# 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:** 5
**Author:** ![Shodan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/9f8e36/32.png) [@Shodan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shodan)\ **Post date:** [January 25, 2012, 12:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-shodan-more-retarded-lately-or-has-he-maintained-a-consistent-level-of-retardation-all-along/610530/81 "2012-01-25T12:12:38Z")
> [@septimus](#): > > 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. Where did I do that, and in what forum? And FTR, I have never played Go. Regards, Shodan ---
**Author:** ![2sense](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/2/e47774/32.png) [@2sense](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/2sense)\ **Post date:** [January 25, 2012, 2:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-shodan-more-retarded-lately-or-has-he-maintained-a-consistent-level-of-retardation-all-along/610530/82 "2012-01-25T14:52:46Z")
I don’t ignore **Shodan**. Even when his arguments are shoddy they at least force me to examine my own reasoning. To me that’s a valuable contribution. ---
**Author:** ![Shodan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/9f8e36/32.png) [@Shodan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shodan)\ **Post date:** [January 25, 2012, 3:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-shodan-more-retarded-lately-or-has-he-maintained-a-consistent-level-of-retardation-all-along/610530/83 "2012-01-25T15:00:42Z")
> [@2sense](#): > > I don’t ignore **Shodan**. Even when his arguments are shoddy they at least force me to examine my own reasoning. To me that’s a valuable contribution. I could ask no more. Regards, Shodan ---
**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, 3:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-shodan-more-retarded-lately-or-has-he-maintained-a-consistent-level-of-retardation-all-along/610530/84 "2012-01-25T15:04:29Z")
> [@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. You’re right. I should have said something like this (from the same post you quoted, but edited): > [@John Mace](#): > > Shodan is being attacked for the utter lack of content in his posts. He is engaging in pure partisan sniping. I was making an entirely different point in the 2nd paragraph. That’s generally what paragraphs are for. 😉 ---
**Author:** ![MsWhatsit](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/eb8c5e/32.png) [@MsWhatsit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MsWhatsit)\ **Post date:** [January 25, 2012, 3:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-shodan-more-retarded-lately-or-has-he-maintained-a-consistent-level-of-retardation-all-along/610530/85 "2012-01-25T15:08:17Z")
I don’t find that **Shodan** usually makes arguments, though. He seems to mostly drop in to post “gotcha ya”-style one-liners and strawmen. That’s not really thought-provoking or useful. Although I have rather enjoyed many of his non-political posts. Sadly those seem to be fewer and farther between, these days. ---
**Author:** ![Living\_Well\_Is\_Best\_Revenge](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/6bbea6/32.png) [@Living\_Well\_Is\_Best\_Revenge](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Living_Well_Is_Best_Revenge)\ **Post date:** [January 25, 2012, 3:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-shodan-more-retarded-lately-or-has-he-maintained-a-consistent-level-of-retardation-all-along/610530/86 "2012-01-25T15:12:43Z")
> [@MsWhatsit](#): > > I don’t find that **Shodan** usually makes arguments, though. He seems to mostly drop in to post “gotcha ya”-style one-liners and strawmen. That’s not really thought-provoking or useful. Although I have rather enjoyed many of his non-political posts. Sadly those seem to be fewer and farther between, these days. This. There are no arguments. Just Fox-news type one-liners and other similar 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 25, 2012, 3:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-shodan-more-retarded-lately-or-has-he-maintained-a-consistent-level-of-retardation-all-along/610530/87 "2012-01-25T15:17:06Z")
> [@Shodan](#): > > Where did I do that, and in what forum? > > And FTR, I have never played Go. > > Regards, > Shodan “Never played Go” is what you say before suckering someone into playing against you.😃 ---
**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 25, 2012, 4:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-shodan-more-retarded-lately-or-has-he-maintained-a-consistent-level-of-retardation-all-along/610530/88 "2012-01-25T16:13:00Z")
[QUOTE=Left Hand of Dorkness] 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. [/QUOTE] Yeah, I agree with this. Another poster up thread asked John Mace if he’s a ‘victim’ (or something like that), and while he’s had his turn in the barrel it’s not been a constant attack by all of the boards lefties, but sporadic attacks by some of the loopier lefties around here who think he’s a ‘conservative’ (_snort_). One of the things I really love about this board is that just because you are a ‘lefty’ you don’t necessarily get a free pass here, especially if you are spouting complete bullshit. I’ve seen lefties whole-heartedly attack someone like gonzomax or FXM, even though they are nominally on the same ‘side’ (on some issues). On other boards I’ve been on the dominant political philosophy of the majority of board members usually means that folks tend to close ranks, even if the one of their own is a complete idiot. That doesn’t happen here IMHO (ETA: not by the majority of left wing posters…it does happen from time to time by individuals who can’t get beyond partisan viewpoints). -XT ---
