# Is this really worth a warning? **URL:** \ **Category:** About This Message Board\ **Created:** [January 28, 2016, 6:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-this-really-worth-a-warning/744472 "2016-01-28T06:35:03Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**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:** [January 28, 2016, 4:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-this-really-worth-a-warning/744472/21 "2016-01-28T16:16:41Z")
So it appears that **SenorBeef** ’s primary sin here is engaging with a troll. The troll, whose **primary purpose** is to stir shit, appears to have succeeded. A long-term poster has been given a(n extremely weak) warning. The troll has since been banned. Rescind the fucking thing, replace it with a mod note. Move on. There’s a pile of precedent for not handing out warnings for shit like this. Lord knows I’ve had it up to my jimblies with Beef on occasion, but this is ridiculous. ---
**Author:** ![Morgenstern](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/f9ae1b/32.png) [@Morgenstern](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Morgenstern)\ **Post date:** [January 28, 2016, 4:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-this-really-worth-a-warning/744472/22 "2016-01-28T16:18:11Z")
**mhendo** , the problem with skating close to the line is that each mod sees that line in a different place. Some see it between the 5 and 10 yard line, others see it in the parking lot. ---
**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 28, 2016, 4:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-this-really-worth-a-warning/744472/23 "2016-01-28T16:22:53Z")
> [@ElderSign](#): > > Ding-Ding-Ding! We have a winner. Actually, we have a loser. There is nothing in the rules that says “Thou shalt not do X, unless you’re responding to an obvious troll, in which case it’s perfectly fine to do X”. Beef broke the rules. Whether or not he gets a mod note or a warning is something that is subjective, depending on the mod. ---
**Author:** ![mhendo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mhendo/32/3159_2.png) [@mhendo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mhendo)\ **Post date:** [January 28, 2016, 4:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-this-really-worth-a-warning/744472/24 "2016-01-28T16:32:12Z")
> [@Morgenstern](#): > > **mhendo** , the problem with skating close to the line is that each mod sees that line in a different place. Some see it between the 5 and 10 yard line, others see it in the parking lot. Yeah, that was sort of my point when i said that the line was “very vaguely defined.” My post wasn’t intended as real advice for the OP, but rather a somewhat ironic observation about the vagaries and inconsistencies of moderation. And it’s not even just when comparing one mod with another. Both of the posts i linked to were moderated by the same person who gave **SenorBeef** his warning, and yet neither of them received a warning, despite the fact that i believe that most reasonable people would argue that **SenorBeef** ’s post was no more insulting than either of those posts. ---
**Author:** ![Morgenstern](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/f9ae1b/32.png) [@Morgenstern](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Morgenstern)\ **Post date:** [January 28, 2016, 4:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-this-really-worth-a-warning/744472/25 "2016-01-28T16:42:03Z")
I see your point. I also believe that somewhere, out there in the internet, is a troll who thinks he got one over on the SDMB. (or a member) I’d like to see the warning reversed and the troll left in the outer cold zone of the internet knowing he failed at dinging our board. ---
**Author:** ![Drunky\_Smurf](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/drunky_smurf/32/449_2.png) [@Drunky\_Smurf](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Drunky_Smurf)\ **Post date:** [January 28, 2016, 4:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-this-really-worth-a-warning/744472/26 "2016-01-28T16:44:38Z")
> [@Eliahna](#): > > He merely echoed the other poster’s own words back. So if you called me a fucking cunt and then I called you a fucking cunt I shouldn’t get a warning? > [@aldiboronti](#): > > without burdening a long-time poster with an official warning on his record? First off, oh boo-hoo, getting a warning is such a burden how can I go on with my life. :rolleyes: Secondly why do you think long time posters should be allowed to break the rules? > [@Morgenstern](#): > > When a long term poster obviously isn’t a troublemaker he shouldn’t be treated like one. So a long term poster that hasn’t gotten a warning in awhile should be allowed to break the rules once in awhile? Not name calling outside of the Pit is about the brightest and clearest rules there is, **especially** for a long time poster. The warning is totally and completely deserved. ---
