# Is the Straight dope a Dictatorship? **URL:** \ **Category:** Great Debates\ **Created:** [August 15, 2002, 11:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-the-straight-dope-a-dictatorship/123999 "2002-08-15T11:49:26Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Montezuma](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/3be4f8/32.png) [@Montezuma](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Montezuma)\ **Post date:** [August 15, 2002, 11:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-the-straight-dope-a-dictatorship/123999/1 "2002-08-15T11:49:26Z")
You’ve got to admit, the message board is ruled by an elite group of moderators answerable directly to Cecil Adams, who enforces a cult of personality to enforce the mystery of him and ensure the popularity of this web site and message board. If anyone raises a voice they are immediately scorned and subjected to ridicule, this in a way ensures the regularity and distraction from the darker side of the board. Personally I love this board, so don’t think this as me being annoyed with anyone or the people on this site but i still think it is a ditatorship a friendly one though. ---
**Author:** ![Apos](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/838e76/32.png) [@Apos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Apos)\ **Post date:** [August 15, 2002, 11:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-the-straight-dope-a-dictatorship/123999/2 "2002-08-15T11:52:53Z")
—You’ve got to admit, the message board is ruled by an elite group of moderators answerable directly to Cecil Adams, who enforces a cult of personality to enforce the mystery of him and ensure the popularity of this web site and message board.— Perhaps this is true in other forums, but here I’ve only seen the moderators occasionally move threads into different forums. And I’ve not seen Cecil’s name mentioned at all, unless very tangentially. Certainly no one has spoken at any length about “the mystery of him” or his personality. ---
**Author:** ![Jackmannii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jackmannii/32/311_2.png) [@Jackmannii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jackmannii)\ **Post date:** [August 15, 2002, 12:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-the-straight-dope-a-dictatorship/123999/3 "2002-08-15T12:04:47Z")
**SSSSSHHHHH!!!** You don’t want to become one of the “disappeared”! Why, the very mortals who dare speak the name of Cec ---
**Author:** ![Tristan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tristan/32/18058_2.png) [@Tristan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tristan)\ **Post date:** [August 15, 2002, 12:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-the-straight-dope-a-dictatorship/123999/4 "2002-08-15T12:07:23Z")
Of course it is. Almost any message board on the Internet is. I used to frequent a Socialist board, but left when I discovered a)- 14 yo suburban kids can’t debate and b)- my politics weren’t the right flavor of “left” for the board Admin. It is only the goodwill of Mods and Admins that keep this board from becoming overwhelmingly dictatorial. And even that has swayed… I’ve had threads closed for the direction that Mods think they were headed. Recently a plain-jane thread was closed by another poster that lead to a rather lenghty debate about the rights and powers of the Mods. It may be a dictatorship, but it’s pretty benign. ---
**Author:** ![Alessan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/alessan/32/465_2.png) [@Alessan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Alessan)\ **Post date:** [August 15, 2002, 12:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-the-straight-dope-a-dictatorship/123999/5 "2002-08-15T12:14:38Z")
I think the correct term is “enlightened absolutism”. ---
**Author:** ![Montezuma](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/3be4f8/32.png) [@Montezuma](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Montezuma)\ **Post date:** [August 15, 2002, 12:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-the-straight-dope-a-dictatorship/123999/6 "2002-08-15T12:17:01Z")
hey guys! we all just might dissapear out in the middle of the night. But yeah I have to agree that the dope is one of the few benign dictatorships like say, Greece in the 30’s and early 40’s. Some members of the board act like dictators too. ---
**Author:** ![Dryga\_Yes](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/838e76/32.png) [@Dryga\_Yes](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dryga_Yes)\ **Post date:** [August 15, 2002, 12:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-the-straight-dope-a-dictatorship/123999/7 "2002-08-15T12:22:47Z")
Well, yes. The mods/admins aren’t elected. They can ban anyone they want without repercussions. And I doubt that any board member wants it any other way. And if someone does, they’re free to go to some unmoderated message board. ---
**Author:** ![Una\_Persson](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/una_persson/32/346_2.png) [@Una\_Persson](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Una_Persson)\ **Post date:** [August 15, 2002, 1:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-the-straight-dope-a-dictatorship/123999/8 "2002-08-15T13:06:27Z")
Again and again I am amazed at the number of people who seem to think that the SDMB is: 1. “Their” community that they somehow have a stake in. 2. Beholden to or in debt to the Members somehow. 3. Cannot have its Staff act in a completely arbitrary and even insane manner should they choose to. 4. Must follow its own Rules, or ask permission to change its own Rules. It’s not a dictatorship. It’s a free public message Board run by the Chicago Reader. It is not restricted by the 1st Amendment, in that you have no “right” to post _anything_ here. It is not bound by any doctrine of fairness or equality. It is not required to do _anything_ for the Members, as, since it is free, there is no contract in force between the Members and the Reader. ---
**Author:** ![tracer](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tracer/32/20578_2.png) [@tracer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tracer)\ **Post date:** [August 15, 2002, 4:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-the-straight-dope-a-dictatorship/123999/9 "2002-08-15T16:18:44Z")
“plain-jane”? ---
