# Defending Reeder **URL:** \ **Category:** The BBQ Pit\ **Created:** [July 31, 2005, 4:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/defending-reeder/314969 "2005-07-31T04:10:30Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 8\ **Page:** 8
**Author:** ![rayh](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/e79b87/32.png) [@rayh](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/rayh)\ **Post date:** [August 2, 2005, 9:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/defending-reeder/314969/141 "2005-08-02T21:21:15Z")
> [@UncleBeer](#): > > Liberal’s not a liberal - except in the classic sense as it was understood by the founders of the United States. Stick that in your paradigm and smoke it. I can’t I’m afraid, I’ve just given up smoking. ---
**Author:** ![Liberal](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/848f3c/32.png) [@Liberal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Liberal)\ **Post date:** [August 2, 2005, 10:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/defending-reeder/314969/142 "2005-08-02T22:06:37Z")
> [@UncleBeer](#): > > Liberal’s not a liberal - except in the classic sense as it was understood by the founders of the United States. And as it is still understood by most of the world, I might add. ---
**Author:** ![Measure\_for\_Measure](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/measure_for_measure/32/557_2.png) [@Measure\_for\_Measure](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Measure_for_Measure)\ **Post date:** [August 2, 2005, 11:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/defending-reeder/314969/143 "2005-08-02T23:36:16Z")
> [@UncleBeer](#): > > Sure. But the _strong_ implication by istara in that post is that she’s better qualified to judge the relative worthiness of Collounsbury’s posts simply because she happens to live in that particular region of the globe. I don’t think happenstance of residence has any bearing at all on academic qualifications. Give me a freaking break. Collounsbury is a _regional expert_. Somebody who lives in, reads the local media (and IIRC writes some of the local media (???)) has a far superior bullshit detector for regional knowledge or ignorance than somebody who can’t even speak the local language. Also, **istara** said, “Probably”. (Collounsbury also had some decent economic training, but I doubt whether istara was referring to that.) Though **Una** ’s knowledge is both wide and deep, I daresay that her mid-East knowledge is unexceptional. As is mine and I suspect yours, for that matter. ---
**Author:** ![istara](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/e79b87/32.png) [@istara](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/istara)\ **Post date:** [August 7, 2005, 5:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/defending-reeder/314969/144 "2005-08-07T17:30:34Z")
> [@Una Persson](#): > > _You’re_ in a far better qualified position to judge whether or not those two posters were “exceptional”? > > Well. Never mind then; I’m certain I must be completely off-base. I may have lumped you in with a few people that tried to claim that Coll was an “eighth grader in an arm chair” or some such, apologies if you are not among them. I have professional testimony of his actual experience and qualifications, and they are both impressive and extensive. I can’t provide cites or specific facts because he has security and privacy issues, especially at the present time, but he was and is no phoney. Regardless of his character/abrasiveness he brought an enormous wealth of knowledge about the Middle East to this place. PS: Elsewhere it is being said that we are “enemies” and I have some huge bone with you. For the record: I barely know you, and I certainly hold no grudge or ill-will or bad opinion of you. ---
**Author:** ![Una\_Persson](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/una_persson/32/346_2.png) [@Una\_Persson](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Una_Persson)\ **Post date:** [August 7, 2005, 7:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/defending-reeder/314969/145 "2005-08-07T19:37:32Z")
> [@istara](#): > > I may have lumped you in with a few people that tried to claim that Coll was an “eighth grader in an arm chair” or some such, apologies if you are not among them. I have professional testimony of his actual experience and qualifications, and they are both impressive and extensive. I can’t provide cites or specific facts because he has security and privacy issues, especially at the present time, but he was and is no phoney. Regardless of his character/abrasiveness he brought an enormous wealth of knowledge about the Middle East to this place. > > PS: Elsewhere it is being said that we are “enemies” and I have some huge bone with you. For the record: I barely know you, and I certainly hold no grudge or ill-will or bad opinion of you. AFAIK and from what I gather both Collounsbury and yourself are in fact experts on events in the region people call “North Africa/Middle East”. I have no arguments, nor do I hold myself out as knowledgeable in any way, shape, or form on that area. What I was being was needlessly pedantic about the difference between “exceptional Member” and “exceptional Person”. Collounsbury I am certain is in fact an exceptional person and has an exceptional knowledge, but what I was saying was that he was not, on this board, an exceptional member. This leads of course to the sub-debate of whether or not a person should be allowed to remain on a board even if they violate the rules, provided they are an exceptional person or talent. I never had one word to speak to or about him that I remember, however, and I’m not going to say anything bad about him. In fact, I don’t remember anything bad about him, at all, period; I didn’t generally happen to read threads he was in I suppose. My post was connected to the original OP which made it sound like “all the good people are going/gone”, and I felt like that slighted a large number of good people still here. I assure you it was nothing personal towards him. Despite the efforts off board to cause trouble between us, I don’t know of any trouble whatsoever between us whatsoever, even if we don’t really know each other very well, and I hope at worst we continue to not have any disagreements or conflict. ---
**Author:** ![Giraffe](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/giraffe/32/129_2.png) [@Giraffe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Giraffe)\ **Post date:** [August 12, 2005, 5:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/defending-reeder/314969/146 "2005-08-12T05:40:15Z")
> [@duffer](#): > > Thanks. I’d love to sit on high and insult people with the power to ban them. However, I have to watch my step as insulting you may have more serious repurcussions. You and **Giraffe** [seem to be in lock-step](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showpost.php?p=5963945&postcount=15) when it comes to coming down on me for some reason. Well, not really coming down on me in a sense of persecution, but the link was posted in a thread I hadn’t seen till today. Nice to see moderators slinging shit without the balls to at least inform someone they’re calling them out. > > You both can fuck off. Sorry to bump this, but I just wanted to make sure you were aware that the post you linked to was actually made several months _before_ I became a moderator. (I saw your later, calmer post but it wasn’t clear if you’d realized this fact.) Just a regular poster slinging shit at you, nothing more. On the plus side, I did say I thought you were more than twice the poster that **Reeder** was. 😉 ---
**Author:** ![Xploder](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/x/a183cd/32.png) [@Xploder](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Xploder)\ **Post date:** [August 12, 2005, 11:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/defending-reeder/314969/147 "2005-08-12T11:06:13Z")
> [@Giraffe](#): > > On the plus side, I did say I thought you were more than twice the poster that **Reeder** was. 😉 Good point but isn’t thatsort of like saying that my shit stinks twice as bad sa your shit? ---
**Author:** ![Xploder](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/x/a183cd/32.png) [@Xploder](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Xploder)\ **Post date:** [August 12, 2005, 11:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/defending-reeder/314969/148 "2005-08-12T11:07:14Z")
:smack: Believe it or not, I really do know how to spell…I blame not enough sleep combined with no coffee. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/defending-reeder/314969.md?page=7)