Thank you to all readers and members of the Conservative Treehouse fellowship for your continued support. Without your help, this little corner of research and discussion on the internet just could not exist. I will always work earnestly to be deserving of that support and fellowship.
Unfortunately, on an almost exact timeline as previously outlined (maximum 2024 election interference planned), Google and Big Tech have shifted approaches exactly as we predicted they would by mid-April.
They have been unable to take down The Conservative Treehouse over platform content, so they shifted strategies with the spider crawling. We are now under attack by Google Inc. for comments made by you. [see example below]:
You can tell from the flagged notes and highlighted search terms, the spider crawl was given specific phrases to search out. Apparently, Eliot Ness provided them on March 23rd.
This comment by Eliot Ness is being used by Google Inc. to outline a violation of terms of service, and Ness’s threats to violence reported to DHS for operational CTH targeting therein. Note, it is not the content of CTH that is the problem; comments are now the source of infractions that can lead to CTH deplatforming.
You do not need to be a deep weeds thinker to see the issue here. After years of unsuccessfully targeting our research directly, the Google overlords are now targeting us based on reader content. They are turning fellowship into a vulnerability. I am furious and working earnestly to develop a solution.
Obviously, the above comment was deleted and removed, but the shift should explain why so many websites have dropped the comment system completely.
We need your help.
There is a flagging system for the discussion community to self-police. If you notice a comment outside the rules and guidelines for comments, flag it by hitting the flag icon next to the comment. As soon as 20 flags are received, the comment is automatically removed. You can well understand why that feature is present.
I will fight the big tech targeting using every resource to keep CTH from being taken down. However, the process is the punishment in this corrupt system. Fighting these creeps is expensive, and this activity by them takes place at the same time they demonetize us by removing our small advertising funding.
We are fortunate, blessed and protected by a loving God, who has abundant confidence in our ability. If you can help financially, it is appreciated.
Making yesterday’s notifications even more annoying, March and April are the months when all the annual fees for licensing, email notification systems, data security, legal retainers and background stuff associated with the building of CTH 2.0 are paid. Thank you to everyone who helps offset these costs and keeps our voice in the fight.
Financial support through PayPal remains the most efficient and stable way to support CTH. I know they have received a lot of criticism, much of it well placed; however, my own experience with PayPal has been solid. When CTH was deplatformed and under attack from Big Tech (eye of Sauron), to their credit, PayPal stood firm and supported CTH in providing their service. They would NOT demonetize us.
While my experience with PayPal seems to run counter to the outcome described by others, the unexpected supportive position from PayPal made a strong impression on me. Again, perhaps unique, not sure why, but my experience with them has been very good. If that ever changed, I would immediately let you know. The data security and convenience of their system is also solid and useful.
Regardless, there are now two options: (1) PayPal and (2) Proprietary. Due to legal caution and the data privacy construct, the Proprietary alternative has a 30-day access lag built in. Meaning, if you use that option, in approximately 30 days the funds become accessible, whereas support through the preferred PayPal option is immediate.
The alternative financial support appears directly below the PayPal link in a yellow box as highlighted. Some have said browser settings can block visibility, and I have also heard it doesn’t show up on some mobile devices. I am not sure what the technical issue might be other than ISP filters (now becoming more problematic) and/or Adblocking software.
Due to my personal requirements for Treehouse user privacy, and my firm stance on not retaining user data lists, the alternative system does not provide a subscriber option. If you use the alternative support function, each time you would want to support CTH you would have to click it and reenter your information. No data is saved.
Thank you to everyone who helps offset these costs and keeps our voice in the fight…
~ Support CTH Here ~
Eyes of a mouse/Ears of an elephant…. and don’t forget to live your best life!
We cannot allow this new tactic to win. Guidelines for Comments Here.
Love to all,
Sundance
Is Eliot Ness a false flag operative?
Likely.
Would a (fill in the number) month moratorium on new poster registration help?
It would certainly limit the number of new covert operatives embedded to do harm.
I would almost bet on it being one.
He usually goes by “Bob from the Ministry of Truth (formerly the NSA).”
Possibly; or perhaps a bit simple with respect to the real dangers of the tools of surveillance being employed these days. There are a lot of otherwise well-intentioned (as far as they believe), who adamantly refuse to use discernment and exercise discretion; calling us paranoid; and “reminding” us, that real faith casts out fear of men . . .
I would say to alias mr. ness, “wise as serpents, harmless as doves,” is the wisest course. And more precisely to the things he wrote; DO NOT WRITE ANYTHING THAT WOULD IMPLY INCITING TO PREJUDICE AND VIOLENCE! And of course, monitoring more closely is safe for the whole community.
Just my two cents.
On the other hand; there are some who secretly have some high notions about what they think is “really going on;” and may in fact not really be working for anyone, but promoting their not well thought through conclusions.
Magadoonian03 ( hope I got that right) mentioned that the CTH must be having an impact to stir up the attention. Nowadays, if nobody’s trying to shut you down, you aren’t doing your job.
So kudos to all for having an impact !
