# 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:** 3
**Author:** ![Sitnam](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/6a8cbe/32.png) [@Sitnam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sitnam)\ **Post date:** [January 24, 2012, 11:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-shodan-more-retarded-lately-or-has-he-maintained-a-consistent-level-of-retardation-all-along/610530/41 "2012-01-24T23:11:13Z")
> [@Aji\_de\_Gallina](#): > > Writing JUST TO piss off is wrong. The fact that your ideas piss someone who doesn’t want to hear the other side is the national sport at the SDMB You’re saying ‘the other sides’ position is to piss people off? So the troll here is the GOP? ---
**Author:** ![DianaG](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/7ab992/32.png) [@DianaG](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DianaG)\ **Post date:** [January 24, 2012, 11:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-shodan-more-retarded-lately-or-has-he-maintained-a-consistent-level-of-retardation-all-along/610530/42 "2012-01-24T23:16:20Z")
> [@Aji\_de\_Gallina](#): > > Writing JUST TO piss off is wrong. The fact that your ideas piss someone who doesn’t want to hear the other side is the national sport at the SDMB Shodan has never had an idea in his life. He’s a big fan of some other peoples’ ideas. Sadly, not generally smart people. Also, apologies for leaving you off the list as well. FTR, nearly everyone is to the right of me, but I’d have listed xtisme, John Mace, and Sam Stone off the top of my head as conservative posters whose posts don’t make me think “Well.. that’s dumb.” A couple of years ago Bricker would have been on that list, but he’s getting as bad as Shodan with the “one time, a liberal did that too” bullshit. ---
**Author:** ![Aji\_de\_Gallina](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/aji_de_gallina/32/260_2.png) [@Aji\_de\_Gallina](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Aji_de_Gallina)\ **Post date:** [January 24, 2012, 11:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-shodan-more-retarded-lately-or-has-he-maintained-a-consistent-level-of-retardation-all-along/610530/43 "2012-01-24T23:18:51Z")
> [@Sitnam](#): > > You’re saying ‘the other sides’ position is to piss people off? So the troll here is the GOP? Nope. People here have positions that piss off other posters. They do not hold these postions or post them in order to piss their opponents (this is true for most posters) but are not shy to defend their ideas. ---
**Author:** ![LavenderBlue](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/e95f7d/32.png) [@LavenderBlue](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LavenderBlue)\ **Post date:** [January 24, 2012, 11:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-shodan-more-retarded-lately-or-has-he-maintained-a-consistent-level-of-retardation-all-along/610530/44 "2012-01-24T23:20:23Z")
> [@Bryan\_Ekers](#): > > I can think of leaster. I vote for Starving Artist in that category. Someone should invent time travel to send him back to the 1950’s just to shut him up. ---
**Author:** ![Jas09](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/d07c76/32.png) [@Jas09](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jas09)\ **Post date:** [January 24, 2012, 11:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-shodan-more-retarded-lately-or-has-he-maintained-a-consistent-level-of-retardation-all-along/610530/45 "2012-01-24T23:22:12Z")
> [@Fotheringay-Phipps](#): > > Sam Stone & Bricker have been viciously attacked by liberals on this board. John Mace is not conservative. (I don’t know about XT or Martin Hyde - both where their denomination falls and how often they’ve been attacked for it - from what I’ve seen, they are both pretty middle of the road.) Well, John is Libertarian. And Martin is definitely a conservative and a Republican (I just did a search to verify my sketchy memory). Hell, I’ve had discussions with you a few times and they have been 2000% more fulfilling than with **Shodan**. It’s the difference between actually discussing and debating vs. throwing out random attacks and caricatures just to see if the other side can keep up before they get frustrated and give up. It’s more rewarding to debate the TV when Bill O’Reilly is on or yell at Limbaugh on the radio. And as far as I know **Bricker** mainly gets criticized for pedantry and “gotcha”-style posts, not for the actual content (other than the tu quoques which do get old). ---
