# Is the word imbeciles prohibited? **URL:** \ **Category:** About This Message Board\ **Created:** [October 23, 2023, 4:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-the-word-imbeciles-prohibited/991961 "2023-10-23T16:07:16Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![TroutMan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/troutman/32/6721_2.png) [@TroutMan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TroutMan)\ **Post date:** [October 23, 2023, 10:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-the-word-imbeciles-prohibited/991961/41 "2023-10-23T22:34:41Z")
Eh, when people say it’s tough to keep up, it usually means they don’t care enough to try. ---
**Author:** ![Atamasama](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/atamasama/32/12961_2.png) [@Atamasama](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Atamasama)\ **Post date:** [October 23, 2023, 10:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-the-word-imbeciles-prohibited/991961/42 "2023-10-23T22:38:36Z")
> [@thorny\_locust](#): > > But to say that people are afraid to post anything for fear of getting a modnote – that really seems to me to be a wild overreaction. And that seems to me to be missing the point. Innocuous posting should result in zero moderation. It’s always fair to discuss whether or not something was worthy of a note, because in all cases a note is just the start. Honestly, do you want people _ignoring_ mod notes? Because that seems to be the suggestion here. If a mod note isn’t worth discussing, it isn’t worth even paying attention to them. I don’t think anyone wants that. Frankly, the idea that a mod note isn’t worth discussing is extremely disturbing to me. Freaking out over a mod note is of course ridiculous (and that happens, all too often). But discussing the potential ramifications of a mod note is not at all out of bounds, because moderation deserves to be discussed if people are unsure about it. Let me put it this way… If I got a mod note at random for ridiculous things that don’t deserve moderation, I’d be gone. I think everyone would be. So don’t attempt to minimize this, that’s very unconstructive. ---
**Author:** ![Johnny\_Bravo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnny_bravo/32/493_2.png) [@Johnny\_Bravo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johnny_Bravo)\ **Post date:** [October 23, 2023, 10:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-the-word-imbeciles-prohibited/991961/43 "2023-10-23T22:47:38Z")
> [@Atamasama](#): > > If a mod note isn’t worth discussing, it isn’t worth even paying attention to them. I’m having trouble getting from A to B here. If I start a hijack in this thread about how much I love Bazooka Joe bubblegum and am (rightfully) told to stop, that doesn’t need discussion. Just an acknowledgement and an end to the hijack. The fact that I’m willing to say “you’re right, my bad” and just drop it doesn’t somehow invalidate the note itself. ---
**Author:** ![Atamasama](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/atamasama/32/12961_2.png) [@Atamasama](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Atamasama)\ **Post date:** [October 23, 2023, 11:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-the-word-imbeciles-prohibited/991961/44 "2023-10-23T23:18:36Z")
> [@Johnny\_Bravo](#): > > If I start a hijack in this thread about how much I love Bazooka Joe bubblegum and am (rightfully) told to stop, that doesn’t need discussion. If the mod note was unclear though, it does. You wouldn’t just shrug because it’s only a mod note. Especially if it raises a larger question. What if the mod note said that the SDMB is being sponsored by Hubba-Bubba and you can’t mention other brands of gum? You’d certainly want that discussed, even if it was just a note. And there’d definitely be concerns if Hubba-Bubba was controlling content on the board, and could potentially be a problem for the board as a whole. Thats my point. A mod note is worth discussing if it could have ramifications down the road. That’s what ATMB is for. ---
**Author:** ![Johnny\_Bravo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnny_bravo/32/493_2.png) [@Johnny\_Bravo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johnny_Bravo)\ **Post date:** [October 23, 2023, 11:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-the-word-imbeciles-prohibited/991961/45 "2023-10-23T23:21:44Z")
> [@Atamasama](#): > > A mod note is worth discussing if it could have ramifications down the road. Okay, sure. That’s a little different than “if a mod note isn’t worth discussing, it isn’t worth even paying attention to.” I’m confident guessing that the great vast majority of mod notes are never discussed and don’t need to be. ---
**Author:** ![What\_Exit](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/what_exit/32/10652_2.png) [@What\_Exit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/What_Exit)\ **Post date:** [October 23, 2023, 11:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-the-word-imbeciles-prohibited/991961/46 "2023-10-23T23:23:08Z")
> [@Johnny\_Bravo](#): > > I’m confident guessing that the great vast majority of mod notes are never discussed and don’t need to be. Thankfully that appears to be very accurate. ---
**Author:** ![Atamasama](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/atamasama/32/12961_2.png) [@Atamasama](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Atamasama)\ **Post date:** [October 23, 2023, 11:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-the-word-imbeciles-prohibited/991961/47 "2023-10-23T23:26:42Z")
> [@Johnny\_Bravo](#): > > I’m confident guessing that the great vast majority of mod notes are never discussed and don’t need to be. I agree, I’ve gotten plenty myself. (Well, not **too** many hopefully.) My point was that we shouldn’t say that mod notes are **never** worth discussing, otherwise they aren’t meaningful in any way. I wasn’t trying to say the opposite, that **every** mod note is worth discussing. I was trying to say, before this odd tangent came up, that one extreme is an outright ban of words that are frequently used in uncontroversial speech (which doesn’t happen, we don’t ban any words outright here), and allowing toxic speech. A simple solution is to evaluate the usage of words in context, which is what mods typically do and that’s what was done here. ---
