# Fuck you, Czarcasm, for locking my thread. **URL:** \ **Category:** The BBQ Pit\ **Created:** [December 20, 2007, 7:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fuck-you-czarcasm-for-locking-my-thread/430744 "2007-12-20T19:30:08Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 11
**Author:** ![Boyo\_Jim](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/87869e/32.png) [@Boyo\_Jim](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Boyo_Jim)\ **Post date:** [December 22, 2007, 8:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fuck-you-czarcasm-for-locking-my-thread/430744/201 "2007-12-22T20:09:50Z")
So, if VC03 actually got busted for his little project, and this thread came into evidence somehow, would it be plus to the defense because it seems to demonstrate no evil intent, or a negative because clearly there was a a lot of advice (that was ignored) not to do it. I must give credit to VC03 for something. In the originating thread about the electronics idea, the responding members reached 100% consensus about it – BAD IDEA. I don’t think I have ever seen that before. Thank you VC03, for bringing the membership together as no one else has. ---
**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:** [December 22, 2007, 8:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fuck-you-czarcasm-for-locking-my-thread/430744/202 "2007-12-22T20:35:25Z")
[QUOTE=jackelope] Fair enough. I’ve never seen a breadboard, and have only a dim idea of what they are; I was imagining a computer’s motherboard with solder and filaments and such. [/QUOTE] [This](http://img341.imageshack.us/my.php?image=breadboardjp1.jpg) is a breadboard. ---
**Author:** ![Czarcasm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/czarcasm/32/4050_2.png) [@Czarcasm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Czarcasm)\ **Post date:** [December 22, 2007, 8:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fuck-you-czarcasm-for-locking-my-thread/430744/203 "2007-12-22T20:41:32Z")
[QUOTE=Q.E.D.] [This](http://img341.imageshack.us/my.php?image=breadboardjp1.jpg) is a breadboard. [/QUOTE] People would take one look at that and yell, “It’s a bomb with a timer, and it’s down to 8 seconds!!!” ---
**Author:** ![Boyo\_Jim](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/87869e/32.png) [@Boyo\_Jim](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Boyo_Jim)\ **Post date:** [December 22, 2007, 8:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fuck-you-czarcasm-for-locking-my-thread/430744/204 "2007-12-22T20:48:06Z")
[QUOTE=Q.E.D.] [This](http://img341.imageshack.us/my.php?image=breadboardjp1.jpg) is a breadboard. [/QUOTE] Yup, that’s exactly what tons of people, including me, would look at and think, “That’s a home-made timer/detonator and I have 8 seconds left to live, or to kill the guy and smash up the board.” ---
**Author:** ![Ravenman](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ravenman/32/2929_2.png) [@Ravenman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ravenman)\ **Post date:** [December 22, 2007, 9:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fuck-you-czarcasm-for-locking-my-thread/430744/205 "2007-12-22T21:02:14Z")
[QUOTE=Boyo Jim] So, if VC03 actually got busted for his little project, and this thread came into evidence somehow, would it be plus to the defense because it seems to demonstrate no evil intent, or a negative because clearly there was a a lot of advice (that was ignored) not to do it. . . . In the originating thread about the electronics idea, the responding members reached 100% consensus about it – BAD IDEA. [/QUOTE] If I were a juror, and someone was told by so many people not to do something, but they went ahead and did it anyways, I wouldn’t really see that as exculpatory evidence. ---
**Author:** ![Contrapuntal](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/e274bd/32.png) [@Contrapuntal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Contrapuntal)\ **Post date:** [December 22, 2007, 9:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fuck-you-czarcasm-for-locking-my-thread/430744/206 "2007-12-22T21:09:39Z")
[QUOTE=Q.E.D.] [This](http://img341.imageshack.us/my.php?image=breadboardjp1.jpg) is a breadboard. [/QUOTE] He’s a fucking troll. He may be a warm wonderful huggy bear in real life, but on this board he’s a troll. No one smart enough to string three words together coherently would wonder if tinkering with one of those on an airplane would be OK. ---
**Author:** ![Zoe](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/a4c791/32.png) [@Zoe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zoe)\ **Post date:** [December 22, 2007, 9:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fuck-you-czarcasm-for-locking-my-thread/430744/207 "2007-12-22T21:14:42Z")
I’d rather have someone think I’m a potential terrorist or even a troll than to think I’m that stupid. ---
