# A question about non-sequiters **URL:** \ **Category:** About This Message Board\ **Created:** [April 29, 2013, 2:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-question-about-non-sequiters/657005 "2013-04-29T14:26:03Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 17\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![PlainJain](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/5daacb/32.png) [@PlainJain](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/PlainJain)\ **Post date:** [April 29, 2013, 8:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-question-about-non-sequiters/657005/21 "2013-04-29T20:11:47Z")
IMO, it’s used here mostly as a dis. If someone is posting something that another poster doesn’t care for or thinks unimportant, posting a recipe is common. It’s childish and rude. I would like to see those types of non sequiturs outlawed - or at least moderated as the jerkish behavior they are. ---
**Author:** ![Nzinga\_Seated](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/b5ac83/32.png) [@Nzinga\_Seated](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nzinga_Seated)\ **Post date:** [April 29, 2013, 9:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-question-about-non-sequiters/657005/22 "2013-04-29T21:17:44Z")
> [@PlainJain](#): > > IMO, it’s used here mostly as a dis. If someone is posting something that another poster doesn’t care for or thinks unimportant, posting a recipe is common. It’s childish and rude. I would like to see those types of non sequiturs outlawed - or at least moderated as the jerkish behavior they are. That’s common? I thought the recipe thing was just that one JOSH thread. And it may have seemed childish and rude to you, but that aint saying much in a pit thread. I thought it was kinda funny. ---
**Author:** ![donkeyoatey](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e47c2d/32.png) [@donkeyoatey](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/donkeyoatey)\ **Post date:** [April 29, 2013, 9:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-question-about-non-sequiters/657005/23 "2013-04-29T21:55:23Z")
> [@PlainJain](#): > > IMO, it’s used here mostly as a dis. If someone is posting something that another poster doesn’t care for or thinks unimportant, posting a recipe is common. It’s childish and rude. I would like to see those types of non sequiturs outlawed - or at least moderated as the jerkish behavior they are. Add lotsa freshly squeezed lemon juice, sugar to taste, stir and enjoy.😉 ---
**Author:** ![moriah](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/b2d939/32.png) [@moriah](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/moriah)\ **Post date:** [April 29, 2013, 10:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-question-about-non-sequiters/657005/24 "2013-04-29T22:36:21Z")
> [@Ethilrist](#): > > Let’s not forget the grapist. In his own way, this is exactly what he was doing. Got him banned, as I recall. When it comes to banning, sometimes quantity is more important than quality. ---
**Author:** ![TBG](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/c89c15/32.png) [@TBG](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TBG)\ **Post date:** [April 29, 2013, 11:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-question-about-non-sequiters/657005/25 "2013-04-29T23:21:39Z")
My cat’s breath smells like cat food. ---
**Author:** ![April\_R](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/3da27b/32.png) [@April\_R](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/April_R)\ **Post date:** [April 29, 2013, 11:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-question-about-non-sequiters/657005/26 "2013-04-29T23:40:17Z")
Thanks Ralphie ---
**Author:** ![Siam\_Sam](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/d78d45/32.png) [@Siam\_Sam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Siam_Sam)\ **Post date:** [April 30, 2013, 3:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-question-about-non-sequiters/657005/27 "2013-04-30T03:50:40Z")
> [@drewtwo99](#): > > Is responding to threads with complete and utter non-sequiters/nonsense responses an actionable offense? > > Say I went into an IMHO thread about cats vs dogs and I posted, “I don’t know about you but there aren’t many things I enjoy more in life than the smell of the color yellow.” > > Or went into a GD thread about anti-gay marriage arguments and I posted, “When did we all become so used to the idea that Thursday comes after Wednesday?” > > Or went into a pit thread about people who declaw cats and posted, “Strawberries! Canoes! Shiver me timbers!” > > Would complete, off the wall responses receive moderator attention, assuming they were just one off things and the poster didn’t keep coming back to the same thread posting nonsense over and over again, that is. 42 ---
**Author:** ![kayaker](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kayaker/32/441_2.png) [@kayaker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kayaker)\ **Post date:** [April 30, 2013, 12:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-question-about-non-sequiters/657005/28 "2013-04-30T12:54:41Z")
> [@April\_R](#): > > I wouldn’t want to report anything if this isn’t something that the mods would take issue with or would be with their time. Also, before “reporting” it’s vital that you distinguish a non sequitur from something that sailed right over your head. (General statement, not directed at **April R.** ) ---
