Heh. I have no recollection of that thread. Well, different cites from me this time. 
What you nouned there was not a conjunction but an adjective or more precisely a definite article.
You can noun conjunctions, though, if you know what you’re doing. But that’s a big if.
But sometimes it sounds funny. And that’s a big but.
Adjectives and articles are two different parts of speech. They used to be lumped together in the “classic” grammar that was restricted to only 8 parts of speech, but we’ve moved past that. The idea there were only 8 parts of speech is one of those things that comes from trying to force fit English grammar into that of the classic languages. Greek only had 8 parts of speech, so English had to as well.
The correct verb form is “dis”. The entire word gets no respect. 
Very nice.
It’s nice, but it’s not a usage that I would parse as using “if” as a verb. To me, it’s parsed as “that’s a big ‘if,’” with the “if” being used as a noun. Like “that’s a big no-no” doesn’t sound like “no-no” being a verb there, either.
That said, you can use “and” and “or” as verbs, in the sense of “anding” and “orring” things in logic or computer programming.
My sense is in agreement with the previous two posters that “disrespect” as a verb does seem to have gained in popularity in recent decades. I blame the Mafia. 
In the UK, we’d probably attribute it to Catherine Tate’s Lauren Cooper
If the OP had just written “whom am I to judge”, I would have thought he was whooshing us. At the risk of seeming snarky – well, OK, being snarky – here’s my rundown:
I’m fine with “disrespect” being used as a verb informally.
I figuratively cringe when I hear “literally” used to mean “figuratively”.
I’m fine with sentences that start with “But” in informal writing.
I like this alot.
Also, to be fair, I’m fine with using “snarky” informally, and as for being snarky, while I can’t take it as well as dish it out, I am getting closer. Maybe 80% as well now. However, part of that is probably a decline in the dish-out side of the equation – erm, inequality.
I’m also fine with using cliches, but more so if they are subverted in some way.
Oops, I’d better stop here. Time for my meds.
Why only “informally”? It’s historically been used in a formal context (see my citations) often.
Chronos was talking about “nouning a conjuction,” so making “if” a noun is just what he was talking about (and hence, very nice).
:smack:
I’m a moron who apparently can’t read. Nothing to see here.
No worries.
I checked and there isn’t (yet) a “let me dictionary that for you” website like there is for Google.
People use “literally” in a figurative sense as an intensifier (just like “really”), but no one uses it to mean “figuratively.”
Exactly (or I would say as hyperbole), but this has been trudged over literally a zillion times before on these boards, and I think everybody’s pretty much set in their ways and there’s no new arguments to be made.
I agree with you that everybody’s pretty much set in their ways over this silly bit of pedantry that’s become a hot-button topic in these forums almost every time it arises. However the linguist John McWhorter recently tried to address this issue head-on in his new book, which even highlights the issue right in its title, Why English Won’t - and Can’t - Sit Still (Like, Literally), which offers a pretty good hint of the positions he’s taking. I don’t want to hijack this thread but it might be a worthy discussion for another time and place; for now, suffice it to say that his support of the figurative use of “literally” is largely based on the supposition that the language is full of contronyms just like that. In fact, however, a closer examination reveals that most of these so-called contronyms have entirely different kinds of etymologies, and have logical relationships rooted in logical origins. I find this argument like many of his others to be specious and unpersuasive. Intensifiers are fine; using one that conveys the exact opposite of the intended meaning can be fairly judged to be bad practice.
tl;dr: It’s a matter of style and opinion. In mine, Greg Charles is right.
And, in mine, he’s wrong. Like I said, nobody’s changing their mind.