The whirlpool forum is out of control. Its full of bullies and trollers with mods who protect the bullies.
I've been a member of that forum since 2002.
Has anyone else experience this?
Is the ozbargin forum a lot better?
Whirlpool forum is out of control
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I have encountered a couple of questionable moderations of my posts on WP, but I've had some positive experiences as well.
One time, I posted some opinions that rubbed a couple of people the wrong way. I guess they decided to wage a passive-aggressive campaign against me, as after that, I regularly received dismissive or derisive replies to my posts. At the time, I was shrugging it off with the rationalisation that some people are just asses, but to my pleasant surprise, a mod stepped in and started taking down their replies. Didn't experience any more harassment from them after that.
Anyway, you take the good with the bad. Nothing is perfect, but on the whole, I find WP to be a pretty decent place to express your two bits worth.
A few years ago I wasn't in a very good financial position. My wife had lost her job and was very stressed about a dental bill for my daughter. I had asked a question on whirlpool about what options were available to me re gov help as I was very overwhelmed.
Simultaneously, I had a big interest in projector technology. I wasn't buying any of course, but enjoyed engaging in discussions/seeing 4K projector tech becoming more affordable. It's a niche interest and enjoyed discussing it. I had some c#nt publically reply to a comment of mine regarding my financial situation along the lines of "you can't really complain about finances considering how often you post in projector forums" (paraphrased). Looking back, I probably saw my contributions on the tech forums as some sort of escapism. However, that really soured whirlpool for me.
I felt quite humiliated and tried to set up a new account but mods quickly deleted my new account as I already had one.
I didn't use whirlpool after that. It's a good reminder to me kind to people online. A hurtful comment you post can have an effect on others.
Wow, that's harsh. Sorry one a hole ruined it for you.
Same.. better of without whirlpool though.. all for the best in the end.
Whirlpool went downhill a long time ago.
I put it down to it being overrun by overzealous moderators on their individual power trips.
It's a moderators free for all rudely interrupted by members. I don't bother posting much anymore.Don't even bother posting in the news section.
I can never figure out who would waste their time moderating an internet board? You want to spend your whole day wading through strangers comments to delete them when it offends you? Who has the time for that?
It's still good for technical info you may seek, but as a communty back and forth? Forget it.
It is a whirlpool sucking people down into the depths of depravity and faecal matter
Only about 2% of replies from my recent post here yielded some useful answers, and the majority of early responses were quite useless. The trick I found is to not get too invested in people's responses and wait for the good ones to come in. I assume it would be the same on WP.
I'm a whirlpool refugee and was part of the 10k post club
Became a member there in 2001 when searching for a dial up ISP before I got perm banned in around 2015 for giving an honest opinion
It was pretty good in the early years and extremely helpful with the ISP reviews. Sorta went downhill when they expanded and opened up other forums like Lifestyle, in the news etc
Luckily I found a new home here in Ozbargain where I can be myself and not get castrated
Honestly, it is disgusting when people see the need to leverage a family member’s status with different needs in posts and comments online.
It’s a behaviour I just can’t understand and it is not necessary, decent or caring in any way.
The mods on Whirlpool are retards, especially in the Internode forum. I used to work there and often used to try and help out people who posted on there asking for help.
I once had some moron threaten to report me to Internode HR basically just because he didn't like me. Jokes on him though, I got a sweet payout when I did leave and that forum is basically dead now.
WP is certainly not as relevant as it once was. What was once a central hub for ISP troubleshooting and community engagement, now it has gradually deteriorated into irrelevance. Places like Reddit, Facebook groups, Discord, BigFooty and OzB have cannibalised it.
Sometimes I'll check in and post but I don't feel compelled to any more as there are so many better, livelier places to engage with. There's a smarmy, self-important feel that the place gives off with the way certain users and mods engage and behave.
People don't have time to deal with that arrogant, internet superiority low quality BS which is evident there and people think they're more important than they really are. To be fair there's problems, quirks with most social media, forums and message boards but WP's niche has been usurped to the point where its foot traffic and active user base has fallen.
