# I am not a Moderator, and it ain't my busuness to be so, however. . . **URL:** \ **Category:** The BBQ Pit\ **Created:** [November 29, 2003, 4:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-am-not-a-moderator-and-it-aint-my-busuness-to-be-so-however/215852 "2003-11-29T04:20:35Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Tripler](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tripler/32/21807_2.png) [@Tripler](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tripler)\ **Post date:** [November 29, 2003, 4:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-am-not-a-moderator-and-it-aint-my-busuness-to-be-so-however/215852/1 "2003-11-29T04:20:35Z")
Given **Cajun Man** ’s response to [this thread](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?s=&threadid=225962), I gotta ask, hey, are the moderators okay? As far as I read it, given the guy’s post, it was a member to newbie warning. Where does “Modding” come into play? If I’m wrong and that **Homebrew** has been warned before, please correct me. But from what I’ve seen, this is a little preemptive of a strike. Tripler Like I said, correct me if I’m wrong. ---
**Author:** ![Tripler](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tripler/32/21807_2.png) [@Tripler](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tripler)\ **Post date:** [November 29, 2003, 4:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-am-not-a-moderator-and-it-aint-my-busuness-to-be-so-however/215852/2 "2003-11-29T04:23:06Z")
But then again, it is my _BUSINESS_ to see that my damn subject lines are spelt correctly :mad: ---
**Author:** ![Q.E.D](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/q/51bf81/32.png) [@Q.E.D](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Q.E.D)\ **Post date:** [November 29, 2003, 4:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-am-not-a-moderator-and-it-aint-my-busuness-to-be-so-however/215852/3 "2003-11-29T04:24:22Z")
I can see it both ways. It looked to _me_ like more or less a harmless unofficial warning that leetspeek isn’t appreciated here, on the other hand the phrase “you will not do this again” carries a tone of authority. ---
**Author:** ![Tripler](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tripler/32/21807_2.png) [@Tripler](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tripler)\ **Post date:** [November 29, 2003, 4:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-am-not-a-moderator-and-it-aint-my-busuness-to-be-so-however/215852/4 "2003-11-29T04:30:17Z")
To me, it seemed like a member telling a newbie to ‘knock it off’. But then when **Cajun Man** hopped in there, it seemed like a whole new ball game. Call me crazy, but a member saying "you will not do this again versus a Mod is a totally different story. Tripler Hey, I took it differently. ---
**Author:** ![Q.E.D](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/q/51bf81/32.png) [@Q.E.D](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Q.E.D)\ **Post date:** [November 29, 2003, 4:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-am-not-a-moderator-and-it-aint-my-busuness-to-be-so-however/215852/5 "2003-11-29T04:35:09Z")
I think the point was that saying “you will not do this again” _sounds_ like a mod. If someone didn’t look under the username, they might assume he/she _was_ a mod that was acting in an official capacity. ---
**Author:** ![Blonde](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/3be4f8/32.png) [@Blonde](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Blonde)\ **Post date:** [November 29, 2003, 4:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-am-not-a-moderator-and-it-aint-my-busuness-to-be-so-however/215852/6 "2003-11-29T04:36:10Z")
“you WILL not” versus “you SHOULD not” That’s pretty much all there is to it, I would imagine. Of course, it wasn’t a pretty thread to begin with, so that wouldn’t have helped matters. ---
**Author:** ![Q.E.D](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/q/51bf81/32.png) [@Q.E.D](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Q.E.D)\ **Post date:** [November 29, 2003, 4:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-am-not-a-moderator-and-it-aint-my-busuness-to-be-so-however/215852/7 "2003-11-29T04:41:09Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Blonde \* > \*\*“you WILL not” > > versus > > “you SHOULD not”\*\* Exactly. When most people hear “You will not do X…” they automatically append “or else” in their minds. I certainly do. ---
**Author:** ![Tripler](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tripler/32/21807_2.png) [@Tripler](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tripler)\ **Post date:** [November 29, 2003, 4:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-am-not-a-moderator-and-it-aint-my-busuness-to-be-so-however/215852/8 "2003-11-29T04:48:07Z")
**Blone** given your post and that of **Q.E.D.** I would suspect any newbie to somewhat see the “member status” under the name but it seemed a li’l quick. As far as I agree with **Cajun Man** for stomping on a newbie’s misguided posts, it seems just a little too quick, especially when a veteran poster warns him of tradition 'round here. Tripler Call me crazy. ---
**Author:** ![Homebrew](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/c89c15/32.png) [@Homebrew](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Homebrew)\ **Post date:** [November 29, 2003, 5:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-am-not-a-moderator-and-it-aint-my-busuness-to-be-so-however/215852/9 "2003-11-29T05:19:48Z")
Thanks, **Tripler** , for this thread. I might not have ever opened that thread again had I not opened this one. I made my response to **Cajun Man** in the original. Basically I think he misinterpreted what I said and overreacted. No ill will. But to address the comments here, there is certainly an “or else” implied. However there was no implication that posting privledges were involved in the “or else”. The risk was that the newbie would not be well received if he continued to use leet speek, which is true. “If you want to get along” and “If you want to continue posting” have two very different implied consequences. ---
