Which way would you want to go? Have the mods use their personal biases to determine what the intention of words that are literally an insult, or to apply the rules fairly by sticking to the letter of the law? The spirit of this law is seen by its inclusion of a specific example, it is clear it is meant to be applied without exception.
From what I know of DG I’m sure there was no real intent to insult, it was just a joke, perhaps misjudged. It seems like one of those unfortunate situations where the joking intent would have been abundantly clear in a real life conversation through tonal and facial cues, but in writing something can look unintentionally harsh. It would certainly have come across better in GQ as a (clearly) joking introduction to a substantial response to the question.
Because it clearly wasn’t meant as one. I want to assume some level of intelligence and wisdom on the part of our Mods.
That is your mistake.
Yes and no. When I first saw Darren Garrison’s remark, I was tempted to report it myself.
But when the context, which I had originally missed, was pointed out (i.e. as a direct reply to that thread’s OP saying “Or at least reveal I am a moron for even considering this”), it became clear to me that it was obviously intended as a joking response, with obviously no malice or personal insult intended.
Darren is a jokester, so I would say the same, knowing him and reading the OP. The other thing, though, is throwing around jokes that early in GQ is frowned upon. Calibri didn’t mention that in his moderation, but it’s something Darren should be aware of. And give the rule about insults, as it’s been laid out, a warning shouldn’t be a complete surprise. I like Darren, and if I were him I would chalk this up to bad timing and use it a learning experience.
Post carefully, my friend! 
Users are reminded that insults are not permitted outside the Pit. We appreciate that this remark was made in the context of a compliment about a particular mod; thus this is only a note. Be that as it may, any further remarks along these lines will receive warnings.
I want to point out that my comment was a compliment, not a insult.
And mine is not an insult.
nm, I see what you mean. I was commenting DrDeth’s use of an assumption. The second part of his statement if negated implies the mods have no intelligence or wisdom. I apologize.
The note was directed at Tripolar, not at you. My apologies for the careless formatting that made it appear otherwise.
Thank you.
NP. Thanks for the clarification.
This is my thinking on this. It was not done in the spirit of an insult, but rather was a joking aping of something the OP said.
Although I can see the other side of the argument. Zero tolerance prevents subjective rulings and subjective rulings could lead to favoritism and unequal treatment.
Agreed. They are bad when schools use them and they are bad here. I laughed out loud when I read the post Darren Garrison had made.
If the Dope is going to move towards zero tolerance with regards to this sort of thing I will reconsider my continued membership. I know that I am not a big deal alone but I would guess others feel the same way.
The Dope has changed a great deal over the years. Better in many ways and worse in other ways. This is a worse way.
Did you mean to agree with the part of his post you quoted?
Anyway, it wasn’t a zero-tolerance policy, note that Colibri prefaced his warning by stating that the OP had been around long enough to know better. **Colibri **would have to say what he would have done, but I suspect he would have only noted the OP if he was new to the board. But carving out exceptions does lead to subjectivity which inevitably results in unequal and unfair treatment, a growing problem I think this board now has to deal with.
I agree with the OP, this was a needless warning. In the past I’ve seen posts from moderators along the lines of “Please note that personal insults are not permitted outside the Pit - no warning issued”, and this seemed like it would have been a good opportunity for a response like that.
But really, warnings are meaningless. Unless we end up with a “three strikes and you’re out” policy on warnings here, it doesn’t really matter if an overzealous moderator occasionally has a bad day and gives out a few extra ones.
^ This. I agree with the moderation in this case.
It seems obvious that the Rule applies to insults in the form of a joke. Darren’s comment was a joke in the form of an insult. Completely different beast.
It also seems obvious that Mahaloth intended his comment to be a setup to a joke. I’d certainly be disappointed in my own friends if I made a comment like that and they failed to throw it back at me.
Right here is how Colibri should have handled it, with a slight change of wording for the situation.
“Users are reminded that insults are not permitted outside the Pit. We appreciate that this remark was made in the context of a joke in response to a setup comment made by the OP; thus this is only a note. Be that as it may, any further remarks along these lines will receive warnings.”
This did not merit a warning by Colibri. A mod note would have been sufficient. Ed Zotti set a good example to follow.