# 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:** 38
**Author:** ![elucidator](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/8edcca/32.png) [@elucidator](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/elucidator)\ **Post date:** [February 6, 2012, 4:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-shodan-more-retarded-lately-or-has-he-maintained-a-consistent-level-of-retardation-all-along/610530/741 "2012-02-06T16:16:34Z")
> [@MsWhatsit](#): > > If it would help at all, I will gladly report that I find many of **elucidator** ’s posts, particularly ones like #737 there, to be insanely irritating. Are you smoking something, or getting paid by the word, or what? … Don’t read them. Somehow, I will find the strength to go on living. It will be hard, at first, but somehow… ---
**Author:** ![Omg\_a\_Black\_Conservative](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/7ba0ec/32.png) [@Omg\_a\_Black\_Conservative](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Omg_a_Black_Conservative)\ **Post date:** [February 6, 2012, 4:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-shodan-more-retarded-lately-or-has-he-maintained-a-consistent-level-of-retardation-all-along/610530/742 "2012-02-06T16:19:23Z")
> [@MsWhatsit](#): > > Aww. Poor conservatives. This thread is making me feel bad for them. You guys! Stop being so mean to the conservatives! Here, look, conservatives, you can go pass a law cutting taxes on rich people if it makes you feel better. I hate to see you looking so sad like this. I can get a blanket and some warm milk if that would help also. I can’t speak for anyone else, but I feel bad for you guys and gals, what with being angry all the time. ---
**Author:** ![MsWhatsit](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/eb8c5e/32.png) [@MsWhatsit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MsWhatsit)\ **Post date:** [February 6, 2012, 4:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-shodan-more-retarded-lately-or-has-he-maintained-a-consistent-level-of-retardation-all-along/610530/743 "2012-02-06T16:19:44Z")
> [@elucidator](#): > > Don’t read them. Somehow, I will find the strength to go on living. It will be hard, at first, but somehow… Well, I don’t, to be honest. I see the first line or two of another post that looks like it was written by Kurt Vonnegut after he suffered a massive brain injury and had to resort to throwing darts at a thesaurus, and I just skip to the next one. ---
**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:** [February 6, 2012, 4:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-shodan-more-retarded-lately-or-has-he-maintained-a-consistent-level-of-retardation-all-along/610530/744 "2012-02-06T16:31:57Z")
> [@Omg\_a\_Black\_Conservative](#): > > I can’t speak for anyone else, but I feel bad for you guys and gals, what with being angry all the time. I feel bad for you, what with being barely sentient all the time. To the extent that liberals are angry, it’s because ignorant people like you believe misinformation and nonsense, and actively make the country worse because of it. Of course attributing anger exclusively to liberals is pretty stupid in any case. ---
**Author:** ![MsWhatsit](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/eb8c5e/32.png) [@MsWhatsit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MsWhatsit)\ **Post date:** [February 6, 2012, 4:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-shodan-more-retarded-lately-or-has-he-maintained-a-consistent-level-of-retardation-all-along/610530/745 "2012-02-06T16:33:53Z")
> [@Omg\_a\_Black\_Conservative](#): > > I can’t speak for anyone else, but I feel bad for you guys and gals, what with being angry all the time. Don’t knock it. It’s good for the blood. Keeps you young. ---
**Author:** ![Bricker](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/977dab/32.png) [@Bricker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bricker)\ **Post date:** [February 6, 2012, 4:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-shodan-more-retarded-lately-or-has-he-maintained-a-consistent-level-of-retardation-all-along/610530/746 "2012-02-06T16:58:47Z")
> [@xenophon41](#): > > You’ve missed the point and misrepresented my argument. Sincerely, I’m sure. > > I agree with **MaxTheVool** that the SDMB is left leaning by American standards. What I don’t agree with is **Bricker** ’s assertion that in this thread that proposition has been denied -either explicitly or implicitly- by liberal posters. _That_ is what is objectively untrue. > > ETA: Your response to my point kind of supports my point, I think. Ahhh, OK. I’ll note that I wasn’t the only person to misread you. Even now, re-reading your line, I think it can be read either way. But taking your clarification into account, I still don’t agree. Plenty of posters here have denied the SDMB leans left. Do you need cites? Pick a year. I’ll post cites from that year. ---
**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:** [February 6, 2012, 5:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-shodan-more-retarded-lately-or-has-he-maintained-a-consistent-level-of-retardation-all-along/610530/747 "2012-02-06T17:03:24Z")
> [@Bricker](#): > > But taking your clarification into account, I still don’t agree. Plenty of posters here have denied the SDMB leans left. So I was wrong in post #732? ---
