# fishbycycle, get a fucking grip **URL:** \ **Category:** The BBQ Pit\ **Created:** [July 10, 2006, 4:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fishbycycle-get-a-fucking-grip/363825 "2006-07-10T04:06:00Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![sinjin](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ebca7d/32.png) [@sinjin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/sinjin)\ **Post date:** [July 10, 2006, 9:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fishbycycle-get-a-fucking-grip/363825/21 "2006-07-10T09:58:06Z")
[QUOTE=Vision of Love] Those post numbers are not just numbers on your screen. [/QUOTE] I’m with **Vision**. Your post count is not just some number on a screen. It’s a validation of your importance and worth to the world. Most valuable of all are those posters who have large post counts. There is research which shows that post count is directly proportional to ability to satisfy a lover. Any lover. Armed with this datum we march out into the world secure in our status as sex gods and goddesses, with scientific formulae to back up our claims. Citizens of the internet, unite! You have nothing to lose but your inability to form a committed and meaningful relationship with a partner of a gender of your chosing! sinjin ---
**Author:** ![Cheesesteak](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cheesesteak/32/3694_2.png) [@Cheesesteak](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cheesesteak)\ **Post date:** [July 10, 2006, 10:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fishbycycle-get-a-fucking-grip/363825/22 "2006-07-10T10:36:27Z")
[QUOTE=hajario] **fishbicycle** wasn’t wanking or asking that his post count be adjusted. He was pointing out a problem and trying to help. [/QUOTE] When your OP is titled “My post count is messed up!” and ends with “What gives?”, that’s not pointing out a problem and trying to help. It sounds a lot more like a ‘fix it/explain it’ request than a heads up. In his final post to that thread fishbicycle confirms that he was asking a question, not reporting a bug. If he was reporting a bug and got that treatment, I’d be with you. He was, IMHO, demanding answers from the admins about a thoroughly trivial problem, and got put in his place for it. ---
**Author:** ![Ensign\_Edison](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/7ab992/32.png) [@Ensign\_Edison](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ensign_Edison)\ **Post date:** [July 10, 2006, 1:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fishbycycle-get-a-fucking-grip/363825/23 "2006-07-10T13:38:33Z")
I think Tuba can’t cough or scratch her ass without somebody accusing her of starting World War III, basically. Her comment was mild and if, say, Giraffe had said it, I doubt anybody would mind. fishbicycle’s response was completely over the top. If he’d felt she was rude, he could just say so without the histrionics. ---
**Author:** ![Garfield226](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/9e8a1a/32.png) [@Garfield226](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Garfield226)\ **Post date:** [July 10, 2006, 1:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fishbycycle-get-a-fucking-grip/363825/24 "2006-07-10T13:49:22Z")
[QUOTE=Ensign Edison] I think Tuba can’t cough or scratch her ass without somebody accusing her of starting World War III, basically. Her comment was mild and if, say, Giraffe had said it, I doubt anybody would mind. fishbicycle’s response was completely over the top. If he’d felt she was rude, he could just say so without the histrionics. [/QUOTE] I’d much prefer Tuba sit around and scratch her ass all day long than do some of the insane shit she’s done to fuck up the boards and create ill will among the membership. If **Giraffe** had said it, maybe nobody would mind, but then **Giraffe** doesn’t have quite the history with screwing up customer service (you know, ione of her specific “job” functions here) that Tuba does. Sure, **fishbicycle** ’s response was over the top, but there’s a little thing called “responding in kind.” ---
**Author:** ![fishbicycle](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/aeb1de/32.png) [@fishbicycle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/fishbicycle)\ **Post date:** [July 10, 2006, 2:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fishbycycle-get-a-fucking-grip/363825/25 "2006-07-10T14:01:13Z")
For the record, there are two things I couldn’t possibly care less about: 1. My post count. 2. The inane ramblings of a reading-comprehension challenged, obnoxious troll spoiling for a fight on a fucking message board. Anybody who saw the ATMB post asking about the glitch in the software as my whinging about my precious post count is a fucking idiot. ---