Still some good tech content and good answers to questions around, but you've generally got to dig to find it. The forum is also toxic by design.
The interface is muddy and outdated, great that it looks like a piece of work related software but it needs a new lick of paint.
The moderation process as we know is generally too touchy and by being overly heavy handed with deleting posts it can mess with the context of the thread and drive people away.
Plus you don't get notifications if someone responds to your post, which can be difficult to follow the discussion. In saying that it is great that the older, linear type of thread stops the duplication you commonly see on Reddit, but the cons definitely outweigh the pros.
I'd rather a friendly vibe with a bit of banter here then the stuffy structure of Whirlpool though where you feel you are sometimes walking on egg shells.
first time online?
Gave up on it 4 years ago
I've never found the community at Whirlpool to be very good or friendly. I refer to it as Whingepool…
My anecdotal observations are that it's a distinctly mellenial/gen x flavoured crowd that leans more to the left around here, over at whirlpool its the boomer conservative types that seem to permeate the threads.
I used to find Whirlpool useful for technical info, but when I returned recently when building a PC I found little useful information and just the same old people who used to post incorrect information and uninformed opinions a decade ago.
In the end I relied on Ozbargain and Reddit, much more useful.
There’s a few power tripping mods around, like any forum.
Still remember getting posts deleted for questioning someone’s camera recommendation which did not meet the needs of the OP - when I asked the mods about it apparently I was off topic because I was questioning someone around their advice, but the bad advice was fine to post. Clearly the mod was mates with the poster.
Wen Ozbargain acquisition of Whirlpool forums?
Hahaha that sounds very similar to OzB to me! Angry and righteous mob in a lot of posts. Sorry to hear about your experience, however.
The mob on WP are aloof, opinionated and judgy.
The ones on here are just immature manboys or the female equivalent.Both as bad as each other though.
I don't participate on forums much these days but I do agree whingpool have gotten worse since the passing of the old moderators such as Corey etc. It sad.
Whirlpool mods are just washed up nobodies in real life that just enjoy wielding some power at least in the cyber world.
They put me in penalty box because i have a sibling that was also on whirlpool and we commented in the same thread.
Go to whirlpool for aholes and come to ozbargain forums for wannnabe comedians.In a thread about "The Biggest Loser", I posted an article about what Steve Willis "The Commando" was up to. It as deleted as offtopic.
I cancelled by account & left. The know-nothing thought police run the place.
Been a WP member since 2004 with 20k posts… My biggest gripe about WP is the way discussions are structured. You'll have a 30000 page thread on "bikes" and there's 20 separate conversations going. One person posts a new question and everyone then stops conversing about the previous topic and latches onto the new topic.
Also tell any joke on WP and 9/10 it gets deleted for being "off topic". I actually wonder if mods get alerted about every new comment made (kind of like a browner plugin) and they review it manually because they have nothing better to do on a Saturday evening.
mods get alerted about every new comment made (kind of like a browner plugin)
I believe this does happen for users that are flagged as troublesome.
Whirlpool is a place to find answers to obscure problems I find. Ozbargain is a place to find deals and people who have the most outrageous bees in their bonnet. Since 2008 it's become more the latter but still some good comedy to be found.
To be fair, any Aussie forum is hell.
Moderators think they are God, the same DOES NOT happen with forums not moderated by Aussies.If you go to Whirlpool EV Forum and say one thing about Tesla, you just won 2 weeks ban right there.
Candy?
whirlpool has been like that for years. i left about 2015 and it was just the same then. reddit was a good replacement for a while but thats also turned into a dump full of cookers, lunatics and terminally online losers. at least here we can just talk about cheap stuff
They should try banning all moderators for a week & see what happens
Moderators should have only one purpose, ensure that content is not offensive or inaccurate. On WP moderators lack the ability to do either. Instead they take matters onto their own hands to decide who should be allowed to use the forum or not with an all-enpowering authorisation to ban users they dislike for life. I can visualise them having a party "Hamas style" when they assasinate their chosen target (forum users). Most of the WP moderators should be given a full mental evaluation and banned from joining any forum let alone be moderators.
