# Can we start calling each cunts in the pit again please? **URL:** \ **Category:** About This Message Board\ **Created:** [August 29, 2009, 1:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-we-start-calling-each-cunts-in-the-pit-again-please/508148 "2009-08-29T13:02:34Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 6
**Author:** ![Inner\_Stickler](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/inner_stickler/32/318_2.png) [@Inner\_Stickler](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Inner_Stickler)\ **Post date:** [September 4, 2009, 12:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-we-start-calling-each-cunts-in-the-pit-again-please/508148/101 "2009-09-04T00:08:53Z")
What are you doing here, then, dex? If we’re so unbelievably a pain to deal with, then why don’t you leave? Alternatively, you could set up a messageboard and tell no one the url and close registration and spend the rest of your internet time in peaceful serenity unmarred by arbitrary collections of marks that have gained connotations of vulgarity. ---
**Author:** ![Giraffe](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/giraffe/32/129_2.png) [@Giraffe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Giraffe)\ **Post date:** [September 4, 2009, 12:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-we-start-calling-each-cunts-in-the-pit-again-please/508148/102 "2009-09-04T00:24:30Z")
> [@C\_K\_Dexter\_Haven](#): > > That was, of course, the original premise. That was the way we wanted to run things. That’s always been the way we wanted to run things: don’t be a jerk was originally felt to be the only rule we needed. And then, the clamor and outrage were overwhelming. People whined that the rules were unclear, unfair, not specific. Mods were reammed up and down and beaten against the wall. “He got away with saying ‘Oh, fuck you, you fucking fuckface asshole cunt’ so why can’t _I_ say ‘Oh, fuck you, you fucking fuckface asshole cunt fucker!’?” > > Yeah, what a great idea, let’s drop all these fuckin’ rules and just go back to “Don’t be a jerk” and leave it up to the mods to administer ad hoc. “Don’t be a jerk” is not a utopia of moderation. In fact, it’s a terrible rule system for more than a small handful of people. But that doesn’t mean you can’t leave _anything_ to moderator judgment or discretion. Especially when your goal, having a threshold on incivility in the Pit, is fundamentally difficult to quantify. You’ve settled on a well quantified but illogical rule, ostensibly because the posters won’t accept anything that’s not perfectly defined. I disagree. I think the boards would be better off simply using a logical rule, even if it means the mods will sometimes have to engage in discussions about why poster A was asked to calm down and poster B wasn’t. With sensible mods like **Gfactor** doing their best to be impartial and consistent, I imagine such conversations would be rare, with the majority of posters supporting the staff. There will still be the occasional chastised poster who feels mistreated in spite of your best efforts, but so what? It’s better to set things up in good faith and lose the occasional hysteric than to let such people drive you into bunker mode, where you’re afraid to make judgment calls or even talk to posters for fear that they’re trolling you. In my opinion. ---
**Author:** ![Sleeps\_With\_Butterflies](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/bb73d2/32.png) [@Sleeps\_With\_Butterflies](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sleeps_With_Butterflies)\ **Post date:** [September 4, 2009, 12:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-we-start-calling-each-cunts-in-the-pit-again-please/508148/103 "2009-09-04T00:39:29Z")
> [@Giraffe](#): > > It’s true that to implement such a system, you’d have to actually like the posters. ♪♪♪I think I love you, so what am I so afraid of. I’m afraid that I’m not sure of a love there is no cure forrrr!!!♪♪♪ ---
**Author:** ![Pious](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/f17d59/32.png) [@Pious](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Pious)\ **Post date:** [September 4, 2009, 12:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-we-start-calling-each-cunts-in-the-pit-again-please/508148/104 "2009-09-04T00:47:48Z")
> [@C\_K\_Dexter\_Haven](#): > > If you are unable to conduct a discussion without using words like “cunt” and “nigger,” then perhaps you should seek other boards where such things are viewed as “appropriate” (using your word.) I know a place like that. It’s a wonderful place of sunshine and rainbows. [http://bitchycuntboard.com/forum/](http://bitchycuntboard.com/forum/) ---