**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 24, 2012, 11:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-shodan-more-retarded-lately-or-has-he-maintained-a-consistent-level-of-retardation-all-along/610530/46 "2012-01-24T23:26:46Z")
> [@Lobohan](#): > > I’d say Bricker, Xtsime, and John Mace would apply. The trouble is currently the face of the Republican party is particularly extreme, so the type of poster who blindly parrots the talking points on FOX is going to be saying stupid things that can’t be defended. Lets not forget the OP, I do respect \*\*SenorBeef \*\*a lot. And when someone like him does take \*\*Shodan \*\*to task he should take notice, but there is very little hope that Shodan would learn something. So, Disregards to Shodan… ..as it’s the case on so many occasions. ---
**Author:** ![Sitnam](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/6a8cbe/32.png) [@Sitnam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sitnam)\ **Post date:** [January 24, 2012, 11:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-shodan-more-retarded-lately-or-has-he-maintained-a-consistent-level-of-retardation-all-along/610530/47 "2012-01-24T23:30:06Z")
> [@Aji\_de\_Gallina](#): > > Nope. > People here have positions that piss off other posters. They do not hold these postions or post them in order to piss their opponents (this is true for most posters) but are not shy to defend their ideas. If Shodon’s irrelevant, ineffectual, ‘Clinton got a blowjob’ clubbing is ‘his position’, I guess I can’t argue against him expressing it. Imbecile spotting doesn’t have to be a political game though. ---
**Author:** ![John\_Mace](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/john_mace/32/185_2.png) [@John\_Mace](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/John_Mace)\ **Post date:** [January 24, 2012, 11:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-shodan-more-retarded-lately-or-has-he-maintained-a-consistent-level-of-retardation-all-along/610530/48 "2012-01-24T23:30:22Z")
**Hyde** is definitely a conservative, and although I often disagree with him, I find his knowledge of history to be helpful. **Sam Stone** is more of a libertarian (although I hawkish one) than a conservative. Most of the conservatives on this MB are libertarian leaning to some extent, I think. We have very few social conservatives posting here. I usually don’t bother reading their posts, and I honestly don’t know who they are-- the closest I can get is a poster or two whose username starts with “s”. ---
**Author:** ![Guinastasia](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/guinastasia/32/5751_2.png) [@Guinastasia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Guinastasia)\ **Post date:** [January 24, 2012, 11:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-shodan-more-retarded-lately-or-has-he-maintained-a-consistent-level-of-retardation-all-along/610530/49 "2012-01-24T23:33:52Z")
> [@Jas09](#): > > **Sam Stone** (is he still around?), **Bricker** , **John Mace** , I’m not sure how to qualify **xt** … plenty of others I can’t think of off the top of my head. **Martin Hyde** is generally conservative I think, and certainly smart and a useful poster. > > There are also plenty of religious posters that do a very good job of presenting their views. **Airman Doors** is pretty cool as well. And as far as religious posters go, well the obvious example would be **Polycarp**. ---
**Author:** ![VinylTurnip](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/v/b2d939/32.png) [@VinylTurnip](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/VinylTurnip)\ **Post date:** [January 24, 2012, 11:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-shodan-more-retarded-lately-or-has-he-maintained-a-consistent-level-of-retardation-all-along/610530/50 "2012-01-24T23:34:39Z")
> [@Fotheringay-Phipps](#): > > I agree that Shodan missed the boat in that thread, but on the whole he is a bright guy and a good poster and an asset to the board. So, that’s one vote of confidence from Gríma Wormtongue. ---