And I’ve already commented there’s too much of the harsh stuff. Many or most here appear to follow Christ, so as much fun as it is to make wise cracks, put downs, and to vent, it’s not a good example. Not to mention most of the commentors here are intelligent people who I’m SURE possess a better command of the language.
Conduct ourselves beyond reproach, without name calling, and sit back and laugh as they hunt in vain for a cause. (And flag inappropriate comments of course, tho I’d offer a one time reminder to self correct). Hate to lose the interaction.
You say it well. If we aren’t either making people happy, or getting them angry, or in any way stirring them up; then we have to question if the Holy Spirit is really in us; for His main work in us, alongside our sanctification, is to use us to convict the world, and glorify Jesus.
There was a day when the sons of God came to present themselves before the LORD; and Satan came among them (who is NOT a son of God, nor any of the fallen angels;) and immediately the LORD knew that something was really irritating the devil; so He asked him, What have you been doing? And he said, Walking up and down through the earth. Have you considered My servant Job, that there is none like him in the earth? A man who walks perfect and upright, who fears God and avoids evil? Well that was entirely the reason the wicked one came around, to accuse holy Job, and try and move God to let him have his way with him; to prove that Job was a fake. But the LORD knew His friend better, and counted him trustworthy of such a trial; knowing also before, that He would render again to Job far more than he had at the first, for his service of suffering wrongly for his faith.
The LORD also used the wrongful sufferings of His servant Job, to make known what was in the hearts of everyone around him: his wife, his friends, and all his relatives and acquaintances who stood afar off until his terrible ordeal was ended. It is the same for all of us who belong to Jesus; just as it happened first to Jesus, and far more intensely than any of us could ever bear. May the LORD give us the understanding, of how He is using these things both for our perfection, and for judging the world; and give us all grace to endure faithful to the end.
San Haydron status flag!
I’d like to know how he/it managed to get over 30 upvotes for that egregious comment. Too bad I missed it – would have instantly flagged it. That said, I’m more mindful (okay, paranoid) of every word I type here, how any word might be misconstrued or taken out of context to the detriment of this site. Not to mention me:)
Accounts on a malevolent mission have ways to upvote a comment they’ve made to create the illusion that the comment is supported by the community.
Another common way malevolents create the illusion that their comment is popular is to have other accounts “on their team” chime in with atta boys and huzzahs.
From my experience – the trolls work in packs – especially if they are AI.
BE WARNED: Now we all know that 20 x Red Flags means instant comment deletion –
they may also work as a pack to attack bona fide comments.
I’m sorry if I’ve given you another problem to consider!
That Eliot Ness may have made such a comment intentionally and that the government creepers could gang up to remove actually useful comments were my first two thoughts.
And if they’re not successful at deflecting the conversation or debasing it enough to be useless I’m sure they’re trying to shut down the entire site. In fact, I’ve been expecting it for years.
Maybe alter it to 20 red flags and it goes into moderation, then the Mods can decide.
What was the egrigous comment? Did elliot ness say that joe biden was an oster bunny “big guy” etc?😳
Of course it was a planted comment. The best infraction you can use is on you can produce on command.
Our enemies are firmly rooted in intelligence. Their tools spawn from that tainted womb, and the vipers bite on command.
Yes.
There are hundreds just like him. Professional trolls who say things like that for the purpose of getting our beloved treehouse cut down.
done – let us know if more is needed Sundance
The trolls will intentionally leave comments to force the site to go down… it’s how they roll.
Same leftists who engage in stealing elections with election fraud tactics
So, on THIS particular day, they flagged some VERBS E.Ness used, which is odd, but perhaps understandable.
Moreover, they highlighted the country-name where the Kamchatka Peninsula resides.
But they DIDN’T flag the common-name for such folks who actually live there.
Rules-based yes, but can only those with ‘clearance’ know what to avoid? Possibly that’s a feature/not a flaw…
Or maybe it’s just like one of those things that one knows is salacious, only when they see it.
By trolls you mean tax payer funded DHS/DOD employees, sub-contractors or foreign “partners” that are engaging in criminal harassment.
A simple FOIA to DHS and DOD from a larger law firm with some teeth enquiring about which “program” CTH falls under for these covert and illegal activities may be an effective counterpunch.
This is a war after all.
I’m glad we can still call the spider keepers creeps. I’d wish them in to the cornfield if I could.
Any possibility that Ness is a planted troll of the left? I remember reading that comment and thought it was not the type of commentary we usually find at TCH.
Trolls and Operatives abound, both Leftists and Derps, including foreign actors.
What they never really understand is that CTH has a certain Spirit about it and they stand out like the Bad Actors they are.
The Left is all big-hearted old school liberals that relish open debate of ideas and their merits. To mutually seek truth, beauty, and virtue, wherever it leads.
/sarc. off/
You forgot, “…and for the children.”
Or Google themselves acting on government persuasion.
Perhaps it is better to forego inflammatory or invective laced language in comments. Emotions often run high on many subjects, but we are all guests on the platform provided by Sundance.
Self control in defense of, and respect towards, the platform and risks involved, for Sundance are warranted.