**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:** [July 10, 2006, 2:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fishbycycle-get-a-fucking-grip/363825/26 "2006-07-10T14:06:28Z")
[QUOTE=Cheesesteak] If he was reporting a bug and got that treatment, I’d be with you. He was, IMHO, demanding answers from the admins about a thoroughly trivial problem, and got put in his place for it. [/QUOTE] I read fishy’s post before Tuba made hers and I didn’t read it that way. He then clarified his position a few posts later, again before Tuba shat in that thread. After that, Dex gave a sensible and reasonable answer to the question. The thread should have ended there but an hour and a half later, Tuba came along with her out of line comment. She is an Admin here and was out of line and incorrect. ---
**Author:** ![Ensign\_Edison](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/7ab992/32.png) [@Ensign\_Edison](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ensign_Edison)\ **Post date:** [July 10, 2006, 2:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fishbycycle-get-a-fucking-grip/363825/27 "2006-07-10T14:13:04Z")
[QUOTE=hajario] I read fishy’s post before Tuba made hers and I didn’t read it that way. He then clarified his position a few posts later, again before Tuba shat in that thread. After that, Dex gave a sensible and reasonable answer to the question. The thread should have ended there but an hour and a half later, Tuba came along with her out of line comment. She is an Admin here and was out of line and incorrect. [/QUOTE] Oh, I didn’t read the thread because the OP didn’t link to it. That timeline makes things different. ---
**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:** [July 10, 2006, 2:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fishbycycle-get-a-fucking-grip/363825/28 "2006-07-10T14:24:10Z")
[QUOTE=Ensign Edison] Oh, I didn’t read the thread because the OP didn’t link to it. [/QUOTE] I didn’t realize that. Here it is: [My post count is messed up! - About This Message Board - Straight Dope Message Board](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=378837) ---
**Author:** ![Ensign\_Edison](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/7ab992/32.png) [@Ensign\_Edison](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ensign_Edison)\ **Post date:** [July 10, 2006, 2:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fishbycycle-get-a-fucking-grip/363825/29 "2006-07-10T14:28:30Z")
[QUOTE=hajario] I didn’t realize that. Here it is: [My post count is messed up! - About This Message Board - Straight Dope Message Board](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=378837) [/QUOTE] Ye-eah…okay, I was wrong. That’s fucked up right there. It’s an insult not just to fish, but everyone who took the time to discuss the issue with him. ---
**Author:** ![Lord\_Ashtar](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/7ea924/32.png) [@Lord\_Ashtar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lord_Ashtar)\ **Post date:** [July 10, 2006, 2:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fishbycycle-get-a-fucking-grip/363825/30 "2006-07-10T14:45:05Z")
[QUOTE=sinjin] There is research which shows that post count is directly proportional to ability to satisfy a lover. [/QUOTE] If that’s the case, then I want to have sex with **Guinistasia**. ---
**Author:** ![aldiboronti](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/9fc348/32.png) [@aldiboronti](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/aldiboronti)\ **Post date:** [July 10, 2006, 2:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fishbycycle-get-a-fucking-grip/363825/31 "2006-07-10T14:57:09Z")
So, the admins on the Dope are feisty, huh? Wow! Who’da thunk it? (Especially with such a staid board.) ---
**Author:** ![hawthorne](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/c89c15/32.png) [@hawthorne](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/hawthorne)\ **Post date:** [July 10, 2006, 3:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fishbycycle-get-a-fucking-grip/363825/32 "2006-07-10T15:18:17Z")
> [@](#): > > _aldiboronti_ > So, the admins on the Dope are feisty, huh? There’s a difference between feisty and punch-drunk. ---
**Author:** ![Polycarp](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/82dd89/32.png) [@Polycarp](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Polycarp)\ **Post date:** [July 10, 2006, 3:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fishbycycle-get-a-fucking-grip/363825/33 "2006-07-10T15:19:30Z")
Hmmm… I personally thought **fishbicycle** ’s OP was kind of disproportionate – IMO postcounts don’t matter a whole lot. However, he asked a question, and I volunteered as good an answer as I had available, from casual knowledge of how VBulletin and related software works, and of how staff handle troll-started threads – one that **Dex** validated later. As noted, **fishbicycle** clarified that he was not hung up on a post count, but curious as to how he’d come to lose some posts. **Tubadiva** ’s