Username (display name) and avatar rules and political statements - Page 1
Forum section: electronics / general

author: benj38
author_rank: Frequent Contributor
timestamp: March 16, 2025, 10:30:31 am
content: I have noticed a newbie with 3 posts which chose for his username/display-name "ElonTheFelon", with an avatar using an image of Mike Myers from a skit in SNL where he is impersonating Elon Musk, so there is no question of the intent of this new user.Regardless of whether I agree with the above point of view or not, I believe it is completely against the interests of the vast majority of the forum members to turn it into a platform for expressing political opinions (or worse, given that Elon Musk was never convicted of any felony), either in the content of their posts or their usernames, avatars, etc.This forum is for sharing technical electronics related information. I do not come here to share or view political and activist views of any sort, be them ones I agree with or not, and I believe almost everybody else on the forum does the same. Please correct me if I am wrong.This is an international forum, and this world is big and full of strife and conflicts, and violently different opinions.I know that Dave hates rules, but I believe that once we allow sliding down this slope, there will be no way back, which may very well lead to the end of this wonderful community that we all work so hard to keep.

author: MK14
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: March 16, 2025, 10:34:08 am
content: This seems to be their profile:https://www.eevblog.com/forum/profile/?u=1046215Also, since the rules seem to prohibit similar political messages, in ones profile, the forum user picture and username are either included in the rules, anyway, or perhaps should be.https://www.eevblog.com/forum/chat/forum-rules-please-read/Bold added by me:QuoteEdit: Added, section(s) about existing rules.

author: pcprogrammer
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: March 16, 2025, 10:53:51 am
content: Quote from: benj38 on March 16, 2025, 10:30:31 amWhat slope? As long as the member refrains from expressing their political, or other against the rules, views in their posts, there is no real harm. Sure some may trip over the user name, like for example a member from Italy who used the name kkk. Not sure if it has been changed or not. For me it is just a name.And wake up, even though it is not wanted, political tinted threads come to life now and then, even started by Dave him self.https://www.eevblog.com/forum/chat/sunshine-coast-university-women-only-engineering-professorship/It is up to yourself if you want to participate or not, and flag a thread to the moderators if you think it crosses some lines. They can decide if it is ok or not.On a side note, the user name in question does not even rhyme properly.Edit: MK14 listed the rules, so just report the new member to the moderators and have them change the name and avatar, if they feel the same way as you do. Otherwise just live with it.

author: RoGeorge
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: March 16, 2025, 11:41:46 am
content: I vote to change that user's name, or to delete it.

author: brucehoult
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: March 16, 2025, 12:01:21 pm
content: Even funnier, I would bet good money they had 180º the opposite opinion of the gentleman and his businesses a year ago.

author: tszaboo
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: March 16, 2025, 12:21:57 pm
content: Let's add the USA-666 guy to that list as well.

author: thm_w
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: March 17, 2025, 11:28:43 pm
content: Quote from: pcprogrammer on March 16, 2025, 10:53:51 amWith username/signature/title it appears in every thread so cannot be avoided. If the name can't be a thread topic title, then it shouldn't be a username, no?Daves post (even though I would prefer he kept that garbage on twitter) is a single thread that can be ignored, and its obvious from the title. And he owns the damn forum.. so rules aren't relevant.Quote from: brucehoult on March 16, 2025, 12:01:21 pmNot sure how its funny that someones opinion would change over time based on behavior seen.

author: brucehoult
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: March 17, 2025, 11:51:43 pm
content: Quote from: thm_w on March 17, 2025, 11:28:43 pmI don't see why leaving one political party and joining another would have such an effect.It certainly has zero effect on whether certain electric cars are good or not -- personally I think EVs are a bad and un-ecological idea compared to hybrids, but if people want to buy them with their own money that's fine by me, and those do seem to be some of the best.I think SpaceX is doing amazing work, and I love my Starlink which I've had for more than three years.If you think Elon's personality or behaviour have changed in the last 12 months then you simply haven't been paying attention!Recall things such June 2018's Thailand cave incident, August's "Am considering taking Tesla private at $420. Funding secured." or September's smoking weed on Joe Rogan. And that was just in four months!!! Or the 2022-2023 Twitter acquisition offer, withdrawal of the offer, being forced to carry through with the offer, mass layoffs etc.

author: thm_w
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: March 18, 2025, 12:36:17 am
content: Quote from: brucehoult on March 17, 2025, 11:51:43 pmI agree somewhat, it shouldn't affect your opinion on the product itself. The engineering work is among the best.Would be nice to know though, how much freedom of design they have, vs being told to go down a certain path. Specifically the cybertruck design.We know the "cameras only" decision was his. Which clearly was misguided, as they continue to add more cameras to their vehicles to work around issues.QuoteYeah some of us don't play close attention.