**Author:** ![iampunha](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/74df32/32.png) [@iampunha](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/iampunha)\ **Post date:** [November 29, 2003, 5:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-am-not-a-moderator-and-it-aint-my-busuness-to-be-so-however/215852/10 "2003-11-29T05:30:12Z")
I would interject here that it is not uncommon for the form of a warning, whether official ( **Moderator’s Notes** and such) or not (“MemberX, please don’t do that again”), to include “You will not” or something similar. I can recall, in fact, **manhattan** ’s admonishment to me some 2+ years ago when I did a Very Bad Thing. “You will not post …” etc. So perhaps it was because of the wording of **Homebrew** ’s post to the new member in question that was cause for the formal warning. And especially given the recent crackdown on Junior Modding (viz. **Zenster** ’s warning and banning not long after), I’d think it something that the mods and admins would want to leave clear in all members’ heads as Something That Shall Not Be Done. What I would do, were I to see something done that shouldn’t be done, or was foolish, or not the best thing to do (etc), would be a combination of things depending on the situation: 1. Report This Post to a Moderator. As has been said by the mods before, this is a feature used for a reason. It is much easier for us to go and say “hmm, might be something wrong here” and click and send a little note to the mods on duty than for them to go through every single post of every thread. Tireless though they are, I am sure from time to time they miss something, and especially if it makes the board harder to read… 2. Gently suggest that a member do something differently. For example, **Homebrew** might have said “ **gubernator** , if you want your thoughts to be deemed intelligible, you might want to use words instead of leetspeak” or something similar. I’d argue (though a mod or admin will correct me if I’m wrong, I hope) that suggesting in that form is a hell of a lot better than saying (with no power vested in the post) “You will not do that again”. Certainly I’ve done so (suggested, not mandated) on a number of occasions and have yet to hear “don’t do that, **pun** ”, and I know I’m not alone in that regard. 3. Similar to 2, ask for clarification. “What does this mean? You’d make a lot more sense if you used actual words, **gubernator** ;)”. Again, here it’s the tone and words used that differentiate this from **Homebrew** ’s post. The end message, with tone removed, is essentially the same. The tone, I think (and IMO with a particular emphasis on the phrase “you will not”), is the key thing here, and is the difference between gently encouraging someone and Junior Modding. 4. I’d disagree with you, **Tripler** , and say that IMO **Homebrew** stepped on **gubernator** ’s toes much moreso than **Cajun Man** did. “We take a dim view” is not exactly polite, but it gets the message across without shaming the person in question too much. **Homebrew** ’s post, by comparison, comes across as somewhat scathing and condescending. I’d say the phrase “warns him of tradition” is a bit of an understatement given **Homebrew** ’s words. 5. I’d further submit, humbly, that any zealousness involved in **Cajun Man** ’s hasty warning to **Homebrew** was more a manner of letting _everyone_ know that Junior Modding Will Not Be Tolerated. This was first seen, as I mentioned before, when **Zenster** ’s JMing act caused … well, we all know what happened. Certainly we don’t want to lose anyone else to that who doesn’t understand the degree to which it is frowned upon by the SDMB staff. And for the infraction to carry with it a formal warning adds quite a bit to the gravity not only of the post, but of the infraction. In short, I think that a bit of history and context reveals that it wasn’t so much hasty (in the negative sense) acting but quick acting. And now anyone who is curious about how the SDMB staff feels about Junior Modding can look at this instance and also the previously-mentioned one and bear that in mind. I’d wonder if there was a specific line before which one wasn’t JMing but after which one was, but I suspect that in this case, as with many others, the line is rather blurred … and to me, that just means that one be more diligent in not coming close to the line if need be. And if need be, you simply report the post to a moderator and find out if you were right. Mods have more power behind their words, anyway. It’s one thing for you or I or whoever else to say “I wouldn’t do that again, PosterX”, but quite another for a mod to come along and say “ **Moderator’s Notes** … PosterX, you will refrain from doing that on this board again or risk your posting priviledges being revoked.” That removes any doubt and it also carries the weight of the SDMB staff with it. Now I just hope, as I hit submit, that this isn’t Junior Modding… ---
**Author:** ![Manduck](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/manduck/32/256_2.png) [@Manduck](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Manduck)\ **Post date:** [November 29, 2003, 5:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-am-not-a-moderator-and-it-aint-my-busuness-to-be-so-however/215852/11 "2003-11-29T05:56:48Z")
I was just amazed at how many people were jumping on him over a 3-word snippet of jokingly-posted leetspeak. ---
