Jeff, would you consider doing an AMA?

[Anonymous]

jsteele wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

jsteele wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Do you ever post anonymously?

Almost never. I learned very early that some posters have a remarkable ability to recognize people by their writing style. I would be terribly embarrassed to get called out. But, once or twice I've had questions involving my kids and I asked them anonymously to protect their privacy. In one case, the responses were really rude.

Don’t answer this but was it a question about merld?

Hah, no. If I had asked about that, a lot more people would have been banned by now.

Except you’d be banning the wrong people. Merld moms are like crazy Antivaxers. The chess moms types are annoying as f—but the merld moms are dangerous. You delete helpful posts b/c you lack context. Maybe consult actual professionals (developmental pediatricians, ST) to help you develop a framework on how to filter comments.

[Anonymous]

At Georgetown, did you have:
baccouche?
Ruddy?
Hudson? (His wife was an absolute gem.)

[jsteele]

Anonymous wrote:At Georgetown, did you have:
baccouche?
Ruddy?
Hudson? (His wife was an absolute gem.)

I definitely had Hudson. I also worked in the MAAS office for a while so I knew him pretty well. I also met his wife several times and I agree with you about her. I knew who Baccouche was but didn't have classes with him. After 30 years, my memory is a little foggy and I am not sure about Ruddy.

I had Sanaa Azmi for Arabic. She has passed away, but she was a trip. I also had Hisham Sharabi and was his student assistant for a while.

[Anonymous]

jsteele wrote:

Anonymous wrote:At Georgetown, did you have:
baccouche?
Ruddy?
Hudson? (His wife was an absolute gem.)

I definitely had Hudson. I also worked in the MAAS office for a while so I knew him pretty well. I also met his wife several times and I agree with you about her. I knew who Baccouche was but didn't have classes with him. After 30 years, my memory is a little foggy and I am not sure about Ruddy.

I had Sanaa Azmi for Arabic. She has passed away, but she was a trip. I also had Hisham Sharabi and was his student assistant for a while.

baccouche Replaced azmi.

Vera was such an excellent cook and just such a warm person. I think you pre- dated Liz working at Maas. She was a fixture but no longer there.

[Anonymous]

jsteele wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Hi, I'm somewhat new here. I've responded to questions, but have never asked one of my own. How do I find a link to start a new topic? Thanks so much, and I love the site.

Welcome to DCUM. Within each forum at the top of the list of topics is a button that says, "new topic". Just click that.

Thanks for the welcome. And thanks for the guidance. I have looked all over and the New Topic links were right there in front of me. Ha!

[Anonymous]

When I first started reading DCUM a few years ago, I started reading the Pets Forum because I'm an animal lover. I stopped reading that particular forum because I noticed multiple people recommending that pet owners euthanize otherwise healthy pets for behavior problems, and I was just so upset by it. I started reading that forum again recently and noticed the same sort of thing. I find it hard to believe that so many people would advocate for strangers to euthanize their pets. When I read the recent thread about sock puppets, which I hadn't heard of until then, I wondered about what was happening in the Pets section - were a small number of disturbed people trying to get pet owners to euthanize their animals? Is that possible? Have you ever noticed that? Is that something that is reportable on DCUM?

[Anonymous]

jsteele wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Jeff, if you're still doing this AMA:

You mentioned that you work out for two hours a day. What is your exercise routine exactly? What kinds of exercises? How has it changed since the pandemic?

Just taking inspiration from your weight loss story.

My exercise routine changes from time to time depending on circumstances. We have a rowing machine, a treadmill, and an indoor cycle. Plus, we live in a very walkable neighborhood bordering on Rock Creek Park. So I will tend to use some combination of all of these. Recently, I have been rowing 5000 meters and then cycling for 30 minutes. Then, I go for a four mile walk outside. If the weather is bad, I use the treadmill instead. Sometimes I run, but not for a few weeks because I have a foot that has been giving me trouble. I often will hike on trails in the park, but these days those are too crowded so I avoid them. Sometimes I will also replace walking or running with outdoor cycling.

I've talked a lot before about my weight loss and exercise. My Apple Watch has been essential for providing inspiration and feedback. I am obsessed with closing my circles. One down side to this is that it doesn't allow for rest days, which I probably need but never take. In my opinion and experience, while exercise has lot of benefits, it is not the primary driver of weight loss. Cutting back eating and changing eating habits has a much greater impact.

Thanks! Any specific diet philosophy that you adhere to?