author: pcprogrammer
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: March 18, 2025, 07:33:21 am
content: Quote from: thm_w on March 17, 2025, 11:28:43 pmIt is in the eye of the beholder that it is annoying, and as I pointed out it can be reported to the moderators. By starting this thread the issue is now "forced" upon us all. The name of the user does not bother me, it is the behavior that one shows in their posts that might bother me. And if it does I report it to the moderators and let them deal with it. Does not happen often, because I'm also one to ignore a lot of threads or posts that bear no interest to me.People are, in my opinion, becoming overly sensitive to words, without even knowing the actual intent. And so what, that in this case the new member choose a name that seemingly indicates to Elon Musk being a felon. Maybe not a good idea as he might be stuck with it, if the moderators have no intention to change it. I find Musk a power hungry, attention graving weirdo, so what. Not going to advertise that by spewing it in every action I take on the internet though.Quote from: thm_w on March 17, 2025, 11:28:43 pmThat is your opinion, but a couple of members seem to enjoy the thread. I say let them.And sure it is a single thread, where as the new member, at the time of writing this, only has three posts, so not a lot and these posts will, most likely, soon fade away.Edit: Noticed that the whole discussion is already rendered moot. The name has been changed into "UnijunctionTransistor". The moderators left the avatar though.

author: thm_w
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: March 18, 2025, 09:09:20 pm
content: Quote from: pcprogrammer on March 18, 2025, 07:33:21 amSure, name doesn't bother me either but that is not the point, I think it follows a clear formula that should not be allowed:- kkk, elon, obama, whatever as a username. If there is no clear intent, its just a historical figure. Shouldn't really be an issue.- HitlerIsGreat, xyz_is_evil as a username, not OK.QuoteThe intent seems fairly clear?

author: Bud
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: March 18, 2025, 10:18:14 pm
content: Quote from: pcprogrammer on March 18, 2025, 07:33:21 amRespectfully disagree here. User name, avatar image, avatar underl line and signature all appear Every time the user makes a post. Four (4) political messages can be carried into you face witn every post even the post itself is not political. Guess what, this may be a Strategy. Now, what is often not understood is as soon the user changes any of these, the change Instantly propagates across all the user's old posts. You reading the user's yesterday's post may get a new political punch line today. If a user would intentionally update daily the avatar, avatar punch line and the user signature , you get 60 political messages a month.This behaviour should not be allowed and the way not to allow it is to control it at the source by limiting what can be placed in those tags.

author: pcprogrammer
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: March 19, 2025, 06:51:54 am
content: How about the freedom of speech or expression?This is something Dave is in strong favor of, but to keep things in check some rules are needed. I support this too. And when something is against those set rules it is only fair to act upon them, which in this case has now been fully done. The avatar has also been modified.The one problem with something like this is who gets to decide what is against the rules. In this case maybe very clear that it is political, but only because the person in question is now openly heavily involved in politics, where as before he was just a business man.As to the post of Bud, sure all true what you wrote, but again in the eye of the beholder. I don't notice these, because my focus is on the post first.

author: tszaboo
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: March 19, 2025, 08:46:00 am
content: Quote from: pcprogrammer on March 19, 2025, 06:51:54 amDefamation per se is not part of free speech.Quote from: pcprogrammer on March 19, 2025, 06:51:54 amThe mods of the forum.Do you have any more of these very obvious questions?

author: pcprogrammer
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: March 19, 2025, 08:59:34 am
content: Quote from: tszaboo on March 19, 2025, 08:46:00 amFree speech is free speech, and in that setting everything could be allowed. Adding your restriction is a limitation of free speech. I'm not saying that it should not be part of it, don't get me wrong, but with this you have to assess what is defamation?The whole subject is very complex in where to draw the line of what is allowed and what not.And that is why I wrote earlier, that in cases like this, where someone takes offense on someones username, avatar, avatar statement or signature, they should just report it to the moderators and let them deal with it.Quote from: tszaboo on March 19, 2025, 08:46:00 amOne that reads between the lines would see that it was meant in a more general setting, than just this forum, and that it was not a question as such.Yes here the mods are the ones who decide. See my previous point.

author: tszaboo
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: March 19, 2025, 10:10:18 am
content: Quote from: pcprogrammer on March 19, 2025, 08:59:34 amQuoteIt's really not that complicated.

