# Has Twickster finally jumped the shark? **URL:** \ **Category:** About This Message Board\ **Created:** [February 20, 2013, 7:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/has-twickster-finally-jumped-the-shark/650868 "2013-02-20T07:34:25Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![moriah](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/b2d939/32.png) [@moriah](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/moriah)\ **Post date:** [February 20, 2013, 2:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/has-twickster-finally-jumped-the-shark/650868/21 "2013-02-20T14:56:54Z")
> [@Questions that seem easy but are not](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/questions-that-seem-easy-but-are-not/650787/3): > > I told you to knock off personal snark against another user in Cafe Society just the other day – and here you are doing it again. > > I’m giving you a warning for being a jerk, and the mods will be discussing your posting privileges. > > **twickster** , for the SDMB Well, here’s part of the problem. Regardless of the rightness or wrongness of the moderation, it could have been worded with less personal gall. This form of moderation only stirs things up rather than cools things off. It could have been worded: \*I recently warned you not to insult or make jabs at another user in Cafe Society and here you’re doing it again outside of The Pit and off topic. For now this is an official warning but further action may happen dependent upon review of the moderation team.\*See, no need to use ‘knock it off’ or ‘snark’ or ‘[you were] a jerk’ or explicit threats of being banned. ---
**Author:** ![Yorikke](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/yorikke/32/4335_2.png) [@Yorikke](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Yorikke)\ **Post date:** [February 20, 2013, 2:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/has-twickster-finally-jumped-the-shark/650868/22 "2013-02-20T14:59:08Z")
> [@Marley23](#): > > Don’t change text inside the quote boxes, **hrhomer**. I “fixed” your post by changing the text back to what **silenus** actually wrote. All righty then. ---
**Author:** ![PlainJain](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/5daacb/32.png) [@PlainJain](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/PlainJain)\ **Post date:** [February 20, 2013, 3:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/has-twickster-finally-jumped-the-shark/650868/23 "2013-02-20T15:19:52Z")
As much as I dislike twix’s moderating, in this case I see the logic. NT was clearly taking a swipe at JOSH. What I don’t get is why it wasn’t a ‘tone it down’ note instead. Also, I hate her smug nastiness. Was it really necessary to talk down to NT as if he was a six year old? And did she really need to announce to the board his posting privileges were under review. Usually when a mod mentions that, it to warn a poster that if their posting style continues that will be the consequence. Twix uses it as a public dressing down. Very unprofessional. To answer the OP; has twix finally jumped the shark? No, that happened long ago. > [@Marley23](#): > > Don’t change text inside the quote boxes, **hrhomer**. I “fixed” your post by changing the text back to what **silenus** actually wrote. Well, technically you left out the hyphen. 😉 ---
**Author:** ![VinylTurnip](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/v/b2d939/32.png) [@VinylTurnip](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/VinylTurnip)\ **Post date:** [February 20, 2013, 3:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/has-twickster-finally-jumped-the-shark/650868/24 "2013-02-20T15:19:54Z")
> [@Marley23](#): > > Don’t change text inside the quote boxes, **hrhomer**. I “fixed” your post by changing the text back to what **silenus** actually wrote. Not to turn this into a mod pile-on, but you forgot the hyphen. ---
**Author:** ![CandidGamera](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/candidgamera/32/2878_2.png) [@CandidGamera](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CandidGamera)\ **Post date:** [February 20, 2013, 3:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/has-twickster-finally-jumped-the-shark/650868/25 "2013-02-20T15:21:36Z")
> [@NineToTheSky](#): > > Twickster invites criticism due to her odd moderating . She also has an interesting way of responding to judgement calls, including using snark. While I acknowledge that taking potshots at her in ATMB is not right, her style of moderating invites an emotional response. This happens so often that surely her suitability as a mod should be in question. Seconded. I’ve fallen victim to this myself. ---
**Author:** ![Yorikke](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/yorikke/32/4335_2.png) [@Yorikke](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Yorikke)\ **Post date:** [February 20, 2013, 3:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/has-twickster-finally-jumped-the-shark/650868/26 "2013-02-20T15:22:33Z")
> [@PlainJain](#): > > Well, technically you left out the hyphen. 😉 > [@VinylTurnip](#): > > Not to turn this into a mod pile-on, but you forgot the hyphen. Mods are off their game lately. ---
**Author:** ![VinylTurnip](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/v/b2d939/32.png) [@VinylTurnip](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/VinylTurnip)\ **Post date:** [February 20, 2013, 3:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/has-twickster-finally-jumped-the-shark/650868/27 "2013-02-20T15:25:06Z")
Apparently so am I. ---
