# Continuing a Discussion Against Mod Instructions **URL:** \ **Category:** About This Message Board\ **Created:** [July 3, 2019, 7:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/continuing-a-discussion-against-mod-instructions/836468 "2019-07-03T19:30:32Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Shodan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/9f8e36/32.png) [@Shodan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shodan)\ **Post date:** [July 3, 2019, 7:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/continuing-a-discussion-against-mod-instructions/836468/1 "2019-07-03T19:30:32Z")
I received [this warning](https://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showpost.php?p=21730765&postcount=231). I do not feel this is appropriate. If the previous mod note was meant to stop discussion of the point, it seems wrong for **tomndebb** to continue to argue the point. ISTM that if all participants are to stop discussing a point, that should mean all participants. And if a Mod is not paying attention to the note, it seems a bit unfair to sanction those who assume the subject can still be discussed. Please consider rescinding the warning. Regards, Shodan ---
**Author:** ![BlankSlate](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/blankslate/32/80_2.png) [@BlankSlate](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BlankSlate)\ **Post date:** [July 3, 2019, 7:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/continuing-a-discussion-against-mod-instructions/836468/2 "2019-07-03T19:50:20Z")
Are you enraged at the pushback? ---
**Author:** ![SlackerInc](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/slackerinc/32/275_2.png) [@SlackerInc](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SlackerInc)\ **Post date:** [July 3, 2019, 8:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/continuing-a-discussion-against-mod-instructions/836468/3 "2019-07-03T20:13:15Z")
Agree with Shodan. “The Note having been issued, now I am going to continue the argument but not let you respond” is an abuse of the moderator position. And Shodan was right: word usage evolves. “Concentration camp” means “Schindler’s List” in the 21st century. ---
**Author:** ![74westy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/74westy/32/3950_2.png) [@74westy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/74westy)\ **Post date:** [July 3, 2019, 8:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/continuing-a-discussion-against-mod-instructions/836468/4 "2019-07-03T20:16:17Z")
HELP! I’m being repressed! ---
**Author:** ![Nars\_Glinley](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/nars_glinley/32/8177_2.png) [@Nars\_Glinley](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nars_Glinley)\ **Post date:** [July 3, 2019, 8:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/continuing-a-discussion-against-mod-instructions/836468/5 "2019-07-03T20:16:46Z")
> [@Shodan](#): > > I received [this warning](https://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showpost.php?p=21730765&postcount=231). I do not feel this is appropriate. > > If the previous mod note was meant to stop discussion of the point, it seems wrong for **tomndebb** to continue to argue the point. ISTM that if all participants are to stop discussing a point, that should mean all participants. And if a Mod is not paying attention to the note, it seems a bit unfair to sanction those who assume the subject can still be discussed. > > Please consider rescinding the warning. > > Regards, > Shodan Not that my opinion matters, but I agree with you. Responding to a moderator’s argument should be presumed to be OK. ---
**Author:** ![DinoR](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dinor/32/2821_2.png) [@DinoR](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DinoR)\ **Post date:** [July 3, 2019, 8:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/continuing-a-discussion-against-mod-instructions/836468/6 "2019-07-03T20:27:21Z")
It certainly looks to me like tomndebb violated the other moderator’s instruction first. Directly responding to that violation by a moderator makes a warning seem over the top. ---
**Author:** ![Personal](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/b9bd4f/32.png) [@Personal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Personal)\ **Post date:** [July 3, 2019, 8:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/continuing-a-discussion-against-mod-instructions/836468/7 "2019-07-03T20:28:59Z")
Shodan seems to have gotten flagged for a penalty for being the one who reacted to someone breaking the rules. Instant replay shows us that he was not the instigator. Please consider rescinding the warning. ---
**Author:** ![mikecurtis](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mikecurtis/32/3284_2.png) [@mikecurtis](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mikecurtis)\ **Post date:** [July 3, 2019, 8:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/continuing-a-discussion-against-mod-instructions/836468/8 "2019-07-03T20:32:23Z")
> [@74westy](#): > > HELP! I’m being repressed! Ah, now we see the violence inherent in the system. ---
