# Am I permitted to ask a mod about a decision? **URL:** \ **Category:** About This Message Board\ **Created:** [September 22, 2022, 1:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/am-i-permitted-to-ask-a-mod-about-a-decision/972034 "2022-09-22T13:15:17Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 13\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Love\_Rhombus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/love_rhombus/32/10694_2.png) [@Love\_Rhombus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Love_Rhombus)\ **Post date:** [September 22, 2022, 1:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/am-i-permitted-to-ask-a-mod-about-a-decision/972034/1 "2022-09-22T13:15:17Z")
[In this thread](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/russia-invades-ukraine-2022-02-24/960037/8193), @puzzlegal told me not to post political jabs in a breaking news thread. My post was in response to one about Pelosi’s trip, but I’m genuinely puzzled at the connection. In what way it was a political jab? I know that immediately after I apologized for asking the question. This is more a request for clarification as opposed to questioning the modding itself, if that makes sense? ---
**Author:** ![Elmer\_J.Fudd](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/elmer_j.fudd/32/1211_2.png) [@Elmer\_J.Fudd](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Elmer_J.Fudd)\ **Post date:** [September 22, 2022, 1:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/am-i-permitted-to-ask-a-mod-about-a-decision/972034/2 "2022-09-22T13:19:06Z")
FWIW, I found that rebuke confounding. ---
**Author:** ![puzzlegal](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/puzzlegal/32/3827_2.png) [@puzzlegal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/puzzlegal)\ **Post date:** [September 22, 2022, 1:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/am-i-permitted-to-ask-a-mod-about-a-decision/972034/3 "2022-09-22T13:21:50Z")
Here is the moderation in question: > [@Russia invades Ukraine {2022-02-24} (Part 1)](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/russia-invades-ukraine-2022-02-24/960037/8193): > > If Russia abandons Armenia, won’t Turkey help Azarbijan just steamroll the place? Never mind, I’ll start it somewhere else. slightly_smiling_face It also appeared to be a joking reference to the Armenian genocide, which seemed pretty jarring and, well, jerkish. But in general, when you make connections between the breaking news and other charged political events (like the Armenian genocide) that’s a political jab. ---
**Author:** ![Love\_Rhombus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/love_rhombus/32/10694_2.png) [@Love\_Rhombus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Love_Rhombus)\ **Post date:** [September 22, 2022, 1:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/am-i-permitted-to-ask-a-mod-about-a-decision/972034/4 "2022-09-22T13:25:08Z")
> [@puzzlegal](#): > > It also appeared to be a joking reference to the Armenian genocide, which seemed pretty jarring and, well, jerkish. But in general, when you make connections between the breaking news and other charged political events (like the Armenian genocide) that’s a political jab. I’d never intentionally joke about that kind of thing. Was it the smiley that made it appear joking? I will admit that the genocide was on my mind when I made the post and the later thread (as in, shouldn’t we step in to help given that history if the hypothetical happens) but I wasn’t intending to make light of it. ---
**Author:** ![puzzlegal](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/puzzlegal/32/3827_2.png) [@puzzlegal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/puzzlegal)\ **Post date:** [September 22, 2022, 1:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/am-i-permitted-to-ask-a-mod-about-a-decision/972034/5 "2022-09-22T13:26:00Z")
Yeah, maybe it was the smilie. ---
**Author:** ![Love\_Rhombus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/love_rhombus/32/10694_2.png) [@Love\_Rhombus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Love_Rhombus)\ **Post date:** [September 22, 2022, 1:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/am-i-permitted-to-ask-a-mod-about-a-decision/972034/6 "2022-09-22T13:30:12Z")
That makes sense. I had intended it as “I just realized this doesn’t fit here” but I can seen how it can give a jocular (thank you word-a-day calendar) tone. Thank you for your explanation. ---
**Author:** ![Guinastasia](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/guinastasia/32/5751_2.png) [@Guinastasia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Guinastasia)\ **Post date:** [September 23, 2022, 3:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/am-i-permitted-to-ask-a-mod-about-a-decision/972034/7 "2022-09-23T03:00:46Z")
I’d like to ask is why it was warned for being political, and not just plain offensive? Does that mean said comment WOULDN’T get a warning in GD, or P&E? ---
**Author:** ![Miller](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/miller/32/481_2.png) [@Miller](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Miller)\ **Post date:** [September 24, 2022, 1:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/am-i-permitted-to-ask-a-mod-about-a-decision/972034/8 "2022-09-24T01:48:41Z")
How is it offensive? ---
**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:** [September 24, 2022, 11:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/am-i-permitted-to-ask-a-mod-about-a-decision/972034/9 "2022-09-24T23:01:15Z")
She’s going by what puzzlegal said was the reason for the moderation: > [@puzzlegal](#): > > It also appeared to be a joking reference to the Armenian genocide, which seemed pretty jarring and, well, jerkish. ---
**Author:** ![Miller](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/miller/32/481_2.png) [@Miller](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Miller)\ **Post date:** [September 24, 2022, 11:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/am-i-permitted-to-ask-a-mod-about-a-decision/972034/10 "2022-09-24T23:06:57Z")
Yeah, but he’d just clarified that he didn’t mean it that way, so I thought she was referring to something else about the post. ---
**Author:** ![Lance\_Turbo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lance_turbo/32/6156_2.png) [@Lance\_Turbo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lance_Turbo)\ **Post date:** [September 25, 2022, 9:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/am-i-permitted-to-ask-a-mod-about-a-decision/972034/11 "2022-09-25T21:50:50Z")
Yeah, Armenia is currently being seriously threatened by Azerbaijan because Russia is a little distracted from keeping up their peacekeeping mission there. More than threatened. Hundreds of Armenians have been killed this month. > **[How Russia’s Ukraine war has ‘emboldened’ Azerbaijan](https://www.opendemocracy.net/en/odr/armenia-nagorno-karabakh-azerbaijan-aliyev-war-putin-russia-ukraine/)** > > Experts explain the background to Azerbaijan's attack on Armenia’s sovereign territory in the last week ---
**Author:** ![engineer\_comp\_geek](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/engineer_comp_geek/32/504_2.png) [@engineer\_comp\_geek](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/engineer_comp_geek)\ **Post date:** [September 26, 2022, 5:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/am-i-permitted-to-ask-a-mod-about-a-decision/972034/12 "2022-09-26T17:47:40Z")
**Moderator Note** > [@Lance\_Turbo](#): > > Yeah, Armenia is currently being seriously threatened by Azerbaijan because Russia is a little distracted from keeping up their peacekeeping mission there… Unless it is relevant to the rules and moderation of the SDMB, a general discussion of what is happening in that part of the world is off-topic for ATMB. Feel free to discuss it, just do so in the appropriate forum. ---
**Author:** ![Lance\_Turbo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lance_turbo/32/6156_2.png) [@Lance\_Turbo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lance_Turbo)\ **Post date:** [September 26, 2022, 5:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/am-i-permitted-to-ask-a-mod-about-a-decision/972034/13 "2022-09-26T17:54:02Z")
Noted. I thought the context might be helpful, but I understand that don’t want this thread to get derailed into a discussion of Eastern European conflicts.