# Ed, WTF? **URL:** \ **Category:** The BBQ Pit\ **Created:** [January 23, 2009, 3:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ed-wtf/482650 "2009-01-23T15:46:45Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 13
**Author:** ![Sapo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ec9cab/32.png) [@Sapo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sapo)\ **Post date:** [February 3, 2009, 3:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ed-wtf/482650/241 "2009-02-03T15:40:42Z")
> [@pseudotriton\_ruber\_ruber](#): > > We’ve been in this partcular endzone, Jim, all too often these past few months. The problem is while we’re high-fiving each other and doing our little hotdoggy gimmicks, pointing at each other, standing on our heads, etc., the scoreboard still refuses to register the touchdown. So we’re just having fun until it does. > > too much mtaphor? It is not so much that the scoreboard hasn’t registered the touchdown, it’s the price of those damn hot dogs and the lukewarm beer. And don’t even get me started on the parking situation. ---
**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:** [February 3, 2009, 6:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ed-wtf/482650/242 "2009-02-03T18:21:25Z")
> [@leander](#): > > Honestly, I’m a bit confused. The Pit mods are generally good folks – hell, Giraffe is one of the few mods with a pretty wicked sense of humour – so perhaps they too see that Colibri is a giant pussy who got his ass handed to him and they don’t want to side with such a nutcase (“knife fight”, indeed). Or maybe they’re just sitting on the sidelines waiting for this to run its course. Our opinions on the issue have nothing to do with it. I’ve stayed out of this thread, having made [my views](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showpost.php?p=10734784&postcount=106) clear in the original thread. As for closing it, as long as people keep bitching about mods, it seems like an appropriate thread for the Pit. I figure it’ll either die a natural death or you guys will go back to making soap puns and I’ll mercy kill it. ---
**Author:** ![hajario](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hajario/32/171_2.png) [@hajario](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/hajario)\ **Post date:** [February 3, 2009, 6:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ed-wtf/482650/243 "2009-02-03T18:27:06Z")
> [@sailor](#): > > Some people are unable to apologise with words but at least they try to make up by buying chocolate or offering a blow job. Just don’t do either of those things in **Colibri** ’s neighborhood bar or there will be hell to pay. _When you’re a Toad, you’re a Toad all the way…_ ---
**Author:** ![The\_Flying\_Dutchman](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/9fc348/32.png) [@The\_Flying\_Dutchman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Flying_Dutchman)\ **Post date:** [February 3, 2009, 6:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ed-wtf/482650/244 "2009-02-03T18:40:45Z")
> [@Giraffe](#): > > Our opinions on the issue have nothing to do with it. You’ve made your opinion clear and unequivocal. Other staff’s opinions are ambiguous or do not adequately address the threat interpretation directly. Their has been an unusually small degree of staff response to this issue which can only only be seen as cowardice. There ! I said it ! ---
**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:** [February 3, 2009, 6:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ed-wtf/482650/245 "2009-02-03T18:51:44Z")
> [@The\_Flying\_Dutchman](#): > > You’ve made your opinion clear and unequivocal. > > Other staff’s opinions are ambiguous or do not adequately address the threat interpretation directly. > > Their has been an unusually small degree of staff response to this issue which can only only be seen as cowardice. There ! I said it ! To be clear, the “Our” was only referring to the Pit mods and the “it” was referring to the fact that the Pit mods in particular haven’t commented on the thread but still left it open. As for the overall staff response, the two mods directly involved, **Ed** and **Colibri** , have each posted in either this or the original thread, following the warning. It’s clear that there’s a pretty fundamental disagreement between them and some of the posters in this thread, so they may not be interested in going around and around on it. As for the other mods, we tend to keep our discussions/arguments about rules and rulings off-board, so I wouldn’t expect anyone else to chime in. I know it feels like wagon-circling, but imagine a board where the mods squabbled over every ruling they didn’t fully agree with. Things would be a lot more contentious. ---
