# I Am Here To State (about Ed's treatment in the SDMB Proposal Thread) **URL:** \ **Category:** About This Message Board\ **Created:** [June 15, 2021, 10:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-am-here-to-state-about-eds-treatment-in-the-sdmb-proposal-thread/944316 "2021-06-15T10:57:58Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 9
**Author:** ![Broomstick](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/broomstick/32/246_2.png) [@Broomstick](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Broomstick)\ **Post date:** [June 18, 2021, 8:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-am-here-to-state-about-eds-treatment-in-the-sdmb-proposal-thread/944316/161 "2021-06-18T08:02:09Z")
> [@DocCathode](#): > > I’ve had an account (same name) over there for years. It’s honestly not so bad. They make no secret of their dislike for certain posters. But I’m surprised by claims that they suggested a poster commit suicide. Yep, that was just my internet presence. There were also attempts to dox me, presumably to take this to my real life. There are some vicious, toxic people behind smiling faces. If it’s working out for you, great, but it’s painfully obvious to some of us that it is not the place for us. ---
**Author:** ![Martin\_Hyde](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/47e85d/32.png) [@Martin\_Hyde](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Martin_Hyde)\ **Post date:** [June 18, 2021, 4:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-am-here-to-state-about-eds-treatment-in-the-sdmb-proposal-thread/944316/162 "2021-06-18T16:32:33Z")
I’m not a poster on the Giraffeboards but I’ve never seen that they support doxing, internet harassment or other things of that nature. There are lots of people who post there that post here, and who also post other places. Maybe some of those cliques organized bad behavior on their own, but I’m unfamiliar with anything like that ever being permitted or allowed on the Giraffeboards themselves. There’s certainly deliberate bashing of posters on this board over there and threads dedicated to it. ---
**Author:** ![Roderick\_Femm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/roderick_femm/32/14875_2.png) [@Roderick\_Femm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Roderick_Femm)\ **Post date:** [June 18, 2021, 5:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-am-here-to-state-about-eds-treatment-in-the-sdmb-proposal-thread/944316/163 "2021-06-18T17:15:19Z")
I never thought of this as a place for building personal relationships. This may be because I don’t have a lot of success building personal relationships in the real world, and it’s that much harder in a place where my peculiar personality isn’t offset by my scowling physiognomy. We tried a Dopefest here (San Francisco) a few years ago and got 4 people, two of them from Canada. On the other hand, many people have been helpful to me in various threads throughout the years. It didn’t feel especially personal, but I wasn’t expecting that, and was happy to get the help. I have tried to help out other people where I could, with information or advice, but again it was not done because I had a personal relationship with them. I guess my point is, in the unlikely event anyone thinks they would miss me if this space goes away, they had better PM me now and arrange something, because I won’t be going to any other site to try to meet up. I’ve been reading and posting here for 16 years, and if this place goes away, maybe it’s time for me to move on to something else. ---
**Author:** ![nelliebly](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/nelliebly/32/5422_2.png) [@nelliebly](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/nelliebly)\ **Post date:** [June 18, 2021, 6:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-am-here-to-state-about-eds-treatment-in-the-sdmb-proposal-thread/944316/164 "2021-06-18T18:09:06Z")
There are no viable alternatives to the SDMB for me. I’ve looked at the Giraffe site, and it struck me as a place that was created as a (pale) imitation o the SDMB. Was it started by someone banned here or something? It looks dated and judging by the number of responses, less popular. Also, @Broomstick isn’t the first person to complain about aggressive tactics there. I have no desire to interact with people who were banned here for misogyny, racism, etc., even if they’re a small fraction of the users. Reddit and Quora have their place, but they’re a whole different animal. Frankly, I wish Ed hadn’t solicited opinions about resuming the column and membership fees, as it somehow opened a Pandora’s Box. I’d far rather he and the_Sun-Times_ had decided about membership fees or donations or whatever is necessary to keep this place going and simply announced it. And resuming the column doesn’t require our approval, though it’d have had mine. I assume some of those with simmering resentments would have stormed off, and I’d have been sad to see them go, but if it was worth it to them to vent their collective spleen, the possible consequences are not worth it to me. As it is, I’m hoping Ed and the _Sun-Times_ recognize that there are plenty of us who appreciate the level of discourse and/or have found a sense of community here. I’m a better person for the Straight Dope and SDMB. ---
**Author:** ![Martin\_Hyde](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/47e85d/32.png) [@Martin\_Hyde](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Martin_Hyde)\ **Post date:** [June 18, 2021, 6:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-am-here-to-state-about-eds-treatment-in-the-sdmb-proposal-thread/944316/165 "2021-06-18T18:14:14Z")
It was started by Giraffe who used to post here. It uses the same board software that SDMB used to use, but actually has worse themes and appearance (which is hard, because unlike many people here I was actually **not** a fan of the old board software, it was dated and ugly 15 years ago.) I think the Giraffe boards had a few moments in the sun in the past but has been generally in decline much as this board has. ---
