Avram in MD

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  • in reply to: Lip Synching and Deception #835949
    Avram in MD
    Participant

    Wolf,

    There are a lot of people who “lip-sync” during Simchas Torah, either because their voices get tired, or they aren’t sure of all of the words of the song, or perhaps for your reasons, yet they still want to participate as much as possible.

    Are you therefore to say that all of these Jews do not merit the Shechina’s presence? What’s sauce for the goose is sauce for the gander. Don’t give us the “this only applies to me” stuff. Sheker is sheker, no matter who does it.

    As someone who has lip-synced during Simchas Torah for several of the reasons I mentioned above, I am bothered by this trolling thread.

    in reply to: A Shabbos Desecrator Saying Vayechulu With the Congregation #835828
    Avram in MD
    Participant

    Hi WolfishMusings,

    I was wondering if you had any responses to my replies to you here.

    Thanks!

    Avram in MD
    Participant

    popa_bar_abba,

    I couldn’t agree with you more.

    Also, regarding the early Chanukah party, many offices host their “holiday” (read: Xmas) parties at least a week before the holiday, because many employees take leave during the week leading up to, or after the holiday.

    Assuming there isn’t a Federal shutdown next week, I think President Obama is planning a vacation in Hawaii.

    in reply to: tefillin #833707
    Avram in MD
    Participant

    moishy,

    I thought you are always supposed to put the shel rosh on the right of the bag and the shel yad on the left side??

    That’s actually what I do. Maybe I heard to do that from somewhere, and have long since forgotten (but kept the habit).

    in reply to: tefillin #833705
    Avram in MD
    Participant

    Derech HaMelech,

    So you don’t put your shel yad on the same side every day?

    Sorry, perhaps I left out too many words in my previous post, so what I was saying was unclear. I was only talking about taking the tefillin in and out of their bag. What I was trying to say was:

    When I return my tefillin to their bag [after shacharis], I place the tefillin shel rosh [into the bag] on the same side [of the bag] each day. That way, [the tefillin shel yad will always be on one side of the bag, and] I will [successfully] remove the tefillin shel yad [from the bag] first the next morning by habit [because it will reliably be on the same side of the bag each morning and I won’t have to think about it].

    Better? 🙂

    in reply to: tefillin #833702
    Avram in MD
    Participant

    When I return my tefillin to their bag, I place the tefillin shel rosh on the same side each day. That way, I will remove the tefillin shel yad first the next morning by habit.

    in reply to: Best Classic Songs #833966
    Avram in MD
    Participant

    Speaking of Grieg, I like the 3rd movement to his A-minor piano concerto.

    I also really like listening to Smetana’s “Moldau”.

    in reply to: Is individualism allowed??? #835094
    Avram in MD
    Participant

    BTGuy,

    Great, well thought out post!

    in reply to: A Shabbos Desecrator Saying Vayechulu With the Congregation #835827
    Avram in MD
    Participant

    soliek,

    i think youre overthinking all this…

    Who?

    in reply to: Is individualism allowed??? #835090
    Avram in MD
    Participant

    I want to be an individual just like everyone else! (couldn’t resist)

    Seriously though, are there concrete benefits for people to choose different colors for raincoats other than black for Shabbos attire? I don’t feel like a “Borg” when I wear black on Shabbos.

    in reply to: A Shabbos Desecrator Saying Vayechulu With the Congregation #835824
    Avram in MD
    Participant

    WolfishMusings,

    If I may be so bold, if I were in your shoes, the question I would bring to my rav would be worded along the lines of:

    Rav X, I am suffering from episodes of depression. I am very concerned with not letting this condition prevent me from properly honoring Shabbos. Do you have any recommendations for me to increase my simcha on Shabbos?

    in reply to: A Shabbos Desecrator Saying Vayechulu With the Congregation #835823
    Avram in MD
    Participant

    WolfishMusings,

    Thank you for responding.

    Your example of an EMT (by the way, did you know that I used to be an EMT?) is not really applicable[…]

    Didn’t know that… when I first typed the response I put policeman, but changed it to EMT to avoid the complications of a warrant, etc.

