# Does this diserve a warning? **URL:** \ **Category:** About This Message Board\ **Created:** [June 13, 2018, 10:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-this-diserve-a-warning/816056 "2018-06-13T22:47:40Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Darren\_Garrison](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/darren_garrison/32/92_2.png) [@Darren\_Garrison](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Darren_Garrison)\ **Post date:** [June 13, 2018, 10:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-this-diserve-a-warning/816056/1 "2018-06-13T22:47:40Z")
[Poster starts a thread](https://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?p=21020731), ends it with “Explain for me, please. Or at least reveal I am a moron for even considering this.” I make the joke “You are a moron for even considering this.” Get warning for an insult. ---
**Author:** ![TriPolar](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tripolar/32/3008_2.png) [@TriPolar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TriPolar)\ **Post date:** [June 13, 2018, 10:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-this-diserve-a-warning/816056/2 "2018-06-13T22:52:42Z")
Yes it does deserve a warning. Or no it doesn’t deserve a warning. It depends on which way the wind blows today. ---
**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:** [June 13, 2018, 10:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-this-diserve-a-warning/816056/3 "2018-06-13T22:53:38Z")
He didn’t ask you to insult him, he asked you to explain it to him. You didn’t explain anything to him; you just took advantage of an opportunity to insult him. ---
**Author:** ![TriPolar](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tripolar/32/3008_2.png) [@TriPolar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TriPolar)\ **Post date:** [June 13, 2018, 11:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-this-diserve-a-warning/816056/4 "2018-06-13T23:10:48Z")
He asked to be told if he was a moron. His request was fulfilled. > [@Mahaloth](#): > > Explain for me, please. Or at least reveal I am a moron for even considering this. ---
**Author:** ![snfaulkner](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/snfaulkner/32/433_2.png) [@snfaulkner](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/snfaulkner)\ **Post date:** [June 13, 2018, 11:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-this-diserve-a-warning/816056/5 "2018-06-13T23:11:33Z")
> [@Colibri](#): > > He didn’t ask you to insult him, he asked you to explain it to him. You didn’t explain anything to him; you just took advantage of an opportunity to insult him. Would he still gotten the warning if he (Darren G) ended his so-called insult with :D, like Mahaloth (the OP) did? ---
**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:** [June 13, 2018, 11:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-this-diserve-a-warning/816056/6 "2018-06-13T23:18:26Z")
> [@TriPolar](#): > > He asked to be told if he was a moron. His request was fulfilled. Wrong. He asked to “reveal” he was a moron by explaining the question to him. He never asked to be called a moron. Statements like that do not give other posters leave to insult the OP. **Darren Garrison** gave no indication that he was joking, and in any case insults don’t get a free pass merely because they are intended as jokes. [From the Rules.](https://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showpost.php?p=7697044&postcount=10) > [@](#): > > Generally, you may not directly insult or personally attack other posters. The strictness of this rule varies a bit by forum, but the basic rule is that you should attack what the other person says, not the other person. \*\*This rule applies to all insults, including jokes \*\*and quotes from books & movies, as others may not get the joke. Using smilies (e.g., “You’re a jerk;)”) does not make insults okay. Bolding mine ---
**Author:** ![watchwolf49](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/e9c0ed/32.png) [@watchwolf49](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/watchwolf49)\ **Post date:** [June 13, 2018, 11:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-this-diserve-a-warning/816056/7 "2018-06-13T23:18:26Z")
Yeah … that’s a personal insult … just no way around it, you called him a moron, clear as daylight … ---
**Author:** ![Little\_Nemo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/little_nemo/32/3120_2.png) [@Little\_Nemo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Little_Nemo)\ **Post date:** [June 13, 2018, 11:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-this-diserve-a-warning/816056/8 "2018-06-13T23:35:09Z")
For what it’s worth, I disagree with Colibri’s warning. I think it was clear Darren Garrison was making a joke based on Mahaloth’s OP and not a genuine insult. ---
**Author:** ![TriPolar](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tripolar/32/3008_2.png) [@TriPolar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TriPolar)\ **Post date:** [June 13, 2018, 11:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-this-diserve-a-warning/816056/9 "2018-06-13T23:42:35Z")
> [@Colibri](#): > > Wrong. He asked to “reveal” he was a moron by explaining the question to him. He never asked to be called a moron. I am not even arguing about whether this is a rule violation, but I am not wrong. ‘Reveal’ is not a synonym for explain, and his statement asks for an explanation or as a minimum response that he was a moron if he was one. ---
**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:** [June 13, 2018, 11:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-this-diserve-a-warning/816056/10 "2018-06-13T23:44:53Z")
> [@Little\_Nemo](#): > > For what it’s worth, I disagree with Colibri’s warning. I think it was clear Darren Garrison was making a joke based on Mahaloth’s OP and not a genuine insult. See the rule I quoted. The fact that it was a joke was irrelevant. ---
