The problem, as I see it in this case, isn’t any one singular post (although the one from the OP is far over the “being a jerk line” to atleast deserve something) - its the totality and mutliple posts by the same individual. I don’t believe I have read anything by the individual in question that was NOT being a jerk or hatefilled rant.
OK, a few things.
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You’ve been heard. We’re discussing. How long that will take is unknown.
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Let’s go easy on calling other posters trolls in ATMB, please. Make your case, should you so desire, but let’s keep it civil. And especially don’t drag other posters into it.
I had to look up “thot”. :rolleyes: Not too impressed. Is this the best the kids these days can come up with?
I wasn’t particularly impressed until I realized its application in a hypnotic context. Thought control/thot control. But yeah it’s pretty weak.
We also have a community culture. A culture that rejects attacking people for their mental illnesses and that rejects attacking other poster’s children.
Thank you.
You talking about the Pit? Because if so, I recommend you start reading some of the vile things people post down there. Yes, it includes attacks on children and mental illness. I think singling one poster out is completely unfair and smacks of hypocrisy.
It’s like how dare this outsider poke his head into this playground and participate according to the same rules everyone else is. The Pit isn’t reserved for an in-group to libel and character assassinate everyone else.
Personally, I think the pit as a concept is pretty darn stupid. However, if it is to exist I don’t see the point in looking for loopholes to protect the privileged.
While you are considering, I just want to add my two cents. He is racist, ableist, and misogynistic. I don’t know what we call people who hold espouse negative views on depression and seeking treatment for the same, but whatever it is, he’s that too.
I would like to have discourse, even heated discourse, with someone about race. Huey is not that person. He’s not having a dialogue, he’s flinging shit. Granted, he’s flinging shit in the Pit, but he won’t engage anywhere else.
I appreciate that we are open to multiple perspectives around here, but I have to agree that Huey’s contribution to this board seems to be hate. I don’t think that’s good for the community.
Not sure it matters, but AFAICT, you haven’t defined what you mean by troll. The board has a narrower definition of the term, for purposes of banning people. The internet has a broad definition: a troll is someone who annoys you. That’s a fine definition, but not a good criteria for banning someone.
While I think Huey is doing a shtick, I believe in large part the motive is to push a POV. I believe he would be happy to have tougher sanction against racism, sexism, etc on this message board. Especially racism. But frankly I don’t think that will happen: periodic discussions of race and IQ, complete with resistance by scientific racists to discussions of genetics using proper scientific terms with a heaping portion of guffaw har har, is baked into this general interest message board. I can think of one poster who left this message board because of it.
Huey’s inbred autism theory has direct parallels with the race/IQ debate, and I think that’s intentional. That said, I think he’s kidding on the square: he believes his theory to be plausible at least, certainly sufficient for the pit.
Huey’s anti-white stuff doesn’t really bother me, in the same way that I can’t get too pissed about when some posters go off on the misbehavior of men in general (although I don’t think we’ve had anyone quite as insistent about that as Huey’s been about wipipo). Despite what many folks insist, context matters.
But the context also matters for his liberal use of “hos” and variants, and for his attacks on mental illnesses, and for his attacking people for their personal characteristics that don’t comprise on-board behavior. All that shit is beyond the pale.
I confess I didn’t see that at first, saw instead people who were angry about his attacks on whiteness. The more I pay attention to him, though, the more I see the other more pernicious stuff.
It’s very simple- Dont allow personal attacks on any poster in any forum. There’s no reason for it.
Ok, perhaps in the PIT and ATMB, you can say a Post is trolling. Or maybe in all areas. But not that a poster is a troll.
But that sort of crap reported by the OP is over the top and just plain wrong.
The PIt can be the place for rants and bitching.
It’s time we dump this nasty leftover.
I would also heartily support this as a rule (but I don’t think that’s in line with the membership’s general consensus)
I’ve always thought that a troll is someone who post inflammatory material for the purpose of causing disruption. Whether the troll believes what he’s selling or whether he’s doing some kind of performance art schtick doesn’t matter.
Trolls can be good or bad. A guy who intentionally posts nice things about Jews on a neo-nazi board might be a good troll, but he’s still a troll.
I think Huey is posting inflammatory material for the purposes of making a point. Which is a little different. I think he has a beef with a lot of posters on this message board, specifically white liberals. (As an aside, I tip my hat to you for defining your terms.)
The Pit’s central purpose is to act as a safety valve for other parts of this message board. It’s not about ranting and bitching. Sometimes you need to tell somebody about what you think of them, to add context to positions expressed in other parts of the board. So no, I believe your proposal is misguided.
Incidentally, there’s a rule here that if your only goal on this message board is to bitch in the Pit, then your posting privileges can be put under review. I’m not saying this rule should be applied in this instance. Just FYI for my readers. If I was to make a recommendation, I’d say that notes should precede warnings and warnings should precede bannings.
It does exactly the opposite.
I’d say there are 3 modes of behavior possible:
Polite conversation - expected outside of the Pit
Impolite conversation - allowable in the Pit
Being a jerk - not allowed at all anywhere.
There’s some fuzzyness between these modes. Sometimes we get ranting and attacks outside of the Pit, and people get cautioned for it. It’s fine, these things happen, we’re all human. It’s when people get out of hand in the Pit that it gets a bit tough. When do you cross the line from an acceptable online attack of someone who has aggrieved you in some way (they’re a racist, they’re a pathetic liberal, whatever), to just being a jerk?
OTOH, f I can dredge up a bunch things from someone’s past and attack them personally on the board, and that isn’t being a jerk, I’m not entirely sure what is, nor do I know what the value is of the rule “don’t be a jerk.”
I thought “don’t be a jerk” didn’t apply to the Pit. I don’t see how the place can exist as it does today and pretend to be in compliance with “don’t be a jerk”.
The Mod there has a very large tolerance for jerkitude. As well he should.
I checked the official posts about our rules, and didn’t see anything to suggest the Pit didn’t have to abide with what they’re calling “The first rule of the SDMB”.
If someone wanted to attack me for being a Pathetic Athiest Liberal Commie, or a Disgustingly Overrated Sandwich, they’re not necessarily being a jerk, they’re just “telling it like it is”. I can accept that, I’m OK with that, it’s what the Pit is for. But, damn, when you’re taking deeply personal shots at someone, it just enters a realm of meanness that goes beyond being brutally honest, and is just brutality for brutality sake.
It depends my friend- if you are talking that Cheez whiz crap or real cheese- like provolone. :p:p