**Author:** ![bucketybuck](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/898d66/32.png) [@bucketybuck](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bucketybuck)\ **Post date:** [January 25, 2012, 4:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-shodan-more-retarded-lately-or-has-he-maintained-a-consistent-level-of-retardation-all-along/610530/89 "2012-01-25T16:25:15Z")
Regards. Regards. Regards. Regards. Regards. Regards. Retards. Regards. Regards. Retards. Retards. Retards. Retards. Regards. Regards. Retards. Retards. Regards. Regards. Regards. Retards. Regards. Regards. Retards. Sorry. Got carried away there. Its just that _“Regards”_ is the only thing I see when I look at a **Shodon** post, so I don’t really know what he is like at all. He’s probably a retard though. ---
**Author:** ![FuriousGeorge](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/ecae2f/32.png) [@FuriousGeorge](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FuriousGeorge)\ **Post date:** [January 25, 2012, 4:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-shodan-more-retarded-lately-or-has-he-maintained-a-consistent-level-of-retardation-all-along/610530/90 "2012-01-25T16:30:53Z")
> [@MsWhatsit](#): > > I don’t find that **Shodan** usually makes arguments, though. He seems to mostly drop in to post “gotcha ya”-style one-liners and strawmen. That’s not really thought-provoking or useful. Although I have rather enjoyed many of his non-political posts. Sadly those seem to be fewer and farther between, these days. I’d say that **Shodan** is hardly unusual in this respect. There are several others who will drop a turd in the punchbowl just to be flip and pander for the backslaps of his or her partisan team without really contributing anything useful to the conversation. **Shodan** gets noticed because more often than not his position cuts against the grain of the general political tone of the board. ---
**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, 4:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-shodan-more-retarded-lately-or-has-he-maintained-a-consistent-level-of-retardation-all-along/610530/91 "2012-01-25T16:36:58Z")
> [@Der\_Trihs](#): > > Right wingers don’t cast shadows, while left wingers burn at the touch of holy water. Simple! Another way is to invite them to dinner. Right wingers eat babies, while left wingers eat NutriPaste made from aborted fetuses. ---
**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 25, 2012, 4:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-shodan-more-retarded-lately-or-has-he-maintained-a-consistent-level-of-retardation-all-along/610530/92 "2012-01-25T16:47:17Z")
> [@Living\_Well\_Is\_Best\_Revenge](#): > > This. There are no arguments. Just Fox-news type one-liners and other similar bullshit. Agree. And, to answer the OP, I’m of the opinion that this behavior of his has become more pronounced recently. There is no content to his posts. Perhaps in the past he had something to say, but not any more. I mean, his posts in the referenced thread in the OP were simply turds in the punchbowl of discussion. They brought nothing but snark, ignorance of the topic under discussion, with a topping of mischaracterization of what others were saying. ---
**Author:** ![Simplicio](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/c37758/32.png) [@Simplicio](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Simplicio)\ **Post date:** [January 25, 2012, 5:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-shodan-more-retarded-lately-or-has-he-maintained-a-consistent-level-of-retardation-all-along/610530/93 "2012-01-25T17:02:35Z")
> [@FuriousGeorge](#): > > I’d say that **Shodan** is hardly unusual in this respect. There are several others who will drop a turd in the punchbowl just to be flip and pander for the backslaps of his or her partisan team without really contributing anything useful to the conversation. **Shodan** gets noticed because more often than not his position cuts against the grain of the general political tone of the board. True, though I think the last person I noticed doing it to the extent **Shodan** does was **Gonzo** , and obviously that wasn’t ignored. > [@Euphonious](#): > > And, to answer the OP, I’m of the opinion that this behavior of his has become more pronounced recently. I’ve noticed it more to. Dunno if he’s doing it more or if he’s just posting more in threads I read. In anycase, its mainly annoying because it leads to hijacking the thread, so I appreciate the OP starting a separate thread to vent in rather then having it take over the original. Hopefully if people find they can’t ignore it, they’ll at least follow **Beef’s** example and take it somewhere else. ---