**Author:** ![Sapo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ec9cab/32.png) [@Sapo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sapo)\ **Post date:** [February 3, 2009, 7:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ed-wtf/482650/246 "2009-02-03T19:46:04Z")
> [@Giraffe](#): > > …or you guys will go back to making soap puns and I’ll mercy kill it. Will you kill it with a Tide of Cheer? Embalm it in Palm olive and leave it white as Ivory? ---
**Author:** ![leander](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/bcef8e/32.png) [@leander](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/leander)\ **Post date:** [February 3, 2009, 11:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ed-wtf/482650/247 "2009-02-03T23:48:33Z")
Giraffe, for what it’s worth I appreciate your response. Frankly, I disagree with Dutchman – I think the only coward here is Colibri, who undoubtedly over-reacted to the nth degree, and now doesn’t have the balls or character to apologise for his idiocy. As for Ed, I’m still confused why he doesn’t address the issue. His warning was incorrect, and the ensuing handwaving doesn’t really show him in the best light. Which is a shame, because as was pointed out in another thread, there have been instances of Ed being the bigger man and apologising for his mistakes. ---
**Author:** ![Heffalump\_and\_Roo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/heffalump_and_roo/32/7691_2.png) [@Heffalump\_and\_Roo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Heffalump_and_Roo)\ **Post date:** [February 4, 2009, 12:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ed-wtf/482650/248 "2009-02-04T00:10:59Z")
> [@Hostile\_Dialect](#): > > You can’t be serious. Is this a whoosh? Well, it wasn’t really a joke, but you did miss my point. My point was that just about any insult can be considered a threat, especially if the threat is so broadly defined as: > [@Quick, Giraffe, before some asshole locks this.](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/quick-giraffe-before-some-asshole-locks-this/481949/82): > > We don’t draw distinctions between real threats, implied threats, hypothetical threats, metaphorical threats, or any other kind of threat. There are few lines you can’t cross in the Pit but this is one of them. No threats. If there’s really no difference between physical threats, hypothetical threats and metaphorical threats, then just about any insult is a threat because it’s intended to threaten someone with humiliation or loss of reputation. It can also be taken literally in ways that weren’t intended as we’ve seen with this example. > [@Hostile\_Dialect](#): > > Assuming you’re serious about all this nonsense, it’s because you and **Opal** have a similar problem: you need to grow a thicker skin or the big bad Internets is just going to break you down. If that’s the case, then why would ‘3. Buckeyes’ be verboten outside the Pit? If the rule is that people should get a thicker skin, then it should be applied uniformly. > [@Hostile\_Dialect](#): > > If you can’t handle my comparatively mild insults, you should consider selling your computer and spending your newfound free time watching knitting shows on TV. I use my computer for other things besides hanging out in the Pit and/or having discussions with you. Which knitting shows on TV are you watching? I haven’t found any. > [@Bryan\_Ekers](#): > > Because you touch yourself at night. And you know this, how? :dubious: > [@What\_Exit](#): > > Hey guys, you “won the thread” on this one. What did we win? Personally, I think we’ve lost a great deal here. Unlike **Sapo** , I do care about this place and the quality of the posts that get posted here. And with this warning, and several other warnings that **Ed** has given recently (some of which have been reversed), I’m seeing a trend of random decisions favoring mods. That wasn’t the case before. In the past, if some mod made a bad decision, they’d go to the Pit and have the same community standards applied to them as anyone else.\* Some of the recent decisions have shown that authority can be and will be used to protect the mods regardless of their actions. If that really is the case, I think it has the potential to change the dynamic here. I used to post at a message board where the mods made some inane and ridiculous posts. But if there was ever a dispute between a member and a mod, the owner would show up to give the member a warning, often randomly. It stifled the membership down to a whisper. Although this is a much bigger message board, I would be saddened to see that happen here to the extent that members would be hesitant to disagree with the mods. \*Yeah, I know that this wasn’t always true and especially in some cases before I got here, but I’m hoping that it’s not moving that way again. ---