**Author:** ![Santo\_Rugger](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/e95f7d/32.png) [@Santo\_Rugger](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Santo_Rugger)\ **Post date:** [December 22, 2007, 9:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fuck-you-czarcasm-for-locking-my-thread/430744/208 "2007-12-22T21:21:59Z")
[QUOTE=Q.E.D.] [This](http://img341.imageshack.us/my.php?image=breadboardjp1.jpg) is a breadboard. [/QUOTE] Cut the green wire!!! ---
**Author:** ![Jesticulator](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/977dab/32.png) [@Jesticulator](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jesticulator)\ **Post date:** [December 22, 2007, 9:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fuck-you-czarcasm-for-locking-my-thread/430744/209 "2007-12-22T21:30:11Z")
[QUOTE=Q.E.D.] [This](http://img341.imageshack.us/my.php?image=breadboardjp1.jpg) is a breadboard. [/QUOTE] From the OP of the thread in question: > [@VCO3](#): > > I’d be using a breadboard and a few components, which looks something like [this](http://seniordesign.engr.uidaho.edu/2004_2005/mekelektroniks/Project%20Pictures/Breadboard%20Test%20Circuits.jpg), and is pretty small - probably about the size of a pack of cigarettes. Quite a bit smaller, FWIW. > [@Boyo Jim](#): > > Yup, that’s exactly what tons of people, including me, would look at and think, “That’s a home-made timer/detonator and I have 8 seconds left to live, or to kill the guy and smash up the board.” So, basically, the argument is: People are ignorant, and don’t even try to educate them. What do you think that the timer/detonator is going to detonate? Do timers explode by themselves, just like oxygen “explodes”? :dubious: Wouldn’t this be much more effective: [Portable wired/wireless detonator](http://www1.ca.dell.com/content/products/productdetails.aspx/latit_xt?c=ca&cs=calca1&l=en&s=biz). It’s kind of scary, isn’t it? In any case, there are two completely separate questions here: 1. Should someone try to take a breadboard on board a commerical airplane? 2. Should the thread in question have been locked? My answers: 1. No. (But, only because of the ignorance and paranoia of passengers, aircraft crew, and security personnel.) 2. No. And, for those who think that it’s obvious that \*\*VCO3 \*\* was trolling, why did so many posters respond to his OP? ---
**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:** [December 22, 2007, 9:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fuck-you-czarcasm-for-locking-my-thread/430744/210 "2007-12-22T21:54:58Z")
[QUOTE=Jesticulator] Quite a bit smaller, FWIW. [/quote] FWIW? Nothing, that’s WIW. Size isn’t the issue here, it’s the general appearance. [QUOTE=Jesticulator] So, basically, the argument is: People are ignorant, and don’t even try to educate them. [/quote] No, but nice strawman. It’s great to educate people about electronics and technology. But a planeful of people, many of whom will already be nervous just being there, is NOT the place to conduct such an education. And this is coming from someone heavily involved in electronics, both as an ejoyable hobby and a career. [QUOTE=Jesticulator] What do you think that the timer/detonator is going to detonate? [/quote] The average person with zero background in electronics and explosives isn’t going to even bother to think about it; all they know is they see something which looks like homemade bomb circuity they’ve seen in movies and on TV. Maybe it’s a remote control to detonate an exp0lozive device in the cargo hold. They don’t know and they don’t care about possible technical details; they just know it makes them nervous. ---
**Author:** ![Jesticulator](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/977dab/32.png) [@Jesticulator](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jesticulator)\ **Post date:** [December 22, 2007, 10:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fuck-you-czarcasm-for-locking-my-thread/430744/211 "2007-12-22T22:08:00Z")
[QUOTE=Q.E.D.] FWIW? Nothing, that’s WIW. Size isn’t the issue here, it’s the general appearance. [/quote] Why did you provide your link to a breadboard, when there was already a better link in the OP? > [@](#): > > No, but nice strawman. How is it a strawman? Your subsequent comment was consistent with the argument – you just added some more details about context. > [@](#): > > The average person with zero background in electronics and explosives isn’t going to even bother to think about it; all they know is they see something which looks like homemade bomb circuity they’ve seen in movies and on TV. Maybe it’s a remote control to detonate an explozive device in the cargo hold. They don’t know and they don’t care about possible technical details; they just know it makes them nervous. So, the issue here is the nervousness of the passengers? Actually, the issue here is whether the thread in question should have been locked. ---