    I’m not aware of anything that says that one is allowed to be sad on Shabbos just for sake of being sad.

    That’s not the issue. If I tripped on Shabbos and fell against a wall with a light switch and accidentally turned the light on, am I a mechalel Shabbos? Oops, didn’t mean to do that… now I can’t say vayechulu with the tzibbur next Shabbos? No, because the melacha was involuntary. A mechalel Shabbos, on the other hand, does his aveiros on purpose. You, however, wrote in your response to kako above:

    It is what I am, and it pains me terribly that that’s the way I am, but I am certainly not “ok” with it.

    This indicates that your sadness is involuntary, which does NOT make you a mechalel Shabbos. It’s not like you wear torn clothes, fast, and wail in public on Shabbos [at least, I’m assuming you don’t!]. Involuntary sadness that affects your ability to accomplish what you want to is called depression, and if it is upsetting you this much, you should really speak to someone you trust, rather than publicly beating yourself up on the CR. I am affected emotionally by the change of seasons (likely due to the lack of sunlight), and sometimes when it’s really bad, I feel like I’m defective… like some grooves were dug into my brain that cause irrational sadness that other people don’t have. Because intellectually I know I don’t have anything to be sad about, yet I’m sad anyway. Then to make matters worse, my yetzer hara comes and tells me that I’m sinning, reminding me of the admonishment of a husband and father to not be melancholy, and so on top of sad, I feel like a bad person. That’s a trick that the yetzer hara plays, because if I feel like a sinner, then I stay sad. Now that I understand more about the physical causes of my feelings, my wife kicks me outside with my toddler in a stroller when there’s a lot of sunshine. I also try to take a walk during the day outside of the office. The extra sun exposure and exercise help with the sadness.

    Any judgements I make apply to myself and myself only.

    Are you saying that you’re different, somehow, from other Jews? A tzaddik who’s held to a higher standard? Again, I think this is possibly a trick of the yetzer hara.

    I don’t know why you would assume that I didn’t give the person I spoke with the complete, unadulterated truth. I assure you that that’s not the case.

    You told this person that you have had problems with feeling sad occasionally on Shabbos, even though you don’t want to be sad, and would like help to not feel sad, and s/he replied that you’re a sinner and should avoid saying vayechulu on Shabbos?? Sounds nuts to me.

    Nonetheless, I stand by his ruling, as one does not go “p’sak shopping.”

    You have not said that this person is your rav. I’d recommend getting rulings from your rav, and only after giving a full and accurate picture of your issue (e.g., not just saying, “R’ X, in theory, is someone who consistently violates a Shabbos prohibition in the S”A considered a mechalel Shabbos?” and so on).

    No. You’ll notice that my blogging activity has dropped off considerably in the past year.

    I have not read your blog enough to know much about your posting habits, but I have read enough to know that there you criticize what you see as craziness, and here you accept craziness and apply it to yourself.

    in reply to: Hatzola #932603
    Avram in MD
    Participant

    Hi Health,

    Neither have I, but considering most births occur in the hospital -I’d say most women aren’t that negative about it as you!

    Or maybe they’re just not educated enough about the issues… 🙂

    So – have you even convinced your family members to go this route?

    My wife convinced me.

    in reply to: Hatzola #932582
    Avram in MD
    Participant

    Hi Health,

    Somehow I don’t think most people have the same negative feelings about hospitals, medical personell, esp. those in the OB Dept., as you do.

    I’ve never done a poll.

    Also, your assumption about treatment for childbirth -if you really believe what you posted and all others that think like you -why use them? The last I heard was this was a free country -you don’t have to go to the hospital -you can deliver at home. And esp. nowadays they have birthing centers where you are only treated by midwives and not doctors

    Excellent suggestions for normal, healthy pregnancies. 🙂

    Avram -So acc. to your train of thought -I personally attacked every Frum woman who didn’t always make it on time to the hospital to deliver. So I guess they should all come here and bash me.

    No, I’m not talking about that. I’m talking about what you said to Nechomah:

    Sorry to say, I don’t feel that you are very educated.