**Author:** ![The\_Flying\_Dutchman](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/9fc348/32.png) [@The\_Flying\_Dutchman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Flying_Dutchman)\ **Post date:** [February 4, 2009, 12:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ed-wtf/482650/249 "2009-02-04T00:27:46Z")
> [@leander](#): > > Which is a shame, because as was pointed out in another thread, there have been instances of Ed being the bigger man and apologising for his mistakes. And that is what makes this particular “no brainer” issue so frustrating. ---
**Author:** ![stucky](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/45deac/32.png) [@stucky](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/stucky)\ **Post date:** [February 4, 2009, 1:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ed-wtf/482650/250 "2009-02-04T01:00:49Z")
I was warned by a moderator in the BBQ Pit for responding to a crossdressers question with: “I am 65, 5-11, 285, moustache and bald, would a Teddy be appropriate nightware for me?” Is that considered a threat? ---
**Author:** ![What\_Exit](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/what_exit/32/10652_2.png) [@What\_Exit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/What_Exit)\ **Post date:** [February 4, 2009, 1:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ed-wtf/482650/251 "2009-02-04T01:10:25Z")
> [@Heffalump\_and\_Roo](#): > > What did we win? A nice pony of course. ---
**Author:** ![tomndebb](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/b9e5f3/32.png) [@tomndebb](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tomndebb)\ **Post date:** [February 4, 2009, 1:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ed-wtf/482650/252 "2009-02-04T01:15:03Z")
> [@The\_Flying\_Dutchman](#): > > Their has been an unusually small degree of staff response to this issue which can only only be seen as cowardice. There ! I said it ! You confuse cowardice with boredom. This appears to be a really boring thread and I doubt many Mods have enough No-Dôz to plug through it. (I only wandered in to this last page after a poster pointed out that we were being called names, again.) ---
**Author:** ![Q.E.D](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/q/51bf81/32.png) [@Q.E.D](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Q.E.D)\ **Post date:** [February 4, 2009, 1:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ed-wtf/482650/253 "2009-02-04T01:16:07Z")
> [@Heffalump\_and\_Roo](#): > > If there’s really no difference between physical threats, hypothetical threats and metaphorical threats, then just about any insult is a threat because it’s intended to threaten someone with humiliation or loss of reputation. Are you retarded or something? No, really, I need to know. If you are, I’d feel bad about pointing and laughing at you for posting just about the stupidest thing I’ve read in years. ---
**Author:** ![leander](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/bcef8e/32.png) [@leander](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/leander)\ **Post date:** [February 4, 2009, 1:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ed-wtf/482650/254 "2009-02-04T01:20:06Z")
> [@tomndebb](#): > > You confuse cowardice with boredom. This appears to be a really boring thread and I doubt many Mods have enough No-Dôz to plug through it. (I only wandered in to this last page after a poster pointed out that we were being called names, again.) I can assure you, a few pages ago when the knives were being drawn and hurt butts were flying left and right, it was the height of daring-do! ---
**Author:** ![The\_Flying\_Dutchman](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/9fc348/32.png) [@The\_Flying\_Dutchman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Flying_Dutchman)\ **Post date:** [February 4, 2009, 2:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ed-wtf/482650/255 "2009-02-04T02:05:01Z")
> [@tomndebb](#): > > (I only wandered in to this last page after a poster pointed out that we were being called names, again.) What? Someone reported a bad post in the pit specifying mods were being called names and you responded? Fuck! I’m starting to get paranoid. ---
**Author:** ![pseudotriton\_ruber\_ruber](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/a9a28c/32.png) [@pseudotriton\_ruber\_ruber](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pseudotriton_ruber_ruber)\ **Post date:** [February 4, 2009, 2:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ed-wtf/482650/256 "2009-02-04T02:38:49Z")
> [@tomndebb](#): > > You confuse cowardice with boredom. This appears to be a really boring thread and I doubt many Mods have enough No-Dôz to plug through it. (I only wandered in to this last page after a poster pointed out that we were being called names, again.) Yeah, you’ve got an 6-page thread entitled “Ed, WTF?”, where multiple clients of yours are asking for explanations of Mod and Admin actions, pointing out your incompetence and malfeasance right and left, mocking you, pointing out wild inconsistencies in your policies–and your collective response is–boredom?? Please–peddle this crap elsewhere. I’m not buying any today. Now it’s true that WE might become bored–there’s only so many times you can complain without getting an answer and still continue to care. Whether the alienation of your client base is your desired outcome or simply an unfortunate result of your cluelessness remains to be seen. ---
