On the topic of chatbots...

[crfriend]

What does kill-filed mean?

And yet another damning data-point.

[ScotL]

What does kill-filed mean?

And yet another damning data-point.

You surprise and disappoint me Carl. I’ve always thought of you as a straight shooter who didn’t play games.

Now despite the refusal to name who you think the bot is, you make two thinly veiled accusations of me that technically avoid naming me as a bot. Reminds me of junior high dating where you’d tell the girl you liked her but only if you knew she liked you first.

Yes, I’m calling you out because I actually respected you. I think you’re a bigger person than one who stoops to such childhood playground antics. I hope you prove that this is just a momentary lapse.

But if not and you refuse to talk to me because you think I’m a bot based on your own brand of McCarthyism, I won’t be sad.

[ScotL]

If a member here thinks they might be the one whom everyone thinks is the bot, but you can't meet or phone for whatever reason...

Send a handwritten postcard with your username and a friendly message, preferably in CURSIVE to

448 Cummings Street Ste 182
Abingdon, VA 24210

Let's see ChatGPT do that! It may not be completely "bot proof", but it certainly lends at least a small amount of legitimacy.

Only cost 44 cents.

You’re all class, Moon.

And not cause you want to read it but because I respect you, I’m gonna write you. You’ll get a letter from me with a Miami postmark.

Almost annually (COVID messed it up), I camp in the Pisgah National Forest. Seems that’s less than two hours away. Next I get to go, perhaps we could meet up. What’s Johnson City like? Accepting of two guys in skirts?

[moonshadow]

Cool! I like getting stuff in the mail.

You don't even have to be a bot to send a postcard, I just think they're neat.

[Elisabetta]

What does kill-filed mean?

And yet another damning data-point.

You surprise and disappoint me Carl. I’ve always thought of you as a straight shooter who didn’t play games.

Now despite the refusal to name who you think the bot is, you make two thinly veiled accusations of me that technically avoid naming me as a bot. Reminds me of junior high dating where you’d tell the girl you liked her but only if you knew she liked you first.

Yes, I’m calling you out because I actually respected you. I think you’re a bigger person than one who stoops to such childhood playground antics. I hope you prove that this is just a momentary lapse.

But if not and you refuse to talk to me because you think I’m a bot based on your own brand of McCarthyism, I won’t be sad.

If you respect Carl then respect he doesn't have to prove anything to you or anyone else. There's a bot I'm sure we all have our suspicions on who it maybe. Moon and I met Carl he's a great guy don't assume otherwise.

[Myopic Bookworm]

If a bot is causing administrative problems then I'm sure the admin will deal with it appropriately. If there's a bot posting, then so far as I can see it isn't causing any more disruption in the cafe than the obviously human members are, so I haven't given it any thought really.

[ScotL]

If you respect Carl then respect he doesn't have to prove anything to you or anyone else. There's a bot I'm sure we all have our suspicions on who it maybe. Moon and I met Carl he's a great guy don't assume otherwise.

I do respect Carl which is why I’m surprised at his snarky comments to me about where I live and that I didn’t know some obscure reference. I’ve always thought of him as a great guy despite never meeting him because he’s always been an upfront individual who is direct and forthright.

This bot stuff has seemingly caused a Salem witch hunt

[ScotL]

Cool! I like getting stuff in the mail.

You don't even have to be a bot to send a postcard, I just think they're neat.

It is sad how email has replaced good old fashioned letter writing. Was so amazing to get postcards from friends and family who went on vacation. It was a big deal to actually buy them on vacation. I’d spend a good amount of time perusing them and then figuring out where to but stamps

[moonshadow]

If a bot is causing administrative problems then I'm sure the admin will deal with it appropriately. If there's a bot posting, then so far as I can see it isn't causing any more disruption in the cafe than the obviously human members are, so I haven't given it any thought really.

It is handy to know if there is a bot among us. I'd personally like to know for sure one way or the other, which is why I'm happy to do what I can to get to the bottom of this.

I have to admit, if there is an active bot posting right now then I am both impressed.... and somewhat terrified by it.

[crfriend]

I liked the bit about dating in Jr. High School. Nice shot. I'm guessing we have the bot's handler speaking now, and that's good.