**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:** [December 22, 2007, 10:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fuck-you-czarcasm-for-locking-my-thread/430744/212 "2007-12-22T22:24:14Z")
[QUOTE=Jesticulator] Why did you provide your link to a breadboard, when there was already a better link in the OP? [/quote] Uh, because someone asked. Duh. I didn’t remember if the OP had included a link or not; I had a photo of one of my breadboard projects handy and I posted it. What difference does it make? [QUOTE=Jesticulator] How is it a strawman? Your subsequent comment was consistent with the argument – you just added some more details about context. [/quote] It’s a strawman because you implied that the poster you quoted suggested that ignorant people should not be educated when no such argument was advanced. [QUOTE=Jesticulator] Actually, the issue here is whether the thread in question should have been locked. [/QUOTE] Did I say otherwise? Any reasonable person should have known that working on such a thing on a plane in the current sociopolitical climate is almost certainly going to worry some people. The answer was so glaringly obvious and it was clear no one was going to buck the trend and seriously advise the OP in the original thread to go ahead with his plan; locking it may not have been absolutely necessary, but it was perfectly sensible. It had served its purpose and gotten the OP the only answer he was going to get. There was no point to it anymore. ---
**Author:** ![Jesticulator](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/977dab/32.png) [@Jesticulator](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jesticulator)\ **Post date:** [December 22, 2007, 11:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fuck-you-czarcasm-for-locking-my-thread/430744/213 "2007-12-22T23:42:43Z")
[QUOTE=Q.E.D.] What difference does it make? [/quote] It’s an indication that you’re not really familiar with the OP. > [@](#): > > Any reasonable person should have known that working on such a thing on a plane in the current sociopolitical climate is almost certainly going to worry some people. The answer was so glaringly obvious and it was clear no one was going to buck the trend and seriously advise the OP in the original thread to go ahead with his plan; locking it may not have been absolutely necessary, but it was perfectly sensible. It had served its purpose and gotten the OP the only answer he was going to get. There was no point to it anymore. So, your explanation is functionally equivalent to: > [@Czarcasm](#): > > Stupid question. > Obvious answer. > Closing thread. And: > [@Bricker](#): > > Sure it’s a stupid question. It’s a stupid question because the answer was obvious. You knew it ahead of time. Right. :dubious: So, at least one of the moderators is a mind-reader? And, all of **VCO3** ’s comments were blatant lies, right? Anyway, you yourself said: > [@Q.E.D.](#): > > Got a laptop? Get a circuit simulator and have at it. And \*\*Sunspace \*\*, **Mangetout** , and \*\*guizot \*\* agreed. What do you think poses a greater threat to airline security: A laptop computer (highly sophisticated electronics, highly programmable, with built-in wireless capability) or a breadboard? I’m not saying that anyone should take a breadboard on a plane, but considering doing so (and addressing ways of dealing with the specific concerns that passengers and crew will have) is not moronic, nor is it automatically evidence of trolling. ---
**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:** [December 22, 2007, 11:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fuck-you-czarcasm-for-locking-my-thread/430744/214 "2007-12-22T23:49:16Z")
[QUOTE=Jesticulator] It’s an indication that you’re not really familiar with the OP. [/quote] No, it’s an indication I don’t really give that much of a shit. [QUOTE=Jesticulator] What do you think poses a greater threat to airline security: A laptop computer (highly sophisticated electronics, highly programmable, with built-in wireless capability) or a breadboard? [/quote] Irrelevant. People use laptops on planes all the time; everyone knows what they are an no one is going to get freaked out by one. A breadboard, not so much. [QUOTE=Jesticulator] …considering doing so (and addressing ways of dealing with the specific concerns that passengers and crew will have) is not moronic… [/QUOTE] Yeah, it really is. ---
