# Czarcasm: having a bit of a power trip? **URL:** \ **Category:** The BBQ Pit\ **Created:** [November 17, 2004, 3:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/czarcasm-having-a-bit-of-a-power-trip/275192 "2004-11-17T03:45:38Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![BMalion](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/e274bd/32.png) [@BMalion](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BMalion)\ **Post date:** [November 17, 2004, 4:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/czarcasm-having-a-bit-of-a-power-trip/275192/41 "2004-11-17T16:55:17Z")
> [@Gaudere](#): > > Even if there is no rule stated, if a Mod tells you to knock something off, you knock it off. I don’t have a rule in GD telling people they can’t post in alternating pink and pale gray, but if someone posted that way and I told them “quit it”, I expect them to quit it, not argue that I don’t have it listed as a rule. So I see this “but the Putz rule is only in the GD stickies” as a bit of a red herring. We have a Red Herring smilie!?! _that’s_ why I love this board! ---
**Author:** ![bup](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/6bbea6/32.png) [@bup](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bup)\ **Post date:** [November 17, 2004, 5:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/czarcasm-having-a-bit-of-a-power-trip/275192/42 "2004-11-17T17:52:45Z")
> [@Nutty Bunny](#): > > The :wally is winking because it’s a tribute to a beloved poster who passed away a few years ago. He was famous for using Putz at the end of posts. > > But I can see why new posters would think it’s used in a joking manner, since they don’t know the story behind it. Which begs the question, of course: would Wally be banned today? ---
**Author:** ![JohnBckWLD](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/d6d6ee/32.png) [@JohnBckWLD](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JohnBckWLD)\ **Post date:** [November 17, 2004, 6:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/czarcasm-having-a-bit-of-a-power-trip/275192/43 "2004-11-17T18:39:50Z")
Probably cause I could count on one hand how many times I’ve used them, but isn’t: ;j = The Wally Smiley (that pays homage to a former poster) and :wally = Known as the Putz smiley whose ‘: wally’ text symbol was used cause it was a word he used often ---
**Author:** ![bup](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/6bbea6/32.png) [@bup](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bup)\ **Post date:** [November 17, 2004, 6:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/czarcasm-having-a-bit-of-a-power-trip/275192/44 "2004-11-17T18:43:54Z")
> [@JohnBckWLD](#): > > Probably cause I could count on one hand how many times I’ve used them, but isn’t: > > ;j = The Wally Smiley (that pays homage to a former poster) > and > :wally = Known as the Putz smiley whose ‘: wally’ text symbol was used cause it was a word he used often Reply to a post, and let your mouse hover over the ‘putz’ smiley until you get a tooltip. ---
**Author:** ![Amazon\_Floozy\_Goddess](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/779978/32.png) [@Amazon\_Floozy\_Goddess](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Amazon_Floozy_Goddess)\ **Post date:** [November 17, 2004, 6:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/czarcasm-having-a-bit-of-a-power-trip/275192/45 "2004-11-17T18:46:05Z")
I’d just like to know why Czarcasm has locked so many TMI threads lately. One of them was one I started,[“Gross, disgusting things family members have done.”](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=283245) . Czarcasm locked it because he said it was getting much too TMI. Yeah, it was gross, but I can’t see how it was possibly worse than some of the poop and zit popping threads that have been started in the past that have gone on for pages and pages. Some others had their TMI threads locked, too, and they were tamer than mine. Nobody had posted messages in these threads that were hurtful, illegal, or otherwise inappropriate, so what gives?? ---
**Author:** ![bup](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/6bbea6/32.png) [@bup](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bup)\ **Post date:** [November 17, 2004, 7:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/czarcasm-having-a-bit-of-a-power-trip/275192/46 "2004-11-17T19:03:29Z")
> [@Amazon Floozy Goddess](#): > > I’d just like to know why Czarcasm has locked so many TMI threads lately. One of them was one I started,[“Gross, disgusting things family members have done.”](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=283245) . Czarcasm locked it because he said it was getting much too TMI. Yeah, it was gross, but I can’t see how it was possibly worse than some of the poop and zit popping threads that have been started in the past that have gone on for pages and pages. Some others had their TMI threads locked, too, and they were tamer than mine. Nobody had posted messages in these threads that were hurtful, illegal, or otherwise inappropriate, so what gives?? That was **Cajun Man**. ---