**Author:** ![C\_K\_Dexter\_Haven](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/b2d939/32.png) [@C\_K\_Dexter\_Haven](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/C_K_Dexter_Haven)\ **Post date:** [April 30, 2013, 2:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-question-about-non-sequiters/657005/29 "2013-04-30T14:28:05Z")
MODERATOR INTERVENETH: OK, look, there’s a serious question here. Just because a topic involves non sequituri doesn’t mean that you can jump all over it and turn it into a joke thread. So, First Moderator Intervention: stop being so bloody obvious and trite (however “clever” your nonsequiturs, the concept of posting such is trite, obvious, and about third-grade.) Second Moderator Intervention: Back to topic. The topic is how do we distinguish between a joke, a hijack, threadshitting, trolling, and a legitimate tangential discussion. The answer was given by **Colibri** above: it depends on the circumstances. ---
**Author:** ![moriah](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/b2d939/32.png) [@moriah](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/moriah)\ **Post date:** [April 30, 2013, 4:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-question-about-non-sequiters/657005/30 "2013-04-30T16:37:24Z")
Right, CK. It was asked and answered by a mod. Then that mod and others riffed on it, which is what usually happens once a thread has been answered. That’s not OK? ---
**Author:** ![drewtwo99](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/d07c76/32.png) [@drewtwo99](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/drewtwo99)\ **Post date:** [May 1, 2013, 5:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-question-about-non-sequiters/657005/31 "2013-05-01T05:25:37Z")
Ok well I gave three examples in my OP. Any mod want to take a crack at how those comments would be moderated if at all? Assume that it was the only comment, and that the person making such “non-sequiters” did not come back and keep doing it. I sincerely apologize to all the pedants for misspelling sequitur and for unnecessarily hyphenating it too. ---
**Author:** ![twickster](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/ec9cab/32.png) [@twickster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/twickster)\ **Post date:** [May 1, 2013, 11:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-question-about-non-sequiters/657005/32 "2013-05-01T11:59:06Z")
If it were a one-off, it might get a mod note reminding the person to stay on topic. Definitely not worth a warning. ---
**Author:** ![Darth\_Panda](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/ee7513/32.png) [@Darth\_Panda](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Darth_Panda)\ **Post date:** [May 1, 2013, 12:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-question-about-non-sequiters/657005/33 "2013-05-01T12:18:50Z")
> [@moriah](#): > > When it comes to banning, sometimes quantity is more important than quality. So we should ban more people, and not really worry about whether or not it’s deserved? ---
**Author:** ![AncientHumanoid](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ancienthumanoid/32/278_2.png) [@AncientHumanoid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AncientHumanoid)\ **Post date:** [May 1, 2013, 12:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-question-about-non-sequiters/657005/34 "2013-05-01T12:24:21Z")
What also sometimes happens: A person replies in a non standard way to a thread or to a post in said thread. Someone doesn’t get the point or the reference. Others chime in saying it’s a non sequitur (what is your prime directive?). But, to any other person who gets the point, no matter how obscure, it’s not. So, how could a rule be employed? It’s like a charging foul in the NBA, often, it’s a matter of perspective or interpretation. ---
**Author:** ![moriah](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/b2d939/32.png) [@moriah](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/moriah)\ **Post date:** [May 1, 2013, 3:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-question-about-non-sequiters/657005/35 "2013-05-01T15:59:57Z")
> [@Darth\_Panda](#): > > So we should ban more people, and not really worry about whether or not it’s deserved? In the case of The Grapist, it was the large quantities of their trademark grapings that got them first noticed then banned. ---
**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:** [May 1, 2013, 6:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-question-about-non-sequiters/657005/36 "2013-05-01T18:27:39Z")
> [@twickster](#): > > If it were a one-off, it might get a mod note reminding the person to stay on topic. Definitely not worth a warning. I’d say the same for such remarks in GQ. I would take it as a mild joke. It might get a mod note depending on circumstances. If someone were to make a habit of doing it after being told to knock it off, it might get a warning. ---
**Author:** ![drewtwo99](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/d07c76/32.png) [@drewtwo99](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/drewtwo99)\ **Post date:** [May 1, 2013, 7:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-question-about-non-sequiters/657005/37 "2013-05-01T19:52:50Z")
Thank you for the responses mods. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-question-about-non-sequiters/657005.md?page=1)