::Snif:: Good times, man, good times.
Fucko off!
Why was he banned again? For making stupid posts and not backing his opinions up with cites? :dubious:
I mean- I see how annoying he was, but I don’t see how that’s agin the rules.
Apparently because fighting ignorance is not enough anymore. Mocking it don’t even cut it. Banning ignorance is the future, kiddo. Excuse me if I am saddened.
As I recall, mr. boyscout was actually insulting SDMBers in the GD threads he posted to. Is that not a bannable offense?
For calling other posters obtuse of all things. I have to say, it ranks among the 10 lamest banning excuses in history.
You are correct on both points. His final damning insult, for which he was banned, was:
I am mortified. Of course he was right to be banned.
Whoa Nelly. Gosh. Scarred for life, I bet they were. :rolleyes: :dubious:
He was warned not to do it, and then did it. Clear case if you ask me.
Check this quote from his second post:
hmmm. An early warning. Remarkable prescient.
Actually, there was a bit more to it than that.
I recall a number of ad hominems, at least one fairly blatant admission of trolling, and a major copyright violation (for which I believe he apologized).
The bottom line is he had no idea how a real debate operates, showed no sign of being willing to learn, and started ripping on (of all people) Bricker, one of the most reasonable posters we’ve got. And therefore, mercifully, his tenure on the SDMB came to a premature end.
No idea of what he was doing, it was over way too quickly, and the general consensus was that no one is the better for the experience. Sounds like my sex life.
Regards,
Shodan
Hey, I am not saying that I miss him and want him back, either. Good riddance.
But ad hominems? When we start banning for that, we can clear this board out fairly quickly. Same thing with “he had no idea how a real debate operates, showed no sign of being willing to learn”. Those two alone, and 90% of the posters in GD are gone.
(I think I may have slipped in an ad hominem myself maybe once or twice.)
It just seems like rather than being banned for being “a jerk”, he was banned for being annoying. :dubious:
Go back thru his threads and you’ll see that he directly insulted people. He was given a severe warning, something like “we almost banned you for this but will give you one more chance. No more warnings.” He hurled out another insult and was banned. Open and shut case.
This was in Great Debates, where ad hominems are verboten.
Well, he was certainly annoying, but AFAICT he was hit with the Clue Stick, it didn’t help, and therefore the mods dropped the Bomb. In my opinion, because he was being a jerk. And was likely to continue being so until his guest pass ran out. So I agree with John Mace - nothing ambiguous about this one at all.
Although, as I pointed out in my Pitting of the dear departed, it is rare indeed to see the board come together with such touching unanimity. Let’s all join hands and sing:
*Kumbaya, my Lord, Kumbaya!
Kumbaya, my Lord, Kumbaya!
Kumbaya, my Lord, Kumbaya!
Oooh Lo-ord, Kumbaya!
Someone’s trolling, Mod, Kumbaya!
Someone’s trolling, Mod, Kumbaya!
Someone’s trolling, Mod, Kumbaya!
Oh Mo-od, Kumbaya!*
Regards,
Shodan
I’m not saying Boy_Scout11 shouldn’t have been banned, I’m just saying that it was the clearest case I’ve ever seen of ban-them-first-and-make-up-an-excuse-later.
Shalmanese, all of those were variants of “deliberately obtuse”. We do allow people to say “you’re pretending you’re stupid!” but we do not allow “you’re stupid”. “Deliberately obtuse” means “I know you’re not stupid, you’re just acting like you are [to avoid admitting error/make some point/etc.]”. Straight-out “you are obtuse” is different.
Shodan:
Actually, it is direct personal insults that are not allowed; ad hominems are sometimes insults but not always. Ad hominems are logical errors, but those are allowed. “Your argument about Kerry is wrong because you are a Republican” is an ad hominem. “Your argument about Kerry is wrong because you are a dumbass” is an ad hominem AND an insult.
I stand corrected, then. I always thought ad hominem was a synonym for “insult”.
And thanks for the correction regarding “deliberately obtuse” vs. “you are obtuse”, which I think is a useful one. ISTM that “you are being deliberately obtuse” is often a synonym for “how dare you disagree with me after I have presented my self-evidently irrefutable arguments”, a debating style common among the more prissily self-righteous on the SDMB. And of course, anyone who disagrees with me on any of the above is being deliberately obtuse.
Regards,
Shodan
Touching maybe, unanimity I do not think so. Boy Scout’s ban was cheered because it fit within the letter of the rules (and IMHO not the spirit) and specifically because it was a popular exercise in intellectual eugenics. I did not really enjoy seeing him being mocked, however cleverly and amusingly it was done. For a board dedicated to fighting ignorance, I felt the mockery and banning were shameful.
Some ignorance just refuses to be fought.