**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:** [November 17, 2004, 7:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/czarcasm-having-a-bit-of-a-power-trip/275192/47 "2004-11-17T19:07:16Z")
> [@SuaSponte](#): > > Um, don’t ya think that the decision to deem the smiley expressly created to memorialize one of the most beloved posters ever to grace these boards an insult is, mayhaps, misguided? > > Sua Heh. Given the, how shall we say, probable status of that poster, perhaps it’s just right. ---
**Author:** ![bup](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/6bbea6/32.png) [@bup](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bup)\ **Post date:** [November 17, 2004, 7:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/czarcasm-having-a-bit-of-a-power-trip/275192/48 "2004-11-17T19:19:37Z")
> [@manhattan](#): > > Given the, how shall we say, probable status of that poster Dead? Or don’t I get your meaning? ---
**Author:** ![Amazon\_Floozy\_Goddess](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/779978/32.png) [@Amazon\_Floozy\_Goddess](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Amazon_Floozy_Goddess)\ **Post date:** [November 17, 2004, 7:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/czarcasm-having-a-bit-of-a-power-trip/275192/49 "2004-11-17T19:34:17Z")
> [@bup](#): > > That was **Cajun Man**. Whoops, sorry, **Czarcasm**. Too many mods with names beginning in “C”…they all start to look the same after awhile… ---
**Author:** ![Weirddave](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/919ad9/32.png) [@Weirddave](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Weirddave)\ **Post date:** [November 17, 2004, 7:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/czarcasm-having-a-bit-of-a-power-trip/275192/50 "2004-11-17T19:37:22Z")
> [@Czarcasm](#): > > It has already been stated(Great Debates, first sticky, second post) that the “Putz!” smiley is considered an insult, and should only be used in The BBQ Pit. Do we really need a separate sticky in every single forum stating basically the same thing, or can we just apply a little common sense here? Wait a second. You’re seriously (at least, I assume you’re serious. I’m treating this as if you are making a pronouncement in full mod attire) stating that officially, for board-wide purposes, a smiley, a fucking smiley, one that is winking and has almost universally been used for good natured ribbing, is now considered an “insult”, and an insult so serious that it’s use is to be confined to the pit alongside all of the “motherfuckers”, “goat-felchers” and “assholes” of the board, and you’re asking us to use “common sense”??? The term “common sense” doesn’t belong anywhere near this feeble excuse for a rule. Perhaps it’s time to change the slogan to “embracing ignorance”, because this is just…asinine, capricious and juvenile. ---
**Author:** ![The\_Chao\_Goes\_Mu](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/the_chao_goes_mu/32/3191_2.png) [@The\_Chao\_Goes\_Mu](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Chao_Goes_Mu)\ **Post date:** [November 17, 2004, 7:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/czarcasm-having-a-bit-of-a-power-trip/275192/51 "2004-11-17T19:39:55Z")
I’m with **weirddave** on this one. ---
**Author:** ![Ghanima](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/9e8a1a/32.png) [@Ghanima](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ghanima)\ **Post date:** [November 17, 2004, 7:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/czarcasm-having-a-bit-of-a-power-trip/275192/52 "2004-11-17T19:40:22Z")
But what if I want to take apoll about the use of the putz smiley? Would I have to do that in the Pit? Or would it be OK in that context because it is not directly aimed at anyone? Is this a full-on banning of the smiley, or just banning using it to call someone a putz other than in the Pit? Full-on banning makes no sense. ---
**Author:** ![Frank](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/3d9bf3/32.png) [@Frank](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Frank)\ **Post date:** [November 17, 2004, 7:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/czarcasm-having-a-bit-of-a-power-trip/275192/53 "2004-11-17T19:44:15Z")
> [@Ghanima](#): > > But what if I want to take apoll about the use of the putz smiley? Would I have to do that in the Pit? Or would it be OK in that context because it is not directly aimed at anyone? Is this a full-on banning of the smiley, or just banning using it to call someone a putz other than in the Pit? Full-on banning makes no sense. This is where a Talmudic scholar would come in handy. Fortunately, we have one: ;j ---