**Author:** ![Marley23](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/45deac/32.png) [@Marley23](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Marley23)\ **Post date:** [February 20, 2013, 3:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/has-twickster-finally-jumped-the-shark/650868/28 "2013-02-20T15:28:06Z")
> [@elbows](#): > > But her incorrectly calling him a jerk, and reviewing his posting privileges are somehow not snark? No, that’s moderating. She she was warning him for being a jerk - something we’ve been doing here since around 1999, I think. Once in a while you do see posters complain that it’s unfair the mods get to call them jerks, but it’s a little late in the game to call that snark. She explained that the poster had been mod-noted for similar behavior a few days ago and had done it again, so this time he was getting a warning. The bit about his posting privileges wasn’t snark either. This poster has received a couple of warnings lately and needs to improve his behavior. > [@](#): > > By coming in here and denying she did anything wrong, and saying the OP could have been less inflammatory, you just prove that his “circling the wagons”, was, in fact, spot on. **Malacandra** actually didn’t say anything about circling the wagons- I think **Ellen Cherry** assumed he did because that meaningless accusation is obligatory in ATMB threads. ---
**Author:** ![njtt](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/ecd19e/32.png) [@njtt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/njtt)\ **Post date:** [February 20, 2013, 3:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/has-twickster-finally-jumped-the-shark/650868/29 "2013-02-20T15:30:29Z")
I too was taken aback when I saw that warning, and it seems to me that although it is a plausible inference that **Nunzio Tavulari** ’s remark was intended as a jab at **James Otto Sweet Heart** , it is far from being a certainty. **JOSH** was not in the thread, and it seems perfectly possible that **Nunzio** was snarking against other James Otto fans that he has come across, perhaps in “real life”. It seems that the man does attract adoring female fans. I wonder if **Twickster** ’s overreaction was influenced by the fact that **JOSH** is undergoing [a pretty rigorous pitting](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=682843) at the moment. However, that pit thread has nothing to do with **JOSH** ’s feelings about Mr Otto, and **Nunzio Tavulari** has not participated in it. ---
**Author:** ![silenus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/silenus/32/166_2.png) [@silenus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/silenus)\ **Post date:** [February 20, 2013, 3:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/has-twickster-finally-jumped-the-shark/650868/30 "2013-02-20T15:31:35Z")
Now I’m waiting for **Marley** to “do the right thing” and marry me, since he took my hyphen and all… ---
**Author:** ![PlainJain](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/5daacb/32.png) [@PlainJain](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/PlainJain)\ **Post date:** [February 20, 2013, 3:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/has-twickster-finally-jumped-the-shark/650868/31 "2013-02-20T15:37:02Z")
> [@Marley23](#): > > **Malacandra** actually didn’t say anything about circling the wagons- I think **Ellen Cherry** assumed he did because that meaningless accusation is obligatory in ATMB threads. From the OP: _sends up smoke signal and watches the wheeled tepees carefully_ I took that to mean circling the wagons, ymmv. ---
**Author:** ![Ellen\_Cherry](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ellen_cherry/32/3600_2.png) [@Ellen\_Cherry](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ellen_Cherry)\ **Post date:** [February 20, 2013, 3:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/has-twickster-finally-jumped-the-shark/650868/32 "2013-02-20T15:44:15Z")
> [@elbows](#): > > But her incorrectly calling him a jerk, and reviewing his posting privileges are somehow not snark? > > By coming in here and denying she did anything wrong, and saying the OP could have been less inflammatory, you just prove that his “circling the wagons”, was, in fact, spot on. I didn’t deny she did anything wrong, elbows. I said that if he had a question about her moderating he could ask it without the jabs. There is nothing snarky about a moderator saying someone’s posting privileges are under review — it’s just a statement of fact. Someone accumulates some warnings and we confer and decide if they should be counseled, suspended or banned. Also saying someone was a jerk was in the course of moderating. “Being a jerk” is one of the rules we are able to cite when moderating. When I said “It seems to me” I was trying to let you know how I saw it, which is what Darth Panda asked. As a moderator I try to keep discussions civil, point out when people are being insulting, and note or warn people as needed when they deviate from the rules. That is what I started to do in this thread … tell Malacandra that his framing of the question was not acceptable to another poster, or to a moderator. I was in no way getting “all worked up.” I’m not sure why that’s confusing, but I am listening to others’ points of view! ---
**Author:** ![Ellen\_Cherry](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ellen_cherry/32/3600_2.png) [@Ellen\_Cherry](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ellen_Cherry)\ **Post date:** [February 20, 2013, 3:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/has-twickster-finally-jumped-the-shark/650868/33 "2013-02-20T15:47:23Z")
Well, pfft, I got a phone call and I see Marley already addressed most of this. But to clarify one point, I did think tepees etc. meant “circling the wagons.” ---