    That was a personal attack.

    in reply to: Hatzola #932573
    Avram in MD
    Participant

    Health,

    Avram in MD – Perhaps you didn’t learn this when you were younger, but you should read all the posts before you comment.

    I did.

    I had made a theory on why Frum women don’t make it on time to deliver at the hospital. I posted that they weren’t educated enough in this area.

    I understand that.

    I included in that theory this poster

    Which was personal.

    -this is Not a personal attack!

    Yes it was.

    in reply to: Hatzola #932567
    Avram in MD
    Participant

    Also, when some OBs and hospital staff pay more attention to their watches and protocols than to the laboring woman and baby, stressing the mother out, then rushing things along for their convenience and jumping too quickly to forceps or surgery, if I were a woman, I’d probably want to wait until the very last minute to go to the hospital, too.

    in reply to: Hatzola #932566
    Avram in MD
    Participant

    Health,

    There was nothing personal in my comments to you. You might have taken my comments personally because the story you were relating was about you -so maybe your emotions got the best of you!

    Perhaps you didn’t learn this when you were younger, but to call someone uneducated is a personal attack.

    in reply to: Hatzola #932560
    Avram in MD
    Participant

    Health,

    So why does the Frum community have so many childbirth related calls? Simple -because they are uneducated.

    ???? ??? ?????????? ????????????? ???????????? ???? ?????? ?????? ???????? ??????? ??????? ???????????? ?????????

    🙂

    in reply to: Is the vaad the mafia?? #831273
    Avram in MD
    Participant

    soliek,

    um…youre all arguing with not enough information…2 questions seem germane…

    Do we ever have enough information about a situation we’re debating here? 🙂

    1) how much did the vaad want from the restaurant

    The OP did not explicitly say that the vaad was demanding too much money. His/her main contention was that the vaad did not agree to be paid in installments rather than up front.

    2) how much is the going rate

    Can this be determined?

    in reply to: Any gastroenterologists out there? #830794
    Avram in MD
    Participant

    I am not a doctor, but I am a GERD sufferer and have been to a GI (so please take everything I write with that grain of salt!). Barrett’s Esophagus is abnormal looking cells caused by damage from repeated acid reflux into the esophagus. The doctor diagnoses it after performing an endoscopy. Since Barrett’s Esophagus is tied to a greater change of getting cancer of the esophagus (Heaven forbid), while the treatment plan might be no different than treatment for GERD, the GI will likely want to have more frequent endoscopies performed, perhaps once a year. Treatment is preventing heartburn.

    I was told by my GI that it is safe to take prilosec (omeprazole) or previcid (lansoprazole) daily on a continual basis (it’s certainly safer than repeated heartburn and its associated damage!). One primary reason the OTC versions have a 14 day limit is to get people who have frequent, repeated heartburn in to see their doctor.

    It’s also a good idea to make lifestyle changes that help prevent heartburn… avoiding lots of spicy or greasy/fatty foods, coffee/chocolate in high quantities, not lying down right after eating, elevating yourself, etc.

    Hatzlacha!

    in reply to: Is the vaad the mafia?? #831261
    Avram in MD
    Participant

    kfb,

    I thought the vaad was supposed to help restaurants..

    The vaad is supposed to ensure kashrus, which requires a mashgiach on site. The mashgiach has to eat and support a family, too!

    in reply to: A Shabbos Desecrator Saying Vayechulu With the Congregation #835817
    Avram in MD
    Participant

    WolfishMusings,

    [in response to popa_bar_abba:] Why is it so difficult to believe that, at the very least, I truly believe this?

    Because you’re smarter than this.

    I ended up speaking with someone about this situation.

    <rant>

    Who, mosherose?