**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:** [October 23, 2023, 11:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-the-word-imbeciles-prohibited/991961/48 "2023-10-23T23:40:23Z")
> [@Little\_Nemo](#): > > As others have mentioned, the context is important. In this case, somebody had used the term dribbling imbecile in another poll. Somebody else questioned whether dribbling was the correct word and suggested it should be driveling imbecile. As the “somebody else” in that thread, I was following up the previously posted poll with a grammatical gripe about confusing the terms “dribbling” and “driveling” and not referring to the pollster as an “imbecile”. There are a number of words that at least historically have been used to label people with mental incapacity, but have gone into general usage to characterize stupid statements or actions by those with presumably normal intelligence. I’ve recently heard criticism of the word “idiot” as somehow being a slam against individuals with intellectual disabilities, with seems over the top to me. I have no problem with banning the use of “retard”, which at best is a nasty juvenile taunt and at worst a slur aimed at hurting people with Down’s syndrome and similar afflictions. Casting out other terms that are useful in describing (for instance) politicians and denialists unnecessarily limits language. ---
**Author:** ![thorny\_locust](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/thorny_locust/32/431_2.png) [@thorny\_locust](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/thorny_locust)\ **Post date:** [October 23, 2023, 11:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-the-word-imbeciles-prohibited/991961/49 "2023-10-23T23:42:33Z")
> [@Atamasama](#): > > Honestly, do you want people _ignoring_ mod notes? Because that seems to be the suggestion here. How you get that from ‘I checked to try to make sure I understood the issue and decided to be more careful what forum I was posting in in the future’ I do not understand. > [@Atamasama](#): > > If a mod note isn’t worth discussing, it isn’t worth even paying attention to them. And I didn’t feel any need to discuss it. If I really hadn’t understood the issue, then I’d have discussed it. The poster whose post set this off apparently didn’t feel any need to discuss it; quite possibly because, when they thought about it, they did understand the issue. But that certainly didn’t mean that I didn’t pay attention to it. > [@Atamasama](#): > > in all cases a note is just the start. No, very often it’s the end of the matter. > [@Atamasama](#): > > Freaking out over a mod note is of course ridiculous You seemed to think it entirely reasonable when you said > [@Atamasama](#): > > That sort of thing can lead to people walking on eggshells, and that can lead to the same sorts of consequences as openly toxic speech. (People leaving, people feeling uncomfortable to participate here, people seeing this site and saying “no thank you”.) > [@Atamasama](#): > > If I got a mod note at random for ridiculous things that don’t deserve moderation, I’d be gone. It wasn’t at random, it wasn’t ridiculous, and IMO it did call for a mod note. Is that the sort of discussion that you wanted? When I saw that post, I flinched so hard away from that entire thread that I didn’t even report it; I thought I’d deal with it when I had more time to sort out what I wanted to say. When I came back, I found that I didn’t need to say anything, it had been dealt with. Apparently there was nothing whatsoever about the post that bothered you (and no, it wasn’t the word on its own that was the main issue. As multiple people have said in this thread.) Try thinking about why there are others in this thread who were disturbed about it. It seems to me that you’re the one attempting to minimize it. ---
**Author:** ![Atamasama](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/atamasama/32/12961_2.png) [@Atamasama](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Atamasama)\ **Post date:** [October 23, 2023, 11:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-the-word-imbeciles-prohibited/991961/50 "2023-10-23T23:47:32Z")
> [@thorny\_locust](#): > > It wasn’t at random, it wasn’t ridiculous, and IMO it did call for a mod note. Is that the sort of discussion that you wanted? I was addressing a hypothetical situation, which you seemed to completely miss. I was talking about a situation where a typically uncontroversial word was banned and moderated. You’re taking me entirely out of context. Go read my last post again, you’re misunderstanding me completely. > [@thorny\_locust](#): > > Apparently there was nothing whatsoever about the post that bothered you (and no, it wasn’t the word on its own that was the main issue. As multiple people have said in this thread.) Try thinking about why there are others in this thread who were disturbed about it. It seems to me that you’re the one attempting to minimize it. Stop putting words in my mouth. I supported the moderation. Multiple times. 🙄 **That’s the entire point I was making.** It was good moderation. You’re just making things up here. What about any of the below suggests I think that there was a problem with the mod note that is the subject of this thread? > [@Atamasama](#): > > I was trying to say, before this odd tangent came up, that one extreme is an outright ban of words that are frequently used in uncontroversial speech (which doesn’t happen, we don’t ban any words outright here), and allowing toxic speech. A simple solution is to evaluate the usage of words in context, which is what mods typically do and that’s what was done here. > [@Atamasama](#): > > I do think that we have to look at these things in context to maintain that balance. As many of the most recent posts in this thread have indicated, it’s not the word itself that’s prohibited. It was the way it was used, and the fact that there was a great deal of specificity where it was made clear that this wasn’t the casual “foolish behavior” reference, but a blatant reference to people with cognitive impairments and making them a source of mockery and the butt of a joke. I think your own tangent confused you. ---
