow negative unproductive comments or ratings? I would do the same.
Tracy
The astonishing revelation here is just how skilled Laura is at diverting attention and manipulating conversation. Her morbid display of talent is quite breathtaking!
As Eric has pointed out here at the end, Laura was able to come blasting in and immediately hijack the topic away from Lan’s original point. By the time we tire of trying to make sense of her long and rambling rants, and try to steer back on topic, she has quit the conversation, feigning petulance and something she refers to as “logic.”
She knows that once her inscrutably irrational comments push the post count past 50, nobody but the most monkey-minded (possibly nobody other than actual monkeys) is going to wade through it all to get to the end where we remember what Lan’s original post was about.
She doesn’t identify herself, defend herself, or even participate once we return our focus to the original topic, and very few people will be left reading to be reminded what that topic is. I haven’t seen such a brilliant example of trolling and flaming skills for the purpose of brutalizing civic discourse in a long time. I plan to make this thread required reading for my students in my mass communication class.
Even as I grudgingly concede her skillful abilities at dominating conversation, it makes me so angry to see people like Laura bring classic Orwellian newspeak/doublethink to what could be a communication forum free of such brutality.
Laura makes a good point. It’s too bad it took her 7 comments before she said anything that is truly relative to Lan or his post. It makes a bit of sense to not allow mean comments on “religious” or “spiritual” sites, or pages. The rating system is different, though. I think that since YouTube created the rating system so people might find better content easier, any type of gaming it is inconsiderate at best. So if someone finds this video through a search, all they see is the stars, not that the rating system was disabled after the “acceptable” ratings were made. I think it is extremely likely that, someone, who believes whatever that lady in the video believes, would actually not find the video “Awesome”, and want to rate it accordingly for others who also believe the same. That’s not fair. Are they making videos for themselves or their viewers? If the video is just for yourself, why in the world have it on YouTube?
For Laura, you should thank my husband for letting you comment on his personal website. He is a very patient person to have allowed all your lies on the comment section linking to the homepage. Not everyone in the world is out to get you, you know- especially not Lan. He’s much too busy. If you refuse to fix your mental sickness with your spirituality, then you need to be on real doctor prescribed medication, and leave nice people alone.
First, although this isn’t the topic on my comment, I have edited the blog post to remove the persons name that was originally mentioned. That person deserves better than to be represented by Laura.
@Eric Rice – My PR5 will one day gain enough power to take on your PR6. One day my friend… one day. Also, you made some of the best internet phrases up here and i will remember and use them forever.
@Vu Bui – When I read your last paragraphs I pictured you laughing like a santa clause.
@Shannon – You are right on. Negative comments are not left just to me mean. I’m sure some people do that, but not me. To expand on what you said about keeping people from giving counter opinions; I think if you don’t let people see other options they will never try to seek the truth. There is absolute truth.
@Markus Sandy – I think you didn’t know what PR5 is because it is such a dangerous internet weapon. Oh, and I trust your internet searching skills and your reading skills. I didn’t even need to go verify what you said (seriously I didn’t).
@Chris B – Hey, I think you are going back in time… If you go forward you will be able to comment. AAAHHHH you were able to comment about how you weren’t able to comment??? Space and time will now END!!!
@Vu Bui – Poker was really fun. I hope they invite us again.
@Cheryl Colan – Oh, cool. Well not cool but I’m glad you were able to clear that database issue up. I hope WordPress fixes it in an upcoming release.
@Shannon – “In fact I’m not sure gravity works for me, since I’d like to fly.” I would like to fly too!!!
@Vu Bui – I can ask Paul to set up a flash conference whenever we want, actually I think Markus can do it too. So our options are there.
@Tracy – Thank you for commenting.
@Dave Huth – I knew there was a name for it… Orwellian newspeak/doublethink…
@Bonny – “then you need to be on real doctor prescribed medication” that must make it into a Noodle Scar episode.
@Laura – You need to accept that your lies are weak.
I thought PR5 was that crappy 90′s virtual reality show with Lori Singer.
PS: Bonny is a delight.
Who is Laura?
Tony