Perhaps it does, to some extent, if you go to: bbs.boingboing.net instead of the boingboing home page. I know that’s not what you mean, but perhaps can help? I don’t mean to be naive, but that’s my experience. And the front page is always there.
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Yeah, I’m more referring to newer or casual users who aren’t aware of the backend, but who occasionally would see a topic or notification while commenting and stumble into discussions they aren’t really engaged with, often throwing firebombs.
ETA: It would also allow users who still really love the front page (despite a definite increase in blood-boiling content) to engage or ignore as they please, with whatever version of BBS they choose to.
Anyway, I’m definitely not the one to dream this up, it just sprang to mind based on what ficus said.
I don’t want to say how long it took me to notice that I could click on the top left of the screen to go to the bbs and not the right to go to bb. Since then, I’ve treated bb as a bbs.
Thanks all here for an entertaining, thought provoking weekend. I would like to hope we won’t lose mutants over this.
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I don’t know if you do or not, but you had said you were going to try to answer Mindy. Part of this topic going so badly is that it’s a mix of marginialized people saying how they’ve been marginialized, with examples of being ignored and even silenced right here, and others casting vague aspersions that we are supposed to simply trust are examples of people being just as unfair.
For the record, I don’t buy those. Like MikeTheBard talks about echo chambers…well, I remember the last time there was a pile on against him, since I was part of it. He was talking about how 3rd parties are necessary to save the US, and lots of us disagreed. That’s it. Is that all that’s being held up as equivalent to the mistreatment of women and LGBTQ and neurodivergent and other people here? It sure seems like it to me, though of course I can’t be sure, because so much of this topic is accusations without details. If anyone actually thought those were less abrasive than calling examples out, I hope now you know better.
Anyway Mindy took the time to answer you, and for your part in this I think you could at least reply like you said.
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Side note , I just learned you can mute categories, and I most definitely just did that to boing for the reasons you specified.
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Is it useful to go back dozens of comments and kick up dust again, especially when it was hashed out down thread by others while I was away? That seems to engender the sort of clutter and crosstalk that account for at least part of the issues highlighted here.
I’ve also said a few times that I definitely don’t think it’s useful to start @‘ing users and dredging up old grievances and spinning this back out into finger-pointing and avatar wrestling. I personally have only really felt unfairly beset once that wasn’t prompted by my own ignorance/misread/privilege and in those moments I was sure to be abject in owning my part. What prompted me to post in the first place was seeing other users experiencing this and telling me directly that they felt this way. And many of them are from the selfsame marginalized communities that are also stating they feel unsafe in this forum. I’m certainly not going to add to that trauma by demanding they come to this thread and say their peace. If there was anything I would say about that it’s that if we truly make it a priority to trust people when they say they’re being victimized, that’s got to be universal.
Also, just logistically this thread is so long now that I don’t think I can even parse the through line of conversation that led to that exhausted, late-night post. I was mainly trying to say “I’m not copping out, but my brain just can’t deal”.
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I’m here every day and have seen none of that from anyone I consider a friend on this thread. I’ve seen some serious BS from the folks here whom I’ve ignored, however.
Every person on the right whom I’ve seen show up on BB’s BBS has been justifiably flagged and removed b/c they only came here in the first place to call us names and scream faux news’ hateful phrase of the day. No attempt to intellectually engage w/us, just screaming BS. So charming.
As far as “dominating” this thread, I’d point out the people writing the most responses have been asked questions, and are replying. Some are asking a lot of questions. As far as domination as a concept, the people writing the most reponses are actually marginalized individuals who must constantly defend themselves from macro- and microaggressions from privilege-blinded but otherwise allright fellas (b/c they’re figuring it out at long last), and those users who are bigoted re: the marginalized and are being sneaky nasty fuckers. Had you read the thread, you’d see that.
My concern is far more for the marginalized feeling safe here than demands for a supposedly “fair & balanced” average political viewpoint. We don’t get right wingers here because they hate people who think - and live our lives - the ways we do - they hate the marginalized and the lefties, and think many of us shouldn’t even exist. I don’t wanna be around people like that, which is Why I Am Here. I am here because there are no nazis.
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Well, that’s cool. Thanks for helping light this on fire with vague aspersions, letting Mindy talk, and then ignoring her until you decided it’s time to move on anyway. If the BBS does get canceled over this, you can definitely rest assured you were one of the good guys fighting to save it. 
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Come on. I’m trying not to kick shit in people’s faces, but the one thing I keep saying is still being ignored:
There are numerous people on this forum whom I know for a fact are BIPOC, LGBTQ and neurodivergent that have expressed that they feel harassed and piled onto. One even came into this forum to express this, and despite even saying directly that they have a hard time mentally processing information and emotional stress like this, were told that because they didn’t participate in one specific forum on neurodivergence, they didn’t really have a stake in the discussion. It took enormous courage for them to even get to the point they felt safe enough to post, but they were belittled and dismissed.
So instead of throwing gasoline on the situation, I reached out to the poster I thought was offensive directly (as the flagging popup advises) and asked them to reconsider how their words landed. They did and it’s gone now. I could identify both users right now, but that seems really shitty and re-traumatizing and I’m simply not going to do it.
That is not at all accurate and very disappointing.
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So I should go dredge up the quote I sent them and post it here do we can argue about it endlessly while not addressing the core of what I said?
That’s incorrect; Liz didn’t say nor even imply that.
She was bringing it up that Aloisius, the person whose comments on Michelle Obama started this whole ass debacle, didn’t previously mention that he was on the spectrum, nor had he given any indication that he processes communication and interactions differently.
His admission of his condition only came after multiple arguments on various topics, not just the thread regarding the unsubstantiated rumor about MO running for POTUS.
