# Bad Moderation in the "What happens politically if gas prices go through the roof?" thread **URL:** \ **Category:** About This Message Board\ **Created:** [March 2, 2026, 4:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bad-moderation-in-the-what-happens-politically-if-gas-prices-go-through-the-roof-thread/1028143 "2026-03-02T16:14:37Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Frodo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/frodo/32/302_2.png) [@Frodo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Frodo)\ **Post date:** [March 2, 2026, 6:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bad-moderation-in-the-what-happens-politically-if-gas-prices-go-through-the-roof-thread/1028143/21 "2026-03-02T18:21:49Z")
I agree that the mods are not to blame, is the general policy that is too strict. ---
**Author:** ![What\_Exit](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/what_exit/32/10652_2.png) [@What\_Exit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/What_Exit)\ **Post date:** [March 2, 2026, 6:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bad-moderation-in-the-what-happens-politically-if-gas-prices-go-through-the-roof-thread/1028143/22 "2026-03-02T18:42:01Z")
??? Oil prices are on topic. Also, I’m not reading every post at this point. Sorry. I have other stuff happening too. ---
**Author:** ![Der\_Trihs](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/der_trihs/32/233_2.png) [@Der\_Trihs](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Der_Trihs)\ **Post date:** [March 2, 2026, 6:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bad-moderation-in-the-what-happens-politically-if-gas-prices-go-through-the-roof-thread/1028143/23 "2026-03-02T18:44:50Z")
> [@What\_Exit](#): > > ??? Oil prices are on topic. How? The thread OP assumes they will rise as its premise. The question asked isn’t about _whether_ they will. ---
**Author:** ![ParallelLines](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/parallellines/32/3575_2.png) [@ParallelLines](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ParallelLines)\ **Post date:** [March 2, 2026, 7:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bad-moderation-in-the-what-happens-politically-if-gas-prices-go-through-the-roof-thread/1028143/24 "2026-03-02T19:55:05Z")
> [@Frodo](#): > > I agree that the mods are not to blame, is the general policy that is too strict. I want to talk about this for a bit, because it’s come up in several of these threads. Because while we’ve talked a good bit about how the rule is about moderating hijacks a lot, there’s _actually_ supposed to be a major effort by _posters_ as well in the same 2020 rules. And that’s where, IMHO, the disconnect is coming in. > - **Keep threads specific and debatable.** No wide omnibus threads. We want to see clear, specific topics and thread titles. Large omnibus threads are actively detrimental to the long-term success of the boards. A thread entitled, “Tax Policy” is too broad. One entitled, “Should a National Sales Tax be enacted” is better. Keep it clear and specific. This also requires participants in the thread to remain on specific topics as well. So, we have rules written _with the expectation_ that GD/P&E threads would be carefully crafted and specific, and thus the moderation would follow. But, TBH, very few posters in these forums have done so. Instead, we have some that evolved into omnibus threads, and others that are written like BreakingNews threads with political discussion allowed on extremely broad topics. And so moderating them is going to have disconnects. I personally have, on occasion, reached out to a poster who started a P&E thread and asked them to tell me what discussion they want to have, and then added moderation to that effect. Works… okay, if the thread doesn’t already have a strong surge, or the situation doesn’t touch on so many possible sub-topics, like a war of this scale is bound to have. It _may_ be a time to revisit the rules, or alternately to enforce the section I quoted above - where we require the thread to be more specific. It’s NOT going to be easy, because I’ve lost track of how many posters have lost any hope of following political news because of the frustration and despair, which gets _amplified_ when we have these “wide ranging” threads where they want something specific. And I’ll note, it’s those same posters that are least likely to complain, or indeed celebrate the tighter moderation, because they don’t want “Trump is Evil/Stupid/Murderer v.2313412342”. In the meantime, the P&E/GD moderators are trying to thread the needle between several strong crosswinds of the intense political sentiment, a need to keep discussions moving, posters demanding more careful moderation, one’s demanding loose moderation, and