# Czarcasm, is it possible for a liberal to draw a warning for insulting a conservative? **URL:** \ **Category:** About This Message Board\ **Created:** [April 22, 2010, 3:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/czarcasm-is-it-possible-for-a-liberal-to-draw-a-warning-for-insulting-a-conservative/536996 "2010-04-22T15:52:01Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 4
**Author:** ![CarnalK](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/carnalk/32/486_2.png) [@CarnalK](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CarnalK)\ **Post date:** [April 23, 2010, 5:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/czarcasm-is-it-possible-for-a-liberal-to-draw-a-warning-for-insulting-a-conservative/536996/61 "2010-04-23T17:23:26Z")
> [@JThunder](#): > > That was uncalled for. I specifically said that I made no claims of being blameless, and at no point did I protest about receiving an infraction. In other words, I did not complain about being scolded. I do feel that there was evidence of bias though, for reasons that I explained in great detail. > > I want to say more about your remark, but I think it’s best that I hold my tongue. The sad thing is that I was joking and just making fun of Zoe and Vinyl Turnip’s comments, then nobody gets it and I get a “mod note” along with her. heh. ---
**Author:** ![Colibri](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/colibri/32/1841_2.png) [@Colibri](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Colibri)\ **Post date:** [April 23, 2010, 5:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/czarcasm-is-it-possible-for-a-liberal-to-draw-a-warning-for-insulting-a-conservative/536996/62 "2010-04-23T17:38:19Z")
> [@CarnalK](#): > > The sad thing is that I was joking and just making fun of Zoe and Vinyl Turnip’s comments, then nobody gets it and I get a “mod note” along with her. heh. If you can’t make your intent clear, then it’s best to refrain from making such remarks in ATMB. This is not the fault of the readers, it’s yours. ---
**Author:** ![CarnalK](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/carnalk/32/486_2.png) [@CarnalK](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CarnalK)\ **Post date:** [April 23, 2010, 6:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/czarcasm-is-it-possible-for-a-liberal-to-draw-a-warning-for-insulting-a-conservative/536996/63 "2010-04-23T18:04:11Z")
Please don’t put words in my mouth regarding where I placed fault. I didn’t fault anyone, though I thought the mhendo bit would have made it obvious. ---
**Author:** ![Colibri](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/colibri/32/1841_2.png) [@Colibri](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Colibri)\ **Post date:** [April 23, 2010, 6:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/czarcasm-is-it-possible-for-a-liberal-to-draw-a-warning-for-insulting-a-conservative/536996/64 "2010-04-23T18:26:27Z")
> [@CarnalK](#): > > Please don’t put words in my mouth regarding where I placed fault. I didn’t fault anyone, though I thought the mhendo bit would have made it obvious. If we are nitpicking, I didn’t say you placed fault. However, you did misrepresent matters by claiming I gave you a mod note when I explicitly said I didn’t in my post. In any case, the point stands. If you can’t make it clear you are joking (and in this case you didn’t), let’s refrain from making personal remarks about other posters. ---
**Author:** ![VinylTurnip](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/v/b2d939/32.png) [@VinylTurnip](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/VinylTurnip)\ **Post date:** [April 23, 2010, 7:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/czarcasm-is-it-possible-for-a-liberal-to-draw-a-warning-for-insulting-a-conservative/536996/65 "2010-04-23T19:21:53Z")
Does vBulletin have a “rimshot” tag? ---
**Author:** ![leander](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/bcef8e/32.png) [@leander](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/leander)\ **Post date:** [April 23, 2010, 10:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/czarcasm-is-it-possible-for-a-liberal-to-draw-a-warning-for-insulting-a-conservative/536996/66 "2010-04-23T22:26:26Z")
> [@Colibri](#): > > Once again, with all due respect: another thing we look for in moderators is the capacity to walk away from an argument. [QUOTE=Colibri] If we are nitpicking, I didn’t say you placed fault. However, you did misrepresent matters by claiming I gave you a mod note when I explicitly said I didn’t in my post. In any case, the point stands. If you can’t make it clear you are joking (and in this case you didn’t), let’s refrain from making personal remarks about other posters. [/QUOTE] You win the thread! 😛 ---
