# Can the moderators please err on the right side? **URL:** \ **Category:** About This Message Board\ **Created:** [July 8, 2019, 7:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-the-moderators-please-err-on-the-right-side/836702 "2019-07-08T07:56:39Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![The\_Librarian](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/the_librarian/32/402_2.png) [@The\_Librarian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Librarian)\ **Post date:** [July 8, 2019, 7:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-the-moderators-please-err-on-the-right-side/836702/1 "2019-07-08T07:56:39Z")
> [@During the holocausts, weren't the "Jews" being murdered the distant relatives of the Germans?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/during-the-holocausts-werent-the-jews-being-murdered-the-distant-relatives-of-the-germans/836674/22): > > **Moderator Note** > > This being GQ, let’s refrain from jabs at other posters. No warning issued. > > Colibri > General Questions Moderator I find it alarming that the moderation in that thread is so hellbent on keeping “the discussion” “open and civilised” that only the honest answers of civilised people get moderated. I believe the correct response is: “quit JAQing off” and to cornfield this “question”. People asking these questions are always, inevitably going to follow up with “it wasn’t so bad if you kept your head down” and other neo-nazi bullshit. No literate adult in 2019 can plead ignorance of the mechanisms of the Holocaust. There are literal tons of material on the subject freely available. The only reason to “discuss” any of it is to normalise Nazi ideology. (note: He is not asking for good sources or anything a person who is researching the subject in good faith would ask. He is “just asking questions”) We should not allow this. At the very least we should our allow posters to ridicule this and call it what it is. And sure as hell not let the letter of of the rules get in the way of “Fighting Ignorance”; if neo-nazi talking points are not “Ignorance”, I have no use for the word. ---
**Author:** ![nightshadea](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/7ba0ec/32.png) [@nightshadea](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/nightshadea)\ **Post date:** [July 8, 2019, 8:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-the-moderators-please-err-on-the-right-side/836702/2 "2019-07-08T08:11:32Z")
well might you provide a link to the thread in question? And no the dope doesn’t censor any type of debate no matter how tasteless or offensive it is to people as long as the formal rules are followed… now asking for it to be moved to the pit so it gets what’s coming to it uncensored is the usual standard which I’m surprised hasn’t all ready been done ---
**Author:** ![The\_Librarian](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/the_librarian/32/402_2.png) [@The\_Librarian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Librarian)\ **Post date:** [July 8, 2019, 9:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-the-moderators-please-err-on-the-right-side/836702/3 "2019-07-08T09:38:48Z")
> [@nightshadea](#): > > well might you provide a link to the thread in question? > > And no the dope doesn’t censor any type of debate no matter how tasteless or offensive it is to people as long as the formal rules are followed… now asking for it to be moved to the pit so it gets what’s coming to it uncensored is the usual standard which I’m surprised hasn’t all ready been done The little arrow in the quote brings you to the thread. ---
**Author:** ![Emiliana](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/f0a364/32.png) [@Emiliana](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Emiliana)\ **Post date:** [July 8, 2019, 11:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-the-moderators-please-err-on-the-right-side/836702/4 "2019-07-08T11:26:37Z")
Colibri will undoubtedly tell you what he told me in the same thread, which is to take any accusations of anti-Semitism to the Pit. That’s how this place runs with respect to racism and its close variants. ---
**Author:** ![elbows](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/b3f665/32.png) [@elbows](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/elbows)\ **Post date:** [July 8, 2019, 11:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-the-moderators-please-err-on-the-right-side/836702/5 "2019-07-08T11:39:18Z")
No visible ‘little arrow’ is showing in the quote. No reference point, need more context please! ---
**Author:** ![Acsenray](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/acsenray/32/4519_2.png) [@Acsenray](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Acsenray)\ **Post date:** [July 8, 2019, 11:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-the-moderators-please-err-on-the-right-side/836702/6 "2019-07-08T11:44:30Z")
> [@elbows](#): > > No visible ‘little arrow’ is showing in the quote. > > No reference point, need more context please! This is the link in the OP’s quote box — [https://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?p=21737061#post21737061](https://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?p=21737061#post21737061) ---
