# Attack of the Moderator Sycophants - Part XXX **URL:** \ **Category:** The BBQ Pit\ **Created:** [October 26, 2001, 6:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/attack-of-the-moderator-sycophants-part-xxx/89830 "2001-10-26T18:33:30Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![IzzyR](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/2acd7d/32.png) [@IzzyR](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/IzzyR)\ **Post date:** [October 26, 2001, 6:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/attack-of-the-moderator-sycophants-part-xxx/89830/1 "2001-10-26T18:33:30Z")
Unfortunately not as funny as [Fenris’ thread](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?threadid=95343). But he does not seem inclined to start this one, so I’ll give it a shot. (All similarities to real posters and mods are accidental). **Poster1** : blah blah bla… **Moderator1** : [Moderator hat on] This kind of thing cannot be tolerated here…I am warning you etc. [moderator hat off] **Poster1** : yeah, but - **Admin** : that’s it jerk, you’re banned. Go play somewhere else. _[Long silence]_ **Poster2** : I wonder…does anyone…nah, forget it _[scurries away]_ _[long silence]_ **Poster3** : Does anyone know why Poster1 was banned? **Poster4** : Seems strange to me. **Sycophant1** : How dare you criticize the moderators?! The number one rule of this board is “don’t be a jerk”. Clearly Poster1 was being a jerk. In fact, I’ve known him to be jerk from his very first post to this board, but the mods were very patient with him. But when I saw this post I just knew that this would be the final straw. I, by contrast am not a jerk, so I won’t be banned. Just watch. **Sycophant2** : How could anyone even wonder about the actions of the mods and admins? To question their actions demonstrates a lack of pure faith in their perfection - it’s heresy! **Sycophant3** : Even when we see the administration doing something strange, we must only strengthen the faith in our hearts that the admins - in their infinite wisdom - know better than us. They see things that we cannot see, they know things that we cannot know, they understand things that we cannot begin to fathom. **Sycophant2** : Yeah, you’re right, Sycophant3. Why for all we know, Poster1 has made death threats against the mods and admins. He may even be linked to the WTC bombing. I’m glad we have the admins to protect us from jerks like Poster1. **Poster3** : Of course, of course, I never meant to question the admins. My faith in their perfection is as great as anyone. I bow daily in their general direction. [sub](Please don’t ban me).[/sub] I only ask for some clarification of their action so that I might better understand what they would like of me, that I might better do their wishes. **Sycophant1** : Listen jerk, this is a free MB. The mods have the authority to do whatever they want. Who do you think you are to ask anything? **Moderator2** : OK kids, that’s enough fightin’ _[Locks thread]_ _[Peace and harmony prevail throughout the realm]_ ---
**Author:** ![Mr.Cynical](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/ee59a6/32.png) [@Mr.Cynical](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mr.Cynical)\ **Post date:** [October 26, 2001, 7:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/attack-of-the-moderator-sycophants-part-xxx/89830/2 "2001-10-26T19:07:39Z")
Everyone’s got a toadie. 'Cept you 😃 ---
**Author:** ![5-HT](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/5/f19dbf/32.png) [@5-HT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/5-HT)\ **Post date:** [October 26, 2001, 7:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/attack-of-the-moderator-sycophants-part-xxx/89830/3 "2001-10-26T19:13:32Z")
pretty good, but you forgot to use the “throwing people out of a party” example. I’ve never seen a Banning thread where that didn’t come up ---
**Author:** ![Fenris](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/fenris/32/498_2.png) [@Fenris](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fenris)\ **Post date:** [October 26, 2001, 7:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/attack-of-the-moderator-sycophants-part-xxx/89830/4 "2001-10-26T19:15:09Z")
Yeah, but… I’d like to add my perspective to this: **LivingInTerror** : I am afraid for my _LIFE_! The mods are on a _RAMPAGE_! They’re banning people **RANDOMLY** and I live in _MORTAL TERROR_ that I will be next. **ModSupporter** : But…it’s been shown time and time again that there’s usually a good reason for banning. There’s almost always multiple incidents, so one slip-up won’t get you banned in most cases. And every time you say that it was a random banning! **LivingInTerror** : \ _I’m gonna be **NEXT**!_ * * * or our old friends **No,It’sMYboard** : No one should be treated like that. BANNEDGUY had _every_ right to be here and post. The mods are out of control. Things shouldn’t be this way. I demand they be changed. I also demand an explanation! **ModSupporter** : Um…it’s not your board. The Mods _don’t_ have to give you an explaination. ## **No,It’sMYboard** : Well, they should. Or (absent in recent weeks) **THEY’LLbeBack!** : It doesn’t matter if BANNEDGUY was banned, he’ll just get another name and log-on. * * * All kidding aside, **Izzy** , it seems to me that nearly _every_ time someone’s banned, someone complains that it was unfair, or demands/requests an explanation, etc. I don’t think the Admins _should_ give explanations. First, it puts them in the position of having to defend their actions and A) they have no obligation to defend their actions and b) obligations aside, it may not be something that they choose to defend in public. What if a banned poster was threating lawsuits via e-mail or just sending threats? The Admins couldn’t say anything. I doubt that was the case here, but who knows what goes on behind the scenes and in many cases I suspect that the Admins _can’t_ respond. I have _never_ heard a good reason why people just don’t e-mail the Admins/Mods if they’re concerned that they’ll commit some minor faux pas and be banned (“just like BANNEDGUY!” :rolleyes: ) Fenris ---
