u/Aggravating_Pair_156

I finally got around to starting to read the first and second Dune book after having enjoyed the movies quite a bit.

And honestly I do not get why people like the books and they are celebrated as sci fi classics.

There is so much pseudo philosophical shit that barely makes sense and just wants so desperately to be enlightened. It feels like the one time I was a trip sitter for a few friends of mine but in book form. The prose is terrible, the characters and "dialogue" are incredibly wooden, the pacing is abysmal and its honestly just so boring to read.

I like the general world building but that is kinda all of it. It honestly feels like a much worse lord of the rings if you amplify all the bad aspects of Tolkiens writing style by about 10 times while leaving out the amazing stuff.

I also do not get this obsession with the arab world that gets build into these books. Why is everything a Djihad? Why are the Fremen just Bedouine expis but in the "future".

Also Duncan Idaho??? Whenever I read that name it just pulls me out of any attempted immersion I might have had. It feels so misplaced between Bene Gesserit, Atreides and co.

I heard they were closing but aside from the previous legal issues (yes, the drug charges) couldn't find anything.

Increasingly over time, this sub has been overridden with people who are more than happy to shut down any disagreement by claiming that skeptics are acting in bad faith, paid disinfo agents, etc.. Weaponized blocking to stifle discussion has also been allowed.

The sub is advertised as being friendly to believers AND skeptics. Allowing this behavior says quite the opposite.

Rule 1 here is pretty clear, and yet it is enforced in a manner that doesn't really match it's tone. The behavior I've described here is absolutely disrespectful and should not be tolerated. Mods, respectfully, please step up to the plate or add more people to the team who can properly ensure that civil and intelligent discourse is happening here.

u/VerbalCant , two years ago you made a post talking about how this behavior would not be tolerated: https://www.reddit.com/r/AlienBodies/comments/1franrs/important_mod_post_no_disrespectful_dialogueno/ One of the examples you listed is specifically this kind of behavior.

u/Memystic , you've been gone for 2 years without any participation in the sub you created. Suddenly you appear again 2 months ago. Your private life should remain respected, but we deserve a little transparency as to why you haven't been managing this sub and why, under your watch, moderation in general has been left in the hands of a couple of very earnest yet very busy people.

Despite all of your posturing, there has been very little action to curb this issue. Aside from Ronk, we never even hear from any of the mods anymore. I get that it's hard to keep tabs on a sub like this when you have a busy professional life, which is why we either need additional mods or an entirely new mod team.

Increasingly over time, this sub has been overridden with people who are more than happy to shut down any disagreement by claiming that skeptics are acting in bad faith, paid disinfo agents, etc.. Weaponized blocking to stifle discussion has also been allowed.

The sub is advertised as being friendly to believers AND skeptics. Allowing this behavior says quite the opposite.

Rule 1 here is pretty clear, and yet it is enforced in a manner that doesn't really match it's tone. The behavior I've described here is absolutely disrespectful and should not be tolerated. Mods, respectfully, please step up to the plate or add more people to the team who can properly ensure that civil and intelligent discourse is happening here.

u/VerbalCant , two years ago you made a post talking about how this behavior would not be tolerated: https://www.reddit.com/r/AlienBodies/comments/1franrs/important_mod_post_no_disrespectful_dialogueno/ One of the examples you listed is specifically this kind of behavior.

u/Memystic , you've been gone for 2 years without any participation in the sub you created. Suddenly you appear again 2 months ago. Your private life should remain respected, but we deserve a little transparency as to why you haven't been managing this sub and why, under your watch, moderation in general has been left in the hands of a couple of very earnest yet very busy people.

Despite all of your posturing, there has been very little action to curb this issue. Aside from Ronk, we never even hear from any of the mods anymore. I get that it's hard to keep tabs on a sub like this when you have a busy professional life, which is why we either need additional mods or an entirely new mod team.

Increasingly over time, this sub has been overridden with people who are more than happy to shut down any disagreement by claiming that skeptics are acting in bad faith, paid disinfo agents, etc.

Rule 1 here is pretty clear, and yet it is enforced in a manner that doesn't really match it's tone. The behavior I've described here is absolutely disrespectful and should not be tolerated. Mods, respectfully, please step up to the plate or add more people to the team who can properly ensure that civil and intelligent discourse is happening here.

u/VerbalCant , two years ago you made a post talking about how this behavior would not be tolerated: https://www.reddit.com/r/AlienBodies/comments/1franrs/important_mod_post_no_disrespectful_dialogueno/ One of the examples you listed is specifically this kind of behavior.

Despite all of your posturing, there has been very little action to curb this issue. Aside from Ronk, we never even hear from any of the mods anymore. I get that it's hard to keep tabs on a sub like this, which is why we either need additional mods or an entirely new mod team.

When people ask me about the weird green book on my shelf I just show them this and offer no further context

Like some of you, I've had a replacement figure (big convoy, missing a crucial pin) in limbo since early April, where they had initially promised a shipping date by end of April. I was given the excuse originally that this was due to a warehouse change, however after calling them out on this they admitted it was due to a "service outage" (aka the cyber attack). An agent on the phone provided more context and told me they are essentially looking at a backlog of multiple months (despite the fact that they are able to ship and sell these figures with no delay). They kicked the can around for weeks while I followed up three more times to get an update and was given the digital equivalent of a shoulder shrug in return.

I spoke to an agent a final time yesterday who informed me they still did not know and wouldn't know for a while. I sent them a response that I'll post in the comments (basically boils down to "you're violating my provincial consumer rights laws on promised ship dates and warranty replacements") and they issued a cheque despite me asking them to find a way to send the figure.

Issuing a cheque is always the last possible option in these scenarios. If they had been able to send the figure any time in the near future they would have chosen to do that instead and keep the money. It's pretty clear at this point if you're waiting for a replacement part or figure you won't be getting it for a long time.

Your state or province or country usually has consumer protection laws to navigate this, familiarise yourself with them and don't hesitate to remind Hasbro they have rules to follow after they've taken your money.

Tl;Dr Hasbro is not prioritising their replacement system right now as they have multiple systems down from the cyber attack. It will take months to resume warranty replacements. Their agents can't do anything but promise it will happen sometime. Please don't get mad at the agents.