**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:** [July 8, 2019, 11:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-the-moderators-please-err-on-the-right-side/836702/7 "2019-07-08T11:57:08Z")
> [@elbows](#): > > No visible ‘little arrow’ is showing in the quote. See when I quote you there is a white chevron in a blue box next to your name? If you click that it will redirect you to the actual quoted post. It happens automatically when using the software quote function. ---
**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:** [July 8, 2019, 1:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-the-moderators-please-err-on-the-right-side/836702/8 "2019-07-08T13:38:18Z")
> [@The\_Librarian](#): > > At the very least we should our allow posters to ridicule this and call it what it is.[ Of course they are allowed to. There is ongoing discussion in [this thread.](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=843654&page=7) If you are concerned about it, have at it. > [@](#): > > And sure as hell not let the letter of of the rules get in the way of “Fighting Ignorance”; if neo-nazi talking points are not “Ignorance”, I have no use for the word. The remark I modded made no attempt to “fight ignorance.” It was merely an insult directed at the poster. As such, it should have been made in the Pit. ---
**Author:** ![cochrane](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cochrane/32/10441_2.png) [@cochrane](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cochrane)\ **Post date:** [July 8, 2019, 1:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-the-moderators-please-err-on-the-right-side/836702/9 "2019-07-08T13:43:55Z")
> [@The\_Librarian](#): > > The little arrow in the quote brings you to the thread. It’s easier to click on a link than a teeny little arrow and doesn’t take any effort to post a link. ---
**Author:** ![Emiliana](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/f0a364/32.png) [@Emiliana](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Emiliana)\ **Post date:** [July 8, 2019, 1:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-the-moderators-please-err-on-the-right-side/836702/10 "2019-07-08T13:48:12Z")
> [@cochrane](#): > > It’s easier to click on a link than a teeny little arrow and doesn’t take any effort to post a link. Have you not met Fenris? ---
**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:** [July 8, 2019, 2:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-the-moderators-please-err-on-the-right-side/836702/11 "2019-07-08T14:34:21Z")
IME, when it comes to race/ethicity threads, the mods would rather err on the _Right_ side … can’t lose the voice of those valuable posters with “alternative views”, ya know. ---
**Author:** ![The\_Librarian](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/the_librarian/32/402_2.png) [@The\_Librarian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Librarian)\ **Post date:** [July 8, 2019, 2:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-the-moderators-please-err-on-the-right-side/836702/12 "2019-07-08T14:53:37Z")
> [@Colibri](#): > > The remark I modded made no attempt to “fight ignorance.” It was merely an insult directed at the poster. As such, it should have been made in the Pit. Neonazi talking points == Ignorance Mild insults ~~ fighting ---
**Author:** ![cochrane](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cochrane/32/10441_2.png) [@cochrane](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cochrane)\ **Post date:** [July 8, 2019, 3:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-the-moderators-please-err-on-the-right-side/836702/13 "2019-07-08T15:04:46Z")
> [@Emiliana](#): > > Have you not met Fenris? Yes, to my regret. 😃 (Mods, just kidding. ;)) ---
**Author:** ![kopek](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kopek/32/337_2.png) [@kopek](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kopek)\ **Post date:** [July 8, 2019, 3:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-the-moderators-please-err-on-the-right-side/836702/14 "2019-07-08T15:25:37Z")
> [@IvoryTowerDenizen](#): > > See when I quote you there is a white chevron in a blue box next to your name? If you click that it will redirect you to the actual quoted post. It happens automatically when using the software quote function. For some of us it shows very faintly as a gray-scale and not the blue that something like your name or other links do. Actually until this moment I had never spotted it before and I tend to notice things. ---
**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:** [July 8, 2019, 5:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-the-moderators-please-err-on-the-right-side/836702/15 "2019-07-08T17:51:41Z")
> [@The\_Librarian](#): > > Mild insults ~~ fighting Insults are not permitted in GQ. ---