[jsteele]

Anonymous wrote:When I first started reading DCUM a few years ago, I started reading the Pets Forum because I'm an animal lover. I stopped reading that particular forum because I noticed multiple people recommending that pet owners euthanize otherwise healthy pets for behavior problems, and I was just so upset by it. I started reading that forum again recently and noticed the same sort of thing. I find it hard to believe that so many people would advocate for strangers to euthanize their pets. When I read the recent thread about sock puppets, which I hadn't heard of until then, I wondered about what was happening in the Pets section - were a small number of disturbed people trying to get pet owners to euthanize their animals? Is that possible? Have you ever noticed that? Is that something that is reportable on DCUM?

I haven't noticed that many posts of that type. Occasionally one gets reported and I remove it. But, yes, definitely you can report such posts.

[jsteele]

Anonymous wrote:Thanks! Any specific diet philosophy that you adhere to?

I don't adhere to any of the popular diet philosophies. I invented my own diet routine based on the sort of foods that I like. I eat a lot of fruit, both dried and fresh, limit meat, and try to avoid processed foods. I gave up alcohol, coffee, and tea, and I limit sweets. The main thing is to control the quantity of food and pay attention to calories. I should probably eat more vegetables.

[Anonymous]

jsteele wrote:

Anonymous wrote:When I first started reading DCUM a few years ago, I started reading the Pets Forum because I'm an animal lover. I stopped reading that particular forum because I noticed multiple people recommending that pet owners euthanize otherwise healthy pets for behavior problems, and I was just so upset by it. I started reading that forum again recently and noticed the same sort of thing. I find it hard to believe that so many people would advocate for strangers to euthanize their pets. When I read the recent thread about sock puppets, which I hadn't heard of until then, I wondered about what was happening in the Pets section - were a small number of disturbed people trying to get pet owners to euthanize their animals? Is that possible? Have you ever noticed that? Is that something that is reportable on DCUM?

I haven't noticed that many posts of that type. Occasionally one gets reported and I remove it. But, yes, definitely you can report such posts.

I haven't posted anything like this, nor do I see it often. However, I would hope that you would leave posts advising euthanization for dogs that have violently attacked people. It's one thing to advise euthanization for a cat that's peeing out of the box, it's another to advise euthanization for a dog that gave someone 75 stitches across the face.

I guess that leads to my question. How much time do you spend determining context for reported posts?

[jsteele]

Anonymous wrote:

jsteele wrote:

Anonymous wrote:When I first started reading DCUM a few years ago, I started reading the Pets Forum because I'm an animal lover. I stopped reading that particular forum because I noticed multiple people recommending that pet owners euthanize otherwise healthy pets for behavior problems, and I was just so upset by it. I started reading that forum again recently and noticed the same sort of thing. I find it hard to believe that so many people would advocate for strangers to euthanize their pets. When I read the recent thread about sock puppets, which I hadn't heard of until then, I wondered about what was happening in the Pets section - were a small number of disturbed people trying to get pet owners to euthanize their animals? Is that possible? Have you ever noticed that? Is that something that is reportable on DCUM?

I haven't noticed that many posts of that type. Occasionally one gets reported and I remove it. But, yes, definitely you can report such posts.

I haven't posted anything like this, nor do I see it often. However, I would hope that you would leave posts advising euthanization for dogs that have violently attacked people. It's one thing to advise euthanization for a cat that's peeing out of the box, it's another to advise euthanization for a dog that gave someone 75 stitches across the face.

I guess that leads to my question. How much time do you spend determining context for reported posts?

It is pretty clear that the poster is describing gratuitous euthanasia. If a dog causes someone to require 75 stitches, I don't think the owner will have much to say about it. That will be in Animal Control's hands.

The amount of time I spend depends on circumstances.

[Anonymous]

Jeff, if you weren't running DCUM for a living, what type of work would you like to be doing?

[Anonymous]

Jeff,

Why can't I access DCUM when running on with a TOR browser or coming in with VPNExpress...??

[jsteele]

Anonymous wrote:Jeff, if you weren't running DCUM for a living, what type of work would you like to be doing?

My last regular job was doing computer network security. That was fun so I guess I wouldn't mind doing that. But there are a lot of things I would like to do. I liked traveling a lot in previous jobs, though travel is not all that fun these days.

[jsteele]

Anonymous wrote:Jeff,

Why can't I access DCUM when running on with a TOR browser or coming in with VPNExpress...??

Because those are sources of lots of troublemakers.