People get given a shred of power on the interwebz that they do not have in their real lives, get drunk on the power and abuse it. It's been happening for yonks on message boards, Facebook groups, old forums and Reddit. Uppity, gaslighting admins seeing things which aren't there having the highlight of their life being some semblance of control over a sub.
Been there. Stab marks to prove it. As moderators go, Thor and Tangles are the worst. Express an honest opinion that they disagree with or … GOD FORBID talk back … and you're gone. They care for nothing but their own egos.
There are a few nasty ones. Every time I post, one or two of them seem to look to see if he can find an excuse to delete the post.
One who is no longer a moderator but was at the time started deleting my responses to him on Australian politics. I provided the following feedback.
There should be limitations on the ability of moderators to act on posts in which they are involved. Maybe you should have sought advice from another moderator or just herringed the post for someone else to consider. There needs to be a separation otherwise someone may confuse your actions and interpret as bias or bullying.
I do note that you have restored the post so I think you for that.
He did stop deleting my posts after that.
Another I cannot find but will be in my "Talk with a mod" somewhere I stated his actions were "bordering on bullying". He seemed a bit flabbergasted by that but did stop bullying me.
Simon gets some flack here and I have messaged him on several occasions. He doesn't seem too bad but clearly does not have control of some of the cowboy moderators.
Tangles no more. In the penalty box.
Agree some of the Mods on whirlpool are nothing but narcissistic bullies. Also very left leaning and woke which is fine but don't let that influence your moderation. They are very biased in the way they moderate.
What is killing WHP is not just moderators abusing users with a genune interest in using the forum constructively & providing useful information to others, it's is also all the users using the forum as a personal chit-chat. I go to the financial forum to check updates on savings products & I see mostly postings like having over $1 Million to invest on behalf of aunts & parents, mostly irrelevant & off topic (to the forum posted) but the moderators take no notice of that -:)
I used to like the place. But the Mods kill it. The areas I go to have bully like Mods. They tell you off for using swear words but next page over in the same area that they mod on there will be swearing. You herring it and the mods allow it.
You go slightly OT and your posts get removed yet it still has something to do with the topic at hand. Then they delete all your posts but leave ones that are WAY OT.
Someone came into a post yesterday talking about something that had NOTHING to do with the post so I herring it. The post apparently was "okay" by a mod.
They're the worst.
I got clobbered yesterday for posting in Bank of Melb/Bank SA/St George Savings Accounts about a credit to my savings account for a bank error that was a credit for overcharged interest as being "off topic". When queried, the claim was the post was about a loan. I edited the post to explicitly state it was about a payment made into my "savings account".
A very disgruntled and nose out of joint moderator reinstated my post.
It get as though you have to write posts for moderators and treat them like immature babies. Too many of them have a small person, power crazed, dictator complex.
just noticed this myself the last few months, severely overzealous new mods obviously.
I've had more posts hidden in the last 3 months than i have in the last 20 years in that place.
its just crap now. you can't even have an opinion in case the mod doesn't have the same one it seems.They can also access your whims and then target all your posts as well. If you twam about a moderation to your post, or in an open thread, then the moderator's all join up and bombard your point of view via a moderator tag team attack.
Oh bloody hell the Moderation for the "In the news" is off the wall. Personal bias of certain moderators clouds their views. They really know how to stuff things up and make it difficult. You couldn't fart on another planet without having a post deleted.
Yep WP have really deteriorated heaps. I wonder what's going on behind the scenes. Maybe all the decent moderators no longer like Simon the dictator and quit or something
Simon doesn't seem to take an active role in things these days. He rarely posts anything himself and seems to have little engagement with others.
You think Simon has stepped back a bit and that's why bad moderators are getting out of hand and good moderators have left ?
@finbar: Most moderators don't post much and seem to be people who have been around a long time as lurkers casting judgement on others. Afraid to express their own views, they take it out on others whose opinions don't align with theirs, i.e. the ones they are reluctant to post themselves.
