# FFS in IMHO? **URL:** \ **Category:** About This Message Board\ **Created:** [March 18, 2021, 1:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ffs-in-imho/938140 "2021-03-18T01:51:32Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 9\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![elfkin477](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/a9a28c/32.png) [@elfkin477](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/elfkin477)\ **Post date:** [March 18, 2021, 1:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ffs-in-imho/938140/1 "2021-03-18T01:51:32Z")
Are we, or are we not allowed to respond [FFS](https://www.urbandictionary.com/define.php?term=FFS) in IMHO when someone pretends to not understand the OP’s point? I _thought_ it about a series of responses in a recent thread and as a reaction feel it’s totally warranted, but decided to seek clarification about the acceptableness of that type of response. ---
**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:** [March 18, 2021, 2:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ffs-in-imho/938140/2 "2021-03-18T02:56:49Z")
IMHO doesn’t have special rules and is covered by > [@Terms of Service and FAQ](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/registration-agreement-rules-and-faq/823562): > > Terms of Service The current Terms of Service may be viewed [here](https://boards.straightdope.com/tos). I’m glad you asked as you might run afoul of … > **Personal Insults** – Do not directly insult or personally attack other posters. The general rule is to attack the other poster’s arguments, rather than the other poster him- or herself. This rule applies to all insults, including jokes and quotes from books & movies, as others may not get the joke. and > **Trolls and trolling** - Do not accuse other posters of trolling or being a troll. If you suspect someone is trolling or is a troll, please report them. Identifying a troll is a question of motivations, which aren’t objectively verifiable. There really is no “bright line” that distinguishes a troll from someone who expresses an unpopular opinion forcefully. It’s ultimately a judgement call if a particular poster is doing one versus the other. Do not troll. Trolling is posting solely for the purpose of riling others up. ---
**Author:** ![Northern\_Piper](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/northern_piper/32/5304_2.png) [@Northern\_Piper](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Northern_Piper)\ **Post date:** [March 18, 2021, 3:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ffs-in-imho/938140/3 "2021-03-18T03:06:48Z")
I’ve had it directed at me a couple of times, when I in my innocence asked questions that others in the thread took to be so obvious that they cursed at me for not knowing. I just make a note of the poster and leave that thread, never to return. Seems to me that it is counter-productive to civil discourse, and in some cases a subterfuge way of accusing a poster of trolling, as the OP in this thread suggests: > [@](#): > > … when someone **pretends** to not understand the OP’s point? [my bold] How do you know that the poster is “pretending” not to understand the point? If you genuinely think that they do understand and are pretending not to, then you should report it to the mods, i would suggest, as potential trolling. ---
**Author:** ![mordecaiB](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mordecaib/32/7725_2.png) [@mordecaiB](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mordecaiB)\ **Post date:** [March 18, 2021, 6:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ffs-in-imho/938140/4 "2021-03-18T06:35:19Z")
> [@Northern\_Piper](#): > > How do you know that the poster is “pretending” not to understand the point? I don’t think I should name names here but there is a poster here that about half his posts are similar to this. It seems to be used mostly when someone can’t argue the actual point so they pretend you said something else and try to argue that. > [@What\_Exit](#): > > **Personal Insults** Would that for sure be modded as a personal insult? Would similar things(in this context) like Jesus Christ! or Christ Almighty or read for comprehension, qualify as a personal insult? All three of those are used similarly and I don’t think I’ve seen those modded. ---
**Author:** ![MrDibble](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mrdibble/32/114_2.png) [@MrDibble](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MrDibble)\ **Post date:** [March 18, 2021, 7:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ffs-in-imho/938140/5 "2021-03-18T07:12:47Z")
Would this ruling of it as personal insult and/or accusation of trolling also cover the (I think more popular) WTF? ---
**Author:** ![BigT](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bigt/32/12044_2.png) [@BigT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BigT)\ **Post date:** [March 18, 2021, 7:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ffs-in-imho/938140/6 "2021-03-18T07:39:32Z")
> [@Northern\_Piper](#): > > How do you know that the poster is “pretending” not to understand the point? > > If you genuinely think that they do understand and are pretending not to, then you should report it to the mods, i would suggest, as potential trolling. Mostly because such isn’t generally considered trolling by the mods, unless they’re doing it to piss people off. And, even then, they err on the side of caution. There are plenty of posters who seem obviously disingenuous to me, but the mods don’t tend to go after. How can I tell? I can’t describe it exactly. But it has to do with knowing the poster and how they tend to post. It has to do with tells of disingenuousness. It has to do with how they they have seem to know the answer before. Or how they respond to people trying to inform them–people who are genuinely asking for information will accept answers, not argue against them with arguments that show they weren’t as ignorant as they pretended to be. I would not, for example, assume you were pretending not to understand. You post in a clearly earnest way. Nothing about the way you post ever comes off as disingenuous. But there are posters where I do think that is what they are doing, based on their history. I used to argue that assuming good faith was always the right choice. But I do think some people exploit that assumption, and it leads to disingenuous conversations. So it’s good to be able to identify posters who don’t seem interested in earnest conversation or debate. That said, I would not in any way assume that someone saying “FFS” is accusing someone of being disingenuous. It’s just a generic expression of exasperation. Further context would be needed to make it an insult. I admit I don’t tend to use it myself, though. I don’t find the “fuck” part adds anything in that particular case, and I’ve decided I’d rather use that work more sparingly. ---
**Author:** ![MrDibble](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mrdibble/32/114_2.png) [@MrDibble](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MrDibble)\ **Post date:** [March 18, 2021, 12:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ffs-in-imho/938140/7 "2021-03-18T12:21:07Z")
I [just used it in IMHO](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-a-wizard-changed-someone-from-male-to-female-would-that-make-them-trans/938149/18) (not the abbreviation, the full “For fuck’s sake”) and it wasn’t a personal insult, nor was it an accusation of trolling. It _was_ an accusation of dodging a plain question, but that’s an attack-the-post thing, IMO. ---
**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:** [March 18, 2021, 12:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ffs-in-imho/938140/8 "2021-03-18T12:46:42Z")
To be clear, I wasn’t making a ruling. I PM’d **elfkin477** for more info as I wasn’t really sure. **No ruling made.** I wouldn’t make a judgement call on this without more information and asking the other IMHO mods at least and probably knocking it up to the Mod Loop. **I was just providing the only guidance I had available at the time.** > [@MrDibble](#): > > I [just used it in IMHO](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-a-wizard-changed-someone-from-male-to-female-would-that-make-them-trans/938149/18) (not the abbreviation, the full “For fuck’s sake”) and it wasn’t a personal insult, nor was it an accusation of trolling. > > It _was_ an accusation of dodging a plain question, but that’s an attack-the-post thing, IMO. This example doesn’t look like something that would draw a modnote by itself. Again, more information would help from the Op and even then I would have to ask other mods. ---
**Author:** ![MrDibble](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mrdibble/32/114_2.png) [@MrDibble](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MrDibble)\ **Post date:** [March 18, 2021, 2:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ffs-in-imho/938140/9 "2021-03-18T14:16:31Z")
Understood. Should have noticed it wasn’t in yellow, in any case.