author: pcprogrammer
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: March 19, 2025, 11:03:12 am
content: Quote from: tszaboo on March 19, 2025, 10:10:18 amAnd yet you are happily participating in a thread that has politics written all over it, but beside that, I'm not debating any of this. This forum indeed has rules and it is up to the moderators to deal with them.All what we, the members, can do is point things out to the moderators, which I only do when I encounter spam or unfair behavior. I can't give a rats arse about those politically tinted threads or members that use names or avatars that might be a bit off.If others do take offense, that is their privilege.

author: Sorama
author_rank: Frequent Contributor
timestamp: March 22, 2025, 07:00:28 am
content: And so…we have a new political thread because someone did not like a user’s name.I wonder what is worse.

author: Nominal Animal
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: March 22, 2025, 09:11:19 am
content: Quote from: Sorama on March 22, 2025, 07:00:28 amWhen you ignore a thread (using the quick tools in New replies to your posts / unread posts since last visit), you no longer see it in any listings.When you add a member to your Ignore list (Profile > Summary, Modify Profile > Buddies/Ignore list... > Edit Ignore list), you'll only hide the text of their post, but will still see the username everywhere.Simply put, a strife/aggravation-causing username cannot be completely hidden, whereas an annoying thread can even if you replied to it yourself.Therefore, the strife/aggravation-causing username is definitely worse, because you cannot avoid seeing it in the threads and thread lists.

author: Sorama
author_rank: Frequent Contributor
timestamp: March 22, 2025, 09:24:03 am
content: Quote from: Nominal Animal on March 22, 2025, 09:11:19 amthat looks more like a personal problem, not a general problem.It 's a free world.And a free forum :-)I would say: take it or leave it.

author: RoGeorge
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: March 22, 2025, 09:45:29 am
content: Quote from: Sorama on March 22, 2025, 09:24:03 amExactly, if you don't like the rules of this forum,Sorama, then leave it.The rules are:https://www.eevblog.com/forum/chat/forum-rules-please-read/and they specifically say to not do shit like you are trying to normalize:Quote

author: coppercone2
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: March 22, 2025, 09:50:25 am
content: maybe you should see if anything engineering related is posted and start from there instead of starting a witch huntunless things are deleted its only 8.333....% related to elon musk and you could say the post that was made was true but it was only tangentially on topic but its a pretty correct evaluation of the ramifications of the incident (recalls are very bad for companies, news at 11)perhaps the name should be changed to elonandfelon.But if you consider history:consider the opinions and expressions of top scientists/engineers leading something like the PC revolution... this is not exactly a new or bad way of thinking.Berkley, apple 1984 advertisement, standing up to IBM, getting computers out of monopolistic hardware and software lock down (universal hardware, GNU license, BSD, linux).. those guys were getting pretty spicy stuff to the people in charge (say nixon, university directors, etc). Free environments fostered all that stuff, perhaps its even why the giants failed (brain drain). It's not fun being scared of offending some corporate director when you don't work for him, are not on his property, etc

author: Sorama
author_rank: Frequent Contributor
timestamp: March 22, 2025, 10:35:04 am
content: Quote from: RoGeorge on March 22, 2025, 09:45:29 amBut I do like the rules!What I don't like is people complaining about every little possibly issue.They make an issue of something that is not worth it, maybe not even ment to be problematic but make it problematic for some personal obsession?a bit like that woke behavior.

author: coppercone2
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: March 22, 2025, 10:39:12 am
content: the user impedance is too high and its glitching output 50 ohms on it and you won't even notice anymore

author: Sorama
author_rank: Frequent Contributor
timestamp: March 22, 2025, 10:45:39 am
content: Quote from: coppercone2 on March 22, 2025, 10:39:12 amor just short it :-)

author: woody
author_rank: Frequent Contributor
timestamp: March 22, 2025, 10:48:37 am
content: Although I have passionate feelings about a number of political issues large and small I have come to the conclusion that a forum is far from an ideal place to express these. I engaged a couple of times in the past on these on various fora but it never ever gave me the same satisfaction (for lack of a better word) I get when I have a discussion with someone eye-to-eye, heated or not. I need actual, physical closeness to be able to have a meaningful and respectful discussion. Smileys just don't cut it. And I suspect this goes for any human being.So lately I try to refrain from reacting to anything remotely political, be it a user name, a standpoint on (the use of) technology or outright statements. IMO this forum is meant to help us to find our way around electronics. Sometimes I need assistance, other times I am able to offer it. I try to keep it at that. Not easy though

author: Sorama
author_rank: Frequent Contributor
timestamp: March 22, 2025, 11:11:28 am
content: Quote from: benj38 on March 16, 2025, 10:30:31 amWhy didn’t you you, silently, just reported it to a moderator instead of making a topic of it?

