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@bsh1
Thoughts on the economic policy positions of Jeb Bush, John Kasich, and Marco Rubio?
On balance, do you think immigration economically benefits the US?
Would you raise the minimum wage? To how much, if yes? Why?
AMA: Bsh1
Posts
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Total:
125
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@DebateArt.com
Congratulations on creating this amazing site. It's really impressive.
Did you ever debate on DDO? Because you spoke about "not losing the spirit we have here" referring to the spirit at DDO being kept at DART. But you have no record of debates on that profile.
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@thett3
@Wylted
@Plisken
If you were secret gay lovers with mike would you betray his love for you by outting the secret relationship?
I am not going to answer entrapping hypotheticals. I never new Mike before DART.
What country are you from?
I am a native-born American.
Tbh dart is extremely suspicious, I don’t think it’s a vast Russian conspiracy but I don’t buy the “official” narrative about its founding either
I'll be honest: I like and respect Mike as I know him. But neither would I want him to know my real name. Everything Russian is suspect to some degree nowadays.
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@thett3
To your knowledge, what’s the origin story of DART? Specifically, when did the design work begin. When did you first hear about it? When did mike first approach you about becoming mod?
I don't have any unique information about DART's origin story that is not already in the public domain. The first discussion I had with Mike about my potential modship occurred at 08.31.2018 11:06PM. In the spirit of total openness, and contrary to the implication of your question, I approached Mike, not the other way around. I did that after I tried and failed to convince another user to apply for the job.
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@Logical-Master
LM was offered the position of an assistant moderator for forums.
Raltar:
When did bsh1 get appointed to the head moderator position and what was his prior association with the site owner?
There was an announcement thread posted indicating that Virt and I would be the moderation team. We were informally appointed a few days before that.
When did Virtuoso get appointed to a moderator position and what was his prior association with bsh1?
I cannot speak to Virt's appointment--Mike will have to answer that if he wants. I had some interactions with Virt on DDO, but we were not esp. close.
I am running out of time to answer the other questions--I have something with family at 3:30. I will answer the rest later today.
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@bsh1
In the spirit of total openness, and contrary to the implication of your question, I approached Mike, not the other way around. I did that after I tried and failed to convince another user to apply for the job.
There’s no “implication” to the question, I’m just trying to establish a timeline
here’s a question for your ama: do you find it at all suspicious that this domain was registered less than a month after the initial spam attack, which at that point was still somewhat contained?
Bsh1 said;
Everything Russian is suspect to some degree nowadays.
In light of the revalation that the site owner is located in Russia and the domain name is also registered there, this hardly seems like a glowing endorsement.
I honestly started my questions expecting to be told that the whole Russia angle was bunk and that the site just got registered the way it did to protect the identity of the owner. This was not the turn I was expecting things to take.
The thing is that the proxy that Mike got is a Russian one. What this means is he could be hosting the site anywhere in the world and make the servers be whoisproxy.ru by paying for the VPN service.
I will say nothing more or less on this. I am not doxxing more than everyone has already seen and understand if this gets taken down.
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@Raltar
Mike's country is no revelation. It's been common knowledge pretty much since the site started.
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@RationalMadman
...the proxy that Mike got is a Russian one. What this means is he could be hosting the site anywhere in the world...
Yes, which is why I was expecting him to deny actually being in Russia. It would be an easy thing to deny.
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@bsh1
Aha, I'm not the only one who declined it? I feel slightly less bad.LM was offered the position of an assistant moderator for forums.
Raltar:
When did Tejretrics get appointed to a moderator position and what justification was offered for his appointment?
Tej was appointed shortly after Virt and I were appointed, and, if memory serves, he was announced in the thread I linked earlier. He was an obvious choice for such a position--he is widely regarded as a competent voter and he is intelligent and of high integrity.
What justification was given for selecting Castin as a moderator? Did it go any further than "people like her?"
She was, of course, widely respected. She was also engaged with site issues, was impartial and not overly deferential, and could likely muster a consensus of support for her modship.
What countries do all of the above named people live in (bsh1, Virtuoso, Tejretrics, Castin and the site owner)?
I live in the US, as, I think, do Virt and Castin. Tej lives in India. I have lived abroad before, but most of my life has been spent on the US East Coast.
Is "Mike" the real name of the site owner, or was that just a conveniently selected pseudonym?
I assumed it to be an Americanized nickname for Mikhail, but only Mike can answer that.
What connection, if any, does this site have with Russia? If none, then why is the domain name registered through a Russian service?Why is the history of this site so vague? Why doesn't anyone seem to know the exact dates on which significant events took place, such as certain moderators being appointed or when the site first went online?
