# A bone to pick **URL:** \ **Category:** About This Message Board\ **Created:** [July 31, 2019, 2:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-bone-to-pick/837909 "2019-07-31T02:08:13Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Bone](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bone/32/407_2.png) [@Bone](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bone)\ **Post date:** [July 31, 2019, 4:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-bone-to-pick/837909/21 "2019-07-31T04:07:58Z")
> [@Scylla](#): > > Wait a minute. That dot next to my name is red. Yours is green. Has it always been that way? Did I just notice or does that mean something? I think my dot just turned red! > > Fuck! What does that mean? > > Give me back my green dot. The green dot indicates your presence is public - people can see that you are online. The red dot indicates your presence is private - others will see you as offline. This is a setting in your User CP. ---
**Author:** ![Scylla](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/a5b964/32.png) [@Scylla](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Scylla)\ **Post date:** [July 31, 2019, 4:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-bone-to-pick/837909/22 "2019-07-31T04:12:19Z")
> [@Bone](#): > > I believe you are referring to these two posts: > > [http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showpost.php?p=21728047&postcount=423](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showpost.php?p=21728047&postcount=423) > [http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showpost.php?p=21728763&postcount=470](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showpost.php?p=21728763&postcount=470) > > While we don’t track notes, I do recall these. I have a semi decent memory of when I intercede. Please see the rules posted at the top ATMB (these are duplicated at the top of GD and Elections: > > If there is an actual warning, the word “warning” will be used. Colibri went over this above. What you received were notes. Those are intended to guide discussion so as to avoid rule breaking, and to provide a gentle nudge for posters who may overstep a bit, but not sufficient to merit an actual warning. > > As to the note itself - it was implying the poster you directed your comment to was impaired in some way. Personalization is when the argument is directed at the poster themself, rather than any underlying argument. Personal insults typically involve some kind of personalization, so when this occurs, I may try to nudge the conversation back so as to avoid the need for actual warnings. This is what occurred here. The comment struck me as mildly rude, and really just snark. Rather than see how things play out, I elected to drop a note for you to remind you that that type of comment should be avoided. This serves as a notice to you, and to all other readers. That response is above and beyond. My takeaway is that you went to easy on me the first two times that day. I interpreted it to mean what I deserved rather than what you actually did. In that context I interpreted today’s action as unnecessarily strong. Understood. Can I please have my green dot back? ---
**Author:** ![Scylla](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/a5b964/32.png) [@Scylla](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Scylla)\ **Post date:** [July 31, 2019, 4:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-bone-to-pick/837909/23 "2019-07-31T04:15:05Z")
> [@Bone](#): > > The green dot indicates your presence is public - people can see that you are online. The red dot indicates your presence is private - others will see you as offline. This is a setting in your User CP. I must have changed it when looking for my infractions. ---
**Author:** ![BeeGee](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/b5a626/32.png) [@BeeGee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BeeGee)\ **Post date:** [July 31, 2019, 4:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-bone-to-pick/837909/24 "2019-07-31T04:17:20Z")
> [@Scylla](#): > > Oh. > > Well I guess I just wasted a good tootbrush then. Geez. Sharpening it like a prison shiv for someone who ratted you out? Sounds like we’ve come full circle. ---
**Author:** ![Colibri](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/colibri/32/1841_2.png) [@Colibri](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Colibri)\ **Post date:** [July 31, 2019, 4:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-bone-to-pick/837909/25 "2019-07-31T04:36:48Z")
> [@kopek](#): > > Then I am confused; I would have sworn that I caught one warning (at least) but I can’t find any tab or anything in my profile. Am I looking in the wrong place or has old age finally caught up with me. Or both? I can find no warnings recorded for you, either in the automatic system or the manual system. You either have a faulty memory, or at some point you slipped a moderator a nice bottle of Scotch to lose your files. > [@kopek](#): > > I have no idea; never noticed them before. Right this moment mine is green and yours is a sort of gray/blue. Actually a very nice color. Green indicates you are on line. Gray indicates you are off-line. Red indicates that you are browsing in “Invisible Mode.” You see your button as red, others see it as gray. Yellow indicates you probably have jaundice. Green indicates you’re nauseous. Brown indicates you’re full of it. Black indicates that you were born under a bad sign. ---
**Author:** ![Colibri](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/colibri/32/1841_2.png) [@Colibri](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Colibri)\ **Post date:** [July 31, 2019, 5:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-bone-to-pick/837909/26 "2019-07-31T05:14:34Z")
> [@Scylla](#): > > [http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=877699&highlight=Scylla&page=10](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=877699&highlight=Scylla&page=10) > Post 470 here. It says “note’ so I guess it wasn’t a warning. I thought is was a warning. I thought I had been chastised severely (and again, deservedly. I know better than that.) Handy tip: you can link to an individual post by clicking the little number on the top right of the post. Bone did so in his reply above. Then people don’t have to go hunting through the thread. ---