overly general (and occasionally over-specifc!) OPs. We can and will make mistakes under these circumstances. Please be patient as we try to figure out your (both as OP writers and posters) intent and try to balance it against everyone else. In the meantime, I do _ask_ that when writing OPs to try to be clear and set guidelines for the sort of conversation you’re looking for. The more we know, the less we guess, and fewer chances to read it wrong. As for rewriting the rules, that’s probably going to need a dedicated ATMB thread about it, and I’d like everyone to have more input, rather than tying it to a specific piece of moderation. If someone wants to, I think it would be a good idea to actually start with how you’d rewrite the existing 2020 rules to be more comfortable to your preferred style, along with how you think it could be moderated enough to be manageable when it _inevitably_ goes off the rails. Seriously, it’s easy to tear at the existing structure, and it may even be helpful. But tearing it all down without any idea of what to put in it’s place is unhelpful at best. And the decision may go in a direction that satisfies no one, but most people can live with (which is where I think we are right now). Thanks for listening. ---
**Author:** ![wolfpup](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wolfpup/32/10618_2.png) [@wolfpup](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/wolfpup)\ **Post date:** [March 2, 2026, 9:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bad-moderation-in-the-what-happens-politically-if-gas-prices-go-through-the-roof-thread/1028143/25 "2026-03-02T21:53:39Z")
I don’t think the situation is as complicated as you’re describing. The present situation is that we get a lot of “stop this right now” type mod notes because something **might** turn into a hijack. It’s as if the first thing you learn in Moderator School is to absolutely clamp down immediately on anything that might be even remotely off topic because that’s the worst possible thing that could happen in a discussion. Whereas I’m more of the mind once stated by @Aspenglow – just let it go for a bit, and then moderate if and when it actually starts derailing the thread – which it very often will not because things get back on track all by themselves. Is that not a reasonable compromise? ---
**Author:** ![Aspenglow](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/aspenglow/32/76_2.png) [@Aspenglow](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Aspenglow)\ **Post date:** [March 2, 2026, 10:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bad-moderation-in-the-what-happens-politically-if-gas-prices-go-through-the-roof-thread/1028143/26 "2026-03-02T22:00:31Z")
> [@wolfpup](#): > > Whereas I’m more of the mind once stated by @Aspenglow – just let it go for a bit, and then moderate when if and when it actually starts derailing the thread – which it very often will not because things get back on track all by themselves. Is that not a reasonable compromise? And this continues to be my stance in moderation. Conversations naturally meander, and so long as they come back to the main point in a reasonable amount of time – I usually let it go for about 10 posts – then I think brief sidetracks are ok. I also prefer to moderate actual hijacks and not potential ones. _That said_, we do have some perennial offenders, and we also have some folks who like to ride their hobby horses. I don’t disagree with clamping down on those more vigorously. Also, if there is a bright line violation such as I recently modded in this thread: > [@United States and Israel are bombing Iran](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/united-states-and-israel-are-bombing-iran/1028071/328): > > So when’s Iran going to release the footage of Trump rapping underage girls? Now seems like the perfect time. Then I’m going to go after it quickly to nip an obvious hijack in the bud. I will say this is all harder than it looks, as expounded on by @ParallelLines. We do our best. Sometimes we jump too quick, sometimes too late, but we’re always trying to maintain balance as best we can. ---
**Author:** ![alphaboi867](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/alphaboi867/32/3898_2.png) [@alphaboi867](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/alphaboi867)\ **Post date:** [March 2, 2026, 10:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bad-moderation-in-the-what-happens-politically-if-gas-prices-go-through-the-roof-thread/1028143/27 "2026-03-02T22:05:12Z")
How is it a hijack when Iran has previously threatened to do exactly that if they’re bombed? ---