**Author:** ![Clothahump](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/51bf81/32.png) [@Clothahump](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Clothahump)\ **Post date:** [January 25, 2012, 5:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-shodan-more-retarded-lately-or-has-he-maintained-a-consistent-level-of-retardation-all-along/610530/94 "2012-01-25T17:08:38Z")
> [@DianaG](#): > > What does that have to do with Shodan? > > Seriously, we do have a number of good conservative posters here. And then we have Shodan. And Clothahump. And Senile Artist. And ralphrandomnumbers. And What the… Has Never Been Seen in the Same Room as ralphrandomnumbers. And a whole bunch of others that I can’t be bothered to remember at the moment. > > If a person doesn’t believe when they come here that conservativism is a symptom of a mental deficit, Shodan and his friends are here to help convince them. Sorry, you have that backwards. It’s liberalism that is the sign of mental defect: specifically, retarded development. This thread is a perfect example. Shodan asked a question. Instead of answering the question, the OP chose to pit him and call him names. You followed right in his footsteps with the snarky little comments about him and tarred me with the same brush, like a five year old throwing a snit fit in the sandbox. ---
**Author:** ![FuriousGeorge](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/ecae2f/32.png) [@FuriousGeorge](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FuriousGeorge)\ **Post date:** [January 25, 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/610530/95 "2012-01-25T17:09:33Z")
> [@Simplicio](#): > > True, though I think the last person I noticed doing it to the extent **Shodan** does was **Gonzo** , and obviously that wasn’t ignored. If we are talking numbers of occurrences, I can’t speak to that. Don’t have dats support it either way. If we are talking as a “board tradition” so to speak, this thread, in and of itself, will offer many examples of that very thing. As for someone I sorta think of when I think of “gotcha ya” and partisan pandering type one liners, **'luci** comes to mind. ---
**Author:** ![Barkis\_is\_Willin](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/a183cd/32.png) [@Barkis\_is\_Willin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Barkis_is_Willin)\ **Post date:** [January 25, 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/610530/96 "2012-01-25T17:17:14Z")
I think some people just like to say “gotcha ya.” ---
**Author:** ![Bryan\_Ekers](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bryan_ekers/32/183_2.png) [@Bryan\_Ekers](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bryan_Ekers)\ **Post date:** [January 25, 2012, 5:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-shodan-more-retarded-lately-or-has-he-maintained-a-consistent-level-of-retardation-all-along/610530/97 "2012-01-25T17:24:16Z")
> [@Starving\_Artist](#): > > 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. Well, that was your defining moment of stupidity - no wonder it’s memorable. Similarly, though just for me personally, ElvisL1ves has as _his_ defining moment of stupidity that time he made (and subsequently aggressively defended) the bizarre truther-ish claim that “the 9/11 perps were safely based in Montreal”. It’s the memory that stirs when I see his name on this board, though I only (and rarely) mention it when I seem him talking about 9/11, Canada, or related topics. ---
**Author:** ![Simplicio](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/c37758/32.png) [@Simplicio](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Simplicio)\ **Post date:** [January 25, 2012, 5:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-shodan-more-retarded-lately-or-has-he-maintained-a-consistent-level-of-retardation-all-along/610530/98 "2012-01-25T17:25:48Z")
> [@FuriousGeorge](#): > > this thread, in and of itself, will offer many examples of that very thing. Well, this thread is in the pit. People can throw contentless snark all they want here, I just wish they’d _only_ do it here. But your certainly right it happens in other fora as well. > [@](#): > > As for someone I sorta think of when I think of “gotcha ya” and partisan pandering type one liners, **'luci** comes to mind. Eh, **'luci** ’s posts are usually meant to be taken as jokes. I find that less annoying then someone that drops a one line “because Republicans want to kill the poor” type thing, as **Gonzo** often did. The latter tends to hijack threads while people usually don’t bother to try and argue against jokes. ---
**Author:** ![Anamorphic](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/anamorphic/32/3057_2.png) [@Anamorphic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Anamorphic)\ **Post date:** [January 25, 2012, 5:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-shodan-more-retarded-lately-or-has-he-maintained-a-consistent-level-of-retardation-all-along/610530/99 "2012-01-25T17:31:48Z")
> [@bucketybuck](#): > > Regards. Regards. Regards. Regards. Regards. Regards. Retards. Regards. Regards. Retards. Retards. Retards. Retards. Regards. Regards. Retards. Retards. Regards. Regards. Regards. Retards. Regards. Regards. Retards. > Sorry. Got carried away there. Its just that _“Regards”_ is the only thing I see when I look at a **Shodon** post, so I don’t really know what he is like at all. He’s probably a retard though. I made (okay, tweaked and repurposed other scripts I found) a Google Chrome extension that changes his “Regards,” to random phrases. It makes reading his postings much more fun. ---
**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, 6:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-shodan-more-retarded-lately-or-has-he-maintained-a-consistent-level-of-retardation-all-along/610530/100 "2012-01-25T18:29:00Z")
> [@Clothahump](#): > > Sorry, you have that backwards. It’s liberalism that is the sign of mental defect: specifically, retarded development. no u [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=4) [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=6)