# Appropriate user name, tho **URL:** \ **Category:** About This Message Board\ **Created:** [April 16, 2014, 5:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/appropriate-user-name-tho/686277 "2014-04-16T17:34:30Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 5
**Author:** ![IvoryTowerDenizen](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ivorytowerdenizen/32/17937_2.png) [@IvoryTowerDenizen](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/IvoryTowerDenizen)\ **Post date:** [April 17, 2014, 11:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/appropriate-user-name-tho/686277/81 "2014-04-17T11:07:57Z")
> [@DrDeth](#): > > Obviously it was a play on words with his name, but if you have to ask, it wasn’t funny. I wasn’t asking if it was funny, but to get how it was a joke but not an insult. ---
**Author:** ![MrDibble](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mrdibble/32/114_2.png) [@MrDibble](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MrDibble)\ **Post date:** [April 17, 2014, 11:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/appropriate-user-name-tho/686277/82 "2014-04-17T11:11:04Z")
> [@Frank](#): > > It’s on the main page of the User CP. Presumably it isn’t there if one hasn’t received a warning. (If you close it up, the header for it shows “0 points received”, which is a lot more soothing than “Never”.) I find it hard to believe I’ve never received a warning… ---
**Author:** ![Jonathan\_Chance](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jonathan_chance/32/701_2.png) [@Jonathan\_Chance](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jonathan_Chance)\ **Post date:** [April 17, 2014, 11:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/appropriate-user-name-tho/686277/83 "2014-04-17T11:24:20Z")
Checking your CP I don’t see one. Congrats! ---
**Author:** ![Frank](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/3d9bf3/32.png) [@Frank](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Frank)\ **Post date:** [April 17, 2014, 12:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/appropriate-user-name-tho/686277/84 "2014-04-17T12:10:23Z")
> [@MrDibble](#): > > I find it hard to believe I’ve never received a warning… You may have got one back before the recording of warnings was automated. When I was a mod back then I would occasionally get requests from posters to search for how many warnings they had. Regardless, unless things have changed, a single warning from ten years ago (or three years, in my case) isn’t going to be considered relevant to whatever action the mods may take today. That’s why I don’t get why **DrDeth** is working up into a frenzy about this. Just don’t insult people in GD anymore, and no one will care about it. The only reason to be concerned about warnings is if you plan on accumulating a bunch very quickly. ---
**Author:** ![C\_K\_Dexter\_Haven](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/b2d939/32.png) [@C\_K\_Dexter\_Haven](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/C_K_Dexter_Haven)\ **Post date:** [April 17, 2014, 12:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/appropriate-user-name-tho/686277/85 "2014-04-17T12:26:04Z")
> [@DrDeth](#): > > Nah, despite our disagreements, the Staff here is pretty decent, considering how overworked and razzed on they are. It’s just that they never change their minds. Thanks for the appreciation. I could be wrong, but I think we just changed our minds a few days ago on not having issued a warning? One of the purposes of this forum is to allow complaints about moderating. We do discuss each such, in depth. Most of the time, we find the original moderating to have been well-justified (but that’s not an automatic decision, we do discuss at length behind the scenes); upon occasion, the discussions causes reversal of a decision. ---
**Author:** ![Colibri](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/colibri/32/1841_2.png) [@Colibri](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Colibri)\ **Post date:** [April 17, 2014, 3:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/appropriate-user-name-tho/686277/86 "2014-04-17T15:03:56Z")
> [@MrDibble](#): > > I find it hard to believe I’ve never received a warning… You have one on record from before the automated system was set up, but as has been said this is a dead letter. ---
**Author:** ![GrandWino](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/grandwino/32/67_2.png) [@GrandWino](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GrandWino)\ **Post date:** [April 17, 2014, 4:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/appropriate-user-name-tho/686277/87 "2014-04-17T16:08:18Z")
I too am greatly curious about what the joke means as it apparently went way over my head also. ---
