# "Comical OCD pattern of argumentation" is a personal insult? Really? **URL:** \ **Category:** About This Message Board\ **Created:** [August 29, 2016, 10:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/comical-ocd-pattern-of-argumentation-is-a-personal-insult-really/764436 "2016-08-29T22:19:38Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![John\_Mace](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/john_mace/32/185_2.png) [@John\_Mace](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/John_Mace)\ **Post date:** [August 30, 2016, 2:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/comical-ocd-pattern-of-argumentation-is-a-personal-insult-really/764436/21 "2016-08-30T02:05:31Z")
**JC** should have called out “someone who – as I recall from prior conversations – appears be humor- and sarcasm-impaired” as the operative insult. Do you not see that as insulting **Bone**? You may have said that in jest, but it’s not clear at all to the casual reader (or the humor and sarcasm impaired reader 😉 ) Too bad someone didn’t flag that back-and-forth earlier as it was pretty clearly headed for no good. ---
**Author:** ![wolfpup](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wolfpup/32/10618_2.png) [@wolfpup](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/wolfpup)\ **Post date:** [August 30, 2016, 2:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/comical-ocd-pattern-of-argumentation-is-a-personal-insult-really/764436/22 "2016-08-30T02:22:07Z")
> [@Jonathan\_Chance](#): > > You were warned for your entire post. If I chose to only quote a part of it that was because I didn’t want to repeat your poem. Live with it. I started this thread because I was genuinely surprised and I personally didn’t think it was fair, but I was interested to see what the reaction would be from others, and I was prepared to accept whatever it was. But to be fair, you did quote the whole post, in its entirety with the poem, which you never deemed offensive, and cited only the following as being the offensive part: “accusing Bone of OCD is not responding to his arguments but rather an attack on him.” Hence my objection, and confusion, because what I said applied to the argument and not the person. ---
**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:** [August 30, 2016, 4:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/comical-ocd-pattern-of-argumentation-is-a-personal-insult-really/764436/23 "2016-08-30T04:47:13Z")
> [@Drunky\_Smurf](#): > > +25 -50 I WIN!!! > [@Left\_Hand\_of\_Dorkness](#): > > As for this: for me, the “humorously” makes it extra-insulting. The “OCD” business is still pretty contemptuous, and because it’s a term that’s almost never applied to concepts or objects, it’s appropriate to read it as applying to the poster, not the post. (In a quick Google, I’m not finding any examples of OCD used to describe behavior other than the behavior of someone with OCD). It ain’t best practices. If it were in a post by itself, without the other insulting language, I could see giving it a note… Continuing the hypothetical… while OCD is rarely (almost never?) applied to concepts or objects, it is on occasion applied to behavior. Certainly its vulgar cousin “Anal” (short for anal-retentive) is. One appropriate test for moderation is, “Is there a non-insulting point that is being repressed by the curb on insulting language? Or could the poster have easily delivered content without the insulting part?” A lot of times folks are modded for posts that are close to empty of substance. I don’t see that in this case. I agree that wolfpup went too far though. And I think if you type a phrase like “Comical OCD pattern of argumentation”, you should think seriously about dialing it back or throwing in some softeners. On the third hand, the phrase does have the advantage of vividness and not incidental clarity. ---
**Author:** ![John\_Mace](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/john_mace/32/185_2.png) [@John\_Mace](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/John_Mace)\ **Post date:** [August 30, 2016, 6:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/comical-ocd-pattern-of-argumentation-is-a-personal-insult-really/764436/24 "2016-08-30T06:05:47Z")
> [@wolfpup](#): > > Is that an insult, per the rules? It’s actually a factual reference to **Bone** in the past responding to sarcasm as if it was a literal statement of fact. How or why this occurred I don’t care to speculate on. But it did. So I stated that observation. There are certainly people who don’t get sarcasm, or who don’t get it on certain subjects. I don’t think it’s an insult. to be critical, in the spirit of debate. Whether it was “insulting” is the question at hand. Firstly: Factual? Determined by whom? And who determined that the sarcasm in question was legit sarcasm. As we know, “sarcasm is hard”. Secondly: You left out “humor-impaired”. Is that factual also? Thirdly: Is it your assertion that something factual cannot be insulting? ---
**Author:** ![wolfpup](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wolfpup/32/10618_2.png) [@wolfpup](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/wolfpup)\ **Post date:** [August 30, 2016, 11:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/comical-ocd-pattern-of-argumentation-is-a-personal-insult-really/764436/25 "2016-08-30T11:04:56Z")
> [@Measure\_for\_Measure](#): > > -50 > > I WIN!!! I like how that works! 