# Ah, milroyj, we barely knew ye.
**URL:** https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ah-milroyj-we-barely-knew-ye/303660
**Category:** The BBQ Pit
**Created:** [May 13, 2005, 11:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ah-milroyj-we-barely-knew-ye/303660 "2005-05-13T11:28:03Z")
**Posts on this page:** 20
**Page:** 1
### Author:  [@Contrapuntal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Contrapuntal)
#### Post date: [May 13, 2005, 11:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ah-milroyj-we-barely-knew-ye/303660/1 "2005-05-13T11:28:03Z")
[Link](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showpost.php?p=6153966&postcount=1)
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### Author:  [@Lord\_Ashtar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lord_Ashtar)
#### Post date: [May 13, 2005, 11:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ah-milroyj-we-barely-knew-ye/303660/2 "2005-05-13T11:30:01Z")
Well, what do you know.
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### Author:  [@ivylass](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ivylass)
#### Post date: [May 13, 2005, 11:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ah-milroyj-we-barely-knew-ye/303660/3 "2005-05-13T11:33:37Z")
Huh. Interesting.
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### Author:  [@Harborwolf](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Harborwolf)
#### Post date: [May 13, 2005, 11:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ah-milroyj-we-barely-knew-ye/303660/4 "2005-05-13T11:37:14Z")
After his comments in Hentor’s thread, it was only a matter of time.
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### Author:  [@Fear\_Itself](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fear_Itself)
#### Post date: [May 13, 2005, 11:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ah-milroyj-we-barely-knew-ye/303660/5 "2005-05-13T11:41:14Z")
Wasn’t he banned briefly a year or so ago?
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### Author:  [@Shodan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shodan)
#### Post date: [May 13, 2005, 12:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ah-milroyj-we-barely-knew-ye/303660/6 "2005-05-13T12:37:23Z")
Warned for being “unncessarily nasty **in the Pit** ”?
Perhaps part of the problem is that some amongst us are a trifle sensitive on the subject of diabetes.
Regards,
Shodan
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### Author:  [@Don\_t\_Call\_Me\_Shirley](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Don_t_Call_Me_Shirley)
#### Post date: [May 13, 2005, 12:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ah-milroyj-we-barely-knew-ye/303660/7 "2005-05-13T12:44:44Z")
:smack: Uh-oh.
As the new guy, I was kind of taking my cues as to what is acceptable from what I was reading. It seemed like things that wouldn’t be tolerated in other boards (Great Debates, Salon, etc…) were tolerated in the pit. I assumed that since milroyj was acting like that, it was tolerated in the pit.
Obviously, I was mistaken. So I apologize if I offended anyone by sniping at him.
And since I don’t want to run afoul of the etiquette further, would anyone mind giving me a brief description of the following terms:
hijacking
snarking
whoosh
Thanks.
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### Author:  [@Revtim](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Revtim)
#### Post date: [May 13, 2005, 12:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ah-milroyj-we-barely-knew-ye/303660/8 "2005-05-13T12:47:35Z")
I completely do not understand **milroyj** ’s comment about disrobing the child in that pit thread. WTF is that a reference to?
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### Author:  [@Metacom](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Metacom)
#### Post date: [May 13, 2005, 12:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ah-milroyj-we-barely-knew-ye/303660/9 "2005-05-13T12:52:03Z")
> [@Shodan](#):
>
> Perhaps part of the problem is that some amongst us are a trifle sensitive on the subject of diabetes.
How DARE you accuse people of being overly sensitive, you snarky asshole.
Yeah, the disrobing comment was fucking stupid… But it is the pit. It’s a forum for attacking other members. I’d hate to see it turn into “GD with more curse words and mild, tasteful ad hominems”. It would have been much more fun to see other people rip into **milroyj** rather then seeing him banned. Don’t get me wrong, I think he was a total tool…
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### Author:  [@wonky](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/wonky)
#### Post date: [May 13, 2005, 12:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ah-milroyj-we-barely-knew-ye/303660/10 "2005-05-13T12:58:21Z")
Hmm.
I thought the post in the diabetes thread was completely unacceptable for its unsavory implications about **Hentor**. But I am very surprised by this banning, since that post seems to be the worst thing he’s done (according to the links).
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### Author:  [@holmes](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/holmes)
#### Post date: [May 13, 2005, 1:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ah-milroyj-we-barely-knew-ye/303660/11 "2005-05-13T13:07:24Z")
It’s rarely one thing, that causes the hammer to drop. This was **milroyj’s** MO and despite the warnings, he kept doing it. Ripping into people only works, if the person is capable of introspection and reflection.