**Author:** ![Ilsa\_Lund](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/a6a055/32.png) [@Ilsa\_Lund](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ilsa_Lund)\ **Post date:** [November 17, 2004, 8:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/czarcasm-having-a-bit-of-a-power-trip/275192/54 "2004-11-17T20:06:09Z")
> [@bup](#): > > Dead? > > Or don’t I get your meaning? There is a strong possibility he faked his own death and just left the board. This is an ugly subject, so you should probably let it go at that, at least in this thread. Friendly advice, IANAMOD. ---
**Author:** ![Czarcasm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/czarcasm/32/4050_2.png) [@Czarcasm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Czarcasm)\ **Post date:** [November 17, 2004, 11:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/czarcasm-having-a-bit-of-a-power-trip/275192/55 "2004-11-17T23:55:41Z")
> [@Amazon Floozy Goddess](#): > > Whoops, sorry, **Czarcasm**. Too many mods with names beginning in “C”…they all start to look the same after awhile… Should I feel honored, or should _he_ feel insulted? 😃 As far as this controversy is concerned, I’m trying my best to raise the rating of IMHO from a hard “R” to maybe a “PG-13”. This may mean that an occasional TMI-type thread is o.k., but if I feel that there are too many of these kinds of threads in a short period of time, a few may get locked off. It also means that, while questioning a persons viewpoint is all right, providing that the thread in question isn’t an actual poll, insulting them personally is going to be frowned upon. In my humble opinion, the “Putz!” smiley has been used far too often as a direct insult throughout this board for one to automatically assume that it’s only purpose is to kid. ---
**Author:** ![DrDeth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b487fb/32.png) [@DrDeth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DrDeth)\ **Post date:** [November 18, 2004, 1:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/czarcasm-having-a-bit-of-a-power-trip/275192/56 "2004-11-18T01:07:50Z")
Well, I am afraid I have to then weigh in on th eside of them that say "get rid of the :wally ". If the only forum it can be used in is here- and here it is SO lame :rolleyes: - that we might as well dump it. Since it is right there on the list of 'approved smileys" then those not in the know would likely use it unwittingly- thus causing them to be warned (or even banned)- and it causes extra work for the Staff. I have also looked upon it as a “freinly not-serious insult” smiley. And many others here have said the same. Thus, there is no reason NOT to use it- except it’s against the rules, but that isn’t made all that claer). So- to save newbies & naifs from being warned and embarrassed, and to save the hard-working abd vastly under-paid Staff work- we need to get rid of it. I suggest a “banghead” smiley. I am going to try one here- i doubt if it will work. :banghead: ---
**Author:** ![Czarcasm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/czarcasm/32/4050_2.png) [@Czarcasm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Czarcasm)\ **Post date:** [November 18, 2004, 1:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/czarcasm-having-a-bit-of-a-power-trip/275192/57 "2004-11-18T01:28:42Z")
> [@SkipMagic](#): > > I _did_ start my own board, and you know what? The bastid hasn’t even registered yet. The bastid has registered on your board. ---
**Author:** ![SkipMagic](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/skipmagic/32/20706_2.png) [@SkipMagic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SkipMagic)\ **Post date:** [November 18, 2004, 3:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/czarcasm-having-a-bit-of-a-power-trip/275192/58 "2004-11-18T03:36:26Z")
> [@Czarcasm](#): > > The bastid has registered on your board. Oh, man, I can’t wait until you ask request moderator privileges. ---
**Author:** ![Czarcasm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/czarcasm/32/4050_2.png) [@Czarcasm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Czarcasm)\ **Post date:** [November 18, 2004, 3:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/czarcasm-having-a-bit-of-a-power-trip/275192/59 "2004-11-18T03:41:02Z")
> [@SkipMagic](#): > > Oh, man, I can’t wait until you ask request moderator privileges. Not me, man. I’m gonna be an Administrator and kick some serious bootay. 😃 ---
**Author:** ![SkipMagic](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/skipmagic/32/20706_2.png) [@SkipMagic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SkipMagic)\ **Post date:** [November 18, 2004, 4:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/czarcasm-having-a-bit-of-a-power-trip/275192/60 "2004-11-18T04:36:47Z")
> [@Czarcasm](#): > > Not me, man. I’m gonna be an Administrator and kick some serious bootay. 😃 Well, crap. **Bricker** didn’t say anything about that. I’ll have to ask him–you just wait here until I get back. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/czarcasm-having-a-bit-of-a-power-trip/275192.md?page=2) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/czarcasm-having-a-bit-of-a-power-trip/275192.md?page=4)