# 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:** 4
**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 25, 2012, 1:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-shodan-more-retarded-lately-or-has-he-maintained-a-consistent-level-of-retardation-all-along/610530/61 "2012-01-25T01:14:48Z")
> [@Fotheringay-Phipps](#): > > I’m willing to be proved wrong. Show me some "“good conservative posters” who are > [ul] > [li]true conservatives by the standards of political distribution of this country,[/li][li]prolific posters on political topics, and[/li][li]are not attacked in the same general manner as Shodan is being attacked[/li][/ul] This last requirement is silly. There are some idiots on the left here, as I said, and just as the idiots on the right attack the very good lefty posters, the idiots on the left attack the very good righty posters. You won’t find any lefty around here that hasn’t been shat on by the rightwing idiots, either, I don’t think. ---
**Author:** ![PandaBear77](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/edb3f5/32.png) [@PandaBear77](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/PandaBear77)\ **Post date:** [January 25, 2012, 1:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-shodan-more-retarded-lately-or-has-he-maintained-a-consistent-level-of-retardation-all-along/610530/62 "2012-01-25T01:26:23Z")
> [@Fotheringay-Phipps](#): > > That kind of sums it up. In reality, there are no “good conservative posters” here. What there are are people who get trotted out in a some-of-my-best-friends-are-black way by liberals looking to lend false legitimacy to their ideology-driven attacks. But all these supposed “good conservative posters” get attacked in the same manner, when it’s their turn. Hear hear. As for Shodan, I dig him. He’s a truly nice person in a sea of mostly assholes. ---
**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 25, 2012, 1:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-shodan-more-retarded-lately-or-has-he-maintained-a-consistent-level-of-retardation-all-along/610530/63 "2012-01-25T01:32:07Z")
**Shodan** is being attacked for the utter lack of content in his posts. He is engaging in pure partisan sniping. I don’t see **Mr. Moto** or **Martin Hyde** getting attacked in the same manner\*, except when they are posting partisan snipe. **Bricker** gets attacked a lot but he also does a good amount of partisan sniping. I’d say those guys all qualify as conservatives. Fact is, there are a lot more lefties on this board, and there is a tendency to gang up on righties. My sense is that there are a certain number of people who post here as if it were a lefty board, which happens to have a few token righties. And by that I mean a tendency to assume that the left position is the default position, and anyone not on the left is in the out-group. People can post “Repuglican” or “Troglodyte Right” on this MB with impunity, and rarely will anyone will even bat an eye. But if anyone comes along with “Demoncrat”, they’ll be pounced on. \*Vven if I think they get attacked more than they deserve by the knee-jerk lefties on this board. ---
**Author:** ![Cat\_Whisperer](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cat_whisperer/32/4839_2.png) [@Cat\_Whisperer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cat_Whisperer)\ **Post date:** [January 25, 2012, 1:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-shodan-more-retarded-lately-or-has-he-maintained-a-consistent-level-of-retardation-all-along/610530/64 "2012-01-25T01:38:45Z")
What I don’t understand is how you guys can keep track of who’s a lefty and who’s a righty. Do you keep spreadsheets or something? ---
**Author:** ![Southern\_Yankee](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/southern_yankee/32/2800_2.png) [@Southern\_Yankee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Southern_Yankee)\ **Post date:** [January 25, 2012, 1:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-shodan-more-retarded-lately-or-has-he-maintained-a-consistent-level-of-retardation-all-along/610530/65 "2012-01-25T01:44:28Z")
> [@Cat\_Whisperer](#): > > What I don’t understand is how you guys can keep track of who’s a lefty and who’s a righty. Do you keep spreadsheets or something? There’s a sticky in Great Debates with a running list. ---