**milroyj** wasn’t.
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### Author:  [@tagos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tagos)
#### Post date: [May 13, 2005, 1:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ah-milroyj-we-barely-knew-ye/303660/12 "2005-05-13T13:07:50Z")
> [@Revtim](#):
>
> I completely do not understand **milroyj** ’s comment about disrobing the child in that pit thread. WTF is that a reference to?
As far as I was concerned it was a thinly veiled accusation of paedophilia. Good riddance to the disgusting little creep.
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### Author:  [@ShibbOleth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ShibbOleth)
#### Post date: [May 13, 2005, 1:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ah-milroyj-we-barely-knew-ye/303660/13 "2005-05-13T13:08:07Z")
> [@Douglas Quaid](#):
>
> And since I don’t want to run afoul of the etiquette further, would anyone mind giving me a brief description of the following terms:
>
> hijacking
> snarking
> whoosh
>
> Thanks.
Hijacking - “I have a bomb, take this thread to Cuba”. Seriously, it’s when a thread devolves into an argument or discussion that has nothing to do with the OP. See: Trainwreck.
Snarking - Making snarky, sarcastic or inappropriate comments (inferred to be said with a sneer and perhaps whilst twirling one’s moustache).
Whoosh - when something goes straight over one’s head, hence the “whooshing” sound of something soaring by. In the pit this might be some projectile like a stapler.
Depending on circumstance all of those may be acceptable at some point. It might take a bit of experience to understand when appropriate or not.
Bonus info - the main rule on this Board is: Don’t be a jerk.
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### Author:  [@Harborwolf](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Harborwolf)
#### Post date: [May 13, 2005, 1:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ah-milroyj-we-barely-knew-ye/303660/14 "2005-05-13T13:08:28Z")
Not sure how this can be surprising. You only get so many warnings. The diabetes comment was just the fairly large straw that broke the camels back.
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### Author:  [@stpauler](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/stpauler)
#### Post date: [May 13, 2005, 1:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ah-milroyj-we-barely-knew-ye/303660/15 "2005-05-13T13:09:00Z")
> [@](#):
>
> milroyj is banned
>
> * * *
>
> He’s accumulated five warnings. [http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb...634#post6149634](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb...634#post6149634) for being unnecessarily nasty in the Pit.
This is a rule? I call bullshit on that.
> [@](#):
>
> [http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb...580#post5989580](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb...580#post5989580) post 184, hijacking thread, trolling.
It was the pit and he was being snarking. And since when is hijacking a thread an “offense”?
> [@](#):
>
> [http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb...44&page=1&pp=40](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb...44&page=1&pp=40) Insults traded with another poster in the thread, which is in IMHO.
Wow, he called someone’s beliefs crazy. Fucking hypersensitive here?
> [@](#):
>
> [http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb...ad.php?t=267095](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb...ad.php?t=267095) Trolling, opened a thread to troll.
He started a thread because he’s a conservative on a board that’s got a lot of vocal liberals. The thread pissed off the liberals (who HIJACKED it.)
> [@](#):
>
> [http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb...11&page=1&pp=50](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb...11&page=1&pp=50) snarking.
Meh. That was barely worth it.
I didn’t care much for a lot of **Milroyj’s** opinions, but I really think that this banning is COMPLETE BULLSHIT.
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### Author:  [@Metacom](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Metacom)
#### Post date: [May 13, 2005, 1:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ah-milroyj-we-barely-knew-ye/303660/16 "2005-05-13T13:09:35Z")
> [@holmes](#):
>
> Ripping into people only works, if the person is capable of introspection and reflection.
“Works” in the sense of “causes the person to change”; that’s certainly true. “Works” in the sense of “amusing reading”; certainly not true.
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### Author:  [@Cheesesteak](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cheesesteak)
#### Post date: [May 13, 2005, 1:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ah-milroyj-we-barely-knew-ye/303660/17 "2005-05-13T13:13:37Z")
You can still be a jerk in the Pit.
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### Author:  [@Scissorjack](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Scissorjack)
#### Post date: [May 13, 2005, 1:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ah-milroyj-we-barely-knew-ye/303660/18 "2005-05-13T13:15:53Z")
> [@Douglas Quaid](#):
>
> :smack: Uh-oh.
