Disqus channels were dumped and all content within them was dumped... approximately three or four years ago. Now, Disqus is trying to make a go of NEW and IMPROVED channels that only owners and operators of Disqus itself can create channels on. Why would anyone see that as good or worthwhile?
I took a look to see what was going on with it all and it looks like a mess, in my opinion.  Already there is spam, people using accounts to promote products and other sites, one that looked to be for call girls and already the same old people showing to start fights and insult each other... and I can see adult content showing up soon enough.
What is Disqus really offering that all the sites with Disqus commenting don't already have... one thing only... the ability to start a topic... and others sites could offer that too. I know it can be done on this site, so why not others?

Hi, Breezey, and my, I haven't dropped by for a while, so sorry about that.
It's been a bit chaotic.
TOT isn't well and hasn't been a for a while and goes for an op soon, so while she still helps me, I am having to do more work everywhere at the moment.

Channels. Well, where do I start?
I had forgotten until I was recently made a mod on DD how much crap, spam and nonsense discussions we used to get on the old channels. That came as a nasty shock. Although that has dropped off a bit since most seem to have moved over there with their garage doors and bitcoin and whatever!
Then they added DD to the Discuss menu next to the profile link as the first channel and we got a few more of those back plus people who can't read a channel description.
I certainly don't miss the days when spammers, trolls and random strangers could post content on your channel and you had to constantly watch and nuke.

And these new ones seem to be a wild west show for all the reasons you stated above.
So many trolls and socks came out of the woodwork in record time.
I did tell Disqus on day one that all the trolls and those with axes to grind would take full advantage of this free-for-all.
That was my sole contribution to the project!

And the old channels weren't deleted as we all thought, but just mothballed along with all the content.
It's all still there.

I for one don't want my old one back.
I was proud of it and all who posted there, but I don't want a dormant site that I have to mod for spammers and trash discussions.
I am happy as I am everywhere. They may not be high traffic sites, but we have no aggro and modding is easy.

KieranT wrote:And the old channels weren't deleted as we all thought, but just mothballed along with all the content.
It's all still there.

I for one don't want my old one back.
I was proud of it and all who posted there, but I don't want a dormant site that I have to mod for spammers and trash discussions.
I am happy as I am everywhere. They may not be high traffic sites, but we have no aggro and modding is easy.

Hello Kieran!
My home internet is out and I don't like small screens.
I hope all goes well for TOT.
I will send my reply when internet is back.

KieranT wrote:Hi, Breezey, and my, I haven't dropped by for a while, so sorry about that.
It's been a bit chaotic.
TOT isn't well and hasn't been a for a while and goes for an op soon, so while she still helps me, I am having to do more work everywhere at the moment.

Channels. Well, where do I start?
I had forgotten until I was recently made a mod on DD how much crap, spam and nonsense discussions we used to get on the old channels. That came as a nasty shock. Although that has dropped off a bit since most seem to have moved over there with their garage doors and bitcoin and whatever!
Then they added DD to the Discuss menu next to the profile link as the first channel and we got a few more of those back plus people who can't read a channel description.
I certainly don't miss the days when spammers, trolls and random strangers could post content on your channel and you had to constantly watch and nuke.

And these new ones seem to be a wild west show for all the reasons you stated above.
So many trolls and socks came out of the woodwork in record time.
I did tell Disqus on day one that all the trolls and those with axes to grind would take full advantage of this free-for-all.
That was my sole contribution to the project!

I hope all is well with TOT. I completely understand and am glad you put people ahead of internet stuff. :) As for what you're seeing on the NEW channels, it's nothing new and I really didn't miss it.
I wouldn't want my old channels back either. Maybe a few of the topics and comments, but that's it. Yep... it's all a disaster in the making again.
I was stupid enough to go to it all and comment a bit. That was enough to last me another four or more years! lol

Yes, the same old same old from the same old people!
It didn't take long for many to come out of mothballs and pick up where they left off.

@KieranT Seeing if this works....

