# Is Shodan more retarded lately, or has he maintained a consistent level of retardation all along? **URL:** \ **Category:** The BBQ Pit\ **Created:** [January 24, 2012, 8:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-shodan-more-retarded-lately-or-has-he-maintained-a-consistent-level-of-retardation-all-along/610530 "2012-01-24T20:31:26Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 19
**Author:** ![GIGObuster](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gigobuster/32/421_2.png) [@GIGObuster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GIGObuster)\ **Post date:** [January 27, 2012, 2:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-shodan-more-retarded-lately-or-has-he-maintained-a-consistent-level-of-retardation-all-along/610530/361 "2012-01-27T02:41:52Z")
SA, Cool story, bro!\* - Even more so when I remember how proud SA was for using a Google Vomit as a debating tactic before. ---
**Author:** ![Left\_Hand\_of\_Dorkness](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/left_hand_of_dorkness/32/7156_2.png) [@Left\_Hand\_of\_Dorkness](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Left_Hand_of_Dorkness)\ **Post date:** [January 27, 2012, 2:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-shodan-more-retarded-lately-or-has-he-maintained-a-consistent-level-of-retardation-all-along/610530/362 "2012-01-27T02:51:46Z")
> [@FuriousGeorge](#): > > Here’s the problem. It’s ENOUGH of the liberals/lefties on this board pitchforking honest debate that it’s not worth it to go through the effort of a well documented, honest or reasoned post. That’s your choice to make. I don’t blame conservatives who don’t post here; I don’t post on primarily rightwing boards, either. But if you are going to hang out here, and if you’re capable of not acting like a tool, it’s incumbent on you not to do so. That’s my only point. ---
**Author:** ![Ludovic](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/7ab992/32.png) [@Ludovic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ludovic)\ **Post date:** [January 27, 2012, 2:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-shodan-more-retarded-lately-or-has-he-maintained-a-consistent-level-of-retardation-all-along/610530/363 "2012-01-27T02:54:50Z")
> [@FuriousGeorge](#): > > Here’s the problem. It’s ENOUGH of the liberals/lefties on this board pitchforking honest debate that it’s not worth it to go through the effort of a well documented, honest or reasoned post. Ignore is your friend. Perhaps the non-tooltastic liberals are **also** ignoring the leftards, and thus can’t even chastise them if they thought it _was_ their job. Which it isn’t. ---
**Author:** ![FuriousGeorge](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/ecae2f/32.png) [@FuriousGeorge](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FuriousGeorge)\ **Post date:** [January 27, 2012, 2:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-shodan-more-retarded-lately-or-has-he-maintained-a-consistent-level-of-retardation-all-along/610530/364 "2012-01-27T02:57:16Z")
> [@Left\_Hand\_of\_Dorkness](#): > > That’s your choice to make. I don’t blame conservatives who don’t post here; I don’t post on primarily rightwing boards, either. > > But if you are going to hang out here, and if you’re capable of not acting like a tool, it’s incumbent on you not to do so. That’s my only point. But this isn’t Free Republic or Democratic Underground and that standard should apply to all posters. It doesn’t here. That’s my point. ---
**Author:** ![Starving\_Artist](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/aeb1de/32.png) [@Starving\_Artist](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Starving_Artist)\ **Post date:** [January 27, 2012, 2:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-shodan-more-retarded-lately-or-has-he-maintained-a-consistent-level-of-retardation-all-along/610530/365 "2012-01-27T02:58:08Z")
> [@GIGObuster](#): > > SA, > > Cool story, bro!\* > > - Even more so when I remember how proud SA was for using a Google Vomit as a debating tactic before. See? Now here’s a perfect example of what I’m talking about. I post a lengthy, reasoned explanation for why some of the board’s conservative posters post the way they do and suggest a reasonable solution, and what am I met with? A mocking, dishonest and insulting strawman having nothing to do with the subject at hand. So there’s little left to do but call **GIGObuster** the lying, obfuscatory asshole he’s always been. :rolleyes: ---
**Author:** ![FuriousGeorge](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/ecae2f/32.png) [@FuriousGeorge](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FuriousGeorge)\ **Post date:** [January 27, 2012, 3:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-shodan-more-retarded-lately-or-has-he-maintained-a-consistent-level-of-retardation-all-along/610530/366 "2012-01-27T03:05:32Z")
> [@Ludovic](#): > > Ignore is your friend. Perhaps the non-tooltastic liberals are **also** ignoring the leftards, and thus can’t even chastise them if they thought it _was_ their job. Which it isn’t. Then I find it incredibly odd that non-tooltastic liberals manage to find **Shodan** ’s shit spewing while managing to somehow avoid the multitude of others with like ideologies spewing the same kinds of shit from the opposite side of the spectrum. It may not be their job, but calling out **Shodan** , **SA** , **Clothahump** , et al for dishonest posting while ignoring **Hentor** , **Lobohan** , **Elvis** , et al seems disingenuous. Call them all out or call none of them out. ---