>
> As the new guy, I was kind of taking my cues as to what is acceptable from what I was reading. It seemed like things that wouldn’t be tolerated in other boards (Great Debates, Salon, etc…) were tolerated in the pit. I assumed that since milroyj was acting like that, it was tolerated in the pit.
>
> Obviously, I was mistaken. So I apologize if I offended anyone by sniping at him.
>
> And since I don’t want to run afoul of the etiquette further, would anyone mind giving me a brief description of the following terms:
>
> hijacking
> snarking
> whoosh
>
> Thanks.
Hijacking is pinching someone else’s thread to go off in your own direction: it ain’t a hangin’ error, since threads do evolve organically, but if you want to go completely off topic you’re better starting a new thread and linking to the original.
Snarking isn’t clearly defined: I guess the closest definition is a cross between sniping and sarcasm, often in the form of a “drive-by”: stopping long enough in a thread to post a sarky comment, then buggering off. Again generally frowned upon, unless the thread is trivial enough to warrant it: if you have something genuine to contribute in the more serious forums {GD, GQ and to a lesser extent CS and IMHO}, be prepared to stick around and discuss it.
Whooshing is a joke or reference which goes over someone’s head: don’t worry too much about them, since the joke is generally on the whooshee.
The best advice I can offer to a guest is to read the stickies, and then lurk a bit in the various forums, since each have slightly different conventions: open up a few current threads, and you’ll soon get the hang of what does and doesn’t go in each place. E-mail a forum mod or admin if you’re unsure if what you’re posting is kosher: they’d far rather be asked in advance than have to admonish you later - they keep a close eye on the place, but are always fair and even-handed.
The Pit has its own rules, and is generally the forum for letting off steam: there is more leeway here than in other forums for swearing and being abusive, but being out and out gratuitously offensive does not go down well: it can be a fine line, so my best advice would be to avoid posting too much here until you’re fairly sure of what does and doesn’t go - again, lurk a bit and you’ll get the hang of it quickly.
I hope that helps, and I’m glad you took the time to ask - I hope you stick around, since there’s a lot to learn here, and I’m sure you have much to contribute.
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### Author:  [@Amp](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Amp)
#### Post date: [May 13, 2005, 1:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ah-milroyj-we-barely-knew-ye/303660/19 "2005-05-13T13:16:35Z")
I never really liked **milroyi** , he seemed to be a bit of an asshole, but if the last straw concerning him was the diabetes thread then I tink it is a bullshit banning too. I mean it was the Pit. Was he expected to be all sunshines and kisses? If he would have made those comments outside of the Pit then I would agree with it but not when he was posting in the proper forum.
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### Author:  [@tomndebb](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tomndebb)
#### Post date: [May 13, 2005, 1:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ah-milroyj-we-barely-knew-ye/303660/20 "2005-05-13T13:16:57Z")
**hijacking** : starting an side discussion in a thread that ignores the principle discussion and then persisting in that sideline discussion so that the original topic is lost. Hijacks are comon and threads drift around, simply because some points in a discussion raise other points and because threads are similar to real life discussions that swirl and eddy as different people participate. Hijacks are not evil _per se_, however, a totally off-comment remark that the poster knows will be a hot button item that will cause so many off-topic responses that the original thread will be buried is considered more than rude.
_Typical hijacking_: in a discussion of WWII aircraft, someone posts a comment about the bomb capacity of a particular plane and a second poster remarks that that capacity was what allowed that air force to carry out a particular campaign, at which point a third poster challenges the second poster’s assertion, noting that a particular general had ordered the plans drawn up for that campaign even before the plane was available and then four more posters jump in with their own views on the topic, and the original discussion about the range of a particular reconnaissance plane gets forgotten.
_Hostile hijacking_: in a discussion on the current military situation between Blefuscu and its chief rival Lilliput, in which the U.S has never shown an interest, someone posts that Clinton or Bush _obviously_ screwed it up and that only their dumbest partisans would fail to recognize the evil of that executive. Partrisans of both sides rush in to counter the calumny and penis ensues.
**snarking** : taking cheap shots at other posters or at celebrities. May be totally acceptable (in **The BBQ Pit** ) or mildly acceptable (if done obliquely with wit and grace in **Great Debates** or **IMHO** ) or totally unacceptable (if formed as a direct insult to a grieving person in **MPSIMS** ).
**whoosh** : the sound that a joke makes as it flies over the head of a person who did not realize that a comment was intended to be funny, not serious.
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