**Author:** ![thorny\_locust](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/thorny_locust/32/431_2.png) [@thorny\_locust](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/thorny_locust)\ **Post date:** [October 24, 2023, 1:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-the-word-imbeciles-prohibited/991961/51 "2023-10-24T01:25:49Z")
> [@Atamasama](#): > > I was addressing a hypothetical situation, which you seemed to completely miss. I was talking about a situation where a typically uncontroversial word was banned and moderated. OK, if that starts happening here, I’ll worry about it then. ---
**Author:** ![Karen\_Lingel](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/karen_lingel/32/18649_2.png) [@Karen\_Lingel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Karen_Lingel)\ **Post date:** [October 24, 2023, 2:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-the-word-imbeciles-prohibited/991961/52 "2023-10-24T02:02:37Z")
I sincerely apologize for my offensive poll. ---
**Author:** ![DrDeth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b487fb/32.png) [@DrDeth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DrDeth)\ **Post date:** [October 24, 2023, 2:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-the-word-imbeciles-prohibited/991961/53 "2023-10-24T02:55:53Z")
> [@Atamasama](#): > > I was addressing a hypothetical situation, which you seemed to completely miss. I was talking about a situation where a typically uncontroversial word was banned and moderated. Which hasnt happened and didnt happen here. ---
**Author:** ![Atamasama](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/atamasama/32/12961_2.png) [@Atamasama](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Atamasama)\ **Post date:** [October 24, 2023, 3:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-the-word-imbeciles-prohibited/991961/54 "2023-10-24T03:23:04Z")
Again; read my post. Stop taking what I say out of context: It’s boring to have to keep repeating myself here: ---
**Author:** ![Whack-a-Mole](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/whack-a-mole/32/141_2.png) [@Whack-a-Mole](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Whack-a-Mole)\ **Post date:** [October 24, 2023, 3:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-the-word-imbeciles-prohibited/991961/55 "2023-10-24T03:31:17Z")
This seems another of many arguments we have around here about a “naughty word list” (my words). I certainly have been caught up in that in the past. The consensus seems such a list should not exist (and I agree). Best summary I can make is context matters. That may be a judgement call. It seems a moving target. We have people in society who are easy targets and derogatory words are used to describe them. Then we decide those words are “bad words” so some other euphemism is used to describe them. Then those are “bad words.” I am not sure where it stops which is why I think context is the only cure. ---
**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:** [October 24, 2023, 3:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-the-word-imbeciles-prohibited/991961/56 "2023-10-24T03:33:19Z")
Hey, thanks! Looked like a thoughtless joke, and I figure we’ve all made those. Apologizing when it’s brought to your attention is solid. ---
**Author:** ![needscoffee](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/needscoffee/32/1076_2.png) [@needscoffee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/needscoffee)\ **Post date:** [October 24, 2023, 3:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-the-word-imbeciles-prohibited/991961/57 "2023-10-24T03:38:58Z")
> [@Karen\_Lingel](#): > > I sincerely apologize for my offensive poll. Hey, your polls are enjoyable and humorous and I always look forward to them. It’s pretty apparent you’d never deliberately be unkind. Goodness knows I’ve made blunders that seemed clever at the time. ---
**Author:** ![Johnny\_Bravo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnny_bravo/32/493_2.png) [@Johnny\_Bravo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johnny_Bravo)\ **Post date:** [October 24, 2023, 3:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-the-word-imbeciles-prohibited/991961/58 "2023-10-24T03:40:36Z")
Classy and consise. Thank you. ---
**Author:** ![DrDeth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b487fb/32.png) [@DrDeth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DrDeth)\ **Post date:** [October 24, 2023, 3:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-the-word-imbeciles-prohibited/991961/59 "2023-10-24T03:58:30Z")
> [@Atamasama](#): > > Again; read my post. Stop taking what I say out of context: It’s boring to have to keep repeating myself here: Yes, yes, you made up a hypothetical that has never happened and didnt happen here. We got that. ---
**Author:** ![Atamasama](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/atamasama/32/12961_2.png) [@Atamasama](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Atamasama)\ **Post date:** [October 24, 2023, 5:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-the-word-imbeciles-prohibited/991961/60 "2023-10-24T05:52:47Z")
> [@DrDeth](#): > > Yes, yes, you made up a hypothetical that has never happened and didnt happen here. No, okay, so it’s too much for you to read my post. I posted two extremes. One where a word was banned, another where people could get away with saying anything. I said that moderation should fall between them and that the mods tend to do that, as they did in this case, because that’s what’s healthy for the board. I didn’t set up some crazy hypothetical to rail against. Someone took a small part of my post, took it totally out of context, and went after it as if that’s a point I was trying to make. Please drop this hijack, and stop making up things I didn’t do. It’s very frustrating and doing nothing for the thread. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-the-word-imbeciles-prohibited/991961.md?page=2) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-the-word-imbeciles-prohibited/991961.md?page=4)