# Incorrect Warning (IMO) **URL:** \ **Category:** About This Message Board\ **Created:** [July 11, 2015, 2:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/incorrect-warning-imo/724832 "2015-07-11T02:36:36Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Trinopus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/2bfe46/32.png) [@Trinopus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Trinopus)\ **Post date:** [July 11, 2015, 2:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/incorrect-warning-imo/724832/1 "2015-07-11T02:36:36Z")
[In this post](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showpost.php?p=18508335&postcount=303), **Jonathan Chance** semi-warns **Andros** that he was dangerously close to calling someone a liar. But **Andros** said that the cites which were invoked were lies, not that the person who invoked them was. That’s still legitimate here. ---
**Author:** ![Grotonian](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/c2a13f/32.png) [@Grotonian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Grotonian)\ **Post date:** [July 11, 2015, 2:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/incorrect-warning-imo/724832/2 "2015-07-11T02:55:48Z")
There was no warning, or even a note. The mod made a point about the phrase “bearing false witness”. At worst, he was letting everyone know that that phrase may be treated as using “lying.” The nitpick about whom the phrase was directed at is unnecessary as the mods can jump in early out of an abundance of caution if no one’s getting penalized with notes or warnings. (They can jump in early anyway, even with penalties, I just mean there’s no legitimate bitch if no penalty was issued.) If people want to post, “your source is a liar,” they should make sure it’s clear they’re referring to the source(s). If they leave it ambiguous through an awkwardly long construction, they may get a clarification from a mod. No big deal. And neither is this statement from the mod in the OP. ---
**Author:** ![jimbuff314](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/c57346/32.png) [@jimbuff314](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jimbuff314)\ **Post date:** [July 11, 2015, 2:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/incorrect-warning-imo/724832/3 "2015-07-11T02:55:52Z")
**Omar Little** , the poster to whom **andros** directed his comments, agreed that he made a good point. Swear to god, if I ever start posting extensively in **gd** , please put me down. ---
**Author:** ![Grotonian](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/c2a13f/32.png) [@Grotonian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Grotonian)\ **Post date:** [July 11, 2015, 3:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/incorrect-warning-imo/724832/4 "2015-07-11T03:14:15Z")
If you want to see a horseshit mod note, though, check out this note I got 2 days ago over punctuation marks. It’s comment #91. The way a previous discussion over insults was twisted to try and make the point that I was ignoring mod instructions is hilarious, but it was necessary because I had broken no rule. [http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?p=18499252#post18499252](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?p=18499252#post18499252) ---
**Author:** ![andros](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/e480ec/32.png) [@andros](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/andros)\ **Post date:** [July 11, 2015, 3:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/incorrect-warning-imo/724832/5 "2015-07-11T03:16:19Z")
Meh. I don’t think I’d see it as close to the line as **Jonathan Chance** did (well, obviously), but I’m not in his shoes. And I absolutely think I should have been clearer. ---
**Author:** ![andros](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/e480ec/32.png) [@andros](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/andros)\ **Post date:** [July 11, 2015, 3:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/incorrect-warning-imo/724832/6 "2015-07-11T03:19:24Z")
> [@Grotonian](#): > > If you want to see a horseshit mod note, though, check out this note I got 2 days ago over punctuation marks. I also think that note was entirely reasonable. ---
**Author:** ![Inner\_Stickler](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/inner_stickler/32/318_2.png) [@Inner\_Stickler](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Inner_Stickler)\ **Post date:** [July 11, 2015, 4:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/incorrect-warning-imo/724832/7 "2015-07-11T04:02:42Z")
Jesus fucking christ just install fainting couches in the forums; holy crap that’s a load of nonsense. ---
**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:** [July 11, 2015, 4:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/incorrect-warning-imo/724832/8 "2015-07-11T04:09:50Z")
> [@Grotonian](#): > > If you want to see a horseshit mod note, though, check out this note I got 2 days ago over punctuation marks. It’s comment #91. The way a previous discussion over insults was twisted to try and make the point that I was ignoring mod instructions is hilarious, but it was necessary because I had broken no rule. > > [http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?p=18499252#post18499252](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?p=18499252#post18499252) **Grotonian** , if you want to complain about a mod note, start a thread of your own. Don’t hijack the discussion of an unrelated issue. In particular, don’t try to use such hijacking as a way to get around the [moderator instructions](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?p=18327423) you were given by **Idle Thoughts** a few months ago. These apply to posts in ATMB as well as starting new threads. ---