    I’m not sure why your game bothers me so much. Maybe it’s because, in some areas (as far as I can determine through your posts), we think in similar ways. You seem to care about your beliefs being logically consistent and despise anti-intellectualism or fallacies. Yet in threads like this, your arguments are rife with blatant fallacies, including (in just this thread alone):

    Sweeping generalizations (a dicto simpliciter ad dictum secundum quid – you ignore universally acceptable exceptions to rules). For example, if state law said, “entering into a private domicile without consent of the owner is illegal”, I can see you writing an OP saying “I deserve to go to jail because I entered into someone’s house without permission yesterday…by the way, I’m an EMT.” The funniest example of your use of this fallacy is your, “I’m a sinner because I talk during leining (I’m the ba’al koreh)” shtick. This mechalel Shabbos one’s not so funny, however, because it can add stress or misery to a person who is depressed, doesn’t see the fallacy in your argument, and might take you seriously.

    Appeal to anonymous authority – “I ended up speaking with someone about this situation”, and somehow this random person becomes the final word, ignoring what everyone else said on this thread. Also apparent is that you likely did not give this person all of the relevant information, which is not in the spirit of ????????? ?????? ??? ?????? ????????

    False dilemmas – either you’re never sad on Shabbos, or you are a mechalel Shabbos who cannot cook for other Jews or handle wine, or say vayechulu with the tzibbur. No different than saying that someone either supports all of the president’s policies, or he is a traitor.

    So, as popa_bar_abba asked, what is behind your drive to take every generalization, apply it rigidly or absurdly to your personal situation to come up with faux aveiros (which is not how a rav would operate IRL), and then parade your “shame” publically in the CR? Are you trying to bait extreme posters like mosherose to give crazy responses so you can prove their ignorance or have fodder for your blog? Are you trying to make halacha and/or Orthodox Jews look bad? I can’t understand it. But really, given how much knowledge you obviously have of Jewish law and tradition, I can’t possibly accept that you are being serious with this.

    </rant>

    in reply to: Jothar #829484
    Avram in MD
    Participant

    Shticky Guy,

    Didn’t you know? popa_bar_abba is mod80:-)

    in reply to: on the subject of joseph… #829232
    Avram in MD
    Participant

    Syag Lchochma,

    I am certainly no expert on IT security, and I don’t know anything about what’s been going on behind the scenes here on the CR.

    I personally would not expect an unsolicited e-mail from someone in the CR. If I received one, I would assume that someone hacked the CR’s data, and would report it to the editor. I personally would not respond to the e-mail. Nor would I respond to someone’s request to e-mail them.

    Now, if someone I know personally (as in, I know them and their e-mail address personally) e-mailed me and said, “are you Avram in MD in the CR?” I would respond.

    If someone claimed to be a person I know but was writing from an unfamiliar e-mail address, I would be more suspicious. I would probably write an e-mail to the address I know for that person, to confirm it really is him.

    As far as banking account information, as long as you’re not using the same username and password for the CR as you are for your financial institutions, I think you’re fine:-) Of course, keep in mind that your financial institutions will never send you an unsolicited e-mail prompting you for personal information (e.g., “Your account has been locked, click here to log in and resolve the problem!”). I’d also keep your true PII (first, last name, SSN obviously) away from the CR, and write to the editor/mods if you feel like someone is trying to “out” you.

    in reply to: Mr. Obama's Pardons #1114254
    Avram in MD
    Participant

    I thought that Pluto wasn’t a planet anymore…

    in reply to: on the subject of joseph… #829230
    Avram in MD
    Participant

    coffee addict,

    that’s true if the chasuna was in St. Louis however if it’s Brooklyn or anywhere else in the NY/NJ area I think it’s fine to name the city

    This is the kind of discussion/back-and-forth I was hoping to see with the other security thread… rather than what it devolved into.

    I would agree, that with no other details, that naming the city wouldn’t necessarily be a problem. But combined with perhaps a specific detail of something that happened during the wedding, another poster may be able to determine which wedding it was. I’m not saying that those details shouldn’t be posted, but the poster should be aware of what they may be giving away.

    in reply to: on the subject of joseph… #829229
    Avram in MD
    Participant

    ZeesKite,

    Congratulations! You are good at protecting your PII in the CR. Therefore, the messages of caution do not apply to you, and you can feel free to ignore them.