**Author:** ![The\_Librarian](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/the_librarian/32/402_2.png) [@The\_Librarian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Librarian)\ **Post date:** [July 8, 2019, 7:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-the-moderators-please-err-on-the-right-side/836702/16 "2019-07-08T19:13:35Z")
Let me explain my ire: The question could have been “How did the Nazis decide who was a Jew?”. (A google search would keep you in depressing reading materials deep into 2021) or “How genetically divergent were Jews from other Europeans pre-WWII?” Instead the questions read (I’m paraphrasing here, not reading \*that \*again) “Were the Jews killing each other in the Holocaust?” “Why didn’t the Jews just pretend to be Catholics?” To achieve the correct tone, Jews and Jewish are put in scare quotes like they’re dirty words. Then the rest of the thread and the moderation that really rubs me wrong: > [@During the holocausts, weren't the "Jews" being murdered the distant relatives of the Germans?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/during-the-holocausts-werent-the-jews-being-murdered-the-distant-relatives-of-the-germans/836674/2): > > Okay, so you found a way to blame Jews for the Holocaust. Oddly enough, I am not surprised. > [@During the holocausts, weren't the "Jews" being murdered the distant relatives of the Germans?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/during-the-holocausts-werent-the-jews-being-murdered-the-distant-relatives-of-the-germans/836674/13): > > **Moderating** (…) > Let’s refrain from personal attacks in General Questions. If you want to accuse the OP of antisemitism, take it to the Pit. No warning issued, but don’t do this again. > (…) Wait, What?! Nobody is accusing the OP of anti-semitism. That just doesn’t make any sense (unless you know damn well he’s an anti-semite). > [@During the holocausts, weren't the "Jews" being murdered the distant relatives of the Germans?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/during-the-holocausts-werent-the-jews-being-murdered-the-distant-relatives-of-the-germans/836674/19): > > I wouldn’t dignify it as a “thought”. > [@During the holocausts, weren't the "Jews" being murdered the distant relatives of the Germans?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/during-the-holocausts-werent-the-jews-being-murdered-the-distant-relatives-of-the-germans/836674/22): > > **Moderator Note** (…) > This being GQ, let’s refrain from jabs at other posters. No warning issued. > (…) Nobody is taking personal jabs: It is a comment on a post; A post that has no business in GQ. There is no fucking question. But never forget: > [@Colibri](#): > > Insults are not permitted in GQ. ---
**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:** [July 8, 2019, 8:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-the-moderators-please-err-on-the-right-side/836702/17 "2019-07-08T20:18:51Z")
> [@The\_Librarian](#): > > Wait, What?! > > Nobody is accusing the OP of anti-semitism. I thought that was the point of your complaint: That his question was antisemitic. > [@](#): > > That just doesn’t make any sense (unless you know damn well he’s an anti-semite). I’m not sure how “blaming the Jews for the Holocaust” isn’t antisemitic. In any case, that particular issue is being discussed in the Pit thread. If you want to attack the OP for whatever reason, I again suggest you do it in the Pit. > [@](#): > > Nobody is taking personal jabs: It is a comment on a post; A post that has no business in GQ. There is no fucking question. Sorry, it was a personal jab. If posters want to make such remarks, they should do so in the Pit. Such remarks are not permitted in GQ. ---
**Author:** ![Kent\_Clark](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kent_clark/32/105_2.png) [@Kent\_Clark](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kent_Clark)\ **Post date:** [July 8, 2019, 8:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-the-moderators-please-err-on-the-right-side/836702/18 "2019-07-08T20:33:01Z")
I posted in that thread, but I’m still looking for “the little arrow in the quote” in this one! ---
**Author:** ![GreysonCarlisle](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/a87d85/32.png) [@GreysonCarlisle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GreysonCarlisle)\ **Post date:** [July 8, 2019, 9:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-the-moderators-please-err-on-the-right-side/836702/19 "2019-07-08T21:12:46Z")
> [@Kent\_Clark](#): > > I posted in that thread, but I’m still looking for “the little arrow in the quote” in this one! On the same line and immediately following _Originally posted by **Colibri** _. ---
**Author:** ![engineer\_comp\_geek](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/engineer_comp_geek/32/504_2.png) [@engineer\_comp\_geek](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/engineer_comp_geek)\ **Post date:** [July 8, 2019, 9:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-the-moderators-please-err-on-the-right-side/836702/20 "2019-07-08T21:58:16Z")
> [@Kent\_Clark](#): > > I posted in that thread, but I’m still looking for “the little arrow in the quote” in this one! Depending on what browser/software/device you are using to get here, it might not be there. On a PC, on most browsers, it is right after “Originally Posted by Colibri” on the same line, literally right after “Colibri”. On the classic Straight Dope theme, the arrow is blue. On Sultanstheme, it is very pale, and is almost invisible (at least on my screen). On my android phone (using Sultanstheme), the arrow is underneath “Originally Posted by Colibri” at the start of the line, and is darn near invisible. On other devices, it may display differently, or not at all. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-the-moderators-please-err-on-the-right-side/836702.md?page=2)