# Adults who tattle **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [April 3, 2010, 6:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/adults-who-tattle/534843 "2010-04-03T18:42:14Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Turek](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/turek/32/18782_2.png) [@Turek](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Turek)\ **Post date:** [April 5, 2010, 12:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/adults-who-tattle/534843/21 "2010-04-05T12:33:24Z")
It have neither the responsibility nor the authority to correct my peers. ---
**Author:** ![Isamu](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/7c8e57/32.png) [@Isamu](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Isamu)\ **Post date:** [April 5, 2010, 12:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/adults-who-tattle/534843/22 "2010-04-05T12:39:35Z")
> [@Lynn\_Bodoni](#): > > Cue [“It’s Suppertime”](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6RRh-g-CC8g) from Little Shop of Horrors. > > I just remembered that I only have that movie on VHS. I’d better surf on over to Amazon and remedy that…we still have a couple of VHS players, but neither are hooked up to a TV at the moment. Nice call! God I love that movie. ---
**Author:** ![tim314](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tim314/32/3468_2.png) [@tim314](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tim314)\ **Post date:** [April 5, 2010, 1:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/adults-who-tattle/534843/23 "2010-04-05T13:05:56Z")
> [@fluiddruid](#): > > Ok, so what are we talking about here, specifically? Because I find the concept of “tattling” really should be limited to stuff that doesn’t matter. > > Running to the manager of a movie theatre because someone brought in an outside soda? Tattling. > > Running to the manager of a movie theatre because a group is being so loud and disruptive that nobody can enjoy the movie? Not so much. > > At work, telling your boss that your co-worker was 5 minutes late from lunch? Tattling. > > At work, telling your boss about your co-worker constantly shirking work? Not so much. > > In my experience, most of the people who cry “tattling” are people who are not doing petty things, they’re doing stuff they know full well they shouldn’t be doing and who are impacting other people negatively. Knowing that, why would they respond well to someone telling them to pretty please stop being douchebags? In general, they don’t. Sure, don’t sweat the small stuff, but I’m not going to put myself into a big conflict with someone who is going to start with the “you’re not the boss of me” line of reasoning. I agree, it totally depends on what the person is doing. ---
**Author:** ![tdn](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/94ad74/32.png) [@tdn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tdn)\ **Post date:** [April 5, 2010, 1:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/adults-who-tattle/534843/24 "2010-04-05T13:25:39Z")
> [@ghardester](#): > > I saw you kill that man, and I’d like to talk to you about it before I tell anyone. That’s not tattling, that’s blackmail. ---
**Author:** ![Fiona\_Greenlee](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/e68b1a/32.png) [@Fiona\_Greenlee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fiona_Greenlee)\ **Post date:** [April 5, 2010, 2:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/adults-who-tattle/534843/25 "2010-04-05T14:06:49Z")
> [@BigT](#): > > The point of telling people is so that the mods don’t get a bunch of reports. It’s quite useful with spammers, especially. As someone who has modded before, you get a bunch of reports anyways. The “reported to the mods” comes across as an annoying teacher’s pet, waving a hand frantically to tell the teacher that Susie is late when the teacher already knows. I always found that behavior far more annoying than multiple reports. ---
**Author:** ![kaylasdad99](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kaylasdad99/32/3398_2.png) [@kaylasdad99](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kaylasdad99)\ **Post date:** [April 5, 2010, 4:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/adults-who-tattle/534843/26 "2010-04-05T16:49:20Z")
> [@ghardester](#): > > I saw you kill that man, and I’d like to talk to you about it before I tell anyone. > [@tdn](#): > > That’s not tattling, that’s blackmail. Actually, it’s neither. It might be a prelude to blackmail, but the statement itself doesn’t actually contain any offer to not tell the authorities. Sherlock Holmes, for instance, on more than one occasion, declined to turn his perpetrator over to the fuzz, after satisfying himself that the cause of justice was better served by not doing so. ---
**Author:** ![tdn](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/94ad74/32.png) [@tdn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tdn)\ **Post date:** [April 5, 2010, 4:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/adults-who-tattle/534843/27 "2010-04-05T16:54:10Z")
> [@kaylasdad99](#): > > Actually, it’s neither. It might be a prelude to blackmail, but the statement itself doesn’t actually contain any offer to not tell the authorities. Well, not yet, it doesn’t. But it’s a dandy way to start. ---
**Author:** ![i\_am\_a\_scientist](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/f07891/32.png) [@i\_am\_a\_scientist](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/i_am_a_scientist)\ **Post date:** [April 5, 2010, 4:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/adults-who-tattle/534843/28 "2010-04-05T16:56:43Z")
> [@kaylasdad99](#): > > prelude to blackmail sounds like a noir film ---
**Author:** ![kaylasdad99](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kaylasdad99/32/3398_2.png) [@kaylasdad99](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kaylasdad99)\ **Post date:** [April 5, 2010, 5:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/adults-who-tattle/534843/29 "2010-04-05T17:00:37Z")
Yeah, it kinda does, doesn’t it? I was originally going to call it a “precursor to blackmail,” but “prelude” resonated better with me. Thanks for cluing me into why it did. 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![Freudian\_Slit](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/5daacb/32.png) [@Freudian\_Slit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Freudian_Slit)\ **Post date:** [April 5, 2010, 5:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/adults-who-tattle/534843/30 "2010-04-05T17:12:28Z")
