# county banned? **URL:** \ **Category:** The BBQ Pit\ **Created:** [May 17, 2004, 11:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/county-banned/245572 "2004-05-17T11:55:26Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 6
**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:** [May 18, 2004, 6:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/county-banned/245572/101 "2004-05-18T18:26:31Z")
> [@Liberal](#): > > In days of yore at SDMB, it was unseemly to bash former members who no longer could defend themselves. Not exactly: it was unseemly to **talk about** banned members. I seem to recall you, in the past, bitterly attacking people who questioned **Lynn’s** judgment in exactly the way that people are questioning her judgment now. Why is it that you don’t attack **Shodan** et al? I’ll talk shit _de mortuis_ if there’s _nil bonum_ to be said. Especially when people are second-guessing the termination. If folks wanna let **county** rest in peace, then let’s quit talking about him. But I’m not going to avoid calling him an obnoxious jerk when that’s at the very heart of the reason for his banning and when other folks are trying to twist his banning into some sort of wacky liberal gay conspiracy. Daniel ---
**Author:** ![Skywatcher](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/skywatcher/32/254_2.png) [@Skywatcher](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Skywatcher)\ **Post date:** [May 18, 2004, 6:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/county-banned/245572/102 "2004-05-18T18:28:16Z")
**astro** , do yourself a favor. Stop digging. ---
**Author:** ![Rubystreak](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/e5b9ba/32.png) [@Rubystreak](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rubystreak)\ **Post date:** [May 18, 2004, 6:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/county-banned/245572/103 "2004-05-18T18:33:07Z")
> [@astro](#): > > Oddly enough, in viewing your exchanges with county I was struck by how similar your argument styles were, and how you sounded like an old married couple going at it. I was going to make mention of it in the previous post, but felt it would be impolite given how invested you were in despising him. Ha, you’re hilarious. It’s good to see that **county** ’s spirit lives on in you. He’d be so proud. **Liberal** , maybe you’re right, but I don’t care as much about being unseemly as I used to. Also, watching Lynn be pilloried for such ridiculous reasons and county defended for such specious ones got under my skin. Eh, he’s gone, ding dong, move on. ---
**Author:** ![astro](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/9dc877/32.png) [@astro](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/astro)\ **Post date:** [May 18, 2004, 6:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/county-banned/245572/104 "2004-05-18T18:43:18Z")
> [@Jeff Olsen](#): > > **astro** , do yourself a favor. Stop digging. Re-read the thread Jeff. County may have been an ass in the thread, but no more so in scope and content than several other participants, including Rubystreak in her vituperative responses to those who disagreed with her. To point at county and say he was asking for it any more than the other poo flingers in that scrum is (IMO) being a bit overly selective about who deserved a mod’s DBAJ warning and who did not. ---
**Author:** ![Esprix](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/esprix/32/7899_2.png) [@Esprix](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Esprix)\ **Post date:** [May 18, 2004, 6:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/county-banned/245572/105 "2004-05-18T18:51:40Z")
> [@Revtim](#): > > What I don’t understand is why that post is against any rule at all, since it was in the pit. Isn’t that what the pit is for? Surely being a jerk, at least to that very mild level, is appropriate for that forum. People have been banned for being a jerk in the Pit before. Esprix ---
**Author:** ![Skywatcher](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/skywatcher/32/254_2.png) [@Skywatcher](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Skywatcher)\ **Post date:** [May 18, 2004, 7:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/county-banned/245572/106 "2004-05-18T19:00:16Z")
> [@astro](#): > > Re-read the thread Jeff. No need. You keep missing the point that the problem had been his behavior _in general_, not just that one thread. ---
**Author:** ![Skywatcher](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/skywatcher/32/254_2.png) [@Skywatcher](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Skywatcher)\ **Post date:** [May 18, 2004, 7:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/county-banned/245572/107 "2004-05-18T19:02:20Z")
> [@Esprix](#): > > People have been banned for being a jerk in the Pit before. Correct, even the Pit has its limits. **Monty** nearly got himself banned for being an asshole in the Pit. ---
**Author:** ![Merijeek](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/f05b48/32.png) [@Merijeek](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Merijeek)\ **Post date:** [May 18, 2004, 8:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/county-banned/245572/108 "2004-05-18T20:36:12Z")
> [@grienspace](#): > > Regardless of history, this banning is just plain wrong. It reveals **Lynn** as having a hard on for **county** because of his views and powertripping by squashing his irritable posts with the flick of a finger. I doubt there was any consultation with other mods in applying for a banning in this case. > > This is sad. Yeah, you’d think that when the boards were going pay-to-play the mods would have clarified the “Don’t be a jerk” rule, consdering how many people asked for just that thing. So…now being an asshole in the Pit will get you banned? Or only when a Mod is looking for an excuse to ban you? I never liked **county** , but this really is bullshit. Too bad the Mods don’t even pretend to be accountable for their actions. -Joe ---