**Author:** ![Fotheringay-Phipps](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/d9b06d/32.png) [@Fotheringay-Phipps](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fotheringay-Phipps)\ **Post date:** [January 24, 2012, 11:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-shodan-more-retarded-lately-or-has-he-maintained-a-consistent-level-of-retardation-all-along/610530/51 "2012-01-24T23:36:54Z")
> [@Jas09](#): > > Well, John is Libertarian. That cuts both ways. > [@](#): > > And Martin is definitely a conservative and a Republican (I just did a search to verify my sketchy memory). If that’s correct, then you have a valid point. (Based on a quick search, Martin was actually the subject of two lengthy Pit threads back in 2006, but I don’t see anything since.) > [@](#): > > And as far as I know **Bricker** mainly gets criticized for pedantry and “gotcha”-style posts, not for the actual content (other than the tu quoques which do get old). I agree that these are the focus of attacks of Bricker. But the question is whether the attacks are ideology-motivated or not. Even a biased attacker looks for the weak points. Do liberals who fit the same profile get attacked in the same manner? And are the attackers primarily leftists? ---
**Author:** ![Lobohan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lobohan/32/79_2.png) [@Lobohan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lobohan)\ **Post date:** [January 25, 2012, 12:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-shodan-more-retarded-lately-or-has-he-maintained-a-consistent-level-of-retardation-all-along/610530/52 "2012-01-25T00:03:21Z")
> [@Fotheringay-Phipps](#): > > Sam Stone & Bricker have been viciously attacked by liberals on this board. John Mace is not conservative. (I don’t know about XT or Martin Hyde - both where their denomination falls and how often they’ve been attacked for it - from what I’ve seen, they are both pretty middle of the road.) > > IOW, IYO conservatives are by definition stupid. Which is your prerogative. No, although you might be stupid. I said, that right now, American conservatism is being run by the most extreme elements of the right. That isn’t saying there is no value to conservatism, it’s saying that right now the people speaking for conservatism are jumping the rails. If Democrats were being run by the most shrill and insane members of the left it would be the same. But right now the left is moderate and the right is so far right _there by dragons_. > [@](#): > > But you can’t maintain that position and then claim that you’re not attacking conservatives as being stupid based on their being conservatives, which is the claim being made here. Again, you didn’t understand what I said. Hopefully this post will clear things up for you. ---
**Author:** ![Jas09](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/d07c76/32.png) [@Jas09](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jas09)\ **Post date:** [January 25, 2012, 12:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-shodan-more-retarded-lately-or-has-he-maintained-a-consistent-level-of-retardation-all-along/610530/53 "2012-01-25T00:08:15Z")
> [@Fotheringay-Phipps](#): > > But the question is whether the attacks are ideology-motivated or not. Even a biased attacker looks for the weak points. Do liberals who fit the same profile get attacked in the same manner? And are the attackers primarily leftists? Well, I mean of course they are. A few leftists get attacked by leftists on these boards ( **gonzomax** being the obvious example, although **Der Trihs** and **Dio** both got hammered, deservedly, from all sides from time to time). But it shouldn’t be surprising that folks are more likely to “attack” the “other side” than people that they perceive as being on “their side”, even those that don’t really help their side of the argument very much. I’ll admit I am much more likely to question a post that seems dodgy if I disagree with the underlying position than if I agree with it. I don’t think this is “a good thing”, but it’s not really unusual or surprising either. ---
**Author:** ![BrainGlutton](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/82dd89/32.png) [@BrainGlutton](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BrainGlutton)\ **Post date:** [January 25, 2012, 12:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-shodan-more-retarded-lately-or-has-he-maintained-a-consistent-level-of-retardation-all-along/610530/54 "2012-01-25T00:15:25Z")
IIRC, **Shodan** certainly did keep beating the “There were **so** WMDs in Iraq!” drum long after every other DopeCon had put down the stick. ---
**Author:** ![VinylTurnip](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/v/b2d939/32.png) [@VinylTurnip](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/VinylTurnip)\ **Post date:** [January 25, 2012, 12:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-shodan-more-retarded-lately-or-has-he-maintained-a-consistent-level-of-retardation-all-along/610530/55 "2012-01-25T00:27:58Z")
It’s part inevitability, part tragedy, part fascinating case study. Take any person—or mongrel dog, or ferret, or any of the lower apes—expose it to nothing but talk radio and Fox News, and kick it enough to make it good 'n mean, and you’ll eventually end up with something very like **Shodan**. All of us serve some purpose; for some, it’s to serve as a cautionary tale. ---