😃 > [@Measure\_for\_Measure](#): > > Continuing the hypothetical… while OCD is rarely (almost never?) applied to concepts or objects, it is on occasion applied to behavior. Certainly its vulgar cousin “Anal” (short for anal-retentive) is. > > One appropriate test for moderation is, “Is there a non-insulting point that is being repressed by the curb on insulting language? Or could the poster have easily delivered content without the insulting part?” A lot of times folks are modded for posts that are close to empty of substance. I don’t see that in this case. I agree that wolfpup went too far though. And I think if you type a phrase like “Comical OCD pattern of argumentation”, you should think seriously about dialing it back or throwing in some softeners. On the third hand, the phrase does have the advantage of vividness and not incidental clarity. The crucial question that is always subjective is indeed the question of where to draw the line between making points expressively and just being disruptive, and the purpose of the thread was to get feedback from other posters and from **JC** on essentially this question. Those responses were very helpful, thank you and thanks to the others. > [@John\_Mace](#): > > Firstly: Factual? Determined by whom? And who determined that the sarcasm in question was legit sarcasm. As we know, “sarcasm is hard”. I don’t have the exchanges I was thinking of at hand at the moment despite a quick search, but there is a certain type of debating technique that many of us are familiar with that consists of a deadpan literal interpretation of everything your opponent says that sometimes makes it difficult to have a constructive conversation. > [@John\_Mace](#): > > Secondly: You left out “humor-impaired”. Is that factual also? No, that’s a subjective opinion. > [@John\_Mace](#): > > Thirdly: Is it your assertion that something factual cannot be insulting? Of course it can. The question, as **MfM** correctly assessed, is how to express substantive criticism without being deemed “insulting”. Sometimes it’s an art form. ---
**Author:** ![magellan01](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/45deac/32.png) [@magellan01](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/magellan01)\ **Post date:** [August 30, 2016, 1:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/comical-ocd-pattern-of-argumentation-is-a-personal-insult-really/764436/26 "2016-08-30T13:09:12Z")
I agree with the mods, and **Kyrie Eleison** , on this one. Arguing that the post was not an attempt to level an insult to the poster requires Clintonesque parsing. ---
**Author:** ![watchwolf49](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/e9c0ed/32.png) [@watchwolf49](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/watchwolf49)\ **Post date:** [August 30, 2016, 1:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/comical-ocd-pattern-of-argumentation-is-a-personal-insult-really/764436/27 "2016-08-30T13:38:43Z")
Congratulations on your first official warning, **wolfpup** , this should be a time of celebration for you. Print it out, frame it and hang it on your wall … someday your kids will ask and you’ll be able to tell such a magnificent tall tale. You’ll never have a first warning ever again so enjoy the moment. Yeah, OCD is a personal insult … maybe 6 months ago you’d have been Noted or Knock-It-Offed … today this will get you a full Warning. The Mods are treading to more strict compliance with these rules, those that limit-test are getting caught. ---
**Author:** ![John\_Mace](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/john_mace/32/185_2.png) [@John\_Mace](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/John_Mace)\ **Post date:** [August 30, 2016, 2:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/comical-ocd-pattern-of-argumentation-is-a-personal-insult-really/764436/28 "2016-08-30T14:15:59Z")
> [@wolfpup](#): > > The question, as **MfM** correctly assessed, is how to express substantive criticism without being deemed “insulting”. Sometimes it’s an art form. Seems to me the question is whether or not rules were broken. When you tell someone that “you are \”. and the characteristic is not flattering, then most likely the rule has been broken. Now, one can go overboard searching for that elusive bright line of when rules were broken or not, but I’m not seeing your post as being anywhere near that line. ---
**Author:** ![Askthepizzaguy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/askthepizzaguy/32/9405_2.png) [@Askthepizzaguy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Askthepizzaguy)\ **Post date:** [August 30, 2016, 2:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/comical-ocd-pattern-of-argumentation-is-a-personal-insult-really/764436/29 "2016-08-30T14:31:51Z")
Applying personal insults as modifiers to behavior doesn’t make them impersonal. e.g. saying one’s arguments are retarded- an argument cannot actually be retarded. It’s an abstraction. The person making the argument can be retarded. And that’s what saying someone’s argument is retarded means. It means the person making the argument is retarded. It’s a cute way to try to skirt the personal insult rules. I wasn’t saying \*you \*like to bone donkeys, I was saying your arguments do, because they’re dumb and smelly and racist. See? Nothing personal here. An argument can be factual or not, incomprehensible, or offensive to me. It can’t actually bone a donkey, as one example. ---
**Author:** ![The\_Great\_Unwashed](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/the_great_unwashed/32/4791_2.png) [@The\_Great\_Unwashed](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Great_Unwashed)\ **Post date:** [August 30, 2016, 2:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/comical-ocd-pattern-of-argumentation-is-a-personal-insult-really/764436/30 "2016-08-30T14:39:51Z")
> [@Askthepizzaguy](#): > > Applying personal insults as modifiers to behavior doesn’t make them impersonal. > > e.g. saying one’s arguments are retarded- an argument cannot actually be retarded. It’s an abstraction. The person making the argument can be retarded. And that’s what saying someone’s argument is retarded means. It means the person making the argument is retarded. > > It’s a cute way to try to skirt the personal insult rules. I wasn’t saying \*you \*like to bone donkeys, I was saying your arguments do, because they’re dumb and smelly and racist. See? Nothing personal here. > > An argument can be factual or not, incomprehensible, or offensive to me. It can’t actually bone a donkey, as one example. I don’t get it. I can say that an argument is stupid \*without \*implying that the arguer is stupid, right? But you won’t grant that a word like retarded, originally designating an individual, cannot drift (or has not yet drifted) in meaning to describe an idea? ---