All moderation appointments were publicly announced within a few days or less of the appointments being agreed upon. The notion that no one knows when these appointments took place is false. As for the rest, Mike is going to have to answer those questions.
Is it purely a coincidence that none of the moderators are Christians, politically conservative or located in the U.S.?
Castin's profile says she is atheist (which I did not know until now), and, of course, a moderator position was offered to LM. I am agnostic, Virt is Jewish, and Castin is Atheist. We have then someone in the Theist and Atheist camps, as well as someone (me) who is in neither, which seems reasonably diverse to me. I am located in the US, as are (I believe) Castin and Virt--meaning that the majority of moderators are in the US. As for conservatism, again, LM was offered the position. But, honestly, diversity of political and religious views is not something I select for in looking for assistant moderators; I want someone who will fairly enforce site policy, irrespective of their political and religious perspectives.
Is it a coincidence that the site owner and all but one of the moderators are atheists?
I am neither an atheist nor a theist. I believe that it is irrational to believe in God AND that it is irrational to not believe in God. The only rational response to the question of God's existence, IMO, is to suspend belief, i.e. to say "I don't know and I can't know."
What justification is offered for bsh1's refusal to step down from his position?
That I see no compelling reason to step down.
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@thett3
There’s no “implication” to the question, I’m just trying to establish a timeline
I meant only that your question seemed to suggest that Mike had approached me, and I wanted to disambiguate how things actually played out.
here’s a question for your ama: do you find it at all suspicious that this domain was registered less than a month after the initial spam attack, which at that point was still somewhat contained?
Honestly, I don't know what to make of it. I think that Mike has always been open and honest about being Russian speaks well for his credibility. But, the site had also long been on decline before the spampocalypse hit. I need to hear Mike's explanation. I am entirely not technical, so these kinds of questions were not really on my mind when I first joined.
In light of the revalation that the site owner is located in Russia and the domain name is also registered there, this hardly seems like a glowing endorsement.
I am not going to condemn Mike simply because he is Russian. There are many good Russians, and many good Russians on the internet. Everything I know of Mike suggests he is a good person, and until something more than very loosely substantiated conjecture is offered, I will continue to give greater credence to what I know over what is being speculated.
That is more along the lines of the response I expected. Stubborn, hard-headed and denies everything.
I can't disprove any of that, except to question the claim that Virtuoso lives in the U.S. when his profile says he lives in Israel.
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@bsh1
Castin hard at workWhat justification was given for selecting Castin as a moderator? Did it go any further than "people like her?"She was, of course, widely respected. She was also engaged with site issues, was impartial and not overly deferential, and could likely muster a consensus of support for her modship.
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@Castin
Lol.
Stubborn, hard-headed and denies everything.
More like honest, firm, and direct.
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@bsh1
Stubborn, hard-headed and denies everything.More like honest, firm, and direct.
You certainly herd cats better than most!
Ethang is basically edward Snowden and this shit is more incriminating than anyone realises.
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@Raltar
Virtuosa lives within walking distance to me. He is in the United States. Bsh1's location and how he ended up there is probably incriminating, which is why we are unsure of those details though
Mike is the person to be hunting for information. Bsh1 is not the conspirator here, it's not Bsh1's style to be corrupt intentionally in a pre-arranged manner. It would break him as a person emotionally, I know him well.
RM I need your collaboration on a project to figure out just who the fuck this Mike guy is and expose the fuck out of him. Please join my crusade. Unblock me
Why do people have to turn a tiny website into Game of Thrones.
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@Castin
Because Crowfall is still in beta testing?
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@Raltar
... Touche, damn you.
Winter is coming
bsh1 has already answered some of the questions so I'll just add what what is missing.
Is "Mike" the real name of the site owner, or was that just a conveniently selected pseudonym?
My real name, just its English version, to make it easier for everyone.
What countries do all of the above named people live in (bsh1, Virtuoso, Tejretrics, Castin and the site owner)?
Russia and trust me, I am doing my best to get the hell outta here.
What connection, if any, does this site have with Russia? If none, then why is the domain name registered through a Russian service?
This website is subsidiary of Russian Mafia LLC that was contracted by the Russian government to influence your minds in order to support Trump, obviously.
Why is the history of this site so vague?
I don't know what's vague about it. People like coming up with mysteries, I guess.
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@DebateArt.com
This website is subsidiary of Russian Mafia LLC that was contracted by the Russian government to influence your minds in order to support Trump, obviously.
I can confirm this. Mike's the boss, bsh is the underboss and I am the Consigliere, tej is the Caporegime and caspin is the associate.