**Author:** ![Left\_Hand\_of\_Dorkness](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/left_hand_of_dorkness/32/7156_2.png) [@Left\_Hand\_of\_Dorkness](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Left_Hand_of_Dorkness)\ **Post date:** [January 27, 2012, 3:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-shodan-more-retarded-lately-or-has-he-maintained-a-consistent-level-of-retardation-all-along/610530/367 "2012-01-27T03:11:19Z")
> [@FuriousGeorge](#): > > But this isn’t Free Republic or Democratic Underground and that standard should apply to all posters. It doesn’t here. That’s my point. That standard I’m talking about isn’t an external standard. You (the impersonal you) should have enough pride and dignity not to act like a tool. That’s my point. Edit: there was an important caveat on what I said above: “if you’re capable of not acting like a tool.” There’s a reason I don’t call out, or join in calling out, many people who do act like tools: I’ve come to the conclusion that they’re incapable of acting better. But many people here can attest to the fact that I call out leftist tools, too. ---
**Author:** ![Euphonious\_Polemic](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/euphonious_polemic/32/3002_2.png) [@Euphonious\_Polemic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Euphonious_Polemic)\ **Post date:** [January 27, 2012, 3:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-shodan-more-retarded-lately-or-has-he-maintained-a-consistent-level-of-retardation-all-along/610530/368 "2012-01-27T03:11:51Z")
> [@FuriousGeorge](#): > > Here’s the problem. It’s ENOUGH of the liberals/lefties on this board pitchforking honest debate that it’s not worth it to go through the effort of a well documented, honest or reasoned post. > > While **Shodan** ’s recent performance may not be considered a well thought out approach, I’m pretty sure it wouldn’t make a difference if it was. There would be be a deluge of demonizing of him (or any conservative), his or her positions and his or her ideology in any hypothetical honest attempt at debate. After a while enough personal attacks and vitriol have been spewed that, fuck it, Libtard, Demoncrat, whiny librul pussies it is. So… Even IF you behaved nicely, the nasty libs will demonize you anyway. So since you know that they’re mean in advance, and you know in advance that they will debate dishonestly, then fuck it, call them names and behave like an asshole at the very beginning, thus saving time. That about sum it up? ---
**Author:** ![Cheshire\_Human](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/5f8ce5/32.png) [@Cheshire\_Human](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cheshire_Human)\ **Post date:** [January 27, 2012, 3:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-shodan-more-retarded-lately-or-has-he-maintained-a-consistent-level-of-retardation-all-along/610530/369 "2012-01-27T03:15:15Z")
> [@Left\_Hand\_of\_Dorkness](#): > > Okay, but here’s the thing: **it’s not all liberals**. Just as it’s ridiculous to suggest that, based on **SA** , rightwingers are prone to straw men, it’s ridiculous to suggest that based on **Der Trihs** et al, lefties are prone to pitchforking the rightwingers. > > I certainly regret the tools on the left of this board, but I’ve tried and failed to do something about them, just as I’ve tried and failed to do something about the tools on the right. The best we can do, I think, is to ignore them. **Shodan** , by virtue of having enough brains to not be a tool if he wanted, is an exception to that advice. Thank you for this, but assholes like **Der Trihs** and **Shodan** still keep me from participating, because I do not suffer assholes, gladly (I made a biblical reference, there, snicker), and try as they might, they constantly remain assholes. Inshallah… I’ve got better things to do with my time. ---
**Author:** ![Lightnin](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lightnin/32/180_2.png) [@Lightnin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lightnin)\ **Post date:** [January 27, 2012, 3:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-shodan-more-retarded-lately-or-has-he-maintained-a-consistent-level-of-retardation-all-along/610530/370 "2012-01-27T03:17:25Z")
> [@FuriousGeorge](#): > > It may not be their job, but calling out **Shodan** , **SA** , **Clothahump** , et al for dishonest posting while ignoring **Hentor** , **Lobohan** , **Elvis** , et al seems disingenuous. Call them all out or call none of them out. **Hentor** , **Lobohan** and **Elvis** don’t actively try to piss me off. If they did, I’d call them out on it. They don’t, but **Shodan** does. Understand? ---
