I wouldnt quite say they "have no more standing with the board "- but they have no Moderator type powers or duties. I think their membership is free, for example. I wouldnt be surprised if they get a coffee mug. 
Damn straight. It’s why his constant refrain about Republicans being motivated by their hatred of women is hilarious with regards to his total lack of self-awareness.
Sage Rat explicitly compared starving the Greeks to unfortunate but necessary deaths from inoculation. “Yes, maybe a large number people will die of starvation.” Arguably a phrase like that implies a certain moralistic vegetables-before-dessert stance. Because few facts were cited. Der may have been on to something there, though frankly his form of expression was as unhinged as usual: elucidator for example would spoof the POV more credibly.
Insulting? Sure. But lots of posts are insulting. A direct insult? No.
I’m hypothesizing that Der never engages in direct insults. The warnings are for tone, not textbook infractions.
I can’t really see how that matters though.
I dunno. I pretty much accept that he will be shown the door. I just think, “Continuously insulting other members”, misstates matters. “Continuously and insanely/inanely overblown rhetoric?” Sure. Arguably after almost 10 years, we’ve reached the “Sell by” date.
I’ll miss the guy, not because I agree with him but because he’s the only person I’ve encountered or read about who can be both intentionally and unintentionally hilarious. Usually it’s one or the other.
Presenting The Der Trihs Banning Matrix, Jan 2015 edition.
I honestly just wanted to compile the data, in preparation for the near inevitable. See the suspension announcement thread for links.
- Jan 2015 warning by Jonathan Chance. Reason given: Warning for insults. (Sage Rat)
- Oct 2013 warning by Jonathan Chance. Reason: “characterize a group of people with beliefs differing from yours as bullies”. (See above).
- Nov 2013 warning by Jonathan Chance. “Your statement that the great majority of Americans kill people for being Muslim, being brown, for profit or just for fun is… ridiculous.”
- May 2014 warning by Jonathan Chance. Painting with a broad brush.
- Sep 2014 warning by Jonathan Chance. Over-generalizing.
- Sep 2013 warning by Marley23. Threadshitting. “…very obnoxious threadshitting even compared to some of your other work.” Well, even Van Gogh had his off days.
- Dec 2012 warning by Marley23. " You can comment on the right-wing position, but you cannot make derogatory comments about other posters like this."
I perceive shifting goalposts, something welcomed by many of the members here. Numbers six and seven may have applied ordinary SDMB standards, but I maintain that the bar was raised on or around October 2013.
What does eating vegetables before dessert have to do with dying?
When we send troops into battle, we know that “yes, maybe a large number of people will die”. That does not mean we have a DESIRE for them to die. And when something is “unfortunate, but necessary”, that pretty much makes it clear that there is NO DESIRE for it to happen, just a recognition that it might happen and that it might be necessary.
The problem with that post from DT is that he leaps to an unsupported conclusion about the motivation of the poster. It’s no different from saying: “You only make that argument because you like killing people”.
If we’re discussing a hostage situation and you say the best course of action would be a rescue attempt, even though the hostages may die as a result, have you stated a desire for the hostages to be killed? If I were to claim you did, would that not be a fabrication as well as an insult?
ETA: sniped by John.
Clearly, I wanted you to die!
Yes. I actually have two coffee mugs since I got one for being SDSAB, then another when I became a moderator (thus now being rich beyond the dreams of avarice).
As has been said, SDSAB have no powers or authority beyond those of regular posters. They are, however, expected to maintain certain standards of behavior. Someone whose behavior was notably erratic or disruptive wouldn’t be asked to provide staff reports.
Lamest suspension ever. Good grief.
Longest overdue suspension ever.
If Der Trihs’s special permission to act like a jerk is lifted then his banning is inevitable. A one month suspension won’t change anything. He won’t change.
Mod note
We’re edging into a general discussion of Der Trihs’s views and tactics. Please don’t do this - he’s not here to defend himself. The issue in this thread is whether his suspension was appropriate in light of the behavior for which he was warned. Your opinions pro and con should be directed to SDMB staff. If you want to criticize DT, wait till his suspension is over and then you can call him out in the Pit.
I’m honestly confused. I’m not sure how we can discuss whether his suspension was appropriate without discussing the content of his pots, which is what I referenced. If you want us to say “his post said” instead of “he said”, I guess we can do that.
Should have said, instead:
The problem with that post from DT is that it makes unsupported claims about the motivation of the poster. It’s no different from posting: “You only make that argument because you like killing people”.
At any rate, I’ll just bow out of this thread and note that I think the suspension was warranted, as I can clearly see insults in the cited posts. There really isn’t much else to say about it.
I agree with the points John Mace made.
I agree with John on this one. Anyone who says the moderators were right in their decision is implicitly saying that Der Trihs was wrong in his actions (or vice versa). You can’t discuss the one without the other.
This is why (as somebody who thinks the moderators are right) I’ve stayed out of this current discussion. I anticipate there will be threads next month in which Der Trihs will be able to participate and defend his actions.
On reflection I was being overcautious. Debaser’s post immediately preceding mine, in which it was asserted that DT won’t change, was more the kind of thing I’m concerned about - this post was less a comment about the mod action than a swipe at DT. Be that as it may, I appreciate the overall effort to stick to the facts on the table.
Maybe you should start paying attention to the facts.
Asimovian and IvoryTowerDenizen have not yet given DT a warning. And from the links in the suspension thread Marley has been a mod since at least December 2012 and Jonathan Chance has been a mod since at least October 2013.
So yeah, they were really “chomping at the bit to get at him” weren’t they. :rolleyes:
For the record, the suspension of Der Trihs was decided upon before Asimovian and IvoryTowerDenizen were officially in the mod loop. They had nothing to do with the decision.
Ah gotcha. And I apologize to YogSosoth. My last post came out snippier than what is probably the tone that is desired for this forum.
I agree with this construction. But I perceive that there’s a substantive and defensible point that Der might have made, but got lost in the rancor.
Sage Rat claimed (not explicitly) “Necessary evil”, without demonstrating why or in what way the evil was necessary. After all sometimes evil is necessary and sometimes it is not not, right?
Right?
And given that hole in Sage’s argument, it’s reasonable to question the sort of meme or framework he is working from. It’s not unusual to turn macroeconomics into a morality play. I concede (hell, I agree) that Der took that a step beyond into both personal stuff best left for the pit and claims that I personally think exaggerated. Thereby stepping on his own argument, as it happens. The desire to call spades what they allegedly are can be overrated. Sometimes they are snow shovels or even rakes. And even if they are scooping night soil, so what? Why emphasize that?
Sage provided 2 analogies demonstrating the concept of necessary evil. It was reasonable to point out that he was invested in the conceptual framework and to be dubious about the same. The answer to that of course is, “Fine MfM but Der went way beyond that”.
Finally, I appreciate the conversation we are having as it has specificity, as opposed to rough characterization.
PS: I hope Der participates in a pit thread next month. I anticipate that he won’t be around here for too long, so methinks he should avail himself of the opportunity to explain his emphasis on motivation in GD. Not that he’s obliged to respond to pittings.
I may be misremembering, but I believe he is one of those posters who actually avoids the Pit ( or at least threads in which he is being pitted ).