One may say things effectively without harming the platform. It takes thoughtful self control to do that, but guests ought make effort to Not complicate the Host’s reality unnecessarily. He’s got a lot on his mind. Civility is a virtue.
My 2 cents.
Who decides that? What is civility? Sounds simple but is it really?
I remember being fired from a moderator job for not effectively cleansing ‘disinformation’ that the site owner, who’d been absent for the better part of the decade, decided upon return during the Covid operation and PDJT re-election campaign. Amazing timing!
I left the discussions alone unless members were at each other uncivilly, meaning personally, no matter how much certain members complained or tried to manipulate moderation. Opposing views on Covid were not moderated. So I was fired and replaced with someone who would sanction speech the site owner deemed disinformation. Gentle readers can guess what that included. Such is often discussed here.
That’s how censorship works. It’s working right now, both administratively and through peer pressure. We can examine Soviet Russia and Communist China for parallels. 🙂
I think your points are very well taken. But I don’t think they actually relate to what Cowboy was suggesting.
Would you prefer me to quote the comments I’m directly addressing?
“Perhaps it is better to forego inflammatory or invective laced language in comments.”
“Civility is a virtue.”
Who decides what is ‘inflammatory language’ and ‘civility’? I gave the example of ‘disinformation’ and personal experience as a moderator as an example of who decides and the arbitrary nature of such acts.
Yes. Censorship is most effective, when it leads to SELF-CENSORSHIP.
And, since we don’t know, specifically WHAT the search spiders are programmed to look for, we begin to censor ourselves, giving up SOME liberty, out of fear of losing it all (in this case, having CTH taken away.)
WHERE have we seen this, before?
Hey, lets all converge on D.C. in two weeks, for a mostly peaceful protest, to make our voices heard!
But see, we self-censor, surrendering our right to assemble, and petition our Govt. for redress.
Well, the Guidelines for comments are just that,…THEY are the standard, …I’m pretty sure at times I have stepped over the line, and so will have to “watch what I say” regarding hemp neckties, and lampost ornaments,…and will now hit the donate button, again….
Precisely what I am thinking about deleting the Ness comment. Letting outsiders dictate what is or is not allowed for a comment establishes a bad precedent. Sundance is free to do what he pleases, as his site, his sandbox, but I personally don’t see anything wrong with that comment. “Incitement to violence” is nebulous, and I see it used far too much to censor speech on the internet. Courts have long established the legal standard when it comes to the criminality of violent threats, and that comment by Ness doesn’t even come close to meeting it.
Pre ‘Hate-speech’ such a comment, whether posted or said out loud would be considered boorish, distasteful etc. but not illegal.
It started with the odioys hate -crimes, then hate speech, and now micro-aggressions and misgendering.
The point is that the spider crawlers reported on the highlighted words. This should give pause to consider ones depiction of things….. the goal is for the community to be functional, up and running. Use good judgment and strategy in this aspect of our journey.
Saying someone should be crippled and fed to hogs isn’t a plain as day invitation to violence in your opinion?
You are a part of the problem. This is Sundance’s site, not mine or yours.
Well said Cowboy. Civility is definitely a virtue, and real maturity. And as you say, taking into consideration, that we are indeed guests in our friend’s house; we need of be respectful of that; and not give him unnecessary work to clean up after we’ve gone home.
Good point Michael.
We are guests here, the Treehouse is Sundance’s place and he has asked us for help.
He is the one putting all the hard work into the Treehouse.
Most of the Treepers here make respectful comments, we drop in each day for a bit while Sundance puts his everything and his all in.
Also the moderators like Ad Rem, Stella and others.
I will offer an answer the question put out by Dunes and Unknownsailor, who decides what is “imflamatory language” and “civility”?
Sundance does, as well as Ad Rem, Stella and the others who take all the risks when running The Treehouse.
Exactly. Flagging a post is NOT censoring it. It is alerting the site moderators that, in your opinion, they should review it for negative impact on the site and community. I’ve never seen them fail to respond when so alerted. I wasn’t aware of the 20-flag auto-delete action but that seems more than generous considering the typical number of replies on a CTH post. If the moderators choose to delete a post, that is their right and duty. I trust Ad Rem.
Free speech comes with rational limits. The old “FIRE!” in a movie theater is well worn but a decent example.
If I’d seen the Ness post myself, I’d have flagged it, not because its content is patently illegal …it’s not, but because it is rabidly irrational, and thus might threaten the continued existence of one of the last bastions of free political discussion on-line …or, at the very least, degrade the quality normally maintained here.
If the community can’t police itself from such highly inappropriate comments, then it won’t long continue to provide the remarkably high level that CTH has provided for so long now. NOT because some anti-American snoop wants to kill it, but because CTH will lose those who come here BECAUSE it provides rational, well researched, receipt backed, and well thought out opinion pieces and commentary.
I’m reminded of the once outstanding Free Republic website that descended into such a den that I abandoned it to it’s demons long ago. Not even sure it still exists but it was once, imnsho, the equal of CTH and then went to hell in a hand-basket because of the plethora of Ness like comments becoming the accepted standard.