**Author:** ![elucidator](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/8edcca/32.png) [@elucidator](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/elucidator)\ **Post date:** [February 6, 2012, 5:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-shodan-more-retarded-lately-or-has-he-maintained-a-consistent-level-of-retardation-all-along/610530/748 "2012-02-06T17:06:46Z")
Well, yeah, but America is a center-right country! Everybody knows that! ---
**Author:** ![xenophon41](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/xenophon41/32/253_2.png) [@xenophon41](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/xenophon41)\ **Post date:** [February 6, 2012, 5:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-shodan-more-retarded-lately-or-has-he-maintained-a-consistent-level-of-retardation-all-along/610530/749 "2012-02-06T17:07:42Z")
> [@Shodan](#): > > If you were a conservative, you would get called a liar. But you’re not, so you get away with it. And this sort of declaration is why many conservative Dopers are perceived as deluded whinging crybabies. What, exactly, am I getting away with? By my observation, the only direct responses I’ve gotten have been disagreements and a [useful in fact] criticism of my compositional habits. But apparently what you perceive is that I’m tripping merrily through the thread spouting liberal propaganda while my fellow travelers beam cheerfully in approval. ---
**Author:** ![elucidator](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/8edcca/32.png) [@elucidator](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/elucidator)\ **Post date:** [February 6, 2012, 5:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-shodan-more-retarded-lately-or-has-he-maintained-a-consistent-level-of-retardation-all-along/610530/750 "2012-02-06T17:09:58Z")
Good show, there, **Xeno**! Pip pip! However, the use of brackets in place of parentheses? Not quite the done thing, don’t you know? Or don’t you? ---
**Author:** ![xenophon41](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/xenophon41/32/253_2.png) [@xenophon41](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/xenophon41)\ **Post date:** [February 6, 2012, 5:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-shodan-more-retarded-lately-or-has-he-maintained-a-consistent-level-of-retardation-all-along/610530/751 "2012-02-06T17:13:38Z")
> [@Bricker](#): > > Do you need cites? > > Pick a year. I’ll post cites from that year. Your charge was very specific, so I’m looking for cites _from this thread_ such as the one **Shodan** provided that support the assertion that people are explicitly or implicitly denying either that liberals can be also be jerks, assholes, dickheads, etc., or that the SDMB as a whole contains more left leaning posters than right leaning posters. I suspect we’ll have to discuss what is actually being implied in each case, as in the **ElvisL1ves** quote, although if you can show me a post where the clear intent is to explicitly deny either proposition, I’ll admit that your perception is more accurate than mine. ---
**Author:** ![Bricker](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/977dab/32.png) [@Bricker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bricker)\ **Post date:** [February 6, 2012, 5:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-shodan-more-retarded-lately-or-has-he-maintained-a-consistent-level-of-retardation-all-along/610530/752 "2012-02-06T17:15:00Z")
> [@xenophon41](#): > > **Bricker** is quick to correctly identify confirmation bias in others; can he perceive the beam in his own eye? Well: > [@Bricker](#): > > No. But – and I recognize my own confirmation bias may be in play here – Yes. Confirmation bias is an insidious demon, and I absolutely agree it could be coloring my own reactions here. ---
**Author:** ![Bricker](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/977dab/32.png) [@Bricker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bricker)\ **Post date:** [February 6, 2012, 5:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-shodan-more-retarded-lately-or-has-he-maintained-a-consistent-level-of-retardation-all-along/610530/753 "2012-02-06T17:17:20Z")
> [@xenophon41](#): > > Your charge was very specific, so I’m looking for cites _from this thread_ such as the one **Shodan** provided that support the assertion that people are explicitly or implicitly denying either that liberals can be also be jerks, assholes, dickheads, etc., or that the SDMB as a whole contains more left leaning posters than right leaning posters. > > I suspect we’ll have to discuss what is actually being implied in each case, as in the **ElvisL1ves** quote, although if you can show me a post where the clear intent is to explicitly deny either proposition, I’ll admit that your perception is more accurate than mine. “The board isn’t really, as is often said, left-leaning, it’s factuality-leaning.” If this quote doesn’t qualify, can you explain why? I don’t want to waste time posting quotes that don’t meet your requirements. As an aside – even though my words may have referred specifically to this thread, why wouldn’t other threads be also relevant to show the general truth of the proposition? ---
**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:** [February 6, 2012, 5:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-shodan-more-retarded-lately-or-has-he-maintained-a-consistent-level-of-retardation-all-along/610530/754 "2012-02-06T17:19:17Z")
> [@Bricker](#): > > “The board isn’t really, as is often said, left-leaning, it’s factuality-leaning.” > > If this quote doesn’t qualify, can you explain why? I don’t want to waste time posting quotes that don’t meet your requirements. I don’t think that qualifies. What Elvis is saying just amounts to “liberals are right”. Nothing more. He’s not denying that the board leans left. He’s just saying this is because liberals are right. ---