**Author:** ![IzzyR](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/2acd7d/32.png) [@IzzyR](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/IzzyR)\ **Post date:** [October 26, 2001, 7:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/attack-of-the-moderator-sycophants-part-xxx/89830/5 "2001-10-26T19:20:34Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Manservant Hecubus \* > \*\*Everyone’s got a toadie. > > 'Cept you 😃 \*\* Well now’s your chance to get in on the ground floor. By becoming my first toadie, you get to be declared Right Hand Toadie, and get to rule over all subsequent Lesser Toadies. ---
**Author:** ![Esprix](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/esprix/32/7899_2.png) [@Esprix](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Esprix)\ **Post date:** [October 26, 2001, 7:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/attack-of-the-moderator-sycophants-part-xxx/89830/6 "2001-10-26T19:26:20Z")
Expressing an opinion about the administration of the board makes you a either “Mod Sycophant” or leaves you “Living In Terror?” Um, yeah, sure… :rolleyes: Esprix ---
**Author:** ![Ethilrist](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ethilrist/32/4604_2.png) [@Ethilrist](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ethilrist)\ **Post date:** [October 26, 2001, 7:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/attack-of-the-moderator-sycophants-part-xxx/89830/7 "2001-10-26T19:33:42Z")
“My First Toadie” Sounds like a kit… ---
**Author:** ![IzzyR](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/2acd7d/32.png) [@IzzyR](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/IzzyR)\ **Post date:** [October 26, 2001, 7:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/attack-of-the-moderator-sycophants-part-xxx/89830/8 "2001-10-26T19:34:30Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Fenris \* > All kidding aside… All kidding aside, this thread wouldn’t exist. I don’t deny that I believe my portrayal has some degree of truth to it, but I meant it in a more lighthearted vein. The characters you portray ( **LiT** et al) are also based on reality, IMHO. > [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Esprix \* > Expressing an opinion about the administration of the board makes you a either “Mod Sycophant” or leaves you “Living In Terror?” Come on, Esprix, didn’t you hear the President’s speech? “Everyone must make a choice. Either you are with us, or you are with the terrorists”. ---
**Author:** ![Slip\_Mahoney](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/e47774/32.png) [@Slip\_Mahoney](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Slip_Mahoney)\ **Post date:** [October 26, 2001, 7:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/attack-of-the-moderator-sycophants-part-xxx/89830/9 "2001-10-26T19:36:17Z")
**IzzyR** is right. It’s not as funny as **Fenris’** thread. In fact, it’s not funny at all, in my humble opinion. But, hey, your kilometerage may vary. ---
**Author:** ![Demise](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/34f0e0/32.png) [@Demise](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Demise)\ **Post date:** [October 26, 2001, 7:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/attack-of-the-moderator-sycophants-part-xxx/89830/10 "2001-10-26T19:44:39Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Slip Mahoney \* > **In fact, it’s not funny at all, in my humble opinion.** You’re just jealous you weren’t given screen credit for **Sycophant2**. 😛 ---
**Author:** ![Slip\_Mahoney](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/e47774/32.png) [@Slip\_Mahoney](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Slip_Mahoney)\ **Post date:** [October 26, 2001, 7:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/attack-of-the-moderator-sycophants-part-xxx/89830/11 "2001-10-26T19:52:17Z")
Geez, I just realized it. You’re right, **Demise.** That’s me to a tee. Who do you have to know to get some recognition around here? ---
**Author:** ![IzzyR](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/2acd7d/32.png) [@IzzyR](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/IzzyR)\ **Post date:** [October 26, 2001, 7:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/attack-of-the-moderator-sycophants-part-xxx/89830/12 "2001-10-26T19:58:43Z")
Hey **slip** , as I said, all similarities to real posters is accidental. But if you don’t find it funny, feel free to ignore this thread and all my other posts. > [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Slip Mahoney \* > your kilometerage may vary. Now _that’s_ funny. 😃 ---
**Author:** ![Mars\_Horizon](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mars_horizon/32/2804_2.png) [@Mars\_Horizon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mars_Horizon)\ **Post date:** [October 26, 2001, 8:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/attack-of-the-moderator-sycophants-part-xxx/89830/13 "2001-10-26T20:02:35Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Demise \* > \*\*You’re just jealous you weren’t given screen credit for **Sycophant2**. 😛 \*\* And jealous that **this** thread hasn’t devolved into a Monty Python quotefest. [sub]Yet[/sub] ---
**Author:** ![Yue\_Han](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/y/eada6e/32.png) [@Yue\_Han](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Yue_Han)\ **Post date:** [October 26, 2001, 8:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/attack-of-the-moderator-sycophants-part-xxx/89830/14 "2001-10-26T20:06:56Z")
Just an opinion, but I think the reason the party metaphor comes up every time is because it’s a good one- it is, in fact, an illustration of the central principle involved which is, every nasty unpleasant thing the administration has ever done to anyone is balanced by the fact that they made the board possible. I mean, let’s take the most evil paranoid view of the administration we can and measure the good against the bad: Bad: Banned a lot of people unfairly. Good: Donated hours and hours of their time; pay for the board to exist; host the board on their server; fix the board when it crashes. Let’s say 10% of the board has been banned unfairly. It’s ridiculous, but let’s say the board is that insane. That’s still 90% of how many thousand people registered here that they’ve provided a huge service for. Even from the most paranoid view, we owe the mods tons, and people need to be reminded. The party metaphor is a useful way to illustrate that. –John ---