Just my opinion, worth exactly what it cost you. Note that this is the very first time I’ve ever donated money to a political forum of any kind. CTH, Zero Hedge, and Tucker Carlson are worth keeping free and open. If rational moderation from the comments akin to the cited Ness example can help do that, amen.
Wonderful comment….thank you!
Would you agree that politics is a dirty business?
How does civility reconcile that reality, if you agree with it?
A large part of the current discourse here is politics and, unfortunately, also topics on war and death, using examples of Ukraine/Russia, Israel/Palestine, and Covid. Dirty business. Emotions run high. Not everyone is chill and detached. What to do?
I wonder how many have had heated political discussions in real life. When I was young they often ended up in fist fights and other violence. I had a saying that every conversation was ten seconds from a fist fight. I hated violence. One can imagine how that worked out. 🙂
We’ve seen how the Communists instill fear and quell opposition speech with violence. Examples abound just in the last decade, never mind throughout history. They also use violence to manipulate the system, like with false flags.
Every minute we spend analyzing our morals and behavior to address their attacks is a victory for them. Free will though; we have that choice. God bless.
You’re missing the point. This is private property and you’ll be asked to step outside if the host and guests deem your language or choice of verbiage unacceptable. No one is suggesting that your opinion and word selection isn’t protected, but the comments highlighted are well-known slurs and unnecessary for the poster to make his point.
Marxists have US by the huevos.
None of this matters. If they want to take CTH down they will. Even if all comments are civil, intelligent, and well thought out musings, isn’t that one of the things they want to stop? Common sense portrayed and accepted by the uninformed masses is what the left really wants to censor. They don’t care if we use some mean words. It is a ruse to cover their attempt to hide the TRUTH!
“Itsy bitsy spider went up the water spout……”
I will pick up a visa pay card tomorrow and send you some tomorrow night.
Another funding alternative could be GiveSendGo. It would also raise awareness of CTH across the globe, as well as the fight you and all other independent journalists are facing.
Sample:
https://www.givesendgo.com/G9CEG
It looks like you can also set this up with a monthly goal.
Gab Pay is another alternative.
Copy that 👌 👍 Sundance on the contribution
On it’s way 💸 💲
Treepers vs. Spiders. This reminds me of Mad Magazine and sounds like fun.
Google has attached “demonetized” 109 flags to PJ Media articles. The site has detailed specific, the (common) kind of headlines with exact dates that got flagged by Google.
Google has yet to meet any US corporation endeavouring to take it on (which essentially also involves taking on government) as has happened to them elsewhere; in Europe especially – with lawsuits and hefty fines. As they did to FaceBook Meta, with a fine a fine of 390 million euros ($414) million by European Union regulators for violating privacy laws.
That involves requiring Meta to make costly changes to its advertising-based business in the European Union, one of its largest markets. The ruling is one of the most consequential judgments since the 27-nation bloc enacted a landmark data-privacy law aimed at restricting the ability of Facebook and other companies from collecting information about users without their prior consent.
In November 2022, Meta was fined roughly $275 million by Irish authorities for a data leak discovered last year that led to the personal information of more than 500 million Facebook users being published online.
The day this happens in the US to companies like Google and FaceBook requires some extensive change of law that truly prosecute infringement of freedom of (real) press and punishment of fake news corporations with their lies, fear-mongering, smearing of individuals/businesses, covering up of criminal activites of politicians and government.
How this treatment of wolves by turning the wolf tables on them specifically in the grey area of privacy of users being harvested and used by then for their 2-tier, double-standard, government-surveillance targeting mode.
Actual enforcement of the law in the U.S. is not going to happen without DJT as POTUS 47 and a complete clean out of DOJ.
Big Tech is now the Pre-Thought Crime Division. Not surprised. Not to make light of the situation but whenever I would hear a reference to spider crawlers here I think of that episode in Minority Report.
Question. Can site design be tweaked to where anyone can view an article, but to comment on that article or simply view the comment thread password entry would be required?
Thanks for all you do.
Moderators, can the jackboot spiderbots read the comments in memes too?
[DISCLAIMER: I am NOT a moderator, but to answer your Very Good Question:]
Yes, Google has the ability to crawl and index text within images using a technology called Optical Character Recognition (OCR). This allows Google to recognize and index the text contained in images, making it searchable and accessible to users. However, it’s important to note that not all text within images may be successfully recognized and indexed, especially if the text is distorted, stylized, or presented in a complex visual environment.
How about if the message contained in the photo isn’t text, but it IS an index or a finger, anyway?
I’m going to go there… is there a place to send cash or a check? A fair amount of us would really be comfortable with that.
So, Sundance, anonymous and very much on the Derps’ radar, exposes himself and his contributors to doxxings?
Not worth whatever one might want to send that way.
Pre-paid Visa card.
They are free.
You can pick them up
just about anywhere..
Not attached to your
bank account.
🤷♀️ 💁 🤷♀️
Just go to Privacy.com.
Same idea you create a credit card without the physical card.
It can be for one time use, and with just enough $ transfered into it, to cover the transaction.
If someone “steals” the #, it does no good cause there is nothing on the card (no $).