**Author:** ![xenophon41](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/xenophon41/32/253_2.png) [@xenophon41](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/xenophon41)\ **Post date:** [February 6, 2012, 5:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-shodan-more-retarded-lately-or-has-he-maintained-a-consistent-level-of-retardation-all-along/610530/755 "2012-02-06T17:20:14Z")
> [@elucidator](#): > > Good show, there, **Xeno**! Pip pip! However, the use of brackets in place of parentheses? Not quite the done thing, don’t you know? Or don’t you? I don’t know much, actually. I figure as long as I’ve put some sort of bendy, curly things around extraneous clauses, I’ve separated them from the main statement. If I wrote all elegant like you do, you wouldn’t be able to stand me. ---
**Author:** ![pseudotriton\_ruber\_ruber](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/a9a28c/32.png) [@pseudotriton\_ruber\_ruber](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pseudotriton_ruber_ruber)\ **Post date:** [February 6, 2012, 5:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-shodan-more-retarded-lately-or-has-he-maintained-a-consistent-level-of-retardation-all-along/610530/756 "2012-02-06T17:28:18Z")
> [@Shodan](#): > > I do show where my adversaries are wrong. > > I don’t with you, because you are a lying troll - I am talking about reasonable posters. > > Regards, > Shodan That’s one tack for avoiding the need to actually give a response. Amazing I haven’t been banned yet, don’t you think, since I’m obviously a troll, and a liar? You OTOH have virtually admitted to trolling–admitting that you post as provocatively as you have, not because you believe the things you say but because it gets liberals all agitated to read your provocation. Yet when I challenge you to provide an example of my lying and trolling, you get all huffy: “I wouldn’t deign to answer a charge from such a lowlife, I’d get my paws all dirty” etc, yyybbb. IOW, you got nuthin’ and you’re bluffing in lieu of providing specifics. Shock me. ---
**Author:** ![xenophon41](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/xenophon41/32/253_2.png) [@xenophon41](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/xenophon41)\ **Post date:** [February 6, 2012, 5:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-shodan-more-retarded-lately-or-has-he-maintained-a-consistent-level-of-retardation-all-along/610530/757 "2012-02-06T17:29:56Z")
**Fotheringay-Phipps** has phrased my impression of **ElvisL1ves** ’ argument better than I did, but is basically in agreement. **Elvis** ’ argument is the same one he makes quite frequently. All of us who’ve engaged in political discussions over the last decade are familiar with it, and that’s the context in which I’m interpreting his remark. Even if we pretend the comment came from a completely unknown poster, the context supports **F-P** ’s analysis and mine. ---
**Author:** ![Shodan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/9f8e36/32.png) [@Shodan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shodan)\ **Post date:** [February 6, 2012, 5:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-shodan-more-retarded-lately-or-has-he-maintained-a-consistent-level-of-retardation-all-along/610530/758 "2012-02-06T17:33:10Z")
> [@Fotheringay-Phipps](#): > > I don’t think that qualifies. > > What Elvis is saying just amounts to “liberals are right”. Nothing more. He’s not denying that the board leans left. He’s just saying this is because liberals are right. So you need a quote denying that the SDMB is left-leaning, from someone who does not believe that liberals are generally right? If such can be supplied, are you going to move the goalposts again? Regards, Shodan ---
**Author:** ![Shodan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/9f8e36/32.png) [@Shodan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shodan)\ **Post date:** [February 6, 2012, 5:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-shodan-more-retarded-lately-or-has-he-maintained-a-consistent-level-of-retardation-all-along/610530/759 "2012-02-06T17:35:53Z")
> [@pseudotriton\_ruber\_ruber](#): > > You OTOH have virtually admitted to trolling–admitting that you post as provocatively as you have, not because you believe the things you say but because it gets liberals all agitated to read your provocation. Again, you are lying. I have never stated or implied that I do not mean the things I say. As I said, you are a lying troll. Regards, Shodan ---
**Author:** ![elucidator](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/8edcca/32.png) [@elucidator](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/elucidator)\ **Post date:** [February 6, 2012, 5:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-shodan-more-retarded-lately-or-has-he-maintained-a-consistent-level-of-retardation-all-along/610530/760 "2012-02-06T17:37:24Z")
Then doesn’t it follow that there must be another Board that mirrors this one? Also fact based but _right_ leaning? Where lefties have spent ten years bitching about not getting a fair hearing from the heave mind? Well, OK. Where? [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=37) [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=39)