**Author:** ![Cat\_Whisperer](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cat_whisperer/32/4839_2.png) [@Cat\_Whisperer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cat_Whisperer)\ **Post date:** [January 25, 2012, 1:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-shodan-more-retarded-lately-or-has-he-maintained-a-consistent-level-of-retardation-all-along/610530/66 "2012-01-25T01:56:13Z")
I’m totally going to go look for that…why don’t we have one of those? That would be so helpful! ---
**Author:** ![Frank](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/3d9bf3/32.png) [@Frank](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Frank)\ **Post date:** [January 25, 2012, 1:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-shodan-more-retarded-lately-or-has-he-maintained-a-consistent-level-of-retardation-all-along/610530/67 "2012-01-25T01:58:30Z")
> [@Cat\_Whisperer](#): > > What I don’t understand is how you guys can keep track of who’s a lefty and who’s a righty. Do you keep spreadsheets or something? It’s not that difficult. I’ve been around long enough to have a general idea of where certain posters fit on the political spectrums. New posters won’t stick in my mind for a while, and occasionally someone I recognize but who doesn’t usually make political posts will wander along and surprise me. But, in general, the poster’s name will give me a good idea of whether it’s liberal/conservative/libertarian/other/cannot be pigeonholed content (or lack thereof) that I’m about to read. ---
**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 25, 2012, 2:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-shodan-more-retarded-lately-or-has-he-maintained-a-consistent-level-of-retardation-all-along/610530/68 "2012-01-25T02:02:21Z")
> [@John\_Mace](#): > > Fact is, there are a lot more lefties on this board, and there is a tendency to gang up on righties. You’d have a point, if **Shodan** ’s typical M.O. wasn’t to post “Liberal are teh dumb” in every thread which mentions a Republican. He’s not sought out, he’s not victimized- he blatantly charges in and invites everyone to kick his ass. As you said, this is predominately a left-leaning board; what are we supposed to do, take numbers to respond to his trollery? If I were to go onto Hannity’s forums and post “Conservatives suck and here’s a concocted reason why” into every thread, I wouldn’t feel ganged up on when they inevitably started yelling at me… 'cause I would’ve brought it on myself. He’s _asking_ for the abuse. Hell, he seems to thrive on it. Personally, I don’t understand why he hasn’t already been invited to the rest of the internet. ---
**Author:** ![elucidator](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/8edcca/32.png) [@elucidator](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/elucidator)\ **Post date:** [January 25, 2012, 3:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-shodan-more-retarded-lately-or-has-he-maintained-a-consistent-level-of-retardation-all-along/610530/69 "2012-01-25T03:20:10Z")
> [@Damuri\_Ajashi](#): > > … but its not like we don’t have rabidly partisan liberals on this board. That’s kind of like being a Unitarian fanatic. ---
**Author:** ![Boyo\_Jim](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/87869e/32.png) [@Boyo\_Jim](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Boyo_Jim)\ **Post date:** [January 25, 2012, 3:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-shodan-more-retarded-lately-or-has-he-maintained-a-consistent-level-of-retardation-all-along/610530/70 "2012-01-25T03:46:32Z")
> [@Cat\_Whisperer](#): > > What I don’t understand is how you guys can keep track of who’s a lefty and who’s a righty. Do you keep spreadsheets or something? For me, it’s really more a matter of remembering lunatics, not just plain old liberals or conservatives. ---
**Author:** ![El\_Kabong](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/el_kabong/32/496_2.png) [@El\_Kabong](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/El_Kabong)\ **Post date:** [January 25, 2012, 3:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-shodan-more-retarded-lately-or-has-he-maintained-a-consistent-level-of-retardation-all-along/610530/71 "2012-01-25T03:47:38Z")
> [@Lightnin](#): > > You’d have a point, if **Shodan** ’s typical M.O. wasn’t to post “Liberal are teh dumb” in every thread which mentions a Republican. He’s not sought out, he’s not victimized- he blatantly charges in and invites everyone to kick his ass. As you said, this is predominately a left-leaning board; what are we supposed to do, take numbers to respond to his trollery? > > If I were to go onto Hannity’s forums and post “Conservatives suck and here’s a concocted reason why” into every thread, I wouldn’t feel ganged up on when they inevitably started yelling at me… 'cause I would’ve brought it on myself. > > He’s _asking_ for the abuse. Hell, he seems to thrive on it. Personally, I don’t understand why he hasn’t already been invited to the rest of the internet. Nail on the head, sir, nail on the head. ---
