# Get a grip, Jonathan **URL:** \ **Category:** About This Message Board\ **Created:** [August 24, 2015, 12:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/get-a-grip-jonathan/728713 "2015-08-24T12:54:39Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![Hentor\_the\_Barbarian](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/8edcca/32.png) [@Hentor\_the\_Barbarian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hentor_the_Barbarian)\ **Post date:** [August 24, 2015, 10:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/get-a-grip-jonathan/728713/41 "2015-08-24T22:47:40Z")
Terrible moderation. **Jonathan Chance** , you’re not getting any better at this. In fact, you’re getting worse. Also, please stop with the throat clearing. ---
**Author:** ![spinky](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/59ef9b/32.png) [@spinky](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/spinky)\ **Post date:** [August 25, 2015, 12:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/get-a-grip-jonathan/728713/42 "2015-08-25T00:11:03Z")
> [@Hentor\_the\_Barbarian](#): > > Also, please stop with the throat clearing. Jesus Christ, this. I get that it’s supposed to be cute, but it comes across as condescendingly schoolmarmish and probably does more to piss people off and make them resent you as a mod than most questionable mod rulings you make. ---
**Author:** ![FXMastermind](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/fxmastermind/32/7289_2.png) [@FXMastermind](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FXMastermind)\ **Post date:** [August 25, 2015, 12:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/get-a-grip-jonathan/728713/43 "2015-08-25T00:24:22Z")
No, I think it’s the sum total that people despise. The throat clearing is just the icing on the hate cake. ---
**Author:** ![engineer\_comp\_geek](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/engineer_comp_geek/32/504_2.png) [@engineer\_comp\_geek](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/engineer_comp_geek)\ **Post date:** [August 25, 2015, 12:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/get-a-grip-jonathan/728713/44 "2015-08-25T00:36:39Z")
**Moderator Note (actually two notes)** 1. “Get a grip” is a bit insulting, and insults aren’t appropriate in ATMB. Let’s try to keep the thread titles polite, please. 1. > [@Hentor\_the\_Barbarian](#): > > Terrible moderation. **Jonathan Chance** , you’re not getting any better at this. In fact, you’re getting worse. > > Also, please stop with the throat clearing. > [@FXMastermind](#): > > No, I think it’s the sum total that people despise. The throat clearing is just the icing on the hate cake. ATMB is for the polite discussion of board issues. It is not the place to simply bitch about moderator actions. ---
**Author:** ![FXMastermind](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/fxmastermind/32/7289_2.png) [@FXMastermind](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FXMastermind)\ **Post date:** [August 25, 2015, 12:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/get-a-grip-jonathan/728713/45 "2015-08-25T00:42:33Z")
Where is the place to complain about Mod actions? ---
**Author:** ![John\_Mace](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/john_mace/32/185_2.png) [@John\_Mace](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/John_Mace)\ **Post date:** [August 25, 2015, 12:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/get-a-grip-jonathan/728713/46 "2015-08-25T00:48:37Z")
> [@FXMastermind](#): > > Where is the place to complain about Mod actions? The first rule of complaining about Mod actions is… ---
**Author:** ![FXMastermind](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/fxmastermind/32/7289_2.png) [@FXMastermind](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FXMastermind)\ **Post date:** [August 25, 2015, 1:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/get-a-grip-jonathan/728713/47 "2015-08-25T01:33:20Z")
Oh no. This means I’m kicked out of the Complaining Club. ---
**Author:** ![Hentor\_the\_Barbarian](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/8edcca/32.png) [@Hentor\_the\_Barbarian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hentor_the_Barbarian)\ **Post date:** [August 25, 2015, 3:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/get-a-grip-jonathan/728713/48 "2015-08-25T03:09:02Z")
I am not simply bitching. Far from it. I sincerely hope that the quality of the moderation improves around here. I sincerely hope that when moderators get feedback, they consider it, and when they consistently get similar complaints, they modify their performance. I have repeatedly observed that **Jonathan Chance** moderates in an overly officious manner, with an apparently strong desire to editorialize and to delve into content and potential meaning. Like some kind of pre-cog, he is a fan of warning people that they are heading the right way for a smart bottom. In this particular instance, he suggests that the poster in question should reconsider entirely their motives or purpose for participating on the boards simply for suggesting that another poster might face critiism in the future. That’s outrageous, frankly. That is not getting better. That is moving further from an impartial interpretation of the rules and further and further into the insinuation of one’s personal biases and predilictions into the process of moderatng. The overall effect is to increase the arbitrary and vague sense of what the rules are, what the standards are, and frankly, diminishing whatever the fuck is supposed to be enjoyable and amusing about participating here. I know, I know. I’m sure the message is that if I don’t like it, perhaps I should reconsider what I am doing here myself. ---
**Author:** ![Hentor\_the\_Barbarian](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/8edcca/32.png) [@Hentor\_the\_Barbarian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hentor_the_Barbarian)\ **Post date:** [August 25, 2015, 3:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/get-a-grip-jonathan/728713/49 "2015-08-25T03:32:25Z")
One more thing - about this throat clearing… I’m not sure what the intended effect of the throat clearing was supposed to be. Amusing? Disarming? Mkay? Maybe something like that. The effect is much more like Dolores Umbridge, who also liked to clear her throat when asserting her authority. The affective experience is very similar for me. If you’re not familiar with the character in the Harry Potter movies, it isn’t a good thing. ---
