# Hey Twickster, How was this OTHER warning justified? **URL:** \ **Category:** About This Message Board\ **Created:** [December 17, 2009, 4:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hey-twickster-how-was-this-other-warning-justified/521649 "2009-12-17T16:33:50Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 4
**Author:** ![SoulFrost](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/f07891/32.png) [@SoulFrost](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SoulFrost)\ **Post date:** [December 19, 2009, 12:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hey-twickster-how-was-this-other-warning-justified/521649/61 "2009-12-19T00:09:54Z")
That’s more or less true, **Cat** (though I have to add that many of those decisions either were **Zotti** going off the rails on his own or were business-driven.) Still, though, sitting down and shutting up has never been my strong point, whether I expect to be listened to or not. ---
**Author:** ![Cat\_Whisperer](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cat_whisperer/32/4839_2.png) [@Cat\_Whisperer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cat_Whisperer)\ **Post date:** [December 19, 2009, 12:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hey-twickster-how-was-this-other-warning-justified/521649/62 "2009-12-19T00:27:08Z")
> [@SoulFrost](#): > > That’s more or less true, **Cat** (though I have to add that many of those decisions either were **Zotti** going off the rails on his own or were business-driven.) Still, though, sitting down and shutting up has never been my strong point, whether I expect to be listened to or not. I can get behind that. 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![Zoe](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/a4c791/32.png) [@Zoe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zoe)\ **Post date:** [December 19, 2009, 6:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hey-twickster-how-was-this-other-warning-justified/521649/63 "2009-12-19T06:00:36Z")
**Twixter** thanked everyone for their input about the warnings. I have seen her change her mind before so I believe her to be open to our responses. The responsibility is hers so the decision is hers. The idea of giving out warnings by a democratic vote makes me shudder. I can’t believe that people actually volunteer to be mods here. ---
**Author:** ![Irishman](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/b487fb/32.png) [@Irishman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Irishman)\ **Post date:** [December 21, 2009, 7:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hey-twickster-how-was-this-other-warning-justified/521649/64 "2009-12-21T19:01:16Z")
**BigT** said: > [@](#): > > I think you are talking about the wrong issue. Ignoring a warning does not inherently create any problems. I’m sure a lot of people ignore warnings if they don’t think they are justified. They just aren’t stupid enough to actually tell the mod that that’s what they are doing. You are correct that a warning does not directly do anything to a poster. However, if someone ignores a warning, they are likely to repeat whatever action it was that led to them getting the warning. If that first warning truly wasn’t justified, then they will likely be okay, but the thing is, if you got 1 warning for a certain action and repeat that action, you are likely to get a second warning for that action. Stacking up warnings does have an impact to the individual - it leads to banning. Now you are correct in this case the problem was as much the snarky and dismissive tone applied to an Official Action as it was the actual act. Consider: you receive a traffic ticket for speeding, and after the cop hands you the ticket you say “Well, it’s my neighborhood, so I’ll do what I want,” and then wad up and throw the ticket out the window, do you think that cop is going to smile politely and wave you on your way? Even if you didn’t say, “You’re just a worthless, jack-booted, donut-eating bully, harrassing good people for driving a little fast.” ---
**Author:** ![srzss05](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/898d66/32.png) [@srzss05](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/srzss05)\ **Post date:** [December 21, 2009, 7:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hey-twickster-how-was-this-other-warning-justified/521649/65 "2009-12-21T19:16:46Z")
> [@Irishman](#): > > Consider: you receive a traffic ticket for speeding, and after the cop hands you the ticket you say “Well, it’s my neighborhood, so I’ll do what I want,” and then wad up and throw the ticket out the window, do you think that cop is going to smile politely and wave you on your way? Even if you didn’t say, “You’re just a worthless, jack-booted, donut-eating bully, harrassing good people for driving a little fast.” You can’t possibly believe that analogy applies here. ---
**Author:** ![Irishman](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/b487fb/32.png) [@Irishman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Irishman)\ **Post date:** [December 21, 2009, 10:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hey-twickster-how-was-this-other-warning-justified/521649/66 "2009-12-21T22:05:13Z")
Why not? ---
