# Charter Member Desmostylus banned **URL:** \ **Category:** About This Message Board\ **Created:** [May 30, 2005, 2:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/charter-member-desmostylus-banned/306092 "2005-05-30T14:39:05Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**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:** [May 30, 2005, 11:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/charter-member-desmostylus-banned/306092/21 "2005-05-30T23:09:29Z")
> [@Acetylsalicylic](#): > > Just an observation - some of those warnings are really, really old. Yes, but his “final” warning, plus the three he received _after_ that, are all within the last 10 months. ---
**Author:** ![Ice\_Wolf](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/dfb087/32.png) [@Ice\_Wolf](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ice_Wolf)\ **Post date:** [May 30, 2005, 11:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/charter-member-desmostylus-banned/306092/22 "2005-05-30T23:27:31Z")
> [@Dog80](#): > > What about his username? Is he a Ducati owner? AFAIK, the name came from [this beastie.](http://www.gsj.jp/Hokkaido/pamf/desmo.htm) ---
**Author:** ![Liberal](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/848f3c/32.png) [@Liberal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Liberal)\ **Post date:** [May 30, 2005, 11:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/charter-member-desmostylus-banned/306092/23 "2005-05-30T23:43:52Z")
Dog80, I’m trying to translate your signature, and I get “Enough is as good as a feast, but…” and then something about “too much”. Could you finish it out for me, or correct me? ---
**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:** [May 30, 2005, 11:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/charter-member-desmostylus-banned/306092/24 "2005-05-30T23:51:22Z")
> [@Ice Wolf](#): > > AFAIK, the name came from [this beastie.](http://www.gsj.jp/Hokkaido/pamf/desmo.htm) Yes, check my link above for an artist’s restoration of the critter. [Here’s](http://www.geocities.jp/zetumetu2005/soro-12desumosutirusu.htm) and even less flattering one. ---
**Author:** ![Squink](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/b5e925/32.png) [@Squink](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Squink)\ **Post date:** [May 30, 2005, 11:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/charter-member-desmostylus-banned/306092/25 "2005-05-30T23:55:35Z")
> [@Colibri](#): > > [Here’s](http://www.geocities.jp/zetumetu2005/soro-12desumosutirusu.htm) and even less flattering one. does that translate to pencil neck? I don’t see it. ---
**Author:** ![Measure\_for\_Measure](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/measure_for_measure/32/557_2.png) [@Measure\_for\_Measure](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Measure_for_Measure)\ **Post date:** [May 30, 2005, 11:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/charter-member-desmostylus-banned/306092/26 "2005-05-30T23:57:11Z")
**Colibri** : What are the objects sticking out of the distinguished critter’s snout (2nd link)? They look like Q-Tips. ---
**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:** [May 31, 2005, 12:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/charter-member-desmostylus-banned/306092/27 "2005-05-31T00:11:59Z")
> [@Measure for Measure](#): > > **Colibri** : > What are the objects sticking out of the distinguished critter’s snout (2nd link)? > > They look like Q-Tips. They are supposed to be bristles, I think. It’s not a great restoration. > [@Squink](#): > > does that translate to pencil neck? I don’t see it. I think it means something like “bonded column” and IIRC refers to the tooth structure. [Here’s more on Desmostylians](http://www.ucmp.berkeley.edu/mammal/mesaxonia/desmostylia.html) ---
**Author:** ![HMS\_Irruncible](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hms_irruncible/32/7394_2.png) [@HMS\_Irruncible](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/HMS_Irruncible)\ **Post date:** [May 31, 2005, 12:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/charter-member-desmostylus-banned/306092/28 "2005-05-31T00:17:21Z")
In this case we’re considering “initial warnings” from as long as 3 years ago, and “final warnings” starting from 10 months ago? That seems a little…erm… obsessive. An infrequently offending poster with a spirited debating style would get banned just by virtue of being around for a while. There ought to be a distinction between “stop derailing the thread” warnings and “official you’re really being a jerk” warnings. There’s a lesson to be drawn from basketball… personal fouls are not desirable, but they are expected as part of vigorous gameplay. A temporary count is kept to prevent abuse. But they don’t run a lifetime personal foul count. To get thrown out, you have to commit an offense of gross unsportsmanlike conduct. I don’t see that degree of infraction in most of Demostylus’s offenses or enough frequency to justify the banning. Also, personal jeopardy warnings shouldn’t be public, for the same reason that Gaudere said there shouldn’t be an “On final warning” title. How many times have we seen “oh, don’t mind him, you know he’s one of the Warned.” Public admonitions should exist only to say “User X, you are derailing this thread, cease and desist.” ---
