Fucking Morons in General Questions

[Yue_Han]

cooldude has established himself as a complete shithead here:
http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?threadid=59999

It starts with a nice normal question about Lucid Dreaming. Like many topics, this could go in several forums, depending on phrasing. For instance, it could have gone to IMHO or MPSIMS as “Tell me about your lucid dreaming experiences.”

But it wasn’t. It was in GQ, which means the correct response is factual, objective information. I think just about everybody understands the forums concept well enough to see that that’s what GQ is for.

Some of the responses verged into personal stories, as opposed to information, so manhattan said:

Once again, we don’t need a thread full of every story by anyone who as ever done this. As in the prior threads on this subject, I’ll ask that you limit your posts to factual information about the practice – studies of it, etc.

Thanks.

To which dipshit of the day cooldude responded:

So, the moderator NAZI is stepping in again trying to tell us, the posters what to do AGAIN. I’m sorry, but WHAT THE HELL IS WRONG with relating personal experiences. How many of us are experts on lucid dreams? Few or none. How many of us have experienced it? Many.

If you want factual information in the form of studies, search the web and send us a link. Write to Cecil himself. Personally, I think personal experiences about lucid dreams are far more factual to me than reading some dissertation, and much easier on the eyes and brain.

Manhattan, I may not have a full understanding of the pressures of being a moderator, but this is not encouraging to the free exchanging of knowledge. This is a topic of intertest to me, and I personally defy the moderator and command all of you write about your experiences. Anything else I have to say about Manhattan would be more appropriate in the pit.

This is pathetic and stupid bullshit. If you are not an expert on lucid dreaming, if you ahve only personal experiences to post on lucid dreaming, then don’t fucking post in a GQ thread about lucid dreaming.

Personally, I think personal experiences about lucid dreams are far more factual to me than reading some dissertation, and much easier on the eyes and brain.

You apparently don’t understand what the word factual means. A personal experience is not a fact about lucid dreaming. The fact that Perderabo likes to dream that he can fly like Superman is not a fact about lucid dreaming; it is a personal fact about Perderabo that doesn’t tell anyone anything about lucid dreaming in general.

If you think people should discuss their personal lucid dreaming experiences, then you are free to forcibly yank your head out of your ass and go start a MPSIMS or IMHO thread about it.

Not only did you get pissed off about a perfectly normal moderating action, you were a complete ass about it. Here’s an easy method to use: Unless someone invaded Poland, believes in the master race, and set up death camps, don’t call them a Nazi.

Thank you for your time.

–John

[Ice_Wolf]

Yue Han, I agree with you. Absolutely. There was no need to have an anti-Mod tirade in this case.

But … why didn’t Manhattan simply move the thread to IMHO or MPSIMS?

[Coldfire]

Because obviously, he wanted to leave the option open to let some real experts chime in. This is a very diverse community of people, often highly skilled. It’s not unthinkable that a dream expert is among us as well.

Good one, Yue Han.

[SuaSponte]

*Originally posted by Ice Wolf *
**Yue Han, I agree with you. Absolutely. There was no need to have an anti-Mod tirade in this case.

But … why didn’t Manhattan simply move the thread to IMHO or MPSIMS? **

Because the OP was trying to get facts about lucid dreaming. Because others hijacked it with their personal experiences shouldn’t redound to the detriment of the OPer (or others who want to learn facts about lucid dreaming).

Manhattan did precisely the right thing here. A GQ post was drifting in the direction of MPSIMS, and he tried to pull it back. He tried politely and in a non-accusatory way, and got called a Nazi for his pains. The fucker who said it should be banned. 'Specially cooldude - he’s been around long enough to know not to be a jerk.

Sua

[aenea]

You do not post often enough for my taste.

Your voice should be heard a little more often…

[PosterChild]

Hmmmm?
:rolleyes:

[SPOOFE]

Unless someone invaded Poland, believes in the master race, and set up death camps, don’t call them a Nazi.