Problem there would be you’d use the credit card tied to your account to set up the Privacy card. Paying cash for a pre-paid Visa card would be safer
I do not comment often but read here daily . I am so grateful for this site. Thank you Sundance for all you do. I just bumped up my monthly donation. God Bless You!
Does Eliot Ness work at google?
Sundance, your candor and explanations are truly helpful. I know we all are tempted to unload when our touchy side is hit, so you cautionary notes are appreciated. God bless you and your family, and know that He is there, no matter what!
What a suspiciously odd thing to say……
IKR?
That’s the second Surrender Sundance comment in this thread.
time to change the password
Surrender Dorothy
😉
Wow, just watched a Law and Order episode, titled “Surrender Dorothy”,
…after watching the movie Snowden.
So, as you can imagine I am feeling a little discombobulated!
Suspicious Cat/Suspicious Minds
I don’t find it suspicious.
Not everybody will
But now, ah ha ! I have learned something new to find as ‘suspicious’ to watch out for. 👍🏼
TY MP and Mq.
I’m plenty busy w/my local community. Who needs xtra chit-chat?
Makes no sense on so many levels.
This site is a growing global community.
#BidenDidntWin
Hupf, the comments are one of the reasons I came here.
Cant have people collaborating online discussing election fraud.
SD/Ad rem
have you explored moving the comment section to a decentralized platform such as Bastyon?
accepting donations via crypto, specifically, but not exclusively, the privacy coin Monero?
In my experience, there is VERY LITTLE “chit-chat” in the comments here, especially compared to other blogs.
YMMV …
We will all do our best to be smarter and use wisdom when posting; and not forget to take everyone else’s good into account, when feeling the strong need to share an opinion. I have to say I’m sorry, for whenever I’ve done that; and I will be more thoughtful of what I write.
I believe that there will always be some, who are happy to work against God and His people, in whatever way they can contribute to the cause of the wicked. Our part then, is to trust the Lord; and to not allow ourselves to be sucked into discussions that are going a bad way, and into things that others are looking to find against us.
As long as the Lord wants this place to be open to the public, it will stay open: and if He sees that the work here is through; then the door will be closed. I am happy for it being opened for now; and will still be with the Lord when the day comes we have to say goodbye to CTH. May the Lord continue to bless and keep this little haven open, in spite of all those who think ill of us.
Dear Sundance,
My idea most likely goes against the grain of freedom for all who read and comment on your website. But maybe it is time to set up a password/login protocol for the website? Reading here feels to me like, I have entered a “bank account” of information.
I need a password to get into my bank accounts. How about here? Ugh that I even suggest that, but….. it’s just a thought.
I get that you find value in the comments but maybe it would be safer for the site to shut it down.
I know as a reader of your site I find it highly valuable. The comment section not so much (sorry readers).
An alternative may be to use some other media for commentary that is separate from this site for comments?
Not that I’m a big fan of Reddit but what if you have a subreddit dedicated for comments of articles you post here?
Just saying…
That’s Three . . .
Once?,…..
happenstance.
Twice?,….
coincidence.
THIRD TIME?,….
Derps.
Good Morning
Looks like that comment thread from yesterday about that agitator encouraging CTH to remove the “chit-chat” was deleted. Did you notice?
“… I know as a reader of your site I find it highly valuable. The comment section not so much (sorry readers)….”
Why apologize? – that denigration says much about yourself, and nothing whatsoever about us “readers”.
“People seem not to see that their opinion of the world is also a confession of character.”
~ Ralph Waldo Emerson
Well, in our comments, we are students of reality. We need to know the real situation no matter how difficult it is to face. Otherwise we won’t be able to respond effectively.
This is the purpose of freedom of speech. There is no other way to cut through propaganda to know the truth of our real situation.
NO. I will never turn off comments. Not Ever.
The point of the Treehouse is a conversation. Our conversation. The comments are the point.
I will never turn off comments.
Thank you!!
Many of the comments are not very high quality as they used to be years ago.
Thanks, dear friend.
And God bless you and what you are doing.
You are doing more than you know.
Key to the art of commenting is knowing when not to comment.
Well, isn’t that special?
Make it easier for the IC to individually find out who’s who and individually and separately target.
Quite transparent suggestion.
Read Reddit’s Privacy policy and additional information they collect AUTOMATICALLY!
https://www.reddit.com/policies/privacy-policy
Password needed or not, I love how fellow Treeper’s know what a RAT smells like. Called out ASAP every time. It’s amazing what a bunch of real humans we have living on out Tree.
Why does it matter what Google does? I don’t use them to find your site, that is what browser bookmarks are for. I literally can’t tell if you use Google ads, as I run a Pi- Hole on my network, and every google add is DNS black holed at the DNS level on my network. I also run adblock on my browser.
Deleting Ness comment is giving them what they want, bumpers on what is and is not acceptable speech.
You of all people should know by now that you, like those of us who read your site, are a political dissident in our own country. Doing what our overlords want lets them establish the initiative.
I think the solution is for us to be a community. Submit a photo ID privately to the admins or no access to post comments and be in the fellowship. They don’t have to keep those records; they just have to check them. At some point we can’t have it both ways. If they are kept, use encryption.