**Author:** ![Drunky\_Smurf](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/drunky_smurf/32/449_2.png) [@Drunky\_Smurf](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Drunky_Smurf)\ **Post date:** [January 28, 2016, 4:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-this-really-worth-a-warning/744472/27 "2016-01-28T16:51:16Z")
> [@Johnny\_Bravo](#): > > So it appears that **SenorBeef** ’s primary sin here is engaging with a troll. > > The troll, whose **primary purpose** is to stir shit, appears to have succeeded. No, Senorbeefs’ primary sin is name-calling. And yes the troll did win because Senorbeef let him win. > [@Morgenstern](#): > > I see your point. I also believe that somewhere, out there in the internet, is a troll who thinks he got one over on the SDMB. (or a member) I’d like to see the warning reversed and the troll left in the outer cold zone of the internet knowing he failed at dinging our board. Oh noes! The SDMB has been dinged! Raise the threat level to red! How will the SDMB ever get back it’s honor? This board which is the Holiest of Holies has been sullied. Satan has won. God is dead and we are all damned to be pitch-forked in the ass for all eternity. ---
**Author:** ![Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/e8c25b/32.png) [@Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Really_Not_All_That_Bright)\ **Post date:** [January 28, 2016, 5:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-this-really-worth-a-warning/744472/28 "2016-01-28T17:04:52Z")
> [@Drunky\_Smurf](#): > > So if you called me a fucking cunt and then I called you a fucking cunt I shouldn’t get a warning? You certainly should, but I think we can all agree there’s a reasonable separation between “loser” and “fucking cunt.” I guess I can’t really argue with the warning too much, but it does seem a bit weird that you can get warned for calling somebody a loser.\* Especially since you can be well within the rules if you use much worse terminology artfully. \*I mean, what other basically harmless words get a warning? If I call **Beef** a doodoohead am I going to be sent to the principal’s office? ---
**Author:** ![Do\_Not\_Taunt](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/do_not_taunt/32/2968_2.png) [@Do\_Not\_Taunt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Do_Not_Taunt)\ **Post date:** [January 28, 2016, 5:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-this-really-worth-a-warning/744472/29 "2016-01-28T17:24:17Z")
> [@John\_Mace](#): > > Actually, we have a loser. I can only assume you’ll get a warning for this. And it would be as deserved as SenorBeef’s. ---
**Author:** ![Grrr](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/grrr/32/146_2.png) [@Grrr](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Grrr)\ **Post date:** [January 28, 2016, 5:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-this-really-worth-a-warning/744472/30 "2016-01-28T17:27:53Z")
I don’t get what the big deal is. I got my first warning (From Idle Thoughts too. heh, heh,) just a few months ago. I deserved my warning though. But still, I’m not really sweating it as I’m not normally a trouble maker and therefore in no fear of losing my membership status. So yeah, in the grand scheme of things, I’m not seeing this as a thing to get so worked up about. ---
**Author:** ![gnoitall](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/bb73d2/32.png) [@gnoitall](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gnoitall)\ **Post date:** [January 28, 2016, 6:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-this-really-worth-a-warning/744472/31 "2016-01-28T18:01:39Z")
> [@Grrr](#): > > I don’t get what the big deal is. I got my first warning (From Idle Thoughts too. heh, heh,) just a few months ago. I deserved my warning though. But still, I’m not really sweating it as I’m not normally a trouble maker and therefore in no fear of losing my membership status. > > So yeah, in the grand scheme of things, I’m not seeing this as a thing to get so worked up about. But now it’s on his permanent record. Permanent. Record. My principal warned me about that. Now **SenorBeef** is a marked man. TPTB are watching him. He’s probably on a no-fly list now, for ${diety}'s sake. What this board needs is an explicit BBCode markup for sarcasm. ---
**Author:** ![Saint\_Cad](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/saint_cad/32/18907_2.png) [@Saint\_Cad](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Saint_Cad)\ **Post date:** [January 28, 2016, 6:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-this-really-worth-a-warning/744472/32 "2016-01-28T18:07:15Z")
Honestly, when I read Dajn’s post I thought the rationale for the insult was not the post count but because Dajn assumed that SenorBeef believes that a high number of posts makes him correct and if SenorBeef truly believes more posts = more correct is pretty stupid. If I were a mod and assuming no prior history, I would have responded “New children, play nice.” but the > [@](#): > > I guess it’s the longevity that brings the shame. Good luck on your banning and/or quitting posting. escalates it and I’d consider a warning on it. ---