**Author:** ![GreysonCarlisle](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/a87d85/32.png) [@GreysonCarlisle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GreysonCarlisle)\ **Post date:** [July 3, 2019, 8:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/continuing-a-discussion-against-mod-instructions/836468/9 "2019-07-03T20:33:50Z")
The warning there was inappropriate. **tomndebb** ’s continuation of the forbidden topic was inappropriate. The guidance there was that _this part of the topic is ok to discuss_ since it came from a mod and all. A warning for following that guidance is ridiculous. ---
**Author:** ![Chronos](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chronos/32/134_2.png) [@Chronos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chronos)\ **Post date:** [July 3, 2019, 8:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/continuing-a-discussion-against-mod-instructions/836468/10 "2019-07-03T20:35:58Z")
I haven’t read through the whole thread, but if there was some problem with what **tomndebb** was saying, then you should have started this thread then, instead of violating the mods’ instructions and then complaining after you got Warned for that. ---
**Author:** ![GreysonCarlisle](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/a87d85/32.png) [@GreysonCarlisle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GreysonCarlisle)\ **Post date:** [July 3, 2019, 8:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/continuing-a-discussion-against-mod-instructions/836468/11 "2019-07-03T20:45:14Z")
> [@Chronos](#): > > I haven’t read through the whole thread, but if there was some problem with what **tomndebb** was saying, then you should have started this thread then, instead of violating the mods’ instructions and then complaining after you got Warned for that. Likewise ridiculous. ---
**Author:** ![Saint\_Cad](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/saint_cad/32/18907_2.png) [@Saint\_Cad](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Saint_Cad)\ **Post date:** [July 3, 2019, 8:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/continuing-a-discussion-against-mod-instructions/836468/12 "2019-07-03T20:47:23Z")
I dug a little and here are the posts in question. > [@Secret Border Patrol Facebook Page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/secret-border-patrol-facebook-page/836358/180): > > You guys have hijacked this enough. > > No more about Nazis and such. I hope that’s clear. > [@Secret Border Patrol Facebook Page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/secret-border-patrol-facebook-page/836358/202): > > The Note having been issued, it is hardly appropriate to state an error as though it was an established fact. As has been pointed out in several posts in this thread, the phrase “concentration camp” was coined by the British over 30 years prior to the rise of the Nazis and the conflation of “concentration camp” with “extermination camp” that you appear to have embraced does not mean that every reference to a concentration camp is an accusation of naziism. > > Your are wrong. > [@Secret Border Patrol Facebook Page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/secret-border-patrol-facebook-page/836358/218): > > Right, right, and the swastika is a sun symbol, and the Confederate battle flag has nothing to do with slavery, and there is no such thing as a dog whistle. > > Regards, > Shodan So why was Shodan warned and tomndebb was not? ---
**Author:** ![UltraVires](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/ecccb3/32.png) [@UltraVires](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/UltraVires)\ **Post date:** [July 3, 2019, 9:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/continuing-a-discussion-against-mod-instructions/836468/13 "2019-07-03T21:14:34Z")
To me, it is not even clear that Shodan’s post did tread into the ruled out of bounds topic. The previous debate was whether AOC had called the border guards Nazis. This particular debate was over the meaning of a concentration camp. Very similar, sure, but I could understand, especially when a Mod also posted about it, that a discussion of the meaning of the term “concentration camp” was still on the table. ---
**Author:** ![mikecurtis](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mikecurtis/32/3284_2.png) [@mikecurtis](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mikecurtis)\ **Post date:** [July 3, 2019, 11:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/continuing-a-discussion-against-mod-instructions/836468/14 "2019-07-03T23:48:44Z")
And now it appears **tomndeb** attempted to continue the hijack even after Shodan was warned, and after this thread was started. Thought better of it and disappeared his own post. ---