I felt like I'd been thrown in the Twilight zone on those channels! lol

There is a lot of spam on them , as well as the usual disqus antics .
I can’t comment on the original decline of channels unfortunately i used and abused the system and behaved like a jerk too often . I did think on some of the things people originally taught me on disqus , i probably misunderstood them originally. All in all i did have people teach me to be a good commenter and how to add to discussion etc etc . Its only now I understood what they tried to teach me ‍�
Tbh it was years back but I appreciate the advice. Now where that ties into the topic of channels starting again, is that I believe for myself, the channels will be fine so long as i be courteous and ignore rubbish or hate and try to contribute to the discussion(s)Which i will .

Spy vs Spy 2023 wrote:There is a lot of spam on them , as well as the usual disqus antics .
I can’t comment on the original decline of channels unfortunately i used and abused the system and behaved like a jerk too often . I did think on some of the things people originally taught me on disqus , i probably misunderstood them originally. All in all i did have people teach me to be a good commenter and how to add to discussion etc etc . Its only now I understood what they tried to teach me ‍�
Tbh it was years back but I appreciate the advice. Now where that ties into the topic of channels starting again, is that I believe for myself, the channels will be fine so long as i be courteous and ignore rubbish or hate and try to contribute to the discussion(s)Which i will .

I hope all goes well for you. I'm not sure how long those channels will last with all that is going on.
I had hopes people might have learned lessons from last time around, but it was like stepping back in time to the old channels.

Spy vs Spy 2023 wrote:There is a lot of spam on them , as well as the usual disqus antics .
I can’t comment on the original decline of channels unfortunately i used and abused the system and behaved like a jerk too often . I did think on some of the things people originally taught me on disqus , i probably misunderstood them originally. All in all i did have people teach me to be a good commenter and how to add to discussion etc etc . Its only now I understood what they tried to teach me ‍
Tbh it was years back but I appreciate the advice. Now where that ties into the topic of channels starting again, is that I believe for myself, the channels will be fine so long as i be courteous and ignore rubbish or hate and try to contribute to the discussion(s)Which i will .

Yes, my OCD side gets twitchy with all that spam sitting there.
They say their bot will learn and improve, but I am not sure what it's learning from all that!

And that was good advice someone gave you back then, and a lot of people are older and wiser now about what went on four+ years ago on the old channels.
And if anyone tries to rile you with name calling etc, do what I do and just ignore them. That is the thing that gets to them most. They are attention seeking after all. Starve them of that attention and they are powerless.
And remember this song, my Disqus anthem!

Breezey Bree wrote:@KieranT Seeing if this works....

I felt like I'd been thrown in the Twilight zone on those channels! lol

So many haven't changed.
Still the same old, same old from the same old.
And even some come back after years away just to pick it all up again.
The chance for a fresh start, but some don't seem to want that.
It's totally bizarre to me what some people call entertainment - fighting and arguing from behind a keyboard!

@KieranT
I like this better than the quote feature when replying more than once. Saves all that added space taken up. lol
I've been looking at all that's going on and get the idea some are happy when arguing, fighting and insulting.
One mod said people should get use to adult content on Disqus channels. Not sure that's something I'd tell people to get use to! lol Seriously, it seems like all the negatives are still there.

EDIT: Seems the mod meant all of Disqus when channels is all many are questioning. Even so, in my way of seeing things, you'd have to go directly where adult content is on sites to "get use to it".

I just deleted my main Disqus account which means there is no Disqus connection for all the back years to this site. It's time to let go. Even now, people harass and fight and it doesn't get better. Certain people don't leave well enough alone.

Hi, Breezey, and I don't blame you on that.
I don't read Chit Chat at all, as I simply don't have the time, but I gather it's a total crap show.
Channels give the wrong people the power to cause chaos - trolls and fighting factions and spammers.

@KieranT
From what I see, all the new channels are pretty much crap. So much spam, new accounts to fight or post negative things... and those who think they have the right to harass others. I finally have it figured out that as long as I have accounts to that whole mess, I will most likely use them.
So, second/last account will be gone soon enough.

I have managed to keep Music pleasant, I think, with folk from all sides posting on threads and not fighting. Any slight aggro has been dealt with diplomatically and no one banned for any offences.
Most people are reasonable if you talk to them respectfully. I find you mostly get back as you give.
But the same applies when people go in looking for a fight. That is what they get.