**Author:** ![Marley23](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/45deac/32.png) [@Marley23](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Marley23)\ **Post date:** [February 20, 2013, 3:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/has-twickster-finally-jumped-the-shark/650868/34 "2013-02-20T15:50:40Z")
> [@PlainJain](#): > > I took that to mean circling the wagons, ymmv. My imagination has failed me. I realize there’s some room for debate about whether the reference was to James Otto or the poster who is a James Otto fan, but **James Otto Sweet Heart** has been here for a few months and attracted enough attention - an ATMB thread about her signoff, a Pitting or two - that it was a pretty reasonable interpretation. By way of example: [http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?p=15938014&highlight=otto#post15938014](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?p=15938014&highlight=otto#post15938014) [http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?p=15888029&highlight=otto#post15888029](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?p=15888029&highlight=otto#post15888029) So it’s getting to be kind of a meme. I don’t think anyone on this board had ever mentioned Mr. Otto before that poster arrived. ---
**Author:** ![PlainJain](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/5daacb/32.png) [@PlainJain](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/PlainJain)\ **Post date:** [February 20, 2013, 4:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/has-twickster-finally-jumped-the-shark/650868/35 "2013-02-20T16:03:19Z")
> [@Marley23](#): > > So it’s getting to be kind of a meme. I don’t think anyone on this board had ever mentioned Mr. Otto before that poster arrived. Mentioned? Before she arrived I doubt anyone had even _heard_ of him. ---
**Author:** ![Malacandra](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/45deac/32.png) [@Malacandra](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Malacandra)\ **Post date:** [February 20, 2013, 4:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/has-twickster-finally-jumped-the-shark/650868/36 "2013-02-20T16:04:46Z")
> [@Ellen\_Cherry](#): > > Well, pfft, I got a phone call and I see Marley already addressed most of this. But to clarify one point, I did think tepees etc. meant “circling the wagons.” I’ve no wish to see **Ellen** dealt with unfairly on this one: that is exactly what I meant about the wheeled tepees. We can argue back and forth about whether wagons do get circled around here, but the humorous figure of speech I was using meant just what **Ellen** thought it meant. ---
**Author:** ![VinylTurnip](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/v/b2d939/32.png) [@VinylTurnip](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/VinylTurnip)\ **Post date:** [February 20, 2013, 4:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/has-twickster-finally-jumped-the-shark/650868/37 "2013-02-20T16:11:11Z")
So the underlying question is: what makes referencing an inchoate board meme unacceptable? It seems that there’s a tendency— primarily but not exclusively **twickster’s** — to employ a very broad definition of “insult” or “jab” in forums outside the Pit. One that includes any mildly wry or teasing comment, even if not meant spitefully-- comments we should as adults be able to bear and share without collapsing into sobs, and (IMHO) comments that give this board its color and make it a less boring place. The Pit is supposed to be used for “beefs with other posters,” which is fine. Not everything is a “beef” just because it addresses or refers to another poster. I think we need to lighten up. ---
**Author:** ![Earl\_Snake-Hips\_Tucker](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/earl_snake-hips_tucker/32/3269_2.png) [@Earl\_Snake-Hips\_Tucker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Earl_Snake-Hips_Tucker)\ **Post date:** [February 20, 2013, 4:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/has-twickster-finally-jumped-the-shark/650868/38 "2013-02-20T16:13:39Z")
> [@hrhomer](#): > > All righty then. Yeah, they don’t like us to modify quotes, so when you did that, as soon as it was noticed it was. . . dead on arrival! ---
**Author:** ![elbows](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/b3f665/32.png) [@elbows](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/elbows)\ **Post date:** [February 20, 2013, 4:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/has-twickster-finally-jumped-the-shark/650868/39 "2013-02-20T16:17:43Z")
The real question is when, if ever, the other mods could even entertain the possibility, that there _could_ be something to, what so many of the villagers, have been saying, for so long? There are times when it surely seems, to the villagers, the answer is never! It feels dismissive, is all. ---
**Author:** ![Yorikke](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/yorikke/32/4335_2.png) [@Yorikke](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Yorikke)\ **Post date:** [February 20, 2013, 4:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/has-twickster-finally-jumped-the-shark/650868/40 "2013-02-20T16:21:42Z")
> [@Earl\_Snake-Hips\_Tucker](#): > > Yeah, they don’t like us to modify quotes, so when you did that, as soon as it was noticed it was. . . dead on arrival! Ba-dum-TSS! [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/has-twickster-finally-jumped-the-shark/650868.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/has-twickster-finally-jumped-the-shark/650868.md?page=3)