**Author:** ![Abe\_Babe](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/3ab097/32.png) [@Abe\_Babe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Abe_Babe)\ **Post date:** [October 26, 2001, 8:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/attack-of-the-moderator-sycophants-part-xxx/89830/15 "2001-10-26T20:13:34Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by IzzyR \*Well now’s your chance to get in on the ground floor. By becoming my first toadie, you get to be declared Right Hand Toadie, and get to rule over all subsequent Lesser Toadies. \*\* Don’t you worry about warts? ---
**Author:** ![lenin](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/3bc359/32.png) [@lenin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lenin)\ **Post date:** [October 26, 2001, 8:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/attack-of-the-moderator-sycophants-part-xxx/89830/16 "2001-10-26T20:15:27Z")
“She turned me into a newt!” ---
**Author:** ![Demise](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/34f0e0/32.png) [@Demise](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Demise)\ **Post date:** [October 26, 2001, 8:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/attack-of-the-moderator-sycophants-part-xxx/89830/17 "2001-10-26T20:43:10Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by lenin \* > \*\*“She turned me into a newt!” \*\* …and Baby Jesus wept. ---
**Author:** ![leander](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/bcef8e/32.png) [@leander](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/leander)\ **Post date:** [October 26, 2001, 8:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/attack-of-the-moderator-sycophants-part-xxx/89830/18 "2001-10-26T20:49:00Z")
**John** - I like to think of this place not so much as a party, but as a school. A school made up of a thousand virtual classrooms created by the students themselves. Anyone can make a classroom based around an idea and students may come and go as they please to comment or debate the idea. All are welcome to stay, go, speak or be silent - freely but within the limits of the law (much like our free speech in America). The purpose? To promote the free flow of intelligent thought, to educate, to enlighten and, perhaps, to make this shitty little world a bit better and brighter for us all. Of course, there are rules, moderators and administrators to keep things running and in order. And God bless em - cause without em, this place wouldn’t exist and the world would be just that much shittier (for me, at least). But again, like America, the citizens have a right to question the authority. Nobody “invited” my mother to this country, but as soon as she became a citizen, she was granted the same rights as those who came over on the Mayflower. No more and no less. Doesn’t matter how damn long she was here. And one of the great things about this country is our right to question the rules as long as we stay within the rules while doing so. In fact, a society that prevents people from speaking based on an arbitrary set of rules and not a standard applied to all is a society I don’t want to live in. If that happens, I’ll simply leave. But until then, let me speak my mind (I know it’s small and oft confused, but it’s all I got). And if a fellow student gets expelled from school, I wanna know why. Not just because it may further clarify the rules for me, but also because it means we’ve lost another voice here which may have contributed to our own erudition. ---
**Author:** ![Mr.Cynical](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/ee59a6/32.png) [@Mr.Cynical](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mr.Cynical)\ **Post date:** [October 26, 2001, 8:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/attack-of-the-moderator-sycophants-part-xxx/89830/19 "2001-10-26T20:50:29Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by IzzyR \* > \*\* > > > [@](#): > > > > \*Originally posted by Manservant Hecubus \* > > \*\*Everyone’s got a toadie. > > > > 'Cept you 😃 \*\* > > Well now’s your chance to get in on the ground floor. By becoming my first toadie, you get to be declared Right Hand Toadie, and get to rule over all subsequent Lesser Toadies. \*\* If being your toadie is like being your bitch, sign me up! ---
**Author:** ![Slip\_Mahoney](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/e47774/32.png) [@Slip\_Mahoney](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Slip_Mahoney)\ **Post date:** [October 26, 2001, 8:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/attack-of-the-moderator-sycophants-part-xxx/89830/20 "2001-10-26T20:54:31Z")
**IzzyR** wrote: > [@](#): > > Hey slip, as I said, all similarities to real posters is accidental. But if you don’t find it funny, feel free to ignore this thread and all my other posts. But…but…I like your posts. I just didn’t think this one was funny, that’s all. Now I should ignore _all_ your posts? Fuck that. I’m going to do a search and read a bunch of them, and there’s nothing you can do about it. You don’t know who you’re dealing with, mister. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/attack-of-the-moderator-sycophants-part-xxx/89830.md?page=2)