**Author:** ![ParallelLines](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/parallellines/32/3575_2.png) [@ParallelLines](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ParallelLines)\ **Post date:** [March 2, 2026, 10:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bad-moderation-in-the-what-happens-politically-if-gas-prices-go-through-the-roof-thread/1028143/28 "2026-03-02T22:11:40Z")
You raise a good point, we P&E mods do handle things slightly differently, and that may be causing some of the friction. The biggest issue right at the moment is that we’re in a time and place (USA) where politics are rightly so charged, that it sometimes feels P&E threads run from one disaster to another, and it’s possible that compared to the esteemed [no snark!] Aspenglow, I and What\_Exit may be a bit rigid right now. I’ll definitely make an effort to double check my own assumptions. ---
**Author:** ![Aspenglow](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/aspenglow/32/76_2.png) [@Aspenglow](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Aspenglow)\ **Post date:** [March 2, 2026, 10:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bad-moderation-in-the-what-happens-politically-if-gas-prices-go-through-the-roof-thread/1028143/29 "2026-03-02T22:16:22Z")
Just making a statement out of the blue as you did, _uncited and unsourced_, adds nothing to the discussion. The question of “when’s Iran going to release the footage of Trump rapping (sic) underage girls,” requires context you didn’t give. If you’re going to make such an assertion in a thread that is narrowly focused around the bombings themselves, you’d better provide context for why you’re saying such a thing. Otherwise, you’re just provoking an off topic discussion. ---
**Author:** ![Atamasama](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/atamasama/32/12961_2.png) [@Atamasama](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Atamasama)\ **Post date:** [March 2, 2026, 10:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bad-moderation-in-the-what-happens-politically-if-gas-prices-go-through-the-roof-thread/1028143/30 "2026-03-02T22:30:15Z")
I have found, both as poster and reader of a thread, that at times a post might be relevant to the topic, but it’s not obvious why or how it is relevant. In that situation, the burden should be on the poster to make it clear how and why it relates to the topic, and not on the readers trying to interpret it. ---
**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:** [March 3, 2026, 8:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bad-moderation-in-the-what-happens-politically-if-gas-prices-go-through-the-roof-thread/1028143/31 "2026-03-03T08:28:15Z")
> [@ParallelLines](#): > > So, we have rules written _with the expectation_ that GD/P&E threads would be carefully crafted and specific, and thus the moderation would follow. But you (the mods) _also_ move threads started in other forums that seem political into P&E (or the Pit). Can’t have it both ways. ---
**Author:** ![scudsucker](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/scudsucker/32/14101_2.png) [@scudsucker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/scudsucker)\ **Post date:** [March 3, 2026, 8:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bad-moderation-in-the-what-happens-politically-if-gas-prices-go-through-the-roof-thread/1028143/32 "2026-03-03T08:44:05Z")
> [@Aspenglow](#): > > Then I’m going to go after it quickly to nip an obvious hijack in the bud. Quoted for truth, I mean, rapping is usually fast spoken, witty, and on the beat. Mr. Trump is not a rapper. ---
**Author:** ![Frodo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/frodo/32/302_2.png) [@Frodo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Frodo)\ **Post date:** [March 3, 2026, 1:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bad-moderation-in-the-what-happens-politically-if-gas-prices-go-through-the-roof-thread/1028143/33 "2026-03-03T13:24:12Z")
Now, the newest mod intervention seems fully justified to me, and I said this as one of the culprits of the derailing into off-topic generic maga bashing. I just didn’t realize what thread it was, mea culpa. ---
**Author:** ![What\_Exit](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/what_exit/32/10652_2.png) [@What\_Exit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/What_Exit)\ **Post date:** [March 3, 2026, 1:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bad-moderation-in-the-what-happens-politically-if-gas-prices-go-through-the-roof-thread/1028143/34 "2026-03-03T13:25:53Z")
Thank you. ---
**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:** [March 3, 2026, 3:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bad-moderation-in-the-what-happens-politically-if-gas-prices-go-through-the-roof-thread/1028143/35 "2026-03-03T15:00:40Z")
> [@MrDibble](#): > > But you (the mods) _also_ move threads started in other forums that seem political into P&E (or the Pit). Can’t have it both ways. That’s the thought I had just now reading the most recent moderation in that thread. As an OP can I post a political thread in MPSIMS and request it stay there to allow a more freestyle back and forth without the constant hijack warnings? ---
