Is Meso Losing Its Edge?

I’m gonna say this straight. What the hell is happening to this forum?

Moderation used to be about stopping scams and obvious nonsense. Now it feels like walking through a kindergarten with a whistle. “Don’t discuss this here.” “Don’t say that.” And now I’m being told I can’t post in the Q thread until April because I called an idiot an idiot? On a steroid forum?

This is a board built around testosterone, iron, risk, and grown men making grown decisions. Not a book club for feelings management. Since when did this place turn into HR at a corporate office?

Is this the GLP-1 era? Did appetite suppression somehow suppress everyone’s backbone too? It honestly feels like the edges are getting sanded down to make everything safe and controlled. And the more “controlled” it gets, the more lifeless it feels.

People wonder why the forum is quieter. Why the heavy hitters don’t post anymore. Why the guys with actual experience stopped sharing. Maybe because the environment shifted from blunt and honest to tiptoe and sanitize. A lot of the dudes who actually brought value just disappeared. And that’s not random.

You can modernize a platform without neutering it. Progress doesn’t have to mean sterilizing personality and shutting down straight talk. Right now it feels like overcorrection.

At this rate, it’s not trolls killing the forum. It’s death by soft moderation and slow culture shift. And yeah, that’s frustrating to watch.
I'm not allowed to comment in the underground at all until April 16 for the same reason. Message just says q thread but it's the entire ug. It is what it is I guess from now on I'll just have to ignore the stupidity rather than try to correct it.
 
I'm not allowed to comment in the underground at all until April 16 for the same reason. Message just says q thread but it's the entire ug. It is what it is I guess from now on I'll just have to ignore the stupidity rather than try to correct it.

Same. I think whoever is mod'ing now needs more training and world experience. I don't think it's Millard. I think it's worth considering two people who recently "left..." who may even be the same person, which is disturbing in its implications because of the volume and contrast of their posts.
 
The recent enforcement action was about protecting members’ absolute freedom to report disputes, scams, disagreements, product issues, or any other negative experience with any source. Members must be welcomed and encouraged to speak openly about sources, with no source being above criticism regardless of reputation or longevity or number of supporters.

Sources are prohibited from taking actions that stifle, suppress, intimidate, or retaliate against members who report complaints. The same standard applies to all members: no one may discourage reporting, pressure complainants into silence, normalize retaliation, or attempt to shield a source from scrutiny.

This principle has always been central to MESO-Rx. We do not protect sources from criticism. We do not discourage dissatisfied customers from reporting. We do not bury complaints.

This is not complicated. It is not controversial. It is fundamental to harm reduction. We invite every member to support this principle and help maintain a culture where transparency and accountability come first.
 
@MESO-Rx Administrator

I can appreciate that (and I do) but I think where people are getting upset is that it feels like it's also being applied to other situations, or where it's very loosely related to the above mission.

I can only give my own example here, but I got a warning for inflammatory political speech that was used to derail source accountability.

I'll show you the exact comment:

meso.webp

meso3.webp

Now I can't speak for others, but I'm pretty sure that if I showed that comment to most people I wouldn't hear many people say that it's inflammatory.

Also, it was in Liska's thread, who hasn't been a source for the longest time now. So it's not quite clear how I was derailing a source's accountability over a non-source. I wasn't the only one who got a warning either. Regardless, it's not really about my comment.

The other thing that likely plays a role here is that it feels like places like this are getting harder to find, so naturally people will be more protective of forums like these. And I really do appreciate Meso being here.
 
The recent enforcement action was about protecting members’ absolute freedom to report disputes, scams, disagreements, product issues, or any other negative experience with any source. Members must be welcomed and encouraged to speak openly about sources, with no source being above criticism regardless of reputation or longevity or number of supporters.

Sources are prohibited from taking actions that stifle, suppress, intimidate, or retaliate against members who report complaints. The same standard applies to all members: no one may discourage reporting, pressure complainants into silence, normalize retaliation, or attempt to shield a source from scrutiny.

This principle has always been central to MESO-Rx. We do not protect sources from criticism. We do not discourage dissatisfied customers from reporting. We do not bury complaints.

This is not complicated. It is not controversial. It is fundamental to harm reduction. We invite every member to support this principle and help maintain a culture where transparency and accountability come first.
I understand and support the principle. Members should absolutely be free to report disputes without intimidation. That’s not in question.

What is in question is proportionality.

I didn’t silence anyone. I didn’t threaten anyone. I didn’t discourage reporting. I made a sarcastic remark in a thread that has been chaotic for years. That’s commentary, not suppression.

If sarcasm is now treated as stifling accountability, then the line between moderation and tone control is getting blurry.

The restriction feels excessive given the context, especially in a thread that is already filled with speculation and emotional reactions.

So I’ll ask plainly: why is the restriction still active?

If transparency and open discussion are the goal, then applying restrictions in a way that feels inconsistent doesn’t strengthen that goal.

Lift the restriction and we move forward. No drama. No escalation. Just proportionality.
 
Told ya man. You tired yet?
I don’t know, man. At this point I’m not even sure I’m talking to a person. It reads like I triggered an automated compliance bot that quotes policy paragraphs on command.

Very structured. Very principled. Very “harm reduction.” Zero acknowledgment of context.

Maybe that’s just how things run now. Decisions get made, template gets sent, discussion closed. Fair enough. I don’t expect a reversal.

It’s just mildly ironic that on a forum built around anabolic compounds, the most tightly controlled substance is tone.

Anyway. Noted.
 