Then we know only members are posting. No commies from China. No derp state from Derpistan.
Community enforcement won’t out-pace the commie minions. Something to consider.
Ill give you the benefit of the doubt, and accept that you just simply didn’t think this suggestion through before posting it.
“Submit a photo ID privately to the admins or no access to post comments and be in the fellowship.”
And then at some point the dirty tools working at most corrupt agencies will subpoena/seize all the relevant personal info all nicely bundled and ready to go…
At least let the dirty low ambition hopeless zeros put in some work for the unjust statist hellscape they are so mindlessly dreaming about.
Well, see we submit our drivers licence, as the first step to crrating a universal, biometric digital I.D.,…Nikki Haley thinks itts a GREAT idea!
eyeroll…
Are you seriously suggesting we need id to… talk?
👻 day at the treehouse for sure.
🎯
I donated via Paypal.
‘comment was deleted and removed, but the shift should explain why so many websites have dropped the comment system completely.’
As the author stated above, so many websites have dropped the comment system completely. Prior to CTH I frequented another site which became popular mainly due to providing a platform for users to post their own content as well as comments. Much of the content was real and reflected what real people were thinking and were frustrated about.
Around the time President Trump won the 2016 election the site slowly at first started attracting agitators who obviously were deployed to fulfill Big Tech and Googles promise to never allow a repeat of 2016. I made a list of the accounts and added to it daily. They didnt like it when I would post the list for all to see with their name on it.
Then all at once within two years, the site became inundated with these agitators and to make a long story short, the site shut down all together after completely losing control.
Towards the end of its downfall the agitator army obtained the ability to play with the upvotes in the comments. These upvotes accumulated over time and were a permanent fixture to any individual user. The agitators were able to eventually reverse other peoples upvote scores and manipulate their posts.
I have a good deal of experience with this without getting into the details now.
Please keep that in mind…..
‘There is a flagging system for the discussion community to self-police. If you notice a comment outside the rules and guidelines for comments, flag it by hitting the flag icon next to the comment. As soon as 20 flags are received, the comment is automatically removed. You can well understand why that feature is present.’
–SD
20 flags would be an easy way to silence real voices and users here on this site as well. It suspiciously happened to me here on this site already and there really wasnt any need for it other then having an opinion on a certain topic.
20 flags to automatically remove comments is oddly specific.
Would be easy to for troublemakers to come up with that threshold to censor any comment. Must be more to the system not being mentioned possibly? At least something more than just getting enough reports.
Finding out the how things are operated and then using the system to break the system is what these spooks specialize in.
If the comment is not violating community standards, it should not be removed in my opinion.
In my area, OpenWeb is used by our most visited local news website and the thumbs UP and DOWN can be easily manipulated using any browser. Also, anyone can make dozens of different accounts and plaster the site with hate 24/7.
It’s true that the same system to govern a site can be easily used to destroy it.
“…mainly due to providing a platform for users to post their own content as well as comments. Much of the content was real and reflected what real people were thinking and were frustrated about.”
There are many commenting/reading here; Countless more only reading.
Nothing wrong with that.
Commenting does, however, provide a very broad range of “take aways” (for any given subject Sundance highlights) for both.
Together the “jist” of what Sundance chooses to bring forth is amplified far beyond these branches.
What Sundance provides may not entirely “gell” with everyone from the get-go. (I count myself among them).
Those who do comment often frame an idea or statement in the main post differently or, by using different words to explain the same idea in the comments often gives me another way to “get my head around” what otherwise escapes me.
Imho, it is the act of participating in a worthy cause; of being a part of something greater than I am alone (even if only reading), and the knowledge there is a multitude of other like minded folks out there “somewhere” who feel the same that makes this Treehouse feel like home.
Sundance and Co. provide the porch (the campfire, if you will) free of charge to anyone.
THANK YOU!!
All one has to do is sit down. Even if one never says a word they are still participating in the discussion.
Still receiving the message.
That is the point…. right?
have a brick and a coat
I suppose there are way too many comments posted on every CTH article for moderators to review each comment before releasing it to be posted.
However, maybe somewhat frequent or well known commenters can post without scrutiny, but new or newer and relatively unknown commenters could somehow be automatically placed in moderation for review of their content.
It would be awesome if that disturbing comment never made it into the posting stream by some type of process using “seniority” analysis.
I’m just thinking out loud here. Don’t want to lose my branch on the treehouse…
… and then there’d be endless b1tching on the order of “why is my comment being blocked?” “why am I being censored?” yada yada
There ARE a variety of situations where those postong comments can find themselves in moderation, and while it tells you your comment is in moderation, it doesn’t say WHY.
I have been there, before.
I’ve been there too, Dutchman, quite a few times.
After email communications with moderators it was determined that I hadn’t posted anything untoward or egregiously offensive, but had changed my “name” to my real name so after that, which was years ago, I was never placed in moderation again.
I guess “free speech” is a precarious principle that, IMHO, should virtually always include being firm and polite. Definitely not for the faint of heart, mind or tongue.