**Author:** ![Irishman](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/b487fb/32.png) [@Irishman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Irishman)\ **Post date:** [April 24, 2010, 6:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/czarcasm-is-it-possible-for-a-liberal-to-draw-a-warning-for-insulting-a-conservative/536996/67 "2010-04-24T18:30:16Z")
**Oakminster** said: > [@](#): > > Finally, I’d think it might be best if he’d just go his way and let me go mine. If you really feel this way, then why did you _start_ a thread to complain about him? 😕 > [@](#): > > No more sniping by either side. He doesn’t quote or reply to my posts. I don’t quote or reply to his. Let things settle down a bit. Well, there is that little problem that he is a moderator and technically is supposed to moderate, so what happens if he’s moderating a thread that you participate in and you make an infraction? Are you suggesting he has to pass the buck to someone else to moderate you, simply so you won’t feel picked on? **Oakminster** , I really do think the problem is on your end, it is one of perception. You seem to have a beef with **Czarcasm** and that has colored your perception of this incident. ---
**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:** [April 25, 2010, 6:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/czarcasm-is-it-possible-for-a-liberal-to-draw-a-warning-for-insulting-a-conservative/536996/68 "2010-04-25T06:40:22Z")
> [@Colibri](#): > > Once again, with all due respect: another thing we look for in moderators is the capacity to walk away from an argument. That was totally unnecessary. Also, I think that, rather than the ability to walk away, I’d look for the ability not to start fights in the first place, and to calm them over if they start without them. You and a few others actually seem to have that ability. And here’s a question for everyone else: When’s the last time you were mad, someone told you you shouldn’t be mad, and so you stopped being mad? Anger isn’t logical, and you can’t defeat it with logic. ---
**Author:** ![Bricker](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/977dab/32.png) [@Bricker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bricker)\ **Post date:** [April 26, 2010, 3:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/czarcasm-is-it-possible-for-a-liberal-to-draw-a-warning-for-insulting-a-conservative/536996/69 "2010-04-26T15:54:01Z")
In an earlier thread I observed that in my opinion, the bias in **Czarcasm** ’s moderation comes out in precisely the way seen here: not in unfairly harsh treatment given to conservatives, but in shut-eye lenience being given to liberals. If this were the only incident, a reasonable person should conclude that it was simply the luck of the draw. But when all or most of the “lucks of the draw” cut one way, I believe it’s not luck. ---
**Author:** ![mlees](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/ba8739/32.png) [@mlees](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mlees)\ **Post date:** [April 26, 2010, 7:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/czarcasm-is-it-possible-for-a-liberal-to-draw-a-warning-for-insulting-a-conservative/536996/70 "2010-04-26T19:53:55Z")
In some ways, bias may lie in the eye of the beholder, too. Some conservative posters may feel outnumbered and “picked on” lately, and are in a defensive frame of mind. These posters are thus are more likely to interpret actions of others (in this case, those of a moderator) with a certain bias of their own. ---
**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:** [April 26, 2010, 10:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/czarcasm-is-it-possible-for-a-liberal-to-draw-a-warning-for-insulting-a-conservative/536996/71 "2010-04-26T22:08:21Z")
> [@mlees](#): > > In some ways, bias may lie in the eye of the beholder, too. > > Some conservative posters may feel outnumbered and “picked on” lately, and are in a defensive frame of mind. These posters are thus are more likely to interpret actions of others (in this case, those of a moderator) with a certain bias of their own. Then again, maybe not. I had one case where a poster made a personal insult towards me and when I reported it, the mod allowed it saying it was equivalent to my insult of Nancy Pelosi (note: she is a public figure) but then was told that the poster had been warned for some innocuous statement elsewhere in the post. So basically the ruling was: If you insult a political figure, you are free to be insulted (he he he, I’m going to get all of you Bush-bashers now). The other poster is now saying WTF did I get a warning for? ---
**Author:** ![mhendo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mhendo/32/3159_2.png) [@mhendo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mhendo)\ **Post date:** [April 26, 2010, 10:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/czarcasm-is-it-possible-for-a-liberal-to-draw-a-warning-for-insulting-a-conservative/536996/72 "2010-04-26T22:11:33Z")
> [@Saint\_Cad](#): > > Then again, maybe not. I had one case where a poster made a personal insult towards me and when I reported it, the mod allowed it saying it was equivalent to my insult of Nancy Pelosi (note: she is a public figure) Do you have a link for this incident? ---