**Author:** ![Grotonian](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/c2a13f/32.png) [@Grotonian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Grotonian)\ **Post date:** [July 11, 2015, 4:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/incorrect-warning-imo/724832/9 "2015-07-11T04:20:06Z")
> [@andros](#): > > I also think that note was entirely reasonable. Well, and so did the mod, presumably. I think the reasoning is funny (funny haha, not funny odd) because there’s no insult and that was the discussion the mod cited. Whatever. What is there even to bitch about? All in all, it’s pretty small beer. The point of even posting it is that people gets notes and warnings without breaking rules (I do, anyway) so a complaint over a mod comment that didn’t even result in any penalty seems unnecessary to me, to say the least. ---
**Author:** ![Trinopus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/2bfe46/32.png) [@Trinopus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Trinopus)\ **Post date:** [July 11, 2015, 4:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/incorrect-warning-imo/724832/10 "2015-07-11T04:32:28Z")
> [@Grotonian](#): > > There was no warning, or even a note. The mod made a point about the phrase “bearing false witness”. . . . The mod was posting in his official capacity, and that makes it the business of this forum. > [@](#): > > If people want to post, “your source is a liar,” they should make sure it’s clear they’re referring to the source(s). . . . I thought it was clear… But… > [@andros](#): > > Meh. I don’t think I’d see it as close to the line as **Jonathan Chance** did (well, obviously), but I’m not in his shoes. And I absolutely think I should have been clearer. Yer a gentleman, sir, that’s what you are. I thought it was completely clear you were razzing the cites, not the poster, and so I said so. But I applaud your aplomb. You’re a better man than I am! ---
**Author:** ![Grotonian](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/c2a13f/32.png) [@Grotonian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Grotonian)\ **Post date:** [July 11, 2015, 4:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/incorrect-warning-imo/724832/11 "2015-07-11T04:38:43Z")
> [@Trinopus](#): > > The mod was posting in his official capacity, and that makes it the business of this forum. Of course he was. So what resolution are you seeking? An oops-I-take-it-back? ---
**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:** [July 11, 2015, 4:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/incorrect-warning-imo/724832/12 "2015-07-11T04:40:45Z")
> [@Grotonian](#): > > The point of even posting it is that people gets notes and warnings without breaking rules (I do, anyway) so a complaint over a mod comment that didn’t even result in any penalty seems unnecessary to me, to say the least. You’ve never received a warning except for a rule violation. And mod notes are issued all the time for posts that are not yet rules violations, but are getting close. Once again, if you have a complaint about your own warnings, start a new thread. Don’t use someone else’s thread for that purpose. ---
**Author:** ![Hentor\_the\_Barbarian](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/8edcca/32.png) [@Hentor\_the\_Barbarian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hentor_the_Barbarian)\ **Post date:** [July 11, 2015, 5:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/incorrect-warning-imo/724832/13 "2015-07-11T05:36:10Z")
**Trinopus** is correct. That was another terrible piece of work by **Jonathan Chance.** JC, I’m sure you’re great at a lot of things. Moderating is definitely not one of them. ---
**Author:** ![Trinopus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/2bfe46/32.png) [@Trinopus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Trinopus)\ **Post date:** [July 11, 2015, 6:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/incorrect-warning-imo/724832/14 "2015-07-11T06:05:59Z")
> [@Grotonian](#): > > Of course he was. So what resolution are you seeking? An oops-I-take-it-back? Well, yes, that would be fine. Just as when any of us make an error in a debate thread. I make a lot of them, get corrected, and say, “Oops, you’re right.” Impossible to believe that **Jonathan Chance** is less a gentleman than I am! 😉 ---
**Author:** ![kayaker](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kayaker/32/441_2.png) [@kayaker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kayaker)\ **Post date:** [July 11, 2015, 10:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/incorrect-warning-imo/724832/15 "2015-07-11T10:28:13Z")
> [@Trinopus](#): > > You’re a better man than I am! Your recognition that **andros** is a better man than you made me realize he is a better man than I (me?) also. I’m thinking as of right now it would be **andros** , **kayaker** , **Trinopus**. All hale and hearty good men, but ranked in that order. Other posters can imagine their own standing in descending order. ---
