A poster's join date doesn't invalidate/validate their position

[Ambivalid]

@Munch

I think people have improved a bit since umkay, but troll threads still always stretch out far longer than they should.

I think they stretch out primarily because people enjoy them. What’s wrong with that?

[BrainGlutton]

@stpauler

There’s a lot of swagger around here about a person’s join date. Look at mine, I’m coming up on 12 years. You know what that denotes? That I joined the board twelve years ago. It doesn’t mean that I know more about X than a poster with a March 2014 join date does.

This is a fine intellectual board that I enjoy coming to, posting on, and reading a lot more than I ever post. But this repeated meme regarding a person’s join date needs to stop. Yes, there can be data extrapolated showing a brand new poster is more likely to be troll material. However, mentioning that as an arguement means that you are being too lazy to debate on the merits of the post and would rather comment on the person instead.

Here’s a list of recent examples. And like I said, we can see that a lot of the responses are because the original posters are just jackasses. But the jackassery extends to experienced-join-date folks dismissing a newb just for being a newb as opposed to explaining why their point of view is bullshit.

Think of it as a hazing ritual for the noobs.

[Smeghead]

@silenus

Remember - you can defeat both the Golden Age and the Silver Age Green Lanterns with a #2 pencil.

Pfft. Noob.

[drewtwo99]

Nobody gave me a hard time about my join date, and I’m still a very relative newcomer compared to most of the regular posters around here.

I think that unless you are an extreme idiot, the culture of the board is very welcoming of newcomers and once I started posting here, I felt like a part of it from day one.

Idiots and drive-by’s deserve to be ridiculed for having a recent join date if they are going to start out with offensive, flaming, trolling posts.

[YogSothoth]

People don’t look at join dates to see who’s stupid. They look at join dates to confirm the reason for existing stupidity

[Askthepizzaguy]

Person joins forum, posts something completely and ball-bustingly irrelevant in a thread that’s 5, 7, 10 years old, and disappears forever after that.

Yes, I will point out their join date, and the fact that they’ve done that. And I will insult the people who get sand in their pussies when I do.

[Askthepizzaguy]

Straight Dope Message Board - Your direct line to thousands of the smartest,...

Still a fine and upstanding and relevant member of our board since his first and only post about his final solution (charming) about executing everyone with a leaf blower.

I stand by my original comment and continue to waft my genitals in the general direction of people who think folks like this are a great addition to the board, or the zombie threads in general.

[Idle_Thoughts]

@Mr.Miskatonic

Too many threads are started by newbie fools thinking this is their place to hold forth. Frankly if we had a simple ‘can’t start threads until you’ve had 5 posts’ rule would got a long way towards eliminating that. Then you need to show you can participate in a discussion before starting one.

Only five? Wouldn’t that be a bit too generous? I’m all for setting the bar up to as high as 50-100.

[Knuffle]

@Munch

Put all active posters who started in 2002 in Group A.
Put all posters who joined this month in Group B.

Take a wild guess which group is going to have more trolls, morons, spammers and socks. Guess which group is going to be far more likely to start a thread and never to return to it to answer questions or join in the discussion? There’s a reason we tell people to lurk for a while to learn a little about the board culture.

I agree with you completely. I just want to add that you can’t tell how long someone has been lurking by their join date. I’ve been lurking for a couple of years at least but just joined a few days ago - mostly because I wanted to be able to see new posts without having to visit every board and I wanted to be able to subscribe to threads.

By the way, I did look to make sure this was a current thread before replying.

[SeaDragonTattoo]

I’m laughing. OK, just giggling now, but here’s the full context of my assessment:

@weemart

I think they need to clarify themselves more. They can’t on the one hand offer free refills (plural) to customers who buy 1 drink but also at the same time say that customers need to leave within 20 minutes. The 2 sets of rules aren’t compatible and they should discard one or the other. At least then ppl would know where they stand when they enter the restaurant.

@Great_Antibob

Seriously?