**Author:** ![Left\_Hand\_of\_Dorkness](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/left_hand_of_dorkness/32/7156_2.png) [@Left\_Hand\_of\_Dorkness](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Left_Hand_of_Dorkness)\ **Post date:** [September 4, 2009, 12:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-we-start-calling-each-cunts-in-the-pit-again-please/508148/105 "2009-09-04T00:57:19Z")
> [@C\_K\_Dexter\_Haven](#): > > BTW, the other posts I’ve read in this thread over the last few hours are either rehashes or stupid nit-picks that deliberately miss the point – in short, attempts to bait the mods. Once upon a time, I thought that posters were sincere in their questions, and I tried to answer them honestly and openly. I’ve learned, in the last few months, that’s just not the case. Trolling comes in many forms, and the game of “bait the mod” isn’t one that I care to play any more. This is a load of bullshit, man, and it wouldn’t be tolerated in a poster. If you need to warn someone for trolling, do it–but please don’t resort to such lame _ad hominems_ in lieu of actual posts. You owe folks an apology, and frankly I wonder why you remain in a job you dislike so much. ---
**Author:** ![Sleeps\_With\_Butterflies](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/bb73d2/32.png) [@Sleeps\_With\_Butterflies](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sleeps_With_Butterflies)\ **Post date:** [September 4, 2009, 1:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-we-start-calling-each-cunts-in-the-pit-again-please/508148/106 "2009-09-04T01:01:40Z")
> [@Left\_Hand\_of\_Dorkness](#): > > This is a load of bullshit, man, and it wouldn’t be tolerated in a poster. If you need to warn someone for trolling, do it–but please don’t resort to such lame _ad hominems_ in lieu of actual posts. You owe folks an apology, and frankly I wonder why you remain in a job you dislike so much. Be careful or you’ll make him spit his VODKA AND TONIC (because he’s so urbane dontchaknow)!!! ---
**Author:** ![DrDeth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b487fb/32.png) [@DrDeth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DrDeth)\ **Post date:** [September 4, 2009, 1:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-we-start-calling-each-cunts-in-the-pit-again-please/508148/107 "2009-09-04T01:16:40Z")
> [@Left\_Hand\_of\_Dorkness](#): > > This is a load of bullshit, man, and it wouldn’t be tolerated in a poster. If you need to warn someone for trolling, do it–but please don’t resort to such lame _ad hominems_ in lieu of actual posts. You owe folks an apology, and frankly I wonder why you remain in a job you dislike so much. No, he’s absolutely right. I mean, it takes a special kind of person to get their panties in a bunch just because they can’t call another poster a “cunt”.:rolleyes: Damn, Dex, I’d have gone off the **“BAN THEM ALL!!!”** deep end some time ago. I salute your incredible patience. ---
**Author:** ![Left\_Hand\_of\_Dorkness](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/left_hand_of_dorkness/32/7156_2.png) [@Left\_Hand\_of\_Dorkness](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Left_Hand_of_Dorkness)\ **Post date:** [September 4, 2009, 1:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-we-start-calling-each-cunts-in-the-pit-again-please/508148/108 "2009-09-04T01:21:02Z")
> [@DrDeth](#): > > No, he’s absolutely right. I mean, it takes a special kind of person to get their panties in a bunch just because they can’t call another poster a “cunt”.:rolleyes: And it takes another special kind of person to think that’s what I posted. If you’re gonna ban anything, **Dex** , can you please get rid of those fucking eyerolls? They’re far more annoying and deleterious to real conversation than “fuck you,” in my opinion–I can’t believe they’re still allowed outside of the Pit. ---
**Author:** ![Inner\_Stickler](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/inner_stickler/32/318_2.png) [@Inner\_Stickler](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Inner_Stickler)\ **Post date:** [September 4, 2009, 1:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-we-start-calling-each-cunts-in-the-pit-again-please/508148/109 "2009-09-04T01:25:24Z")
It’s true. Fuck you and you cunt are just anger. Rolleyes dude is condescending. Of the two, condescension is more insulting. ---
**Author:** ![DrDeth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b487fb/32.png) [@DrDeth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DrDeth)\ **Post date:** [September 4, 2009, 1:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-we-start-calling-each-cunts-in-the-pit-again-please/508148/110 "2009-09-04T01:57:07Z")
> [@Left\_Hand\_of\_Dorkness](#): > > And it takes another special kind of person to think that’s what I posted. . Where did I say\* you\* said that? (pssst, hint, I didn’t) ---
