# Heavy-handed hijack moderation **URL:** \ **Category:** About This Message Board\ **Created:** [June 29, 2023, 6:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/heavy-handed-hijack-moderation/986303 "2023-06-29T18:10:40Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 5
**Author:** ![puzzlegal](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/puzzlegal/32/3827_2.png) [@puzzlegal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/puzzlegal)\ **Post date:** [July 2, 2023, 12:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/heavy-handed-hijack-moderation/986303/81 "2023-07-02T00:18:40Z")
> [@Aspenglow](#): > > I haz a mug!! I got a mug, too! With a cartoon by Slug. ---
**Author:** ![Exapno\_Mapcase](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/exapno_mapcase/32/1051_2.png) [@Exapno\_Mapcase](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Exapno_Mapcase)\ **Post date:** [July 2, 2023, 12:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/heavy-handed-hijack-moderation/986303/82 "2023-07-02T00:46:04Z")
> [@Aspenglow](#): > > But every comment by Trump is not germane to the subject of the thread. Trump says inane stuff all the time. Do we have a non-pit thread in which these jokes would be appropriate? ---
**Author:** ![Aspenglow](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/aspenglow/32/76_2.png) [@Aspenglow](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Aspenglow)\ **Post date:** [July 2, 2023, 1:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/heavy-handed-hijack-moderation/986303/83 "2023-07-02T01:04:14Z")
I haven’t started one, but you or anyone else can. If you want to allow Trump humor in P&E, just say you’re fine with it in your OP and make the subject of your OP broad, and I’ll stay out of it for hijacking so long as the humor doesn’t cross into Pit level stuff. I’ll go out on a limb and say I think other P&E mods are fine with this, too. But beware, that’s one of the problems – it often does cross into Pit level stuff. There’s some fun joking around going in this thread: > [@Will Trump be jailed within a year of this date?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/will-trump-be-jailed-within-a-year-of-this-date/986391): > > I am talking about a real jail and/or prison, not some weak-ass house arrest, folks. [poll](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/will-trump-be-jailed-within-a-year-of-this-date/986391/1) The funny posts are mostly on topic, though, so I don’t know if that’s what you’re looking for. If what you want is just a bunch of off topic Trump jokes, then the Pit is custom made for that. I’ll just add that some of the best and most informative discussions I’ve had on this board were in the Pit. It was nice to say what I wanted without concern for stepping on the rules of the other forums. I don’t understand the resistance to using it. ---
**Author:** ![Kent\_Clark](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kent_clark/32/105_2.png) [@Kent\_Clark](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kent_Clark)\ **Post date:** [July 2, 2023, 1:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/heavy-handed-hijack-moderation/986303/84 "2023-07-02T01:11:19Z")
> [@Magiver](#): > > I’m confused on why MPSIMS is the keeper of the news flame. It seemed like a good place to speculate on what happened without citing anything. > [@puzzlegal](#): > > Breaking news threads live in MPSIMS. I don’t know how MPSIMS originally became the breaking news thread, but I know its position was cemented on 9/11. No reason to mess with it now. ---
**Author:** ![Aspenglow](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/aspenglow/32/76_2.png) [@Aspenglow](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Aspenglow)\ **Post date:** [July 2, 2023, 2:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/heavy-handed-hijack-moderation/986303/85 "2023-07-02T02:04:13Z")
Here’s another P&E thread you can use as a model: > [@Ron DeSantis 2024](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ron-desantis-2024/851592): > > Do you see Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis being elected president in 2024 if he runs? DeSantis is seen as a 2024 presidential contender. This one was started in 2020 (by a banned troll, no less) and so far as I can tell, it’s never been modded. It’s a broad topic and allows for anything relating to the DeSantis 2024 campaign. Lots of humor, though again, most of it is on topic. I think there are quite a few such threads in P&E. ---
**Author:** ![puzzlegal](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/puzzlegal/32/3827_2.png) [@puzzlegal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/puzzlegal)\ **Post date:** [July 2, 2023, 2:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/heavy-handed-hijack-moderation/986303/86 "2023-07-02T02:33:29Z")
> [@Aspenglow](#): > > I’ll just add that some of the best and most informative discussions I’ve had on this board were in the Pit. It was nice to say what I wanted without concern for stepping on the rules of the other forums. I don’t understand the resistance to using it. I’d like to second that a lot of excellent discussion happens in the pit. ---