This is why we can’t have nice things.

@SeaDragonTattoo

See join date.

weemart’s join date was the same day, January 21st. He made 72 posts all in one day and hasn’t been back. I stand by my assessment/dismissal/invalidation of what he had to say. Plus, using ppl as an abbreviation is a fireable offense all by itself.

[FoieGrasIsEvil]

@Chimera

While I agree that it doesn’t invalidate factual positions*, it is incredibly common for new people to do stupid shit on this board (usually because they failed to lurk first and learn the culture and rules) and pointing at their join date is a legitimate point to make.

• Nor does making spelling or grammar errors, as at least one asshole on this board likes to think.

Excuse me, are you referring to me? I was merely pointing out that along with stupidity, lack of board etiquette, peddling woo, etc that spelling and grammatical errors of the more egregious variety tend to go hand in hand with the checklist of the “yep…look at the join date” mindset.

I am no spelling or grammar nazi. Everybody makes mistakes. I never point them out unless it’s so beyond the pale that it’s literally unbearable to read.

If you weren’t referring to me, then hey…nice join date you have there.

[Darth_Panda]

@Really_Not_All_That_Bright

Okay, forget the join date. I still get to dismiss anyone who links to a YouTube video, right?

My YouTube links are a valued contribution to the community. Here, go watch this:

[Smeghead]

Allow me to counter all of the well-thought-out, eloquent points in the OP with one simple link: I hate Chinese people. - The BBQ Pit - Straight Dope Message Board

Mic drop

[Unauthorized_Cinnamon]

@stpauler

. . . However, mentioning that as an arguement means that you are being too lazy to debate on the merits of the post and would rather comment on the person instead.

Here’s a list of recent examples. . . .

I wasn’t mentioning it as an argument.

But that’s just the kind of sloppiness I’d *expect *from someone who mismatches their user name and their location!

[Munch]

@Ambivalid

I think [troll threads] stretch out primarily because people enjoy them. What’s wrong with that?

I disagree with that. People certainly enjoy the obvious troll threads, but the memorable ones are rarely the ones that people enjoy being “in on”. The truly memorable ones are Wally, and umkay, and Pajama Pants Girl - the ones that the participants are absolutely unaware that they’re in a troll thread. No one really saw Wally coming, but plenty were able to see PPG and umkay. But that didn’t prevent people - even with being warned by others - from falling down that rabbit hole.

But the obvious troll threads aren’t what the OP is on about.

[Askthepizzaguy]

I am interested in this topic but search-impaired.

Anyone willing to help me out with links to the more memorable “troll threads” with perhaps a one-sentence blurb explaining it will win precisely one internet from me.

[FoieGrasIsEvil]

@Smeghead

Allow me to counter all of the well-thought-out, eloquent points in the OP with one simple link: I hate Chinese people. - The BBQ Pit - Straight Dope Message Board

Mic drop

LOL…pretty much.

[Askthepizzaguy]

@BD_JSO

Short version: I took my car to Colletti Motorsports in Moraine, OH about 3.5 years ago and it is still not done!!! I had to have another mechanic fix Colletti Motorsports’s mistakes. And Colletti Motorsports refuses to pay for it or even acknowledge me. I spent $8000.00 on the motor alone not including non-motor items.

Long version: http://deathtocms.blogspot.co.uk

Here’s another one.

Random nonsense, zombie thread, one post, disappearing act.

All for the betterment of Straight Dope, I’m sure. Let’s celebrate their awesome contributions.

[Askthepizzaguy]

Whoops, spoke too soon, already banned.

I will lay a single rose at the spot in that thread where he died. I will remember you, random zombie thread reanimator number four thousand nine hundred and seventy three. The many tears I shed for you might be in vain, but your post was not.

[MeanOldLady]

Seriously, folks, this thread is stupid and so are you if you think join date has nothing to do with anything. If someone shows up to a message board and starts posting lunacy immediately after joining, there is a 100% chance that person is a troll.