# Is witnessing restricted to Great Debates? **URL:** \ **Category:** About This Message Board\ **Created:** [February 23, 2013, 10:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-witnessing-restricted-to-great-debates/651157 "2013-02-23T10:46:39Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 14\ **Page:** 4
**Author:** ![RedFury](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/ec9cab/32.png) [@RedFury](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RedFury)\ **Post date:** [February 26, 2013, 6:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-witnessing-restricted-to-great-debates/651157/61 "2013-02-26T06:06:36Z")
> [@MrDibble](#): > > OK, so I got my answer - religious sigs =/= witnessing, so say the Mods. Close the thread if you like. I agree w/them in this case\*. I can’t see how a sig could become “witnessing.” Annoying? Sure. Have you read **Shodan’s** 😉 Then again, I must admit I’ve had a lot of fun at _his_ expense for that, even though he doesn’t have a clue – mayhaps you could do the same for the ones that bother you? \*I prefer Paypal to mugs or chocolates. ---
**Author:** ![MrDibble](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mrdibble/32/114_2.png) [@MrDibble](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MrDibble)\ **Post date:** [February 26, 2013, 8:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-witnessing-restricted-to-great-debates/651157/62 "2013-02-26T08:39:40Z")
> [@RedFury](#): > > I agree w/them in this case\*. I can’t see how a sig could become “witnessing.” What if it said “Jesus is Lord, accept Christ into your Heart Today. Ask Me How!”? That wouldn’t be witnessing, apparently. So they say. ---
**Author:** ![EllisDee](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ellisdee/32/4531_2.png) [@EllisDee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/EllisDee)\ **Post date:** [February 26, 2013, 11:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-witnessing-restricted-to-great-debates/651157/63 "2013-02-26T23:19:36Z")
Not a democracy, but if we were voting my vote would be: 1. Disallow all manual signatures 2. Make board signatures a free option > [@Marley23](#): > > You’re not obliged to stop doing something just because somebody else complains, and your refusal to indulge their preferences isn’t rude. This is the opposite of political correctness, so on that score I applaud you. I will say that I have seen many times over the years on this board the exact opposite of your position. The idea that “you know it offends me, so if you don’t stop you’re being a jerk” isn’t exactly unheard of. ---
**Author:** ![Marley23](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/45deac/32.png) [@Marley23](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Marley23)\ **Post date:** [February 26, 2013, 11:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-witnessing-restricted-to-great-debates/651157/64 "2013-02-26T23:28:59Z")
> [@EllisDee](#): > > This is the opposite of political correctness, so on that score I applaud you. I will say that I have seen many times over the years on this board the exact opposite of your position. The idea that “you know it offends me, so if you don’t stop you’re being a jerk” isn’t exactly unheard of. Right, that’s why I was saying it also depends on what the behavior actually is. For this kind of thing to make any sense, the behavior itself has to be taken into account and so does the response. ---
**Author:** ![TBG](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/c89c15/32.png) [@TBG](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TBG)\ **Post date:** [February 26, 2013, 11:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-witnessing-restricted-to-great-debates/651157/65 "2013-02-26T23:32:52Z")
> [@Pine\_Fresh\_Scent](#): > > Thank you for this. I tried Greasemonkey, but found and even easier add-on called FoxReplace. It won’t replace text with no text, _snip_ It does for me, though I’m not using it on this site, so maybe something on the site won’t let it. ---
**Author:** ![Zoe](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/a4c791/32.png) [@Zoe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zoe)\ **Post date:** [February 27, 2013, 8:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-witnessing-restricted-to-great-debates/651157/66 "2013-02-27T08:12:15Z")
> [@](#): > > **Tom** : You seem to be going out of your way to take umbrage. Actually, it’s never out of my way to take umbrage. > [@](#): > > **Tom** : I suspect that you simply saw his name and mine and reacted without reading my post. You suspect wrong. I could say that I suspect you to be a little paranoid, but then that would be pure conjecture. Of course the sign-off “Regards” is innocuous. That wasn’t what I found inappropriate. > [@](#): > > **Tom** : …Beyond that, getting worked up over it seems to me to be too much like looking for a reason to be upset. We already hashed out the matter of innocuous if irritating sigs with Shodan’s sign off which was also an innocuous bit of text that some people decided was irritating simply because they found the poster irritating. Your supposition that some people decided that his sign off was irritating simply because they found the poster irritating was inappropriate. You singled him out by name and then were very quick to inform us that others find him irritating. > [@](#): > > **Tom** : Since this is not The BBQ Pit, let’s refrain from personal attacks on other posters in this forum. I think that’s a wonderful idea, **Tom**! Why didn’t I think of it? You are often denying that others feel what they say they feel. Examples: “Beyond that, getting worked up over it seems to me to be too much like looking for a reason to be upset.” and “You seem to be going out of your way to take umbrage.” Those are just two from this thread. You can’t possibly _know_ what another person’s real feelings are. It is unbecoming for anyone to declare what feelings are real and what are not. You are very dismissive in that way. I agree with your thinking and **Marley’s** on the issue itself. I understand why certain religious statements can get on other posters’ nerves after a while. I believe them when they say they are offended. It’s just part of being on SDMB to have to cope with things that offend us, including a Mod’s commentary. But there’s no rule that says we can’t talk about our feelings in civil ways. This is not a good forum for Mods to tell posters that their feelings are not valid. ---