**Author:** ![kopek](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kopek/32/337_2.png) [@kopek](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kopek)\ **Post date:** [July 31, 2019, 6:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-bone-to-pick/837909/27 "2019-07-31T06:34:22Z")
> [@Colibri](#): > > I can find no warnings recorded for you, either in the automatic system or the manual system. You either have a faulty memory, or at some point you slipped a moderator a nice bottle of Scotch to lose your files. > > Green indicates you are on line. Gray indicates you are off-line. Red indicates that you are browsing in “Invisible Mode.” You see your button as red, others see it as gray. > > Yellow indicates you probably have jaundice. Green indicates you’re nauseous. Brown indicates you’re full of it. Black indicates that you were born under a bad sign. On the first part; it is possible that it may have been more a “watch it” than a formal warning? I know one was followed up by the Mod in PM but it still could have been more an informal thing. I always just assumed – always a bad mistake to make. But this does put me at a sort of quandary, much like a Marine with a Good Conduct Medal ----how do I keep my hippy biker image without at least one good warning? Second part; I’m holding out for a nice magenta with gray highlights. Wait – that probably isn’t helping my image either. Never mind. 😃 ---
**Author:** ![Miller](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/miller/32/481_2.png) [@Miller](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Miller)\ **Post date:** [July 31, 2019, 8:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-bone-to-pick/837909/28 "2019-07-31T08:42:23Z")
> [@Scylla](#): > > Wait a minute. That dot next to my name is red. Yours is green. Has it always been that way? Did I just notice or does that mean something? I think my dot just turned red! > > Fuck! What does that mean? Time for Carousel. ---
**Author:** ![cochrane](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cochrane/32/10441_2.png) [@cochrane](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cochrane)\ **Post date:** [July 31, 2019, 11:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-bone-to-pick/837909/29 "2019-07-31T11:58:30Z")
The gray dot is for immediate loading and unloading of passengers only. There is no stopping in a red dot. ---
**Author:** ![Shodan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/9f8e36/32.png) [@Shodan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shodan)\ **Post date:** [July 31, 2019, 12:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-bone-to-pick/837909/30 "2019-07-31T12:57:35Z")
Oh really, Vernon? Why pretend, we both know perfectly well what this is about. You want me to get a Warning. Regards, Shodan ---
**Author:** ![Fleetwood](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/fleetwood/32/271_2.png) [@Fleetwood](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fleetwood)\ **Post date:** [July 31, 2019, 1:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-bone-to-pick/837909/31 "2019-07-31T13:07:34Z")
> [@cochrane](#): > > If a moderator gives you a warning, they will say explicitly that they are warning you and give you the reason. > > “ **cochrane** , this is an official warning for leaving the goat pen open.” If you would just shut the damn gate, the warnings will stop. ---
**Author:** ![thorny\_locust](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/thorny_locust/32/431_2.png) [@thorny\_locust](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/thorny_locust)\ **Post date:** [July 31, 2019, 3:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-bone-to-pick/837909/32 "2019-07-31T15:13:12Z")
If BeeGee’s right about the toothbrush comment, seems to me the gate’s being swung wider open. ---
**Author:** ![JeffB](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jeffb/32/188_2.png) [@JeffB](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JeffB)\ **Post date:** [July 31, 2019, 3:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-bone-to-pick/837909/33 "2019-07-31T15:50:41Z")
I think Scylla should get a Warning just for this thread title. ---
**Author:** ![GreysonCarlisle](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/a87d85/32.png) [@GreysonCarlisle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GreysonCarlisle)\ **Post date:** [July 31, 2019, 4:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-bone-to-pick/837909/34 "2019-07-31T16:06:43Z")
> [@Miller](#): > > Time for Carousel. Nice! ---
**Author:** ![Jasmine](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jasmine/32/2964_2.png) [@Jasmine](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jasmine)\ **Post date:** [July 31, 2019, 4:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-bone-to-pick/837909/35 "2019-07-31T16:14:38Z")
> [@Shodan](#): > > Oh really, Vernon? Why pretend, we both know perfectly well what this is about. You want me to get a Warning. > > Regards, > Shodan You seem unduly sensitive. That’s usually a sign of guilt. :dubious: ---
**Author:** ![kayT](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kayt/32/3633_2.png) [@kayT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kayT)\ **Post date:** [July 31, 2019, 4:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-bone-to-pick/837909/36 "2019-07-31T16:18:47Z")
I think maybe SDMB is getting too polite for me. The OP made a joke and it’s no longer acceptable because it’s snarky? Oh. my. **Scylla** , I think we better make a habit of putting smiley faces after everything we say to avoid being noted or warned or whatever it is. Or constantly saying (JOKING). 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![Scylla](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/a5b964/32.png) [@Scylla](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Scylla)\ **Post date:** [July 31, 2019, 4:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-bone-to-pick/837909/37 "2019-07-31T16:40:33Z")
> [@thorny\_locust](#): > > If BeeGee’s right about the toothbrush comment, seems to me the gate’s being swung wider open. No, no, no. What a hateful and vile thing. I could never even think such a thing, much less post it. My toothbrush just fell into the toilet, that’s all. ---
**Author:** ![Scylla](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/a5b964/32.png) [@Scylla](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Scylla)\ **Post date:** [July 31, 2019, 4:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-bone-to-pick/837909/38 "2019-07-31T16:42:05Z")
Shodan: I’ll give it You in the Commisary. ---
**Author:** ![Scylla](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/a5b964/32.png) [@Scylla](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Scylla)\ **Post date:** [July 31, 2019, 4:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-bone-to-pick/837909/39 "2019-07-31T16:43:20Z")
They can ban me, execute me, terrorize me… but I am not using a fucking smiley. ---
**Author:** ![Shodan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/9f8e36/32.png) [@Shodan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shodan)\ **Post date:** [July 31, 2019, 4:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-bone-to-pick/837909/40 "2019-07-31T16:49:30Z")
> [@Scylla](#): > > Shodan: > > I’ll give it You in the Commisary. The Commissary? What is it? Regards, Shodan [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-bone-to-pick/837909.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-bone-to-pick/837909.md?page=3)