**Author:** ![Nars\_Glinley](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/nars_glinley/32/8177_2.png) [@Nars\_Glinley](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nars_Glinley)\ **Post date:** [July 4, 2019, 12:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/continuing-a-discussion-against-mod-instructions/836468/15 "2019-07-04T00:33:39Z")
> [@mikecurtis](#): > > And now it appears **tomndeb** attempted to continue the hijack even after Shodan was warned, and after this thread was started. Thought better of it and disappeared his own post. That’s dirty pool. ---
**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:** [July 4, 2019, 1:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/continuing-a-discussion-against-mod-instructions/836468/16 "2019-07-04T01:09:24Z")
Loathe as I am to side with Shodan on contemptuously dismissing concerns about our concentration camps, I think tom’s behavior is egregious enough that either Shodan’s warning should be rescinded, or tom should join him in getting a warning. ---
**Author:** ![Banquet\_Bear](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/banquet_bear/32/373_2.png) [@Banquet\_Bear](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Banquet_Bear)\ **Post date:** [July 4, 2019, 1:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/continuing-a-discussion-against-mod-instructions/836468/17 "2019-07-04T01:14:34Z")
> [@Left\_Hand\_of\_Dorkness](#): > > Loathe as I am to side with Shodan on contemptuously dismissing concerns about our concentration camps, I think tom’s behavior is egregious enough that either Shodan’s warning should be rescinded, or tom should join him in getting a warning. …agreed. ---
**Author:** ![BigT](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bigt/32/12044_2.png) [@BigT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BigT)\ **Post date:** [July 4, 2019, 1:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/continuing-a-discussion-against-mod-instructions/836468/18 "2019-07-04T01:58:05Z")
> [@Chronos](#): > > I haven’t read through the whole thread, but if there was some problem with what **tomndebb** was saying, then you should have started this thread then, instead of violating the mods’ instructions and then complaining after you got Warned for that. His point is that he didn’t think there was anything wrong with it, **BECAUSE** a mod continued talking about it. **tomndebb** ’s wording clearly indicates that he believes he is following the moderator instructions. I had the same interpretation, BTW. I was unsure of the scope of the mod note. I saw tom’s post, and thus assumed it was still acceptable to discuss the term “concentration camps” as long as one did not also discuss “Nazis.” If tom had actually said something I disagreed with in that post, I might have responded to him, and would not have expected to get a Warning. I propose the Warning be rescinded due to the confusion, and a new Note be made that makes clear the entire scope what is prohibited to discuss. ---
**Author:** ![Little\_Nemo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/little_nemo/32/3120_2.png) [@Little\_Nemo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Little_Nemo)\ **Post date:** [July 4, 2019, 2:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/continuing-a-discussion-against-mod-instructions/836468/19 "2019-07-04T02:01:30Z")
> [@DinoR](#): > > It certainly looks to me like tomndebb violated the other moderator’s instruction first. Directly responding to that violation by a moderator makes a warning seem over the top. Reading through the thread, it looks to me like Martin Hyde violated it first. Then tomndebb and Kobal2 responded to Martin Hyde’s post and Shodan responded to tomndebb’s post and Scylla responded to Shodan’s post. Under that timeline, it does seem questionable to single out Shodan for a warning. ---
**Author:** ![tomndebb](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/b9e5f3/32.png) [@tomndebb](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tomndebb)\ **Post date:** [July 4, 2019, 3:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/continuing-a-discussion-against-mod-instructions/836468/20 "2019-07-04T03:18:33Z")
> [@Nars\_Glinley](#): > > That’s dirty pool. Are all the posts that are edited to say “nm” dirty pool? I was unaware of Nate’s post until I was tracking back over the discussion, this evening. (My fault; I should read every post.) I was unaware of this thread until a short time ago. I have already noted in the Mod loop that I see where I could also be Warned. In my minor defense of my post last night (#202), I looked on it as telling (as a poster, not a Mod) Martin Hyde that his insistence on calling AOC a liar was wrong because he had to jump across multiple associations to get there. However, I have no problem with any disciplinary action directed toward me. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/continuing-a-discussion-against-mod-instructions/836468.md?page=2)