    Not everybody has been as successful as you are.

    in reply to: on the subject of joseph… #829223
    Avram in MD
    Participant

    soliek,

    It seems to me that the two “sides” in this security debate are converging towards agreement.

    I mostly agree with your blame-the-one-who-foolishly-gives-out-too-much-personal-information-and-let’s-get-on-with-it argument, but there are some cases where posters, especially younger ones, may not realize they are giving out enough information to uniquely identify themselves. This is where I see a place for the security discussion. Not witch hunts, not Joseph-hunting (he’s certainly not the only sock puppet maker here!), but just gentle words of caution. Like suggesting one write, “I was at my cousin’s wedding recently…” rather than, “I was at my older cousin’s wedding in St. Louis last night…”

    in reply to: Od AYC Chai – Apology and Explanation #839866
    Avram in MD
    Participant

    HaLeiVi,

    Just delete the whole thread. That conversation got nowhere, anyhow.

    I think the conversation (assuming you’re talking about the “Be aware of stalkers/info stealers” thread) was an important one, but got seriously off track with the AYC/Joseph stuff. I agreed with what Jothar initially wrote:

    Unfortunately, this has happened here in the CR, no need to mention names[emphasis mine]

    So I feel the thread itself should stay, but all of the personal stuff should be deleted, including not only the things written about AYC, but some nasty stuff written about Jothar, too.

    in reply to: Od AYC Chai – Apology and Explanation #839865
    Avram in MD
    Participant

    Zeeskite,

    And no, Joseph is NOT a dangerous person, right Joseph?

    I confess that I have been interested in exposing the “Joseph” sock puppet accounts in the past, but stopped for two reasons.

    1.) I realized after mistakenly labeling a poster as “Joseph” while following a mod’s lead in the past (sorry again, real-brisker!), that one of his tactics is to ensure a lot of collateral damage if anyone ever makes a concerted effort to find all of his screennames. Unfortunately, Am Yisrael Chai is probably the greatest victim of this collateral damage (Shticky Guy makes this point well when he notes that the mods suspected Joseph).

    2.) Around the same time, I tried direct questions to Joseph because I wanted to know why he played his games, and got this creepy response.

    As for why I was interested in exposing the Joseph sock puppets at all, I felt offended because he purported to be “defending” the Torah’s honor through using his less than savory methods, which undercut the message and ultimately was a chillul Hashem. I also feared that he was launching a straw-man sybil attack on Torah values – drumming up opposition to Torah true positions by presenting them in a confrontational, inflammatory manner.

    To me, disrupting the CR and causing chillul Hashem is “dangerous” enough, but apparently other things have been going on behind the scenes as well.

    That said, while I have obviously been on the side of those urging caution on the CR, I did not feel that the matter with AYC should have been handled in such a public manner. I agree with YW Moderator-42’s new position that suspected sock puppet accounts will be dealt with silently and via e-mail correspondence. I also agree with those who have said that threads more conducive to sharing personal details (rather than opinions/positions on issues) should receive more special care from the moderators, and perhaps a notice in the thread if things are getting out of hand or seem “off.”

    in reply to: davening/ learning in English #833303
    Avram in MD
    Participant

    Hi mik5,

    I am also a BT, and used to daven mostly in English. I transitioned gradually to davening in Hebrew by:

    1.) Learning to say the ending sentence of each paragraph/psalm, e.g., where the diamond-type mark in the Artscroll is to the end, in Hebrew. Since that diamond mark is where the chazzan typically begins reciting aloud, learning those sentences first really helped me to figure out where the tzibbur was in davening, and that made me feel a lot more comfortable in shul. I started with the the ending sentence of each bracha in Shemoneh Esrei, then the final sentences of the brachos of kriyas shema, and then did final sentences in pesukei d’zimra (the psalms/verses recited before shema during shacharis). Pretty much all the rest I did in English (unless I happened to know some of the Hebrew from my non-Orthodox Hebrew school upbringing).

    2.) I gradually added the first sentence of each paragraph in Hebrew, slowly so that my davening didn’t become excessively long. Once one Hebrew sentence became quick and automatic, I’d begin working on the next.