**Author:** ![SeldomSeen](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/7ba0ec/32.png) [@SeldomSeen](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SeldomSeen)\ **Post date:** [January 25, 2012, 12:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-shodan-more-retarded-lately-or-has-he-maintained-a-consistent-level-of-retardation-all-along/610530/56 "2012-01-25T00:47:20Z")
I’ll admit that when Shodan posts to a non-political thread it can be quite likeable. Unfortunately it rarely posts to non-political threads. And…I knew that I knew that name from somewhere. So I looked it up. **Quote, Wikipedia re Shodan** > [@](#): > > SHODAN …is a fictional artificial intelligence. > She is characterized by her megalomania and chaotic, discordant speech. Her words are accompanied by stuttering, fluctuating voice pitch, shifts of timbre, and the presence of three voices speaking the same words with the constituent voices alternately lagging behind and leading ahead, as well as computer glitches resembling a sound card malfunction > Although as a cybernetic entity SHODAN has no conventional gender, the original disc version refers to SHODAN as either an ‘it’ or a ‘he’, while the later CD version uses ‘she’. On screens, SHODAN manifests herself as a green and/or grey female cybernetic face that usually wears a malevolent expression, and speaks with a chaotic, discordant voice Seems pretty apropos. ---
**Author:** ![BrainGlutton](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/82dd89/32.png) [@BrainGlutton](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BrainGlutton)\ **Post date:** [January 25, 2012, 12:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-shodan-more-retarded-lately-or-has-he-maintained-a-consistent-level-of-retardation-all-along/610530/57 "2012-01-25T00:48:41Z")
> [@Shodan](#): > > Shut up, you troll fucker. > > Regards, > Shodan :rolleyes: Shouldn’t you be out chasing the Billy Goats Gruff? ---
**Author:** ![Giraffe](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/giraffe/32/129_2.png) [@Giraffe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Giraffe)\ **Post date:** [January 25, 2012, 12:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-shodan-more-retarded-lately-or-has-he-maintained-a-consistent-level-of-retardation-all-along/610530/58 "2012-01-25T00:49:39Z")
When it comes to anything related to partisan politics, **Shodan** at first glance appears to be functionally retarded. His “arguments” rarely relate to the discussion at hand (apart from a low level keyword correspondence, e.g. “maybe if you liberals didn’t love taxes so much the liberal media wouldn’t have invented global warming!”) The trick to understanding his posts, however, is realizing that he’s not trying to have a discussion. At all. He is there to prosthelytize his political views, nothing more. He isn’t trying to learn anything, he doesn’t care if what he says bears any relevance to a thread or matches reality in any way, he just wants a chance to repeat his views. Think of him like a spammer and it all makes sense: the more people respond to him, the better. His message is getting attention, hooray! People are calling him a dumbass, awesome! He’s sticking it to the liberals! Woo hoo, look at 'em go! Responding to Shodan in political threads is like replying to spam emails. It only makes things worse. ---
**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 25, 2012, 1:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-shodan-more-retarded-lately-or-has-he-maintained-a-consistent-level-of-retardation-all-along/610530/59 "2012-01-25T01:05:49Z")
> [@Fear\_Itself](#): > > It is unseemly to bash the mentally deficient. It’s especially unseemly for the mentally deficient to bash the mentally deficient. Anyway, to reply to the OP, you both seem to be pretty consistent in your retardation. I don’t want to spoil your pitting, though, so I will refrain from rating your relative retardation levels. ---
**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 25, 2012, 1:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-shodan-more-retarded-lately-or-has-he-maintained-a-consistent-level-of-retardation-all-along/610530/60 "2012-01-25T01:09:10Z")
> [@Biggirl](#): > > Also, he’s no Carol Stream. Mostly because he doesn’t have man-hands. [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=2) [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=4)