**Author:** ![SenorBeef](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/senorbeef/32/2220_2.png) [@SenorBeef](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SenorBeef)\ **Post date:** [January 28, 2016, 6:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-this-really-worth-a-warning/744472/33 "2016-01-28T18:10:09Z")
> [@aldiboronti](#): > > Just a thought. Woudn’t “Tone it down. No warning issued.” have achieved the same result without burdening a long-time poster with an official warning on his record? Seems kind of harsh for a relatively minor infraction. That’s the thing. If he had said “okay, cool it” or “mod note, this is inappropriate”, would anyone say “oh no, this is clearly warnable, you let him off easy?” No, of course not. Going straight to warning for such mild behavior is very strange to me. It wouldn’t taken me aback even if it had happened to someone else. > [@Drunky\_Smurf](#): > > So if you called me a fucking cunt and then I called you a fucking cunt I shouldn’t get a warning? That’s not the best analogy, though. Imagine his name started with an S. And he said “anyone whose name starts with S is a fucking cunt”, and I said “I guess that makes you a fucking cunt”, that’s not the same as just calling the guy a fucking cunt out of the blue. I was saying he matched his own criteria, and therefore, his own insult fit him. That’s what’s so weird to me here. Everyone is acting like I just said “HEY, YOU’RE A LOSER!” out of the blue, literally focusing on a few words to the exclusion of context. “You said loser, you violated the rules!” ---
**Author:** ![Shodan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/9f8e36/32.png) [@Shodan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shodan)\ **Post date:** [January 28, 2016, 7:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-this-really-worth-a-warning/744472/34 "2016-01-28T19:03:43Z")
The rule against insults in GD doesn’t have an exception for “he did it first”. Regards, Shodan ---
**Author:** ![Saint\_Cad](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/saint_cad/32/18907_2.png) [@Saint\_Cad](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Saint_Cad)\ **Post date:** [January 28, 2016, 7:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-this-really-worth-a-warning/744472/35 "2016-01-28T19:37:01Z")
> [@Idle\_Thoughts](#): > > Yes, it was worth a warning. > > As I said in the PM, when someone calls you a name on these boards, you don’t call them one right back. You were calling him a loser too, in that post. You have been here long enough to know you should report the post and/or Pit them if someone starts insulting you, not insult them back. > > As I also said in the PM, it’s not personal, I would have warned anyone there who was calling names instead of reporting the post or going to the Pit with it. > I don’t have any personal beef with you at all, actually… I’m sorry you feel that way, but it’s not correct. You got warned for name calling, just like he did. Did Dajn get a warning too? If so then what’s the problem? If not then why are they treated differently for the same insult.\* As a clarification I explain in my post above why I would have modded the two posts differently. ---
**Author:** ![Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/e8c25b/32.png) [@Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Really_Not_All_That_Bright)\ **Post date:** [January 28, 2016, 7:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-this-really-worth-a-warning/744472/36 "2016-01-28T19:38:29Z")
\*\*Djan \*\*got banned. ---
**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 28, 2016, 7:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-this-really-worth-a-warning/744472/37 "2016-01-28T19:42:06Z")
> [@SenorBeef](#): > > That’s the thing. If he had said “okay, cool it” or “mod note, this is inappropriate”, would anyone say “oh no, this is clearly warnable, you let him off easy?” Some might, but they’d be a bunch of losers. 🙂 In all seriousness, though, I do think a mod note would have been more appropriate. Not because you’re a “long time poster” but because it was pretty mild in tone. Had you called him a raving idiot, then a warning surely would have been appropriate. However, as I noted above, it’s subjective and depends on the mods. I think it’s a fruitless quest to expect all the mods to react the same way here. ---
**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:** [January 28, 2016, 8:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-this-really-worth-a-warning/744472/38 "2016-01-28T20:20:41Z")
In normal circumstances, a mod note to both people to cool off would have been the right move. But the now-banned poster was ramping things up across a few threads and needed a full warning. And at that point, the mod is kind of painted into a corner - he can’t warn one and not the other for effectively the same insult (no matter what your actual intention). So **SenorBeef** is collateral damage. ---
**Author:** ![AncientHumanoid](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ancienthumanoid/32/278_2.png) [@AncientHumanoid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AncientHumanoid)\ **Post date:** [January 28, 2016, 8:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-this-really-worth-a-warning/744472/39 "2016-01-28T20:21:51Z")
At least no one got any sexual gratification out of it. ---
**Author:** ![madsircool](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/madsircool/32/3432_2.png) [@madsircool](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/madsircool)\ **Post date:** [January 28, 2016, 8:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-this-really-worth-a-warning/744472/40 "2016-01-28T20:34:33Z")
I did…:o [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-this-really-worth-a-warning/744472.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-this-really-worth-a-warning/744472.md?page=3)