**Author:** ![Inner\_Stickler](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/inner_stickler/32/318_2.png) [@Inner\_Stickler](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Inner_Stickler)\ **Post date:** [September 4, 2009, 1:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-we-start-calling-each-cunts-in-the-pit-again-please/508148/111 "2009-09-04T01:57:48Z")
Oh, this is going to be special. ---
**Author:** ![Left\_Hand\_of\_Dorkness](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/left_hand_of_dorkness/32/7156_2.png) [@Left\_Hand\_of\_Dorkness](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Left_Hand_of_Dorkness)\ **Post date:** [September 4, 2009, 1:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-we-start-calling-each-cunts-in-the-pit-again-please/508148/112 "2009-09-04T01:59:50Z")
> [@DrDeth](#): > > Where did I say\* you\* said that? (pssst, hint, I didn’t) I almost edited it. If you weren’t addressing me, it was ridiculous to quote me–and as a response to what I said, it was a complete non sequitur. Sorry if that didn’t come through. ---
**Author:** ![DrDeth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b487fb/32.png) [@DrDeth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DrDeth)\ **Post date:** [September 4, 2009, 2:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-we-start-calling-each-cunts-in-the-pit-again-please/508148/113 "2009-09-04T02:24:08Z")
> [@Left\_Hand\_of\_Dorkness](#): > > I almost edited it. If you weren’t addressing me, it was ridiculous to quote me–and as a response to what I said, it was a complete non sequitur. Sorry if that didn’t come through. No, you were chewing out Dex for giving "certain posters’ a hard time. I was disagreeing with you and saying that those “certain posters” well and truly deserved it. ---
**Author:** ![Scissorjack](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/c67d28/32.png) [@Scissorjack](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Scissorjack)\ **Post date:** [September 4, 2009, 4:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-we-start-calling-each-cunts-in-the-pit-again-please/508148/114 "2009-09-04T04:39:45Z")
> [@twickster](#): > > [Piece on the nature of the c-word taboo.](http://www.alternet.org/story/142385/do_you_use_the_dirty_c***_word) [It was covered in a IMHO thread a while back, too: the whole “Deplorable Word” thing seems to be mostly a US taboo.](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=508876&highlight=cunt) ---
**Author:** ![tim314](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tim314/32/3468_2.png) [@tim314](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tim314)\ **Post date:** [September 4, 2009, 4:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-we-start-calling-each-cunts-in-the-pit-again-please/508148/115 "2009-09-04T04:50:48Z")
> [@C\_K\_Dexter\_Haven](#): > > No. > > This was not an “experiment” to please anyone’s ego, this was an attempt to remind people that there are limits, even in the Pit. That had always been in the Registration Agreement, but enforcement was uneven and it wasn’t clear where the limits were. Now it’s clearer, and we believe the boards are better for it. > > Neither are we going to reverse the rules on racism, threats of violence, illegal acts, spam, links to pornography, etc. > > If you are unable to conduct a discussion without using words like “cunt” and “nigger,” then perhaps you should seek other boards where such things are viewed as “appropriate” (using your word.) I don’t normally jump into these discussions, but I think it’s pretty unfair for you to throw a racial slur into the mix as if that has anything to do with what the OP was proposing. Saying “I think we should be allowed to swear” is not equivalent to “I think we should be allowed to use racial slurs”, and I find it hard to believe that you are unable to appreciate the distinction. Also, let’s be honest here. You weren’t clarifying what the rules had always been, you were changing the rules (or at least changing the interpretation of those rules). It _was_ clear before that calling people all sorts of nasty names was permitted in the Pit. In fact, it was the norm. Then you all decided it shouldn’t be. That’s your prerogative, but I can’t see why you’re seemingly trying to pretend the rules were merely being “clarified”. ---
**Author:** ![Cat\_Whisperer](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cat_whisperer/32/4839_2.png) [@Cat\_Whisperer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cat_Whisperer)\ **Post date:** [September 4, 2009, 5:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-we-start-calling-each-cunts-in-the-pit-again-please/508148/116 "2009-09-04T05:02:40Z")
Nice “us versus them” mentality you’ve got going on, Dex. ---