**Author:** ![Colibri](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/colibri/32/1841_2.png) [@Colibri](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Colibri)\ **Post date:** [August 25, 2015, 4:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/get-a-grip-jonathan/728713/50 "2015-08-25T04:02:31Z")
> [@FXMastermind](#): > > Where is the place to complain about Mod actions? Don’t be disingenuous. “Despise” and “icing on the hate cake” are not phrases that should be part of a polite discussion. ---
**Author:** ![Senegoid](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/senegoid/32/6606_2.png) [@Senegoid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Senegoid)\ **Post date:** [August 25, 2015, 4:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/get-a-grip-jonathan/728713/51 "2015-08-25T04:09:35Z")
When I become a moderator here, I will begin every Mod Note with: **The Moderator bares his fangs** Every warning will begin with: **The Moderator unsheaths his dagger** Actual bannings will begin with: **The Moderator plunges it in deeply and twists** ---
**Author:** ![engineer\_comp\_geek](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/engineer_comp_geek/32/504_2.png) [@engineer\_comp\_geek](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/engineer_comp_geek)\ **Post date:** [August 25, 2015, 8:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/get-a-grip-jonathan/728713/52 "2015-08-25T08:07:50Z")
> [@FXMastermind](#): > > Where is the place to complain about Mod actions? If you have a complaint and you wish to politely discuss the issue, ATMB is the place for that. If you just want to bitch about the moderation, there is no forum on the SDMB that allows that. I’m a bit forgiving on the politeness rule. I realize that people are often upset about something when they come here and may not be on their best behavior, and if there is an issue to be discussed I want to make sure that it doesn’t get lost due to excessive enforcement of civility. But you can’t just come in here and bitch. That’s not gonna fly. ---
**Author:** ![VinylTurnip](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/v/b2d939/32.png) [@VinylTurnip](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/VinylTurnip)\ **Post date:** [August 25, 2015, 12:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/get-a-grip-jonathan/728713/53 "2015-08-25T12:08:44Z")
So one could, in theory, ask a mod, with all due respect and utmost deference, and with full appreciation for all his hard work, to please, if he finds the time, reflect on whether he could possibly consider not doing the “throat clearing” thing each time he acts as a moderator, no offense meant, and asking forgiveness for speaking so frankly, and so on and so forth, wishing all the best and sealed with a kiss? ---
**Author:** ![Inner\_Stickler](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/inner_stickler/32/318_2.png) [@Inner\_Stickler](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Inner_Stickler)\ **Post date:** [August 25, 2015, 1:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/get-a-grip-jonathan/728713/54 "2015-08-25T13:04:41Z")
> [@Colibri](#): > > Don’t be disingenuous. “Despise” and “icing on the hate cake” are not phrases that should be part of a polite discussion. Just curious, how polite do you find conversations where someone calls you disingenuous? ---
**Author:** ![Johnny\_Bravo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnny_bravo/32/493_2.png) [@Johnny\_Bravo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johnny_Bravo)\ **Post date:** [August 25, 2015, 1:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/get-a-grip-jonathan/728713/55 "2015-08-25T13:44:51Z")
Sounds like a personal criticism. Maybe he should have said, “please don’t use disingenuous rhetoric.” ---
**Author:** ![Colibri](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/colibri/32/1841_2.png) [@Colibri](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Colibri)\ **Post date:** [August 25, 2015, 3:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/get-a-grip-jonathan/728713/56 "2015-08-25T15:55:08Z")
> [@Inner\_Stickler](#): > > Just curious, how polite do you find conversations where someone calls you disingenuous? Quite polite, actually. A lot more than conversations that involve “despise” or “hate.” ---
**Author:** ![Inner\_Stickler](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/inner_stickler/32/318_2.png) [@Inner\_Stickler](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Inner_Stickler)\ **Post date:** [August 25, 2015, 3:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/get-a-grip-jonathan/728713/57 "2015-08-25T15:59:06Z")
Sounds disingenuous to me. ---
**Author:** ![Colibri](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/colibri/32/1841_2.png) [@Colibri](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Colibri)\ **Post date:** [August 25, 2015, 4:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/get-a-grip-jonathan/728713/58 "2015-08-25T16:06:38Z")
> [@Inner\_Stickler](#): > > Sounds disingenuous to me. Thanks for keeping it polite.😉 ---
**Author:** ![Drunky\_Smurf](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/drunky_smurf/32/449_2.png) [@Drunky\_Smurf](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Drunky_Smurf)\ **Post date:** [August 25, 2015, 4:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/get-a-grip-jonathan/728713/59 "2015-08-25T16:58:05Z")
> [@Senegoid](#): > > Every warning will begin with: > **The Moderator unsheaths his dagger** > Actual bannings will begin with: > **The Moderator plunges it in deeply and twists** No need to get all sexy now. ---
**Author:** ![TroutMan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/troutman/32/6721_2.png) [@TroutMan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TroutMan)\ **Post date:** [August 25, 2015, 5:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/get-a-grip-jonathan/728713/60 "2015-08-25T17:00:26Z")
> [@Drunky\_Smurf](#): > > No need to get all sexy now. It is a little Game of Thrones. Book spoiler! BOOK SPOILER!! [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/get-a-grip-jonathan/728713.md?page=2) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/get-a-grip-jonathan/728713.md?page=4)