I seemed to have pissed off a mod with my very first post @ http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=284480
it was a question about a computer-science algorithem that is most frequently used to compress pirated software.
Are we not supposed to ask questions relating in any way to illegal stuff?
Are we not allowed to ask about gunpowder which is often used illegally? Or cheating at poker? What rule did my thread break?
Ask about pan-fried semen? Good.
Ask about P2P app A vs. B? Bad.
Hey, I don’t make the rules, but they work good in the long run…
Try e-mailing the moderator directly and asking very nicely what you did wrong, and perhaps ask (again, politely) for guidance on how to phrase your question in a way that is more appropriate for the board.
Welcome to The Straight Dope!
P2P is a verboden issue here, you just happened to hit upon it right out of the box. Don’t worry about it, just accept that that one particular issue can not be discussed here at all, in any way, shape or form. Most everything else is fine.
Do you think my new thread will be ok: http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=284491
I really am not looking for any info about illegal stuff, an the underlying principle i’m actually curious about is a really important computer-science algorithem used in expensive storage hardware, so I made a thread that didn’t talk about p2p but asked about the math…
I think your new thread will be ok. I, for one, am intersted in the answer as well. Sounds like an interesting technology.
Just wanted to say that it doesn’t appear you pissed off the mod. He just closed it because he wanted to be safe. He didn’t even say anything reprimand…atory…
Nice user name, nigga.
I ain’t got no advice, I just like to see my own name in threads.
Asking if it’s OK to feed semen to goldfish: Better.
Short answer: egahhhhhhhh
tears hair out at mental image
carl_johnson, I think you’re going to be fine with that new thread. No worries, mate. 
This board is particularly sensitive to discussions that may in any way be viewed as facilitating copyright violation. It is my understanding that this is a result of the board belonging to the Chicago Reader. Therefore, don’t bother trying to convince a given mod that you should be able to discuss P2P because technically you could be using it only to exchange home movies of your dog – they don’t make the rules in this area. They have to err on the side of caution with this particular topic, and thus often have to close discussions of legal but borderline activities or hypothetical discussions of illegal activities. It’s just one of the quirks of this otherwise excellent board.
I think there’s more discretion in general for hypothetical discussions of other illegal activities, e.g. cheating at poker, robbing Fort Knox, etc. as long as it doesn’t sound like you actually intend to do these things, but of course it varies from case to case. Don’t take it personally if they close such a thread – they’re not calling you a criminal, they’re just trying to avoid lawsuits.
Welcome to the boards, by the way.
I’m sure I’m being wooshed, but what do you mean by this?
No whooosh here…Carl_Johnson is the main character in the new Grand Theft Auto - San Andreas game. Here is the SDMB thread on it.
Yeah, if it’s a joke, I don’t get it either. 
Whenever I run across something like this, I just assume I’ll too L7 to be hep.
I’ll=I’m
No one has been hep since the fifties.
Were you actually hep?
Tris
You wanted to say L8, right?
Or were you just being hep?