**Author:** ![Larry\_Borgia](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/larry_borgia/32/156_2.png) [@Larry\_Borgia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Larry_Borgia)\ **Post date:** [November 29, 2003, 5:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-am-not-a-moderator-and-it-aint-my-busuness-to-be-so-however/215852/12 "2003-11-29T05:59:31Z")
Didn’t someone get banned over repeatedly “junior Moddings?” ---
**Author:** ![Larry\_Griffin-Kentzel](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/larry_griffin-kentzel/32/14787_2.png) [@Larry\_Griffin-Kentzel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Larry_Griffin-Kentzel)\ **Post date:** [November 29, 2003, 6:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-am-not-a-moderator-and-it-aint-my-busuness-to-be-so-however/215852/13 "2003-11-29T06:40:14Z")
> [@](#): > > _Originally posted by **Jeff Olsen** _ > > By the way, you could ask a mod to fix your thread title so nobody else has to be annoyed by it. This is pointing a newbie in the right direction. > [@](#): > > _Originally posted by **Homebrew** _ > > What the _HELL_ is that? If you want to get along on this board, you will not do that again. This is junior modding. Folks, if you see a post that you feel is inappropriate . . . please use the report this post option. * * * **Cajun Man** ~ SDMB Moderator ---
**Author:** ![Tripler](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tripler/32/21807_2.png) [@Tripler](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tripler)\ **Post date:** [November 29, 2003, 6:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-am-not-a-moderator-and-it-aint-my-busuness-to-be-so-however/215852/14 "2003-11-29T06:43:11Z")
I’m a gonna politely bite my tongue. This still stick in my side, but . . . . . . life goes on. Tripler No harm intended [bCajun Man\*\*, it’s a policy thing. ---
**Author:** ![iampunha](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/74df32/32.png) [@iampunha](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/iampunha)\ **Post date:** [November 29, 2003, 7:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-am-not-a-moderator-and-it-aint-my-busuness-to-be-so-however/215852/15 "2003-11-29T07:13:08Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Larry Borgia \* > \*\*Didn’t someone get banned over repeatedly “junior Moddings?” \*\* I believe the person you’re thinking of is **Zenster** , who was not banned for it per se but whose posting history was examined under some degree of scrutiny following a much more blatant case fo junior modding (he typed in “Junior mod hat on” and such). ---
**Author:** ![Mac\_Guffin](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/2bfe46/32.png) [@Mac\_Guffin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mac_Guffin)\ **Post date:** [November 29, 2003, 11:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-am-not-a-moderator-and-it-aint-my-busuness-to-be-so-however/215852/16 "2003-11-29T11:43:39Z")
I’m just glad I didn’t get warned about the Rabid weasels thing. (It was a joke.) ---
**Author:** ![Chavardz](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/91b2a8/32.png) [@Chavardz](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chavardz)\ **Post date:** [November 29, 2003, 11:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-am-not-a-moderator-and-it-aint-my-busuness-to-be-so-however/215852/17 "2003-11-29T11:58:32Z")
I thought it was harsh too. I didn’t feel like homebrew was modding, I felt like he was expressing the view of the majority of this board. ---
**Author:** ![Tapioca\_Dextrin](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/3d9bf3/32.png) [@Tapioca\_Dextrin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tapioca_Dextrin)\ **Post date:** [November 29, 2003, 2:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-am-not-a-moderator-and-it-aint-my-busuness-to-be-so-however/215852/18 "2003-11-29T14:28:32Z")
From [this thread](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?threadid=226090) > [@](#): > > _originally posted by **Chavardz** _ > > I don’t want to play junior moderator, especially with all the noise goingo on about that, but I highly doubt you’ll endear yourself to the memebers or mods of these boards acting like that. If you think there is a problem, use the little Report this post to a moderator button. It lets the Mods do their job in there polite and courteous manner \ ---
**Author:** ![Homebrew](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/c89c15/32.png) [@Homebrew](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Homebrew)\ **Post date:** [November 29, 2003, 3:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-am-not-a-moderator-and-it-aint-my-busuness-to-be-so-however/215852/19 "2003-11-29T15:55:16Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Chavardz \* > \*\*I thought it was harsh too. I didn’t feel like homebrew was modding, I felt like he was expressing the view of the majority of this board. \*\* Exactly. ---
**Author:** ![Ice\_Wolf](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/dfb087/32.png) [@Ice\_Wolf](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ice_Wolf)\ **Post date:** [November 29, 2003, 4:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-am-not-a-moderator-and-it-aint-my-busuness-to-be-so-however/215852/20 "2003-11-29T16:17:07Z")
**Homebrew** may have been “expressing the view of the majority of this board”, but his words were ill-chosen and brusque enough to come across like a comment from someone in an official capacity. I back **Cajun Man** on this one. **Homebrew** may have intended it to just be a way of saying “leetspeek pisses a lot of us off, so would you cut it out? _Now??_” – but in the light of posters here going over the line with the junior modding, his words take on a different light. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-am-not-a-moderator-and-it-aint-my-busuness-to-be-so-however/215852.md?page=2)