CRandolph
Well, maybe this will kick me a tad lower in the moderators’ eyes, but I think your 1,000th post “celebration” was hardly the worst offense a Doper could commit. Yes, it is “against the rules” but was there even a good reason to make that rule in the first place ?
There are plenty of “legitimate” posts that waste bandwidth. For example, threads started by people who are too lazy to use a search engine or go to a book. So they take the easy SDMB route. Who knows, maybe someday there’ll be a question in GQ that asks: “What are all the letters of the alphabet and in what order are they usually placed ?”
Alright, I have to agree that the Pit is not the place for mild complaints about Modding, and I don’t think the Mods should have deemed it so. But here’s another thing I don’t understand: people post a pit thread, it turns on them, they get increasingly pissed off at everyone else, the tone of the entire thread gets shriller and shriller, the OP hates where the thread is gone . . . and yet it never occurs to them to STOP READING THE THREAD. If reading it gets so you so worked up, then don’t, and the thread will probably die pretty quickly. I’ve seen this several times, and it baffles me.
When the question is, “Were their comments good-natured joking or a terrible assault on all that’s good and pure in the world?” there’s no other rational way to decide between them.
BTW, your constant implication that the pit is full of swamp-dwellers who love nothing more than to gang up on supple new flesh is sort of a pathetic cop-out to avoid dealing with the fact that we can all see you’re throwing a hissy-fit over nothing. As others have mentioned, this is often the most interesting place here to hang out. But you wouldn’t know about the interesting debates we’ve had and the things we’ve discussed, as you’re too dainty to set foot here.
Ooh, your pity-party is by invitation only? Next time put a sign on the door, then.
I dunno. There’s something deeply satisfying to me about seeing a misbegotten pit thread like this turn and bite the pitter on the ass. It’s not real noble of me to say so, but there’s something about it that just makes me happy deep inside. Something about seeing people’s hubris drag them down. I enjoy watching.
There are only a select few that have learned this lesson with more pain than I. And I haven’t fully learned it yet considering some recent posts.
The feeling I’ve always gotten here is don’t do stuff that screams “Look at me! Look at me! Tell me how great my accomplishment is!” If it doesn’t offer a modicum of benefit to anyone (sorry to the rest of you, I’m breaking this rule and will continue posting in the Pit ) , just let it go. 1,000 posts is great over 13 months. It means you’ve added something somewhere often enough to prove you shouldn’t be summarily executed. i.e. banned (spelling on summarily? Screw it, I’m going to trog on.
I find it hard to believe you’ve never, in over a year, seen a thread locked because of post celebration. Granted, you worded it pretty well. But in the end it was still a post count spotlight.
Ah, the standard “Google is your friend” argument. If Google is fighting ignorance, what the hell is the point of this site? Since just about anything can be found if you know how to google it.
Duffer
That was just a minor rant.
I think we’d agree that GQ (for example) is a great place to ask tough mathematical problems - for example probability. That’s something that I think would be very time-consuming on Google.
My point was simply that some legitimate posts can be more of a waste of bandwidth than a “posting” milestone celebration.
Agreed wolf. the post wasn’t directed at you, just quoted for reference. It was a minor rant about the “google is your friend” standard response from some.
What if I started a pit thread called “Hey you want to hear a joke?” and the content of the OP was: “No, damn it, I do not want to hear one of your lame jokes…” and turned out to be a pitting of my baby cousin’s incessant non sequitur “jokes” that make no sense and waste everyone’s time. The title’s asking for a closure, but the thread is valid, no?
More to the point, if I post a thread in IMHO that says “What’s your posting frequency?” then do all the math and post only my frequency to date, not my count, is that okay?
What I’m saying is, I think the phrasing was poor but the thread should have been allowed. IMHO.