**Author:** ![John\_Mace](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/john_mace/32/185_2.png) [@John\_Mace](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/John_Mace)\ **Post date:** [August 30, 2016, 3:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/comical-ocd-pattern-of-argumentation-is-a-personal-insult-really/764436/31 "2016-08-30T15:02:56Z")
> [@John\_Mace](#): > > Seems to me the question is whether or not rules were broken. When you tell someone that “you are \”. and the characteristic is not flattering, then most likely the rule has been broken. Now, one can go overboard searching for that elusive bright line of when rules were broken or not, but I’m not seeing your post as being anywhere near that line. I should add that, as I said earlier, it was unfortunate **JC** chose to emphasize the OCD part. That is, as many have noted, questionable. But the part about humor-impaired was, IMO, not even close. ---
**Author:** ![DrDeth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b487fb/32.png) [@DrDeth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DrDeth)\ **Post date:** [August 30, 2016, 7:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/comical-ocd-pattern-of-argumentation-is-a-personal-insult-really/764436/32 "2016-08-30T19:07:54Z")
No insult there, bad call. ---
**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:** [August 30, 2016, 7:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/comical-ocd-pattern-of-argumentation-is-a-personal-insult-really/764436/33 "2016-08-30T19:26:31Z")
> [@DrDeth](#): > > No insult there, bad call. Did you read the entire post? ---
**Author:** ![DrDeth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b487fb/32.png) [@DrDeth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DrDeth)\ **Post date:** [August 30, 2016, 7:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/comical-ocd-pattern-of-argumentation-is-a-personal-insult-really/764436/34 "2016-08-30T19:51:18Z")
> [@Left\_Hand\_of\_Dorkness](#): > > Did you read the entire post? Ye, it was witty and snarky but I saw no insult. He meant no insult. ---
**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:** [August 30, 2016, 8:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/comical-ocd-pattern-of-argumentation-is-a-personal-insult-really/764436/35 "2016-08-30T20:17:46Z")
> [@DrDeth](#): > > Ye, it was witty and snarky but I saw no insult. He meant no insult. Calling someone humor-impaired is an insult. If you don’t see it as an insult, you need to understand at the very least that you use the word “insult” in such an idiosyncratic sense that you should never assume other people–including those who wrote the rules for this messageboard–are using the definition you prefer. ---
**Author:** ![DrDeth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b487fb/32.png) [@DrDeth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DrDeth)\ **Post date:** [August 30, 2016, 8:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/comical-ocd-pattern-of-argumentation-is-a-personal-insult-really/764436/36 "2016-08-30T20:22:14Z")
> [@Left\_Hand\_of\_Dorkness](#): > > Calling someone humor-impaired is an insult. If you don’t see it as an insult, you need to understand at the very least that you use the word “insult” in such an idiosyncratic sense that you should never assume other people–including those who wrote the rules for this messageboard–are using the definition you prefer. Are you calling me definition-impaired? That’s an insult! Cole Oyl:\* I want an apology!\* ---
**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:** [August 30, 2016, 8:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/comical-ocd-pattern-of-argumentation-is-a-personal-insult-really/764436/37 "2016-08-30T20:40:13Z")
> [@DrDeth](#): > > Are you calling me definition-impaired? That’s an insult! \* If you genuinely believe that, it’s further evidence of your idiosyncratic definition of “insult.” I’m all about idiosyncrasy, but you gotta know you got it. ---
**Author:** ![DrDeth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b487fb/32.png) [@DrDeth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DrDeth)\ **Post date:** [August 30, 2016, 9:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/comical-ocd-pattern-of-argumentation-is-a-personal-insult-really/764436/38 "2016-08-30T21:08:17Z")
> [@Left\_Hand\_of\_Dorkness](#): > > If you genuinely believe that, it’s further evidence of your idiosyncratic definition of “insult.” I’m all about idiosyncrasy, but you gotta know you got it. Now you’re calling me idiosyncratic. Seriously now, why is OCD and humor-impaired both insults but idiosyncratic and definition-impaired NOT an insult? ---
**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:** [August 30, 2016, 9:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/comical-ocd-pattern-of-argumentation-is-a-personal-insult-really/764436/39 "2016-08-30T21:18:18Z")
> [@DrDeth](#): > > Now you’re calling me idiosyncratic. No I’m not. ---
**Author:** ![DrDeth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b487fb/32.png) [@DrDeth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DrDeth)\ **Post date:** [August 30, 2016, 9:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/comical-ocd-pattern-of-argumentation-is-a-personal-insult-really/764436/40 "2016-08-30T21:27:49Z")
> [@Left\_Hand\_of\_Dorkness](#): > > No I’m not. " I’m all about idiosyncrasy, but you gotta know you got it." [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/comical-ocd-pattern-of-argumentation-is-a-personal-insult-really/764436.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/comical-ocd-pattern-of-argumentation-is-a-personal-insult-really/764436.md?page=3)