# A thread disappeared **URL:** \ **Category:** About This Message Board\ **Created:** [September 14, 2009, 12:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-thread-disappeared/509981 "2009-09-14T00:54:28Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![PuddingCat](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/b4bc9f/32.png) [@PuddingCat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/PuddingCat)\ **Post date:** [September 14, 2009, 11:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-thread-disappeared/509981/41 "2009-09-14T11:22:25Z")
Remember, it’s not condescending when she does it. Foolish children, tut-tut! If anybody is looking for the shark, it passed by underneath us a few years ago. We made a somewhat leaping motion over it. t. ---
**Author:** ![TubaDiva](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tubadiva/32/507_2.png) [@TubaDiva](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TubaDiva)\ **Post date:** [September 14, 2009, 12:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-thread-disappeared/509981/42 "2009-09-14T12:14:54Z")
> [@chacoguy](#): > > I’ve been visiting this place less and less because it’s simply too complicated to understand the rules. You guys know that you have most of us by the short-hairs, because we have friendships here, that are vulnerable to being severed by being banned from this board. This has led to obvious abuse and manipulation by the moderators here. I mean it, in the most constructive way; please get some clarity and consistency in how this place is run. > > Then, From **C K Dexter Haven** > Now, GODDAM IT PAY ATTENTION! > This is ATMB. > > I understand that this quote is from the "Can moderator ignore the rules ..blah, blah? Well, they certainly have ignored the _decorum_! I don’t like it when he does it either; however, sometimes when y’all mix it up some stoppage seems to be in order. Again, I don’t agree with that method but ymmv. I’m more concerned about the idea that every conversation involving a staffer must be ugly “because this is the only Pit we have.” The assumption that staffers are not worthy of basic civility and must be beaten like rented mules in the course of everyday business is greatly disturbing. It was wrong in the Pit and it’s even more so here. ---
**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:** [September 14, 2009, 12:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-thread-disappeared/509981/43 "2009-09-14T12:19:12Z")
First, being “condescending” is not, to my knowledge, a violation of the rules. If it were, we’d be closing down Cafe Society and Great Debates pronto. Being PERCEIVED as condescending, well, that can happen to someone saying “good morning.” Second, the original post said it was greasemonkey script, and contained links. Just because he SAID it was a greasemonkey script doesn’t mean that it was – not from a new poster we don’t know who hasn’t asked in advance. Heck, I get emails almost every day from people who say that if I click on their link, I’ll get a zillion dollars from Nigeria. A post that appears like that, out of the blue, we don’t know if it’s spam, viral, or what. And, not every mod is a computer expert. I certainly do not pretend to have a clue what a greasemonkey script is. One of our guiding principles is: all mod actions are reversible. It therefore seemed prudent to the mod who first saw this to move it away from public viewing, until it could be studied by those who DO know. Are the links legit and safe? Is it really what it says to be? Does it affect the boards in any other way? I fail to understand the uproar. I’m not sure what the time frame was, but we’re talking, what, about two hours (from the time it was moved out of sight until the time it was returned to visibility) for us to check it out? ---
**Author:** ![MsWhatsit](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/eb8c5e/32.png) [@MsWhatsit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MsWhatsit)\ **Post date:** [September 14, 2009, 1:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-thread-disappeared/509981/44 "2009-09-14T13:11:54Z")
Oh, it’s back? Groovy. I was kidding earlier, but just to clarify, are you guys saying that posters that have been around here for awhile can post scripts, but newbies can’t? Because that’s what I’m getting from **Tuba** ’s “from people we don’t know” and **CK Dexter Haven** ’s “not from a new poster we don’t know.” ---
**Author:** ![TubaDiva](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tubadiva/32/507_2.png) [@TubaDiva](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TubaDiva)\ **Post date:** [September 14, 2009, 1:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-thread-disappeared/509981/45 "2009-09-14T13:18:44Z")
We want to see everything unusual in advance from everyone. Compare it to another situation where we want to see it in advance of posting – where someone wants to publicize something they’re doing to raise money for some charitable cause. Whether it’s someone who has been with the board a long time or someone brand new, we want to know about it before it’s posted to the board – we vet all such situations. You send us an email, we size up the situation and allow a thread on the subject or not. (Mostly we say yes.) We do this with everyone. ---
