# Comment on a moderating decision **URL:** \ **Category:** The BBQ Pit\ **Created:** [August 9, 2001, 12:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/comment-on-a-moderating-decision/75517 "2001-08-09T00:02:14Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![MEBuckner](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mebuckner/32/2896_2.png) [@MEBuckner](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MEBuckner)\ **Post date:** [August 9, 2001, 12:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/comment-on-a-moderating-decision/75517/1 "2001-08-09T00:02:14Z")
Manhattan is a fascist! The SDMB is a Communistic totalitarian dictatorship! Cecil Adams is beaming mind-control rays at me from cell phone towers! Well, okay, not really. In [this thread](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?threadid=81091) astro posted this OP: > [@](#): > > Is this our own “The Bad Astronomer” member? > [http://www.msnbc.com/news/610774.asp](http://www.msnbc.com/news/610774.asp) > "Debunking the ‘moon hoax’conspiracy theory > > [name removed – manhattan] > [SPACE.COM](http://SPACE.COM) > > Aug. 7 — I wasn’t surprised when the Fox television network aired a program earlier this year alleging that NASA faked the Apollo Moon missions that took place from 1968 to 1972. This particular conspiracy theory has been around as long as the Apollo program itself, but has had its life breathed anew thanks to this absurd television show." > > etc. etc. > > [Edited by manhattan on 08-08-2001 at 04:25 PM] Manhattan performed the surgery indicated above, and closed the thread with this reply: > [@](#): > > I have complete confidence that if one of our members chooses to identify himself further than by his username, he will do so. > > Perhaps you can email him. > > This thread is closed. I just want to point out that the SDMB Poster Known As “The Bad Astronomer” has links to his [web page](http://www.badastronomy.com/) in his [profile](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/member.php?action=getinfo&userid=5394) and his sig line. On that web page he pretty openly gives his name (which confirms that he is, in fact, the author of the MSNBC article–and since manhattan left the link to the article intact, I’m not entirely sure what good it did to delete the article author’s name from the post). I guess I could see three moderatorial issues here: [list=1] [li]Just as a matter of principle, public “outing” of SDMB members should not be encouraged.[/li] [li]General Questions wouldn’t be the place to do it anyway.[/li] [li]Given the ease with which I came up with this information, astro should have been able to do this by himself, without cluttering up General Questions.[/li][/list=1] It seems that manhattan was primarily concerned with issue one. It also seems to me that The Bad Astronomer is sort of a public figure (and is not usually shy about letting the world know that he’s managed to strike another blow against astronomical ignorance in Major Media outlets). I could see closing it or moving it as something that’s not really a GQ thread, but it just seemed to me that manhattan’s response was maybe a little over the top with the implication that some terrible breach of privacy had occured. That is all. ---
**Author:** ![manhattan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/manhattan/32/7_2.png) [@manhattan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/manhattan)\ **Post date:** [August 9, 2001, 12:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/comment-on-a-moderating-decision/75517/2 "2001-08-09T00:09:15Z")
So what is it that you’re asking here? A separate policy for each of the 16,000+ members here, depending on how much information they’ve chosen to distribute? A search to confirm our recollections of how much information that was? Sorry, we’re a little short of time for that. I didn’t see this as heavy handed at all. No warning, no chastisment, just closing the thread and reminding folks that each member chooses how much to reveal. I’m not takin’ the rap on this one. And I’m a Nazi, dammit! **Coldfire** is also a Nazi. I think either **Beer** or **Winkelreid** is the communist. And the mind-control rays are still in beta. ---
**Author:** ![Coldfire](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/a587f6/32.png) [@Coldfire](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Coldfire)\ **Post date:** [August 9, 2001, 12:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/comment-on-a-moderating-decision/75517/3 "2001-08-09T00:23:58Z")
Ganz richtig, Herr Ueberstormbahnfuehrer Manhattan. ---