**Author:** ![gonzomax](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/e8c25b/32.png) [@gonzomax](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gonzomax)\ **Post date:** [April 27, 2010, 2:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/czarcasm-is-it-possible-for-a-liberal-to-draw-a-warning-for-insulting-a-conservative/536996/73 "2010-04-27T02:33:39Z")
> [@Oakminster](#): > > Blatant moderator bias strikes again: > > [is there a conservative version of SDMB? - In My Humble Opinion - Straight Dope Message Board](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=560473) > > You pass out warnings to two posters expressing conservative points of view, while letting liberals slide with only a note. Again. > > How can you justify letting **Rigamarole** slide with a note, but issuing warnings to \*\*JThunder \*\*and **Balthisar**? I got lots of them. Yes it is possible. But humans see everything with their own bias. You and Bricker are no different. ---
**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:** [April 27, 2010, 5:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/czarcasm-is-it-possible-for-a-liberal-to-draw-a-warning-for-insulting-a-conservative/536996/74 "2010-04-27T05:29:35Z")
> [@mhendo](#): > > Do you have a link for this incident? This thread > **[Dems lose the House in November. Who's to blame?](https://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=557240)** > > So UHC has passed and the Republicans will do their best to make sure no one forgets it over the next 7 months. I know the Democrats love to blame W. for everything. It was his fault the housing bubble popped even though Barney Frank blocked his... Post #8 The response I complained about Quote: Pelosi - I’ve heard her interviewed 5 or 6 times. She is a complete idiot. She is phenomenally good at her job. Probably much better than you are at yours. The response that was warned Quote: The voters - They’re too stupid to know what’s best for them. Luckily we do. (errr . . . did) Most voters are within acceptable bounds when it comes to intelligence. Some, like you, are very, very uninformed. The rationale from the mod: I am not sure why you feel a wry (and unsupportable) comment about how well you do your job is a serious, direct insult. His later swipe at your intelligence, for which I have rapped his knuckles, was a more blatant insult. If I’m misreading this, let me know. ---
**Author:** ![Gustav](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/919ad9/32.png) [@Gustav](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gustav)\ **Post date:** [April 27, 2010, 9:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/czarcasm-is-it-possible-for-a-liberal-to-draw-a-warning-for-insulting-a-conservative/536996/75 "2010-04-27T09:39:34Z")
Getting a warning for either of those comments is pretty ridiculous. e: and reporting them even more so. ---
**Author:** ![mlees](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/ba8739/32.png) [@mlees](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mlees)\ **Post date:** [April 27, 2010, 2:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/czarcasm-is-it-possible-for-a-liberal-to-draw-a-warning-for-insulting-a-conservative/536996/76 "2010-04-27T14:59:49Z")
> [@Saint\_Cad](#): > > Then again, maybe not. I had one case where a poster made a personal insult towards me and when I reported it, the mod allowed it saying it was equivalent to my insult of Nancy Pelosi (note: she is a public figure) but then was told that the poster had been warned for some innocuous statement elsewhere in the post. So basically the ruling was: > > If you insult a political figure, you are free to be insulted (he he he, I’m going to get all of you Bush-bashers now). > The other poster is now saying WTF did I get a warning for? Sorry. I didn’t mean that personal bias always misleads one into reading things into posts that aren’t there… I meant it may lead. ---
**Author:** ![tomndebb](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/b9e5f3/32.png) [@tomndebb](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tomndebb)\ **Post date:** [April 27, 2010, 6:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/czarcasm-is-it-possible-for-a-liberal-to-draw-a-warning-for-insulting-a-conservative/536996/77 "2010-04-27T18:21:53Z")
> [@Saint\_Cad](#): > > This thread > [Dems lose the House in November. Who's to blame? - Great Debates - Straight Dope Message Board](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=557240) > Post #8 > > The response I complained about > Quote: > Pelosi - I’ve heard her interviewed 5 or 6 times. She is a complete idiot. > > She is phenomenally good at her