**Author:** ![TubaDiva](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tubadiva/32/507_2.png) [@TubaDiva](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TubaDiva)\ **Post date:** [September 14, 2009, 1:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-thread-disappeared/509981/46 "2009-09-14T13:18:59Z")
We want to see everything unusual in advance from everyone. Compare it to another situation where we want to see it in advance of posting – where someone wants to publicize something they’re doing to raise money for some charitable cause. Whether it’s someone who has been with the board a long time or someone brand new, we want to know about it before it’s posted to the board – we vet all such situations. You send us an email, we size up the situation and allow a thread on the subject or not. (Mostly we say yes.) We do this with everyone. ---
**Author:** ![MsWhatsit](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/eb8c5e/32.png) [@MsWhatsit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MsWhatsit)\ **Post date:** [September 14, 2009, 1:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-thread-disappeared/509981/47 "2009-09-14T13:23:10Z")
OK. Well, if you want to see it in advance from everyone – which I agree is a reasonable stance – then I don’t understand the commentary above about how this was a script from “someone we don’t know.” If it doesn’t matter, then why make a point of mentioning it? ---
**Author:** ![TubaDiva](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tubadiva/32/507_2.png) [@TubaDiva](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TubaDiva)\ **Post date:** [September 14, 2009, 1:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-thread-disappeared/509981/48 "2009-09-14T13:33:38Z")
I might not have disappeared the thread if it was someone I had knowledge of on the board – though, now that I think about it, if it was someone I knew they probably would have known to ask us first so what we said sounds nonsensical. ---
**Author:** ![Liberal](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/848f3c/32.png) [@Liberal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Liberal)\ **Post date:** [September 14, 2009, 2:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-thread-disappeared/509981/49 "2009-09-14T14:37:47Z")
OP Request Well, it’s back now. Everybody has vented, from all the way down to me to all the way up to Dex. So please feel free to close this thread, that it might sink away into oblivion and not clutter up page 1 of ATMB. Thanks, Lib ---
**Author:** ![Munch](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/munch/32/5281_2.png) [@Munch](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Munch)\ **Post date:** [September 14, 2009, 2:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-thread-disappeared/509981/50 "2009-09-14T14:59:13Z")
Does that mean we can go back to suggesting people use Firefox now? ---
**Author:** ![bbs2k](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/e495f1/32.png) [@bbs2k](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bbs2k)\ **Post date:** [September 14, 2009, 3:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-thread-disappeared/509981/51 "2009-09-14T15:19:24Z")
Now that the thread is back. Could I get a link here please? ---
**Author:** ![Liberal](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/848f3c/32.png) [@Liberal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Liberal)\ **Post date:** [September 14, 2009, 3:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-thread-disappeared/509981/52 "2009-09-14T15:20:32Z")
> **[I made a SDMB-improving Greasemonkey script. Looking for feedback/beta testers](https://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=531870)** > > Quick intro for those who don’t know: Greasemonkey is a Firefox extension that lets you create/download javascript files that can automatically be run in your browser when you visit a certain website. For example, you can re-arrange links, move... ---
**Author:** ![Brainiac](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/8797f3/32.png) [@Brainiac](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Brainiac)\ **Post date:** [September 14, 2009, 3:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-thread-disappeared/509981/53 "2009-09-14T15:36:29Z")
I think the suggestion is moronic. I hope the thread is deleted. I get tired of self-appointed Gotcha Police who never let you forget anything you said. Grow up! Let the current comment be the one you respond to, not all prior items taken out of time and context. That stuff is for the nastiest political hacks. ---
**Author:** ![MsWhatsit](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/eb8c5e/32.png) [@MsWhatsit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MsWhatsit)\ **Post date:** [September 14, 2009, 3:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-thread-disappeared/509981/54 "2009-09-14T15:44:05Z")
> [@Brainiac](#): > > I think the suggestion is moronic. I hope the thread is deleted. I get tired of self-appointed Gotcha Police who never let you forget anything you said. Grow up! Let the current comment be the one you respond to, not all prior items taken out of time and context. That stuff is for the nastiest political hacks. …wrong thread? ---