**Author:** ![Half\_Man\_Half\_Wit](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/half_man_half_wit/32/21766_2.png) [@Half\_Man\_Half\_Wit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Half_Man_Half_Wit)\ **Post date:** [September 4, 2009, 9:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-we-start-calling-each-cunts-in-the-pit-again-please/508148/117 "2009-09-04T09:53:28Z")
> [@C\_K\_Dexter\_Haven](#): > > That was, of course, the original premise. That was the way we wanted to run things. That’s always been the way we wanted to run things: don’t be a jerk was originally felt to be the only rule we needed. And then, the clamor and outrage were overwhelming. People whined that the rules were unclear, unfair, not specific. Mods were reammed up and down and beaten against the wall. “He got away with saying ‘Oh, fuck you, you fucking fuckface asshole cunt’ so why can’t _I_ say ‘Oh, fuck you, you fucking fuckface asshole cunt fucker!’?” Well then, let me attempt to be as sincere as I can in my question: do you think things have improved thanks to the rule change? And if you do, do you believe things have improved on the side of the users, or just on that of the moderation? Even if something doesn’t work the way it was intended to, doesn’t mean that every change is gonna be a change for the better. In fact, most of them probably won’t be. ---
**Author:** ![Revenant\_Threshold](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/f1d935/32.png) [@Revenant\_Threshold](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Revenant_Threshold)\ **Post date:** [September 4, 2009, 10:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-we-start-calling-each-cunts-in-the-pit-again-please/508148/118 "2009-09-04T10:20:52Z")
Yeah, i’d have to agree that **Dex’s** last post would probably have earned moderator attention had it come from an average poster. Also, it’s useful in showing precisely how this rule is wrongheaded; if the purpose is to increase civility, then stopping someone from saying “fuck you!” whilst allowing a threadful of posters to be called trolls, in ATMB, rather seems like it focuses on the wrong thing. Not to mention the purpose of having mod decisions only be questioned here. This is especially annoying, because I quite like **Dex** , and he’s certainly helped me out before. Being told i’m either rehashing, bringing up stupid nitpicks, or trolling is surprising and unpleasant. ---
**Author:** ![Liberal](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/848f3c/32.png) [@Liberal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Liberal)\ **Post date:** [September 4, 2009, 11:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-we-start-calling-each-cunts-in-the-pit-again-please/508148/119 "2009-09-04T11:13:33Z")
@ Dex If I’d said the stuff you said, I’d be called a whiny drama queen with a martyr complex. And you would only have grinned at it without a word. Baiting the mods? Trolling? Nitpicking? It’s a documented fact that you can’t even take your own jokes, and will suspend people (me) for saying to you exactly the same joke verbatim that you have said to others. You need a long, long break, sir. I recommend you ask your psychiatrist whether Tranxene is right for you. ---
**Author:** ![Martiju](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/e8c25b/32.png) [@Martiju](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Martiju)\ **Post date:** [September 4, 2009, 11:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-we-start-calling-each-cunts-in-the-pit-again-please/508148/120 "2009-09-04T11:54:05Z")
> [@C\_K\_Dexter\_Haven](#): > > BTW, the other posts I’ve read in this thread over the last few hours are either rehashes or stupid nit-picks that deliberately miss the point – in short, attempts to bait the mods. Once upon a time, I thought that posters were sincere in their questions, and I tried to answer them honestly and openly. I’ve learned, in the last few months, that’s just not the case. Trolling comes in many forms, and the game of “bait the mod” isn’t one that I care to play any more. I normally keep out of this kind of thing too, but I can’t help but comment on this. If I understand correctly, this looks ever so much like Dex is telling us all to go away. Makes you think it might be so much better if there was a stronger, more direct way of expressing such thoughts… In all seriousness, even though I might not say too much I’ve been around the boards for a pretty long time and struggle to see why the admin (I don’t think it was the mods) suddenly felt like this was a Big Important Issue, much less one to make what pretty much everyone seems to agree was an arbitrary rule change that does nothing to meet the stated objective. Still, we can always go somewhere else if we don’t like it I suppose - shame though. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-we-start-calling-each-cunts-in-the-pit-again-please/508148.md?page=5) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-we-start-calling-each-cunts-in-the-pit-again-please/508148.md?page=7)