**Author:** ![Frodo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/frodo/32/302_2.png) [@Frodo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Frodo)\ **Post date:** [March 3, 2026, 3:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bad-moderation-in-the-what-happens-politically-if-gas-prices-go-through-the-roof-thread/1028143/36 "2026-03-03T15:02:48Z")
I would like to suggest this: In the first post the OP can outline how tolerant of hijacks he wants to be in his thread, if he doesn’t we default to the forum’s default settings. ---
**Author:** ![What\_Exit](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/what_exit/32/10652_2.png) [@What\_Exit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/What_Exit)\ **Post date:** [March 3, 2026, 3:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bad-moderation-in-the-what-happens-politically-if-gas-prices-go-through-the-roof-thread/1028143/37 "2026-03-03T15:14:52Z")
In MPSIMS, no, they like to keep politics minimal there. But see the next post by @Frodo, that we allow for sure as long as it doesn’t end up an omnibus thread. ---
**Author:** ![ParallelLines](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/parallellines/32/3575_2.png) [@ParallelLines](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ParallelLines)\ **Post date:** [March 3, 2026, 8:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bad-moderation-in-the-what-happens-politically-if-gas-prices-go-through-the-roof-thread/1028143/38 "2026-03-03T20:00:39Z")
> [@MrDibble](#): > > But you (the mods) _also_ move threads started in other forums that seem political into P&E (or the Pit). Can’t have it both ways. Moving other threads into P&E does happen, though a lot less than you’d think. And in several cases, we regretted not doing it sooner, since they were deeply political. As for the latter, yes, it happens, but just like mentioned in this very thread, because a P&E thread descends into various forms of Trump / MAGA ranting. Especially if we don’t catch it in time. TBC @MrDibble, I am NOT saying that moderation can’t/isn’t part of the problem. Mea culpa! But we all need to work on it, and flagging hijacks so we do stop the spread in time is part of it. > [@Frodo](#): > > I would like to suggest this: In the first post the OP can outline how tolerant of hijacks he wants to be in his thread, if he doesn’t we default to the forum’s default settings. I would make another suggestion if you did this though, please consider putting something like “no” “mild” “moderate” hijacking allowed _in the title_. Yes, I almost always go back to the OP to figure out the OP’s intent (which is why I’ve repeated the point about a clear OP), but if something is blowing up with a _bunch_ of flags, I might miss something in the body of the OP. If it’s in the title, I’ll see it automatically, and it sets clear expectations for anyone posting to the thread. Though I don’t think anything past “moderate” tolerance would work in P&E at all - if it were me, I’d probably start in the Pit at that point. ---
**Author:** ![DrDeth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b487fb/32.png) [@DrDeth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DrDeth)\ **Post date:** [March 3, 2026, 9:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bad-moderation-in-the-what-happens-politically-if-gas-prices-go-through-the-roof-thread/1028143/39 "2026-03-03T21:14:21Z")
> [@ParallelLines](#): > > I am NOT saying that moderation can’t/isn’t part of the problem. Mea culpa! But we all need to work on it, and flagging hijacks so we do stop the spread in time is part of it. I think you folks are doing pretty good, over-all. Anyway, those were just notes. ---
**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:** [March 5, 2026, 6:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bad-moderation-in-the-what-happens-politically-if-gas-prices-go-through-the-roof-thread/1028143/40 "2026-03-05T18:56:04Z")
> [@MrDibble](#): > > But you (the mods) _also_ move threads started in other forums that seem political into P&E (or the Pit). For a bit now, we’ve only been moving threads to the Pit if the OP is okay with it. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bad-moderation-in-the-what-happens-politically-if-gas-prices-go-through-the-roof-thread/1028143.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bad-moderation-in-the-what-happens-politically-if-gas-prices-go-through-the-roof-thread/1028143.md?page=3)