**Author:** ![Nzinga\_Seated](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/b5ac83/32.png) [@Nzinga\_Seated](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nzinga_Seated)\ **Post date:** [February 27, 2013, 9:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-witnessing-restricted-to-great-debates/651157/67 "2013-02-27T09:30:59Z")
> [@Zoe](#): > > Actually, it’s never out of my way to take umbrage… Haha. That’s awesome. ---
**Author:** ![RedFury](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/ec9cab/32.png) [@RedFury](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RedFury)\ **Post date:** [February 27, 2013, 1:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-witnessing-restricted-to-great-debates/651157/68 "2013-02-27T13:53:31Z")
> [@MrDibble](#): > > What if it said “Jesus is Lord, accept Christ into your Heart Today. Ask Me How!”? That wouldn’t be witnessing, apparently. So they say. That would read me as “stupid bumper-sticker bull-crap.” And those never bothered me beyond the sheer stoopid. Nor would it ever occur to me to ask such a wacko, “how”? Have better things to do w/my time. ---
**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:** [February 27, 2013, 4:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-witnessing-restricted-to-great-debates/651157/69 "2013-02-27T16:02:45Z")
> [@MrDibble](#): > > What if it said “Jesus is Lord, accept Christ into your Heart Today. Ask Me How!”? That wouldn’t be witnessing, apparently. So they say. Of course it’s not witnessing. It’s someone saying, “Hey would you like me to witness to you?” ---
**Author:** ![MrDibble](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mrdibble/32/114_2.png) [@MrDibble](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MrDibble)\ **Post date:** [February 27, 2013, 4:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-witnessing-restricted-to-great-debates/651157/70 "2013-02-27T16:50:29Z")
> [@Drunky\_Smurf](#): > > Of course it’s not witnessing. It’s someone saying, “Hey would you like me to witness to you?” I’m afraid I don’t agree there’s a distinction. ---
**Author:** ![Marley23](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/45deac/32.png) [@Marley23](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Marley23)\ **Post date:** [February 27, 2013, 6:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-witnessing-restricted-to-great-debates/651157/71 "2013-02-27T18:55:53Z")
> [@MrDibble](#): > > What if it said “Jesus is Lord, accept Christ into your Heart Today. Ask Me How!”? That wouldn’t be witnessing, apparently. So they say. I think I would consider that to be witnessing. It’s much more overt and specific and it literally asks for responses. ---
**Author:** ![Irishman](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/b487fb/32.png) [@Irishman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Irishman)\ **Post date:** [February 27, 2013, 7:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-witnessing-restricted-to-great-debates/651157/72 "2013-02-27T19:17:51Z")
> [@Zoe](#): > > Your supposition that some people decided that his sign off was irritating simply because they found the poster irritating was inappropriate. How so? It is a fact that many posters find **Shodan** ’s sign off to be irritating. They have posted as much in numerous threads. Furthermore, it is an established fact that some posters find **Shodan** himself to be irritating. And in the previous discussions of the sign off, it has been described by posters why they feel “Regards” is irritating when coming from **Shodan**. Seems to me that Tom is simply restating a conclusion that has been previously drawn from the evidence. > [@](#): > > You singled him out by name and then were very quick to inform us that others find him irritating. That is because that situation is something of the test case for sign offs. It’s kinda like referring to Miranda rights. > [@](#): > > I think that’s a wonderful idea, **Tom**! Why didn’t I think of it? First off, Tom didn’t insult anyone here. Second, why do you reply to this as if it was a comment directed specifically at you, rather than a separate remark made by someone else? ---
**Author:** ![Biffy\_the\_Elephant\_Shrew](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/e47c2d/32.png) [@Biffy\_the\_Elephant\_Shrew](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Biffy_the_Elephant_Shrew)\ **Post date:** [February 27, 2013, 8:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-witnessing-restricted-to-great-debates/651157/73 "2013-02-27T20:17:22Z")
Just pointing out that **JOSH** ’s sign-off would not work as a sig file. It’s not just the same automatic sign-off every time, as **Shodan** ’s is; she actually tailors it to the content of each post to include everyone mentioned in the blessings. And this atheist has no objection to being “blessed.” It is _not_ the same as witnessing. ---
**Author:** ![Frylock](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/ce7236/32.png) [@Frylock](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Frylock)\ **Post date:** [February 27, 2013, 9:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-witnessing-restricted-to-great-debates/651157/74 "2013-02-27T21:40:42Z")
> [@jtgain](#): > > How is it “obnoxious”? I can see it being annoying, but it’s not like she has a signature that says “Go Fuck Yourself, All of You, Always” > > Some people are spiritual and sprinkle that throughout their activities. It might be annoying, but I hope that’s never taken into account on this board or else I should just resign instead of being banned. 🙂 It is obnoxious in part because it is so blatantly insincere and pretentious. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-witnessing-restricted-to-great-debates/651157.md?page=3)