**Author:** ![tomndebb](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/b9e5f3/32.png) [@tomndebb](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tomndebb)\ **Post date:** [February 4, 2009, 2:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ed-wtf/482650/257 "2009-02-04T02:41:04Z")
> [@The\_Flying\_Dutchman](#): > > What? Someone reported a bad post in the pit specifying mods were being called names and you responded? > > Fuck! I’m starting to get paranoid. I don’t know about starting to get paranoid. 😛 Stop. Think. A reported post from the Pit is not going to show up in the mailbox of a Mod from GD. I simply learned about the last page of this thread from a poster with whom I exchange correspondence making an off-hand remark. ---
**Author:** ![tomndebb](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/b9e5f3/32.png) [@tomndebb](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tomndebb)\ **Post date:** [February 4, 2009, 2:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ed-wtf/482650/258 "2009-02-04T02:57:08Z")
> [@pseudotriton\_ruber\_ruber](#): > > Yeah, you’ve got an 6-page thread entitled “Ed, WTF?”, where multiple clients of yours are asking for explanations of Mod and Admin actions, pointing out your incompetence and malfeasance right and left, mocking you, pointing out wild inconsistencies in your policies–and your collective response is–boredom?? A six page thread shouts “trainwreck” in nearly all cases. I am guessing that the same complaints were lodged that are always lodged by the same posters that always lodge them. A quick click on the “number of responses” column indicates that 40% of the posts have issued from six posters. Now, I am sure that there has been an overabundance of wit and savagery in the preceding five pages, however, when I quit reading this thing around post #30, there had been a bit of complaining and a few sidebar attempts at humor and I got bored. As it got longer and longer, it continued to look more and more like the typical “bash the staff” trainwreck from the outside. Maybe there really was some wonderful point to be made, here. If so, it could be couched in polite lannguage and submitted to the ATMB. I have to read enough churlish posts in GD without taking on the task of reading everything in the Pit as well. The title was “Ed, WTF” Not “tomndebb, WTF.” Ed’s a big guy; he can fight his own battles. If you can’t keep it interesting, I am not going to keep reading it hoping that something interesting pops up. ---
**Author:** ![pseudotriton\_ruber\_ruber](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/a9a28c/32.png) [@pseudotriton\_ruber\_ruber](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pseudotriton_ruber_ruber)\ **Post date:** [February 4, 2009, 3:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ed-wtf/482650/259 "2009-02-04T03:03:49Z")
> [@tomndebb](#): > > Ed’s a big guy; he can fight his own battles. So we’ve noticed. He’s so active in this particular fight, we’re going to start calling him “Active Ed” pretty soon. Or maybe “Fightin’ Ed,” or maybe “Apologizin’ Ed.” it all depends. So you came in here to say “I’m bored”? There are plenty of boring threads around–what made you pick this one to take that unusual and distinctive stand? Do you recommend I cruise the SD to search for threads that don’t interest me at all so I can then post “This is boring” in all of them? IOW, still not buying. ---
**Author:** ![samclem](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/a9a28c/32.png) [@samclem](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/samclem)\ **Post date:** [February 4, 2009, 3:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ed-wtf/482650/260 "2009-02-04T03:04:34Z")
> [@pseudotriton\_ruber\_ruber](#): > > Yeah, you’ve got an 6-page thread entitled “Ed, WTF?”, where multiple clients of yours are asking for explanations of Mod and Admin actions, pointing out your incompetence and malfeasance right and left, mocking you, pointing out wild inconsistencies in your policies–and your collective response is–boredom?? Crap! I missed another meeting. Please forward the minutes of the meeting wherein we discussed what our **collective** response would be. :rolleyes: [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ed-wtf/482650.md?page=12) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ed-wtf/482650.md?page=14)