author: Nominal Animal
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: March 22, 2025, 11:36:51 am
content: Quote from: Sorama on March 22, 2025, 09:24:03 am?No, it was a simple logical response to the question of "which is worse". I intended the response to show the underlying reason why an occasional thread that is against the rules is allowed by Dave to remain, whereas usernames are treated more strictly and with much less tolerance.This forum is not a democracy; it is a benevolent dictatorship where whatever Dave says, goes. Even pointing out to the rules and saying that "but the rules say" is irrelevant, because the rules do not apply to Dave; they're just the best approximation of his intent for this forum.Why tolerate a dictatorship? Because it is abenevolentone. Dave has a very long track record showing he has zero interest in exploiting anyone, and very keen interest in interacting with many people in a mutually beneficial way. He's not perfect, but the intent is there; and without him, it is extremely unlikely this forum would exist. By participating here, we acknowledge that in this small corner of the Intertubes, we choose to abide by Dave's rules. If we don't like them, we can simply leave, and no hard feelings: this is not the only forum on electronics, after all. I like this nook, because he is very logical and rational compared to the average, but still usescommon senseand deals with each situation on an individual basis, instead of relying on rote reading of some rigid ideological or political rules.Quote from: Sorama on March 22, 2025, 11:11:28 amGood question. I often report stuff I think is spam myself. My social skills are deficient in a funny way that makes me miss some details and see some other details others miss, so I often suspect any misunderstanding is on my end, and just ignore that stuff if I can.Plus, not all seeming insults are insults. Labeling someone afelonis, but for example KKK is not necessarily so, because it was a strictly US organization not well known outside. For example, there was a supermarket chain with KKK stores here in Finland: the chain is still called the "K-group", and back then they had single-K, double-K, and triple-K markets, increasing in size and stock. The chain was pretty horrified when they realized the double meaning, and quickly changed the naming scheme, even though it costa lotacross the entire chain.So, no absolutely fixed rule will work that well. The best solution is for the moderators or Dave to either change the username, lock the thread, or PM the user to inform about the issue, and see how they respond. My own communications errors are such that I definitely hope I get that PM first, because I'm not here to tout my opinions, just to learn and help others.

author: Karel
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: March 22, 2025, 11:41:45 am
content: Quote from: Nominal Animal on March 22, 2025, 11:36:51 amThis.

author: benj38
author_rank: Frequent Contributor
timestamp: March 27, 2025, 10:37:37 am
content: Quote from: Sorama on March 22, 2025, 11:11:28 amI did report it silently to the moderator, but nothing happened for a few days, and I thought there may be an omission in the rules since I found no specific mention of the avatar and username in the rules, so I opened the topic.Perhaps I should have waited longer, it was just my experience in the past that the moderators react very fast (e.g., when blatant unashamed commercial advertising was reported). In any case, I thought a clarification of the rules regarding the avatar and username are in order if the moderators agree with my point of view that these should be kept a-political, etc.That is all.

author: Sorama
author_rank: Frequent Contributor
timestamp: March 27, 2025, 02:06:06 pm
content: Maybe a moderator already decided to leave it as it is…It seems you expect them to do what you want them to do.

author: MK14
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: March 27, 2025, 04:00:40 pm
content: Quote from: benj38 on March 27, 2025, 10:37:37 amSPECULATION:What I think sometimes happens, is that they PM the specific user, about the issue first. Giving them time to respond, and perhaps explain the situation and agree on a new mutually agreeable, new user name.But, if there was no response to the PM, after perhaps a few days, they then (might), have changed the name, anyway. Which (at a guess), is what happened in this case, as the name seems fairly generic.

author: trs
author_rank: Newbie
timestamp: June 08, 2025, 01:27:13 pm
content: Quote from: Sorama on March 22, 2025, 09:24:03 amIt’s not, though. It’s Dave’s forum. His house, his rules. It’s not a free-for-all. It’s not 4chan.Quote from: benj38 on March 16, 2025, 10:30:31 amWhat exactly is political about the username in question? Is the mere mention of Musk inherently political now? He may have bought himself access to politicians and power, but that does not a politician make.Would you say the username “TimAppleTheFelon” is a political statement? I’m just trying to judge the line here.Quote from: tszaboo on March 19, 2025, 08:46:00 amMusk is a public figure. Is it hypothetically your contention that someone might read that username and mistake it for fact? Respectfully, if you’re getting your news from EEVBlog usernames, you shouldn’t be on the internet.

author: Bud
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: June 08, 2025, 02:21:28 pm
content: Conversely, if you push your agenda by the use of crafted usernames, you should not be on EEVBlog.