**Author:** ![TubaDiva](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tubadiva/32/507_2.png) [@TubaDiva](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TubaDiva)\ **Post date:** [September 14, 2009, 3:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-thread-disappeared/509981/55 "2009-09-14T15:54:39Z")
Brainiac, it’s not useful to post the same message in two threads. Please do not do this again. ---
**Author:** ![Brainiac](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/8797f3/32.png) [@Brainiac](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Brainiac)\ **Post date:** [September 14, 2009, 6:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-thread-disappeared/509981/56 "2009-09-14T18:32:38Z")
> [@TubaDiva](#): > > Brainiac, it’s not useful to post the same message in two threads. Please do not do this again. The thread was described as “vanished”, so I posted here. Then it unvanished so that seemed a better place. Now threads are combined, so I think the “problem” is shifting threads. ---
**Author:** ![aldiboronti](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/9fc348/32.png) [@aldiboronti](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/aldiboronti)\ **Post date:** [September 14, 2009, 7:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-thread-disappeared/509981/57 "2009-09-14T19:48:12Z")
I think it’s quite right to be cautious. Greasemonkey scripts do have potential for misuse. > [@](#): > > The first thing to understand about Greasemonkey is that it has full access to the web page. If a web page is displaying sensitive information like account numbers, Greasemonkey can see it. Therefore, a compromised Greasemonkey can do great damage by virtue of the information it can steal. > > The second issue to understand is that Greasemonkey is powered by JavaScript and has access to features like event handlers. This can enable GM to snoop on anything the user is doing within the page. For example, a compromised Greasemonkey could capture user input, like the entry of a password. > > Finally, Greasemonkey operates at a higher privilege level than normal JavaScript, giving it even more power. The most important capability is the ability for Greasemonkey to be immune to cross domain browser security. I remember reading the [above page](http://peterlaird.blogspot.com/2007/08/enterprise-greasemonkey-beware-of.html) when I was playing about with Greasemonkey a couple of years ago. You have to be careful with this stuff, and even with plain old JS. The mods were right to close the thread until the pros and cons have been weighed thoroughly. ---
**Author:** ![Scissorjack](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/c67d28/32.png) [@Scissorjack](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Scissorjack)\ **Post date:** [September 14, 2009, 10:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-thread-disappeared/509981/58 "2009-09-14T22:33:27Z")
> [@TubaDiva](#): > > We want to see everything unusual in advance from everyone. You fail jurisprudence forever. ---
**Author:** ![Liberal](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/848f3c/32.png) [@Liberal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Liberal)\ **Post date:** [September 15, 2009, 12:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-thread-disappeared/509981/59 "2009-09-15T00:44:00Z")
> [@aldiboronti](#): > > I think it’s quite right to be cautious. Greasemonkey scripts do have potential for misuse. > > I remember reading the [above page](http://peterlaird.blogspot.com/2007/08/enterprise-greasemonkey-beware-of.html) when I was playing about with Greasemonkey a couple of years ago. You have to be careful with this stuff, and even with plain old JS. The mods were right to close the thread until the pros and cons have been weighed thoroughly. What you say is absolutely true. We do have to be careful. We, the membership, I mean. What wierdaaron has done is offer to have his code tested and examined by members with the expertise to see whether his code has security holes. That’s the beauty of it. It’s not just a great idea; it’s something he’s letting us look at from under the hood. The same kind of caveat emptor advice applies to everyday life, I think. Get a mechanic to look at any used car you want to buy. Hire a plumber to fix the leaky pipe before you flood the kitchen. Let the septic tank guy have a look at whether you’re getting close to the top. We’re doing that here — having a look at whether it’s okay. By open invitation. ---
**Author:** ![spinky](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/59ef9b/32.png) [@spinky](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/spinky)\ **Post date:** [September 15, 2009, 2:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-thread-disappeared/509981/60 "2009-09-15T02:36:25Z")
Yes, and it’s no worse than my posts I’ve mentioned where I wrote little scripts to solve some particular problem someone was asking about – they have just as much opportunity to be malicious and should be treated with the same amount of caution. No admins or mods have answered my question as to whether I was violating any kind of rule or should have asked permission first. [Here](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showpost.php?p=10697693&postcount=15) is an example. It would be nice to know if I’m expected to stop answering questions in this way. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-thread-disappeared/509981.md?page=2) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-thread-disappeared/509981.md?page=4)