job. Probably much better than you are at yours. > > The response that was warned > Quote: > The voters - They’re too stupid to know what’s best for them. Luckily we do. (errr . . . did) > > Most voters are within acceptable bounds when it comes to intelligence. Some, like you, are very, very uninformed. > > The rationale from the mod: > I am not sure why you feel a wry (and unsupportable) comment about how well you do your job is a serious, direct insult. His later swipe at your intelligence, for which I have rapped his knuckles, was a more blatant insult. > > If I’m misreading this, let me know. Specifically, the statement that got a Mod response (with no Warning issued) to “knock it off” was > [@](#): > > Most voters are within acceptable bounds when it comes to intelligence. Some, like you, are very, very uninformed. I read this as a direct attack on another poster’s intelligence (even–perhaps especially–since it mangled the difference between intelligence and knowledge). On the other hand, a claim that a politician is better at her job than a poster is at his or hers strikes me as pretty lame when judged as an “insult.” A claim that Pelosi was competent while the poster was incompetent would have been judged to be a personal attack. I also note that having then read the whole (typically partisan) mudslinging thread, I posted an instruction for everyone to back off on making personal comments. ---
**Author:** ![Irishman](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/b487fb/32.png) [@Irishman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Irishman)\ **Post date:** [April 27, 2010, 9:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/czarcasm-is-it-possible-for-a-liberal-to-draw-a-warning-for-insulting-a-conservative/536996/78 "2010-04-27T21:36:45Z")
> [@](#): > > I read this as a direct attack on another poster’s intelligence (even–perhaps especially–since it mangled the difference between intelligence and knowledge). Odd, because I read it as directly acknowledging the difference between _intelligence_ and _knowledge_. It’s not an insult, it’s a judgment that the poster that is addressed has not done his homework on the topic, not that he doesn’t have the sense to understand the topic. At _best_, the issue is the poster making statements that are about the other poster, but to me it hardly merits moderator action. ---
**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:** [April 27, 2010, 10:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/czarcasm-is-it-possible-for-a-liberal-to-draw-a-warning-for-insulting-a-conservative/536996/79 "2010-04-27T22:07:02Z")
> [@Irishman](#): > > Odd, because I read it as directly acknowledging the difference between _intelligence_ and _knowledge_. It’s not an insult, it’s a judgment that the poster that is addressed has not done his homework on the topic, not that he doesn’t have the sense to understand the topic. > > At _best_, the issue is the poster making statements that are about the other poster, but to me it hardly merits moderator action. Which is exactly how I read it whereas the other comment implies that I am incompetent at my job - if not, why not just make the statement “Pelosi is good at her job.” and leave it at that. Why compare it to me doing my job if not directed at me personally as an indirect attack? So if a liberal member of SD talks about how stupid GW Bush is and I say, “He’s smart, probably much smarter than you.” that is not an attack because I didn’t call the other poster stupid? Just trying to figure out where the lines are. ---
**Author:** ![tomndebb](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/b9e5f3/32.png) [@tomndebb](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tomndebb)\ **Post date:** [April 28, 2010, 3:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/czarcasm-is-it-possible-for-a-liberal-to-draw-a-warning-for-insulting-a-conservative/536996/80 "2010-04-28T03:55:02Z")
OK. Just so that I am sure what the complaint is: You and Lobohan had an exchange in which a general lack of appreciation for the other was shared, during which Lobohan came closer to violating board rules than you did. I told him to stop. I then told everyone to stop, as there had been a general lack of decorum in the thread, encouraging them to discuss your OP’s actual thesis. At no time did I claim that you had committed any offense. You were then mad, (and mad enough to bring it up, again, now, several weeks later), that I did not slap his hand for the correct offense. OK. Now, how does that bear on whether “liberals” may or may not receive Warnings for their behavior? [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/czarcasm-is-it-possible-for-a-liberal-to-draw-a-warning-for-insulting-a-conservative/536996.md?page=3) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/czarcasm-is-it-possible-for-a-liberal-to-draw-a-warning-for-insulting-a-conservative/536996.md?page=5)