If you fart on another planet, does it stink like it does on Earth? Or does that depend on the atmosphere of the planet you farted on? Obviously I'm not talking about farting on a gas giant, I mean another rocky planet, like earth but without O and CO2 etc.
given their is no O2 and you are in a suit so you can breathe, then yeah, your fart will stink to you.
but deep stuff like this is not ozb or wp or even hillsong or news.com.au.
If you want to experience bullying & harrasment to the max, simply ask a WP moderator to remove you from the penalty box. How this group of sad and misserable poor excuse of beings have been allowed to take over & rule WP is beyond belief. That a web side is alowed to operate under such oppresive & abusive regime avoiding any penalties & accountability for treating users with complete dissrespect is inexcusable.
Yep the WP site is accountable to no one. The moderators are disgusting creatures.
I now consider being a permanent resident of the WP penalty box (for standing up to & calling out abusive moderator behaviour) a badge of honour.
Yes, Whirlpool moderators are a disgusting pack of degenerates. You approach them nicely and with respect, and they will actively belittle and push you to snap. It’s obscene.
Most of the WP moderators should be given a full mental evaluation and banned from joining any forum let alone be moderators
Sadly it appears forums and social media needs regulation so there can be accountability. Not just moderators but also posters lol. Especially on WP lol.
This is what a typical WP finance forum looks most of the time -:)
This post was hidden by a moderator
This post was hidden by a moderator
This post was hidden by a moderator
This post was hidden by a moderator
This post was hidden by a moderator
This post was hidden by a moderator
This post was hidden by a moderatorThis is what happens when bogans find out about a site that could save them 10c or a deal to get a free sticker.
What is killing WHP is not just moderators abusing users with a genune interest in using the forum constructively & providing useful information to others, it's is also all the users using the forum as a personal chit-chat. I go to the financial forum to check updates on savings products & I see mostly postings like having over $1 Million to invest on behalf of aunts & parents, mostly irrelevant & off topic (to the forum posted) but the moderators take no notice of that -:)
Yeah moderators being inconsistent and not acknowledging their inconsistency is very frustrating.
By the way I hear there's a vacancy for a moderator in the Finance forum lol. Maybe consider an application hahaI am blocked for life - I only visit WP to check on bank updates (and read all the dad & mom & aunt updates for a laugh)
If you became a moderator you could reverse your block for life and then go about correcting things haha
New mod in finance section Ms M
https://forums.whirlpool.net.au/thread/360w8x43?p=588#r73585…
Perhaps she might treat you better than previous mods
whoever keeps downvoting my posts without having the guts to state why, is exhibiting the same bad behaviour as moderators on WP (using the powers granted to them to abuse)
I have already developed thick skin, from previous experience with online trolls, WP moderator abuse etc. etc. A helpfull suggestion to the "downvote button" trolls. Please get a mental health help/check. The behavior you are exhibiting (trolling behind an anonymous downvote button) is a very bad sign ( -ve, for you).
A couple of good examples that show the tendency of whirlpool to delete anything or anyone that ventures a millimetre outside the mainstream:
https://forums.whirlpool.net.au/thread/388lz212?ux=860094
As of yesterday, jimmythegate's posts in that thread, with the exception of the quotes deleted text & trolling moderations, were visible. Sometime between then & now, a moderator has moderated yesterdays posts & gone back to his previous posts that had been visible for about 3 weeks. His posts were heavily referenced with links to pubmed (scientific papers) & the Naviaux Lab, as well as some youtube links, & they were about what are referred to as biomedical interventions in the treatment of autism or autism spectrum disorders mainly in children. Basically recovering children from being poisoned & damaged by various methods including vaccination within their first years of life.
Jimmythegate was careful not to mention vaccines, but he did mention Andrew Wakefield in his first post & the alleged "debunking" of his work. As soon as I saw that I knew it would be moderated, but surprisingly the moderators either missed his post (likely) or allowed it (unlikely). The irony is that other users in that thread simply don't realise that jimmythegate is pointing the way forward, to solutions, as well as pointing out some causes (heavy metal toxicity). But this is taboo, & whirlpool moderation is a very good example of how the subject is treated by the medical authorities despite accumulating scientific evidence that points to these "environmental factors" being the culprit. In other words, the whirlpool moderators whether they know it or not, are acting as gatekeepers, effectively keeping other users in the dark about what the real causes of autism damage are, & way that may improve their damaged childrens health.