Someday, could you please move the red flag somewhere I wont accidentally trip it while scrolling?
Yeah, I have accidentally done that, too.
Oh, yes! I don’t think I can recall a time when I have purposely flagged a comment. But, I do wonder when I scroll via ipad down the right side that red flag pops up. I then poke around in the same comment area and the flag goes away. I sure hope I’m not flagging someone.
Would like to test it sometime but chicken. ha
If I were in your shoes, I would be prepared and even premptively go the Alex Jones route. Completely rip the bandaid off and dont use any big tech resources for anything. They will ban you regardless.
I’ll be curious to see the March metrics. February was impressive, apparently busting the 2 million unique visits mark for the month. Bounce rate remains relatively low, at around 50%, with good page view metrics. Nice move! 🙂
This underscores how, to a certain extent, playing the game gets more exposure and, hence, the message out to more minds and hearts to change. That’s an elemental function of diplomacy.
Different people/sites I follow are duplicating their sites on multiple platforms. For instance, Russell Brand publishes on youtube and Rumble.
There are even programs which do the multiple postings for you.
Telegram has a system where comments can be a separate group.
Telegram also translates into other languages.
And Telegram does not censor itself. It works by the members alerting.
You could set up duplicate websites with Bravenet which is not all that expensive with DIY. I’ve been doing that for over 30 years using their templates. Cost less than $200 a year.
You could set up a separate website just for comments.
Judge Napolitano and others on Youtube read out their own ads.
CTH could have your own ads too on here. I’m sure somebody amongst your readers would be able to advise and set up an ad section. Right now you could ask for advertisers to contact you.
As you write usually only about 3 columns daily, you could have a youtube + rumble + some other video site read your columns out. John Voight or some other actor (Kari?) might like to do it for free.
And don’t forget your email newsletter. Emails can have ads too.
Hoping some of my suggestions are of help.
Kind regards.
Well, just sucks. I will be more careful with my choice of words from here on out.
PayPal has always disappointed me, but I used them anyway. I wish it could be more.
Is there a way to send a private message to Sundance? If there is, I would certainly appreciate hearing about it.
We can email via the address at the top of the page, [email protected].
Thank you for that information.
I sent the message, but it bounced back, saying it was blocked. Suggestions?
My suggestion would be to try from a provider like Proton, if not already used, and compare, presuming you’re sending the current inquiry from the e-mail address registered to post here. If no joy, post the e-mail providers publicly for comparison with other’s experiences.
And include something in the subject line, to make it clear its not spam, …like your screen name.
Happy to contribute – how do I become a member of the secret password society here at CTH?
Email Admin, address at top of page, they’ll be happy to provide it.
if you see a password-protected article, email Treehouse and they’ll reply
that’s Treehouse procedure and better than people endlessly replying with it in the open comment section, which defeats the purpose
email address is at top right of the page
Ty
Yikes! The level of intrusion is scary but it just makes me remember your words SD, “The need for control is a reaction to fear”.
That comment featured really feels like a plant. Or a FUD troll. (Fear, Uncertainty, Doubt) Can’t remember where I learned that term but if the shoe fits…
We are here to help. Confirm green range. The skies are yours.
Thanks for the heads up, SD. Never saw that comment before. Def looks non-Treeper.
First, I am always amazed at the escalating effrontery of Google hobnailed treatment of free thought/speech.
At the risk of TPTB, I think the “offending” example was pretty mild:
1. an old slur (low shock value) on actual terrorists’ origins and their known risk patterns.
2 . Google’s apparent rejection of Russia’s sovereignity and rights of self defense – similar to, or less than, current US practices on terrorists, listed enemies, and mastermind removal
3 . as for some degree that Ness suggested response is more personal and/or medieval, perhaps legal in some less enlightened countries, I wonder about maximum comment preservation with improved, minimalist edit schemes e.g. “r@gh*@d” or substitutions like [(pre)judicially remove].
It’s still hard to believe Google is getting away with so much thought policing for a search engine that peaked ~15 years ago in its long deteriorating Search related utility.
Google’s core is being an advertising business and deep user profiling / tracking.
NOT a search business.
It has been like this for a long time. (Back when they acquired Doubleclick to solidify their monopoly)
All the rest that the do is just vanity projects that are funded by their Ad business, to deepen their user tracking.
(Google Office, Google Maps, Chrome (you’re logged in right?), Google Cloud you name it)
Their “Do no evil” slogan has turned into a hollow statement a long time ago as well.
Bend To Evil.
Best Anagram Ever.
Small donation because PayPal screws us over with the exchange rate:
fxempire AUD => USD 0.659
PayPay AUD => USD 0.624
I hate donate via PayPal they usually add a transfer fee to that as well!
Keep up the good work and God Bless!
Looks like you aren’t the only one:
Google Is Completely Out of Controlhttps://pjmedia.com/benbartee/2024/04/02/can-you-guess-how-many-pj-media-articles-google-has-demonetized-n4927842
As I said numerous times over the years:
The Intel schmucks recognize that CT is perhaps the most important site on the net.
The anti semitic outbursts that occasionally inundate the site are at least partially the method used by the IC to shut CT down.