**Author:** ![MrDibble](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mrdibble/32/114_2.png) [@MrDibble](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MrDibble)\ **Post date:** [April 17, 2014, 4:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/appropriate-user-name-tho/686277/88 "2014-04-17T16:29:03Z")
> [@Colibri](#): > > You have one on record from before the automated system was set up I figured as much. Good to know, in some weird vaguely comforting way. ---
**Author:** ![Jonathan\_Chance](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jonathan_chance/32/701_2.png) [@Jonathan\_Chance](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jonathan_Chance)\ **Post date:** [April 17, 2014, 4:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/appropriate-user-name-tho/686277/89 "2014-04-17T16:56:40Z")
Puts you and I in the same ‘one warning’ boat. It’s like we’re twinsies. ---
**Author:** ![fluiddruid](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/c2a13f/32.png) [@fluiddruid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/fluiddruid)\ **Post date:** [April 17, 2014, 5:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/appropriate-user-name-tho/686277/90 "2014-04-17T17:01:22Z")
Just thought I’d chime in for anyone who’s terrified of their “permanent record”: speaking as a mod, I’d rather keep a full record of everything. Not because I’m rubbing my hands together, waiting for one more warning so we can combine it with one you got in 2003, but because I’d rather know we had a full record when I go “Hmm, I swear I gave that guy a warning for this before, but _when_… did I log it wrong? Was it just a note and I’m misremembering? Have we given this user too many notes when a warning would have been appropriate?” Frankly, I’ve had plenty of times where I could swear I just warned someone for something a few months ago, and it was a lot longer ago than that. Life gets busy, we have a lot of users, and it’s not uncommon to moderate something just as you’re waking up in the morning or whatever. I mean, I became a moderator in 2005, and to some folks I’m still one of the new kids. 🙂 A lot of us have been around awhile and some definite record helps us jog our memories. This helps us be fairer, and to not spend a lot of time going through old posts. If anything, very old warnings followed by a sustained period of improved behavior have actually given us reason to be more lenient than not, because we’ve seen that a user responded to the feedback we gave and made appropriate changes in the past, so it’s likely they could do so again. In short, don’t worry about it. Enjoy the boards, don’t be a jerk, and (barring something really over-the-top) we’ll let you know if you’re on the track to being suspended/banned. ---
**Author:** ![VinylTurnip](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/v/b2d939/32.png) [@VinylTurnip](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/VinylTurnip)\ **Post date:** [April 17, 2014, 5:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/appropriate-user-name-tho/686277/91 "2014-04-17T17:16:55Z")
> [@Bob Ducca](#): > > I too am greatly curious about what the joke means as it apparently went way over my head also. You have to understand it in context. **DrDeth** used the joke to punctuate a post in which s/he criticized **Half Man Half Wit** ’s lack of understanding and recommended that he do some research in order to combat his ignorance. Therefore there’s no way the joke could’ve been an implication that he was half-witted. It was clearly a subtle play on words, which **DrDeth** will now explain to us. Please proceed! ---
**Author:** ![DrDeth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b487fb/32.png) [@DrDeth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DrDeth)\ **Post date:** [April 17, 2014, 5:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/appropriate-user-name-tho/686277/92 "2014-04-17T17:38:42Z")
> [@C\_K\_Dexter\_Haven](#): > > Thanks for the appreciation. I could be wrong, but I think we just changed our minds a few days ago on not having issued a warning? > > One of the purposes of this forum is to allow complaints about moderating. We do discuss each such, in depth. Most of the time, we find the original moderating to have been well-justified (but that’s not an automatic decision, we do discuss at length behind the scenes); upon occasion, the discussions causes reversal of a decision. Well, yes, but that’s not quite being merciful, it’s the other way around. 😉 ---
**Author:** ![Truman\_Burbank](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/ecc23a/32.png) [@Truman\_Burbank](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Truman_Burbank)\ **Post date:** [April 17, 2014, 5:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/appropriate-user-name-tho/686277/93 "2014-04-17T17:41:08Z")
Mod right. You wrong. ---