**Author:** ![Exapno\_Mapcase](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/exapno_mapcase/32/1051_2.png) [@Exapno\_Mapcase](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Exapno_Mapcase)\ **Post date:** [July 2, 2023, 2:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/heavy-handed-hijack-moderation/986303/87 "2023-07-02T02:39:43Z")
My point was that the thread is the one and only place for those jokes in P&E. Jokes are spoiled when taken out of context. Coke jokes, like it or not, are inevitable and proper when the news reports include the product. No one should have to go elsewhere to make a perfectly appropriate comment. And those big yellow bands that are used by mod are far more disruptive to scrolling through the threads than the jokes themselves. Nothing wrong with the color or use of it. It’s just that they stop the thread dead. They’re far more antithetical to the flow than a dozen one-line jokes are and I see I’m not the first here to notice that. It’s a prime example of the Vietnam-era explanation that “we had to destroy the village in order to save it.” ---
**Author:** ![Johnny\_L.A](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnny_l.a/32/1084_2.png) [@Johnny\_L.A](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johnny_L.A)\ **Post date:** [July 2, 2023, 2:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/heavy-handed-hijack-moderation/986303/88 "2023-07-02T02:41:37Z")
I agree. ---
**Author:** ![Aspenglow](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/aspenglow/32/76_2.png) [@Aspenglow](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Aspenglow)\ **Post date:** [July 2, 2023, 2:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/heavy-handed-hijack-moderation/986303/89 "2023-07-02T02:47:25Z")
I think we offer a broad spectrum of choices about how and where to post, attempting to please as many as possible. But not everyone is going to be happy with how things are done on the board. I’m not changing my approach unless or until the rules are changed or staff notify me that I’m doing it wrong. So far, this hasn’t happened. I hope those who dislike it can make their peace with that. And now I’m done with this discussion. ---
**Author:** ![Peter\_Morris](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/peter_morris/32/359_2.png) [@Peter\_Morris](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Peter_Morris)\ **Post date:** [July 2, 2023, 2:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/heavy-handed-hijack-moderation/986303/90 "2023-07-02T02:56:14Z")
> [@Johnny\_L.A](#): > > I agree. So do I. ---
**Author:** ![Son\_of\_a\_Rich](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/son_of_a_rich/32/5439_2.png) [@Son\_of\_a\_Rich](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Son_of_a_Rich)\ **Post date:** [July 2, 2023, 4:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/heavy-handed-hijack-moderation/986303/91 "2023-07-02T04:01:07Z")
My Coke comment pointed out trump’s poisonous narcissism, one symptom of which is his refusal to turn over the docs (the subject of the thread). I’m not responsible for any posts following mine. ---
**Author:** ![EllisDee](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ellisdee/32/4531_2.png) [@EllisDee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/EllisDee)\ **Post date:** [July 2, 2023, 4:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/heavy-handed-hijack-moderation/986303/92 "2023-07-02T04:43:15Z")
> [@Aspenglow](#): > > I’ll be moderating hijacks in GD/P&E more strictly going forward. > [@Aspenglow](#): > > I’m not changing my approach unless or until the rules are changed or staff notify me that I’m doing it wrong. You’re not changing your approach _again_, you mean. ---
**Author:** ![BigT](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bigt/32/12044_2.png) [@BigT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BigT)\ **Post date:** [July 2, 2023, 6:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/heavy-handed-hijack-moderation/986303/93 "2023-07-02T06:32:19Z")
> [@Aspenglow](#): > > But every comment by Trump is not germane to the subject of the thread. Trump says inane stuff all the time. Him ordering cokes is not part of the process of his prosecution and/or defense to the charges mounted in the Mar-A-Lago documents case. Thank you. That tells me more of what you expect. Jokes that are about what someone else posted are not okay–they need to specifically on the specific topic. That is rather strict—far more strict than I’ve seen you or any other mod moderate before. Hence it would have been nice if you’d spelled that out in the thread. > [@Aspenglow](#): > > Posters who engage in serial hijacks and who have been regularly mod-noted for them will receive warnings because at that point, the poster is deliberately ignoring moderator instructions. We warn for that all the time. But your first post in this thread is about how you had recently changed the rules on how you were going to deal with these hijacks. And what you are considering a hijack is far more strict than previously. So it seems to me that it’s premature to start threatening Warnings for people who violate these new, more stringent requirements (especially since they seem to be thread specific). ---
