I don’t think I’ve ever called a poster an idiot, so I’ve never spent much time investigating the rules about it or trying to make them say something they don’t. However, reading the rules posted above gave me the distinct impression that calling a class of people that happens to include one or more dopers “idiots” IS acceptable. I don’t seem to be alone in that impression. If this interpretation of the rules is erroneous, perhaps you should revise them so they don’t say THE EXACT OPPOSITE OF WHAT YOU WANT!
Instead of picking phrases out of context, why don’t you go ahead and read the whole thing, o.k.? Do you see the phrase, “The strictness of this rule varies a bit by forum, but the basic rule is that you should attack what the other person says, not the other person.”? The standards for each forum is different, though I doubt that calling other posters “idiots” using the excuse that they belong to a larger group and thus shouldn’t feel personally insulted will pass in forums other than The BBQ Pit and maybe Great Debates, IMHO.
Since you’re now arguing from some unwritten but unanimously accepted standard specific to IMHO, I decided to run a quick search to see how well-accepted that standard is. I found that this was necessary because I don’t spend much time in IMHO, and wouldn’t feel qualified debating about its forum-specific culture otherwise. This is the tip of the iceberg I uncovered:
http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showpost.php?p=9450032&postcount=39
http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showpost.php?p=9451786&postcount=48
Here, msmith537 insults the educated professionals on the Board, using the same naughty word that Dinsdale did:
http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showpost.php?p=9412382&postcount=3
Derleth insults all Dopers who voted for LBJ:
http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showpost.php?p=9413952&postcount=17
In this thread, John DiFool attacks feminine gay men:
Then Happy Scrappy Hero Pup compares male femininity to date rape and idiocy:
Nobody except matt_mcl seems to care until it devolves into a full-fledged hijack. Even then, only Contrapuntal jumps in.
I could go on and on. The point is that, if any of these examples struck any IMHO regulars as being against the rules, none of them were offended enough to click on the “Report this Post” button. And if they did, any mods who swung by decided there was nothing of import going on. Once again, traditional Western religion asks for special treatment and gets it.
Obviously, we need to start reporting all of those posts, and any others like them. The alternative is, as you say, that Christians (and other whiners) get special treatment. Never mind that no one seems to particularly want that kind of behavior banned. It already has been. And the mods have told us lots of times that they want posters to report posts that break the rules. I have no problem with this. And no, I don’t intend to hunt through old threads looking for posts to report just to annoy the mods and make a point. But I will report posts as I come across them, just as I would for breaking any other rules. I don’t like rule breakers, even if I disagree with the rule.
And Czarcasm, I did read the whole thing. I still say that had you not told me otherwise I would believe that referring to a large group (such as Enya fans) as “idiots” is acceptable. The rule you posted, when read in its entirety and in context is unclear, if it is meant to mean what you say it means. I am no longer arguing that it should mean what I think it does, only that it in fact SEEMS to mean what I think it does. Since what the rule is in fact and what the rule is stated to be in the ATMB sticky can reasonably be understood to be different, one of them should be changed. I don’t much care which one (though I have already stated my preference).
Obviously, that’s becasue none of these posts caused a member to come down with a case of the vapors, and go running off to report it like some mingy little William Donahue, or if they did Czarcasm didn’t decide to be their Bill O’Reilly.
So it is your wish is that the standard for IMHO should not be civil discourse and respect for the opinions of others, but “I should get away with it because they did!”? Let me think about that…done.
No, I don’t think so.
No, but now everytime I see any group of people however slightly insulted in IMHO, I will be sure to report it. We don’t want this place becoming uncivilized!
Well reasoned sir, I applaud you. Now can we have the pukey smiley?
If you honestly feel insulted by someone else’s post, I will look into it. If, on the other hand, you appoint yourself “Guardian Of All Who Might Be Offended By Every Little Thing” and start hitting the “Report This Post To The Moderator” button just to be a jerk, I’ll know just what to do. Trust me, that one is covered in the rules.
Well, now that you put your mod-dick out on the table for all to see are we supposed to quiver in fear of it’s puissance? Threats are so gauche on the internet, don’t you think?
What about what I said I would do, Czarcasm? If I’m not personally offended, but I honestly think someone broke this new rule, shouldn’t I report it? Or is there a “no harm, no foul” policy that let rule violations slide if no one is offended.
- If I see someone obviously insulting other posters like, for example, calling them idiots, they may get a warning.
- If, on the other hand, someone says something that may in some way be considered offensive by somebody, somewhere, but not by you personally or anyone else posting in that thread, just leave it alone.
- If you are honestly not sure, go ahead and hit the button.
- But if I think you are hitting that button just to be an annoyance, you may get the warning.
No. My wish is that the standard for IMHO should be the official rules. As a Moderator, I would assume you would have the honesty, intellectual capacity and dedication to the Board required to understand that. Obviously, I was wrong: you’re severely lacking in one or more of those, but far be it from me to guess which one.
I think for now I’ll just interpret the rules the same way I’ve done it for the last few years, and not add any refinements. While you might find it helpful to know exactly how far you can go up to the line before you get an official warning, experience has shown me that this is an open invite for some (though certainly not most) posters to dance on that line, much the same way children in the back seat will almost touch each other while repeated chanting “I’m not touching you! I’m not touching you!” I’m sorry that you are having trouble understanding that each forum has slightly different standards of behavior, but that’s something you’re just going to have to learn to deal with.
Official Rules? I thought the whole reason the SDMB is the bestest place on teh intarwebs is because we don’t have to keep worrying about “Official Rules” allathe time; 'cos we’re grownups, FFS (thanks for that acronym, CarnalK;))!
By and large, the mods keep this place running smoothly, operating with their judgement and discretion. Yes, there are mistakes made in moderation, but on the whole, an error by a mod is really not something to get that worked up over, any more than it’s the end of the world when a member bags an official warning. They’re bumps in the road, and we’re pretty self-correcting around here.
You’re far too smart to really believe that there will ever be perfection in the moderation, HD (my cite – you’re a Doper :p). Yes, keep them honest and on their toes, but lighten up a little. We’re here because it pleases us to be here instead of somewhere else.
You want an official rule to follow? Try this: Make it a habit to preview your entire post every time. Then make your .sig line say: “I’m really trying to not be a jerk.” Check that for truthiness before you hit “Submit”.
I have to disagree with your statement, Czarcasm. His comment was quite accurate. Since when did accuracy become threadshitting?
What the fuck do they use for ball where you come from? You are so flush with power that it just radiates from your username. You really are an embarrasment to the fight against ignorance. I am sure that you will just give me another “Fuck you” rather than a subsanitive reply. Carry on.
And I just saw your edit to soften the threat. You really have no balls.
Sorry for the double, that threat removal was not from the post I replied to, but the one before.
Where can I get one of those decoder screens that will allow me to see what threat czarcasm removed from his post?
Here is the original post:
Note that this is a thread requesting information about the customs of non-Catholic Christians regarding Ash Wednesday.
Here is Dinsdale’s reply, after other posters have described their customs regarding Ash Wednesday:
Now if this is indeed one of the customs of the non-Catholic Christian church he belongs to, I’d be very interested in hearing more.
Well, Dinsdale?