**Author:** ![susan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/susan/32/17537_2.png) [@susan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/susan)\ **Post date:** [December 22, 2007, 11:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fuck-you-czarcasm-for-locking-my-thread/430744/215 "2007-12-22T23:54:30Z")
Appearance of impropriety is the issue. Do you think I couldn’t kill someone with dental floss or a pen? Of course I could. And yet I can take those on a plane but not 4 oz of shampoo. Nobody’s arguing that **VCO3** is trying to take an unsafe device on a plane. They’re arguing that it is not clever or advisable to bring something that could be misperceived as dangerous on a plane. That people took the time to respond to him with arguments against rather than immediately urging him to go ahead with his plan is, to me, a demonstration that people here often respond to even perplexingly stupid OPs from posters with a history of such in a spirit of engagement rather than ridicule. ---
**Author:** ![Guinastasia](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/guinastasia/32/5751_2.png) [@Guinastasia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Guinastasia)\ **Post date:** [December 23, 2007, 12:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fuck-you-czarcasm-for-locking-my-thread/430744/216 "2007-12-23T00:05:06Z")
[QUOTE=Jesticulator] And, for those who think that it’s obvious that \*\*VCO3 \*\* was trolling, why did so many posters respond to his OP? [/QUOTE] Probably because most of us are far more familiar than you with **VCO3** , and his antics. As for answering his OP, it didn’t seem he was trolling at first. It was only after he began whining that we guessed that was the purpose. Either that, or he’s extremely stupid. I vote for a mixture of the two. ---
**Author:** ![Jesticulator](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/977dab/32.png) [@Jesticulator](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jesticulator)\ **Post date:** [December 23, 2007, 12:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fuck-you-czarcasm-for-locking-my-thread/430744/217 "2007-12-23T00:18:52Z")
[QUOTE=Shoshana] That people took the time to respond to him with arguments against rather than immediately urging him to go ahead with his plan is, to me, a demonstration that people here often respond to even perplexingly stupid OPs from posters with a history of such in a spirit of engagement rather than ridicule. [/QUOTE] The very first response to the OP was this: > [@Dorjän](#): > > You know damn well it would be asking for trouble, technically legal or not. > > Don’t you need to solder those things anyway? An indirect accusation of trolling, followed by a mistatement of fact. And. it’s clear that many of the other posts were not in “a spirit of engagement.” Anyway, if he was trolling, he was good at it, and he got what he wanted. ---
**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:** [December 23, 2007, 12:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fuck-you-czarcasm-for-locking-my-thread/430744/218 "2007-12-23T00:23:57Z")
[QUOTE=Jesticulator] An indirect accusation of trolling, followed by a mistatement of fact. [/QUOTE] I’m beginning to question your reading comprehension skills, to say nothing of your motives here. The post you quoted was neither of those things. ---
**Author:** ![Carol\_Stream](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/c2a13f/32.png) [@Carol\_Stream](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Carol_Stream)\ **Post date:** [December 23, 2007, 12:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fuck-you-czarcasm-for-locking-my-thread/430744/219 "2007-12-23T00:33:21Z")
[QUOTE=Guinastasia] Probably because most of us are far more familiar than you with **VCO3** , and his antics. As for answering his OP, it didn’t seem he was trolling at first. It was only after he began whining that we guessed that was the purpose. Either that, or he’s extremely stupid. I vote for a mixture of the two. [/QUOTE] Me, too! ---
**Author:** ![Santo\_Rugger](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/e95f7d/32.png) [@Santo\_Rugger](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Santo_Rugger)\ **Post date:** [December 23, 2007, 12:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fuck-you-czarcasm-for-locking-my-thread/430744/220 "2007-12-23T00:58:29Z")
**Jesticulator** = **VCO3** on holiday? Funny that a guest pops in to defend **VCO3** on the very day the flight was supposed to happen. Just sayin’. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fuck-you-czarcasm-for-locking-my-thread/430744.md?page=10) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fuck-you-czarcasm-for-locking-my-thread/430744.md?page=12)