That said:
This stage in the conversation is starting to seem like some folks are trying to turn the discussion into an ‘Oppression Olympics’ event - pitting Women, LGBTQ+ & BIPOC folks against those who are neurodivergent.
Fuck that noise: we ALL deserve the same basic respect as humans and space to post our opinions.
Implying that any one group of disadvantaged people matters more than any other is some fucked up thinking, and it is NOT a mark of true allyship.
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That is a lie.
You are normie-splaining how a known autistic person should speak to a newly-announced autistic person.
And you thanked me for leaving this forum as a result of your interference.
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Yep. I saw it happen, and for anyone else who did, you know the woman who was flagged was hurt by the exchange. But we are being told that for all these real obvious examples of marginalized people being pushed aside, we have to trust there is just as much of a problem for some kind of silent majority being brigaded by them. No examples, so no way to be sure it isn’t just more people feeling the sting of disagreement or being called out for microaggressions – the way I’m pretty sure the neurodivergent person in question has been, in fact, which is a separate question from them being neurodivergent. Just trust that the people bravely pouring their hearts out are no more important to listen to, because reasons.
I will be honest about my biases. TornPaperNapkin and chgoliz, both of whom have been heartbreakingly stomped on here, are part of the reason I am here. Mindy and Melz – who have not been called out explicitly but it’s extremely hard to imagine who else the handwringing about snarky gifs was about – are part of the reason I am here. Dude who feels this place is unfair because people didn’t entertain his take on electoral politics? I’d like it to be welcoming to him, but not at the expense of those others. And I feel like half of this thread is putting them above those others, and I am well past being out of patience for it.
@cannibalpeas, if you’re not going to answer Mindy like you said, you could at least read and take to heart what she said. This really feels like you didn’t at all. Just one more brilliant women talking into a void – and if you think that’s not pouring gasoline on things, you really have missed what’s going on. 
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Yet again, I never even suggested that.
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I thanked you for reconsidering how your post was received.
See, I’m pretty sure you’re misgendering them, which has happened up thread and accounts for a massive amount of the “avatar wrestling” I see here.
Then how else am I to cite specific examples and users? I’m asking people to consider that maybe, just maybe multiple things can be true and that the very real and very valid arguments upthread about people feeling threatened daily also coexists with vulnerable users being harassed by those selfsame users.
Again, if we’re to believe people when they say they feel threatened we can’t dismiss them when it is for reasons that go against our assumptions about them.
ETA: And to answer @Mindysan33’s queries as @chenille is demanding of me, I already did right here.
Also edit to clarify which user I’m speaking to.
It certainly appears to me that the neurodivergent person in question, who came here far upthread, approached this thread and its denizens in a heartfelt respectful fashion. They asked how they can do better, and was given heartfelt, respectful advice - to ask the leaders/mods.
A simple suggestion to visit another thread was made later upthread, and that’s how I saw it, not at all as it was characterized. Just a simple suggestion.
Why is this turning into a muddy mess again? We are intelligent human beings, so why TF are some of us treating the rest of us so shabbily?
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This is a good example. I also very strongly believe that a lot of reforms that I want will not be possible until we eliminate first past the post. But I recognize that most other people are not going to die on that hill with me.
I except almost no I no one else that I talk to here to be fully on the Carceral Abolitionist wagon yet. I’ve only been fully on it for 5 years or so.
There are only a small number of other Anarchist here. Most people do not actually agree with me. But I read the room and I don’t constantly thow out my most controversial takes, I try to talk to people more where they are at.
I recently got into a debate here on diet culture where I was disagreeing with several people that I like and get along with and I was agreeing with someone I don’t usually agree with as much. Eventually someone else jumped in and agreed it was a touchy subject but that we had a point.
There was tension. One person might have felt attacked. I didn’t feel attacked even though it was emotional for me and I was frustrated. Some of the things that people that I like said are things I think come from anti fat propaganda but I didn’t push that point because it would have been unnecessary provocative and I also respected that many people have worked hard to improve their diet and exercise routines and have improved their health and that it was important not to make it feel like their efforts were being trivialized.
That’s a tense disagreement. They happen.
And it does suck if you have a mental difference that makes a space harder to navigate but that is also a complex web.
Personally I am not capable of feeling safe with people in general. I feel just secure enough here to occasionally comment but commenting always causes me distress. There is nothing that could fix that outside of my own body.
When a place feels unsafe it’s important to examine all the factors. What places do feel safe. What are the differences between them. Are they replaceable. Is the safer space more narrow, more focused, with clearer rules. Is it a demographic issue. It it an issue with tone and the type of topics being discussed.
The answer could end up being, yes the people are just mean here but it’s not a good default assumption.
What does it feel like to have a safe disagreement in the other space that feels more safe or is it just a low conflict space.
Personally they thing that makes me feel safer here is the frequency with which I see someone else reply to a comment that makes me feel bad. When I do see a sexist joke or heartless take, I can be pretty sure that someone else will say it’s not cool and make me feel less alone and crazy.
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There are two people I’ve mentioned that I might have been referring to, and one goes by a common male name, in fact the one I brought up in connection with electoral politics. I try not to assume a gender for anyone here unless they’ve shown some sign…more than once I’ve flipped back through their comment history to be certain. But sure, let’s just assume I’m doing it wrong instead of listening to anything I’ve said.
And congratulations on “answering” Mindy by replying to me without mentioning her at all. Definitely not adding to the problem of women being ignored.
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I’m the one who commented about snarky gifs. And no, it wasn’t directed at any person(s), it was intended to be about the harmfulness of snark/sarcasm in general.
I’m sorry that I brought that into the conversation. I realize that I am in a very tiny minority of people who believe/feel that snark is harmful speech, and as such it became a distraction within this topic. I regret having mentioned it here.
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