Does just saying it’s a whoosh mean that you don’t have to follow the rules? Can I post a long hateful PITing of Cecil and all the staff and then say “whoosh” and it’s now OK? Can I threaten to sue the SDMB, and get away with it if I say it’s only a joke?
Just saying “it was a joke” doesn’t prevent a harassment charge in the real world.
Some words are still hurtful to some- even if meant as a joke.
Got some cites there? I can’t say that I’ve seen the rules being trampled on by way of whooshing.
And BTW there’s no rule against being hurtful.
No, but there’s a rule against hate speech, iirc.
“Whoosh” means you’ve taken a joke post seriously, and that’s all it means. It’s not a magic word, and it might not be considered if we were trying to figure out if a post broke a rule. Is there a specific example being discussed here?
That’s what I’ve always assumed…It’s not the same thing as saying something in obvious jest. In fact, if you have to say, “Whoosh!” or “You’ve been whooshed!” you’ve ruined the whole thing.
I believe the OP is referring to God hates the fag King James Bible, in which there is quite much use of words that seem to qualify as “hate speech”, but which in the thread are bandied about as apparent jokes.
You’d have a hard time trying to convince me that a parody of a hate group is hate speech itself, even if it includes a lot of unpleasant words. For what it’s worth I thought it was clear from the OP that the thread was mocking Fred Phelps.
I agree. We all do, with one or two exceptions. I was merely informing you of your request for the “specific example.” Trying to be helpful only.
That or “with all due respect”. As in “with all due respect I hope you suffer a painful death as would suit an unredeemable asshole like you”. Well, at least it works in Dilbert.
I am not talking about any one post or thread. If I was, then I’d have said “In this thread, poster xxxx does suchandsuch, is that not against the rules, even if he claims it’s a joke?”
It’s a general question- can we, or can we not violate the rules just by claiming it’s a joke/parody or whoosh?
:dubious:
No. You can’t get away with breaking the rules just by saying after the fact that it was a joke.
Thank you.
Yes, Lute, this thread was inspired by that thread- and others. But like I said, "I am not talking about any one post or thread. If I was, then I’d have said “In this thread, poster xxxx does suchandsuch, is that not against the rules, even if he claims it’s a joke?” or just reported it.
How 'bout let’s give DrDeth a break here. She’s seeking a rules clarification, which every poster in good standing has always been allowed to do. Some people “get it” very readily, and some others need a bit more explanation. No need to dig up past quotes out of context to somehow “prove” that DrDeth is on some mission. It was just a question to and for the mods is all.
I was merely informing Marley of some potentially pertinent background info. I wouldn’t have known about that myself it it hadn’t been mentioned in AT’s thread.
And it’s a question that has now been answered, n’est-ce pas?
I’ll amend Marley’s comments slightly. Generally speaking, no, saying “I was just joking” or “whoosh” is NOT a way of breaking the rules. But there are some situations in which that might be a mitigating factor. For example, if you insult another poster outside the Pit, “whoosh!” or “I was just kidding” is NOT usually a valid excuse. However, we have had a few cases where the “insult” was clearly a joke rather than an insult, and was understood as such by everyone except the Moderator; the person was warned, the situation explained, and the Moderator (me) apologized and recanted the warning. So, there can be a few situations of jokes rather than insults, which might be permitted (in which case “I was just joking” is possibly an out.) It’s not a way to avoid the rules, it’s a way of explaining that what a moderator thought was a rules violation, in fact, wasn’t.
So, it can (in rare instances) be situational, and “I was just joking” can be an explanation that gets around the rule of personal insults. “You’re a moron” would never fit that category. “You must not have seen the LOTR movies” addressed to someone who is a known Tolkien fanatic… maybe.
At the other end of the scale, the threat of legal action is never viewed as a joke, and is never taken lightly. Ditto for other offenses, such as harassment.
Perfectly reasonable to me. Thank you. 
Asked and answered.
Thank you too, Lib.
Is a poster allowed to violate the rules of the Board by couching a rules violation in the guise of a question about the rules? :rolleyes:
Is a poster allowed to violate the rules of the Board by questioning another poster’s couching a rules violation in the guise of a question about the rules?