**Author:** ![Darkhold](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/90db22/32.png) [@Darkhold](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Darkhold)\ **Post date:** [May 18, 2004, 8:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/county-banned/245572/109 "2004-05-18T20:57:44Z")
> [@](#): > > Yeah, you’d think that when the boards were going pay-to-play the mods would have clarified the “Don’t be a jerk” rule, considering how many people asked for just that thing. what a bad idea. You’ll just get people that say “Oh it says in the rule she couldn’t call someone a cock biting asshole. All he said was cock biting jerk so clearly he shouldn’t have been banned!” We already get enough annoying threads that look at every aspect of a banned member and declare it unfair. > [@](#): > > So…now being an asshole in the Pit will get you banned? Or only when a Mod is looking for an excuse to ban you? being an asshole will get you warned anywhere on the board. Isn’t that pretty obvious? Being and asshole after you’ve been warned gets you banned. Not hard to figure out IMO. > [@](#): > > Too bad the Mods don’t even pretend to be accountable for their actions. Yeah because it’s not like two different mods in this thread told the story of what happened and offered perfectly reasonable explanations. :rolleyes: Really how many more warnings do you think **county** had coming before he deserved a banning? 2? 3? 10? It’s not hard to avoid warnings on this board I’ve noticed. Even the thinnest veil of civility protects you like a suit if armor. If you can’t maintain that you should get booted. ---
**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:** [May 18, 2004, 9:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/county-banned/245572/110 "2004-05-18T21:04:50Z")
> [@Merijeek](#): > > Yeah, you’d think that when the boards were going pay-to-play the mods would have clarified the “Don’t be a jerk” rule, consdering how many people asked for just that thing. I know. I can’t believe the Mods promised us they would clarify that rule prior to people having to pay to subscribe, and then they went back on their word like that! And I’ll give you three guesses why I can’t believe that. If **county** was too stupid to realize that the PTB were going to keep the “don’t be a jerk” rule subjective, then that’s nobody’s problem but his own. However, I think he was smart enough to realize it; he was just too mean to respect it. Daniel ---
**Author:** ![Revtim](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/revtim/32/1042_2.png) [@Revtim](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Revtim)\ **Post date:** [May 18, 2004, 9:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/county-banned/245572/111 "2004-05-18T21:47:27Z")
> [@Esprix](#): > > People have been banned for being a jerk in the Pit before. Do you recall if what was said was as mild as what **county** got whacked for? I could see if someone posted really hateful racist stuff for example, even in the pit, would get them banned. But IMHO **county** ’s post isn’t anywhere near worth banning, no matter what he said before. Like I said before, it isn’t even a straw, and the camel’s back should have stayed intact. If he was such a bad guy, then wait until he _really_ fucks up. And if he doesn’t fuck up, all the better; he learned his lesson. And if what he did before was so bad, ban him for that. No need to wait and ban someone over something so ridiculously mild as that post. ---
**Author:** ![Blalron](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/35a633/32.png) [@Blalron](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Blalron)\ **Post date:** [May 18, 2004, 10:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/county-banned/245572/112 "2004-05-18T22:39:43Z")
> [@Shodan](#): > > WTF? Saying, in essence, “The Civil Rights movement of the 60s encountered many of the same problems as gays do now” constitutes Being A Jerk? No, but saying “quit whining, minorities suffer” shows total hostility to any minority that is suffering. As if daring to speak out against your suffering is somehow “whining” ---
**Author:** ![RTA](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/b4bc9f/32.png) [@RTA](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RTA)\ **Post date:** [May 18, 2004, 10:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/county-banned/245572/113 "2004-05-18T22:43:22Z")
So **county** ’s gone. I really do disagree with the circumstances in this particular case - but as a general rule, if you’ve been specifically warned about your conduct here you need to learn to cool it; that’s it. But hey, aren’t there those who’ve been warned repeatedly, yet continue to … hmm let me think of an example … referring to people against the War as “Saddamites”? in Great Debates? Actually, that’s a bad example. That individual _definitely_ knows the rules of conduct (being an ex-moderator and all). ---