    3.) Once everything was “up to speed”, I’d add the second sentence of a paragraph, and the second to last sentence, etc. until eventually I was doing almost everything in Hebrew.

    As I did this, my reading skills dramatically improved, so my rate of progress increased as I continued adding more Hebrew to my davening.

    Regarding understanding what you are saying: I found that I learned a LOT of Hebrew words during the transition from reading in English to Hebrew. When I daven Shemoneh Esrei, for example, I understand what I am saying in Hebrew. The area that is still a challenge for me to understand each word is pesukei d’zimra, but I understand parts and keep the theme of each psalm in mind as I recite it. Sometimes I will also take an English siddur and review the psalm in English, so that my understanding is fresh.

    I hope all of this is helpful to you!

    in reply to: Be aware of stalkers/info stealers #827610
    Avram in MD
    Participant

    Shticky Guy,

    I have a big problem. I have received some emails from friends over the last few days. But are they posters here at ywn or not, if yes then dont I have to report them?

    Surely you can differentiate between an unsolicited, unverifiable e-mail and a normal e-mail from friends. This seems like an attempt to discredit the appeal for greater caution through a straw man fallacy.

    That said…

    Jothar,

    Is it possible to stop the conflation of the Joseph/AYC/speculations issue with the real issue of poster safety which is what prompted you to open this thread in the first place (note your OP says “no need to mention names”)? The title of this thread, Be aware of stalkers/info stealers is important to discuss and can be done without naming names. This needless speculation about specific posters only adds fuel to those criticizing greater caution because of the Orwellian feel, and brings people who would otherwise agree with the message of caution to the other “camp”, since the caution appeal becomes associated with personal attacks.

    If the moderators suspect a specific poster of harassment, perhaps they can close the problematic thread with a note saying, “if you have been contacted by posterX, please e-mail the moderators.” Nothing more. As for this thread, perhaps rather than focusing on specific posters, we can discuss more general things like warning signs that an e-mail may be phishing, posting with caution, etc.

    in reply to: A Shabbos Desecrator Saying Vayechulu With the Congregation #835813
    Avram in MD
    Participant

    WolfishMusings,

    It is forbidden to have certain bodily functions occur while wearing tefillin… to the point that if a person has a GI ailment which makes it impossible to control the body in that manner, he is exempt from tefillin.

    Now, if I heaven forbid had a chronic GI issue which prevented me from wearing tefillin, should I take myself to the doctor and get the illness treated, or should I come onto the CR and declare publicly that I’m a sinner because I don’t lay tefillin?

    In other words, if your sadness is truly bothering you as you claim, and you feel distress at not being able to follow the halacha as you see it, shouldn’t you go and be seen by a health professional, rather than coming to the CR to make halacha look heartless, CV”S?

    in reply to: Be aware of stalkers/info stealers #827591
    Avram in MD
    Participant

    BTGuy,

    A thread topic could be about how grow vegetables indoors during the winter. People would make interesting suggestions about what grows better, and I can read with interest. Then I will see the Jothar post and it has nothing to do with vegetables. You know what the subject would be. lol

    Can you provide me an example or two of where Jothar did this? I think your contention is exaggerated. There is way more disruption in the other threads from Jothar’s detractors.

    in reply to: Who are you? Who am I? #828429
    Avram in MD
    Participant

    chocandpatience_,

    The CR is no longer the cosy, friendly place I discovered 18 months ago. That’s a shame.

    I’m not sure if we have been reading the same CR. I have been reading posts here for several years, and there have always been mean spirited, flaming posts and threads with personal attacks, as well as warm, nice threads. I have seen a thread dedicated to banning posters based on their viewpoints (naming names), and instances of harassment against single posters. Why do debates on this one issue suddenly change the tone of the CR for you?

    I once posted in another place I found through interactions on the CR, and very quickly a “troll” poster tried to reveal who I was (but s/he was completely off the mark) and asked me to send him/her an e-mail. Many threads here have a “weird” feel to them, with attempts to pry information out of other users. There has also been a lot of sock puppetry, not just from Joseph. I have kept a lower profile because of all of this, and even regret what small amount of personal information I did reveal.