I mean I'm just not going to even try to make a point because it's going to fall on deaf ears. When somebody says something stupid they should be called out on it I think. If somebody is being lazy, I think they should be told. But I'm going to refrain from doing so and probably make much less contribution to the forum out of fear of getting the ban hammer permanently.
 
I don’t know, man. At this point I’m not even sure I’m talking to a person. It reads like I triggered an automated compliance bot that quotes policy paragraphs on command.

Very structured. Very principled. Very “harm reduction.” Zero acknowledgment of context.

Maybe that’s just how things run now. Decisions get made, template gets sent, discussion closed. Fair enough. I don’t expect a reversal.

It’s just mildly ironic that on a forum built around anabolic compounds, the most tightly controlled substance is tone.

Anyway. Noted.

Yea, there's something deeply "off" about all of it. Zero sense of humor, and as you said: zero context. Beep... harm reduction... beep. I still fail to see how sarcasm affects harm reduction. It's been an empty claim for a long time now... even moreso after all of... this. It's all very Readalotty.

I don't even care much to contribute. All I've got are corner case anecdotes of a 53 year-old. Who gives a shit, really? Exactly.
 
The biggest loss for me is I haven't been able to tell @craigdt my appreciation for his contributions to our collective happiness.

View attachment 380457
Yea I felt bad. He's going to think everyone just bailed and lost interest.

I appreciate that, truly. The Mrs does too, she sees everything you all post.
She enjoys hearing the like tally.

Its about all I can contribute to this community that has brought so much improvement to me, personally.

Don't have the years of experience that most of you have, so I just resort to humor, and.... tits. More to come, soon.

This really is a great community.
Yes there are issues, but its done so much good for so many people.
Think we have to take the good with the bad.
 
I appreciate that, truly. The Mrs does too, she sees everything you all post.
She enjoys hearing the like tally.

Its about all I can contribute to this community that has brought so much improvement to me, personally.

Don't have the years of experience that most of you have, so I just resort to humor, and.... tits. More to come, soon.

This really is a great community.
Yes there are issues, but its done so much good for so many people.
Think we have to take the good with the bad.
Keep up “ the good” ;) and a big thanks to your missus ,
 
It’s just mildly ironic that on a forum built around anabolic compounds, the most tightly controlled substance is tone.
Have juiceheads always been this eloquent and poignant??

Some of the shit y’all say has me questioning where tf I am.

Made me want to take off my hat like I was at a funeral or something goodness gracious

Tl;dr big man say word good
 
The recent enforcement action was about protecting members’ absolute freedom to report disputes, scams, disagreements, product issues, or any other negative experience with any source. Members must be welcomed and encouraged to speak openly about sources, with no source being above criticism regardless of reputation or longevity or number of supporters.

Sources are prohibited from taking actions that stifle, suppress, intimidate, or retaliate against members who report complaints. The same standard applies to all members: no one may discourage reporting, pressure complainants into silence, normalize retaliation, or attempt to shield a source from scrutiny.

This principle has always been central to MESO-Rx. We do not protect sources from criticism. We do not discourage dissatisfied customers from reporting. We do not bury complaints.

This is not complicated. It is not controversial. It is fundamental to harm reduction. We invite every member to support this principle and help maintain a culture where transparency and accountability come first.
Now that the enforcement action’s purpose has been made abundantly clear, and the offending member has signaled their contrition and intention to abide by the guidelines laid out—is it not appropriate to lift the restrictions to signal a good faith desire to move forward in cooperation with the stated goals?

I for one am confident these fellas have a plan for how to modify their speech in the future to retain the air of harm reduction while still adding their pedigree’s weight to the discussion.

Respectfully requested, of course.
 
I’m gonna say this straight. What the hell is happening to this forum?

Moderation used to be about stopping scams and obvious nonsense. Now it feels like walking through a kindergarten with a whistle. “Don’t discuss this here.” “Don’t say that.” And now I’m being told I can’t post in the Q thread until April because I called an idiot an idiot? On a steroid forum?

This is a board built around testosterone, iron, risk, and grown men making grown decisions. Not a book club for feelings management. Since when did this place turn into HR at a corporate office?

Is this the GLP-1 era? Did appetite suppression somehow suppress everyone’s backbone too? It honestly feels like the edges are getting sanded down to make everything safe and controlled. And the more “controlled” it gets, the more lifeless it feels.

People wonder why the forum is quieter. Why the heavy hitters don’t post anymore. Why the guys with actual experience stopped sharing. Maybe because the environment shifted from blunt and honest to tiptoe and sanitize. A lot of the dudes who actually brought value just disappeared. And that’s not random.

You can modernize a platform without neutering it. Progress doesn’t have to mean sterilizing personality and shutting down straight talk. Right now it feels like overcorrection.

At this rate, it’s not trolls killing the forum. It’s death by soft moderation and slow culture shift. And yeah, that’s frustrating to watch.
professional lurker here even before creating my account, but i agree with everything u said. Still i am deeply grateful of meso it is my favorite forum, I have learned a lot from here in various different areas be it brewing, pharmacology and the vendors. Really glad we have vendors doing quality stuff and testing raws with hplc ms and we can have more trust with what we are buying. Only thing that has bothered me since i joined is sometimes i see people jumping on others 1st thing 1st and talk shit on them when they don’t fit the norm of the average gear user because of what they take, their cycles, experiments, methods or even gear journey like not doing test as a 1st cycle which every gymbro says to do, but that isn't exclusive to this forum or even online at all, happens IRL too...
 
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