**Author:** ![Munch](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/munch/32/5281_2.png) [@Munch](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Munch)\ **Post date:** [December 22, 2009, 12:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hey-twickster-how-was-this-other-warning-justified/521649/67 "2009-12-22T00:33:30Z")
> [@Irishman](#): > > Why not? Because it’s entirely off-base? 1. LOUNE didn’t insult twickster. He didn’t call her a jack-booted bully. 2. He didn’t get a ticket for speeding. He got slammed against the hood and handcuffed for littering at the city dump. ---
**Author:** ![brownie55](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/f14d63/32.png) [@brownie55](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/brownie55)\ **Post date:** [December 22, 2009, 4:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hey-twickster-how-was-this-other-warning-justified/521649/68 "2009-12-22T04:27:22Z")
> [@Zoe](#): > > The idea of giving out warnings by a democratic vote makes me shudder. Because we would put your whining ass under a train? Concern trolls are so cute, “Ms. I Am the Editor.” Like posts on a message board have any equivalence to material submitted for formal publication. ---
**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:** [December 22, 2009, 5:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hey-twickster-how-was-this-other-warning-justified/521649/69 "2009-12-22T05:14:49Z")
> [@brownie55](#): > > Because we would put your whining ass under a train? Concern trolls are so cute, “Ms. I Am the Editor.” Like posts on a message board have any equivalence to material submitted for formal publication. **Moderator Warning** **brownie55** , insults are not permitted in ATMB. Do not do this again. ---
**Author:** ![Zoe](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/a4c791/32.png) [@Zoe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zoe)\ **Post date:** [December 22, 2009, 6:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hey-twickster-how-was-this-other-warning-justified/521649/70 "2009-12-22T06:22:29Z")
**Brownie55** , your post seems to deal more with my comments about clarity that were posted in a now closed thread than with my objections to handing out warnings by democratic vote. ---
**Author:** ![Liberal](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/848f3c/32.png) [@Liberal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Liberal)\ **Post date:** [December 22, 2009, 12:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hey-twickster-how-was-this-other-warning-justified/521649/71 "2009-12-22T12:08:57Z")
She closed my thread. I think it was a meanspirited and arbitrary decision. ---
**Author:** ![aldiboronti](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/9fc348/32.png) [@aldiboronti](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/aldiboronti)\ **Post date:** [December 22, 2009, 12:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hey-twickster-how-was-this-other-warning-justified/521649/72 "2009-12-22T12:51:35Z")
> [@Liberal](#): > > She closed my thread. I think it was a meanspirited and arbitrary decision. Mean-spirited and arbitrary? Closing a thread posited on a brief announcement that you were sleepy? The closing was entirely justified. ---
**Author:** ![Nzinga\_Seated](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/b5ac83/32.png) [@Nzinga\_Seated](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nzinga_Seated)\ **Post date:** [December 22, 2009, 4:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hey-twickster-how-was-this-other-warning-justified/521649/73 "2009-12-22T16:32:52Z")
I thought the last twickster pitting was funny. So much funny in that thread. Thank you all. But this one… I mean, isn’t that forum supposed to be all rainbow treats and hummingbird dreams? She is a mod for that forum. Isn’t she supposed to enforce the rules? All of that name calling and sarcasm was right out the gate in that thread. And that rolley eye thing alone…grrr. ---
**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:** [December 22, 2009, 11:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hey-twickster-how-was-this-other-warning-justified/521649/74 "2009-12-22T23:40:52Z")
> [@aldiboronti](#): > > Mean-spirited and arbitrary? Closing a thread posited on a brief announcement that you were sleepy? The closing was entirely justified. Nope. She offered no justification. The closest we get is some driveby who accused Liberal of post-padding (or maybe of a post count party. It’s unclear). He’s been around long enough that I don’t think either was an issue. Had Twickster offered even the old “Too mundane and pointless, even for this forum”, I’d’ve believed it was justified. One thing we’ve fought hard for around here is transparent moderation, so we know for sure no abuse is going on. I’m honestly getting worried about Twickster. I really liked her moderation when she first started. But, lately, she’s been coming across as being as burnt out as Tuba was on this forum. At the very least, she needs to work on her diplomacy, and not take lessons from the mods people love to hate. ---
**Author:** ![samclem](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/a9a28c/32.png) [@samclem](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/samclem)\ **Post date:** [December 23, 2009, 12:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hey-twickster-how-was-this-other-warning-justified/521649/75 "2009-12-23T00:23:50Z")
> [@Liberal](#): > > She closed my thread. I think it was a meanspirited and arbitrary decision. What does this have to do with this thread? ---