**Author:** ![chula](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/a4c791/32.png) [@chula](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/chula)\ **Post date:** [August 15, 2002, 4:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-the-straight-dope-a-dictatorship/123999/10 "2002-08-15T16:21:26Z")
Gee, **Anthracite** , I don’t think anyone ever thought that the Board’s policies violated the Constitution. The question that was posed is: if the SDMB were a country, and the administration were the government, what form of government would it most resemble? I think we’re all in touch with reality enough to realize that Cecil is not actually our ruler/emperor/king/president. > [@](#): > > And if someone does, they’re free to go to some unmoderated message board. So, are only choices are dictatorship and anarchy? Remember that other form of government people always talk about… it begins with a D… This place is definitely a dictatorship, and it kind of bothers me. I haven’t spoken up for fear of irritating the Mods, which is also a sign of the regime we live under. I don’t think it would hurt for the board administration to be more upfront about the rules and establish a more clear process regarding banning/reprimanding members, closing threads, etc. That would create create more good will than the usual “shut up because I say so and I have the power” attitude the Mods often have. Well, comrades, it’s been nice hanging out here. I’m going to be going into exile now, before they “disappear” me. I’ll be plotting the revolution and will return when it is safe. ---
**Author:** ![cjb](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/a4c791/32.png) [@cjb](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cjb)\ **Post date:** [August 15, 2002, 5:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-the-straight-dope-a-dictatorship/123999/11 "2002-08-15T17:04:00Z")
It looks to me like a Constitutional Monarchy in the British style, where there is definitely a set of rules, but you’re not suposed to write them down. Of course the King has a Court, and is surrounded by a set of courtiers. He can give them honours, like ‘Moderator’. If this were a feudal system he could call us out to fight his battles! ---
**Author:** ![Una\_Persson](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/una_persson/32/346_2.png) [@Una\_Persson](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Una_Persson)\ **Post date:** [August 15, 2002, 5:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-the-straight-dope-a-dictatorship/123999/12 "2002-08-15T17:04:37Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by chula \* > **Gee, Anthracite, I don’t think anyone ever thought that the Board’s policies violated the Constitution.** You haven’t been around much, have you? It seems a not infrequent occurance to have someone complaining about their “First Amendment Rights being violated” by “censorship” on the SDMB - especially in the Pit. And that is what I’m referring to. ---
**Author:** ![Henry\_B](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/d78d45/32.png) [@Henry\_B](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Henry_B)\ **Post date:** [August 15, 2002, 5:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-the-straight-dope-a-dictatorship/123999/13 "2002-08-15T17:31:26Z")
I take the fifth. 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![TwistofFate](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/cdc98d/32.png) [@TwistofFate](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TwistofFate)\ **Post date:** [August 15, 2002, 5:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-the-straight-dope-a-dictatorship/123999/14 "2002-08-15T17:38:07Z")
> [@](#): > > 1. Cannot have its Staff act in a completely arbitrary and even insane manner should they choose to. Personally, I never choose for my staff to act in an insane manner, it just does. 😉 I’m here all week. Try the veal. ---
**Author:** ![dantheman](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dantheman/32/9421_2.png) [@dantheman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dantheman)\ **Post date:** [August 15, 2002, 5:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-the-straight-dope-a-dictatorship/123999/15 "2002-08-15T17:43:59Z")
Wouldn’t a dictatorship be comprised of one person forcing his or her will on many others? Or do I have the wrong definition? I think that people who honestly believe this is a dictatorship might not have the faintest idea what a dictatorship really is. Notice the newest forum, Cafe Society? Do you think your dictator put it there for his own amusement? Nope, it was for the members of this message board. In fact, look at all of the fora - think they’re there for the sole purpose of making the dictator feel good about himself? In what possible way is this a dictatorship? Yep, we’re all just repressed soul. Damn the man. Damn the man, I say. ---
**Author:** ![lucwarm](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/e19adc/32.png) [@lucwarm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lucwarm)\ **Post date:** [August 15, 2002, 5:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-the-straight-dope-a-dictatorship/123999/16 "2002-08-15T17:47:16Z")
It would be an interesting experiment if people tried to set up constitutional-style protections on this message board. A constitution might require that bannable offenses be codified; that before being banned, a member is entitled to notice and an opportunity to be heard before a neutral decisionmaker; etc. It’s probably too cumbersome to be practical, but a forum for “trials” would make for interesting reading. ---
**Author:** ![chula](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/a4c791/32.png) [@chula](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/chula)\ **Post date:** [August 15, 2002, 7:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-the-straight-dope-a-dictatorship/123999/17 "2002-08-15T19:09:04Z")
Now you’re talking **lucwarm**. I think Dopers could put on trials that would put the the American judicial system to shame. ---
**Author:** ![UncleBeer](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/977dab/32.png) [@UncleBeer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/UncleBeer)\ **Post date:** [August 15, 2002, 10:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-the-straight-dope-a-dictatorship/123999/18 "2002-08-15T22:15:57Z")
::Marking down names:: Y’all just go on about your business. Don’t mind me. ---
**Author:** ![UncleBeer](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/977dab/32.png) [@UncleBeer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/UncleBeer)\ **Post date:** [August 15, 2002, 10:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-the-straight-dope-a-dictatorship/123999/19 "2002-08-15T22:21:03Z")
::Marking down names:: Y’all just go on about your business. Don’t mind me. ---
**Author:** ![Lisa\_Ann](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/bc79bd/32.png) [@Lisa\_Ann](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lisa_Ann)\ **Post date:** [August 15, 2002, 10:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-the-straight-dope-a-dictatorship/123999/20 "2002-08-15T22:43:40Z")
He’s making his list and posting it twice! Gonna find out who is naughty and nice! **UncleBeer** is jotting names down! [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-the-straight-dope-a-dictatorship/123999.md?page=2)