    All that said, I agree that witch-hunts are not the way to go. Randomly attacking other posters with accusations of stalking not only disrupts the CR, but it weakens the valid case for greater caution. My feeling for this is to encourage safer posting, and let the moderators do the rest. If a poster has a concern with something going on, it should be e-mailed to the moderators rather than spread on the thread. Most of this should occur behind the scenes. It’s interesting to me, however, that the opponents of greater caution are primarily the ones keeping the discussion going…

    in reply to: Be aware of stalkers/info stealers #827569
    Avram in MD
    Participant

    Am I the only one who’s starting to think that the whole “fight” between Jothar and BTGuy and their teams of allies itself sounds strangely artificial?

    in reply to: Be aware of stalkers/info stealers #827510
    Avram in MD
    Participant

    HaLeiVi,

    I agree that the scenario I described is not a likely vector to obtain someone’s identity (but not an impossible one). I was working with the object lesson that YW Moderator-42 set up.

    Would you agree, however, that there are more likely scenarios where CR users can ascertain the identities of other posters? It has happened several times, such as when cantoresq’s niece figured out who he was (which was benign), or when mosherose allegedly harassed WolfishMusings in real life, because he gave very specific details about a shiur he was attending (certainly not benign).

    I am not promoting or agreeing with hysterical suggestions to sacrifice the free flow of posts in the CR on the altar of security such as verified screennames or the like, but I strongly agree with the words of caution, which weren’t excessive. I was also surprised by the posters who objected to even that (claiming it disrupted the flow of threads).

    in reply to: wrong to be a sports fan? #828664
    Avram in MD
    Participant

    I don’t think there is anything wrong with rooting for a sports team, though with several caveats:

    1.) Proper context and perspective must be maintained. Many sports fans feel jubilant after their team wins, and depressed after their team loses. Some people feel real hatred towards their team’s rivals, or the rival team’s fans. I think all of this is wrong; it’s just a game, and should be seen as such.

    2.) I think a person should root for their team, but not wrap their identity up into the team. This goes for other things too, such as career, school, etc.

    3.) Watching a game on television or attending a game can be problematic, due to exposure to pritzus or coarse behavior. This might be a problem with some sports (football) more than others (baseball?).

    I personally do follow several teams, but I don’t watch games on television (don’t even have cable/antenna television). I read the recaps and analyses, and sometimes watch the highlights online.

    in reply to: Unix programming? #826548
    Avram in MD
    Participant

    I have liked bash shell.

    I have had some problems with CSH… for example, you can’t redirect STDERR to files or /dev/null in the way you can with Bourne-type shells like bash.

    in reply to: :::::::::::::::NERD::::::::::::::::: #920580
    Avram in MD
    Participant

    Don’t accept the label. Only you can say what you are. If you don’t want to be a nerd, then you are not a nerd!

    in reply to: Be aware of stalkers/info stealers #827494
    Avram in MD
    Participant

    moi aussi,

    If I say I’m related to Rockefeller, or the Sultan of Brunei or lehavdil the Belzer Rebbe, have I caused any DANGER????

    I think YW Moderator-42 is attempting to demonstrate the danger. Consider the following sequence of events:

    1.) Poster “YoungPerson” mentions that she is from prominent family X.

    2.) Poster “OlderMan” contacts someone in family X, stating that he is involved with IT security, and that someone in the CR is claiming to be from family X, which concerns him, and to confirm that YoungPerson is legit.

    3.) Family X investigates and finds out that a young niece is posting in the CR, so they contact OlderMan to let him know who YoungPerson is, and that she’s legit. They thank OlderMan for his concern for the family’s privacy.

    4.) OlderMan now has YoungPerson’s full name, and can easily deduce other details such as address, age, school, etc.

    in reply to: Be aware of stalkers/info stealers #827491
    Avram in MD
    Participant

    It seems possible to me that YW Moderator-42 is using an object lesson to make a point to am yisrael chai, that revealing personal information in the CR (e.g., that am yisrael chai is a Kletzky) can lead to real life ramifications (having the Kletzky family contacted regarding the CR posts).