**Author:** ![Spice\_Weasel](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/spice_weasel/32/5435_2.png) [@Spice\_Weasel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spice_Weasel)\ **Post date:** [June 18, 2021, 6:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-am-here-to-state-about-eds-treatment-in-the-sdmb-proposal-thread/944316/166 "2021-06-18T18:26:47Z")
> [@nelliebly](#): > > Was it started by someone banned here or something? Several years ago, Ed Zotti implemented a new rule forbidding calling other posters “cunt” in the Pit, plus some more forbidden expressions (e.g.“fuck you.”) Some people hated it so much, they went to create their own board, with blackjack and… Well, you know. ---
**Author:** ![Dewey\_Finn](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dewey_finn/32/4222_2.png) [@Dewey\_Finn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dewey_Finn)\ **Post date:** [June 18, 2021, 6:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-am-here-to-state-about-eds-treatment-in-the-sdmb-proposal-thread/944316/167 "2021-06-18T18:38:38Z")
Wait, are you saying that Giraffe Board came after the cunt flap? Because I thought the Giraffe Board was created a few years earlier. ---
**Author:** ![CairoCarol](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cairocarol/32/3825_2.png) [@CairoCarol](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CairoCarol)\ **Post date:** [June 18, 2021, 6:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-am-here-to-state-about-eds-treatment-in-the-sdmb-proposal-thread/944316/168 "2021-06-18T18:38:49Z")
@Broomstick, I’m deeply sorry that you were harassed on line. But I’ll have to say that the characterization of the Giraffe Boards that is emerging in this thread is completely wrong. It’s like hearing about the deeds of Ted Bundy and Jeffrey Dahmer, then concluding all Americans are serial killers. Let me just counter that with my recent experience. Not long ago I offered, here at the SDMB, to spearhead an effort to provide some quick assistance to a board member who was suffering. Of the three people that stepped up, two were Raffers. I don’t spend a huge amount to time over there - not because I don’t like it, but because there are only so many hours in a day and I have to consciously limit my involvement in on-line communities or it would get more out of hand than it already is. But I can say with a pretty high degree of confidence that racism, misogyny, and bigotry against the gender-exceptional are less common and certainly less tolerated than they are here. ---
**Author:** ![Spice\_Weasel](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/spice_weasel/32/5435_2.png) [@Spice\_Weasel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spice_Weasel)\ **Post date:** [June 18, 2021, 6:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-am-here-to-state-about-eds-treatment-in-the-sdmb-proposal-thread/944316/169 "2021-06-18T18:44:57Z")
> [@Dewey\_Finn](#): > > Wait, are you saying that Giraffe Board came after the cunt flap? Because I thought the Giraffe Board was created a few years earlier. Oh, I don’t know. Just when I think I remember things properly it gets all messed up again. Maybe GB was created earlier but there was an exodus to GB after cuntflap. Maybe nothing I remember is real. ---
**Author:** ![Do\_Not\_Taunt](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/do_not_taunt/32/2968_2.png) [@Do\_Not\_Taunt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Do_Not_Taunt)\ **Post date:** [June 18, 2021, 6:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-am-here-to-state-about-eds-treatment-in-the-sdmb-proposal-thread/944316/170 "2021-06-18T18:49:35Z")
No, I’m pretty sure you had it right. Giraffe had been a Pit mod, and he clearly didn’t believe in the new Pit rules. He left under a whole “no hard feelings” regimen, and was even allowed to advertise his new board here. There were a couple other splinter boards at the same time, but AFAIK, Giraffe’s is the only one that survives. ---
**Author:** ![DocCathode](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/doccathode/32/18773_2.png) [@DocCathode](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DocCathode)\ **Post date:** [June 18, 2021, 6:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-am-here-to-state-about-eds-treatment-in-the-sdmb-proposal-thread/944316/171 "2021-06-18T18:51:58Z")
> [@Spice\_Weasel](#): > > Maybe nothing I remember is real The tortoise lays on its back, its belly baking in the hot sun, beating its legs trying to turn itself over, but it can’t. Not without your help. But you’re not helping. ---
**Author:** ![IvoryTowerDenizen](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ivorytowerdenizen/32/17937_2.png) [@IvoryTowerDenizen](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/IvoryTowerDenizen)\ **Post date:** [June 18, 2021, 7:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-am-here-to-state-about-eds-treatment-in-the-sdmb-proposal-thread/944316/172 "2021-06-18T19:02:37Z")
Not quite. He was already planning that board, but it started and there was an increase in membership contemporaneous with the Pit rules situation. It’s also a bit simplistic to say people were upset bc Ed said we couldn’t say FU/c\*nt. Not going to rehash it here, but it was more about the process and reasons the new rules came to be, than the rules themselves. GB was never intended to be SDMB lite or whatever. It’s its own place with its own culture, an extremely small piece is off-board snark (one thread at a time). It’s looser in tone and not as vigorously moderated, but nastiness, in general, around misogyny, racism etc is less tolerated in many ways. People are more empowered to react to bad comments, and that helps. May not be everyone’s cup of tea, but it’s not the cesspool of doxing and evilness that it’s reputation seems to be. Right now, the majority of the new threads are a mega poll around favorite 1960s music. I’m not inclined to continue this discussion as a hijack, but it seemed jumping here now to clarify was important. ---