**Author:** ![GIGObuster](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gigobuster/32/421_2.png) [@GIGObuster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GIGObuster)\ **Post date:** [January 27, 2012, 3:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-shodan-more-retarded-lately-or-has-he-maintained-a-consistent-level-of-retardation-all-along/610530/371 "2012-01-27T03:19:09Z")
> [@Euphonious\_Polemic](#): > > So… > > Even IF you behaved nicely, the nasty libs will demonize you anyway. > > So since you know that they’re mean in advance, and you know in advance that they will debate dishonestly, then fuck it, call them names and behave like an asshole at the very beginning, thus saving time. > > That about sum it up? And, really, if there was truth on what the tea party stile conservatives say here then it would be extremely easy to get the libs that do that banned very fast. ---
**Author:** ![GIGObuster](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gigobuster/32/421_2.png) [@GIGObuster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GIGObuster)\ **Post date:** [January 27, 2012, 3:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-shodan-more-retarded-lately-or-has-he-maintained-a-consistent-level-of-retardation-all-along/610530/372 "2012-01-27T03:23:14Z")
> [@Starving\_Artist](#): > > See? Now here’s a perfect example of what I’m talking about. I post a lengthy, reasoned explanation for why some of the board’s conservative posters post the way they do and suggest a reasonable solution, and what am I met with? A mocking, dishonest and insulting strawman having nothing to do with the subject at hand. > > So there’s little left to do but call **GIGObuster** the lying, obfuscatory asshole he’s always been. :rolleyes: Only that that is not a lie, you did use a Google Vomit to make the point that liberals were the reason why poor conservatives confuse Evolution with the start of life in the universe. You could not produce a good cite for what you claimed and after the Google Vomit cite you did call it a day. Sorry chum, but you are really an idiot if you think you were discussing in good faith over there. And Shodan and others think this yahoo helps them impress others? As I pointed before, that is fine with me, this is more evidence to show how clueless tea party right wingers are. ---
**Author:** ![FuriousGeorge](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/ecae2f/32.png) [@FuriousGeorge](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FuriousGeorge)\ **Post date:** [January 27, 2012, 3:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-shodan-more-retarded-lately-or-has-he-maintained-a-consistent-level-of-retardation-all-along/610530/373 "2012-01-27T03:24:20Z")
> [@Left\_Hand\_of\_Dorkness](#): > > That standard I’m talking about isn’t an external standard. You (the impersonal you) should have enough pride and dignity not to act like a tool. That’s my point. > > Edit: there was an important caveat on what I said above: “if you’re capable of not acting like a tool.” There’s a reason I don’t call out, or join in calling out, many people who do act like tools: I’ve come to the conclusion that they’re incapable of acting better. But many people here can attest to the fact that I call out leftist tools, too. > [@Euphonious\_Polemic](#): > > So… > > Even IF you behaved nicely, the nasty libs will demonize you anyway. > > So since you know that they’re mean in advance, and you know in advance that they will debate dishonestly, then fuck it, call them names and behave like an asshole at the very beginning, thus saving time. > > That about sum it up? For those that act like tools, I would say, yes, that’s how it works for them. The fact is the Dope has a fairly significant slant in terms of liberal to conservative posters and I say that knowing it’s not a real revelation. With that, there’s a gang mentality for some of the weaker minded liberals. Attack in numbers for the backslaps and approval of other like minded individuals. Some conservatives feel attacked from the jump and post as such; some attack after being rung up over time. Others stop posting altogether. The point is, I guess, that honest diverse opinions and debates are unwelcome on the SDMB. That’s the culture here. The Dope, for all its self congratulatory intelligence, ought be better than that. The idiots and weak minded of all stripes ought be called out and castigated for being idiots and weak minded. Ya know, part of that whole fighting ignorance thing that the folks around here are so proud of. ---
**Author:** ![FuriousGeorge](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/ecae2f/32.png) [@FuriousGeorge](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FuriousGeorge)\ **Post date:** [January 27, 2012, 3:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-shodan-more-retarded-lately-or-has-he-maintained-a-consistent-level-of-retardation-all-along/610530/374 "2012-01-27T03:29:49Z")
> [@Lightnin](#): > > **Hentor** , **Lobohan** and **Elvis** don’t actively try to piss me off. If they did, I’d call them out on it. They don’t, but **Shodan** does. Understand? What about them doesn’t actively piss you off? Cuz I would challenge you that **Shodan** somehow carries less intellectual integrity of any of those mentioned. ---