    That’s all I think this is; after all, if AYC’s account was really locked, YW Moderator-42 would probably have noted such in his/her screenname subtitle, as is commonly done when other posters have their accounts locked.

    in reply to: Let Our People Have Fun #824136
    Avram in MD
    Participant

    BTGuy,

    Despite the fact that I really like fish, I am not Jothar. I just happen to agree with one point he has been making: that users on this site should be more careful with personal details, and moderators should be on the lookout for suspicious behavior. Nothing more than that. I have no other intentions.

    in reply to: Let Our People Have Fun #824122
    Avram in MD
    Participant

    ZeesKite,

    Please, let it rest. You are generating much more disruption with this issue than Jothar is.

    As far as a phone-call verified screen name, I personally don’t think that it would be feasible. In general, security and usability are inversely proportional, so a proper balance needs to be attained. Also, I feel that providing personal information such as a phone number to a Web site is in itself a security threat for the user.

    I think the best path for greater security lies in the existing features of the CR: the posters and moderators. Posters should guard their personal information more closely, and moderators should be on the lookout to edit/delete posts that may compromise someone’s personal information, especially if the poster is young.

    in reply to: Be aware of stalkers/info stealers #827446
    Avram in MD
    Participant

    ZeesKite,

    Why are you so bothered by Jothar bringing up very real online privacy issues? You have been calling him out unprovoked in several threads.

    I don’t know anything about the law enforcement issues Jothar and the moderators are alluding to, so I am not commenting about that.

    in reply to: Be aware of stalkers/info stealers #827422
    Avram in MD
    Participant

    BTGuy,

    You are sloppily creating loshon hora and dan lekaf zcheus issues for all of us by not handling your suspicions behind the scenes with email warnings or waiting for a real problem.

    From what I’ve seen, Jothar has been making a case for better protection of users’ identities by pointing out threads that might be problematic, not posters, and making general recommendations to not share PII or other seemingly innocent information that can be combined to make PII. I read more than I post, and I have seen several instances in the CR where a poster attempts (or threatens/claims to attempt) to harm another poster “IRL” after the latter poster revealed enough information online to provide an identity. One example was an attempt by “mosherose” to have another poster thrown out of a shiur in real life (see http://www.theyeshivaworld.com/coffeeroom/topic/changed-topic-of-shiur-do-i-have-a-right-to-be-disappointed). I don’t think such behavior is ok, do you?

    in reply to: will katia follow irene? #806471
    Avram in MD
    Participant

    Mod80,

    The features that will cause Katia to turn (a break in the subtropical ridge and a large trough over the eastern U.S.) are already in place. At this point the situation is similar to watching a cork floating in a stream, and noticing a change in the current downstream. Of course the currents can change, but it is highly unlikely.

    Don’t forget that there is a vigorous tropical disturbance to Katia’s southeast, about midway between the western coast of Africa and the lesser Antilles. There’s a good chance that it will become TS Maria soon.

    Another interesting tidbit: the name Katia is the replacement for the now retired Katrina.

    in reply to: Davening for a Presidential Candidate #885732
    Avram in MD
    Participant

    kol daveed,

    Thanks for your response. I agree with all three of your points.

    in reply to: Davening for a Presidential Candidate #885727
    Avram in MD
    Participant

    Stamper (or Hacham),

    daven for a sport team to win? I sincerely hope you are kidding.

    Just to get clarification of your position(s), which would you say is worse… davening for a sports team to win, or not davening at all?

    I do understand that some things a person may daven for are foolish, but is it assur for a fool to daven?

    in reply to: Missionaries #794750
    Avram in MD
    Participant

    If a missionary comes to the door, do not accept any of their materials, even if you think it would get them to go away faster, and even if you intend to throw it out right away. No matter how “resistant” you appear to their proselytizing, the missionary will mark your address down for a “follow-up” visit if you accept their materials.

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