You know, this is such a brilliant piece of advice, I think I’m gonna print out a trillion copies and post them on every surface in sight.

Personally, I found this part to be most entertaining…

Manhattan, I may not have a full understanding of the pressures of being a moderator, but this is not encouraging to the free exchanging of knowledge.

Apparently, cooldude would rather have no rules or control over what happens here. He’d rather have EVERY forum an MPSIMS/IMHO amalgamation.

To cooldude I say… get out of here and find a fucking newsgroup, jackass!

[Danielinthewolvesden]

*Originally posted by Yue Han *
Here’s an easy method to use: Unless someone invaded Poland, believes in the master race, and set up death camps, don’t call them a Nazi.

**

Small nitpick- there were many other nations that had Nazi parties- and several othere which had a Nazi government. There are still “nazis” to this day.

[Pedro]

Originally posted by Danielinthewolvesden
Small nitpick- there were many other nations that had Nazi parties- and several othere which had a Nazi government. There are still “nazis” to this day.

That’s not accurate. Other nations had totalitarian right-wing or fascist parties, Germany had a specific one called Nationalsozialistische Deutsche Arbeiterpartei or Nazi for short. Today there are neo-nazis, it’s different. I couldn’t agree more with the OPer and the abuse of that word.

[Road_Rash]

I finally get to see the thread about me and it is already being hijacked for National Socialism.

Manhattan, I apologize.

Sure there should be guidelines to general questions. If a thread strays, move it. I have never objected to this. But in recent months there has been several questions, ones I thought legitimate, that got closed. There have been threads that were closed because they were not technically written in the form of a question. Threads that got closed for what I felt were minor infractions. The moderator who is the most zealous about closing threads seems to be Manhattan, often with smart-ass, I am smarter than you type, responses. I often interpret behavior like that as being arrogant.

I too have been arrogent, and I responded in a dumb-ass way. From now on if I have a disagreement with Manhattan, I will e-mail him and try to be nice so he might give me a response.

I still think they need to lighten up on GQ. Message boards are supposed to be fun and informative.

AND QUIT HIJACKING THIS THREAD!!!

Cooldude with a cooler head.

[jb_farley]

cooldude, I apologize to you and the rest for the harsh words. and chronos and manhattan, sorry for the curses and the clutter.

Yue Han, I don’t think I’ve spoken directly to you before, which is a real shame. Nice jobbyjob.
jb

[SuaSponte]

Brava, cooldude

[SPOOFE]

But in recent months there has been several questions, ones I thought legitimate, that got closed.

Apparently, Manhattan disagreed with you on “legitimacy”. But please, provide us with some links and explain how they were legitimate “General Questions” and why they should not have been closed.

There have been threads that were closed because they were not technically written in the form of a question.

General Questions. 'Nuff said.

Threads that got closed for what I felt were minor infractions.

Then you bring it up in the Pit, not GQ. Sheesh!

Message boards are supposed to be fun and informative.

Fun: IMHO or MPSIMS (and, to a point, the Pit).

Informative: GQ, GD, and the Comments forums.

Seems pretty clear-cut to me.

[TVeblen]

*Originally posted by cooldude *
** If a thread strays, move it. **

If it helps, some purely logistical stuff kicks in on the moving vs. locking thing. Neither are hard, but moving a thread has complications…

See, the boards tend to boom during “prime times”. The servers are straining and since some of us are at work then, sneaking in over breaks and lunchhours, we aren’t in much better shape. Locking a thread off just takes a few quick steps and it doesn’t slow the board down appreciably.

Moving a thread sucks server resources and the process does make the board run slower. Plus, it takes more steps for the mod:

1. ideally, emailing the OP to advise of the move.
2. emailing the mods in the forum that’s the threads new home.
3. posting an advisory in the “moved to…” thread in the forum.

GQ is bursting at the seams; during peak times the front page can completely turn over in a few hours. Not trying to heap coals on your head, cooldude; class act, there. Just trying to make things a bit more… understandable.

Veb