**Author:** ![Kobal2](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kobal2/32/20_2.png) [@Kobal2](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kobal2)\ **Post date:** [January 25, 2012, 4:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-shodan-more-retarded-lately-or-has-he-maintained-a-consistent-level-of-retardation-all-along/610530/72 "2012-01-25T04:16:02Z")
> [@Fotheringay-Phipps](#): > > That kind of sums it up. In reality, there are no “good conservative posters” here. What there are are people who get trotted out in a some-of-my-best-friends-are-black way by liberals looking to lend false legitimacy to their ideology-driven attacks. But all these supposed “good conservative posters” get attacked in the same manner, when it’s their turn. I know, right ? It’s like this board made up of hundreds of different people doesn’t actually function as a hive mind. Weird. ---
**Author:** ![Sitnam](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/6a8cbe/32.png) [@Sitnam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sitnam)\ **Post date:** [January 25, 2012, 4:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-shodan-more-retarded-lately-or-has-he-maintained-a-consistent-level-of-retardation-all-along/610530/73 "2012-01-25T04:21:55Z")
> [@John\_Mace](#): > > Fact is, there are a lot more lefties on this board, and there is a tendency to gang up on righties. My sense is that there are a certain number of people who post here as if it were a lefty board, which happens to have a few token righties. And by that I mean a tendency to assume that the left position is the default position, and anyone not on the left is in the out-group. People can post “Repuglican” or “Troglodyte Right” on this MB with impunity, and rarely will anyone will even bat an eye. But if anyone comes along with “Demoncrat”, they’ll be pounced on. > > \*Vven if I think they get attacked more than they deserve by the knee-jerk lefties on this board. So you’re a victim? ---
**Author:** ![twickster](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/ec9cab/32.png) [@twickster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/twickster)\ **Post date:** [January 25, 2012, 4:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-shodan-more-retarded-lately-or-has-he-maintained-a-consistent-level-of-retardation-all-along/610530/74 "2012-01-25T04:33:52Z")
> [@Biggirl](#): > > Also, he’s no Carol Stream. > [@Fear\_Itself](#): > > Mostly because he doesn’t have man-hands. I guffawed. ---
**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 25, 2012, 6:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-shodan-more-retarded-lately-or-has-he-maintained-a-consistent-level-of-retardation-all-along/610530/75 "2012-01-25T06:27:39Z")
> [@LavenderBlue](#): > > 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. You people bring up the '50s (in conjunction with me) far more often than I bring them up myself. And besides, why is it always the '50s with you people? I rarely limit the time before this country went off the rails to that decade. ---
**Author:** ![jackdavinci](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jackdavinci/32/3259_2.png) [@jackdavinci](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jackdavinci)\ **Post date:** [January 25, 2012, 6:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-shodan-more-retarded-lately-or-has-he-maintained-a-consistent-level-of-retardation-all-along/610530/76 "2012-01-25T06:41:57Z")
> [@Yaxche](#): > > One of the things that keeps me coming back to this board is the fact there are is a contingent of conservative posters that do a pretty good job of explaining and arguing positions I, as a left-leaning individual, don’t agree with (or necessarily understand). > > Shodan is not one of them. Thanks for this. I was going to say, not knowing Shodan, that there was a need for intelligent counterpoint. Especially since while I tend to side with the Democratic viewpoint in theory, I increasingly find myself having greater and greater disdain for all politicians. But it’s nice to know there are posters filling that void, and informative not to expect it from Shodan. ---