I think both of your examples are valid, but I’m still not convinced that Crandolph’s thread was. First off, joke threads are perfectly fine. They show up in MPSIMS all the time. Also, if Crandolph’s post-count thread had been formatted like your second example, he could have probably gotten away with leaving the bulk of his OP as is because it would’ve been clear that his emphasis was on surveying Dopers about their posting habits, not celebrating his 1,000th post. If he’d deleted the last paragraph in his thread or moved it to the top (so that his question was at the end of the OP), or given the thread a different name (focusing on the question), I think he would’ve been fine. The problem is, the question is in the middle of an otherwise gratuitous OP. It’s not surprising that everyone focused on the overall tone of the thread, instead of the seven-word question in the middle. Of course, Crandolph is free to open a new thread surveying Doper’s posting habits, but somehow I doubt that’s really what he was interested in.
His complaint about people jumping into threads to make snarky, “Woo, this thread is gonna be closed like a motherfucker”-type posts is valid, though. Those posts are getting obnoxious, especially when they’re erroneous. I can’t find the thread anymore, but there was one a week or so ago where one or two people started making thread-closing comments, only to have everyone else point out that it was, in fact, a valid thread.
So it’s “interesting” to have “debates” here when your response to people with whom you disagree with is to call them a “whiny little idiot?” This is the best you can muster?
FYI, I’m not little by any non-steroid or glandular disorder standard and certainly not an idiot. (Nor am I “dainty” nor a “pussy,” terms which suggest the posters have some real masculinity issues to work on themselves.) In fact I rather doubt you would use that language in the real world, to others in general and certainly not to me, because you’d get the living crap beaten out of you. This is why I usually stay out of the pit; because people like you grow several-states-away testes and start throwing around schoolyard abuse from the safety of behind your keyboard.
You know fuck-all about my life. I seriously doubt that anyone who carelessly tosses around masculinity (meaning what people - strength? chutzpah? usually people given to calling people “crybabies” and “pussies” lack both) and intelligence insults, as some of you are doing, could hang with me at either level. People who have been in tough situations and have faced actual danger aren’t generally so cavalier about saying things that could lead to more. Do you seriously want to have a go at me? I mean, do you seriously want to confront me in person and throw those sorts of charges at me? I don’t think you’d do that in the real world to me or anyone else who looked physically capable of punching you in the fucking mouth or otherwise defending themselves.
I know better than to suggest that people are weak (which some of you equate with feminine; seek professional help - seriously!) or stupid because in places like the public schools I attended or the street I live on or places I’ve worked (Bosnia, anyone?) I know that can very quickly escalate into a violent situation. I’ve been held at gunpoint more than once, I’ve broken my hand on an attempted mugger’s face. I know better than to start throwing around “idiot” and “pussy” and if any of you don’t take that approach to the real world I hope your insurance is paid up
Typical keyboard bully behavior, which is the only weaker thing than in-person schoolyard bully behavior. And people who are genuinely smart know better than to critique others’ intelligence, especially based on a few message board posts. Anytime you want to compare educational background or box a few rounds, you let me know. Otherwise keep your mouth shut.
And a lot of you folks do troll here and wait to pounce on anyone who dare criticize the moderation or any other aspect of the Holy SDMB. Lord help anyone who questions a tenant of the One True Faith! You’re doing searches on the other Pit thread I posted from months ago even (which I was encouraged to open by a mod incidentally, and which I had already mentioned in this thread in any event - congratulations on your ability to use a search engine.) This is truly the best use of your time? What a bunch of cackling gossips!
The Pit is indeed a waste of time, Weird One is right about this much - I should just stop reading this BS. You can post your little celebratory King of the Thread comments now - it’ll be even easier since I won’t be responding. That’s exactly the level of challenge some of you are up to.
You should be happy now, the board is yours again. All Hail the Kings of the Pit.
) , just let it go. 1,000 posts is great over 13 months. It means you’ve added something somewhere often enough to prove you shouldn’t be summarily executed. i.e. banned (spelling on summarily? Screw it, I’m going to trog on.