Ludovic did not complain and it’s not my place to complain for him but it does have some bearing on my warning. Question: how exactly is this a jab at another poster? I think the person that thought up the paper towel tube/Sandusky thing was Starving Artist but I’m not 100% sure of that. Either way, that person from that mesmerizing thread is never mentioned or alluded to. If I had read this before my post I would have thought it was an allusion to a recent Straight Dope meme and not the original poster of said meme.
So here was mine:
and the warning
So besides the fact the I admit I missed the whole paper towel quote the first time I also missed the moderator note that came after it. When I scanned through the rest of the thread and saw ludovic’s post I thought "Holy crap, I only have 5 minutes to mention his post and skipped the rest of the posts including his warning.
Now Colibri could say that it is my responsibility to read all posts before posting to avoid this situation of missing moderator instructions but that misses the bigger question which is:
Is talking about “paper towel tubes” now not allowed since according to a moderator that knows our intentions it indirectly and unintentionally jabs at another poster? Has anyone else besides us ever been warned for discussing the “paper towel tube”? I’ll also note that neither ludovic nor I even talk about a “paper towel tube” in a negative light that could give a penumbra of ridiculing the “PTT poster”. I once saw a post from a liberal member of the Dope that used “Regards,” and then their name. Was that poster warned for making a jab against Shodan?
If Colibri wants to be pedantic and keep the warning since technically I did violate the (IMO ridiculous) instruction then so be it. Just be warned all dopers that using the words “paper towel tube” is now verboten on SD.
Yes, it’s a joke at Starving Artist’s expense. That might not be clear to posters who haven’t participated in the protracted Penn State discussion (especially the endless Pit thread), but if you have, it’s obvious. It’s turned into a running joke in other threads. So Colibri is on solid ground there. Sorry you missed his instructions, but that is your responsibility. There are only so many ways we can enforce our rulings, so making exceptions for people who didn’t read or weren’t paying attention is problematic. And I don’t think I really need to explain this, but there is no prohibition on saying anything the words “paper towel tubes.” But if you drop jokes about those tubes into threads as a way of making fun of Starving Artist, there’s a good chance you’re going to get mod-noted or warned. And if you make that kind of joke after a moderator has already told people to quit, you’re very likely to get warned.
It comes from the Penn State/Joe Paterno Pit thread. I think it started with this post. Since then, it’s been brought up in a lot of threads unnecessarily as a joke on Starving Artist.
And that’s the problem I have with the instruction/warning is that I didn’t mean it as a jab on Starving Artist (I can’t speak for ludovic) but using it as a Straight Dope meme. Like I said, I’ll take the warning since it is on me that I missed Colibri’s warning but it seems that there are arbitrary standards of what constitutes using “paper towel tube” as a jab on Starving Artist. So again I ask by what standards (if any) can someone talk about a “paper towel tube” as an allusion to the Penn State thread. Will it ALWAYS be considered a jab against Starving Artist?
Thanks for the info, Marley. Since playing moderator minefield isn’t a preferred pastime of mine, always nice to know where the landmines are :). (I couldn’t care less about sports, and generally stay out of Great Debates in the interests of my blood pressure, so hadn’t been reading any of the Penn State threads.)
I assume then that you’ll be handing out warnings for penis ensued, once for 60 minutes, rio by duran duran and sheep fucking? Those are all at another poster or posters’ expense.
I think those are different. SA was evicerated in that thread for that theory of his. It’s not simply a silly mistake, or funny typos. It is directly connected with all the negative commentary and the breakdown of his reputation, in many people’s eyes, on this board. It’s not just a tease, it’s a reference to how low an opinion many of the people on the board now has of him.
As much as I find his position in the Penn St thread distasteful, he should have the chance to live it down.
Oh come on. It was in a thread about someone named Sandusky. It practically begged for the comment. I think it’s obvious from the way the second comment was written he didn’t see the previous comment. Just strike it up as a miscommunication and turn the warning into a note and move on. Unless there is some history with the poster I don’t know about.
And besides SA made his bed and he has to lie in it. He was told over and over that if he continued with his ridiculous posts would turn into a running joke. It has. The genie is out of the bottle.
I spent 20 minutes in a quarry once way back in the 60’s. Did not find any paper towel tubes but did pick up a few nice buckeyes. And I did find a nice used treadmill.
That should be a lesson to read the thread before posting. And it wasn’t exactly a long thread - yours was only the 11th post. Ludovic’s first post was #4, my note to him was #6, and he apologized for his post in #9, two posts before yours.
It wasn’t like it was absolutely urgent to post a lame joke. You don’t have anyone to blame for that but yourself.
Depends on the context. Ludovic said using a paper towel was a “thought experiment,” so he was clearly referring to the Pit thread. Starving Artist has been ridiculed for months for using that example, so it’s reasonable to consider it a jab against him. In any case, I just gave Ludovic a note for it, not a warning, and he apologized for not thinking things through (which implies to me that he had used it the way I believed he did).
Hey, I’m a professional pedant IRL. The warning stands.
OK - not to pile on but I need clarification.
What’s the rule? Are we not allowed to make jokes about former posters because they cannot defend themselves? Is that it? So no jokes about a certain movie involving strippers etc?
If it was in a thread about paper towels, or making a home kaleidoscope, it would be OK. In a thread about someone named Sandusky, and with reference to a “thought experiment,” the reference is clear to anyone who had read the Pit thread.
Who said anything about the warning being because they couldn’t defend themselves? In fact, making the remark could have provided the grounds for a hijack if Starving Artisthad come in to defend himself.
I don’t see how this relates to this case. In any case, the poster you refer to is not banned, he went away on his own. He could defend himself if he were aware of the remark.
Ludovic made reference to a Pit thread in which Starving Artist has been being ridiculed for months. Whether or not the ridicule is justified, that’s still a jab, and doesn’t have a place in a GQ thread. But Ludovic did not receive a warning, only a mod note.
The warning was to Saint Cad, for not following moderator instructions.
Try reading the Pit thread. That should keep you busy for a few days.
The warning stands.