**Author:** ![Jonathan\_Chance](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jonathan_chance/32/701_2.png) [@Jonathan\_Chance](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jonathan_Chance)\ **Post date:** [July 11, 2015, 11:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/incorrect-warning-imo/724832/16 "2015-07-11T11:42:36Z")
> [@Trinopus](#): > > Well, yes, that would be fine. > > Just as when any of us make an error in a debate thread. I make a lot of them, get corrected, and say, “Oops, you’re right.” > > Impossible to believe that **Jonathan Chance** is less a gentleman than I am! 😉 Jeez, I’ve been asleep. Even mods sleep. I can’t retract a warning because none was given. That was just a ‘whoops, careful there’ based on my reading of it and the number of reports I got about it. False witness is an interesting thing in the bible. It’s not…quite…lying though it’s often interpreted it that way. Nonetheless, I didn’t want that to become our latest _ruleworkaround du jour_ so I decided to at least give a ‘heads up’ over that particular usage. Still, no permanent record, no black mark, no nothing. ---
**Author:** ![Hentor\_the\_Barbarian](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/8edcca/32.png) [@Hentor\_the\_Barbarian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hentor_the_Barbarian)\ **Post date:** [July 11, 2015, 1:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/incorrect-warning-imo/724832/17 "2015-07-11T13:23:47Z")
> [@Jonathan\_Chance](#): > > Jeez, I’ve been asleep. Even mods sleep. > > I can’t retract a warning because none was given. That was just a ‘whoops, careful there’ based on my reading of it and the number of reports I got about it. > > False witness is an interesting thing in the bible. It’s not…quite…lying though it’s often interpreted it that way. Nonetheless, I didn’t want that to become our latest _ruleworkaround du jour_ so I decided to at least give a ‘heads up’ over that particular usage. Still, no permanent record, no black mark, no nothing. Feels like you’re missing the more fundamental point. The non-insult was directed at content written in a cited source. Are we now not allowed to call Dick Cheney, for example, a liar? ---
**Author:** ![zweisamkeit](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/zweisamkeit/32/4360_2.png) [@zweisamkeit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/zweisamkeit)\ **Post date:** [July 11, 2015, 1:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/incorrect-warning-imo/724832/18 "2015-07-11T13:29:37Z")
> [@Grotonian](#): > > Well, and so did the mod, presumably. I think the reasoning is funny (funny haha, not funny odd) because there’s no insult and that was the discussion the mod cited. Whatever. What is there even to bitch about? All in all, it’s pretty small beer. The point of even posting it is that people gets notes and warnings without breaking rules (I do, anyway) so a complaint over a mod comment that didn’t even result in any penalty seems unnecessary to me, to say the least. It’s 100% clear you were mocking what his username IS. You chose obviously incorrect punctuation marks – and FFS, his username has 'i’s, NOT punctuation! – and snidely asked oh golly, these are the right punctuation marks to use, right? Like you can’t, y’know, see his username right there. And it’s not like you hadn’t directly replied to him – WITH attributed quotes – earlier in that thread… _9 times_. If you know someone who named their kid Mykal (Michael) and you wrote, “and little Mâai’kühlle – did I spell that correctly? – is just SO precious…” Everyone and their grandma would know that’s passive aggressive bitchy sn at their parents for spelling the kid’s name like they did. Same thing. ---
**Author:** ![cmyk](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cmyk/32/3353_2.png) [@cmyk](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cmyk)\ **Post date:** [July 11, 2015, 1:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/incorrect-warning-imo/724832/19 "2015-07-11T13:47:14Z")
Yeh, that mod note was like a cop stopping you on the street to tell you he’s letting you of the hook, _this time,_ for walking around naked… underneath your clothes. ---
**Author:** ![Grrr](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/grrr/32/146_2.png) [@Grrr](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Grrr)\ **Post date:** [July 11, 2015, 1:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/incorrect-warning-imo/724832/20 "2015-07-11T13:49:26Z")
I’m not offended or anything, but I didn’t agree with **JC** accusation of lying here: [Link](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showpost.php?p=18498007&postcount=51) My reading of **hajario** post was that he was referring to a lie that is commonly told by bigots or fundamentalists or what have you. He wasn’t calling the poster a liar. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/incorrect-warning-imo/724832.md?page=2)