Another good example of how totalitarian the moderators are is this user:
https://forums.whirlpool.net.au/thread/9pxjmzq7?ux=895759
For asking pesky questions & generally being a nuisance (& probably for having a quip that read: Question Everything), Miss Eden finds herself in the penalty box, so far for at least 30 days it seems. If they let her out of the penalty box, it would be likely Miss Eden would be on her last warning. Next trip to the penalty box will be permanent.I've also noticed Simon Wright active in a couple of threads in the last few months, & one guy in a cabling thread coincidentally got a short period in the penalty box, probably as a result of his interaction with Simon.
Yeah thou shalt not piss off the self appointed Dictator lol
Well….if you create your own playpen and invite people over to join in then you make the rules.
I do notice though that some mods get on a power trip as if they are cops. Also, like cops, there is no point arguing about a decision unless it's based on a mistake. You get a black strike anyway. Inconsistency is annoying and you'll finds mods that go back in history and applying strikes based on a revised interpretation. I can imagine they are like AFL umpires who get a directive from HQ to suddenly go hard on a particular thing that they've been letting go for ages. Oh well.
yep just noticed this myself the last few months, the mods have killed the place. they've hidden more posts from me in the last 3 months than in the last 20 years
The whirlpool mods love to all get together and bully you at once when you question anything within a topic about moderation. They never seem to see anyone else's point of view, and simply use terms like "read the rules" "we are transparent" . Their responses are much stronger than any abuse directed to you on the ordinary posts themselves, let alone questioning their reasoning. They simply don't acknowledge anything you say as pertinent. I often wonder if they also actually read the private whims between members.
They're definitely bullies. Sadly their "rules" allow mods to get away with it. It's like the people there live in the "whirlpool bubble". Seems like many are boomers too lol.
Mate, they are the same boomers that use hotcopper for share advice.
Thor in WP is an absolute knob.
It is a waste of time using the whirlpool twam. When you twam, they simply troll your posts and kill them with a lame excuse as punishment.
Not just whirlpool.
Merged from Whirlpool Forums - Times Have Changed?
Hey folks,
I’ve been hanging out on Whirlpool forums for a while, and lately, I’ve been feeling like the quality has taken a nosedive. Here’s what I’ve noticed:
Moderation Issues: The mods seem to be making up their own rules lately. They’re closing threads for what seems like no reason, and you can’t even question their decisions. It feels like there’s no consistency or transparency.
Repetitive Comments: It seems like the same few members are always commenting, often just boasting or repeating the same points. The variety and depth of discussion seem to be dropping.
Trolls Galore: Aggressiveness from trolls is everywhere. Every thread seems to attract people who are more interested in stirring up trouble than having a meaningful conversation. Finding a decent discussion is becoming a bit of a treasure hunt.
What do you think? Is it just me? Is this the internet in general? Does anyone know of any other Australian Based forums?
You just described the internet.
Bikies?
Is this still available?
Points 2 and 3 could apply here too, though probably not as bad as whirlpool, I used to use it a lot years ago, but the quality dipped a long time ago and I rarely bother with it now.
So you're saying OZB's quality remains the same like before or better?
I think with OZB, you can at least have a point of view; Ultimately, its up to the community to then neg/up vote, rather then a mod stepping in. Its rarer that a mod steps in, takes control?
well I guess now the mod just stepping in and merge your forum lol
I generally find that WP contributions are much better and more indepth than on OZB.
WP > OZB > Reddit
I rarely visit Whirlpool any more. I did make a few quite moderate comments on the 'Gaza' thread, and my aura went from light to low in the space of a week! Same aggressively pro-Israel posters who post constantly and shout everyone else down. Has just become an unrepresentative echo chamber. Sensible people just move on…
I’ve been hanging out on Whirlpool forums for a while
/Thread
You are 100% correct.
