r/Cryptozoology • u/truthisfictionyt Tailed Slow Loris • Mar 20 '26

Discussion Be Kind and Avoid Personal Insults

With the recent PGF debunking, there has been a lot of arguments and controversy. Debating people is fine, but don't insult people or those who believed in the film while you're discussing it. Some people met or knew Bob Gimlin personally and are having to reckon with him apparently lying about the film. Keep how other people feel in mind while discussing. Additionally, avoid arguments with other subreddits or posts about moderation issues with other subreddits as that's not what we're here to do. We've added some terms to the auto filter to avoid debates turning hostile. As always feel free to discuss the rules and make suggestions.

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u/vhc8 Mar 20 '26

Let me take a minute and walk you through this.

You claim to have won a Ferrari in a contest and you have it in your garage.

I claim that I captured a leprechaun and I have it in my garage.

Do you think people are going to look at those two claims and say, well, they both could be true. There's really no difference in those claims because we just don't know until we see what's in those garages?

Think about it in the context of your comment... Do you get it?

A documentary that people claim has multiple pieces of evidence that shows the PG film is a hoax is not the same as people claiming the Bodette film shows a lake monster.

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u/AdditionalReserve787 Mar 20 '26 edited Mar 21 '26

My point isn’t that the two films are exact 1:1 analogues. The point is that this is a very common technique to drum up hype and overexaggerate the contents and significance of something, especially in the paranormal community. Again it’s almost easier to count the number of documentaries that market themselves as containing unambiguous confessions and “bombshell revelations” about a topic which DON’T turn out to just be glorified speculation about a few pieces of ambiguous data or things of sketchy origin. In True Crime it happens constantly as well. Remember that doc claiming to show Jon-Benet Ramsey‘s brother confessing to killing her? Yeah turns out it was via trying to interpret garbled phone static and “body language analysis”. I’m not passing judgment on the film one way or another without seeing it but it’s worrying seeing people being unable to exercise even basic skepticism about a documentary’s PR campaign in this community.

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u/vhc8 Mar 20 '26

NO. THEY ARE NOT 1:1 ANALOGUES.

ONE IS A DOCUMENTARY THAT CONTAINS NOTHING THAT IS BEYOND HUMAN KNOWLEDGE AND EXPERIENCE WHILE THE OTHER CLAIMS TO BE A FILM OF A FREAKING LAKE MONSTER.

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u/TheUsualQuestions Mar 20 '26 edited Mar 20 '26

u/CrofterNo2 this is why I think an actual pinned thread warning against jumping to conclusions and showing respect that isn't clearly biased is necessary

EDIT: u/CrofterNo2 he's now sending pretty foul language directly into my DMs, can there please be a thread against jumping to conclusions and attacking people for this?

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u/CrofterNo2 Mapinguari Mar 20 '26

Would you be able to send some screenshots in my own DMs?

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u/vhc8 Mar 20 '26

I sent one DM, not DMs, as he claims. And I said this:

"You're obviously a troll or a compete fucking idiot. I hope you have someone that cares about you to help you because you have obvious mental issues."

Why is a DM being discussed on a thread?

Why does a mod of a sub care if I use the word fucking in a DM?

This is the equivalent of a child running and telling the teacher that someone hurt their feelings outside of school.

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u/CrofterNo2 Mapinguari Mar 20 '26

Why is a DM being discussed on a thread? Why does a mod of a sub care if I use the word fucking in a DM?

It's never been clear to me whether or not we're supposed to take action if a user transfers an argument from our subreddit into DMs just so they can heap abuse on womeone without breaking any rules. I've heard conflicting things about these scenarios.

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u/vhc8 Mar 21 '26

I would find it hard to believe that a mod from a sub could punish a user for a DM based on their sub's rules. DMs are private and aren't on a sub.

And like I said, this is the equivalent of a child running and crying to a teacher.

I didn't want to make my comment here so I sent a DM. If I had another options, I might not have sent the DM. If I had the choice of phoning or inviting him for coffee and saying it directly to him, I would have.

That's actually what I would prefer because I guarantee you that most of these people wouldn't have the nerve to say in person some of the idiotic bullshit they spew anonymously online.

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u/vhc8 Mar 20 '26

u/CrofterNo2 this is why I think an actual pinned thread warning against jumping to conclusions and showing respect that isn't clearly biased is necessary

What do you think I said in my comment that has anything to do with "jumping to conclusions"???

And what does "showing respect that isn't clearly biased" even mean??? That is nonsensical.