**Author:** ![codinghorror](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/codinghorror/32/4242_2.png) [@codinghorror](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/codinghorror)\ **Post date:** [June 18, 2021, 9:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-am-here-to-state-about-eds-treatment-in-the-sdmb-proposal-thread/944316/173 "2021-06-18T21:17:02Z")
> [@Grrr](#): > > Also, just tell me where to send money. I don’t care about any extra bells or whistles. I just want this board to stay alive for as long as possible. This is something we are actively beta-testing: [![Imgur](https://i.imgur.com/ETOxzT6.png "imgur.com") ](https://imgur.com/ETOxzT6) This site is large, so it’s on our enterprise hosting plan. There were 7.8 million pageviews in the last 30 days. ---
**Author:** ![Broomstick](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/broomstick/32/246_2.png) [@Broomstick](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Broomstick)\ **Post date:** [June 18, 2021, 9:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-am-here-to-state-about-eds-treatment-in-the-sdmb-proposal-thread/944316/174 "2021-06-18T21:43:51Z")
> [@CairoCarol](#): > > @Broomstick, I’m deeply sorry that you were harassed on line. 1. Your apology does not erase the abuse heaped on me. 2. You are not one of the guilty parties that should apologize. > [@CairoCarol](#): > > But I can say with a pretty high degree of confidence that racism, misogyny, and bigotry against the gender-exceptional are less common and certainly less tolerated than they are here. OK, that’s wonderful. The problem is that I was systematically harassed, abused, attempts were made to dox me, I was told I was responsible for the deaths of my oldest sister, I neglected my spouse to death, and I was told to kill myself. As I said, I expected someone to speak up in favor of the abusers and I’m sorry it was you, because, however much I respect and like you I can NOT accept your characterization of the Giraffe board. If the majority didn’t participate in such abuse not only of myself but others they condoned it by their silence. When I have mentioned this abuse all I get is excuses and told most of the people on that board are “nice people”. No, they’re not. The abusers are despicable, cruel, and evil. Those who stood by and did nothing were accomplices and enablers. A pox on their houses. ---
**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:** [June 19, 2021, 1:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-am-here-to-state-about-eds-treatment-in-the-sdmb-proposal-thread/944316/175 "2021-06-19T01:01:35Z")
**Moderator Note** Let’s drop the discussion about Giraffeboards. We have no control over what someone does on another message board. We also do not allow firing shots at other message boards, even when they clearly do not have similar rules. ---
**Author:** ![Guinastasia](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/guinastasia/32/5751_2.png) [@Guinastasia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Guinastasia)\ **Post date:** [June 19, 2021, 1:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-am-here-to-state-about-eds-treatment-in-the-sdmb-proposal-thread/944316/176 "2021-06-19T01:40:35Z")
Does anyone ever have any PROOF of these claims? People are always saying that Giraffe supports and encourages harassment and doxxing, but never, ever show any proof, or cites. Nor do they ever bother to come and post there to find out. Broomstick, I’m going to tell you, that every single thing you said was false – if anyone did do such a thing, they were trolls, and would have been banned. The vast majority did the exact opposite, and I challenge you to prove otherwise. ---
**Author:** ![ShadowFacts](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/shadowfacts/32/2934_2.png) [@ShadowFacts](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ShadowFacts)\ **Post date:** [June 19, 2021, 2:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-am-here-to-state-about-eds-treatment-in-the-sdmb-proposal-thread/944316/177 "2021-06-19T02:33:26Z")
Stay classy. ---
**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:** [June 19, 2021, 3:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-am-here-to-state-about-eds-treatment-in-the-sdmb-proposal-thread/944316/178 "2021-06-19T03:36:56Z")
Once again, the SDMB is not the place to discuss what happens on Giraffe. Since the actual topic of this thread seems to have run its course and some folks want to turn this into a Giraffe thread, we’re done. Thread closed. ---
**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:** [June 19, 2021, 3:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-am-here-to-state-about-eds-treatment-in-the-sdmb-proposal-thread/944316/179 "2021-06-19T03:36:59Z")
---
**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:** [June 19, 2021, 3:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-am-here-to-state-about-eds-treatment-in-the-sdmb-proposal-thread/944316/180 "2021-06-19T03:42:09Z")
**Moderator Note** > [@Guinastasia](#): > > I challenge you to prove otherwise. This is basically harassment of another user. Treat others with respect in ATMB. Attack the post, not the poster. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-am-here-to-state-about-eds-treatment-in-the-sdmb-proposal-thread/944316.md?page=8)