Whirlpool does not suit everyone. I have been using it almost daily for more than 22 years and still find it a valuable source of information. I also like the fact that it gives me the opportunity to share with others what little knowledge I have acquired over the years.
Like with most discussion forums, you need to remove your ego from it if you want to enjoy it. Any negative comments are water off a duck's back to me. If one is easily offended by ad hominem attacks, maybe Whirlpool is not for them.
Whirlpool has its rules and you need to learn to operate within its confines. I believe that the longevity of the WP forums is probably due to these rules. For those who can't abide by the rules, there are other forums with less stringent rules.
it is not a discussion forum any more - just a playground/kill arena for moderators
Yeah those moderators are like Elon Musk and Twitter/X.
I got penalty boxed from whirlpool back in 2022. Posted in the ukraine thread that Albo was visiting Kyiv as I saw a pic on telegram. A mod deleted my post so a 'different' poster could 'break' the news. Posted how pathetic that mod must be to do something like that so into the penalty box. Told I would have to apologise to mod to be let out. Haven't been back.
That's appalling but I am not overly surprised.
I have had similar experiences on Whirlpool. Its downright toxic to be honest. You post a question and end up dealing with the same few trolls going around in circles. then the moderators.
example a troll attacked me and made out when i quoted a law surrounding tampering and witholding mail being an offence that i was "just googling things"
when i responded detailing the below then a mod hid comment as a personal attack.
471.1 Theft of mail‑receptacles, articles or postal messages
471.2 Receiving stolen mail‑receptacles, articles or postal messages
471.3 Taking or concealing of mail‑receptacles, articles or postal messages
471.8 Dishonestly obtaining delivery of articlesits fairly clear that you have the same few toxic people with no life sitting there having fun anonymously trolling and bullying people with full protection of the moderators.
and this moderator is clearly a troll himself
https://forums.whirlpool.net.au/user/149434don't get me wrong there are some good people there willing to help you but they are drowned out by the trolls in the parents basement with nothing better to do. worst still the "advice" given cant be taken too seriously because its often wrong.
usually when i post a thread there I have instant regret because scum of society seem to descend to have some fun, they often have an over inflated opinion of themselves and the arrogance in their town shows they think they are better than everyone else.
Another thing i have found is when you come to the forum to discuss an issue with a builder or an isp for example my mothers service being cut off for non payment when her account was actually in credit by $5 due to an unusual issue with ABB system every second day the account was being suspended as overdue. even they didn't know why
I approached Whirlpool forum about what to do and then the assertions started and the typical whirlpool tactic make an assumption about something, take that to the ridiculous max assert that as fact then ridicule the op based on a perceived conclusion you come to often because you didn't bother to read the original post.
example a known Australia post employee ignored where in the first line of my op i stated the service i have paid for being premium then said that what i am expecting is only available to businesses, I then quoted the star track website and privided links and that response was removed by a moderator (troll mentioned above) as being "off topic"
I honestly can only tolerate so much of whirlpool forum and actually kind of wish there was a way i could filter their website results from my network so when i do searches they don't come up.
and this moderator is clearly a troll himself
Probably the worst of the current lot.
I've also been a Whirlpool member since 2002 and experience exactly the same thing as OP is describing. The other day I had a bunch of posts deleted and was told to use another thread that had been created for that specific topic (that I didn't know existed), yet everyone else was quoting me and continuing on the discussion. I herring'd their posts and the mods approved them.
It's a very bizarre moderation scheme they have going on over there.
Anyway, I don't lose sleep over it.
Dont care much about posting there either anymore (after over a year of banishement just for trying to stand up for my rights against a moderator).
The only time I feel bad, is when users ask questions that I can assist with and I am not allowed to respond.
I only visit to check for bank interest rate changes - as most banks now just make a change and post in the Australian -:)
That is the only use I have for Whirlpool (and try to forget/ignore it is run by bullies)
Yes, they were certainly doing that. It was inevitable, given the way they were censoring people on various topics for many years prior.