**Author:** ![septimus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/septimus/32/410_2.png) [@septimus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/septimus)\ **Post date:** [January 25, 2012, 6:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-shodan-more-retarded-lately-or-has-he-maintained-a-consistent-level-of-retardation-all-along/610530/77 "2012-01-25T06:43:37Z")
> [@SeldomSeen](#): > > \*\*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. So that’s where his user name came from. :smack: “Shodan” also refers to a Go player at advanced skill level, which seemed so laughable I now call him **Ten-Kyu**. But I’d not be overly surprised to learn he once could play Go competently. It would just make me pity him more: A mind is a terrible thing to waste, especially when, as in Ten-Kyu’s case, his mind seems to have turned inward into bitterness and an almost-deliberate stupidity. > [@Enginerd](#): > > People read **Shodan’s** posts? Why? I’d have missed out but he chose to insult my mother in one of my early threads here. When he apologizes I’ll go back to giving him the attention he serves. ---
**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, 6:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-shodan-more-retarded-lately-or-has-he-maintained-a-consistent-level-of-retardation-all-along/610530/78 "2012-01-25T06:44:07Z")
> [@elucidator](#): > > That’s kind of like being a Unitarian fanatic. No one objects to the Unitarian Inquisition. How do you take your coffee? ---
**Author:** ![Der\_Trihs](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/der_trihs/32/233_2.png) [@Der\_Trihs](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Der_Trihs)\ **Post date:** [January 25, 2012, 7:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-shodan-more-retarded-lately-or-has-he-maintained-a-consistent-level-of-retardation-all-along/610530/79 "2012-01-25T07:09:30Z")
> [@jsgoddess](#): > > It would not be possible for his posts to get stupider or more vapid than they already were. The ignore list was made for posters like Shodan. You will miss his posts like you miss the whine of a mosquito in your ear. Yes; he’s the only active poster I have on Ignore\*; the other was that advocate for pedophilia who got banned\*\*. He’s irritating, a bad conversationalist and never contributes anything interesting that I saw. \*And yes I checked; you can mention that someone is on Ignore in the Pit. \*\* EDIT: [Cesario](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/member.php) > [@Fotheringay-Phipps](#): > > Show me some "“good conservative posters” who are > [ul] > [li]true conservatives by the standards of political distribution of this country,[/li][li]prolific posters on political topics, and[/li][li]are not attacked in the same general manner as Shodan is being attacked[/li][/ul] I doubt anyone like that would last long without getting banned; that’s the sort of person who shows up and either posts-and-runs or flames out. In fact, I’d expect them to go out of the way to get banned so they can go and tell their friends about how they are being brutally oppressed by the Evil Liberals at the SDMB. I’d expect most people who are “true conservatives by the standards of political distribution of this country” to be attacked as much or more as **Shodan** on this _or any other board_ that isn’t the sort of echo chamber that only allows right wing posts. Right wingers don’t function well outside of their bubble, they aren’t used to dealing with people who are allowed to disagree. > [@Cat\_Whisperer](#): > > What I don’t understand is how you guys can keep track of who’s a lefty and who’s a righty. Do you keep spreadsheets or something? Right wingers don’t cast shadows, while left wingers burn at the touch of holy water. Simple! > [@elucidator](#): > > That’s kind of like being a Unitarian fanatic. Have you never heard of the [Unitarian Jihad?!](http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2005/04/08/DDG27BCFLG1.DTL) Be careful or they’ll sneak up on you and give you a group hug. ---
**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 25, 2012, 12:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-shodan-more-retarded-lately-or-has-he-maintained-a-consistent-level-of-retardation-all-along/610530/80 "2012-01-25T12:07:20Z")
> [@Der\_Trihs](#): > > Have you never heard of the [Unitarian Jihad?!](http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2005/04/08/DDG27BCFLG1.DTL) Be careful or they’ll sneak up on you and give you a group hug. And if you stand up to them, you’ll wake up one night to a question mark burning in your front yard. [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=3) [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=5)