But anti semitism may not cut it these days. ‘Islamaphobia’ though. That ticks the boxes.
Give us a postal address to donate. Please.
Thus doxxing recipient and contributor alike.
Won’t happen.
Too smart for that.
4
Respectfully, wasn’t a certain entity that delivers in sleet, snow and hail implicated in dump ing bal lots? The same could happen with mail addressed to a very specific b o x number. NOT deprecating the entire organization here. Just sayin’ it would take only one disgruntled employee to “redirect” a bunch of envelopes.
I see no value added by comments here. I read CTH for your content and information. Dump the comments.
That’s FOUR.
Reckon it never occurred to them to simply NOT READ THE COMMENTS they see no value in!!
So NOT scroll down thru the comments, after reading Sundances article?
But that would require,…non effort to not do,….?
You beat me to it.
Low rent glowies.
Five. US was four.
Five by my count too. May be higher since I’m replying to your post three hours later.
Can you use AI to scan and moderate the comments – before they are published?
I read and respond a lot on rt.com and I’m sure they’re using AI to quickly scan ALL incoming comments.
They get too many comments and terminate a lot of them, with in a few seconds of posting – thus I surmise AI.
But they now require every commenter and Up-count/Down-count “entity” to be registered using an email address and acknowledging the Registration via an email interaction.
FWIW That has dropped the number of AI/Bot trolls significantly.
IIRC My PHP Forums also have a list of forbidden words …
registering useful email addresses is not a sound privacy and freedom practice
I use a proton.com as email address.
I’m very fond of my privacy!
Protonmail.com now has a facility within it that can create additional email addresses for non-daily uses. I have created different addresses for commenting, purchasing, selling, etc. Use your imagination…ALL contract or personal privacy communications should go through this type of facility.
It is all completely encrypted (100%)
Me too, Mr. Will.
I recall a forum, ironically largely MAGA and pro-COTUS, that auto-moderated profanity to asterisks. Included in their filter was ‘bitch‘. That seemed to make sense; however, all good intentions can have unintended consequences. During Covid and the summer of violence when Youtube was moderating and banning people, many switched to a platform called ‘Bitchute‘ for posting videos.
Guess what happened? 🙂
Yes, most forum software has a forbidden word list that operates as the posts are processed for publishing to the database. Either it sends the post to moderation or replaces the forbidden word with characters like asterisks. The ones I either owned or moderated went the moderation route, which I believe is how this forum operates. The post gets queued for a human to inspect, then approved, or not.
I remember a time when we had forums that were surprisingly civil and completely unmoderated. I happened to participate in one of them extensively, starting when the owner hosted it himself on a server at his business, which happened to be a video game development business.
However, the forum was not about politics, rather cars. It grew into one of the largest car forums on the net, for the time anyway. It wasn’t that long ago, 28 years or so, and grew to over 100,000 members before any sort of moderation was deemed necessary. Why? The internet had exploded and every Tom, Dick and Harry was on it, including all the riff-raff. Little surprise.
Daunting task; no easy answers IMO.
If only yhere eas a way, to send the spiders right back at THEM, to bite em in the ass!
Set a monthly donation through PayPal.
Only wish I could do more.
https://ghost.org/pricing/ might be worth a look.
They support Rumble and Twitter embeds, something Substack does not. Ghost uses Stripe for subscriptions. Stripe hasn’t shutdown LibsofTikTok over on Substack.
I’m very old school even though my gen is twice separated from my parents gen (even though they claim I wasn’t an accident, I know full well that is simply not true due to simple mathematics) together my parents instilled in me and my siblings sound advice and inspiration that is sparsely found today. But those lessons are exactly why I rarely comment from out here on my tiny branch where I’ve perched and read your inspirational and succinct articles for at least 8-9 years. And I can honestly say that only here at TCTH do I take the time to also read all of the comments and I have found some of the most interesting, funny, insightful and intelligent comments/
communications from an amazing bunch of treepers! I don’t like at all, those who have obviously intentionally commented in random useless garbage nonsense, that isn’t really relevant to the conversation. They aren’t here to add to the quality. That’s for certain! In fact “the conversations” on this site are what makes it such a standalone corner that’s not found anyway else as far as I’ve been witness to.
I remember that post by that Ness entity and I’ve seen another eerily twinsie or triplet commenting style under other screen names pop up in your feed that leads me to believe they are all the same entities. Like I said….I’m really old school with not only still having a landline 📞 and a chronological watch so I don’t do SM or PayPal but I will in fact go out tomorrow or today(idk because I’m a graveyard shifter) and refill my old reliable card that I use for purchases to make a decent donation for all you and the treepers do to keep the lights on in the treehouse!!!
It used to be all of us were old school, for some reason (lol) the kiddies showed up to play cause we were having too much fun…sigh
Just donated using Paypal, but I chose, as I always do, their option to not store my personal information. So every time I donate to CTH, I have to re-enter my information for the donation. No Problem!
On a planet that has gone completely insane Sundance, the admins and our fellow Treepers have helped me to remain mentally stable. And that helps my family too 😍🙏💖!