The slight obfuscation was a science experiment to either bolster or refute the hypothesis that we were dealing mostly with a modified version of ChatGPT or merely a simpleton of a human.

Starting from the premise that humans are self-aware and 'bots are not, and that even human simpletons quickly cotton on that they're being talked about, I decoded to "drop a few hints" to see what happened. The experiment tended to verify the hypothesis in that the 'bot didn't respond until the controller stepped in. So, Scot, curb yer dog.

The problem with 'bots is that they add precisely zero creative thought to an endeavour -- because they are incapable of it. All they do is add textual noise to a system and thereby degrade its S/N ratio. This is especially bad for the moderation staff who has to pay attention to everything that is written here, be it intelligent or not, and I was growing very tired of the robot-like non-human responses this thing was emitting -- and that was before I cottoned on that it might well NOT have been human, and I owe Coder a debt of gratitude for posting that bit of ChatGPT emission a while ago because if got me thinking in a new direction based on the tone of what I read.

The controller, as a human, is welcome to stay and chat if there's anything to talk about; the 'bot has to go.

[ScotL]

Cool! I like getting stuff in the mail.

You don't even have to be a bot to send a postcard, I just think they're neat.

Sent it today. Hope you like the fish on the front of the card

[ScotL]

Starting from the premise that humans are self-aware and 'bots are not, and that even human simpletons quickly cotton on that they're being talked about, I decoded to "drop a few hints" to see what happened. The experiment tended to verify the hypothesis in that the 'bot didn't respond until the controller stepped in. So, Scot, curb yer dog.

The controller, as a human, is welcome to stay and chat if there's anything to talk about; the 'bot has to go.

Carl, are you really suggesting that a bot and I are using the “ScotL” handle? Speak plainly, please. I guarantee I do not use a bot. But I can not say that and convince anyone that I am not a bot any more than you can convince people I am a bot using this confusing attempt at playing “gotcha.”

Here’s a question. How could I prove that I’m not a bot or using a bot? I know no matter what I do, you’ll just blame the human aspects on the “human controller” and the other parts on the bot. It’s a convenient catch-22.

So given this question, is there anything I could possibly do to change your pre-ordained conclusion? Cause right now the only conclusion I can come to is that it’s more convenient to attack my character by accusing me of being a bot, then believe me.

What really makes me upset about this is we are supposed to be on the same team. We both have an interest in men being able to wear whatever they please without judgment. But instead of working together, we’ve devolved into an impossible stalemate of he said/he said that’s filled this cafe with members concern about being accused of being a bot without due process.

I personally believe this bot stuff needs to end for the good of the cafe. In my opinion, there needs to be shown undeniable proof of the bot (not unscientific reports of selective responses) or this bot hunt should stop. As I know Ive never used AI or bots on this site, I’m not worried about me.

My goal is to positively contribute to MIS and to advance my own skirt wearing through the support of some of the members.

This infighting is not helpful to anyone.

[moonshadow]

Today I received a handwritten note from Scot, postmarked from Miami Florida.

[crfriend]

Today I received a handwritten note from Scot, postmarked from Miami Florida.

OK, that'd be the controller, not the 'bot.

The 'bot is headed to oblivion, one way or the other, and once the inventory of data-centres the thing posts from is a bit more complete (it's a moving target), those are going to go into the global deny list along with China, the big netblocks in Russia, and a good chunk of Pakistan (as well as a few well-known proxy-tolerant data-centres in the USA).

I've been informed that a number of users have departed because of the falling S/N ratio and the 'bots occasional belligerence -- and in a community this size, that's intolerable. The damned thing developed a "'tude" earlier and got put into moderated status then. The controller must've whacked it on the nose with a newspaper because it cleaned up its act, but it's messing on the carpets again in spite of the controller being told to "Curb your dog!".

[pelmut]

I've been informed that a number of users have departed because of the falling S/N ratio and the 'bots occasional belligerence --

It is fairly straightforward to killfile it so that you don't see the contents of its posts and aren't provoked into making any replies.  It offended me a long time ago and I haven't regretted killfiling it; it has added nothing of positive value to the forum and a moderate amount of negative value.  In my opinion, ultimately blocking it would make this a better place.