**Author:** ![Merijeek](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/f05b48/32.png) [@Merijeek](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Merijeek)\ **Post date:** [May 19, 2004, 1:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/county-banned/245572/114 "2004-05-19T13:48:55Z")
> [@Darkhold](#): > > what a bad idea. You’ll just get people that say “Oh it says in the rule she couldn’t call someone a cock biting asshole. All he said was cock biting jerk so clearly he shouldn’t have been banned!” We already get enough annoying threads that look at every aspect of a banned member and declare it unfair. > being an asshole will get you warned anywhere on the board. Isn’t that pretty obvious? Being and asshole after you’ve been warned gets you banned. Not hard to figure out IMO. > Yeah because it’s not like two different mods in this thread told the story of what happened and offered perfectly reasonable explanations. Really? Let’s take a look at two high-profile examples, **december** and **Collounsbury**. **Collounsbury** was a raging asshole, and in his own inimitable way blew the definition of “jerk” into a whole new dimension. Whether you found his input valuable or not (I, personally, did) shouldn’t have given him a pass on the “jerk” rule. However, he did get a pass, didn’t he? **december** , love him or hate him, was a fucking troll. Whether or not people came out and actually said it, it was true. He was also a jerk, just not on the directly abusive way like **Collounsbury**. Instead, he set the standard for the now ofen-used “skirt the edge of trolling and then respond to people dismantling near-your troll with _lalala I can’t hear you_ or _oh, you misunderstand, now watch with amazement how I contradict half the stuff in my OP and pretend that it doesn’t invalidate everything I’ve said so far_.” Either way, still a jerk. Just not in the same mold as **Collounsbury**. Ah, but these two jerks didn’t get banned for being jerks, did they? IIRC, the mods waited for both of them to slip up so they could get nailed on a technicality on a _well-defined_ rule. One that’s not as nebulous as “don’t be a jerk”. IIRC, **Collounsbury** continued to directly insult members in GD after warnings and earlier bannings while **december** continued to deliberately misquote information taken from other sites. Don’t call it the “don’t be a jerk” rule when it’s really the “Mod/Admin fiat” rule. -Joe ---
**Author:** ![Skywatcher](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/skywatcher/32/254_2.png) [@Skywatcher](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Skywatcher)\ **Post date:** [May 19, 2004, 4:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/county-banned/245572/115 "2004-05-19T16:09:25Z")
> [@Merijeek](#): > > these two jerks didn’t get banned for being jerks, did they? [Coll](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?s=&postid=3777572#post3777572) was. [Twice](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showpost.php?p=2645348&postcount=240). ---
**Author:** ![Merijeek](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/f05b48/32.png) [@Merijeek](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Merijeek)\ **Post date:** [May 19, 2004, 4:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/county-banned/245572/116 "2004-05-19T16:29:45Z")
> [@Jeff Olsen](#): > > [Coll](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?s=&postid=3777572#post3777572) was. [Twice](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showpost.php?p=2645348&postcount=240). Well, the first one looked to me like a matter of directly insulting someone in GD. Specifically, referring to them as an “ill-informed purveyor of bigotry” followed by the “fuck off”. Again, **Coll** was being a jerk, but he also broke a _well-defined_ rule. In the second one it’s the same - constant insults. As was frequently the case with **Coll** , well-deserved insults, but still direct insults in GD. And still a _well-defined_ rule. -Joe ---
**Author:** ![World\_Eater](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/f04885/32.png) [@World\_Eater](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/World_Eater)\ **Post date:** [May 19, 2004, 4:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/county-banned/245572/117 "2004-05-19T16:33:33Z")
> [@Merijeek](#): > > Ah, but these two jerks didn’t get banned for being jerks, did they? Of course they did. Both of them were beyond jerks, both we’re banned because of that. The system works. ---
**Author:** ![Binarydrone](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/3da27b/32.png) [@Binarydrone](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Binarydrone)\ **Post date:** [May 19, 2004, 4:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/county-banned/245572/118 "2004-05-19T16:35:39Z")
> [@astro](#): > > …It is glaringly, blindingly obvious that calling you a “bitch” was THE hot button for Lynn regardless of what you may have called him, and to that extent was tantamount to holding him to double standard in the back and forth volley of expletives you two were induging yourselves in. Actually, this post may have been the “hot button” as I specifically requested a ruling on it, just FYI. > [@county](#): > > …Oh, for Christ’s sake you hysterical moron. A fucking dog killed a fucking cat. We ain’t exactly talking about Cujo here. I hope some dog takes a pass at your nuts if you got any. ---
**Author:** ![Skywatcher](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/skywatcher/32/254_2.png) [@Skywatcher](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Skywatcher)\ **Post date:** [May 19, 2004, 4:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/county-banned/245572/119 "2004-05-19T16:40:17Z")
> [@merjeek](#): > > Well, the first one looked to me like a matter of directly insulting someone in GD. Specifically, referring to them as an “ill-informed purveyor of bigotry” followed by the “fuck off”. Again, Coll was being a jerk, but he also broke a well-defined rule. Care to explain why **Gaudere** referred to his being unable to “tone things down” instead of personal attacks? ---
**Author:** ![Skywatcher](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/skywatcher/32/254_2.png) [@Skywatcher](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Skywatcher)\ **Post date:** [May 19, 2004, 4:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/county-banned/245572/120 "2004-05-19T16:42:46Z")
**Merijeek** , sorry for misspelling your name in that ad hoc quote. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/county-banned/245572.md?page=5) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/county-banned/245572.md?page=7)