**Author:** ![C\_K\_Dexter\_Haven](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/b2d939/32.png) [@C\_K\_Dexter\_Haven](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/C_K_Dexter_Haven)\ **Post date:** [May 31, 2005, 12:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/charter-member-desmostylus-banned/306092/29 "2005-05-31T00:21:48Z")
> [@Polerius](#): > > If he was that useful in some forums, and he behaved well in those forums, wouldn’t it be a good feature if people like him were banned from certain forums, but allowed to post in others where their contributions are valuable? Well, frankly, no. For a start, it would just mean that people would post in topics in teh wrong forum to evade the forum-specific banning. For seconds, rarely is someone absolutely well-behaved in one forum and a jerk in another. A complete jerk may have still have a few valuable contributions here and there; the situation is rarely absolutes. Even Attila the Hun liked small cats, although generally for lunch, I think. ---
**Author:** ![C\_K\_Dexter\_Haven](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/b2d939/32.png) [@C\_K\_Dexter\_Haven](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/C_K_Dexter_Haven)\ **Post date:** [May 31, 2005, 12:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/charter-member-desmostylus-banned/306092/30 "2005-05-31T00:25:19Z")
> [@Polerius](#): > > If he was that useful in some forums, and he behaved well in those forums, wouldn’t it be a good feature if people like him were banned from certain forums, but allowed to post in others where their contributions are valuable? Well, frankly, no. For a start, it would just mean that people would post in topics in teh wrong forum to evade the forum-specific banning. For seconds, rarely is someone absolutely well-behaved in one forum and a jerk in another. A complete jerk may have still have a few valuable contributions here and there; the situation is rarely absolutes. Even Attila the Hun liked small cats, although generally for lunch, I think. > [@](#): > > In this case we’re considering “initial warnings” from as long as 3 years ago, and “final warnings” starting from 10 months ago? That seems a little…erm… obsessive. An infrequently offending poster with a spirited debating style would get banned just by virtue of being around for a while. Very unlikely. And please remember that the offenses and warnings cited in the first post here are just a sampling. And note, within a few weeks of the “final warning” in this case, there were other offenses. It was arguably an admininstrative hiccough that action wasn’t taken then. This is a situation of regular and repeated offenses, despite many warnings. If someone had a “final warning” and then had a year of perfect behavior, we’d almost certainly overlook that “final warning.” ---
**Author:** ![Hentor\_the\_Barbarian](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/8edcca/32.png) [@Hentor\_the\_Barbarian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hentor_the_Barbarian)\ **Post date:** [May 31, 2005, 1:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/charter-member-desmostylus-banned/306092/31 "2005-05-31T01:23:57Z")
It is ashame, and the whole thing seems rather odd. I happened to mention that it seemed like a smear campaign was afoot, largely because it seemed like it initially arose from Bricker raising a nearly-year-old incident, and then CarnalK helpfully linking some old posts. I would take it from the recent SkipMagic post warning CarnalK that there _was_ in fact something unusual going on in the way of external agitators. Very peculiar. Like other bannings, the sampling presented by way of evidence is fairly vanilla, and pretty unimpressive. I would guess that the mods would be better served by not offering any specific evidence whatsoever unless it is fairly compelling, rather than saying, in effect, “Okay, this ain’t much, but there was _a lot_ of it!” It also leaves me with some feeling that all the whining done by some members lately, both in general regarding the moderation of the board and specifically in regards to certain bannings, is an effort in part to “game the refs,” perhaps tipping the scales on future decisions. In sum: Weird! Hmmm? and [Al Czervik]Keep it fair. Keep it fair.[/Al Czervik] ---
**Author:** ![Bricker](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/977dab/32.png) [@Bricker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bricker)\ **Post date:** [May 31, 2005, 1:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/charter-member-desmostylus-banned/306092/32 "2005-05-31T01:43:19Z")
> [@Hentor the Barbarian](#): > > It is ashame, and the whole thing seems rather odd. I happened to mention that it seemed like a smear campaign was afoot, largely because it seemed like it initially arose from Bricker raising a nearly-year-old incident, and then CarnalK helpfully linking some old posts. I would add to this summary the fact that, in response to my raising the “nearly year-old” issue, the poster in question took the opportunity not to apologize, or even to simply ignore the issue, but to reaffirm his slur. ---