**Author:** ![Ludovic](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/7ab992/32.png) [@Ludovic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ludovic)\ **Post date:** [January 27, 2012, 3:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-shodan-more-retarded-lately-or-has-he-maintained-a-consistent-level-of-retardation-all-along/610530/375 "2012-01-27T03:35:32Z")
> [@FuriousGeorge](#): > > The point is, I guess, that honest diverse opinions and debates are unwelcome on the SDMB. That’s the culture here. That’s the culture of only around 5% of posters here. And half of them are conservatives. Everyone’s free to engage with the people who will honestly debate. That has to be almost half of the posters in Great Debates 😉 ---
**Author:** ![Fear\_Itself](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/fear_itself/32/19637_2.png) [@Fear\_Itself](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fear_Itself)\ **Post date:** [January 27, 2012, 3:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-shodan-more-retarded-lately-or-has-he-maintained-a-consistent-level-of-retardation-all-along/610530/376 "2012-01-27T03:36:01Z")
> [@FuriousGeorge](#): > > It may not be their job, but calling out **Shodan** , **SA** , **Clothahump** , et al for dishonest posting while ignoring **Hentor** , **Lobohan** , **Elvis** , et al seems disingenuous. Call them all out or call none of them out. Only if you assume there is some sort of equivalency between liberal thought and conservative thought. Modern conservativism is based on false assumptions, bad data, ignoble motives and a willingness to sacrifice any semblence of ethics in order to achieve prosperity for themselves and people like them, at the expense of people outside their tribe. ---
**Author:** ![Left\_Hand\_of\_Dorkness](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/left_hand_of_dorkness/32/7156_2.png) [@Left\_Hand\_of\_Dorkness](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Left_Hand_of_Dorkness)\ **Post date:** [January 27, 2012, 3:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-shodan-more-retarded-lately-or-has-he-maintained-a-consistent-level-of-retardation-all-along/610530/377 "2012-01-27T03:37:54Z")
> [@FuriousGeorge](#): > > The point is, I guess, that honest diverse opinions and debates are unwelcome on the SDMB. That’s the culture here. No, it’s not. It’s the culture of a small but vocal minority. I’m saying that the idiots who do it should be castigated for doing it when it might change their behavior, and ignored otherwise. Shodan might change his behavior. Do you really think that **Der Trihs** is ever going to stop claiming that all Republicans want to enslave women, or whatever? ---
**Author:** ![FuriousGeorge](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/ecae2f/32.png) [@FuriousGeorge](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FuriousGeorge)\ **Post date:** [January 27, 2012, 3:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-shodan-more-retarded-lately-or-has-he-maintained-a-consistent-level-of-retardation-all-along/610530/378 "2012-01-27T03:38:27Z")
> [@Ludovic](#): > > That’s the culture of only around 5% of posters here. And half of them are conservatives. Everyone’s free to engage with the people who will honestly debate. That has to be almost half of the posters in Great Debates 😉 I couldn’t disagree more. I don’t mean that as a knock on you, but that has simply not been what I have seen. ---
**Author:** ![Zeriel](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/58956e/32.png) [@Zeriel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zeriel)\ **Post date:** [January 27, 2012, 3:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-shodan-more-retarded-lately-or-has-he-maintained-a-consistent-level-of-retardation-all-along/610530/379 "2012-01-27T03:39:09Z")
> [@furt](#): > > Given that (and given no posts similarly critical of liberals or democrats), I feel safe saying you are not fond of conservative political views. Doesn’t follow at all, IMHO. There are innumerable conservatives who are not fond of the current GOP or Tea Party, for many valid reasons. None of your cites purported to show SenorBeef ranting against “conservatives”, only against political parties. ---
**Author:** ![XT](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/xt/32/456_2.png) [@XT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/XT)\ **Post date:** [January 27, 2012, 3:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-shodan-more-retarded-lately-or-has-he-maintained-a-consistent-level-of-retardation-all-along/610530/380 "2012-01-27T03:42:55Z")
Serious question here…what kind of conservative IS SeniorBeef? It’s true, that conservative doesn’t equal Republican, but is he an economic conservative? Surly not a social conservative. Not a quasi-religious type conservative. I don’t believe he’s a neo-con. So, what kind of conservative is he? -XT [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-shodan-more-retarded-lately-or-has-he-maintained-a-consistent-level-of-retardation-all-along/610530.md?page=18) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-shodan-more-retarded-lately-or-has-he-maintained-a-consistent-level-of-retardation-all-along/610530.md?page=20)