**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:** [December 23, 2009, 1:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hey-twickster-how-was-this-other-warning-justified/521649/76 "2009-12-23T01:27:56Z")
> [@BigT](#): > > Had Twickster offered even the old “Too mundane and pointless, even for this forum”, I’d’ve believed it was justified. One thing we’ve fought hard for around here is transparent moderation, so we know for sure no abuse is going on. I have to ask, are you serious? You honestly characterize as “abuse” a moderator closing a thread in which a poster does little more than announce that he is sleepy and is going to bed? ---
**Author:** ![Munch](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/munch/32/5281_2.png) [@Munch](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Munch)\ **Post date:** [December 23, 2009, 1:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hey-twickster-how-was-this-other-warning-justified/521649/77 "2009-12-23T01:40:52Z")
> [@BigT](#): > > I’m honestly getting worried about Twickster. I really liked her moderation when she first started. But, lately, she’s been coming across as being as burnt out as Tuba was on this forum. At the very least, she needs to work on her diplomacy, and not take lessons from the mods people love to hate. No one cares how a mod closes down a ridiculous pointless thread. If anything, it goes directly against what twickster has been accused of in this thread - turning MPSIMS into a rainbow-crapping unicorn with an assboil filled with happiness. > [@samclem](#): > > What does this have to do with this thread? Well, it did offer an incredibly juicy opportunity to talk about himself. How anyone had been able to resist that sort of sexy allure before he beat us to it, I have no idea. I mean - we knew exactly when he went to bed! You don’t get that level of insight just anywhere. ---
**Author:** ![Liberal](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/848f3c/32.png) [@Liberal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Liberal)\ **Post date:** [December 23, 2009, 11:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hey-twickster-how-was-this-other-warning-justified/521649/78 "2009-12-23T11:42:23Z")
> [@samclem](#): > > What does this have to do with this thread? Goes to show a pattern, your honor. And why didn’t you cite aldiboronti for junior modding? Who is he to decide whether closing a thread is “entirely justified”? ---
**Author:** ![aldiboronti](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/9fc348/32.png) [@aldiboronti](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/aldiboronti)\ **Post date:** [December 23, 2009, 1:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hey-twickster-how-was-this-other-warning-justified/521649/79 "2009-12-23T13:45:59Z")
> [@Liberal](#): > > Goes to show a pattern, your honor. And why didn’t you cite aldiboronti for junior modding? Who is he to decide whether closing a thread is “entirely justified”? That isn’t junior modding, That’s a comment on a mod’s action after it has been taken, no different in nature than posts which complain that a particular closing was unjustified. Commenting on mod decisions is one of the purposes of this forum. ---
**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:** [December 23, 2009, 2:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hey-twickster-how-was-this-other-warning-justified/521649/80 "2009-12-23T14:50:47Z")
> [@Colibri](#): > > I have to ask, are you serious? You honestly characterize as “abuse” a moderator closing a thread in which a poster does little more than announce that he is sleepy and is going to bed? No, the abuse thing should have only been tied to the transparent moderation part. It was poor wording on my part. I was also upset over something else, and didn’t take the time to reparse my post to make sure it didn’t say something stupid. In fact, disregard that entire post. I’ve been feeling overly critical lately. The post should have read something like, “Twickster, I think it would be better if you’d been explicit on why you closed the thread. When I first read it, I thought you actually closed it because you believed Liberal was trying to pad his post count. I think this is why it seems unfair to him. I am worried that too many of your moderation decisions are coming across poorly. I think it would have come across better if you’d said ‘Liberal, I’m sorry, but I think that’s too mundane even for this forum. I just can’t see how any conversation could start from it. So I’m gonna lock the thread.’” Finally, I’m going to point out that, as an OCDer, one of my biggest faults is trying to overanalyse and find patterns that aren’t there. For some reason, I’ve lately been reading Twickster’s comments as being somewhat flippant. I’m sure that perception has colored my previous posts on these matters, and made me come across as madder than I should have been. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hey-twickster-how-was-this-other-warning-justified/521649.md?page=3) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hey-twickster-how-was-this-other-warning-justified/521649.md?page=5)