**Author:** ![ShibbOleth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/848f3c/32.png) [@ShibbOleth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ShibbOleth)\ **Post date:** [August 9, 2001, 12:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/comment-on-a-moderating-decision/75517/4 "2001-08-09T00:34:06Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Coldfire \* > \*\*Ganz richtig, Herr Ueberstormbahnfuehrer Manhattan. \*\* Stormbahn? What’s that? Special highway for frontal systems? ---
**Author:** ![Coldfire](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/a587f6/32.png) [@Coldfire](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Coldfire)\ **Post date:** [August 9, 2001, 12:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/comment-on-a-moderating-decision/75517/5 "2001-08-09T00:36:32Z")
It’s an, errr, what’s the English word? Ya know, a training range, with climbing walls, mudpits with barb wire over’em, pipes to crawl through… that sort of thing. ---
**Author:** ![Coldfire](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/a587f6/32.png) [@Coldfire](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Coldfire)\ **Post date:** [August 9, 2001, 12:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/comment-on-a-moderating-decision/75517/6 "2001-08-09T00:38:08Z")
Oh, and it’s St **u** rmbahn. That’s what you get for drinking Dutch beer while speaking German on an American message board. Feh. ---
**Author:** ![Coldfire](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/a587f6/32.png) [@Coldfire](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Coldfire)\ **Post date:** [August 9, 2001, 12:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/comment-on-a-moderating-decision/75517/7 "2001-08-09T00:39:12Z")
And I can’t believe I just wasted my 8000th post on that. 😃 OK, I’ll stop now. ---
**Author:** ![minty\_green](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/f6c823/32.png) [@minty\_green](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/minty_green)\ **Post date:** [August 9, 2001, 12:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/comment-on-a-moderating-decision/75517/8 "2001-08-09T00:43:38Z")
Think **Handy** ever had a thought like that? ---
**Author:** ![London\_Calling](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/49beb7/32.png) [@London\_Calling](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/London_Calling)\ **Post date:** [August 9, 2001, 12:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/comment-on-a-moderating-decision/75517/9 "2001-08-09T00:49:39Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Coldfire \* > \*\*It’s an, errr, what’s the English word? Ya know, a training range, with climbing walls, mudpits with barb wire over’em, pipes to crawl through… that sort of thing. \*\* ‘Assault course’ - which shouldn’t be confused with evening courses designed to instruct on how to attack people. Which remind me; Do you get a discount rate when employing a child psychologist ? Coldie - Did you go to the Ajax vs. Celtic match ? ---
**Author:** ![Fenris](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/fenris/32/498_2.png) [@Fenris](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fenris)\ **Post date:** [August 9, 2001, 12:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/comment-on-a-moderating-decision/75517/10 "2001-08-09T00:52:16Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Coldfire \* > \*\*It’s an, errr, what’s the English word? Ya know, a training range, with climbing walls, mudpits with barb wire over’em, pipes to crawl through… that sort of thing. \*\* Obstacle course or in annoying modern terms “confidence” course. And it was a perfect 8000th post. It summed up the sturm and drang…the weltshmertz, the drama that _is_ [ul][list][list] **Coldfire** [/ul][/list] Fenris (who’s spelling skills have decreased with the his alchol intake) ---
**Author:** ![Alphagene](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/8e7dd6/32.png) [@Alphagene](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Alphagene)\ **Post date:** [August 9, 2001, 12:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/comment-on-a-moderating-decision/75517/11 "2001-08-09T00:54:56Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Coldfire \* > \*\*Ya know, a training range, with climbing walls, mudpits with barb wire over’em, pipes to crawl through… that sort of thing. \*\* My bedroom? Wow, those Germans have a word for _everything…_ ---
**Author:** ![MEBuckner](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mebuckner/32/2896_2.png) [@MEBuckner](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MEBuckner)\ **Post date:** [August 9, 2001, 1:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/comment-on-a-moderating-decision/75517/12 "2001-08-09T01:00:50Z")
So, once again the Lone Voice of the Brave Dissenter Crying in the Wilderness and Standing Up for Justice is stifled by the Secret Inner Circle of the SDMB Clique™ of Running Dog Moderator Lackeys brazenly hijacking the thread and sending it off on some tangent. By the way, it’s [**O** bersturmbannfuehrer](http://www.yale.edu/lawweb/avalon/imt/imtssran.htm). So obviously Coldfire is a _Communist_, not a Nazi. ---
**Author:** ![Greyson3](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/258eb7/32.png) [@Greyson3](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Greyson3)\ **Post date:** [August 9, 2001, 1:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/comment-on-a-moderating-decision/75517/13 "2001-08-09T01:02:16Z")
Are you sure about the Bad Astronomer thing? I could swear I saw somebody ask our guy if he was the real thing, and he said he was just a fan. ---