**Author:** ![Johnny\_L.A](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnny_l.a/32/1084_2.png) [@Johnny\_L.A](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johnny_L.A)\ **Post date:** [July 2, 2023, 1:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/heavy-handed-hijack-moderation/986303/94 "2023-07-02T13:11:12Z")
> [@BigT](#): > > But your first post in this thread is about how you had recently changed the rules on how you were going to deal with these hijacks. And what you are considering a hijack is far more strict than previously. > > So it seems to me that it’s premature to start threatening Warnings for people who violate these new, more stringent requirements (especially since they seem to be thread specific). I agree. Some people don’t remember what SDMB was like 15 or 20 years ago, or weren’t even around then. Basically, you were admonished to post threads in the correct forum (there were fewer of them then), and don’t be a jerk. But ‘jerk’ has changed meaning over time. Insults were common. Heck, we even had a ‘Putz’ smiley. Members would only be banned if they did something egregious, or repeatedly ignored mod warnings. And I’m not talking about making quips in a thread. And yet the place worked. ---
**Author:** ![Gyrate](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gyrate/32/3588_2.png) [@Gyrate](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gyrate)\ **Post date:** [July 3, 2023, 1:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/heavy-handed-hijack-moderation/986303/95 "2023-07-03T13:02:46Z")
> [@Johnny\_L.A](#): > > And yet the place worked. For a given value of “worked”, certainly. ---
**Author:** ![Magiver](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/4491bb/32.png) [@Magiver](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Magiver)\ **Post date:** [July 4, 2023, 6:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/heavy-handed-hijack-moderation/986303/96 "2023-07-04T18:42:26Z")
I think the Mods need to explain their posts when they hide posts and ban posters. “you broke the rules” doesn’t cut it. I was just reading a post in a thread about transgender athletes and a poster was shut down and then the thread was closed. The post involved cites of actual events. I myself just received a strange note with no explanation beyond Please review our [community guidelines](https://boards.straightdope.com/guidelines) for details. Nothing was changed or hidden and I have no idea what it’s about. ---
**Author:** ![crowmanyclouds](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/crowmanyclouds/32/19884_2.png) [@crowmanyclouds](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/crowmanyclouds)\ **Post date:** [July 4, 2023, 7:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/heavy-handed-hijack-moderation/986303/97 "2023-07-04T19:07:14Z")
I’d like to thank you for providing those links so we can ascertain for ourselves just how heavy-handed this moderation is. ---
**Author:** ![What\_Exit](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/what_exit/32/10652_2.png) [@What\_Exit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/What_Exit)\ **Post date:** [July 4, 2023, 7:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/heavy-handed-hijack-moderation/986303/98 "2023-07-04T19:12:38Z")
I was thinking the same thing. ---
**Author:** ![Aspenglow](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/aspenglow/32/76_2.png) [@Aspenglow](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Aspenglow)\ **Post date:** [July 4, 2023, 7:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/heavy-handed-hijack-moderation/986303/99 "2023-07-04T19:14:13Z")
And me. ---
**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:** [July 4, 2023, 7:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/heavy-handed-hijack-moderation/986303/100 "2023-07-04T19:33:58Z")
> [@Magiver](#): > > I myself just received a strange note with no explanation beyond Please review our [community guidelines](https://boards.straightdope.com/guidelines) for details. Nothing was changed or hidden and I have no idea what it’s about. Who sent it to you? I don’t see anything in the logs. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/heavy-handed-hijack-moderation/986303.md?page=4) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/heavy-handed-hijack-moderation/986303.md?page=6)