# How far should we take this reporting business ? **URL:** \ **Category:** About This Message Board\ **Created:** [July 10, 2007, 8:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-far-should-we-take-this-reporting-business/411258 "2007-07-10T20:49:37Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 13\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![essell](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/34f0e0/32.png) [@essell](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/essell)\ **Post date:** [July 10, 2007, 8:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-far-should-we-take-this-reporting-business/411258/1 "2007-07-10T20:49:37Z")
I know general policy is **If you’re unsure, report it and let a Mod sort it out** but… What about socks ? Us plebeians can never be sure but sometimes you read a post and you think _Yeah, like you’re really a guest. Fucking Sock_ Would it be overzealous to report the post and say “I think this is a sock because of _This, this and this_” On one hand, _Report it and let a Mod sort it out_ is a safe policy so we’re told there’s no harm in reporting stuff. On the other hand it would feel kind of, Gestapo-ish to be reporting ones fellow posters based on nothing more than suspicion. I have to admit this more intellectual curiosity than any real concern for the boards, as I’m lead to believe sock’s don’t last long on the boards anyway. ---
**Author:** ![Chronos](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chronos/32/134_2.png) [@Chronos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chronos)\ **Post date:** [July 10, 2007, 9:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-far-should-we-take-this-reporting-business/411258/2 "2007-07-10T21:12:16Z")
The mods can do various sorts of detailed checks on anyone at any time. But they can’t do them for everyone, or for all new members. If you report a suspicion, they will do such a check. If it turns out to be someone innocent, no harm done. If they turn out to catch a sock, well, then, good done. And mods often make such checks based on nothing more than their own suspicions, and your hunches probably aren’t too much worse than the mods’. > [@](#): > > I have to admit this more intellectual curiosity than any real concern for the boards, as I’m lead to believe sock’s don’t last long on the boards anyway. The reason socks don’t last very long is that usually, someone gets a suspicious hunch about them pretty quickly, and alerts the mods. ---
**Author:** ![Rico](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/rico/32/3582_2.png) [@Rico](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rico)\ **Post date:** [July 10, 2007, 10:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-far-should-we-take-this-reporting-business/411258/3 "2007-07-10T22:37:17Z")
\ Please, alert us. The worst that can happen is we come up with nothing. But hey, it’s what we get the mug for. I’m always happy to check a suspicion out. And many thanks for any help we get. \ ---
**Author:** ![Chez\_Guevara](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/aeb1de/32.png) [@Chez\_Guevara](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chez_Guevara)\ **Post date:** [July 11, 2007, 12:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-far-should-we-take-this-reporting-business/411258/4 "2007-07-11T00:55:50Z")
[QUOTE=Rico] \ Please, alert us. The worst that can happen is we come up with nothing. But hey, it’s what we get the mug for. I’m always happy to check a suspicion out. And many thanks for any help we get. \ [/QUOTE] Reported. ---
**Author:** ![Pleonast](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pleonast/32/1183_2.png) [@Pleonast](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Pleonast)\ **Post date:** [July 19, 2007, 10:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-far-should-we-take-this-reporting-business/411258/5 "2007-07-19T22:17:13Z")
[QUOTE=essell] On the other hand it would feel kind of, Gestapo-ish to be reporting ones fellow posters based on nothing more than suspicion. [/QUOTE] The mods don’t wear those jackboots just because they’re fashionable! ---
**Author:** ![Bosda\_Di\_Chi\_of\_Tricor](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bosda_di_chi_of_tricor/32/16845_2.png) [@Bosda\_Di\_Chi\_of\_Tricor](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bosda_Di_Chi_of_Tricor)\ **Post date:** [July 19, 2007, 10:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-far-should-we-take-this-reporting-business/411258/6 "2007-07-19T22:18:38Z")
I’ve never hesitated. ---
**Author:** ![Liberal](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/848f3c/32.png) [@Liberal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Liberal)\ **Post date:** [July 19, 2007, 11:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-far-should-we-take-this-reporting-business/411258/7 "2007-07-19T23:02:11Z")
Me too, neither. Or is it me neither, too? ---
**Author:** ![Guy\_Betty](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/5f8ce5/32.png) [@Guy\_Betty](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Guy_Betty)\ **Post date:** [July 20, 2007, 5:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-far-should-we-take-this-reporting-business/411258/8 "2007-07-20T05:11:19Z")
[QUOTE=Chez Guevara] Reported. [/QUOTE] Reported. ---
**Author:** ![stolichnaya](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/bcef8e/32.png) [@stolichnaya](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/stolichnaya)\ **Post date:** [July 20, 2007, 6:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-far-should-we-take-this-reporting-business/411258/9 "2007-07-20T06:02:15Z")
[QUOTE=Guy Betty] Reported. [/QUOTE] Repeated. ---
**Author:** ![Gukumatz](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/74df32/32.png) [@Gukumatz](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gukumatz)\ **Post date:** [July 20, 2007, 10:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-far-should-we-take-this-reporting-business/411258/10 "2007-07-20T10:06:21Z")
[QUOTE=Liberal] Me too, neither. Or is it me neither, too? [/QUOTE] Me either? ---
**Author:** ![Czarcasm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/czarcasm/32/4050_2.png) [@Czarcasm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Czarcasm)\ **Post date:** [July 20, 2007, 11:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-far-should-we-take-this-reporting-business/411258/11 "2007-07-20T11:13:56Z")
[QUOTE=Liberal] Me too, neither. Or is it me neither, too? [/QUOTE] Nor I, also? ---
**Author:** ![EddyTeddyFreddy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/eddyteddyfreddy/32/18796_2.png) [@EddyTeddyFreddy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/EddyTeddyFreddy)\ **Post date:** [July 20, 2007, 2:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-far-should-we-take-this-reporting-business/411258/12 "2007-07-20T14:28:43Z")
I didn’t do it it wasn’t my idea he made me do it! ---
**Author:** ![C\_K\_Dexter\_Haven](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/b2d939/32.png) [@C\_K\_Dexter\_Haven](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/C_K_Dexter_Haven)\ **Post date:** [July 22, 2007, 1:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-far-should-we-take-this-reporting-business/411258/13 "2007-07-22T13:13:32Z")
Yeah, OK, there’s a certain uneasy feeling to reporting every suspicion to the police. On the other hands, we don’t have enough mods to monitor everything, and we rely on y’all to help out. Let me try to reframe your analogy: Rather than think of this as reporting to the Gestapo, how about thinking of reporting to the sanitation department? You’re walking in the park and you see something that looks like disgusting litter – perhaps a used condom, or a hypodermic – lying there in the grass. Nearby is a grounds-keeper with gloves and equipment for safe pick-up and proper disposal. Don’t you tell the grounds-keeper so she can remove the (potentially dangerous) trash?