> [@kaylasdad99](#): > > Actually, it’s neither. It might be a prelude to blackmail, but the statement itself doesn’t actually contain any offer to not tell the authorities. I prefer extortion. It sounds cooler 'cause of the x. ---
**Author:** ![Incubus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/c68b51/32.png) [@Incubus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Incubus)\ **Post date:** [April 5, 2010, 5:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/adults-who-tattle/534843/31 "2010-04-05T17:16:34Z")
I have a coworker like this. If she finds out you were doing something that was against the rules, no matter how minor, she will LOUDLY comment on it when a supervisor is in earshot. If anyone confronts her, she goes crying to the supervisor about it. She’s also incredibly nosy and will go out of her way to find dirt against you that she can leverage if you call her out on her asshattery. Even if the supervisors take what she says with a grain of salt, she still puts you in a situation where things become a much bigger deal than they need to be. ---
**Author:** ![Daithi\_Lacha](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/daithi_lacha/32/5430_2.png) [@Daithi\_Lacha](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Daithi_Lacha)\ **Post date:** [April 5, 2010, 5:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/adults-who-tattle/534843/32 "2010-04-05T17:23:39Z")
> [@Freudian\_Slit](#): > > I prefer extortion. It sounds cooler 'cause of the x. I wonder what kind of film could be made with the title of **XXXtortion**? 😃 ---
**Author:** ![JSexton](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/96bed5/32.png) [@JSexton](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JSexton)\ **Post date:** [April 5, 2010, 6:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/adults-who-tattle/534843/33 "2010-04-05T18:02:29Z")
> [@kaylasdad99](#): > > Actually, it’s neither. It might be a prelude to blackmail, but the statement itself doesn’t actually contain any offer to not tell the authorities. > > Sherlock Holmes, for instance, on more than one occasion, declined to turn his perpetrator over to the fuzz, after satisfying himself that the cause of justice was better served by not doing so. I plan to make a film about this murder. Interested in purchasing the distribution rights? ---
**Author:** ![tdn](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/94ad74/32.png) [@tdn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tdn)\ **Post date:** [April 5, 2010, 6:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/adults-who-tattle/534843/34 "2010-04-05T18:43:46Z")
> [@Daithi\_Lacha](#): > > I wonder what kind of film could be made with the title of **XXXtortion**? 😃 It will star white women and black males. ---
**Author:** ![Chickie](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/9de053/32.png) [@Chickie](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chickie)\ **Post date:** [April 5, 2010, 6:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/adults-who-tattle/534843/35 "2010-04-05T18:47:52Z")
> [@Daithi\_Lacha](#): > > I wonder what kind of film could be made with the title of **XXXtortion**? 😃 Hot! I do love me some hardcore tortion! ---
**Author:** ![Patch](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/a183cd/32.png) [@Patch](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Patch)\ **Post date:** [April 6, 2010, 12:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/adults-who-tattle/534843/36 "2010-04-06T00:51:24Z")
> [@kingbighair](#): > > snitches get stitches Excellent! My motorcycle jacket is torn. Can they repair it? ---
**Author:** ![kaylasdad99](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kaylasdad99/32/3398_2.png) [@kaylasdad99](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kaylasdad99)\ **Post date:** [April 6, 2010, 1:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/adults-who-tattle/534843/37 "2010-04-06T01:16:41Z")
> [@Daithi\_Lacha](#): > > I wonder what kind of film could be made with the title of **XXXtortion**? 😃 > [@Chickie](#): > > Hot! I do love me some hardcore tortion! Nekkid personal injury lawyers? Welllll, maybe. With the sound off. ---
**Author:** ![Gfactor](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/9de053/32.png) [@Gfactor](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gfactor)\ **Post date:** [April 6, 2010, 1:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/adults-who-tattle/534843/38 "2010-04-06T01:52:15Z")
Don’t tell the teacher, but I’ve moved this thread from The BBQ Pit to Mundane Pointless Stuff I Must Share. **Gfactor** Snitch Moderator ---
**Author:** ![BigT](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bigt/32/12044_2.png) [@BigT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BigT)\ **Post date:** [April 6, 2010, 2:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/adults-who-tattle/534843/39 "2010-04-06T02:02:25Z")
> [@Gfactor](#): > > Don’t tell the teacher, but I’ve moved this thread from The BBQ Pit to Mundane Pointless Stuff I Must Share. > > **Gfactor** > Snitch Moderator All right, who tattled? ---
**Author:** ![Lynn\_Bodoni](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/e47c2d/32.png) [@Lynn\_Bodoni](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lynn_Bodoni)\ **Post date:** [April 6, 2010, 9:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/adults-who-tattle/534843/40 "2010-04-06T09:25:08Z")
> [@Fiona\_Greenlee](#): > > As someone who has modded before, you get a bunch of reports anyways. The “reported to the mods” comes across as an annoying teacher’s pet, waving a hand frantically to tell the teacher that Susie is late when the teacher already knows. I always found that behavior far more annoying than multiple reports. As someone who’s on the mod staff of THIS message board, I have to say that it’s very helpful if the first person who reports a spam post also makes a note of it in the thread…because otherwise, we WILL get a report from everyone. The SDMB is too big, really, for any one person to read every post in a forum. We value the people who report violations, if they’re genuine violations. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/adults-who-tattle/534843.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/adults-who-tattle/534843.md?page=3)