Oh, okay. I took it to mean noone under anycircumstances could pit the mods.
I think Lynn means “If the only reason you’ve joined the boards” is to complain about other posters or the board, that’s not allowed. It’s still ok to pit other posters or the way the board is run.
So, if you start a thread “Captain Amazing is a big doofus”, that’s still ok…you have over 3000 posts…most of them about things other than how terrible this board or the people on it are.
On the other hand, if new poster Trolly McTroll registers, and his first ten posts are in the pit about how bad the Straight Dope is and how Coldfire’s mama dresses him funny, that might be a sign that he’s really not here to participate on this message board, but just to cause trouble and annoy people.
At least, that’s my take on it. I’m not a mod, though, or an administrator, so I’m just expressing my opinion. 
You are lucky stupid isn’t terminal. How could you have missed the capitalized word “ONLY” used twice?
A good example of a poster like this is this guy. A grand total of 3 posts, all in the Pit, all bitching about how badly the board is moderated.
Now you’ve suggested it, I’ll give it about 4 hours before that thread is clickable 
This Year’s Model et al,
You are certainly correct that Lynn used the term “only”, which seems to indicate that as long as complaints are not the sole (or at least primary) purpose of your posts you are safe. But I would also point out that Lynn implied that her warning applied to several posters in that thread, and there are no posters there who seem to fit the category as literally described. Which tends to suggest that this rule, like the “don’t be a jerk” rule, is subject to interpretation by the mods & admins in ways that are not readily apparent to many other people. So you never know.
Dammit, where were you Captain Amazing when I first registered? That is a fucking awesome name!
At least you know where your towel is. You froopy snood.
Andy, please ignore these fools wh tell you to drop it. Keep hammering away at it. Please.
The suspense is terrible!
I hope it lasts!
IMHO, the new rule was prompted by a certain cyber-bully who was spewing napalm 10 months ago.
Andy, you’ve had some funny and memorable posts in the past and there’s no reason why you shouldn’t continue to make them, like the “Leem Message” story.
Don’t throw it all away because of semantics. Put it behind you. Your case has been made, and the judge and jury ruled against you. Don’t try to salvage it and think it will magicly win everybody back over to your side. Don’t be a martyr for the cause. Cut your losses and move on.
and where the hell is Knottoush Abbey???
ANDY: This is the first time I have posted in this or the other thread and I have this to say.
You have seen your arse and maybe COLDFIRE has also.
So call it a tie and keep your status, it just aint worth getting banned for.
Now then about those flying pigs I saw yesterday.
Actually the rule’s been around for quite a while. Sometime around Melingate (just after, IIRC), there was a poster named something like “24 Carat Goldie” or maybe just “Goldie” or some such who only posted about how the board sux. She was promptly banned.
Others who’ve been banned under this rule include Mu Mu and Ma Parrot.
I just checked. Her name was 24KaratGold. I can’t find the “banning” post though.
Hmmm…mine seems to be the unpopular view here, but this is the very first time I have seen any poster sanctioned for failing to recognize hyperbole in a BBQ Pit rant. I’m sure many of you remember my disasterous thread about the subject; there seemed to be about a 50/50 split of people who thought such behavior was bad, and those who seem to find it perfectly acceptable to to treat hyperbole literally. I have to admit I’m really having a hard time understanding exactly what Andy did to anger everyone so much, aside from posting a lot of controversial views on feminism. In the now-closed thread, I asked why Andy was censured for being a jerk, but margin was not, and was told to look at his past behavior, which I didn’t want to bother with. But since this is still going on, I went ahead and looked at the FemiNazi thread, and I honestly am not seeing what’s wrong with his behavior in there. Yes, the views are extremely controversial, but are presented intelligently and coherently, with plenty of citations. Are we threatening to ban people for being controversial now? The one thing I that did bother me was a few swipes taken at margin regarding stuff from other threads. I think we should refrain from letting stuff spill over into other threads, but I also think most of us have been guilty of doing so at one time or another, myself included. At any rate, it certainly happens all the time, and people are rarely censured for it.
I think this all raises the question of whether a BBQ Pit should even exist at all. If we were really going to enforce the “don’t be a jerk” rule in the BBQ Pit, wouldn’t we pretty much have to ban everyone here?
Andy, I echo the others who’ve said step back, reconsider, and drop this before it’s too late. You’ve been fun to romp with in MPSIMS, and I want you to go on being an enjoyable Doper with a smart, distinctive voice on the board. Continuing this fight is futile and ultimately harmful – to you, and to your friends here.
Indeed. Two horses here, though: The issue horse is in rigor boardis. The mod horse is alive and damn near kicking, IMHO.
…such as in this case :). Obviously I’m not a mod, and I have no power over your posting, but I’ll ask this as a favor: let the old threads drop. As long as people keep bringing them up, the participants are likely to keep the argument alive.
And I’d guess that Nottoush Abbey is quite a tidy place, if nothing else. Think about it, or say it aloud.
Daniel
One more thing…In spite of what I said in my previous post, I agree with Eddy that it’s definitely not worth pursuing, and I think it’s sage advice to let it drop. And if you have already done so, I applaud you for that.
I know I have made some posts here that caused me to get slapped around for awhile. Sure it bothered me, but a couple hours later I get on and everything that happened seems to be water under the bridge. That tells me most people here don’t hold grudges, so most people here are in the cool zone in my book. (The people that do hold grudges, well I just tell them to piss off a couple times and they do. Interestingly, the ones that persisted on grudges (very few), eventually got banned.)
So, just put things in perspective. I know this place can get my blood boiling sometimes too, but let it go, in a couple days all will be forgiven and forgotten.