**Author:** ![Coldfire](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/a587f6/32.png) [@Coldfire](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Coldfire)\ **Post date:** [August 9, 2001, 1:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/comment-on-a-moderating-decision/75517/14 "2001-08-09T01:02:29Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by London\_Calling \* > \*\*Coldie - Did you go to the Ajax vs. Celtic match ? \*\* Nope, but **ruadh** did. I met up with her before the match and had a few beers. 'T was cool. Celtic beat us fair and square. Heh. Assault Course, or Obstacle Course? Looks like we’ve got another Anglo War on our hands. [sub]Hey, Manny? Enough of a hijack for ya, or do you want me to push the envelope a bit more?[/sub] ---
**Author:** ![MEBuckner](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mebuckner/32/2896_2.png) [@MEBuckner](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MEBuckner)\ **Post date:** [August 9, 2001, 1:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/comment-on-a-moderating-decision/75517/15 "2001-08-09T01:09:54Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Greyson3 \* > Are you sure about the Bad Astronomer thing? I could swear I saw somebody ask our guy if he was the real thing, and he said he was just a fan. If you check the e-mail which is publicly listed on the profile for that poster, I think you’ll see that it’s not likely that he’s just a fan. ---
**Author:** ![Ross](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/e274bd/32.png) [@Ross](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ross)\ **Post date:** [August 9, 2001, 1:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/comment-on-a-moderating-decision/75517/16 "2001-08-09T01:12:39Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Coldfire \* > **Celtic beat us fair and square.** Good to hear. Cos they’re all going MENTAL OVER HERE. Could you adopt them? Ban them from Scotland or something? Only my downstairs neighbour has had his window put in two nights running, and frankly I need some sleep. Plus the drunk guy who hangs out round the corner may give me less hassle for wearing blue. ps: is **Ruadh** as beautiful as she looks on the PeoplePages? I’m only asking from an artistic perspective, obv. ---
**Author:** ![Arnold\_Winkelried](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/3d9bf3/32.png) [@Arnold\_Winkelried](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Arnold_Winkelried)\ **Post date:** [August 9, 2001, 1:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/comment-on-a-moderating-decision/75517/17 "2001-08-09T01:17:48Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by manhattan \* > I think either **Beer** or **Winkelreid** is the communist. How many times do I have to say it. I prefer the appellation Marxist Urban Guerrilla (or MUG for short.) ---
**Author:** ![Coldfire](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/a587f6/32.png) [@Coldfire](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Coldfire)\ **Post date:** [August 9, 2001, 1:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/comment-on-a-moderating-decision/75517/18 "2001-08-09T01:25:00Z")
Ross, I can confirm that **ruadh** s charm is as real as it gets - even if she IS wearing a green-and-white shirt with a shamrock on it. 😉 ---
**Author:** ![ShibbOleth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/848f3c/32.png) [@ShibbOleth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ShibbOleth)\ **Post date:** [August 9, 2001, 1:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/comment-on-a-moderating-decision/75517/19 "2001-08-09T01:26:35Z")
**MEBuckner** , sorry for assisting in the hijack, my mind just goes on tangents sometimes. As for opinion on your post, I guess that extremism in defense of privacy/identity is no vice. [sub]Sorry, they tortured me first.[/sub] ---
**Author:** ![London\_Calling](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/49beb7/32.png) [@London\_Calling](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/London_Calling)\ **Post date:** [August 9, 2001, 2:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/comment-on-a-moderating-decision/75517/20 "2001-08-09T02:06:55Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Coldfire \* > Looks like we’ve got another Anglo War on our hands. I _think_ ‘we’ confine ‘obstacle courses’ to school stuff (like leaping over things and under other things in the gym) but grown up’s tend to adopt a military disposition to do the same kind of thing so it has to have a grown up name. Might well be different in the New World. Shame Ajax aren’t the side they were. It’ll come good again. Thank goodness the season’s around the corner ! Not sure what was being hijacked here but apologies anyway. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/comment-on-a-moderating-decision/75517.md?page=2)