**Author:** ![Marley23](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/45deac/32.png) [@Marley23](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Marley23)\ **Post date:** [April 17, 2014, 5:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/appropriate-user-name-tho/686277/94 "2014-04-17T17:51:43Z")
Tell you what, **DrDeth** : you can answer the question everyone has been asking - if you were not implying **Half Man Half Wit** was a halfwit, what were you saying? - or I can close this thread now. Your call. ---
**Author:** ![jimbuff314](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/c57346/32.png) [@jimbuff314](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jimbuff314)\ **Post date:** [April 17, 2014, 6:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/appropriate-user-name-tho/686277/95 "2014-04-17T18:21:55Z")
Bye-bye thread. ---
**Author:** ![Suburban\_Plankton](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/suburban_plankton/32/219_2.png) [@Suburban\_Plankton](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Suburban_Plankton)\ **Post date:** [April 17, 2014, 6:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/appropriate-user-name-tho/686277/96 "2014-04-17T18:25:54Z")
> [@Ibn\_Warraq](#): > > Then have the courtesy to explain it to us. > > You insist when you said that he has “an appropriate user name” that you weren’t trying to imply that he was a half wit? > > Ok, what were you trying to imply? > > That he was half man? Obviously, this must be it…\*\*DrDeth \*\*was implying that \*\*Half Man Half Wit \*\*is, in fact, Peter Dinklage. [Half man!](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DOQsYk8cbnE) [Half man!](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8EDwr1pFr_w) ---
**Author:** ![Marley23](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/45deac/32.png) [@Marley23](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Marley23)\ **Post date:** [April 17, 2014, 6:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/appropriate-user-name-tho/686277/97 "2014-04-17T18:51:54Z")
I think we can all agree that’d be a compliment. ---
**Author:** ![DrDeth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b487fb/32.png) [@DrDeth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DrDeth)\ **Post date:** [April 17, 2014, 9:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/appropriate-user-name-tho/686277/98 "2014-04-17T21:29:52Z")
> [@Marley23](#): > > Tell you what, **DrDeth** : you can answer the question everyone has been asking - if you were not implying **Half Man Half Wit** was a halfwit, what were you saying? - or I can close this thread now. Your call. You can’t explain humor. It was like calling your 6’4 300# friend "You big lunkhead’ in a jocular manner, as opposed to a insulting manner. Some thought it was funny. Sorry the feeble attempt at humor fell so very flat. ---
**Author:** ![Czarcasm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/czarcasm/32/4050_2.png) [@Czarcasm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Czarcasm)\ **Post date:** [April 17, 2014, 9:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/appropriate-user-name-tho/686277/99 "2014-04-17T21:39:50Z")
> [@DrDeth](#): > > You can’t explain humor. It was like calling your 6’4 300# friend "You big lunkhead’ in a jocular manner, as opposed to a insulting manner. > > Some thought it was funny. Sorry the feeble attempt at humor fell so very flat. Or in other words, you’ve got nothing. ---
**Author:** ![Marley23](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/45deac/32.png) [@Marley23](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Marley23)\ **Post date:** [April 17, 2014, 9:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/appropriate-user-name-tho/686277/100 "2014-04-17T21:40:36Z")
That’s easy to explain: it’s a joking insults. The problem is that type of joke often doesn’t work in text because it’s hard to read your intent. In this case you were also kind of rude to him, which makes it seem even less like a joke: > [@Did anyone follow the Kelly Thomas trial? Cops' use of force caused a death; cops aquitted](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-anyone-follow-the-kelly-thomas-trial-cops-use-of-force-caused-a-death-cops-aquitted/678785/126): > > I know you don’t understand, that’s obvious. Read some law, Get behind the concept of "burden of proof’. So are we done here? [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/appropriate-user-name-tho/686277.md?page=4) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/appropriate-user-name-tho/686277.md?page=6)