But I spend hours each day nuking spam on the four that I am on. I do try to take it down as quickly as I can.
Spam is so much worse than in the channels 1.0 time, and we have the new trolls like Huggy and his one thousand socks who goes around cloning people, including me twice, and old trolls starting to come out of the woodwork!!

It seems an awful lot of hassle for all parties for the sake of a bit more advertising revenue for Michael Gately!

Anyway, forget all of that nonsense and have a lovely Thanksgiving!

@KieranT
I get it that you're a really good mod, Kieran.
I just can't go on channels where people are nasty and then try to post songs along with them. A lot of what is happening is also considered harassment but it stays.
I'm tired of it... and just tired. When I am feeling down and stressed, the last thing I need is a bunch of Disqus B.S.
Thank you for the Thanksgiving wishes. :)

@Breezey Bree
I totally understand.
The whole project is a mess and any feedback we give as mods is either ignored or patched like they patch the whole platform without fixing the root cause of the mess.

If they had only used their own platform as we do and had seen how some people behave around certain others, they would have realised that mixing them was a seriously bad idea.
Before, people stayed on their own sites, swapping long distance missiles. Now, they are in there with bayonets fixed, stabbing each other in any way they can.

Several people have tried to get me involved with Chit Chat but I have declined each time.
First and foremost, I have a lot of responsibilities elsewhere and have had extra work anyway, and that channel is a full time job in itself.
But secondly, I find that sort of thing totally draining so that's why I don't even read it.
I hate conflict. Oh, i will take someone head on if I need to, but I much prefer to talk things through and find a solution, but I doubt many of those on there can be reasoned with. The trolls and clone makers certainly can't.

I have always tried to stay out of the fighting factions in the 10 years that I have been on Disqus, and will talk to most people within reason as long as things stay neutral regards others that I may talk to that they don't like.
And I have ended up sharing short exchanges on these new channels with people that I have avoided for years because others I know don't like them. But it isn't in my nature to ignore people just because of that. I react to people depending on how they are around and towards me. I don't judge otherwise. And If I am modding for Disqus, I follow their rules and not what might apply somewhere else where I mod or on my own sites.
You can't please all of the people all of the time, so I do what leaves me feeling the most comfortable.

Try to put Disqus out of your head. It's Crazy Town on a good day!      

I really hope you had a lovely day yesterday.

@KieranT
I think the best thing I've done in a long time is to delete both of my Disqus accounts. When I first joined, I found sites I thought were okay but even those channels were full of conflict and all the things that are happening on the channels again now.
For quite a while, It was fun to have a couple channels of my own to share with a lot of people... but it was all a mess when people weren't really who they claimed to be and others stalked and harassed.
And it was tiring to have people offer to mod just to try and change how it all was done... and get nasty when I didn't agree.
What I saw this last week shows some real hypocrisy on channels. And.... some things really never change from the old channels to the new.
Just watch your back. Some people truly turn on others and twist words around to suit how they see things.
What I really learned is I would never recommend Disqus to anyone again. I did once and glad the person didn't bother.
My Thanksgiving day was pretty good. Thank you. Children and grandchildren were here most of the  day.  
Thank you for the flowers! lol

@breezey bree

Oh, I need all of those

I know what you mean about the people not being genuine and everything is fake and when caught out, they can't understand why people won't believe anything they say ever again.

I prefer to be in No Man's Land to be honest, sticking with just a few friendly people on a few settled sites.
I am just not remotely interested in arguing and fighting, especially when it is done just for its own sake.
But the problem is people with open profiles are now dragging trouble on to other places - mostly inadvertently. Thank goodness for pre-moderation!

@KieranT
LOL I think we both need all of those... and then some!
Yep... I took a good look around Disqus before deleting my second account... and yeah... just a load of B.S.
I saw real true colors and I saw how some think they can be okay with anyone and everyone...no matter how nasty some get.
I have never been able to watch anyone be harassed or picked at without saying something. The old disqus days sure showed that.
Premoderation can be useful, but not if intended to stop some from ever commenting. The help channel is one I was always left in pending for when commenting. I have seen others say the same.
I know one with an open account, but that one means to cause isses and always has... always more accounts and always getting one or two to hang with her even though they know who she is/was and the trouble she causes.