comment seemed a bit snarky to me, but not out of the ordinary. Let us not forget that these guys are volunteers\*, real people, with their own life. To cite a random example using another staffer, **Samclem** may be wondering if the (hypothetical) several thousand he has tied up in Carson City gold pieces is going to be profitable or leave him with a net loss. It’s quite possible that **Tuba** had a particularly lousy day, week, or month. I happen to know, in confidence, about some serious problems she had a couple of years ago, which never made it onto the board AFAIK. Everybody has their own hot buttons; everybody has the right to have a bad day, and be on edge. And I might point out I’ve said the same thing about non-staff who were banned for what seemed to me to be insufficient reasons (realizing I don’t know all the background). Now, would someone please add a little cream and two lumps to the teacups here, and see if that will act as a calmative for the tempests in them? - Yes, **Tuba** gets a small stipend from the Reader for services to the Straight Dope website, as opposed to the message board. She is a _volunteer_ as regards this board. I seem to recall **jdavis** posting an OP in GQ some time ago; his job for the Reader involves keeping the hardware and software working right. He is also a member with the right to ask questions, voice opinions, etc. And so is **Tuba**. ---
**Author:** ![BMalion](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/e274bd/32.png) [@BMalion](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BMalion)\ **Post date:** [July 10, 2006, 3:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fishbycycle-get-a-fucking-grip/363825/34 "2006-07-10T15:33:46Z")
**fishbicycle** , is your father home? 😃 ---
**Author:** ![Excalibre](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/898d66/32.png) [@Excalibre](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Excalibre)\ **Post date:** [July 10, 2006, 3:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fishbycycle-get-a-fucking-grip/363825/35 "2006-07-10T15:41:48Z")
[QUOTE=Klaatu] I don’t give a shit. I stand by my post. I don’t have to explain myself for a fucking Pit rant. [/QUOTE] Well, that depends on if you want to look like a retard. If you enjoy looking like a retard, then you certainly don’t have to explain yourself, and indeed, explaining yourself might be counterproductive. [QUOTE=aldiboronti] So, the admins on the Dope are feisty, huh? Wow! Who’da thunk it? (Especially with such a staid board.) [/QUOTE] I rarely hear the word “feisty” be applied to people who are unnecessary hostile or rude. It seems like a bit of a misapplication of the term. ---
**Author:** ![Gangster\_Octopus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/a8b319/32.png) [@Gangster\_Octopus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gangster_Octopus)\ **Post date:** [July 10, 2006, 3:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fishbycycle-get-a-fucking-grip/363825/36 "2006-07-10T15:58:10Z")
[QUOTE=Polycarp] Hmmm… I personally thought **fishbicycle** ’s OP was kind of disproportionate – IMO postcounts don’t matter a whole lot. However, he asked a question, and I volunteered as good an answer as I had available, from casual knowledge of how VBulletin and related software works, and of how staff handle troll-started threads – one that **Dex** validated later. As noted, **fishbicycle** clarified that he was not hung up on a post count, but curious as to how he’d come to lose some posts. **Tubadiva** ’s comment seemed a bit snarky to me, but not out of the ordinary. Let us not forget that these guys are volunteers\*, real people, with their own life. To cite a random example using another staffer, **Samclem** may be wondering if the (hypothetical) several thousand he has tied up in Carson City gold pieces is going to be profitable or leave him with a net loss. It’s quite possible that **Tuba** had a particularly lousy day, week, or month. I happen to know, in confidence, about some serious problems she had a couple of years ago, which never made it onto the board AFAIK. Everybody has their own hot buttons; everybody has the right to have a bad day, and be on edge. And I might point out I’ve said the same thing about non-staff who were banned for what seemed to me to be insufficient reasons (realizing I don’t know all the background). Now, would someone please add a little cream and two lumps to the teacups here, and see if that will act as a calmative for the tempests in them? - Yes, **Tuba** gets a small stipend from the Reader for services to the Straight Dope website, as opposed to the message board. She is a _volunteer_ as regards this board. I seem to recall **jdavis** posting an OP in GQ some time ago; his job for the Reader involves keeping the hardware and software working right. He is also a member with the right to ask questions, voice opinions, etc. And so is **Tuba**. [/QUOTE] I appreciate that they are volunteers, I would hope that if they have a bad day and act regrettably that they are able to muster up the dignity to apologize, because in the end…your problems are YOUR problems. ---