**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:** [June 13, 2018, 11:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-this-diserve-a-warning/816056/11 "2018-06-13T23:49:39Z")
> [@TriPolar](#): > > I am not even arguing about whether this is a rule violation, but I am not wrong. ‘Reveal’ is not a synonym for explain, and his statement asks for an explanation or as a minimum response that he was a moron if he was one. [Synonyms for reveal:](http://www.thesaurus.com/browse/reveal) > [@](#): > > acknowledge > admit > affirm > announce > concede > confess > declare > divulge > _ **explain** _ > expose > inform > publish > report > tell > avow > betray > broadcast > communicate > impart > leak > notify > proclaim > talk > unfold > utter > break the news > bring out into open > bring to light > come out with > get out of system > give away > give out > give the low-down > let cat out of the bag > let fall > let on > let out > let slip > make known > make plain > make public > put cards on table He was clearly asking for something else than to be called a moron. ---
**Author:** ![TriPolar](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tripolar/32/3008_2.png) [@TriPolar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TriPolar)\ **Post date:** [June 13, 2018, 11:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-this-diserve-a-warning/816056/12 "2018-06-13T23:59:43Z")
> [@Colibri](#): > > [Synonyms for reveal:](http://www.thesaurus.com/browse/reveal) > > He was clearly asking for something else than to be called a moron. I agree. Based on the rule you posted, which indicated a smiley cannot turn an insult into a non-insult, I believe it was a rule violation. That does not change the meaning of his request, which at best is ambiguous, but it does mean that responding by simply revealing that he is a moron is a rule violation even if intended as a joke, or actually is a joke. ---
**Author:** ![BlankSlate](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/blankslate/32/80_2.png) [@BlankSlate](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BlankSlate)\ **Post date:** [June 14, 2018, 12:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-this-diserve-a-warning/816056/13 "2018-06-14T00:14:27Z")
The joke wouldn’t have been made without the invitation of the OP. Worth a note, but not a warning imho. ---
**Author:** ![TriPolar](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tripolar/32/3008_2.png) [@TriPolar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TriPolar)\ **Post date:** [June 14, 2018, 12:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-this-diserve-a-warning/816056/14 "2018-06-14T00:20:16Z")
> [@BlankSlate](#): > > The joke wouldn’t have been made without the invitation of the OP. Worth a note, but not a warning imho. I agree, but that decision is entirely within **Colibri** ’s purview, and clearly a rule violation. The mods have been given the authority to be arbitrary and capricious in their application of warnings for rule violations, but\*\* Colibri \*\*is known for applying warnings stringently in GQ and thus less arbitrary than the average mod in the average forum. ---
**Author:** ![kayT](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kayt/32/3633_2.png) [@kayT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kayT)\ **Post date:** [June 14, 2018, 12:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-this-diserve-a-warning/816056/15 "2018-06-14T00:23:18Z")
No more humor on the Dope! I think we’re done here. Also, spelling (deserve not diserve) ---
**Author:** ![Ludovic](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/7ab992/32.png) [@Ludovic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ludovic)\ **Post date:** [June 14, 2018, 12:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-this-diserve-a-warning/816056/16 "2018-06-14T00:30:18Z")
> [@kayT](#): > > No more humor on the Dope! I think we’re done here. > > Also, spelling (deserve not diserve) Hay, theirs know RULAA gainst miss spalling ate the Drupe. ---
**Author:** ![kayT](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kayt/32/3633_2.png) [@kayT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kayT)\ **Post date:** [June 14, 2018, 12:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-this-diserve-a-warning/816056/17 "2018-06-14T00:34:32Z")
Oh, yer write. sorry ---
**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:** [June 14, 2018, 1:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-this-diserve-a-warning/816056/18 "2018-06-14T01:29:13Z")
> [@TriPolar](#): > > I agree, but that decision is entirely within **Colibri** ’s purview, and clearly a rule violation. The mods have been given the authority to be arbitrary and capricious in their application of warnings for rule violations, but\*\* Colibri \*\*is known for applying warnings stringently in GQ and thus less arbitrary than the average mod in the average forum. Why thank you. I may change my title to that.🙂 Colibri Less Arbitrary Than the Average Mod ---
**Author:** ![DrDeth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b487fb/32.png) [@DrDeth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DrDeth)\ **Post date:** [June 14, 2018, 1:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-this-diserve-a-warning/816056/19 "2018-06-14T01:47:52Z")
> [@BlankSlate](#): > > The joke wouldn’t have been made without the invitation of the OP. Worth a note, but not a warning imho. I concur. It obviously wasn’t meant as a insult. ---
**Author:** ![Little\_Nemo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/little_nemo/32/3120_2.png) [@Little\_Nemo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Little_Nemo)\ **Post date:** [June 14, 2018, 1:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-this-diserve-a-warning/816056/20 "2018-06-14T01:56:44Z")
> [@Colibri](#): > > See the rule I quoted. The fact that it was a joke was irrelevant. As I said, I disagree with this interpretation. I feel that the rule is that you can’t insult somebody with a joke. But telling a joke is allowed. Insulting somebody directly, like saying _“Little Nemo, you’re stupid”_ is obviously a violation of the rules. And insulting somebody with a joke, like _“Little Nemo once wrote down Scorpio where the form said ‘sign here’”_ is also against the rules. But I feel this was clearly just a joke, like if one person wrote _“Somebody call me a taxi”_ and another person responding with _“Okay, you’re a taxi.”_ [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-this-diserve-a-warning/816056.md?page=2)