**Author:** ![roger\_thornhill](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/d9b06d/32.png) [@roger\_thornhill](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/roger_thornhill)\ **Post date:** [May 31, 2005, 2:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/charter-member-desmostylus-banned/306092/33 "2005-05-31T02:07:08Z")
> [@C K Dexter Haven](#): > > Yep, thanks. **Barbarian**. It was suggested and implemented this morning at the private Moderators’ coffee and donut session, before you suggested it. Great minds run along the same wossnames. Right. I’m offering 6 to 4 on **Barbarian** making Mod one day. Tic-tacs madly to the crowd and takes wads of fivers and IOUs ---
**Author:** ![John\_Carter\_of\_Mars](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/2bfe46/32.png) [@John\_Carter\_of\_Mars](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/John_Carter_of_Mars)\ **Post date:** [May 31, 2005, 2:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/charter-member-desmostylus-banned/306092/34 "2005-05-31T02:37:28Z")
**"Charter Member Desmostylus banned"** The guy was rude, offensive, and never missed an opportunity to be smarmy or downright insulting. Good riddance to bad rubbish and all that jazz. ---
**Author:** ![Liberal](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/848f3c/32.png) [@Liberal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Liberal)\ **Post date:** [May 31, 2005, 3:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/charter-member-desmostylus-banned/306092/35 "2005-05-31T03:07:22Z")
There were recent warnings not included in the abridged OP list — at least one that I can recall offhand. ---
**Author:** ![TubaDiva](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tubadiva/32/507_2.png) [@TubaDiva](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TubaDiva)\ **Post date:** [May 31, 2005, 3:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/charter-member-desmostylus-banned/306092/36 "2005-05-31T03:35:03Z")
A little reminder – discussion is fine, but since the object of this thread cannot defend himself, no mudslinging, please. He’s gone already. your humble TubaDiva ---
**Author:** ![Acetylsalicylic](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/e8c25b/32.png) [@Acetylsalicylic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Acetylsalicylic)\ **Post date:** [May 31, 2005, 3:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/charter-member-desmostylus-banned/306092/37 "2005-05-31T03:54:09Z")
Does “Quit sniping at each other. NOW.” count as an official warning? I don’t mean this as a point of contention, only one of elucidation. ---
**Author:** ![Zoe](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/a4c791/32.png) [@Zoe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zoe)\ **Post date:** [May 31, 2005, 4:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/charter-member-desmostylus-banned/306092/38 "2005-05-31T04:21:57Z")
Thanks for the reminder, “Ms. Diva.” ---
**Author:** ![squeegee](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/squeegee/32/14537_2.png) [@squeegee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/squeegee)\ **Post date:** [May 31, 2005, 4:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/charter-member-desmostylus-banned/306092/39 "2005-05-31T04:27:40Z")
Um, in **Gaudere** ’s final example thread from the OP, [here](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=318283&page=2&pp=50), **Demostylus** didn’t make any posts. Should I infer that his final offense happened in the thread that that thread linked to, [here](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?p=4779060&highlight=Brown-skinned#post4779060), or was his post in the final OP’d thread “disappeared” upon his banning (which has happened before)? I’m not defending or condemning the banee, just trying to figure all of this out. Thanks. ---
**Author:** ![Gaudere](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/e495f1/32.png) [@Gaudere](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gaudere)\ **Post date:** [May 31, 2005, 4:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/charter-member-desmostylus-banned/306092/40 "2005-05-31T04:50:22Z")
The warning was there, the post was elsewhere. I generally try to link to the warning, not the post, since then you can see what was actually warned for. I think TVeb warned for a post Bricker referenced earlier in that thread, I believe the “uncle Tom” (in addition to other shenanigans) posted hereabouts: [http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=284078&page=4&pp=50](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=284078&page=4&pp=50) I don’t think the later linked “brown-skinned” bit got warned for, as we believed it was a reference to Bush’s speech. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/charter-member-desmostylus-banned/306092.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/charter-member-desmostylus-banned/306092.md?page=3)