**Author:** ![aldiboronti](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/9fc348/32.png) [@aldiboronti](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/aldiboronti)\ **Post date:** [July 10, 2006, 5:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fishbycycle-get-a-fucking-grip/363825/37 "2006-07-10T17:07:16Z")
[QUOTE=Excalibre] I rarely hear the word “feisty” be applied to people who are unnecessary hostile or rude. It seems like a bit of a misapplication of the term. [/QUOTE] From the [American Heritage Dictionary](http://www.answers.com/feisty&r=67) 1. Touchy; quarrelsome. 2. Full of spirit or pluck; frisky or spunky. You should get out more. ---
**Author:** ![mnemosyne](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/c4cdca/32.png) [@mnemosyne](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mnemosyne)\ **Post date:** [July 10, 2006, 5:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fishbycycle-get-a-fucking-grip/363825/38 "2006-07-10T17:20:11Z")
“Leave your bad days at home” One of the first things you learn when you have a customer-service job. It’s one thing to come up with a comment like Tuba’s and say it in a face-to-face encounter, which, while regrettable, might be understandable as a quick, thoughtless reaction. It’s another to deliberately click on one of the reply buttons (possibly wait for another page to load, if she didn’t use Quick Reply), type out the post and submit it. That takes a certain amount of thought, doesn’t it? I suppose there’s the possibility that a smilie was intended to be inserted, but somehow, I don’t get that feeling. IMHO, it was just rude. I agree that an apology is warranted (perhaps from both participants, as the reply to the initial comment was rude in return. Two wrongs and all that!) Isn’t ATMB the place to ask about odd, possibly trivial events related to the board? It’s unusual for software to screw up a simple incrementation like that without an underlying reason. It _could_ have been important. I think I’m glad I’m not so observant about details like post counts - I wouldn’t want to get shot down like that. ---
**Author:** ![Elza\_B](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/6a8cbe/32.png) [@Elza\_B](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Elza_B)\ **Post date:** [July 10, 2006, 5:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fishbycycle-get-a-fucking-grip/363825/39 "2006-07-10T17:24:54Z")
[QUOTE=Polycarp] **Tubadiva** ’s comment seemed a bit snarky to me, but not out of the ordinary. Let us not forget that these guys are volunteers\*, real people, with their own life. \*\*. [/QUOTE] You know, every time one of these **TubaDiva** threads comes up, it seems like this is the same excuse given for her every single time. She can be as rude and as bitchy as she wants because she’s volunteered a lot of time to the Reader and to this board. I honestly think that’s bullshit. One - she does get paid (as you noted). Two - why is it that **tomndebb** or **Dex** or the majority of the other admins/mods don’t feel the need to answer valid questions or concerns with outright, inappropriate snarkiness the way that she does? If they do, I have no problem brushing it off as a ‘bad day’ because it’s simply not SOP for them. I don’t think I’ve ever made one comment in a **TubaDiva** thread when this issue has come up before, and I’m sure there are thousands of other members who’ve never commented, either - but that doesn’t mean that the behavior goes unnoticed. And to be honest, I’m tired of seeing it excused. There’s simply no call for it. I don’t expect anything to change with her behavior because obviously, she’s been called out on it many, _many_ times and it continues, but it doesn’t go without notice. E. ---
**Author:** ![Excalibre](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/898d66/32.png) [@Excalibre](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Excalibre)\ **Post date:** [July 10, 2006, 5:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fishbycycle-get-a-fucking-grip/363825/40 "2006-07-10T17:38:49Z")
[QUOTE=aldiboronti] From the [American Heritage Dictionary](http://www.answers.com/feisty&r=67) 1. Touchy; quarrelsome. 2. Full of spirit or pluck; frisky or spunky. You should get out more. [/QUOTE] The first definition isn’t a terribly common one. But if that’s the case, then I agree. And obviously, then, our admins need to tone down their “feistiness”, since being quarrelsome is certainly not appropriate to the job. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fishbycycle-get-a-fucking-grip/363825.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fishbycycle-get-a-fucking-grip/363825.md?page=3)